MODULE No.

2: PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

PERSONAL ETHICS : Meaning, Principles of personal Ethics, Importance, Emotional Honesty,

Virtue of Humility, Karma Yoga concept (Meaning & Principles)

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS : Concept & Emergence of Professional Ethics, Need for Professional
Ethics, Ethical Dilemmas in Profession - Healthcare, Education, Corporate, Social work. Reasons for
crisis of Professional Ethics (Nepotism, favouritism etc.) Moral Entrepreneur (meaning only)

Introduction

Personal ethics is the code of ethical guidelines that guide the persons in their personal and
professional life. They often develop from a person’s core values and work ethics. Personal ethics
are moral guidelines that can help a person through tough situations and make the best decisions.
One can develop a clear and effective personal ethics statement that outlines the values a person
practice in professional settings.
Some common Personal Ethics are:
• Integrity
• Selflessness
• Honesty
• Loyalty
• Equality and Fairness
• Empathy and respect
• Self respect

Meaning of Personal Ethics:

A personal ethics refers to the statement which is a point of view based on certain ethics or
morals. These statements are not objective and reflect an individual’s personal views or feelings
on a certain subject. Personal ethics refers to the ethics that a person identifies with in respect to
people and situations that they deal with in everyday life. Professional ethics refers to the ethics
that a person must adhere to in respect of their interactions and business dealings in their
professional life.

Importance of Personal Ethics:

1. To know oneself: Having a code of ethics allows a person to understand himself/ herself.
For example- some may believe that abortion is wrong and others may believe it as a
means of having control on population.
2. To deal with others: It helps us to know how to deal with others. What a person believe
and feel constantly affects their opinions and feelings about others. For example if a

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 person believes that violence is wrong then he/she will not be involved in any kind of
personal or professional fights.
3. Goals: If your code of ethics is strong, it can help you to achieve goals. Personal ethics
will help in taking an important decision in one’s life.
4. Religious code: A personal code of ethics also may include other ethical codes. For
example Vedic laws, Islamic Codes etc.
5. Trusting Relationships: Ethical employees build trust in their workplace relationships,
allowing people to open up to them, share personal information and feel more at ease
communicating with them. Areas of ethics that affect trust include honesty, fairness and
avoiding rumors.
6. Team cohesiveness: The ethical commitments of individual employees have an effect on
team and department performance in addition to individual performance. Being a ethical
employee make you a better team player.
7. Value to employers: Ethical employees are better people to have working for any
company, as the managers and business owners can be assured that their employees
adhere to ethical policies and use ethical reasoning while making companies decisions.
8. Personal wellness: Being an ethical employee can make you a better person in
increasing your values to others. Using ethics to guide all of your decisions at work can
grant you peace of mind, emotional stability and the ability to cultivate long lasting
friendship.

Principles of Personal Ethics

1. Honesty: Be honest in all communications and actions. Individuals must be worthy
of trust and honesty is the core point of trust. They must not deliberately mislead or
deceive others by misrepresentations, overstatement or by any other means.
2. Integrity: Maintain personal integrity, we can earn trust of others only through
integrity. Integrity refers to wholeness of character demonstrated by consistency
between thoughts, words and actions.

3. Keep up the promises madeLoyalty: Be loyal within the framework of other

principles and give no excuses for unprincipled conduct. For example managers
justify trust by being loyal to their organization and the people they work with.
4. Fairness: Try to be fair and just in the dealings. Do not use unethical ways to either
gain or take undue advantage of other’s mistakes or difficulties. There should be the
equal treatment for the individuals.

