Understanding and Mitigating Unethical Behaviors in Workplace

A Review of Business Ethics
The first article I read for this assignment was “When Good People Do Bad Things at Work” by Dennis Moberg. I selected this article because I have wondered why good people sometimes get in trouble at work for unethical behavior. Also, I have been tempted to behave unethically at times at work and I would like to learn ways of keeping myself out of those situations in the future.
Moberg’s article describes three top causes for good people behaving unethical in the workplace. The use of scripts was described as the first cause. Using scripts to address common situations can result in employees inadvertently missing clues indicating potential problems. Additionally, employees may use scripts to steel ourselves against feelings of empathy. The second cause of unethical behavior at work is distractions. Distractions can be a problem for good employee’s. They may make the unethical decision to ignore someone seriously in need of help because they are focused on an important task. Lastly, moral exclusion can result in good people behaving unethically. Employees have a tendency to morally exclude certain persons outside the boundary in which moral values and considerations of fairness apply.
Fortunately, there are ways to lessen these three unethical behaviors. The use of scripts can be decreased by rotating tasks and keeping employees from performing repetitive work. Distractions can be lessened by leaders modeling the virtue of temperance. Leaders should enjoy employees to properly balance their work and professional lives. Finally, incidences of moral exclusion can be lessened by exposing employees to individuals who have been morally excluded. These business practices will help ensure good p...

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...eveal information and help protect their identity.
O’Connell describes how whistle-blowers have protected themselves by hiding their tracks or not leaving signs. Additionally, she shared how one person is not enough. Thus, informants must find a trustworthy confidant to revel information to. Using these techniques will better able a whistle-blower to safely reveal information and make a difference (Kehoe 2014).
This article was surprising to me because I underestimated the power of peer-pressure in organizations. Fortunately I know from reading Heineman’s High Performance with High Integrity, systems discouraging unethical behavior can be developed in organizations, giving employees voice. Such integrity systems aid in developing corporate cultures that encourage ethical behavior and reward reporters, aka whistle-blowers, of unethical behavior (Heineman 2008).