1.

1 Introduction

Ethical or unethical behavior tends to differ across cultures. Philosophers refer to different
approaches to defining the ethicality of behavior. In some respects, everyone has power—
the power to either push forward or obstruct the goals of the organization by making
decisions, delegating decisions, delaying decisions, rejecting decisions, or supporting
decisions. However, the effective use of power does not mean control. Power can be
detrimental to the goals of the organization if held by those who use it to enhance their
own positions and thereby prevent the advancement of the goals of the organization.

Truly successful managers are able to use power ethically, efficiently, and effectively by
sharing it. Power can be used to influence people to do things they might not otherwise do.
When that influence encourages people to do things that have no or little relationship to
the organization's goals, that power is abused. Abuses of power raise ethical questions. For
example, asking a subordinate to submit supposed business-trip expenses for
reimbursement for what was actually a family vacation or asking a subordinate to run
personal errands is an abuse of power. People who acquire power are ethically obligated to
consider the impact their actions will have on others and on the organization.

Employees may desire a greater balance of power or a redistribution of authority within

the existing formal authority structure. People can share power in a variety of ways: by
providing information, by sharing responsibility, by giving authority, by providing
resources, by granting access, by giving reasons, and by extending emotional support. The
act of sharing information is powerful. When people don't share information, the need to
know still exists; therefore, the blanks are filled in with gossip and innuendo. When people
are asked to take on more responsibility, they should be provided with tasks that provide a
challenge, not just with more things to increase their workload that don't really matter.

This paper focuses on power abuse in the context of business. In our culture, it is not
unusual to see people in management and employee positions abuse of their discretion.
For the purpose of this paper, a survey was conducted and hypothetical situations
representing ethical problems of varying nature were presented to the participants. A
Likert-type scale was used to assess the influence of different dimensions on ethical
decision-making.

1.2 Origin of the report:

This report on “An assessment of power abuse among employee and management under
ethics philosophies” is prepared as a partial fulfillment of our study of the course
“Business Ethics”. Our honorable course teacher Md. Tarikul Islam, Lecturer, Business
Administration Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna authorized this report to us as a
partial fulfillment of the course. We received his oral direction to prepare this report and it
is submitted to him on 12th July, 2009.

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1.3 Objectives of the report:

The objectives of our report are divided into two parts;

Broad Objective:

To find out the ethical perspective of power abuse in the organizations under different
ethical philosophies.

Specific Objectives:

• To determine the ethical and unethical issues in organization.

• To find out top and mid level management’s attitudes towards power abuse.
• To determine the degree of power abuse from the employees point of view.
• To determine the degree of power abuse from the Manager’s point of view.

1.4 Scope of the report:

In our report, we worked with the multi national, national, private and Government
organizations and NGO’s operating in Khulna City.

1.5 Limitations of the report:

1. The first and most important limitation of this paper is the small sample size.
2. We consider only the branches of Khulna city.
3. Most of the officers of the organizations were too busy with their job. So they
could not afford enough time for us.
4. We wanted to prepare the report based on information from questionnaire, thus the
credibility and accuracy depends upon the respondents provided information.

1.6 Methodology:

A proper methodology is always necessary for a successful accomplishment for any

research work. It helps to organize and analysis data and information through a systematic
process to achieve the ultimate goal and objectives of the study. The methodology will use
for this study is as follows.

Preparation of a report proposal

The first task of these sequential activities was to select a topic. And after discussing
widely within the group members and our honorable course teacher Md. Tarikul Islam the
final selected topic is, “An assessment of power abuse among employees and management
under ethics philosophies”.

2
Selection of study area

We have selected Khulna City as our study area, because it was difficult for us to go to the
other places due to shortage of time and distance as we had to attend the academic classes
while we were conducting the survey.

Questionnaire preparation

As the study is mainly based on the primary data and the method of data collection is
survey, questionnaire preparation was the vital part of this study. After discussing widely
within the group members, we prepared a questionnaire. Moreover, we revised the
questionnaire three times for making it out of flaw. The questionnaire contains two parts.
The first part contains all general information of respondents and the second part contains
the different questions for management and employee.

Data collection

Data collection is a vital part of every research. The sources of data collection can be
classified mainly into primary and secondary types. For the report, we have collected both
the primary and secondary data.

