THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES
ST. AUGUSTINE CAMPUS
Business Ethics
Mgmt 3035
Lecturer: Dr. Ron Sookram
Group Number: 5 (day students)
Students’ Names ID Numbers
Priya Baboolal 816002527
Cian Celestain 816000797
Jacinta De vlugt 816001885
Naeema Mohammed 816007975
Vishana Singh 816007399
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Table of contents
Contents Page Number
Executive Summary 3
Introduction 4
Methodology 5
Literature Review 7
Analysis 12
Findings 14
Conclusion 23
Lessons Learnt 24
Recommendations 25
List Of References 27
Appendix: Questionnaire 29
Questionnaire Results 30
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Executive Summary
The aim of this project is to show the conversation created by the manager, Micheal and his
boss on a matter due to a phone call crisis made by a senior employee in an organisation. The
case study “Way Too Expensive Phone Bill” (Sookram, 2013), highlighted that Micheal’s
boss confronted him about his friend, Trevor, who is seemed to be his best friend and a good
sales person. It was indicated that Trevor whom created this problem was a senior employee
to the business and had racked up an expensive phone bill due to personal calls creating an
ethical problem for the business.
In addition, this phone bill crisis was a tremendous problem for the boss as he believed that
senior employees take advantage of their phone call privileges and the managers are
supposed to be the responsible ones for their department and stop such problems from
happening immediately as it is being costly to the business. It was illustrated that Micheal
knew what was going on and he knew that the matter needed to be dealt with immediately but
felt while Trevor is senior and had a good sales expertise background, Trevor should not be a
problem and that he was instrumental in training the recruits.
Furthermore, the boss’s believed Trevor was breaching the code of conduct and company’s
policy even if Trevor was good sales expertise or not and due to this Micheal, being the
manager should have this matter dealt with. Also to this, further investigation into this issue
will be discussed during this project using scholarly information from articles and books.
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Introduction
Ethics can be simply referred to as a system of moral principles and a branch of philosophy
which defines what is good for individuals an society and is however external to an
individual. One can clearly recognize that ethics can affect how persons make their decisions
and live their lives as well as their behavior. Hence, ethics provides a great tool for think
about moral issues and doing what is right.
On the other hand, business ethics is the study of business situations, activities and decisions
where issues of right and wrong are addressed. According to statistics obtained from the
National Business Ethics Survey in 2013, it revealed that approximately 41% of employees
were engaged in misconduct while on the job compared to 45% in 2011. This slight decline
in unethical behavior resulted due to the uncertain economic climate which resulted in
managers and executives to act more ethically. Also, organizations which goes beyond just a
moral code of right and wrong, benefits from maintaining a competitive advantage as well as
having an excellent brand image as compared to its competitors.
The research intends to highlight the unethical issue which occurred at an organisation where
an employee racked up a telephone bill totaling $60 000 TT on personal calls. The
researchers will then draw on ethical and decision making frameworks in order to prevent and
correct the action. Also, possible recommendations will be made to the organisation to
control unethical issues from reoccurring. The use if secondary research such as textbooks,
the internet and journal articles will employed in the research to allow better understanding of
key terms and frameworks.
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Methodology
Research Instrument
For this assessment, the information was gathered from both secondary and primary data. For
the secondary data, the information obtained were from internet sites,textbooks and online
articles. The primary data on the other hand was obtained from questionnaires which were
distributed to 25 individuals. A total of 20 questionnaires were recovered which were
distributed. The questions on the questionnaires were specifically towards gaining
information about individual’s view on breaching company policy and the code of ethics
within the organization. There were limitations to the open-ended questions because not
many responses were given.
Research Design
Quantitative information:
The questionnaires are comprised of a mixture of both open ended and closed questions. The
questions were set in a precise order to gather specific information therefore making the
information collected only relevant to those questions. It is often used as a bias for collecting
quantitative information. After retrieving the questionnaires, the researcher had to go through
each questionnaire individually and a tally chart was made to record the information.
Sample
The type of sampling used was Non-probability sampling which simply means the probability
of a respondent is not the same or equal because selection of the respondent is based on
human judgement. In addition to this, under the non-probability sampling, the convenience
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sampling method was used. The convenience sampling method is used when there are only a
few available members of the target population who can become participants in the survey.
This type of sampling was deemed suitable since most of the information obtained was from
questionnaires which were distributed to workers at University of the West Indies. It was a
non-probability sampling since everyone within the firm was not given an equal chance in
answering the questionnaires.
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Literature Review
The ethical sensitivity of all professionals has gone under great investigation over the years.
However the majority of the situations that business people face today do not involve only
legal matters. Instead they must make judgments concerning what is right or ethical. One of
the major tasks of ethics is to distinguish between ethical and unethical business practices.
The task of determining what is ethical or not is not easy. Kenneth Andrews once said, if it's
black and white, and a man has normal courage and security, he'll say no. It's in the gray
areas that the businessman may more likely flounder.
Ethical conduct and ethical values is referred to as a set of norms and values shared by
organizational members that encourage certain patterns of behaviors throughout the
organization that members understand and respond to, thereby creating a positive
environment in which trustworthy behaviors are encouraged (Maak, 2007;Su, 2014).
The early theories studied ethics from a normative perspective, meaning that they were
concerned with constructing and justifying the moral standards and codes that one ought to
follow (Vitell, 1986). On the other side, a positive perspective of ethics attempts to describe
and explain how individuals actually behave in ethical situations. Similarly, Runes (1964, pp.
98-100) states that ethical behavior refers to 'just' or 'right' standards of behavior between
parties in a situation. Ethics, according to DeGeorge (1982, pp. 13-15), is the study of
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morality. DeGeorge argues that: Morality is a term used to cover those practices and
activities that are considered importantly fight and wrong, the rules which govern those
activities, and the values that are imbedded, fostered, or pursued by those activities and
practices. The morality of a society is related to the customs accepted by a society or group as
being the right and wrong ways to act, as well as to the laws of a society which add legal
prohibitions and sanctions to many activities considered to be immoral.
Similarly, Taylor (1975, p. 1) defines ethics as an ~inquiry into the nature and grounds of
morality, where morality means moral judgments, standards, and rules of conduct. Vitell
(1986) applied Taylor's definition to define marketing ethics as an inquiry into the nature and
grounds of moral judgments, standards, and rules of conduct rdating to marketing decisions
and marketing situations. From the above definitions of ethics, we see that the term ethics is
used interchangeably with morals. Although this usage is acceptable, it is more accurate to
restrict the terms morals and morality to the conduct itself. The terms ethics and ethical refer
to the study of moral: conduct or to the code one follows.
(Purcell, 1977) Purcell argues that good ethics is good business in the long run, even though
he admits that this is not always true in the short run. He endorses the implementation of
ethical codes by several professional associations, but stresses that ethical codes are not a
panacea, even when they can be enforced on association members, something not too
common. Purcell goes as far as to propose the institutionalization of ethics at the top
management by appointing a corporate officer to be the corporation's ethical 'devil's
advocate,' or better yet an 'angel's advocate.' This ethical advocacy idea, however, received
mostly negative feedback by top management executives.
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Based on its contingence on moral ideas about right and wrong, the field of business ethics,
and likewise ethical decision-making is controversial in nature (Lozano,1996). Providing a
basic definition of decision-making, Daft (2006) wrote, “[It] is the process of identifying
problems and opportunities and then resolving them” (p. 306). According to Daft (2006),
decisions in the workplace involved programmed and non – programmed decisions.
Programmed decisions are concerned with scenarios that occur with such frequency that the
business is forced to have some specific rules or guidelines established; to govern it and the
decisions made concerning it. Non – programmed decisions are made to respond to more
nebulous situations that the business has not encountered before; that still have important
ramifications for the business (p. 307). However, ethical decision-making specifically
requires that persons facing ethical dilemmas determine right from wrong and respond with
appropriate actions (Reynolds, 2010). Given the difficulty in establishing consensus in ethics
management approaches, this review of literature surveys varying research on business ethics
and ethical decision-making theory, to serve analysis and recommendations for the case
provided.
BUSINESS ETHICS
In research pertaining to ethics in the sales profession, V. Bush, A. Bush, Oakley, & Cicala
(2017) identify the commonality of ethical violations committed by personnel in sales
environments. The researchers attributed the incidence of ethical infractions amongst sales
workers to the dynamic pressures placed on sales marketing staff, and lack of rigid
managerial oversight, amidst other concerns. Bush et al. (2017) also acknowledged the
influence of internal corporate culture, as well as external market forces on the conduct of
sales staff, but cited B. Schneider’s Attraction-Selection-Attrition perspective on
organizational behaviour to propose that the nature of the sales environment, and its
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personnel, “[created] a unique subculture with similar perceptions of ethical behaviour”
(p.556).
To investigate this proposition, the authors went on to conduct interviews of a range of sales
professionals, of various ranks, concerning their experiences and assessment of codes of
ethics in the field. The majority of the study’s respondents reported that they placed a high
value on the practice of ethics but acknowledged that salespersons’ code of conduct was
influenced by that of their peers, and that sometimes code of ethics specifically for sales staff
were not clearly identified in corporate policy (p.560). From these findings, Bush et al.
(2017) recommend that sales managers do not leave the task of instilling proper codes of
conduct in their department to corporate policy alone. Rather, they suggest that sales
managers commit to a continuous process of ethics training for their staff via formal and
informal processes (p. 561-562).
In a review of prevailing business codes of ethics in Australia and North America, Callaghan,
Wood, Payan, Singh & Svensson (2011) found that writers in the field commonly asserted the
necessity of implementing definite consequences for employees’ breach of conduct. The
researchers found that, “In all three cultures, the five most common consequences in rank
order are: cessation of employment, formal reprimand, verbal warning, legal action and
demotion” (Callaghan et al., 2011 p. 18). In keeping with this, the researchers also found
support for ethics appraisals geared towards monitoring staff compliance with companies’
corporate ethics guidelines. In concluding their study, Callaghan et al. synthesized a twofold,
“conceptual framework of the ‘ethos’ of corporate ethics”, which entailed a combination staff
support and staff regulation as measures to maintain codes of ethics (p.28).
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As for the dismissal method of staff regulation, due to employee misconduct, a Federal Ethics
Report presents a case which outlines the dismissal of a US Navy’s Naval Criminal
Investigation Service (NCIS) officer due to an abuse of organizational resources. The
employee in question misappropriated inter-agency access to an FBI database to conduct a
background check on her husband, to bolster his likelihood of securing a coveted job position
he applied for. The termination of the officer’s employment was finalized as the episode cast
the officer’s, “judgement, reliability and trustworthiness” in a dubious light (Scanlon, 2010
para. 4). Harcourt, Hannay and Lam (2013) also grant that severe forms of employee
misconduct can be deemed as just cause for employee termination, but also noted that
depending on businesses’ contractual terms such infractions can be tempered with unpaid
suspensions for 1st offences, and other disciplinary measures (p. 318).
ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING
In a comparative research article on ethical decision-making, Morell (2004) critiqued
Rational Choice Theory: a Utilitarian (consequentialist) model of decision-making, and
Image Theory which is consistent with Kantian (deontological) and Virtue-based
(teleological) ethics approaches. He identifies the proponents of Rational Choice Theory
(RCT) as driving organizational ethics to a dispassionate maximising of decisions for
organizational usefulness. However, Morell (2004) also cautions that human sentiment
impacts on individual decisions, persons are not always as calculating or well informed as
they may believe (p. 242-243). He also notes, “Sometimes, decisions are made to preserve
consistency, such as insisting that a particular employee is a valuable asset, because it is more
comforting to believe that than having to admit an error in selection.” (Morell, 2004 p. 243).
In contrast, Image Theory contends that ethical decision-making is predicated on individuals’
personal morals and ideals (p.244). In this context, when faced with ethical dilemmas in
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business, persons reject or adopt courses of action based on either their own individual ideals
or the ideals of their group. This process of principles-based decision selection is referred to
as ‘screening’ for choices consistent with personal ethics, goals and strategies (Morell, 2004
p.244)
Analysis
In relation to the case given, it was seen that the costly phone bill used by the senior
employee was a breach of company policy and it was unethical of him to do so. However,
because he contributes to the increase in sales revenue and is seen as a very important asset to
the company, Michael is hesitant on dealing with the situation as he might lose one of his best
employees in his department. Therefore, with the research that was done and the findings
which was gathered, Michael may now have a better understanding on how to deal with the
problem at hand.
Firstly, it was found that only 90% of the organization are aware that there is code of ethics
being practised in the workplace. Although that is more than half of the employees, it is
important that everyone is aware of business conduct and a general code of conduct so that
they carry about themselves accordingly and they would have a better idea of what is
acceptable and what is not acceptable in the organization.
Secondly, according to the data gathered, it was found that most people believe that Top
management and income levels greatly influence ethical behaviour at the organization.
Therefore, it is recommended that managers make it clear to their employees about the ethical
frameworks practiced at the organization and make it their duty to keep monitoring the
actions of their employees. It was Michael’s duty to check up on his employees, including
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Trevor and if he had done that, he would have realized that he was breaching the company
policy and correct him as soon as possible.
Thirdly, due to the information collected, it was also seen that some individuals think that
managers are biased towards some employees. This does not only happen in the business
place but also in everyday real life. However, in instances like this, biasness is not a morally
good aspect to exert in the workplace as it can affect employee relationship and can cause
conflict which can disrupt productivity in an organization. Therefore, although Trevor may be
a great employee and contributes to the organization, he is in fact breaching company policy
and needs to be punished accordingly for his actions.
In addition, the data collected showed that on a daily basis, several company policies and
laws are breached but only some are taken into account. It was found that the majority of
employees abuse the company’s telephone for their personal use. This is a reoccurring
problem and should be dealt with accordingly by managers. It is also of unethical practice by
managers if they are aware that their employees are breaching company laws and does not
deal with the situation because they wish to not lose that certain employee.
The normative perspective as well as the positive perspective of ethical theories were
researched and distinguished in further detail. While the normative perspective focused on
constructing and justifying the moral standards and codes for employees to follow, the
positive perspective focused on explain how individuals behave in ethical circumstances.
With respect to the literature found and explained previously, ethical decision making and the
definition of ethics and ethical frameworks were expressed in further detail for the
understanding of the reader. It gave insights to both the positive and negative sides to having
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company laws and regulations and also how managers and employers can decide to deal with
the problems at hand without encountering any type of conflict in the workplace and which
seeks the interest of every stakeholder in the company
Findings
Figure 1.1 Does Code of ethics or business conduct exist within your organisation?
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10%
Yes No
90%
Figure 1.1 Shows that 90% of individuals are aware of the code of ethics that exist in the
organization, while 10% of individuals are unaware of the code of ethics which exists in the
organization.
Figure 1.2 Do you think that code of conduct is important in the organization?
15
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Yes No
Figure 1.2 displays that 80% of individuals think that code of conduct is important while
20% disagreed.
1.3 Apart from ethical policies and codes what influences ethical behaviour at the
organization?
16
Individual factors 4
Income Levels 6
Local Customs 3
Top Management 7
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Figure 1.3 shows the different factors that affect ethical behaviours at the workplace. The
most contributing factor that affect ethical behaviours are Top Management, Individual
factors and Income Levels.
Figure 1.4 Do you think that some managers are bias towards certain employees?
17
No
1 Yes
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Figure 1.4 displays that 60% of employees agree that management are bias towards certain
employees and 40% disagree.
