In this article, author Ron Carucci suggests that good, ordinary people compromise their ethics or make unethical choices at work because their organizations foster environments wherein people are forced to make choices they could not even imagine. Carucci illustrates his point with anecdotes ripped from headlines (e.g. Wells Fargo, Enron,) and identifies four ways that companies provoke good employees to make unethical choices.
One of the ways companies provoke employees that resonated with me is that “conflicting goals provoke a sense of unfairness.” Carucci continues that “once a sense of injustice is provoked, the stage is set for compromise.” I have experienced this in my workplace, and this was the context for my Ethical Dilemma midterm paper. As an employee who has sensed and experienced unfairness in the workplace, I can testify that is does have a conscious impact how I perceive the organization and how I can, should operate within it. Which also speaks to Carucci’s point that leadership must set a positive example and accept that they are held to higher standards. Events which trigger that sense of unfairness are often decisions sanctioned by leadership.
LO2: Demonstrate the ability to assess complex organizational environments and achieve communication goals.