In the workplace, you will be expected to meet the highest ethical standards by fulfillingthe following requirements:
■ Supplying honest and up-to-date information about yourself in your résumé and job applications. The résumé is one key place where you must make ethical decisions about candor and honesty.
■ Respecting co-workers, customers, and suppliers in conduct that avoids bullying,discrimination, or any other unfair and unprofessional action.
■ Avoiding language that excludes others on the basis of gender, race, national origin, religion, age, physical ability, or sexual orientation.
■ Maintaining accurate and current records at work. Remember: “If it isn’t written, it didn’t happen.”
■ Complying with all local, state, and federal regulations, especially those ensuring a safe, healthy work environment, products, and/or services, for example, by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
■ Adhering to your profession’s code or standard of ethics, internal audits, licenses, and certificate requirements.
■ Following your company’s policies and procedures.
■ Honoring guarantees and warranties and meeting customer needs impartially.
■ Cooperating fairly and on a timely basis with your collaborative team.
■ Treating international colleagues with respect, as you would any peers.
■ Respecting all copyright obligations and privileges.
Following these guidelines is not only an ethical requirement; it could also be a legal one. For example, doing personal (or outside consulting) work on company time is unethical and illegal. It would also be neglectful and unethical to allow an unsafe product to stay on the market just to spare your company the expense and embarrassment of a product recall.
Computer Ethics
Computer ethics are essential in the e-commerce world of work. A good rule to follow is never to do anything online that you wouldn’t do offline. Never use a company computer for any activity not directly related to your job. It would be grossly unethical to erase a computer program intentionally, violate a software licensing agreement, or misrepresent (by fabrication or exaggeration) the scope of a database. Follow the Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics prepared by the Computer
Ethics Institute listed.
Writing for the world of multinational corporations places additional ethical demands on you as a writer. You have to make sure that you respect the ethics of all of the countries where your firm does business. Some behaviors regarded as normal or routine in the United States might be seen as highly unethical elsewhere, or vice versa. In many countries, accepting a gift to initiate or conclude a business agreement is considered not only proper but also honorable. This is not the case in the
United States, where a “bribe” is seen as bad business or even illegal. Moreover, you should be on your ethical guard not to take advantage of a host country, such as allowing or encouraging poor environmental control because regulatory and inspection procedures are not as strict as those of the United States, or using pesticides or conducting experiments outlawed in the United States.
Example: The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics
1. Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.
2. Thou shalt not interfere with other people’s computer work.
3. Thou shalt not snoop around in other people’s computer files.
4. Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.
5. Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.
6. Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid.
7. Thou shalt not use other people’s computer resources without authorization or
proper compensation.
8. Thou shalt not appropriate other people’s intellectual output.
9. Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you are writing
or the system you are designing.
10. Thou shalt always use a computer in ways that ensure consideration and respect
for your fellow humans.
Employers Insist On and Monitor Ethical Behavior
Ethical behavior is crucial to your success in the workplace. Your employer will insist that you are honest, show integrity, and exhibit loyalty in your professional relationships with clients, co-workers, supervisors, and vendors. These ethical values are stressed in orientation/training sessions and through every level of management in the business world. You will be expected to know and comply with your company policies and procedures as outlined in the employee or agency handbook and
you will also have to follow the professional codes, regulations, and methods that affect your job. Operating with ethical behavior and sound judgment is necessary so that companies can:
■ create strategic advantages for healthy competition
■ champion change and innovation
■ create customer loyalty
■ promote global perspective of their “brand”
On the job, employers can legally monitor their employees’ work—electronically, through cameras, or by personal visits. Some of these visits are not announced (such as the secret shopper who reports on the customer service he/she received). How many times have you made a call to an organization and heard, “This call may be monitored for quality assurance”? According to a 2008 survey conducted by the American Management Association, monitoring employees has risen 45 percent in the past few years and extends to voice mail, e-mail, IM, and Internet use. Employers monitor the behavior of their employees for several reasons:
■ to determine if a worker is doing his/her job correctly
■ to find out how well a worker is doing a job
■ to identify wrongdoing on the employee’s part
■ to improve service, production, communication, transportation
■ to ensure legal compliance with federal and state codes
■ to limit liability
■ to heighten security measures
Monitoring gives management solid facts about employee training, performance reviews, and promotions. But working with integrity means doing the right thing— even when no one is watching.
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