Comprehensive Overview of Ethical Issues within Organizations

This essay delves into the multifaceted ethical challenges encountered within contemporary organizations. It comprehensively examines critical areas, including the ethical implications of social media use, the importance of safeguarding technology and privacy, the ethical considerations surrounding business travel, the perils of employee favoritism, and the significance of ethical leadership behavior. Furthermore, the essay addresses ethical issues in accounting practices, highlighting the consequences of unethical financial reporting and the importance of transparency. It underscores the role of ethical conduct in maintaining stakeholder trust and fostering a positive organizational culture. Through detailed analysis and practical examples, the essay provides valuable insights into navigating the complex ethical landscape of modern business and offers strategies for promoting ethical practices within organizations.

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Blog: What are the Ethical issues
in an organization?

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What are the Ethical issues in an organization?
27th June 2019
A business organization operates with the objective of conduct in all the business
operations and processes effectively and ethically. Ethics is one of the key components of
success for a business establishment because it formulates the guidelines of services to the
various stakeholders of the business entity. As such, it is indispensable for every business
organization irrespective of its sector of operation to abide by the ethical codes of conduct as
formulated by the management of the business establishment. We can observe that many of the
companies worldwide a reputed for their ethical business conduct such as the multinational
corporations like Google, Facebook, Apple, Samsung, and others. These companies are known to
have a stringent and effective business code of ethics by which the company remains ethical and
fair towards the employees as also with the other stakeholders of the companies. Some of the
major ethical issues within an organization consists of social media use, technology and privacy
concerns, business travel ethics, perils of employee favoritism and finally, the bad leadership
behavior.
Social Media Use
The usage of social media within a company needs to be effectively monitored and
controlled by the management so that there is a certain restriction on the posts that are made by
the employees on the social media accounts of the company. It is essential for the management to
observe the conduct of the employees in terms of what they are posting about the company and
its several products and services on the social media pages of the company itself. If an employee
or a group of employees is posting harmful content on the social media pages of the employer
then it can be considered as an act of unethical behavior and lack of loyalty to the employer.
Often, many employees post negative comments about their employers on social media pages of
the companies which can draw negative reactions from the people visiting the social media page
of the company and it has the potential to diminish the public image of the company. Therefore,
it is essential for the management to develop robust and clear guidelines and principles about the
liberty of using social media by the employees during working hours and also after the official
working hours.

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Regulations regarding Social Media use
There should be a clear set of boundaries regarding what tantamount to infringement of
the social media rules and regulations. An employee should be honest and dedicated enough to
take care of this issue and should never post anything negative about the employer on the social
media page of the company. If there are any issues that the employees are facing within an
organization then those should be discussed directly with the managers of the management
personnel of the business establishment. Hence, it is evident that taking care of the social media
postings by the employees about their employers is a responsibility of the employees working in
an organization.
Personal Ethics of Employees regarding Social Media use
Another issue involving the use of social media within a workplace is the use of social
media for entertainment and personal purposes during office hours. These incidents must be
discouraged within the workplace because this attitude of a few employees might soon spread
like an epidemic and has the potential to harm the organizational and the work culture within the
business establishment. Employees should always remember that they are supposed to dedicate
their full commitment and sincerity towards employers. The employers are compensating them
with salaries, bonuses and several other rewards and recognition and therefore it is legitimate and
within the rights of the employees to expect some honesty and sincerity on the part of the
employees. So, it is the responsibility of an employee to dedicate all the official working hours
behind constructive official tasks and not to waste time by spending on social media for the
purpose of entertainment. We cannot deny the usefulness of social media in business because
social media is one of the effective marketing tools. It has become an inevitable part of the lives
of the employees. The evolving nature of several means of social media has increased the
difficulties in distinguishing between professional and personal sitting on the platform of social
media. It is very important for the business owners to take ample care of potential ethical issues
with the help of a set of policies in response to social media use for the employees. The policies
should be able to cover the ways the social media platform could be used by the workers and
employees while they are in what place. They should also be allowed to speak out about their
experiences with their workplace on a public forum and social media pages. With the help of

