Ethics in the Workplace"Ethics is personal and, at the same time, a very public manifestation of our attitudes and beliefs. It is because of ethical beliefs that we human beings can act differently in different situations" (University of Phoenix, 2007). Poor ethical choices in the workplace can really harm people. Poor ethics can damage your career, happiness and quality of life. These actions can not only hurt the individual who made the wrong choices, but very often they also hurt the innocent. This essay will provide two real case studies; one of positive ethical principles and the other of poor ethical principles. Ethics is the driving force of good business. Every ethical choice made by a professional can and will have a very different outcome than any unethical choice. Bad ethics can ruin many aspects of a company and as (Gaye-Anderson, 2007) states how easily the life and professional reputation of employees can be damaged even seriously (para. 3). Everything from morale to motivation can be seriously affected by poor ethical choices. Customers will take their business elsewhere. Employees will abandon ship. Other competing firms reap the benefits of poor moral choices. Ultimately, the entire company can be destroyed by one bad ethical choice. Good employees see others not following ethical guidelines and this makes them lose trust in their colleagues. Bad employees see the same thing and then believe they can get away with it. Both scenarios can cause horrible things to happen very quickly. It's even worse when employees see management taking the wrong path. Managers have to set an example. It's like a five year old watching his parents take illegal drugs... middle of paper...ter, (February 2007). Building an ethical culture. Now Associations, vol. 3, Retrieved May 26, 2007, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=6&sid=68201a70-4f78-496b-8a74-485b87b4e78e%40sessionmgr7Gaye-Anderson, K. (2007, March) . Do the right thing. The Black Enterprise, vol. 37, retrieved May 28, 2007, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=102&sid=9d9a4eec-37e8-4b51-882f-05f2fe0b0653%40sessionmgr107Thompson, K. (2007). A corporate training vision of ethics education. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, Vol. 13, retrieved May 26, 2007, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=1&hid=108&sid=ceaedb4d-4c62-46ae-8050-9e14bc92f06f%40sessionmgr104University of Phoenix. (2007). Introduction to Ethics for University by Phoenixstudents. Retrieved May 28, 2007, from https://mycampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp