To start, one must ask; what is ethics? In its most basic form, ethics involves learning what is right or wrong, and then doing the right thing. However, the right thing is not as straightforward as conveyed in a great deal of business ethics literature. Most ethical dilemmas in the workplace are not simply a matter of "Should Robert steal from Jane?" or "Should Jack lie to his boss?"

Many philosophers consider ethics to be the "science of conduct." Others explain that ethics includes the fundamental ground rules by which we live our lives. Philosophers have been discussing ethics for at least 2500 years, since the time of Socrates and Plato. Many ethicists consider emerging ethical beliefs to be state of the art legal matters. For example, what becomes an ethical guideline today is often translated to a law, regulation or rule tomorrow. Values that guide how one ought to behave are considered moral values, e.g., values such as respect, honesty, fairness, responsibility, etc. State

Under the new law, CEOs and chief financial officers must personally vouch for the truth and fairness of their company's disclosures. Corporate officials will play by the same rules as their employees. In the periods when workers are prevented from buying and selling company stock in their pensions or 401 (k)s, corporate officials will also be banned from any buying or selling. This will help stop insider trading.

In today's rapidly changing marketplace, companies must be highly flexible to meet customer demands. The result is that employees must be prepared to shift gears and learn new skills or serve on various work teams to complete projects. When an organization has employees that hoard information and jealously guard their turf for any reason, productivity may suffer and resentment can build. This kind of behavior indicates that people don't trust their knowledge or expertise in someone else's hands.

In an organization where trust is prevalent, information is accurate, timely, and complete. Coworkers share their ideas and concerns. People at all levels accept suggestions for ways to improve the work. Alternatives are discussed freely, and clear and concrete goals are developed and shared across the organization.

Another indicator is if employees are allowed to barely get by and still be rewarded with a paycheck and even promotions. Is mediocrity accepted because it is too difficult to fire people who are not really competent? If an organization takes the easy way out and tolerates employees who are negative and only partially productive, long-term success is jeopardized.

A third indicator of a weak ethics system is over promising. One might hear that, this company is the best place to work in the county, or that the promotion path here is extremely fast. In some organizations this might be true, but in other cases managers might use these kinds of statements frequently without knowing whether they are really true. If the norm is making brash, optimistic and possibly untrue statements to achieve a short-term result, this is an indicator of a weak ethics system.

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Approximate Word count = 2833
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)