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legitimate policies, the ethical issues regarding the use of social media and personal ethics of
employees regarding social media users can be modified.
Technology & Privacy Concerns
One more ethical issue within an organization is the monitoring of activities of the
employees using the computer and internet services. There have been significant developments
in the digital communication technologies with which it has become possible for the employees
to monitor the activities of their employees in terms of what activities they are doing on the
various electronic devices that are provided by the company for their daily functions. There are
technologies such as electronic surveillance that are implemented for ensuring employee
efficiency and productivity but the question arises that when such monitoring crosses the line of
personal privacy of the employees. Technology has provided ample resources and utilities to
every business organizations and their employees. It is very important to understand the privacy
concerns in relation to technology. The abilities of securities which the employees should
monitor regarding the use of technology by their employees should be enhanced. In today's
communication, the use of social media and different means of technology has become a
common phenomenon. At the same time, business organizations can become highly vulnerable
to various ethical aspects with respect to the use of modern technological resources. The issue
regarding the privacy and confidentiality of an employee at an expected level should be devised
by the company regulations and norms. Every employee has to use different technological
devices such as phone, tablets, laptops, and computers. With the use of these technological
aspects, the vulnerability to security breaches on the platform of the internet also gets increased.
Their employees should get an alert if the leadership plans of the business organizations get
access to email and the internet usage of the employees. The privacy of the personal details of
the employees should also be taken well care of by the business organizations.

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Ethical issues in connection to Business Travels
There are certain businesses which need both employees and leadership to travel because
of several organizational requirements. Business travel ethics should also be considered as one of
the important aspects because it is highly important for the ultimate outcome of business travels.
Ethical issues can have several impacts when an individual tries to take advantage of the policies
of business travel. For example, we can consider an employee who wants to purchase alcohol
during business travel which is not permitted should be monitored effectively. It can also happen
that an employee uses his or her personal credit card to make bookings for business travels so
that rewards and loyalty points can be obtained on his or her personal account. These actions are
actually not illegal but beyond the ethical aspects of business organizations. Hence, it is very
important for the management of business organizations to take ample care of business travel
ethics. There should be proper training and facilitation of information and education to the
employees so that they can become aware of the grounds where they are supposed to behave
within the ethical guidelines of the organizations. The employers and the business owners should
pay more attention to the ethical actions of the employees even on the ground of Business
Travels.
Ethical issues in relation to employee favoritism
Employee favoritism is another important aspect which is to be considered as one of the
ethical issues or challenges in an organization. We can see that some organizational owners
prefer some employees to work with some projects more than the others. Few employees get
undue chances or opportunities over the others. This situation can give rise to ethical issues. If
influential personnel of the organization shows favoritism to a particular employee without any
proper reasoning behind it, then it can impact valuable employees’ morale. The organizations
can also lose some of the valuable employees who remain deprived of their works because of
favoritism. We should be careful about the difference between sexual harassment and favoritism.
Sexual harassment is not only an ethical issue but it is more likely an illegal action which needs
legal interference and intervention on immediate and priority basis. Favoritism can impact the
ethical conduct of business organizations. By giving preferences to some particular employees,
the management for the business owners can lead employee conflicts and can give some