Primary data source: For collecting primary data, we have gone to the selected
organizations.
Target Sources: Our target sources are the employees of multi national, national,
Government and NGOs.
• Sample Unit: Our sample units are in Khulna city
• Sample Size: Our sample size is 38 employees and 15 managers.
• Sampling Technique: We collect information by using convenient sampling.
•Device of Collecting Process: We have collected information with the help of
questionnaire. we have analyzed data by using Lykert –type Scale

Lykert –type Scale

Strongly agree = 5, Agree = 4, Moderate/ Undecided = 3

Disagree = 2, Highly disagree = 1

Secondary data source: Secondary data that we have used are mainly different journals in
the same area from the internet. The list of the journals and documents used by us in
preparing this report are enclosed in the appendix part of the report.

Data processing
The collected data have been tabulated and analyzed according to the demand of the
report’s objectives with the help of statistical tool like mean/ Average.

3
1.7 Literature Review:

Value judgments on specific actions categorized as ‘unethical’ or ‘improper’, are only

contextually relevant. Culture will either approve of or condemn particular modes of
behavior according to prevailing norms. After all, ethics is subject to perception. One
cannot rationally claim that the ethical values of one particular culture are better than those
of another. Values or beliefs prevailing in particular contexts attribute specific meanings to
universal principles or moral rules. Whatever action or decision categorised as ‘right’ or
‘ethical’ in a country makes it acceptable as per the moral laws applicable there.
Donaldson and Werhane (1996) claim that, under ethical relativism, moral rightness or
wrongness of practices and actions varies from society to society. Davis et al. (1998) lay
emphasis on two major concepts, relativism and idealism. They state that individual
differences in personal ethical ideology vary with moral judgements, taking into account
issue characteristics and socio-cultural background. Under “idealism”, some people
idealistically assume that “right” actions regularly lead to desirable consequences. These
findings correspond to those of earlier studies (Forsyth, 1992; Singhapakdi, et al. 1995).
On the contrary, others envisage the possibility that either undesirable or desirable
consequences may follow such actions. Lewis and Unerman (1999) define relativism in
terms of the extent to which people believe in and rely on universal moral principles when
confronted with ethical issues. Cultural differences in terms of relativism suggest that
cultures may cover a similar set of moral rules. However, these cultures may not
necessarily apply the same moral principles in all cases (Rossouw, 1998; Trompenaars and
Hampden-Turner, 1998).

Donaldson and Werhane (1996) define cultural relativism as a counterclaim that ethical
practices differ across cultures. This theory states that universal principles are applied in
accordance with prevailing norms and beliefs. Similarly, Thorne and Bartholomew-
Saunders (2002) consider cultural factors as key determinants of moral views within a
particular society at a particular point in time. Research carried out by Ferrell and
Gresham (1985) and Hunt and Vitell (1986) give evidence that societies have cultures that
differ in terms of physical setting, economic and technological development, education
levels, amongst other criteria. The norms of corporate social responsibility are likely to
differ across distinct contexts. In fact, research conducted by Adams and Maine (1998)
and Lewis and Unerman, (1999) shows that broad ethical principles adopted by specific
societies would depend on shared social and cultural backgrounds of the people. There is a
consensus that social and cultural variables are likely to vary across societies and
sometimes among individuals, thereby influencing moral values and ethical thinking
(Beauchamp and Bowie, 1983; Green, 1994; Lewis and Unerman, 1999; Thorne and
Bartholomew-Saunders, 2002; Velasquez, 2001). Although people in a society may have
been subject to similar broad cultural experiences, detailed moral codes may still differ in
the same society. This justifies the view of Donaldson and Werhane (1996), that is, moral
relativists go beyond the claim of cultural relativists, namely that perceptions as to what is
right or wrong are guided solely by culture.

Ferrell and Fraedrich (1997) refer to two main teleological principles, that is, egoism and
utilitarianism. Both are founded on consequences, that is, any act or decision is justified
on the basis of its consequences. In their article, Reidenbach et al. (1991) emphasise that
the theory of egoism states that people “should” behave as egoists rather than “they do”
behave as such. This school of thought relies heavily on ideas of prudence, self promotion,
best self interests, selfishness, and personal satisfaction. An act is considered as ethical as
long as it promotes the individual’s long-term interests. An individual may also help

4
others, and even give gifts if he/she believes that those actions are in his/her best interests
(Reidenbach, Robin, and Dawson, 1991).

