What Is Ethics?

EthicsMoral principles that define what is right and wrong. is moral principles—it is a system that defines right and wrong and provides a guiding philosophy for every decision you make. The Josephson Institute of Ethics describes ethical behavior well: “Ethics is about how we meet the challenge of doing the right thing when that will cost more than we want to pay. There are two aspects to ethics: The first involves the ability to discern right from wrong, good from evil, and propriety from impropriety. The second involves the commitment to do what is right, good, and proper. Ethics entails action; it is not just a topic to mull or debate.”John C. Maxwell, There’s No Such Thing As “Business” Ethics (New York: Center Street, 2003), 23–24. Is it right? Is it fair? Is it equitable? Is it honest? Is it good for people? These are all questions of ethics.Manual Velasquez, Claire Andre, Thomas Shanks, and Michael J. Meyer, “What Is Ethics?” Santa Clara University, http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/whatisethics.html (accessed August 31, 2009). Ethics is doing the right thing, even if it is difficult or is not to your advantage.Karen Collins, Exploring Business (Nyack, NY: Flat World Knowledge, 2008), 27. Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, discusses the importance and impact of ethics on business.

Personal Ethics: Your Behavior Defines You

Ethics comes into play in the decisions you make every day. Have you ever received too much money back when you paid for something in a store, didn’t get charged for something you ordered at a restaurant, or called in sick to work when you just wanted a day off?College Confidential, http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/california-institute-technology/427749-ethical-dilemma-question.html (accessed August 31, 2009). Each of these is an ethical dilemmaA situation in which options are presented which may be right or wrong.. You make your decision about which path to take based on your personal ethics; your actions reflect your own moral beliefs and moral conduct.Manual Velasquez, Claire Andre, Thomas Shanks, and Michael J. Meyer, “What Is Ethics?” Santa Clara University, http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/whatisethics.html (accessed August 31, 2009). Your ethics are developed as a result of your family, church, school, community, and other influences that help shape your personal beliefs—that which you believe to be right versus wrong.Manual Velasquez, Claire Andre, Thomas Shanks, and Michael J. Meyer, “Ethics and Virtue,” Santa Clara University, http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/ethicsandvirtue.html (accessed August 29, 2009). A good starting point for your personal ethics is the golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” That is, treat people the way that you would like to be treated. You would like people to be honest with you, so be honest with others.

Your strong sense of personal ethics can help guide you in your decisions. You might be surprised to find yourself with an ethical dilemma about something that is second nature to you. For example, imagine that you’re taking a class (required for your major) that has an assignment of a twenty-page paper and you’ve been so busy with your classes, internship, and volunteer work that you really haven’t had the time to get started. You know you shouldn’t have waited so long and you’re really worried because the paper is due in only two days and you’ve never written a paper this long before. Now you have to decide what to do. You could knuckle down, go to the library, and visit the campus Writing Center, but you really don’t have the time to do all that and still write the entire twenty pages. You’ve heard about some people who have successfully bought papers from this one Web site. You’ve never done it before, but you are really desperate and out of time. “If I only do it this one time,” you think, “I’ll never do it again.”

But compromising your ethics even just once is a slippery slope. The idea is that one thing leads naturally to allowing another until you find yourself sliding rapidly downhill. Ethics is all about the art of navigating the slippery slope: you have to draw a line for yourself, decide what you will and won’t do—and then stick to it. If you don’t have a strong set of ethics, you have nothing to use as a guidepost when you are in a situation that challenges you morally. A highly developed set of personal ethics should guide your actions. The only way to develop a strong sense of ethics is to do what you believe in, to take actions consistent with your principles time and time again.

So if you buy the paper and get caught, you will not only fail the class, but you may also find yourself expelled from school. If you’re tempted to consider buying a paper, take a minute to read your school’s academic dishonesty policy, as it is most likely very clear about what is right and wrong in situations like this.

