Unethical Business Behaviour and How to Control Them

Every year companies pay billions of dollars in damage because of unethical behavior. You can say it's a sort of small industry on the side. This is so true, it's not even a joke. We have all heard the news about big corporations paying billions of dollars because their employees decided to go rogue on them. Volkswagen, the famous automotive company, had to pay $30 billion in settlements because their engineers designed computers in their diesel cars. It was done so they could avoid emission tests and thus they violated the Clean Air act. 

Like Volkswagen, there are many big corporations who have had to pay huge amounts just because they weren't keeping their employees in check. Research shows that 29% of employees in America have experienced or seen unethical behavior in their workplace. Statistics show that 1 out of 4 employees in the US feel pressured to act unethically. This shows how deep this problem goes and it shouldn't come as a shock to us. We are fickle-minded beings and most of the time make rash decisions without taking into account the consequences. 

Therefore it's on the owners and people in charge to keep a check on employees so that a business can run smoothly. Let's learn about some ways to control unethical behavior in business. 

1. Code of Ethics- 

A business should have a code of ethics that guides every decision in the organization. This code should be established on day 1 and every employee working for the corporation must be made aware of these ethics. The code should include terms on equality and must be intolerable of any sort of discrimination. Breach of this code should be reported immediately to the superiors and strict decisions must be taken. 

2. Reinforce Consequences- 

Your employees must know that breaking the established code of ethics will result in strict consequences. You must also keep an eye on every employee through timely performance reviews. 

3. Appreciation For Ethical Behavior- 

The reward is the best way to encourage employees to remain ethical. You can reward honest and ethical employees at the end of each year to show that their honesty isn't invaluable to the organization. 

4. Ethics Training and Workshop- 

Invite a professional speaker to train your employees in workplace ethics. The workshop can also include ways to eradicate any sort of discrimination in the workplace based on gender, caste, class, sex, etc since discrimination is the most frequent form of unethical behavior noticed in a workplace. 

5. Establish Preventive Measures- 

The best way to keep employees in check is to establish a board or a system that can easily monitor the performance or activity of employees. You can even set up reporting hotlines or Gmail accounts that are capable of capturing these issues. 

6. Clear Communication- 

Many times, unethical behavior takes place because of unawareness. Therefore it is absolutely necessary to let your employees know, from the beginning itself, regarding the code of ethics that is to be followed. You can save a lot of time and effort if people already know what they can and cannot do from the beginning.