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particular employees a platform where they can do whatever they feel like. It is again an ethical
issue is again.
Unethical behavior of the leaders
Leadership behavior is one of the important aspects of any business organization and its
employees. It is not always true to say that employees exhibit any kind of unethical conduct or
behavior but not the leaders. The owners of the business organizations or the head of the
organizations could also exhibit unethical conducts. It is not sufficient for an organization to put
regulations and rules in place because these rules can become actions or demonstrative ethical
behaviors when they are being followed by every member of the organization including the
business leaders. The leaders should always exhibit ethical behavior because the employees look
up to them and learn from them. If the leaders or owners of the business organizations foster an
ethical behavior then the employees also get indulged in engaging in unethical behavior. It is
very important and ethical to every business organization to keep their employees satisfied and
motivated with their workplace. The workplace environment should foster an ethical culture in
the first place. The role of a leader in enhancing ethical conducts and behaviors is highly
significant. A leader should always motivate by preaching and keeping his or her ethical
behaviors so that the employees could also learn from them and practice the same.
Ethical issues in Accounting
In a business organization conducting any kind of unethical accounting practice is one of
the major ethical issues which is highly adverse in case of public organizations. In private
organizations also accounting related unethical behaviors or practices can result in severe
consequences. We have heard about various examples of accounting related unethical issues
which could include inaccurate reporting of financial statements or producing wrong financial
statements by the auditors. The business organizations face several consequences from unethical
accounting issues when the truth gets emerged and revealed. The organizations have to undergo
huge penalties and legal formalities. The result could also bring in adverse impacts on employee
morale. Several employees also leave organizations where unethical accounting practices are
undertaken. Government organizations are supposed to be responsive to ethical practices in
every aspect of business and operations. There should be some mandatory knows regarding
financial reporting requirements so as to protect not only the organizational members but also the

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customers. Unethical practices of business organizations impact the customers' mindset and trust
to a great extent. The organizations which are found to be engaged in any kind of unethical
accounting practices are found to be losing the faith and trust of the investors, customers, and
other key stakeholders.
Ethical issues in relation to harassment and discrimination
Sexual harassment racial discrimination and which inequality are highly expensive
ethical issues which employees and employers encounter on a regular basis. As per a report
revealed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, discrimination and harassment can
lead up to a loss of 372 million dollars to a company in the United States. This report has been
revealed in the year of 2013. The commission also states that there could be several forms of
discrimination which include equal pay, disability, age, harassment, genetic information,
religion, race, national origin, pregnancy, retaliation, sexual harassment, etc. These all are
different forms of unethical practices which would lead to severe consequences on the ground of
ethical codes of business. Every industry faces one common form of discrimination which is
families responsibilities discrimination or FDR which has increased over the last few years.
There can be a decrease in other cases of employee discrimination but families responsibilities
discrimination has found to be highly increased. One of the reports as presented by the Center for
Worklife Law defines this particular discrimination as the case when an employee or an
organizational member suffers severe employment actions on the basis of bias regarding
caregiving responsibilities of the workers. In these cases, the actual performance of the workers
and employees do not get accurately and effectively evaluated. It includes different types of
caregiving and family responsibilities including elder care and pregnancy. For example, if an
employee wants to stay home in order to take care of a sick child or a female pregnant worker
needs a break but the organization does not allow her to do so. These all are severely impactful
on ethical practices and families responsibilities discrimination.
Health and safety-related ethical issues
Occupational accidents or any kind of work-related diseases have taken lives of almost
6500 people as for the International Labor Organization. It has been observed that every year
more than 2 million deaths take place as a result of work-related diseases and occupational
accidents. There are several violations which have been highlighted by the Occupational Safety

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and Health Administration. Ethical practices of the business organizations include negligence
towards hazard communication, fall protection, scaffolding, respiratory protection, tag out or
lockout, powered industrial trucks, electrical wiring methods, machine guarding, electrical and
general requirements and other emergency situations. The organizations do not pay attention to
providing and full information and training to the organizational employees and members so that
they could be provided with more safety and healthy working environment. Occupational
hazards could be one of the impactful reasons behind psychosocial hazards. The risks which are
involved in the unethical practices of the business organizations include high demands, job
insecurity, low autonomy, and effort-reward imbalance. The health-related behavioral risks also
include heavy alcohol consumption, sedentary lifestyle, enhanced cigarette smoking, and several
eating disorders. There are certain responsibilities of the business organizations which should be
taken well care of because the employees are important and crucial resources of the business.
The business organizations should come up with effective policies and norms so that they could
prevent any kind unethical practices and issues to take place. The ethical aspects are supposed
taken well care of by the business organizations.