Ethics

Before we talk about workplace ethics we must first understand what ethics is Ethics can be defined as the study of standards on which an individual terms anything good or bad, or right or wrong. Ethics guides a person about moral right and wrong doings. A person learns ethics from the very beginning of his life. If from the start a person is able to distinguish between right and wrong then only he can choose between legal and illegal practices in his adulthood. Someone who has always been indulged in illegal and immoral practices will think those activities as ethical and legal he will even surprisingly find ways to prove his point. Even though his logics and proofs will sound appealing for him and his followers but they will be void according to the ethical principles. Anything that is wrong according to ethics will always be wrong no matter what the case is. (Velasquez, 2005)

Now we will talk about ethics followed at workplaces. Workplace ethics basically deals with the activities that are being performed at the organization it covers activities that are being performed by both individuals that are working in the organization and by organization as a whole. Activities that are being performed by any one of them which are deviant to workplace ethics will be considered as immoral or illegal according to ethical code of conduct.

An individual working in an organization must have to follow the policies and procedures that are told by the firm. Employees main duty is to achieve the organizational goals and avoid any activities that may be hindering the movement towards the goal. Being unethical means doing the activities that will obstruct your movement towards the goal. (Velasquez, 2005)

In this essay , the problem given is related to company reimbursement policy. Reimbursement basically means compensating the person for the expenses heshe occurred. You compensate a person for any out of the pocket expense he incurs while performing his job. The activities which are compensated vary from taking clients on lunch or dinner, postage expenses, travelling for some business purpose, engineering expenses, giving perks to business clients etc. The law has made it mandatory that all those expenses which are necessary to incur for the job to be done will have to be reimbursed by the company. If the company does not reimburse its employees for the expenses they occur then the employees can file suit on the company and take the company to the court for the compensation of the damages that occurred to them as a result of non compensation from the company.

In the book Special Education and the Law A Guide for Practitioners, the author quoted a case related to reimbursement. In the case i.e. Michael vs. Burnswood Ltd. the employee filed personal expense in companys account. He went to casinos while his business trip and accounted it in the companys account. This expense was not in any way related to the business it was a personal expense so there was no logic behind filing it in companys account. The employee however claimed that since he went to casinos during the time of his business trip so it must be compensated by the company. The court law termed his claim void and he was penalized by both the court and the company for his unethical action. (Osborne, 2006)

In Luthan vs. Mahon, the employee filed his personal expense in the company account claiming that it should be paid by the company as it occurred during the course of his job. The employee on the business trip rented an expensive limousine whereas he could use get the same job done in an ordinary car so when the employee ask the company to compensate him for the rent of the luxury he incurred, the company refused him. The employee then filed a case against his employer which was later termed as void. (Suzanne  Tahan, 2007)

According to the problem given to us the employee has filed an expense report for a personal dinner which was not in any way related to the client. The problem given in the case which was very similar to the problems quoted in the cases above. It was employees personal expense and the company is not responsible to pay for this expense. The filing of the dinner as an expense is highly unethical step that has been taken by the employee. The question that comes to us now is that what action should be taken against the employee

When can either file a complaint against him, we can discuss in private with him about this problem or we just sit hand on hand and do nothing. The last option that is doing nothing will mean that not taking any action against the employee and compensating him for the dinner he had previously taken. If we will opt for the last option then it will encourage the employee to indulge in more unethical acts. On the other end if other employees will get to know about this compensation of unethical act then there are high chances that many of them will also do the same and will indulge in unethical activities, and the company will be ending up compensating them all for their personal dinners. So it is obvious that we cannot go for the do nothing option.

Now we are left with just two options filing the complaint and discussing it with the associate in private. First Ill discuss filing the complaint option. Filing of complaint means that the company lodges a formal documented complaint against the employee. Lodging of complaint can result in both positive and negative outcomes. Positive outcomes from the lodgment of complain will be that the employee against whom the complaint has been launched will realize his mistake, he will know that where he went wrong and did something unethical, this strict action from the company will notify everyone that the company in not sleeping and is keeping a check on everyone in the company, if anyone else will be indulged in such activities then he will surely refrain from such unethical practices in order to save his reputation and position in the company. On the other hand the negative outcomes can be hostile feelings against companys policies, the person against whom complaint has been launched will most probably get dissatisfied from his job, every now and then he will feel that he is being insulted and eventually he will end up quitting his job and the company will lose a valuable employee. Other employees may also feel that company is being way too much harsh on the employees this can cause a problematic situation for the company. Many workers can rise up against company and may go on strike or create problems.
Another alternative is to discuss the matter with the associate in private. This means that you call the employee who is caught guilty of indulging into unethical practices and explains him about his act. The employee in private will be told that how his practice will affect his and companys reputation if this fact leaks out. Obviously when other co-workers of that employee will get to know about his unethical act then they will develop a negative perception about the person that he will be unethical in other matters too, they will stop trusting the person and sooner or later everyone will think that the person is a fraud.
Talking to the person in private will have several positive and negative outcomes too. The positive outcomes can be like the person will not feel insulted if he is told about his act in private, the supervisor can persuade him more effectively if he explains him in person about his act, the person is most likely to realize his mistake and never commit it again.

But there is a loophole in this strategy there might be a chance that the person will overhear his supervisor and continue his unethical practices. He might think that the matter is just between him and the supervisor and he will soon forget about it. So if the person is of that mentality then this matter will be of no use.

Looking at all the options and by studying the cases from the books, I think that lodging a formal complaint will be a good option as it will be a standardized procedure of letting the authorities know about the unethical practices going on in the company and it will also serve as a example that if any other employee engages in the same behavior then he will be treated the same way. It will help the company to ensure an ethical environment all around the company which will beneficial for both the company and the employees.