Even if you get away with using a paper that is not your own for now, it’s always possible that you’ll be found out and humiliated even decades after the fact. Southern Illinois University (SIU) had three high-ranking officials—a university president and two chancellors—revealed as plagiarists in a two-year period.Margaret Soltan, “Southern Illinois University an Official Laughingstock,” Inside Higher Ed, August 30, 2007, http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/university_diaries/southern_illinois_university_an_official_laughingstock (accessed February 18, 2010). Even more embarrassing, the committee formed to investigate the charges of plagiarism against Chancellor Walter Wendler developed a new plagiarism policy whose parts were plagiarized—specifically, it copied its academic dishonesty policy from Indiana University without citing that source.Wendy Weinhold, “SIU Accused of Copying Plagiarism Policy,” Daily Egyptian, January 29, 2009, http://web2.collegepublisher.com/se/daily-egyptian/siu-accused-of-copying-plagiarism-policy-1.1318397 (accessed February 18, 2010). SIU was made a laughingstock, and its reputation has suffered considerably. Academic dishonesty is not a gamble worth taking; though many students are tempted at some point, those who give in usually regret it.

Business Ethics: What Makes a Company Ethical?

Ethics apply to businesses as well personal behavior. Business ethicsThe application of ethical behavior by a business or in a business environment. is the application of ethical behavior by a business or in a business environment. An ethical business not only abides by laws and appropriate regulations, it operates honestly, competes fairly, provides a reasonable environment for its employees, and creates partnerships with customers, vendors, and investors. In other words, it keeps the best interest of all stakeholdersAll parties that have a stake in an organization including employees, customers, investors, the community, and others. at the forefront of all decisions.Karen Collins, Exploring Business (Nyack, NY: Flat World Knowledge), 27.

An ethical organization operates honestly and with fairness. Some characteristics of an ethical company include the following:

• Respect and fair treatment of employees, customers, investors, vendors, community, and all who have a stake in and come in contact with the organization
• Honest communication to all stakeholders internally and externally
• Integrity in all dealings with all stakeholders
• High standards for personal accountability and ethical behavior
• Clear communication of internal and external policies to appropriate stakeholdersKaren Collins, Exploring Business (Nyack, NY: Flat World Knowledge), 27.

Ethical Dilemmas in Business

Not all behavior that is unethical is illegal. Companies frequently are faced with ethical dilemmas that are not necessarily illegal but are just as important to navigate. For example, if a travel company wants to attract a lot of new customers, it can honestly state the price of a trip to Disney World in its advertising and let customers decide if they want to purchase the trip. This would be ethical behavior. However, if the company advertises a free vacation in order to get customers to call, but the free vacation package includes a $500 booking fee, it is unethical. Or if an appliance store wants to get new customers by advertising a low-priced refrigerator, it is an ethical way to let customers know that the company has competitively priced appliances as well. However, if the store only has a higher-priced refrigerator in stock and tries to sell that one instead, it is unethical behavior.

Figure 4.1

Business cannot operate without ethical behavior on the part of all parties.

© 2010 Jupiterimages Corporation

Sometimes ethical behavior can be a matter of disclosure, as in the case of Enron, Bernie Madoff, or the examples above. Business ethics can also be challenged based on business practices. For example, in the 1990s Nike was accused of exploiting workers in third-world countries to manufacture their products. The low wages they were paying the workers made Nike’s profits higher.Aaron Bernstein, “Nike’s New Game Plan for Sweatshops,” BusinessWeek, September 20, 2004, http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_38/b3900011_mz001.htm (accessed December 6, 2009). While this is not illegal behavior—they were paying the workers—it was considered unethical because they were paying the workers less than what is reasonable. Another example of unethical behavior is not disclosing information. For example, if a car salesperson knows that a used car he is selling has been in an accident but says that it has not been involved in an accident, that is unethical. Bribing an executive, saying or promising things that are knowingly untrue, or treating employees unfairly are all examples of unethical behavior in business.

Corporate Social Responsibility

You may choose to shop at companies because of their business practices. For example, you might like The Body Shop because of its commitment to selling products that do not use animals for testing. This is a case of ethical behavior that is socially responsible. In fact, corporate social responsibility (CSR)Company actions that balance the interests of all stakeholders. is when companies operate in a way that balances the interests of all stakeholders including employees, customers, investors, vendors, the community, society, and any other parties that have a stake in the company. While corporate social responsibility may seem easy, it’s not always as easy as it looks. Keep in mind that in order to be socially responsible a company has to balance the social, economic, and environmental dimensions, which means generating a profit for investors while serving the best interest of all parties that have a stake in the operations of the company. When companies measure the impact of their performance along the three dimensions of social, economic, and environmental impact, it is called the triple bottom lineMeasurement of company performance along three dimensions—social, economic, and environmental.. To learn more about McDonald’s social responsibility, watch the following video.

