What are the 7 common ethical issues facing business today? When I speak on business ethics in my work as an ethics keynote speaker, ethics consultant and book author, I point out that there are numerous issues that need addressing.
Business ethics, especially during the pandemic was put to the test as PPP fraud, online fraud, healthcare fraud and even banking and accounting fraud reached catastrophic levels. If we are to go forward in a better business ethics environment with a higher degree of corporate social responsibility, business needs to be mindful of how ethics will shape organizations in the future.
Among the 7 common ethical issues facing business today
What is most remarkable to me as an ethics consultant and ethics speaker isn’t necessarily the generally widespread agreement on the top reasons, but the paltry resources devoted to business ethics training. If we take just the first ethical issue I list, lawsuits filed in 2021 for sexual harassment, discrimination, workplace bullying and the like, the amount approaches more than $2.8 billion.
This number considers just those cases in the public record, and do not include out-of-court and other private settlements. For organizations to not consider ethical training and reinforcement seems ludicrous in view of the consequences.
- Sexual harassment, diversity issues, religious intolerance, etc. – As a business ethics speaker, I probably receive more requests for ethics keynote speeches on this topic than any other subject area. In this mix of issues are also workplace bullying, nepotism complaints and gender issues.
- Accounting and banking fraud – Given the importance of these types of frauds to the ethical life of any organization, I am continually amazed at how the pandemic caused these issues to flourish in an atmosphere of reduced oversite.
- Theft – The numbers are staggering. About three-fourths of all U.S. companies experienced significant theft; about 40 percent of all companies had embezzlement; non-cash theft (from diverted freight to building site theft) rose to more than 21 percent in 2021.
- Social Media – Rampant use and misuse of social media has been out of control. Workplace behaviors on social media includes (and has led to) massive data breeches, hate speech and loss of reputation, online gambling abuse, pornography and inappropriate texting and communication. These are but a sampling of social media abuses that have cost companies billions in consequences.
- Environmental – Intentional and/or inadvertent pollution will become a major ethical business issue in the months to come, especially in the light of agreement on needing to address climate change. Companies attempting to circumvent environment issues, will be subject to the increasing wrath of domestic and international law.
- Data Privacy – Data privacy is a major business ethics issue across the board, and organizations allowing breeches through employee carelessness and in some cases, intent, will receive billions in fines.
- Governance and compliance – Simply put, though a complex set of issues, of who ensures good governance in a policy and procedures sense, and who is responsible for corporate compliance on a corporate basis. They are, in fact, related as the same sense of unethical behaviors may be in play. Governments, government agencies and publicly-traded organizations are aware of what makes for ethical behavior however, individuals within those entities, unless ethically trained with reinforced teachings are bound to eventually abuse the system. While our discussion has been focusing on business ethics, to not acknowledge the interplay between government and business is to view only one-half of the equation.
As an ethics keynote speaker and consultant, I would be remiss if I didn’t include a few additional areas that have proven ripe for unethical behavior in the past few years including healthcare fraud (including Medicare abuse), pharmaceutical industry unethical behaviors, elder abuse and nursing home fraud, manufacturing and supply chain issues (including price gouging) and poorly regulated financial-fiduciary issues.
The issues facing business today can be crystalized into numerous poor choices. Most of those making unethical decisions are not fully aware of the consequences of their actions. Unless ethical training is firmly in-place we can expect to see major consequences for organizations in the years ahead.
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