LEGAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES

Legal and Ethical Issues at Work

Abstract

Work ethics can also be seen as the behavioral standards within the business context which are consistent with the principles, norms and standards of business practices. This paper discusses the ethical and legal issues related to work and how they have an impact the factors related to it. Any action within an organization has an impact on everyone within the organization as well as those individuals who do business with the organization. Employee rights can be divided into legal rights and moral rights with regard to work. Individual freedom, prosperity, security, health and happiness form the core of moral rights.

Introduction

Work ethics can be defined as the acceptability or the unacceptability of behaviour within an organization, at a time and within a specific cultural environment (Kapp, 2008). Work ethics can also be seen as the behavioral standards within the business context which are consistent with the principles, norms and standards of business practices, as agreed with the community, and which further the interests of all who are influenced by the business world. This paper discusses the ethical and legal issues related to work and how they have an impact the factors related to it.

Issues at work

According to Hansen (2000) the existence of any community, including organizations, relies on clearly formulated ethical guidelines. One of the issues of ethics within the workplace relates to the lack of moral consensus regarding right and wrong. An important reason for this lack of consensus includes a lack of insight into the different world views and ethical paradigms on which individuals base their decisions. Thus, the questions that arise from the research project relate to (i) what the most common issues in organizations relating to ethical decision making are. Furthermore, it also discusses, what influence theoretical approaches may exert on ethical decision making within the work context, (iii) what the dominant ethical decision-making approaches predominantly utilized within the work context at both organizational and individual levels are and (iv) what level of ethical behaviour individuals and organizations practice in their everyday decision making within the work context? Regarding the factors that may influence ethical decision-making within the world of work, research from Eckhardt (2001)supports a person-situation-interaction approach to ethical decision-making. According to this approach both individual and situational factors influence the decisions that are made within organizational contexts.

Ethical Issues in the Work Context

Any action within an organization has an impact on everyone within the organization as well as those individuals who do business with the organization. Actions are never ethically neutral, but are always ethically charged and can thus impact positively or negatively on the interests and welfare of others (Kausek, 2007). Therefore, any organization has stakeholders towards whom they have an ethical responsibility. Stakeholders refer among others to the consumer, the community, the employees as well as shareholders.Hereafter, a discussion of general ethical issues in the work place with a focus on the organization and the consumer, community and shareholders; the organization and the environment; ethical issues arising ...