There are many companies that make a commitment to social responsibility and the triple bottom line.

Understanding Values

Ethics are defined by moral principles; they are actions that are viewed by society as “right,” “just,” or “responsible.”BNET Editorial, “Understanding Your Values,” BNET, http://www.bnet.com/2410-13070_23-55147.html?tag=content;col1 (accessed August 29, 2009 ValuesGuiding principles and beliefs that are important to you and define how you live your life. define what is important to you: they are your guiding principles and beliefs, they define how you live your life, and they inform your ethics. While certain values might be important to you, they may not be important to your best friends or even every member of your family. While family, friends, and your environment have a significant influence, you develop your own set of values. Consider the list below, which includes some examples of values:BNET Editorial, “Understanding Your Values,” BNET, http://www.bnet.com/2410-13070_23-55147.html?tag=content;col1 (accessed August 29, 2009).

• Honesty
• Open communication
• Teamwork
• Integrity
• Prestige
• Security
• Helping others
• Loyalty
• Social responsibility
• Impact on society
• Creativity
• Achievement
• Global focus
• Religion

Values provide your personal compass and your direction in life. When something is not in line with your values, you feel unhappy and dissatisfied.BNET Editorial, “Understanding Your Values,” BNET, http://www.bnet.com/2410-13070_23-55147.html?tag=content;col1 (accessed August 29, 2009). Many people feel passionately about their values and want to have their environment align with their values. Examples of this are evident during political elections when people take sides on issues such as education, health care, and other social issues that reflect personal values.

Figure 4.2

Your personal values may change over time based on your experiences, but your integrity should always remain constant.

© 2010 Jupiterimages Corporation

You might be surprised to learn that your values are not set in stone. Your personal values will evolve and may even change drastically based on your experiences.BNET Editorial, “Understanding Your Values,” BNET, http://www.bnet.com/2410-13070_23-55147.html?tag=content;col1 (accessed August 29, 2009). For example, Nikki Tsongas, wife of the late Senator Paul Tsongas from Massachusetts, got involved in public service after the death of her husband. She is now a congresswoman from the fifth district of Massachusetts.“Niki Tsongas: Long Bio,” http://tsongas.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=54&sectiontree=2,54 (accessed September 1, 2009). She may have never considered serving in public office, but the death of her husband had a dramatic impact on her values.

You have a set of values that inform your ethics, which in turn inform your decision making. No one can tell you what your values are; that’s something you’ll have to decide for yourself. John C. Maxwell, in his book There’s No Such Thing as “Business” Ethics, lists the values that he lives by, such as “put your family ahead of your work (having a strong and stable family creates a launching pad for many other successes during a career and provides a contented landing place at the end of it)”John C. Maxwell, There’s No Such Thing as “Business” Ethics (New York: Center Street, 2003), 102–3. and “take responsibility for your actions (if you desire to be trusted by others and you want to achieve much, you must take responsibility for your actions).”John C. Maxwell, There’s No Such Thing as “Business” Ethics (New York: Center Street, 2003), 93–94. If you are looking for a comprehensive list of values, check out HumanityQuest.com, which lists more than five hundred different values.

Values of Organizations

Just like people, organizations have values, too. Values are “proven, enduring guidelines for human conduct” according to Stephen Covey in his book Principles.Thomas E. Ambler, “The Strategic Value of Values,” Center for Simplified Strategic Planning, http://www.cssp.com/CD0402/ValuesAndStrategy/default.php (accessed August 29, 2009). Many companies choose their values and communicate them to employees, customers, and vendors on the company Web site and other company communications. For example, Whole Foods includes the following values, among others: “selling the highest quality natural and organic products available” and “caring about communities and their environment.” You can see their entire values statement on their Web site.

Levi Strauss & Co. identifies four key values for their company: empathy, originality, integrity, and courage. Their values statement is also included on their Web site.

Microsoft includes integrity, honesty, personal excellence, passion for technology, and commitment to customers as part of their values statement on their Web site.

Company values and personal values are important because your values motivate you to work.BNET Editorial “Understanding Your Values,” BNET, http://www.bnet.com/2410-13070_23-55147.html?tag=content;col1 (accessed August 29, 2009). You will enjoy and excel at your job if you choose a company whose values you share. For example, if the environment is one of your values, it’s best to choose a company that includes a commitment to the environment as part of their values statement. Chances are you won’t be happy working at a company that doesn’t put a priority on the environment.

