CASP CEU Center

Organizational Ethics

CASP Organizational Guidelines: Chapter 18

Section: Risk Management

Format: PDF Download

Released: January, 31 2022

Chapter Overview:

Ethics can be defined generally as “a set of moral issues or aspects (such as rightness)” and “rules of behavior based on ideas about what is morally good and bad” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). As it relates to professional activity, ethics can be described as a set of agreed-upon rules that guide practitioners and staff toward treating others (e.g., colleagues, consumers) in beneficial ways and away from treating others in harmful ways.

Having a clearly defined code of ethics communicates an organization’s values to its employees, strengthens its reputation, and can support decision-making in difficult situations. Encouraging ethical behavior that focuses on the responsible use of organizational resources may also have financial benefits (Treviño & Nelson, 2011). Additionally, clearly defined ethics standards and requirements protect the safety of consumers, stakeholders, and employees. For example, ethics codes can protect consumers from risks associated with multiple relationships and conflicts of interest, poor or dangerous clinical practices, billing fraud, and client abandonment.

An ethical workplace culture allows employees to feel safe when bringing up sensitive issues with their leaders and to be proud of the work that they do. But such a culture requires more than simply having a code of ethics. Creating an ethical workplace culture requires leaders to model ethical behavior, place ethics front and center in day-to-day business activities, provide ethics training, and facilitate and reward ethical behavior and identification of potential ethics-related issues.