“How a Lot of Employees Cheat a Little at Work”Group 2 Michael Boyle Lauren Bruce

Ava Haekler

Daniel O’Connor

Alice Romanko

Ethics In the WorkplaceRight v. Wrong – Ethics and my Performance• Ethics is concerned w/ right v. wrong, good v. bad, and the many grey shades in between• Unethical behavior damages relationships, erodes trust, and thus makes it difficult to conduct business• Unethical behavior also reduces cooperation, loyalty, and contribution, which of course hurts the performance of individuals, teams, and organizationsSo why do People behave unethically?

A Large Percentage of Students Admit to CheatingStudy of graduate students, including MBAs, in the United States and Canada found reasons why students cheated included:• Peer behavior (strongest predicator)• Severity of penalties• Perceived fairness (in grading)• Perception of degrees in cheating

And Professionals Admit to Lying on Job ApplicationsMotives for lying on job applications/interviews• One’s personal motivation to perform (“have to be the best”)• Pressure from supervisor via unrealistic performance goals along with threats for underperforming• Reward systems that incentive bad behavior• Employees perception of no consequences for “crossing the line”

A survey from Careerbuilder.com found that of more than 2,500 hiring managers found that 58% have caught job candidates lying on their resumes.

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The Importance of Winning at Work

The Pressure To Succeed Starts Early• 87% of undergraduate business students admit to cheating on examsKnowledge is NOT Enough: • knowledge-doing gap identifies the gap between what people know and what they actually do

• Just because someone knows what to do, doesn’t mean they will act in that mannerMultiple skill sets are necessary to Succeed

The Importance of Winning at Work

Knowledge is Not EnoughSkillsHard v. Soft Skills

• As job level increases soft (interpersonal) skill become more important than hard (technical) skills• Being successful at the hard (technical) skills, may not indicate success at higher levels as interpersonal skills become more important

Uncommon SenseCommon Sense can have weaknesses• Over-reliance on hindsight• Lack of rigor• Lack of objectivity

• Need to look outside the box to understand skills for being successful in the workplace

Ethical DilemmasInvolve situations with two choices, neither of which resolves the situation in an ethically acceptable manner• Could highlight breaks in confidentiality or misuse of time: balancing personal responsibilities v. work priorities, confidentiality which could impact other person’s health

• Cognitive biases and organization practices “blind managers to unethical behavior, whether it is their own or that of others”• Could explain misuse of time – other people are doing it, so it becomes an organizational practice and difficult to discipline or otherwise deal with, so its ignored

• While criminally minded people exist in the workplace, most are in fact good people with good intentionsSometimes, there isn’t an “easy” right answer.

Ethical DilemmasCognitive dissonance – when a person has two conflicting ideas or beliefs – this often occurs when someone’s own values differ from those of the company (Ethical Dilemmas) people will act unethically to avoid losing their job or to show their loyalty to their company• In this instance they may be torn and act in a way that is not a reflection of their true beliefs• Personal attitudes, both positive and negative, directly affect the work attitude• It is hard to work with or for people who have bad attitudes, this makes a hostile work environment and can alter/lower the productivity rate especially is the person with the bad attitude is a person in power and uses abusive behavior

Multiple Factors Influence Decision Making• Person factors: represent infinite number of characteristics that give individuals their unique identities• Environmental factors: consist of all the elements outside of ourselves that influence what we do, how we do it, and ultimate results of our actions• Interactional perspective: behavior is a function of interdependent person and environmental factors

Likewise, these Factors Influence Job PerformancePersonal values affect work outcomes• Job satisfaction is a key contributor to the employee’s personal satisfaction in life as well as how productive they are while at work• If a person is satisfied with their job they will have a better attitude and thus be more motivated to work hard, thrive in the office and exceed expectations• If a person is not satisfied it could lead to counterproductive behavior and quick turnover

• Counterproductive behavior is when an employee’s actions are harmful to other employees, stake holders, and the organization as a whole• They may sabotage to organization or engage in deviant behavior or abusive behavior• There is a lack of respect for the company and the employee may be willing to do anything to undermine the integrity of those around them as well as the company

In 2014, 86% of U.S. employees reported overall satisfaction with their current job, an improvement of five percentage points since 2013.

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Acquired Needs Theory: Achievement, Affiliation, and PowerDavid McClelland proposed the acquired needs theory, which states that three needs – achievement, affiliation, and power– are the key drivers of employee behavior• Need for achievement: the desire to excel, overcome obstacles, solve problems, and rival and surpass others. • Need for affiliation: the desire to maintain social relationships, to be liked, and to join groups.• Need for power: the desire to influence, coach, teach, or encourage others to achieve.

The Elements of Justice Theory• Researchers in the 1970s began to explore equity theory further when explaining employee attitudes and behavior. • Organizational justice• the extent to which people perceive that they are treated fairly at work.

• As a result, researchers identified the three components of organizational justice: • Distributive, Procedural, and Interactional

Components of Organizational JusticeDistributive justice • The perceived fairness of how resources and rewards are distributed or allocatedProcedural justice• the perceived fairness of the process and procedures used to make allocation decisionsInteractional justice • the “quality of the interpersonal treatment people receive when procedures are implemented”

Cheating and Time Misuse• 40% of all the unproductive work time goes to non-work related Internet surfing.• Personal web use at work cost U.S. businesses $178 billion annually ($5,000 per employee) Ref:2• Half of the 68 million employees in the U.S. use work computers for personal use. Ref:2• Misusing company time – one of the most common unethical behaviors practiced in the work force• http://www.inceptiontechnologies.com/blog/workforce-management/time-fraud-is-the-most-common-unethical-workplace-behavior/ link to website

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So Why Misuse Time?Acquired Needs Theory• People who have a need for affiliation often want to be part of a group. • For instance, if a group norm is to take a longer lunch or leave earlier to get to happy hour, chances are that person will follow.Cognitive Dissonance and Ethical Dilemma• Here, the inability to balance the competing needs of the company with the worker’s own desires.• For instance, if a worker has a personal deadline for school, they may do research on company time because they believe at that moment their personal need takes priority.

• Organizational Justice Theory• If a person feels they are not in a fair environment or are not treated justly, then they may feel they are pardoned from using company time appropriately. • For instance, if the employee fees that they are not paid enough per hour, the employee may feel justified in “making up their pay” by using company time for personal reasons

Cheating As “Bullying”• 37 million US workers report being subjected to “abusive conduct” 65.6 million are affected (those abused + those who witness it)• Among those with higher-risk are workers who:• exchange money with the public• delivery drivers• healthcare professionals • public service workers• customer service agents• law enforcement personnel• and those who work alone or in small groups.

According to the 2014 study by the Workplace Bullying Institute, 27% of Americans have suffered abusive conduct at work; another 21% have witnessed it; 72% are aware that workplace bullying happens.

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With respect to perpetrator’s rank, not counting the combined sources cases: - 56% held a higher rank, was a boss, top-down33% abuse came from peers, lateral or horizontal, same level - 11% bullying from subordinates, bottom-up

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So Why do People Engage in Abusive Behavior at Work?Lack of Repercussions• Similar to a reason employees admit to lying on applications and in interviews• Too many workplaces are filled with managers and supervisors who use their position and power to mistreat or disrespect others. • Unfortunately, only certain types of bullying (that based on racial, religious, gender, or other protected classes) there is often no legal protection against abusive behavior in the workplace.

• To learn more, check out the Workplace Bullying Institute . • http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blog/guest-comment/2015/01/most-common-unethical-behaviors-in-the.html Acquired Needs Theory

• People who have a need for power may get that powerful feeling by behaving abusively. This could be psychological, emotional, or even sexual or physical abuse. Organizational Justice Theory• If an employee feels like their justice was violated, for instance in being skipped for a promotion, they may engage in abusive behavior towards someone involved in allocating resources/rewards, someone involved in deciding the process of allocating resources/rewards, or someone involved in implementing these procedures to feel some sort of satisfaction

Why do People Break Confidentiality?• Acquired Needs Theory• People who have a need for affiliation often have a yearning to be liked by others. One way to receive this feeling is by revealing confidential information to others who may enjoy knowing secrets or insider information.

• Cognitive Dissonance and Ethical Dilemma• An employee may feel they must reveal confidential information because “it is the right thing.” For instance, an ER Nurse who treats her friend’s husband, may feel the need to reveal transmittable disease to protect her friend’s health.

• Organizational Justice Theory• If a person feels they are not in a fair environment or are not treated justly, then they may not feel a loyalty to the company. Furthermore, they may not feel the need to keep certain information confidential.

References1)http://www.careerbuilder.com/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?sd=8%2F7%2F2014&id=pr837&ed=12%2F31%2F2014

2)http://www.infoworld.com/article/2671119/applications/internet-misuse-costs-businesses--178-billion-annually.html

3)http://thecareerhacker.com/2015/02/21/wasted-time-workplace/ 4)https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/

5)Organizational Behavior (ORGB 300). (2016). McGraw-Hill Education.