Ethics Programs: Can Employees Be Trained to Walk the Right Path?
Ethics Programs: Can Employees Be Trained To Walk The Right Path?
By:
Cheryl Carmanita Goodwin
University of Maryland University College
BMGT 496 – Business Ethics
Professor David Dawson
November 25, 2007
Table of Contents
Page
Introduction 3
Purpose of Ethics Training 4
Reasons Employees Engage in Unethical Activities 5
Developing an Effective Ethics Program 6
Implementing Ethic Programs 8
Conclusion 9
References 10
Introduction In recent years, America has witnessed more unethical and illegal business activities than ever before. Among these are hacking, bribery, fraud, insider trading, employee theft, corporate scandals, and much more. Corporate scandals have resulted in public outrage about deception and fraud in business and a demand for improved business ethics and greater corporate responsibility .
To address the numerous accounting scandals, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002 which established new guidelines for corporate accounting practices. Many other laws and policies governing unethical and illegal conduct were put into affect; however, companies are vulnerable to ethical problems when employees, who do not know how to make the right decisions, are confronted with an opportunity to engage in unethical activities . Today, companies must adhere to new legislation and regulations that have been created to encourage higher ethical standards and incorporate some type of ethics training in the workplace.
As more and more ethical issues arise, companies place greater emphasis on codes of conduct and compliance training; however, a company’s mandatory ethics training does not ensure that every employee will stay on the straight and narrow path when faced with an ethical dilemma. This paper will first define business ethics and discuss the purpose of ethics training and then it will outline ways that mangers could develop and implement effective ethics programs to guide employees on the right path.
By:
Cheryl Carmanita Goodwin
University of Maryland University College
BMGT 496 – Business Ethics
Professor David Dawson
November 25, 2007
Table of Contents
Page
Introduction 3
Purpose of Ethics Training 4
Reasons Employees Engage in Unethical Activities 5
Developing an Effective Ethics Program 6
Implementing Ethic Programs 8
Conclusion 9
References 10
Introduction In recent years, America has witnessed more unethical and illegal business activities than ever before. Among these are hacking, bribery, fraud, insider trading, employee theft, corporate scandals, and much more. Corporate scandals have resulted in public outrage about deception and fraud in business and a demand for improved business ethics and greater corporate responsibility .
To address the numerous accounting scandals, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002 which established new guidelines for corporate accounting practices. Many other laws and policies governing unethical and illegal conduct were put into affect; however, companies are vulnerable to ethical problems when employees, who do not know how to make the right decisions, are confronted with an opportunity to engage in unethical activities . Today, companies must adhere to new legislation and regulations that have been created to encourage higher ethical standards and incorporate some type of ethics training in the workplace.
As more and more ethical issues arise, companies place greater emphasis on codes of conduct and compliance training; however, a company’s mandatory ethics training does not ensure that every employee will stay on the straight and narrow path when faced with an ethical dilemma. This paper will first define business ethics and discuss the purpose of ethics training and then it will outline ways that mangers could develop and implement effective ethics programs to guide employees on the right path.
References: Ferrell, O.C., Fraedrich, John and Ferrell, Linda. (2008). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. Paul, Jim, and Christy A. Strbiak. (2007). The ethics of strategic ambiguity. The Journal of Business Communication. 34:2 pp. 149-159. Retrieved on November 2, 2007, from Gale database. Robbins, Stephen and Coulter, Mary. (2005) Management (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Vallario, Cynthia W. (2007). Is Your Ethics Program Working? Financial Executive. Retrieved on November 18, 2007, from http://www.fei.org. www.sarbanes-oxley.com