Of the two teleological principles, utilitarianism is the most popular theory applied to
business decisions. According to Buchholz and Rosenthal (1998), this principle assumes
that, when faced with alternatives, the option that leads to the highest level of utility
should be selected. “Utilitarianism is the teleological theory which states that individuals
should act so as to produce the greatest possible ratio of good to evil for all of society”
(Reidenbach, Robin, and Dawson, 1991, p. 91). More recent papers (Velasquez, 2001;
Singhapakdi et al., 2001) consider utilitarian theory as a universal theory that looks at the
consequences of specific actions for all stakeholders. Donaldson and Werhane (1996) give
the example of the common universal principle relating to “public good”, namely that
“social institutions and individual behaviour should be ordered so that they lead to the
greatest good for the greatest number”.

While utilitarians/consequentialists focus on the outcomes of decisions, other philosophers

highlight the actual worth of specific decisions, arguing that consequences are secondary.
According to principles of deontology, individuals have a duty to satisfy the legitimate
claims or needs of others. These claims are determined by applying logic to an ethical
principle, bearing in mind that one owes many diverse duties to others (Reidenbach,
Robin, and Dawson, 1991). Ferrell and Fraedrich (1997) refer to deontology as “non-
consequentialism”, “ethical formalism”, or “ethics of respect-for-persons”. The principle
of deontology states that decisions should be judged on the circumstances in which they
are made, rather than by their consequences. Deontology is the study of duty. In
philosophy, it means specifically ethics based on duty regardless of consequences

While consequentialist ethics assesses courses of action in terms of their outcome,

deontological ethics refers to rules stated in terms of other features of the courses of
action, notably whether they represent fulfilment of an agreement or other duty or right,
and/or involve the treatment of others with due respect. For the purpose of our survey,
these principles were used to rate particular instances of unethical conduct on the part of
middle/senior management, in business situations.

5
 2. Results and Discussion

The issue of un-ethicality from the employees’ point of view:

2.1 Frustrating Working Environment

Section 11 to 20 of the factory act 1918 contains certain provisions intended to ensure that the
condition under which work is carried on in factories do not affect of the workers individually.
Again sections 21 to 40(B) and 41 of factory act lay down rules for the purpose of securing the
safety of workers. Working environment mean the condition in which the employees work. It
includes the place of work, lighting facilities, ventilation and temperature, latrine & urinals,
canteen facility and sound controlling system, layout of machinery, enter-exit system of the
factory etc. There are some laws about them under the factories Act. As for example in for section
13 of the factory act describes about the ventilation and temperature that there must be adequate
facilities for circulation of fresh air and the temperature must be kept at a comfortable level. In every
Organization it should be assured that every employee get a healthful environment.

Table-1: The working Environment is frustrating

Answer Value Frequency Total Value Average

Value

Strongly Agree 5 4 20 2.55

Agree 4 6 24

Modearte 3 6 18

Disagree 2 13 26

Highly Disagree 1 9 9

The average value of this factor is 2.55. So the employee are disagree that the working environment is
frustrating. So they get proper working environment.

2.2: Recognition for good work

Recognition for good work by management to the employee is very much effective for
employee's job satisfaction as well as the organization’s good will. Some times, only money may
not be sufficient.. The worker may forget their price after some times. But, if he gets a
certificate from the management that, he is the best worker of this year, he will be satisfied.
The verbal recognition by the top most authority is also a great job satisfaction factor. But in our
country to some extent the employees do not get proper recognition, or sometimes it is very hard to please
the supervisor.

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Table-2: The organization does not praise good work or hard to please

Answer Value Frequency Total Value Average Value

Strongly Agree 5 7 35 3.5

Agree 4 8 32

Moderate 3 3 9

Disagree 2 16 32

Strongly 1 4 4
disgree

The average value is 3.5. So employees agree this statement to some extent. So the organizations
practices this type of unethical issue to a small extent.

2.3: Relation with Supervisor and Co-worker:

The relation with supervisor and co-worker is also a great factor of organizational issue that is many
times practices in many organization unethically. Coordination is a vital topic not only to increase
the production but also to increase the level of productivity by the individual. The relationship
may be broken by different causes as supervisor may behave in autocratic way, i.e. he always wants
job without any hesitation. Secondly, the temperament of both the worker and supervisor. The
individual may be rude, which creates to decrease the relationship. Thirdly, absence of cohesion
between the workers. These are all sorts of unethicality. Besides these, if there exists any lack of co-
ordination between the persons who are directly related to production, may cause a huge decrease in
production. So, a sound relation with supervisor and co-worker is must to attain the objective.

Table-3: The superior treat you as a minor or some times as a slave

Answer Value Frequency Total value Average Value

Strongly 5 2 10 1.97
Agree
Agree 4 2 8

Moderate 3 3 9

Disagree 2 17 34

Agree 1 14 14

The average value is 1.97. The respondents disagree this issue strictly. So in Khulna the practices of
this type of unethicality is absent in most of the organizations.

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2.4: Pay package of the Organization

Under the factories act the term "Wages" means all remuneration (Whether or by the way of salary,
allowances or otherwise) capable of being expressed in terms of money, which would be payable
conditionally or otherwise, to the employed person, if the terms of the contract of employment
more fulfilled. The primary aim of human being is to earn money for his work. If he is a regular
employee of his organization, he must be get salary/wages. But, different organization follows
different kinds of wage payment procedure. Some Organization follows the piece rate, i.e. the
worker would be paid according to their piece in a defined period. If one worker wants to earn more
money, he will have to increase his pieces. Again some organization follows a fixed rate in a defined
period. And the worker will be paid after at end of the month or fortnightly. There are several
theories of wage payment. But the world wide recognized theory is that, there is a fixed amount,
which will be paid after the month, and the worker will earn more if they work more. However,
in this topic the main theme is that, whatever may be the modes of payment, it should be
considered that the payment must be made to the worker/employees regularly. If the companies
follow regularity of payment, they will run smoothly. As there is a cheap labor in our country,
some company plays a miscellaneous game with them. Many times the employees are not paid
properly.

Table-4: The pay package of the organization is not satisfactory

Answer Value Frequency Total Value Average value

Strongly 5 8 40 3.13
Agree
Agree 4 5 20

Moderate 3 11 33

Disagree 2 12 24

Strongly 1 2 2
disgree

The average value is 3.13. So the employees agree this statement strictly. It indicates that the pay
package in our organization is not practiced ethically.

2.5: The promotion policy

Promotion policy is an important issue of ethicality in our organization. A proper promotion policy is
essential not only for the employee but also for the company existence. Human being do not but want
to get proper endorsement for their work. A proper and ethical promotion policy is nothing but a policy
which is approved by all and applicable towards all employees equally. But in our country many times
the promotion policy is corrupted or biased by political issues and bribes.

8
Table-5: The promotion policy is based on bribe or political background

Answer Value Frequency Total Value Average value

Strongly Agree 5 3 15 2.47

Agree 4 2 8

Moderate 3 3 9

Disagree 2 16 48

Strongly 1 14 14
disgree

In the research survey it has been found that the average value is 2.47. So the respondents are mostly
neutral about this comment. So it can be said that the promotion policy is not practiced unethically in
our organization in Khulna.

2.6: Job Security

Job security is a second deficiency need of human being. If worker feels that his job is secured in
his organization he will perform better. As a human being everybody wants his security. And
when a man enters into an organization for his job performance, he must want his security. So to
ensure the best level of productivity or to increase the production the organization must arrange the
job security of its workers. And every organization should follow the laborer and company law.
Here the workers are safe from the immediate termination, dismiss, or suspension. But in many
organization the Job security is not assured to the employees.

Table-6: The job security in the organization is not secured

Answer Value Frequency Total Value Average value

Strongly 5 4 20 2.34
Agree
Agree 4 4 16

Moderate 3 3 9

Disagree 2 17 34

Strongly 1 10 10
disgree

From the survey it has been found that the average value is 2.34. That means the
respondents disagree or sometimes neutral with this statement. So the job security in our
origination is assured. There is no unethical practices with this issue.

9
2.7: Holiday Facilities

In many organizations government holiday facilities is practiced. Friday and Saturday are the weekly
holiday. It is essential for every employee for their recreation. Because too much work without having
any vacation make the employees frustrated. But it has been seen that some organization do not
provide sufficient leave for the employees.

Table-7: The holiday rules of the organization is routine or frustrating

Answer Value Frequency Total Value Average value

Strongly Agree 5 3 15 2.47

Agree 4 5 20

Moderate 3 8 24

Disagree 2 13 26

Strongly 1 9 9
disgree

From the research survey it has been conducted that, the average value is 2.47. That is the
respondents disagree with the statement. It indicates that the holiday rules of most
organizations are not frustrating. That is holiday rules are practiced ethically.

2.8: Work Time

No adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in a factory for more than 8 hrs in any
working day. The world wide recognized time for work is 8 hrs. And the law recognized it.
And a worker is bound to work in 8hrs. Not more than that but, if they have to work outside 8
hrs. They must be agreed to do that. If the worker is not interested to do outside 8 hrs, he will not
bind to do. But some times the employees are pressured to do work for a long time beyond long
time which is an unethical issue.

