In April, I plan to continue our discussions about morality including what can lead us to unethical behavior. We usually know the difference between right and wrong, good and bad, and as Masons are obligated to do the right thing.
Some of the obstacles to ethical behavior I am aware of include:
- Self esteem or personality issues in which the persons ego or integrity is at stake
- Unreliable information prevents the correct decision
- Lack of enough or not knowing you don’t have enough knowledge about the issue. For example being raised in a prejudiced environment may keep a person from seeing the good qualities in a minority person.
- A bottom-line orientation or extremism in any religion that can make one less likely to pay attention to ethical issues.
- Time constraints- the need to make split second decisions or too heavy a workload.
- Being in a stressful environment or relationship problems and or intoxication.
- The base emotions such as greed, anger, fear, and envy.
- Imperialistic or National motivations such as in war.
- The thrill of getting away with something and being above the law.
Sometimes we are afraid to take an open ethical stance because of fear of:
- Stirring up ethical issues may upset others and be a threat to harmony.
- A threat to efficiency -sometimes cost efficient practices cut ethical corners.
- Calling your boss on ethical issues could be seen as a criticism and threat to their effectiveness and power or your job.
- Moral stress when we worry we are no longer thinking in moral terms.
We have discussed several factors necessary for ethical behavior and a society to function. These include compassion, honesty, fairness, and accountability.
Other things that can cause us to lose our moral compass are:
- A driving need to succeed or a belief life has no meaning or there is no salvation.
- The belief the only way to be competitive and win is to be selfish (to put our needs above others).
- The decision to be unethical because everyone else is and thinking that is the only way to deal with others.
Examples of unethical behavior in business are:
- Pollution
- Damage to the ozone layer
- Unfair wages
- Poor products or services.
What would you add to this list? Please add comments with your thoughts.
