I don't think that there is another show out there that better portrays how not to act in an office. Something unethical happens in almost every episode. BUT in the ethics episode, Meredith, an employee, states that she has been sleeping with a supplier in exchange for discounted paper and coupons for steak. While sleeping with people in exchange for goods or services is basically prostitution, they (corporate) claimed that it wasn't that big of a deal and to just dismiss it. Obviously wrong.
Again, ethical dilemmas within companies seem to focus on the employees or those in charge. Ethics is defined as the "moral principles of an individual" according to dictionary.com. So it only seems fitting that companies face ethical issues based primarily on the actions of their employees.
An example of an ethical dilemma is when Volkswagen was using company funds to pay for personal expenses like prostitutes and shopping sprees for wives. Hopefully the reason why this is an unethical is pretty obvious. Then there are other corporate scandals out there like the Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme where Madoff promised returns on investments that were clearly to high and was pocketing the money. Madoff was obviously caught and the repercussions of his actions landed him in jail for 150 years.
These examples just go to show that unethical behavior can be either large (like corporate scandals), or small (like anything seen in the Office). Unethical behavior is based primarily on the moral principles of those performing the act. They know its wrong but continue because of a personal gain that is taking priority.
You can watch the "Let's Get Ethical" episode of the Office on Netflix, its season 5, episode 2. Pretty funny and definitely educational.
I don't know how/why I don't remember this episode! I'm going to have to use it when I teach ethics next... Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteNice post, too, btw :)
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