MSLD 634 Module 7- Ethics and Behaviors

Ethics play an important role not only in our personal lives, but also in our professional lives. For this week’s module, we watched two short videos that examined both ethical and unethical behaviors in the workplace. The first video, focused mostly on the importance of treating others with respect whereas the second video explored aftermaths when an unethical situation takes place.

Of the two videos, I was able to mostly relate to Bruce Weinstein’s statements on the Keynote Speech Excerpts from The Ethics Guy video. He first talked about the importance of respecting others. While this ensures a good relationship within the organization, he also states that doing so will also make the individual feel good about themselves (Weinstein, 2012). This was demonstrated when Weinstein called out for two volunteers: who felt unappreciated. Weinstein then told his audience to applaud for the volunteers. Although this was a simple task, it eventually made the two individuals smile as well as the audience (Weinstein, 2012).

I am able to relate to Weinstein’s statements as well his simple exercise to my current job as an academic advisor. Over the course of years, I’ve learned the importance of respect and is aware of how different the outcomes are when doing so. My advisement strategies are heavily based on my past experience as a student. While my advisors provided me the resources I needed, they often rushed through their advisement due to the large traffic of students waiting to seek advisement. In addition to easily be forgotten, I often felt a bit unimportant and a nuisance to the advisors. Now that I’m an advisor and is aware of the student’s point-of-view, I place myself in “the students’ shoes” and ensure that I not only provide the help they need, but to establish good business relationships (such as remembering names, occasionally have small talks, etc.).

In the second video, Chuck Gallagher introduced us to the Unethical Continuum, which identifies the different types of unethical behaviors and the probable outcomes on each of these behaviors. One of the most common reason why organizations and individuals fail to make effective decision making is because they often approach situations as a monolithic process (Anthony & Schwartz, 2017). Gallagher’s statement reminded us of this mistake and explains the importance of thinking critically. This included not only the decisions we make, but also how other feel about the idea (Gallagher, 2013).

Since the primary goal of my organization is student success, we overall have a good practice of looking at situations critically. While most advisement goes smoothly, there are some instances where the student is in distress. If we approach them like any other student, this could cause some difficulties with advisement and misunderstandings: which could potentially hurt our relationship. To ensure that we assist them successfully, I try to identify how the student is feeling. If the student is dealing with family troubles for instance, we have to be sympathetic (it’s important to ensure that we’re not excessive either!) and let them know that we’ll be at assistance through their difficult time. In addition to speaking in a slow, calm voice, this signals the student that we care and want to help: which could help maintain or even improve our relationship.

References:

Anthony, S. & Schwartz, E. (2017). What the Best Transformational Leaders Do. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2017/05/what-the-best-transformational-leaders-do

Gallagher, C. (2013). Business Ethics Keynote Speaker - Chuck Gallagher - shares Straight Talk about Ethics! [Video file]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUJ00vNGCPE

Weinstein, B. (2012). Keynote Speech Excerpts from The Ethics Guy [Video file]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLxbHBpilJQ