Ethical Behavior in the Workplace

M any believe that ethical        corner. Practicing honesty by      behavior is some abstract      following through on your          term that sounds nice and      promises and remaining loyal to    looks good on paper, but are          your beliefs, can build a solid    confused as to what being ethical     and respectable reputation in the  really means in the workplace.        workplace.                         What if someone told you that                                            everything you need to know about     An equally important behavior      ethical behavior, you learned in      that was repeatedly emphasized     kindergarten?                         was treating others with respect                                          i.e. the Golden Rule           That s right, ethics or the         regardless of sex, age, or other   guidelines of conduct followed in     differences. Being respectful      the workplace were taught to          towards supervisors, coworkers,    you at a very young age.              and customers promotes an          Practicing ethical behavior is        environment of tolerance and       important to you because it can       openness that is the perfect       grow a business, promote teamwork     breeding ground for establishing   among coworkers, and build            employee and customer              confidence and trust in each          satisfaction and loyalty.          other. Now let s refresh our                                             memories on what being ethical        But where would honesty and        means.                                respect get you without                                                  responsibility? Responsibility     One of the first things your          means taking your duties           kindergarten teacher probably         seriously enough to always         taught you was to be honest.          perform and give at your highest   Behaviors such as, cheating or        level of performance. If a task    lying, were considered wrong and      seems difficult, don t give up     could land you in the time-out        find the answer or help you need   to complete the work. You are the     would mean very little without     person who is ultimately              developing the caring attitude to  responsible for the quality of        match them. Infusing your          work you do; take and accept          coworker and customer              responsibility for your               interactions with compassion,      decisions.                            forgiveness, and gratitude, is                                           essential to creating mutually     How many times did you hear,          respectable relationships that     Wait your turn! or Share! in       will prosper.                      kindergarten? Probably too many                                          times to count. Working as part       Ethical behavior in the workplace  of team in the workplace can be       isn t a myth; the capacity to      challenging because you have to       practice honesty, respect,         be open-minded and listen to the      responsibility, fairness, and      opinions of others. But by being      compassion has existed in each of  fair and reasonable to the            us since we were taught these      positions and views of others is      values in kindergarten. If you     a great way to build a reputation     haven t already, tap into those    of balanced equity in the             memories to be on your way to      workplace.                            becoming the best person you can                                         be in your career.                 Lastly, these ethical behaviors        Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com Cathy Warschaw, Director of the Warschaw Learning Institute provides an online multicultural dental front office course, HIPAA, telephone training and eBooks on team building, managerial, customer service, and marketing at www.WarschawLearningInstitute.com 2006