Figure 1.5 Who do you think abuse their privileges the most?
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25%
45% Workers
Supervisors
Managers
30%
Figure 1.5 shows that 45% of the individuals that abuse their privileges are managers, 30%
are Supervisors and 25% are workers. This therefore indicates that 75% of the individuals
that abuse their privileges are from top management.
1.6 What are some company policies that are breached by employees on a daily basis?
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15% 10%
Incompete work
Misuse or abuse of
30% office equipement
Abuse of telephone use
Mishandling funds
45%
Figure 1.6 displays that main company policies that are breached by employees on a daily
basis are Incompete work (10%), Misuse or abuse of office equipment (30%) , Mishandling
of funds (15%) and Abuse of telephone use (45%). It can be concluded that the company
policy that is breached more by employees is telephone usage.
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1.7 Do you think it is unethical for an employee should use the work telephone for
personal use?
16
14
12
10 No
Yes
8
6
4
2
0
1
Figure 1.6 shows that 80% of employees agree that it is unethical to use the work telephone
for personal and 40% disagree.
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1.8 Do you think workers should be disciplined for breaching company policy?
Yes No
25%
75%
Figure 1.8 displays that 75% of the individuals think that employees should be disciplined for
breaching company policy and 25% think that employees should not be disciplined.
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1.9 Do you think it is unethical for employers to know that their employees are
breaching company policy and not discipline them?
12
10
8
Yes
No
6
0
1
Figure 1.9 shows that 60% of individuals believe that it is unethical for employers to know
that employees are breaching company not discipline and 40% disagree.
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Conclusion
Conclusively, by utilizing the problem of the ridiculous telephone bill composed by Dr. Ron
Sookram, allowed the researchers to identify and closely examine what unethical action was
performed and how can an organisation avoid this issue from occurring in the future. In order
to validate the researchers’ decisions, several ethical frameworks were employed such as the
nominal perspective as well as the positive perspective. The research paper gave the
researchers a great opportunity to work with a real life situation so that they will be able to
deal with similar situations as managers as well as it allowed greater insights on business
ethics and how it works.
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Lessons learnt
1) During this process, my group members and I learnt to respect each other’s opinion.
We were able to proceed with our group projects by making sure everyone had an input in
what was being done without inflicting a conflict and ensuring everyone knew what their
purpose was in the group.
2) Secondly, while we respected each other’s opinion, the communication skills between
members should have been made on a daily basis rather than weekly. If this was possible,
the group members who found troubles understanding the topic or meeting deadlines, the
other groups members would not have known, whether if help was needed or not.
3) Thirdly, by attending this class, my group members along with myself, was able to
gasp the whole understanding of Ethics, how it can occur in real life and create problems
in the workplace.
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Recommendations
The following are recommendations to combat the topic of unethical behavior within the
workplace and seeks to provide solutions or mitigate such behavior. By implementing the
recommendations effectively, it can save the organisation from losing its reputation as well as
losing their competitive edge. Michael, as a manager can use these recommendations to deal
with the issue which occurred with Trevor.
1. Implement an effective ethical code
It is very difficult to convince employees to take ethics seriously without written rules and
regulations. By implementing an ethical code of conduct, it lays out ethical standards and the
consequences attached for those who violate them. The code should be able to provide
detailed guidelines for employee behavior which will therefore seek to deter them from
violation. Together with the ethical code of conduct, the organisation should practice a
culture which is ethical. This can be effective since it will keep employees on the ethical path.
2. Human resource and culture
Initially, an organisation should seek to hire ethical persons through screening processes such
as background and reference checks. This will be useful in deciding whether the individual
fits the ethical culture of the organisation. Also, a reward system can be implemented to
reward employees who make effective ethical decisions which will encourage desired
behavior. Therefore, peers are encouraged to hold each other accountable for their actions.
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Managers will also be held to the same standards as employees so that there is no unfair
treatment within the workplace.
3. Evaluation and enforcement
Regardless of the culture and examples an organisation sets, there are few employees that
will disregard ethical principles. Hence, an ongoing evaluation and review of activities and
decisions will be effective in order to avoid engagement of unethical behavior. For example,
when an organisation catch an employee engaging in unethical activities such as making
personal calls amounting to $60 000 TT, the organisation should hold the person accountable
for their actions as well as enforce the ethical code of conduct. Of the ethical code of conduct
is not effective enough, the organisation can seek to provide professional development
opportunities and implement best practices. This technique can be effective and therefore
avoid or decrease the number of unethical activities within the workplace.
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List Of References
● Can We Act Ethically? Implications of Determinism, Chaos ... (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326283595_Can_We_Act_Ethically_Implic
ations_of_Determinism_Chaos_Theory_and_Unintended_Consequences
● Literature Review on Business Ethics. (2016, March 24). Retrieved from
https://studymoose.com/literature-review-on-business-ethics-essay
● Alzola, M. (2015, January 01). The Possibility of Virtue | Business Ethics Quarterly.
Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-ethics-
quarterly/article/div-classtitlethe-possibility-of-
virtuediv/754FFB0BEC65A02860A9C9B268FCAFBA
● Bazerman, M. and Tenbrunsel, A.: Blind Spots: Why We Fail to Do What's Right and
What to Do about It (Paperback and eBook) | Princeton University Press. (n.d.).
Retrieved from https://press.princeton.edu/titles/9390.html
● Moriarty, J. (2016, November 17). Business Ethics. Retrieved from
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-business/#Bib
● Jang Singh. (2013, January 21). Retrieved from http://www1.uwindsor.ca/odette/jang-
singh
● The new era of management. (2018, March 25). Retrieved from
http://www.worldcat.org/title/new-era-of-management/oclc/62184725
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● Journal of Business Ethics. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://econpapers.repec.org/article/kapjbuset/default25.htm
● Lozano, J. M. (n.d.). Ethics and management: A controversial issue. Retrieved from
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00705590
● Morrell, K. (n.d.). Decision Making and Business Ethics: The Implications of Using
Image Theory in Preference to Rational Choice. Retrieved from
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/B:BUSI.0000024724.55553.c0
● (2018). Retrieved from https://foster.uw.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Reynolds-
SJ-Vita.pdf
● (n.d.). Retrieved from https://gatesofvienna.net/category/uncategorized/page/497/
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Appendix
Questionnaire
1. Sex Male Female
2. What company do you work for?
________________________________________________________________________
3. Does Code of ethics or business conduct exist within your organization? Yes No
4. Do you think that code of conduct is important in the organization? Yes No
5. Apart from ethical policies and codes what influences ethical behaviour at the
organization?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. Do you think that some managers are bias towards certain employees? Yes No
7. Who do you think abuse their privileges the most? Workers Supervisors Managers
8. What are some company policies that are breached by employees on a daily basis?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
9.Do you think that is unethical for an employee to use the work telephone for personal
use? Yes No
10.Do you think workers should be discipline for breaching company policy?Yes No
11.How do you think a manager should discipline an employee? Should it be situational?
________________________________________________________________________
30
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
12. Do you think it is unethical for employers to know that their employees are breaching
company policy and not discipline them? Yes No
Questionnaire results
1. Male (8) Female (12)
2. University of the West Indies, St Augustine
3. Yes (18) No (2) Yes (12) No (8)
4. Yes (16) No (4)
5. Top Management (7) Local Customs (3) Income Level (6) Individual factors (4)
6. Yes (12) No (8)
7. Workers (5) Supervisors (6) Managers (9)
8. Incomplete work (2) Misuse/abuse of office equipment (6) Mishandling funds (3)
Abuse of telephone use (9)
9. Yes (16) No (4)
10. Yes (15) No (5)
11. Suspension (7) Termination (3) Verbal Warning (6) Written reprimand (4)
12. Yes (12) No (8)
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Accountability Statement
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