Mission Statements: Personal and Corporate Guidelines

Ethics and values are major concepts. If you have developed personal ethics and values, you might be wondering how they come together to help provide a roadmap for your life and your career. That’s the purpose of your mission statement; it becomes your roadmap for your decisions, choices, and behavior. You learned about creating your personal mission statement in the Selling U section of Chapter 1 "The Power to Get What You Want in Life". Mission statements such as “To gain experience in the public accounting field toward earning my CPA designation” and “To master the leading Web development tools and become a best-in-class Web developer” may sound simple, but each takes time, thought, and insight to create.“Develop Your Personal Career Mission Statement,” CollegeGrad.com, http://www.collegegrad.com/book/Job-Search-Prep/Develop-a-Personal-Career-Mission-Statement (accessed September 1, 2009). You may want to review the Selling U section in Chapter 1 "The Power to Get What You Want in Life" if you haven’t already created your personal mission statement.

Just as your personal mission statement is a blueprint for how you make decisions in life, companies also use a mission statement to define their direction, make operating decisions, and communicate to employees, vendors, shareholders, and other stakeholders. In fact, most companies have a formal, written mission that they include on their Web site. A mission statement is different than an advertising slogan or motto. It is based on the company’s ethics and values and provides a broad direction as to what the company stands for. For example, Harley-Davidson’s mission statement is below and can be found on their Web site.

FedEx expresses their mission statement a little differently as shown below and includes their mission statement along with their values on their Web site.

The mission statement of the insurance company Aflac is short and to the point as shown below. It can also be found on their Web site.

Many companies, like Google, put their mission statement or philosophy online—others use a printed manual. The mission statement is made available for the following reasons: employees can use it to aid them in ethical business decision making, investors can evaluate the company’s ethics before making a decision about becoming involved with it, and customers can choose whom they will do business with based on their ethics and purpose. In addition to their mission statement (which you may remember from Chapter 1 "The Power to Get What You Want in Life": “Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”Google, “Corporate Information: Company Overview,” http://www.google.com/corporate (accessed September 1, 2009).), Google’s Web site gives their philosophy—ten guiding principles, ten “things Google has found to be true,” which are values that reflect how the company conducts business:

1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.
2. It’s best to do one thing really, really well.
3. Fast is better than slow.
4. Democracy on the Web works.
5. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.
6. You can make money without doing evil.
7. There’s always more information out there.
8. The need for information crosses all borders.
9. You can be serious without a suit.
10. Great just isn’t good enough.Google, “Corporate Information: Our Philosophy,” http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/tenthings.html (accessed September 1, 2009).

These ten things are the principles that Google uses to make decisions as a company; this list, with accompanying explanations, details why they do things the way that they do. It is both practical and concerned with ethics—the idea that “great just isn’t good enough” is part of their values, a declaration that Google wants to do the best that it can in every endeavor—it means that they will not take shortcuts, but will constantly strive to be more ethical, efficient, and user-friendly.

Character and Its Influence on Selling

As you have probably figured out, ethics, values, and missions are all very personal. Together they guide you in the way you behave at home, school, work, or out with your friends. Your characterFeatures and beliefs that define a person. is what sets you apart; it includes the features and beliefs that define you. It’s no surprise that the word has it origin in the Latin word character, which means mark or distinctive quality and from the Greek charaktr, which means to scratch.“Character,” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/character (accessed September 1, 2009). The Josephson Institute defines character as being composed of six core ethical values:

1. Trustworthiness
2. Respect
3. Responsibility
4. Fairness
5. Caring
6. CitizenshipJosephson Institute, “The Six Pillars of Character,” Josephson Institute, http://charactercounts.org/sixpillars.html (accessed September 1, 2009).

This is a comprehensive description of character. Consider how you perceive other people; it’s their character that defines who they are. Can you depend on him? Is she fair? Does he respect you? Just as these ethical pillars define other peoples’ character, they also define your character to other people. Customers ask the same questions about you: Can I trust her? Will he give me fair pricing? Is she honest? Does he care about the best interest of my business?

The Power of Your Reputation

In November of 2008, Tomb Raider: Underworld was released for multiple gaming systems. Knowing how important a game’s reputation can be for sales, public relations firm Barrington Harvey—in an attempt to massage the Metacritic score, a less-than-ethical move—asked reviewers to hold their scores until after the first weekend of the game’s release. “That’s right. We’re trying to manage the review scores at the request of Eidos.” When asked why, a spokesperson for Barrington Harvey explained, “Just that we’re trying to get the Metacritic rating to be high, and the brand manager in the United States that’s handling all of Tomb Raider has asked that we just manage the scores before the game is out, really, just to ensure that we don’t put people off buying the game, basically.”Mike Fahey, “Eidos Trying to Fix Tomb Raider: Underworld Metacritic Scores,” Kotaku, November 21, 2008, http://kotaku.com/5095674/eidos-trying-to-fix-tomb-raider-underworld-metacritic-scores (accessed September 1, 2009). Eidos, the company that published the game, tried to take an ethical shortcut—they wanted to be sure that the game’s reputation could not precede it—but paid for that decision with a great deal of negative publicity that adversely impacted their reputation.

Your overall character as judged by other people is your reputationOverall character as judged by other people..“Reputation,” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reputation (accessed September 1, 2009). Consider some celebrities who have had unethical acts negatively impact their reputation: Tiger Woods, known as one of golf’s greats has been reduced to tabloid fodder since the news of his extramarital affairs; Michael Phelps, the only person to ever win eight gold medals in a single Olympic Games, has become the poster boy for marijuana use. Both had stellar reputations and were considered role models. Now both are working to gain back the trust of the public. Reputation isn’t limited to the wealthy or powerful. In high school, you knew that Sharon was a brain and Timothy was the sensitive, poetic type. You may never have had a conversation with either one of them, but you knew their reputations. Meanwhile, you avoided classes with Mrs. Avar because she had a reputation as a hard grader. Your reactions to many of the people in your day-to-day life are affected by their reputations.

When you work in sales, you are selling yourself; you will have greater success with customers if you are someone they want to “buy.” When customers buy from you, they are investing in your reputation. George Ludwig, author of Power Selling, explains that “you’ve got to live out your identity consistently in every facet of your life and make sure prospective clients bump into that identity everywhere they turn.”Renee Houston Zemanski, “The Power of Your Reputation,” Selling Power, http://www.sellingpower.com/article/display.asp?aid=SP1900197 (accessed August 29, 2009). In other words, every action you take affects your reputation. If you fail to follow up, forget details, or even if you are consistently late for meetings, you may become known as unreliable. On the other hand, if you consistently deliver what you promise, you will be known as reliable; if you always meet your deadlines, you will have a reputation for punctuality.

You’re Only as Good as Your Word

Unfortunately, not everyone in sales is ethical or honest. David Chittock, president of Incentra, Inc., discusses one encounter in which a customer shared her view of salespeople: “The prospect’s body language told me she wasn’t just uncomfortable—she was downright hostile to me. Finally, she shared this sentiment out loud: ‘I have to be honest with you. I think that all salespeople are liars, and I don’t trust any of them, and I don’t trust you.’” He goes on to explain that “many (if not all) of our prospects, view salespeople with suspicion, assuming that in attempting to make a sale, we will be self-serving, manipulative, and possibly even untruthful.”David Chittock, “Outside the Box: A Question of Integrity,” Manage Smarter, May 28, 2009, http://www.presentations.com/msg/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003977677 (accessed February 18, 2010). Chittock and his employees overcome that suspicion by making promises to their customers and then keeping them—sure, it sounds simple, but too many salespeople are willing to promise their customers the moon in order to close the deal.

Dr. Pat Lynch conducted a study that was published in the Journal of Business Ethics in which he asked more than seven hundred businesspeople and graduate business students to rank their values in the workplace; these included competency, work ethic, overcoming adversity, seniority, and promise keeping. Lynch found that keeping promises was that the bottom of people’s lists, whatever their gender, supervisory experience, or religious background.John C. Maxwell, There’s No Such Thing as “Business” Ethics (New York: Center Street, 2003), 121 Honesty is a way to stand out and to build your reputation.