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 5. Caring: Demonstrate compassion and genuine concern for the well being of others.
Business must be caring, compassionate and kind towards shareholder/ stakeholders.
6. Respect for others: Treat everyone with respect regardless of sex, race or national
origin. Treat others the way you would like to be treated.
7. Law abiding: Abide by laws, rules and regulations relating to business activities.
8. Commitment to excellence: Pursue excellence in performing duties, being well
informed and prepared to increase proficiency in all the areas of responsibilities.
9. Leadership
10. Reputation and Morale
11. Accountability

Emotional Honesty
• Emotional honesty means being able to express your emotions and feelings to another
person. It requires an awareness of what your true feelings are and what others’ true
feelings are as well. If we are emotionally honest with ourselves, we get to know our true
selves better, which can lead to greater self-acceptance. Being emotionally honest is not
always easy. It can be particularly challenging for people who lack the capacity to self-
reflect. Such people often end up unhappy, and their negative feelings can manifest in
chronic anger, depression, and similar emotions.

Authentic relationships cannot stand the test of time without emotional honesty. It’s only
when we fully connect to our true selves and feelings that we can share ourselves with
another person. To do this, we must get in touch with what we are feeling, communicate it
to our partner, and reveal our deepest feelings and emotions. For a relationship to be
healthy and sustainable, emotional honesty needs to be met with emotional honesty. That
is, both people in the relationship need to reveal their true selves and feelings. If one of the
partners puts up walls, that makes it impossible for them to speak their emotional truth.
It’s also likely an indication that they don’t trust themselves or their partner.
• Emotional honesty can be defined as the ability to communicate our feelings and needs in
an honest and respectful way. It means we are aware of our feelings and take the time to
experience them instead of making them with alcohol, drugs, food etc.
Consider the following points:
✓ Promotes Authenticity
✓ Promotes self awareness
✓ Reduce stress
✓ Enhance relationship

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 ✓ May promote acceptance
✓ May promote change
✓ Requires patience

Elements of Emotions
1. Love- It refers to a variety of different feelings, states and attitudes that ranges from
interpersonal affection to pleasure. It offers connection and it is generous.
2. Fear- It is an emotion induced by a threat perceived by living entities, which causes a
change in brain and organ function and ultimately a change in behaviour.
3. Grief/ Sadness- It is emotional pain associated with, or characterized by feelings of
disadvantage, loss, helplessness and sorrow.
4. Anger- It is an emotional response related to one’s psychological interpretation of having
been offended, wronged or denied.
5. Hate- It is a deep and emotional extreme dislike that can be directed against individuals,
entities, objects or ideas. It can be destructive and becomes an attempt to eliminate the
other.
6. Gratitude- Gratitude, thankfulness, gratefulness or appreciation is a feeling or attitude in
acknowledgement of a benefit that one has received or will receive.
7. Joy- It is a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. It can be a substitute for real joy.

Benefits of Emotional Honesty

1. Emotional Honesty promote Authenticity- Honesty is a reflection of your own
thoughts and feelings, if you want people to know who you really are, be honest in
yourself expressions.
2. Emotional Honesty fosters courage- Courage is doing what you know want or need to
do, despite your fear. It takes an immense amount of courage to say what you feel.
3. Emotional Honesty shows you care- Being honest with yourself and others show how
much you really care. It also demonstrates self respect and respect for others. Gentle
honesty is also very attractive and appealing.
4. Emotional Honesty creates a circle of love- When others respond with honesty; it
can create more interpersonal closeness and authenticity.
5. It shows maturity and self acceptance- A mature person conveys honest expressions in
a style that minimizes painful impact.

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 Virtue of Humility
The dictionary definition of humility says: “The quality or conditions of being humble; modest
opinion or estimate of one’s own importance, rank etc”. Humility is considered as a state of being
highlighted by your behaviour and approach to things. It’s also considered as one of the virtue of
the human conditions along with kindness, patience, diligence, charity etc.
Humility is the quality of being humble. Humility refers to the act or posture of lowering oneself
in relation to others.
Meaning: The virtue of humility refers to a quality by which a person considering his own
defects has a lowly opinion of himself and willingly submits himself to god and to others for
god’s sake. Humility is-
• Strength under control.
• Choosing not to draw attention to self but highlighting the abilities to others.
• Open to input of others.
• Not defensive or overly-self aware but willing to take advice.
• