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Running head: UNETHICAL LEADERSHIP AND TOXIC WORKPLACE

Unethical Leadership & Toxic Workplace

Maria Rivera

South Texas College

October 6, 2019
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Running head: UNETHICAL LEADERSHIP AND TOXIC WORKPLACE

Competency III

Ethical dilemmas can arise in even the smallest of organizations regardless of industry

type. As an employee, the probability of encountering an ethical dilemma in the workplace is

very likely. According to Dori Meinert (2014), "managers are responsible for 60% of the

workplace misconduct.” In most cases, ethical misconduct is unreported, therefore, rarely

addressed. Unethical leadership can harm team morale and the organization as a whole. Before

applying for jobs, most prospective employees do extensive research on the organization.

Although salary and benefits are the primary drivers that attract prospective employees to a

particular employer, the workplace culture plays a significant role and may deter motivated

prospective employees. Individuals in management positions should strive to avoid unethical

behavior to avoid creating a toxic workplace culture.

One such example of unethical behavior in the workplace is the act of plagiarism. As

students, we are familiar with the term plagiarism. But how does plagiarism exhorts itself in the

workplace? Dictionary.com defines plagiarism as “an act or instance of using or closely imitating

the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that

author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author” (“Plagiarism”, n.d.).

Basically, it is essentially passing someone else’s work as one's own. Often really superior work

product takes dedicated employees days, weeks, or even months to complete. Employees, with

hands-on knowledge, are the best resources of information to look for ways to improve

organizational processes to make work more efficient. Often, employees will use this knowledge

to pitch their ideas to their supervisor only to have his or her plan rejected. What if this

supervisor turns around and pitches this same idea to their upper management? He or she has
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stolen the employee's work or idea and passed it off as their own, in essence, a form of

plagiarism.

Each philosopher has their view on the morality of plagiarism and why someone would

choose to plagiarize versus choosing to do the work themselves. In my opinion, Aristotle would

consider the act of copying or stealing as wrong. Aristotle believed we should all strive to be

virtuous. Virtue is doing the right thing at the right time to the right people. He would perceive

stealing as a sign of weakness or a person lacking good moral character (Values of the Wise,

2017). The supervisors’ decision to pitch the employee’s idea as their own is a clear

representation of what Aristotle defines as an incontinent person. Incontinence is when someone

chooses to do something based on emotion rather than morality and virtue. Maybe at that

particular time, the supervisor is under immense pressure from upper management and must

come up with something quickly. His or her decision is then based on their emotions, finding a

way to relieve stress as opposed to morality. The act itself is wrong.

Kant is yet another philosopher I feel would view this as wrong. Kant’s thoughts on

morality lead me to believe that plagiarism goes against morals. Everyone should strive always

to do the right thing, to be morally right. Kant would say that such an act goes against the

categorical imperatives everyone must follow. According to Tim Jankowiak (n.d) of the Internet

Encyclopedia of Philosophy, a categorical imperative is a “general principle that demands that

one respect the humanity in oneself and in others, that one not make an exception for oneself

when deliberating about how to act, and in general that one only act in accordance with rules that

everyone could and should obey.” In other words, we should not use people unjustifiably to

reach our own goal. We must learn to respect other individuals and never do things to disrespect

or undervalue others.
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Depending on the point of view, Mills would disagree partly with Aristotle and Kant.

Mills said most people strive to find happiness. According to John Stuart Mills’ philosophical

theory, utilitarianism focuses only on the results, not the effort (Mailander, 2013). The intentions

of the action are irrelevant. In this particular case, the supervisor may be facing pressure from

upper management, leaving him or her highly stressed and unhappy. The idea of stealing the

employees and using it as their own may seem like the ideal way to relieve his or her stress. By

doing so, a more considerable amount of people is happy. The supervisor is happy because he is

no longer stressed, and upper management is happy because they have a resolution for their

problem. The only one that would be unhappy is the employee who came up with the idea

initially.

As Jacquelyn Smith’s (2013) mentioned in the Forbes article 9 Things You Can Do When

the Boss Takes Credit for Your Work, in a corporate environment, power grabs are the norm.

Supervisors are the ones accountable when an employee fails to do their work and mistakes, why

shouldn't they be entitled to take credit for something positive for once. Other employers feel

that employees are part of the organization; therefore, their ideas belong to the organization.

Organizations do not have clear guidelines to deter this type of behavior, and often, employees

do not speak out due to fear of retaliation.

To avoid creating a toxic work culture, organizations should ensure the correct leadership

style is in place. They should try to avoid leadership styles in which the employees have no say

in the decision-making process, such as autocratic. I feel that transformational leadership would

work best. If the supervisor has a vision and shares that vision with his employees, then they will

be more motivated to share their thoughts and ideas with them. More so, if the supervisor praises
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his or her employees for a job well done, then this will further encourage them to continue to

share. After all, they're all on the same team working towards the same goal.

Employers must acknowledge employees and the role they play in the organization's

success. By doing so, employers boost team morale. Employers should also have high ethical

standards and the right management style in place to keep such ethical dilemmas from occurring.

With all these things in place, employers will draw good employees to their business and will

find continued success.

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References

Jankowiak, T. (n.d.). Kant, Immanuel | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. [online]

Iep.utm.edu. Available at: https://www.iep.utm.edu/kantview/

Meinert, D. (2014). Creating an Ethical Workplace. [online] SHRM. Available at:

https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/pages/0414-ethical-workplace-

culture.aspx

Mailander, J. (2013). The Concept of Utilitarianism. [online] LogicalRepublic. Available at:

https://logicalrepublic.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/the-concept-of-utilitarianism/

“Plagiarism” (n.d.). In Definition of plagiarism | Dictionary.com. [online] Available at:

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/plagiarism

Smith, J. (2013). 9 Things You Can Do When The Boss Takes Credit For Your Work. [online]

Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/04/30/9-

things-you-can-do-when-the-boss-takes-credit-for-your-work/#1e538f77951a

Values of the Wise. (2017). Virtue Ethics: Doing the Right Thing – Values of the Wise. [online]

Available at: https://www.valuesofthewise.com/virtue-ethics-1/