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Workplace Ethics: Navigating Professional Integrity

By: Diana Hakim�Date: April 8, 2020

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What are Workplace Ethics?

Workplace ethics refers to the way employees in an organization govern themselves and their overall work attitude.

It can also refer to the morality, or lack thereof, permeating a workplace.

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Some Examples of Workplace Ethics

Loyalty

Comradery

Citizenship

Trustworthiness

Integrity

Respect

Caring

Fairness

Responsibility

Accountability

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Ethical Decision-Making

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What is an Ethical Decision?

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Ethical Decision-Making Examples

1. Your team misses an important deadline, and you're tempted to tell your boss you reached it anyway.

2. Your coworker is giving their family member a major discount on your product.

1. Your team misses an important deadline, and you're tempted to tell your boss you reached it anyway.

It might seem like a good idea to tell your boss your team is on-track, and then work quietly to make sure that becomes a reality, but in the long-run this will only hurt you and your team. First, if you don't examine why your team missed the deadline, you won't know how to fix the problem moving forward. Additionally, your boss is meant to be a helpful resource for you and could help you combat the issue. Lying could destroy your reputation as a leader and employee if your team or boss finds out, and it will be difficult to then prove your integrity

2. Your coworker is giving their family member a major discount on your product.

It makes sense -- family is important, after all. But it's not fair or ethical if some of your customers are receiving discounts simply because of who they are, and can even be seen as a form of discrimination. If the public finds out you don't follow fair rules when it comes to pricing and discounts, your entire company's integrity is at risk. Either mention to your coworker that you don't feel it's fair, or report the issue to your team leader.

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/ethical-decision-making

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Ethical Decision-Making Examples

1. Your team misses an important deadline, and you're tempted to tell your boss you reached it anyway.

2. Your coworker is giving their family member a major discount on your product.

It might seem like a good idea to tell your boss your team is on-track, and then work quietly to make sure that becomes a reality, but in the long-run this will only hurt you and your team. First, if you don't examine why your team missed the deadline, you won't know how to fix the problem moving forward. Additionally, your boss is meant to be a helpful resource for you and could help you combat the issue. Lying could destroy your reputation as a leader and employee if your team or boss finds out, and it will be difficult to then prove your integrity

It makes sense -- family is important, after all. But it's not fair or ethical if some of your customers are receiving discounts simply because of who they are, and can even be seen as a form of discrimination. If the public finds out you don't follow fair rules when it comes to pricing and discounts, your entire company's integrity is at risk. Either mention to your coworker that you don't feel it's fair, or report the issue to your team leader.

1. Your team misses an important deadline, and you're tempted to tell your boss you reached it anyway.

It might seem like a good idea to tell your boss your team is on-track, and then work quietly to make sure that becomes a reality, but in the long-run this will only hurt you and your team. First, if you don't examine why your team missed the deadline, you won't know how to fix the problem moving forward. Additionally, your boss is meant to be a helpful resource for you and could help you combat the issue. Lying could destroy your reputation as a leader and employee if your team or boss finds out, and it will be difficult to then prove your integrity

2. Your coworker is giving their family member a major discount on your product.

It makes sense -- family is important, after all. But it's not fair or ethical if some of your customers are receiving discounts simply because of who they are, and can even be seen as a form of discrimination. If the public finds out you don't follow fair rules when it comes to pricing and discounts, your entire company's integrity is at risk. Either mention to your coworker that you don't feel it's fair, or report the issue to your team leader.

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/ethical-decision-making

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Unethical Practices and Behaviours in the Workplace

What workplace practices or behaviors are considered unethical?

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MISUSING COMPANY TIME

ABUSIVE BEHAVIOUR

FAILURE TO HONOR COMMITMENTS

LYING

VIOLATING COMPANY INTERNET POLICIES

Unethical Practices and Behaviours in the Workplace

Misusing company time

Misusing company time is unethical because an employee accepts salaries from their employers for the work they have not actually done, or the time they have not actually put into their work. Misuse of company time is considered unethical because it does not follow proper rules of conduct.

Abusive Behaviour

There are many forms of abusive behaviour, they can be in the form of Discrimination, Violence, Bullying and Harassment. All of these forms are unethical and immoral Unfortunately, unless the situation you're in involves race, gender or ethnic origin, there is often no legal protection against abusive behavior in the workplace.

Failure to honor commitments

Promising something to your employer or employee depending on your position and then not committing to that promise is an example of unethical behaviour and that has virtually guaranteed your future distrust.

Lying to employees

The fastest way to lose the trust of your employers is to lie to them and yet One of out every five employees report that their manager or supervisor has lied to them within the past year.

Violating company internet policies

Cyber Slackers. Cyber Loafers. These are both terms for people who surf the web when they should be working. It's a huge, multi-billion-dollar problem for companies. A survey conducted recently by Salary.com found that every day at least 64 percent of employees visit websites that have nothing to do with their work.

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MISUSING COMPANY TIME

ABUSIVE BEHAVIOUR

FAILURE TO HONOR COMMITMENTS

LYING

VIOLATING COMPANY INTERNET POLICIES

Misusing company time is unethical because an employee accepts salaries from their employers for the work they have not actually done, or the time they have not actually put into their work. Misuse of company time is considered unethical because it does not follow proper rules of conduct.

There are many forms of abusive behaviour, they can be in the form of Discrimination, Violence, Bullying and Harassment. All of these forms are unethical and immoral Unfortunately, unless the situation you're in involves race, gender or ethnic origin, there is often no legal protection against abusive behavior in the workplace.

Promising something to your employer or employee depending on your position and then not committing to that promise is an example of unethical behaviour and that has virtually guaranteed your future distrust.

The fastest way to lose the trust of your employers/employees is to lie to them and yet One of out every five employees report that their manager or supervisor has lied to them within the past year.

Cyber Slackers. Cyber Loafers. These are both terms for people who surf the web when they should be working. It's a huge, multi-billion-dollar problem for companies. A survey conducted recently by Salary.com found that every day at least 64 percent of employees visit websites that have nothing to do with their work.

Unethical Practices and Behaviours in the Workplace

Misusing company time

Misusing company time is unethical because an employee accepts salaries from their employers for the work they have not actually done, or the time they have not actually put into their work. Misuse of company time is considered unethical because it does not follow proper rules of conduct.

Abusive Behaviour

There are many forms of abusive behaviour, they can be in the form of Discrimination, Violence, Bullying and Harassment. All of these forms are unethical and immoral Unfortunately, unless the situation you're in involves race, gender or ethnic origin, there is often no legal protection against abusive behavior in the workplace.

Failure to honor commitments

Promising something to your employer or employee depending on your position and then not committing to that promise is an example of unethical behaviour and that has virtually guaranteed your future distrust.

Lying to employees

The fastest way to lose the trust of your employers is to lie to them and yet One of out every five employees report that their manager or supervisor has lied to them within the past year.

Violating company internet policies

Cyber Slackers. Cyber Loafers. These are both terms for people who surf the web when they should be working. It's a huge, multi-billion-dollar problem for companies. A survey conducted recently by Salary.com found that every day at least 64 percent of employees visit websites that have nothing to do with their work.

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Facebook and User Data Privacy

Here is an example of unethical behaviour

For a bad ethics example, involving customers privacy:

Large companies sharing their users' data.

In 2018, the U.S, government cracked down on Facebook for selling user data..

In which Facebook sold the data of their users to the Cambridge Analytica, without consent from the users.
The data was then used for several political agendas, such as the Brexit vote and the U.S. Presidential Election of 2016.
In an interview with Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale described in detail how he used data taken from different social media websites to create ads that were both visually appealing to potential voters and targeted the issues that they felt strongest about.

Speaking of Unethical practice & behaviours in the workplace…

Here is an example of unethical behaviour

For a bad ethics example, involving customers privacy:

Large companies sharing their users' data.

Example shown:

In 2018, the U.S, government cracked down on Facebook for selling user data..

In which Facebook sold the data of their users to the Cambridge Analytica, without consent from the users.
The data was then used for several political agendas, such as the Brexit vote and the U.S. Presidential Election of 2016.
In an interview with Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale described in detail how he used data taken from different social media websites to create ads that were both visually appealing to potential voters and targeted the issues that they felt strongest about.

Conc: Facebook has not changed their private policy, however they plan on making it more transparent.

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Benefits for Companies

(and Employees)

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Benefits

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Environment Benefits

Some examples of environmental benefits are;

How A Company's Ethics Can Make The Culture:
when ethical employers lead by example, they are showing that they have high expectations for their employees, and that they are holding themselves to that same standard.
When this happens employees are likely to follow suite. All together this will create an environment of trust, respect, and integrity.

Bias Management

A combining Ethical Workshops, Codes of ethics, and leading by example helps prevents workplace bias.

And lastly being an ethical business attracts Ethical Employees

Ethical employees are more likely to apply to a company that they have heard reassurance that the job they are applying to aligns with their morals.
This is what many people choose to send applications to brands like Google or IBM. Employees what to apply to companies what are a good fit for them.

Diana:

Some examples of environmental benefits are;

How A Company's Ethics Can Make The Culture:
when ethical employers lead by example, they are showing that they have high expectations for their employees, and that they are holding themselves to that same standard.
When this happens employees are likely to follow suite. All together this will create an environment of trust, respect, and integrity.

Bias Management

A combining Ethical Workshops, Codes of ethics, and leading by example helps prevents workplace bias.

And lastly being an ethical business attracts Ethical Employees

Ethical employees are more likely to apply to a company that they have heard reassurance that the job they are applying to aligns with their morals.
This is what many people choose to send applications to brands like Google or IBM. Employees what to apply to companies what are a good fit for them.

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Business Benefits

And for some examples of business benefits;

One would be Efficiency

Ethics programs are often shown to cultivate strong teamwork and productivity from their employees. One main reason is that employees are encouraged to help their coworkers, or ask questions themselves, if they are stuck on a issue. Is the fact that it is written in many IT code of ethics that if you have a issue you must ask coworkers for help. Elsewise you are deemed as wasting the companies time.
Ethical businesses also helps promote employees staying up to date in their field, and in IT that is very important.

Reputation

Reputation is a big deal today with the wake of social media, Customers what to gravitate toward companies they feel that they can trust.

In compliance with laws and regulations

Companies can avoid legality issues by adding in their code of ethics that employees are responsible for their own work.

Diana:

And for some examples of business benefits;

One would be Efficiency

Ethics programs are often shown to cultivate strong teamwork and productivity from their employees. One main reason is that employees are encouraged to help their coworkers, or ask questions themselves, if they are stuck on a issue. Is the fact that it is written in many IT code of ethics that if you have a issue you must ask coworkers for help. Elsewise you are deemed as wasting the companies time.
Ethical businesses also helps promote employees staying up to date in their field, and in IT that is very important.

Reputation

Reputation is a big deal today with the wake of social media, Customers what to gravitate toward companies they feel that they can trust.

In compliance with laws and regulations

Companies can avoid legality issues by adding in their code of ethics that employees are responsible for their own work.

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Here is a short video about the importance of ethics programs and why is is important to have an ethical boss, the speaker is a Senior Manager at ACFE.

(Risk Management Assurance)

The Importance of Developing an Effective Ethics Program. Speaker: Timothy Hediger, CFE, RMA, CISA

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Ethical Decision-making

Models and Tools

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PLUS Model Test

One method for Determining if a decision you are making is Ethical would be the PLUS model test,

P standing for Policies and Procedures

Does this decision align with the companies policies?

L standing for Legal

Is the Decision you are making lawful?

U standing for Universal

Is this decision in line with the company's values or culture?

And lastly S standing for Self

Does this decision meet my own standards of fairness and honesty?

If you answered no to any question then the decision is likely unethical.

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Six-Step Decision-making Model

Identify the Ethical Dilemma or Problem.
Collect Information.
State the Options.
Apply the Ethical Principles to the Options.
Make the Decision.
Implement the Decision.

This is a reasoned approach based on theory and principle. Used by dental hygiene students in a combined ethics course.

Step 1 is the most critical step in the process as awareness of an issue must occur to move through the steps. Many situations are simply never perceived to be ethical problems or dilemmas. Once the problem has been recognized, the decision maker must clearly state the ethical question, considering all aspects of the problem.

Step 2 The decision maker must gather information to make an informed decision. (From more than one source)

Step 3 After gathering all the necessary information, brainstorm to identify as many alternatives or options as possible.

Step 4 State how each alternative will affect the ethical principle or rule by developing a list of pros and cons. This process will enable you to see which ethical principles are in conflict in this situation

https://www.dentalcare.com/en-us/professional-education/ce-courses/ce546/ethical-decision-making-models

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Companies’ Approaches

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Approaches Companies Are Using To Support Ethical Practices

Stressing the importance of integrity(the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.) is vital to future success.

It’s important to give your employees a means through which they can alert business owners about unethical behavior at the workplace. (Request a Private Meeting, Submit a Signed Written Report, Submit an Anonymous Report)

A vital aspect of the workplace is working well with others. That includes everyone from peers to supervisors to customers.

6 Ways to Encourage Teamwork in the Office

Give everyone clear roles.
Keep to clear, simple objectives.
Give your team an active role in big decisions.
Reward great performance.
Push social activities.
Team building games.

Employees who violate the ethics rules you’ve established for your business must face consequences for their actions.

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Texas Instruments: Ethics Quick Test

Is the action legal?
Does it comply with our values?
If you do it, will you feel bad?
How will it look in a news story?
If you know it’s wrong, don’t do it!
If you’re not sure, ask others.
Keep asking until you get an answer.

Texas Instrument, Code of Conduct 2019

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Software Developers’ Ethical Guidelines

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Code of Ethics Standards

ACM & IEEE

Diana:

ACM created a Code of Ethics that was approved by other major companies such as IEEE as “the standard for teaching and practicing software engineering ethics”. Later on IEEE helped by added a few items of their own.

As you can see here i have summarized the finalized version.

Be honest
Protecting Others Safety:

Contribute to society and human well-being.
Avoid harm to others, respect the privacy & honor confidentiality.
And always approve software only if it is believed to be safe.

Project Responsibility:

Employees are except full Accept responsibility for their own work.

Good Quality: When creating software it is expected;

to be safe and reliable.
That it has go through adequate testing, debugging and reviews.
And satisfies the users’ requirements.

Scale Projects:

Identify the scale of the project being created address issues relating to culture, legal, and environments.

Lastly Lawfull:

Be lawful so,

Do not to engage in bribery.
Give proper credit for intellectual properties.

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Legislation

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What is Personal Information?

Categories of data protected under Canadian federal privacy legislation.

Demographics

Race, national/ethnic origin, religion, age, and marital status.

Records & History

Medical, education, employment history, and financial records.

Identifiers & DNA

DNA, Social Insurance Numbers, driver’s licenses, and biometrics.

Opinions & Views

Evaluations, employee performance views, and personal opinions.

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The Privacy Act

PIPEDA

Canadian Privacy Legislation

Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. Governs commercial activities and private-sector data handling.

Regulates how federal government institutions handle personal information, ensuring citizen access rights and privacy protection.

Federal regulatory frameworks governing personal information protection.

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Privacy Laws & App Developers

Key Privacy Considerations For Developing Mobile Apps

You are accountable for your conduct and your code
Be open and transparent about your privacy practices
Collect and keep only what your app needs to function and secure it
Obtaining meaningful consent despite the small screen challenge
Timing of user notice and consent is critical

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Case Study

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The Breach

The Fallout & Settlement

Case Study: Lenovo Superfish Incident

$3.5 million settlement with 32 state Attorneys General.
Mandated 20 years of third-party software security audits.
Required explicit affirmative consumer consent for pre installed software.

Preinstalled VisualDiscovery adware on laptops.
Replaced website digital certificates with own root certificate.
Created severe security vulnerabilities and SSL hijacking risks.

A major breach of consumer trust and software ethics in 2014.

Harm Done:��"VisualDiscovery prevented consumers from having the benefit of basic security features ... for encrypted https:// connections ..." ^{(In the Matter of. Lenovo (United States) Inc., a corporation, 2017)}

"VisualDiscovery also caused many websites to load slowly, render improperly, or not load at all." ^{(In the Matter of. Lenovo (United States) Inc., a corporation, 2017)}
"VisualDiscovery slowed Internet upload speeds by approximately 125 percent and download speeds by almost 25 percent." ^{(In the Matter of. Lenovo (United States) Inc., a corporation, 2017)}
"[A] consumer could not use his Lenovo laptop to log onto his employer's [VPN] because the [VPN] did not recognize the Superfish digital certificate." ^{(In the Matter of. Lenovo (United States) Inc., a corporation, 2017)}

Fallout��"... [Lenovo] began to preinstall a second version of VisualDiscovery in December 2014 that did not operate on https:// websites or contain the root certificate that created the security vulnerabilities ..." ^{(In the Matter of. Lenovo (United States) Inc., a corporation, 2017)}

Settled with the FTC agreeing to:

"[Not misrepresent] any features of software preloaded on laptops ..."
"If [Lenovo] preinstalls this type of software, [they must] get consumers' affirmative consent before the software runs ..."
"[Lenovo] is required for 20 years to implement a comprehensive software security program [for preloaded software]. The security program will also be subject to third-party audits."
(Federal Trade Commission, 2018)

Settled for $3.5 million with "... a coalition of 32 state attorneys general ..." ^{(Brandom, 2017)}

��Review��Superfish betrayed their customer’s trust

Komodia software was an “SSL Hijacker”
Lenovo betrayed their own code of conduct�

“We never use a contractor, consultant or other third party to perform any illegal act or violate Lenovo policy”

Quote from Lenovo’s code of conduct

Lenovo Ethical Standardds��Lenovo loaded adware onto their�machines

Lenovo neglected customer�security
Lenovo first shifted the blame to�Superfish
Visual Search disrupted user �experience
Lenovo violated the Canadian Privacy act�

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OPEN FLOOR

Discussion & Questions

Where is the boundary between business innovation and ethical user privacy?

Codes of Ethics vs Law

Superfish Accountability

Data Harvesting Ethics

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All References

Ethical Decision-Making

Case Study and Discussion

Brandom, R. (2017, September 6). Lenovo pays $3.5 million for preinstalling Superfish adware. Retrieved from The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/6/16261988/lenovo-adware-superfish-settlement-fine-state-ag
Federal Trade Commission. (2018, January 2). FTC Gives Final Approval to Lenovo Settlement.
In the Matter of. Lenovo (United States) Inc., a corporation, 152 3134 (September 5, 2017).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfish