Describe a situation in which you witnessed unethical or ethically questionable behavior from a person or persons in leadership within a professional setting. Explain the basis of your moral judgment that the behavior was wrong. Did the organization involved implicitly or explicitly condone the leader’s behavior? What do you think could have been done by the leaders involved or within the organization either to prevent such behavior from occurring or to encourage bystanders like you to take action against it?
- When designing websites today, a developer has the ability to use a graphical user interface (e.g., Adobe Dreamweaver, Expression web) or a text editor (e.g., Notepad++, NotePad). Briefly compare and contrast these two methods. Which method would you prefer to use more? Why?
Full Answer Section
I found this behavior to be unethical and unfair. It was clear that the manager was trying to advance his own career at the expense of his team members. His behavior also created a demoralizing work environment for the team.
I believe that the organization implicitly condoned the manager's behavior. He was a well-liked and respected manager, and he was always praised for his performance by senior leaders. This made it clear to the rest of the company that his behavior was acceptable.
I think that there are a few things that could have been done to prevent the manager's behavior from occurring or to encourage bystanders like me to take action against it. First, the organization could have had a more robust policy in place for reporting unethical behavior. The current policy was vague and difficult to understand, and it was not clear who employees should report unethical behavior to.
Second, the organization could have created a more supportive culture for whistleblowers. I felt intimidated about reporting the manager's behavior because I was afraid of retaliation. I knew that he was a powerful figure in the company, and I didn't want to jeopardize my career.
Finally, the organization could have held the manager accountable for his behavior. Once I did report his behavior, it took months for the company to take any action. This sent a message to the rest of the company that unethical behavior would be tolerated.
Here are some specific things that the leaders involved or within the organization could have done to prevent the situation from occurring or to encourage bystanders to take action against it:
- Leaders could have created a more transparent and ethical culture. This could have been done by setting clear expectations for ethical behavior, providing training on ethics, and creating a safe space for employees to report unethical behavior.
- Leaders could have held themselves and others accountable for ethical behavior. This could have been done by investigating reports of unethical behavior promptly and fairly, and by disciplining employees who engage in unethical behavior.
- The organization could have implemented a more robust whistleblower policy. This policy should have been clear and easy to understand, and it should have protected whistleblowers from retaliation.
- The organization could have created a more supportive culture for whistleblowers. This could have been done by providing training on how to report unethical behavior, and by offering support to whistleblowers throughout the reporting process.
I believe that these actions would have helped to prevent the unethical behavior from occurring in the first place, and they would have made it more likely that bystanders would have felt comfortable reporting the behavior.
Sample Answer
I witnessed unethical or ethically questionable behavior from a person in leadership within a professional setting when I worked as a software engineer at a large tech company. The leader was a manager who was responsible for a team of engineers working on a new product.
The manager had a habit of taking credit for his team's work. He would often present their work to senior leaders as his own, and he would even go so far as to remove their names from presentations and reports. On one occasion, he even published a blog post about a new feature that his team had developed, but he didn't mention any of them in the post.