Discussion Forum

There is a crisis of ethical behavior in business today

Martin Gutierrez

[Institutional Affiliation(s)]

Author Note

There is a crisis of ethical behavior in business today?

Ethical behavior refers to the sets of norms and procedures that are meant to be followed while working within an organization. Most of the time, these patterns of behavior are guided by the policies and regulations that have been put in place at that very location. The attributes of behavior that are involved in the set of norms that can be classified as ethical can vary from one organization to the next. For this very purpose, different organizations develop policies so that the employees of that organization can have a fair idea of what constitutes ethical behavior.

We are living in the twenty-first century and this century has seen the epitome of industrialization all over the world. Even in the developing world, majority of the population works in industrial spaces. It is due to this very fact that the sets of rules and policies that define and explain modes of acceptable behavior have also become very diverse. It is not easy to point out a few behavioral aspects to claim as the worldwide standard for business ethics ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"8BHpib8U","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(University, 2020)","plainCitation":"(University, 2020)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":288,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/DTmO0ro3/items/4C8BNQX9"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/DTmO0ro3/items/4C8BNQX9"],"itemData":{"id":288,"type":"webpage","container-title":"Center for European Studies at Harvard University","genre":"text/html","language":"en","title":"##000110##Gender…","URL":"https://ces.fas.harvard.edu/publications/000110-gender-equality-politics-in-the-changing-european-union-the-european-union-anti-discrimination-directive-and-sexual-harassment","author":[{"family":"University","given":"Harvard"}],"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2020",1,30]]},"issued":{"date-parts":[["2020",1,30]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (University, 2020). With that said, it also needs to be clarified that whatever parameters the company may define as the norm, needs to be followed in order to maintain an acceptable business environment at the workplace. The point that needs to be understood is that even if the explanation of the sets of behavior is very subjective in nature, it does not mean that they are wrong. These sets of rules should be followed to maintain a good working relationship with your colleagues and your superiors.

Moving on to the question at hand, and according to various news reports and statistics, it is so. With the passage of time, the trends in crimes related to office settings are increasing and it is due to this very fact that the question in the topic is being asked. In my conceptualization of the issue, this problem has risen after the enlightenment era, because of the degradation of behavioral norms that were once issued due to the prevalence of religious precepts. The European peninsula has been on the forefront of this issue. Several countries amongst the European Union have passed strong legislation for workplaces so that companies can be facilitated towards being more productive. In most western cultures, the lack of ethical behavioral awareness results in cases of harassment. The issue of harassment has been a very big issue in the twenty first century. The abundance of people who are willing to lead a hedonistic lifestyle is increasing by the passing minute and this lifestyle when makes its way into the workplace, results can be catastrophic if the situation is not dealt with in the right way. The way that the European Union has handled the situation is by passing a directive in 2002, which is meant to prohibit sexual and emotional harassment in the workplace ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"dVCln8rw","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Cobb, 2019)","plainCitation":"(Cobb, 2019)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":290,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/DTmO0ro3/items/LSZ2QAF8"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/DTmO0ro3/items/LSZ2QAF8"],"itemData":{"id":290,"type":"book","abstract":"As the #MeToo movement has become an increasingly global and significant workplace matter, a timely resource compiling must-know international workplace sexual harassment laws for the multinational employer is clearly needed. This book provides a comprehensive compilation of global sexual harassment laws, clearly necessary in this climate but not currently existing until now. It presents legislation addressing workplace sexual harassment in over 50 countries in the European Region, Asia Pacific, Americas, and the Middle East and Africa. Within each region, the laws of individual countries are set forth, as well as some cultural context and recent developments to indicate present and future trends in workplace sexual harassment regulation. Written in clear, plain English for anyone without a legal background to understand, this book is essential reading and a key resource for employment and business attorneys, global employers, managers, human resources professionals, and occupational health and safety professionals. Academics, practitioners, union members, employees, NGOs, and those in the human rights field will also benefit from this timely resource.","ISBN":"978-0-429-51363-3","language":"en","note":"Google-Books-ID: wNvBDwAAQBAJ","number-of-pages":"146","publisher":"Routledge","source":"Google Books","title":"International Workplace Sexual Harassment Laws and Developments for the Multinational Employer","author":[{"family":"Cobb","given":"Ellen Pinkos"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2019",12,6]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Cobb, 2019). This directive has made sure that the member states of the European Union ensure the safety and equality of both genders and that strict action must be taken against individuals who are not willing to abide by the said directives. This directive has been in the news for a variety of reasons, one of them being that it has not gone as far as the feminists would have liked. One of the main factors that the European Union has been criticized heavily on is the fact that the Union has left it to the member to make policy decisions on the implementation of the directive. This part of the issue has been questioned many a times and the only answer that is afforded is that the European Union consists of independent member states and that the European Union trusts its members to legislate the detailed procedures relating to implementation. The European Union does not feel the need of spoon-feeding its member states and is confident that the directive will be followed.

Moving on to the developing world, people who have just been introduced to the concept of industrialization, the concepts of workplace norms is still an evolving reality. Most developing nations continue to foster employees which are not aware of the norms that must be followed when working at the workplace. This, when combined with the ever-increasing hedonism becomes a big headache, especially for people who are involved in the enforcement of these policies. The type of legislation that is being done in the developing world also says a lot about the issues that are being discussed on various media platforms. Issues of women empowerment do not even appear in the top ten list of issues that the developing world cares about. One of the main reasons for that is the fact that most of the developing world lacks stability and is mostly engaged in power struggles. Another aspect of business ethics that is not readily seen in the western world is the fact that since the law enforcement is weak in the developing world, fraudulent activities relating to business are rampant. Most news reports suggest that the number of people who are stripped off of their belongings when trying to invest in business is on the rise, especially in countries where poverty is on a high. Robust legislations and strong implementation are required to stop this negative trend.

Works Cited:

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Cobb, E. P. (2019). International Workplace Sexual Harassment Laws and Developments for the Multinational Employer. Routledge.

University, H. (2020, January 30). ##000110##Gender… [Text/html]. Center for European Studies at Harvard University. https://ces.fas.harvard.edu/publications/000110-gender-equality-politics-in-the-changing-european-union-the-european-union-anti-discrimination-directive-and-sexual-harassment