Table-8: The working hour of the organization is irritating

Answer Value Frequency Total Value Average value

Strongly 5 3 15 2.36
Agree
Agree 4 4 16

Moderate 3 8 24

Disagree 2 13 26

10
 Strongly 1 9 9
disgree
From the survey it has been found that the average value is 2.36. That is most of the respondents
Disagree or neutral about this statement. So the working hour is not so irritating. It sis fair to
average employees.

The issue of unethicality from the managements’ point of view:

2.9: Punctuality of employees

For any organization employees’ promptness is a very important issue. It is the initial
characteristics of the employee. It determines how much the employees are interested to
work effectively in an organization. If the employees are punctual to their responsibilities
then the conflict between the management and employees cannot exist. It is also closely
related to the reputation of the organization. On the other hand if they are not punctual
towards their organization and their work then it can adversely affect the organization. As
a result conflict arises between the management and employees. The absence of
punctuality makes the employees disloyal to their duties as well as to the organization.

Table-9: The employees of the organization are not punctual

Answer Value Frequency Total Value Average value

Strongly Agree 5 - - 2.06

Agree 4 2 8

Moderate 3 - -

Disagree 2 10 20

Agree 1 3 3

From the survey research it is found that, the average value is 2.06. That the managers are
disagree with this statement strictly. It indicates that the employees are punctual towards
their work promptly. So there is no unethical practices with this issue.

2.10: Employees’ attitudes towards the organization

‘Employee feeling’ means that whether the employee thinks himself as a part of organization or
not. To achieve the organizational objectives, it is a vital point to think as a part of the organization.
If the employee finds himself as a mere salary acceptor, it will cause a serious harm to the
organization. The management should take necessary steps to think the employees as a part of the
organization. The management also has to treat the employees as a part of their company. The steps
can be taken that, the management can consult with the employee how to increase production, how
to increase quality etc. And this may cause feel themselves both as important people and to
be a part of that organization.

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Table-10: The employees are not positive towards their work and attitudes

Answer Value Frequency Total Value Average value

Strongly Agree 5 3 15 3.8

Agree 4 7 28

Moderate 3 3 9

Disagree 2 2 4

Strongly 1 o 0
disagree

From the survey it is found that, the average value is 3.8. It means that the managers agree
with this statement that is the employees are not loyal to their organizations. It is an
extremely unethical issue.

2.11: Employees’ Own Business

Sometimes it has been observed that employees are involved in their own business during
the office hour. As a result they cannot be able to finish their office work at the right time.
The management also has to face problem for such type of unethical behavior of their
employees. And finally the conflict arises which affect negatively not only the
organization but also the employee career. So the employee must have to focus on their
office work first and then on other issue. If they are interested to do their own business
they can do that after the office hour without hampering the office assignment.

Table-11: The employees practice their own business in the office hours

Answer Value Frequency Total Value Average value

Strongly 5 - - 2.67
Agree
Agree 4 5 20

Moderate 3 3 9

Disagree 2 4 8

Strongly 1 3 3
Disagree

From the survey research it has been conducted that the average value is 2.67. It means
that the managers are disagree or neutral with this statement. So in this issue the
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employees are not unethical. In average they do not practices their own business in their
office hours.

2.12: Misuse of office materials

The employee sometimes used the office materials for their own purpose. Such as they
used telephone during the office hour to talk to their relatives and friends only for their
own purposes. This is not a fair attitude. Because by doing this they not only misuse the
office materials but also violating the office rules. They can use the office materials only if
office work requires, but not for time pass or personal interest. So it is very important for
the employees to maintain the office rules because the materials and office equipments are
the valuable assets of the organization.

Table-12: The employees use the office materials for their own purposes

Answer Value Frequency Total Value Average value

Strongly 5 1 5 3
Agree
Agree 4 4 16

Moderate 3 5 15

Disagree 2 4 8

Strongly 1 1 1
disgree

From research survey it is conducted that the average value is 3. That is the managers are
absolutely neutral about this statement. So there is no unethical practices among
employees with this issue.

2.13: Employees’ commitments towards organization’s goal

It is very difficult to achieve the organization’s goal if the employees are not committed to
their organization. Employees are the main source for any organization to reach the
ultimate goal. It is the responsibility of the employees to work intensively towards the
organization’s goal. If they continuously response only to their own interest rather than
aorganization, the employees have to maintain some rules and regulations and they have to
remember that if the organization faces problems, this problem is for their own. As the
organization provides all sorts of financial supports, so they must be loyal to their
organization. Otherwise the issue of unethicality will arise.

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Table-13: The employees focus on their on their own interest rather than organization’s
goal

Answer Value Frequency Total Value Average value

Strongly 5 2 10 2.73
Agree
Agree 4 2 8

Moderate 3 3 9

Disagree 2 6 12

Strongly 1 2 2
disagree

From the survey it has been found that the average value is 2.73. It means that the
managers are disagree or moderate to this statement. So we can say that there is no
unethical practice in the organizations in khulna.

2.14: Chain of Command

Every organizations have it’s own structure, that is the chain of command within which
it’s total work is done. And the organization asked all it’s worker to follow the chain of
commands to perform their work effectively and efficiently. If the employees do not
maintain it then conflict can arises and as a result the total entire system of the
organization will be broken down. By disobeying the chain of command the employees
are sometimes violating the organization’s rules and regulations which is an unethical
issue.

Table-14: the employees do not maintain the chain of command

Answer Value Frequency Total Value Average value

Strongly Agree 5 - - 1.8

Agree 4 2 8

Moderate 3 - -

Disagree 2 6 12

Strongly 1 7 7
Disagree

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From the research survey it is found that the average value is 1.8. It means that the
managers strongly disagree with this statement. So there is no unethical practices with this
issue.

2.15: Unloyality of the trained employees

Every organizations provide some training and higher educational program for the
employees to make them more efficient to their work. Actually it is done in according to
company requirements. But many times it is found that after training or higher education
the qualified employees just switch to another organization to have some another facilities
or some times don’t come back from abroad. But it is not fair. It is nothing but just to
become unethical towards the organization.

Table-15: After training or higher study the employees do not come back to the
organization

Answer Value Frequency Total Value Average value

Strongly 5 - - 2.13
Agree
Agree 4 - -

Moderate 3 4 12

Disagree 2 9 18

Strongly 1 2 2
disagree

From the survey research it has found that the average value is 2.23. That means the
managers are disagree or sometimes neutral with this statement. So we can say that there
is no unethical practice with this issue.

2.16: Side business conducted by skilled employees

Operating a side-business without the consent of one’s employer constitutes a lack of

loyalty and, therefore, is clearly an unethical act. Some times the skilled employee just
leave the organization and begin side business. Here he/she just captured the mother
company’s customer. So it is a very unethical act.

Table-16: The skilled workers just begin side business by leaving organization

Answer Value Frequency Total Value Average value

Strongly Agree 5 - - 2.53

Agree 4 3 12

15
 Moderate 3 4 12

Disagree 2 6 12

Strongly 1 2 2
disagree

From the survey research it has found that the average value is 2.53. It indicates that managers are
disagree or sometimes neutral with this statement. So we can say that there is no unethical
practice with this issue.

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 3. Conclusion and recommendation

To asses the unethical issues from the employee’s point of view, respondents were
exposed to eight statements and they agreed each case somewhat differently, depending
upon the seriousness of the ethical problem. The results has given evidence of the strong
moral evaluations are specific to situations. In most cases we have found that they are
moderate or many times disagree with the respective statements beyond the cases of
“Good work recognition” and “pay package system”. These two issues are practiced
unethically in our organization which may restrict the employees’ goodwill for the
organization.

To asses the unethical issues from the management s point of view, respondents were
exposed to eight statements and they agreed each case somewhat differently. In most cases
it has been found that the respondents are strictly disagreeing or many times neutral/
moderate to their works beyond the issue of employee’s positive attitudes towards the
organization. The unethical practices within this issue are common factors in our
organization.

The findings of the survey show that although the abuse of power on the part of one’s
superior is considered as an unethical practice, this act is sometimes viewed as culturally
acceptable. Education and training in ethics can improve ethical thinking, and extend the
reasoning to cover decision-making, in the context of business.

A formula must somehow be devised to encourage ethical conduct amongst policy-

makers, both in public and private sectors. If stakeholders are to be treated fairly, the law
must be applied uniformly to citizens, irrespective of social status. And the ethical
standard has to maintain in holding and using power. We, recommend institutionalization
of ethics for the better result.

We strongly believe that the picture shown in the research is a partial one as this paper is
based on the data we collected from a smaller city such as Khulna. To get the actual
scenario of the situation, more comprehensive studies are needed. So we strongly
recommend for at least another one research which will be carried out through-out the
whole country.

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