If you are committed to finding win-win-win solutions for your customers, you need to be honest with them and with yourself. Figure out what you can realistically guarantee, make the promise, and then keep it. Jack Welch, in his book Winning, declares that “too many people—too often—instinctively don’t express themselves with frankness. They don’t communicate straightforwardly or put forth ideas looking to stimulate real debate. But when you’ve got candor, everything just operates faster and better.”John C. Maxwell, There’s No Such Thing as “Business” Ethics (New York: Center Street, 2003). If circumstances change and you realize that you will be unable to keep your promise, immediately communicate with the customer; explain what has happened, offer a new solution, and apologize. While that can make for an awkward conversation, in the long run, that kind of honesty and openness will help you to build strong business relationships.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Facing Challenges

Imagine that you are the buyer for Chez Food, a popular pan-European restaurant on the West Coast. You have good relationships with your suppliers, especially your produce guy, a genial fellow who owns his own business. As the holidays approach, Ray, your produce guy, approaches you with a gift. He tells you that he really appreciates both your business and your friendship, and he hands you two tickets to a Caribbean cruise. The company policy is clear: you aren’t supposed to accept gifts from suppliers, but, you argue to yourself, what could be the harm? After all, you were planning to keep buying from Ray before he offered you the tickets; it’s not as though he’s asking you for anything, anyway. What will you do? Your ethical obligation, of course, is to refuse the tickets—politely. Your relationship with Ray is important, but doing the right thing—and keeping your job—is important too.

At some point in your selling career—in fact, probably at many points—you will be faced with a situation that challenges your ethics. At these times, it is best to follow your code of ethics and the company’s code of ethics; when in doubt, don’t make an exception. If you’re having trouble finding the motivation to refuse a gift or accurately detail your résumé, remember that you will very like be found out—and when you’re found out, you will be very lucky not to lose your job. Is the case of wine from a supplier worth losing your job over? But more important, when you fail an ethical challenge, you trade in your integrity. If you are tempted to inflate your expense report by fifty dollars, ask yourself, “Is my integrity worth more than fifty dollars?” The answer, of course, is that your integrity is worth more than any amount of money—and once gone, it cannot be bought back. Ken Lay, former CEO of Enron, was a man with a great reputation and an oil portrait displayed at his alma mater; once his crimes were discovered, however, his name was forever associated with a willingness to break the law and exploit his own employees.“Ken Lay’s Final Act,” New York Times, July 6, 2006, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/06/opinion/06thurs4.html (accessed September 1, 2009).

Sir Michael Rake, chairman of KPMG International, says in Leading by Example, “Enron had an enormously laudable charter of values in corporate social responsibility, but actually it was almost a smokescreen for abuse…In investigations we’ve done into companies and individuals where things have gone wrong…have crossed from white, to gray, to black. Most of them have to operate in the gray a lot of the time…because of the aggressiveness with which the targets are set of the way in which their achievement of those targets is rewarded, intelligent, honest people suddenly think that this act is OK: because within that environment it seems to be OK. It isn’t OK; they’ve actually done something which is illegal or amoral.”Sir Michael Rake, “Setting the Right Tone at the Top,” Leading by Example (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2007), 9–11.

Finding yourself in a corrupt corporate culture is not reason enough to violate your own code of ethics or break the law. If you find yourself in a situation where you feel pressured to do something unethical (or even illegal), talk to your supervisor about it. If you don’t feel that you can talk to your supervisor—or your supervisor is part of the problem—talk to someone in the human resources department. Give the company a chance to resolve the situation; if they are not aware of it, they can’t make it right.

If you’re wondering about how the role of human resources works in a situation like this, it might be helpful to think about an analogy: When you were in high school and you went out with your friends, your mother, at some point or another (or perhaps every Friday night!), must have given you a talk that went something like this: “I want you to have a good time with your friends—but if anything happens, just call us and we’ll come pick you up and we won’t be mad. If there’s drinking at the party, or if someone has drugs, just call us if you need to, OK?” While you probably won’t be calling your mom when an ethical problem arises at work (much as you might secretly like to), you can call the human resources department. Human resources departments oversee hiring, promotions, and performance reviews, but they also deal with employee relations and can provide confidential counseling to workers. It is important for a company’s success that employee goals align with corporate goals; when this is the case, the corporate culture is considered “successful.”David Towers, “An Investigation into Whether Organisational Culture Is Directly Linked to Motivation and Performance through Looking at Google Inc.,” extended essay, The University of Birmingham, The Birmingham Business School, 2005–6, http://www.towers.fr/essays/culture%20performance%20and%20motivation %20review%20and%20the%20google%20case%20study%20success.pdf (accessed September 1, 2009). If your supervisor is involved in the wrongdoing, the human resources department can be an excellent resource for you.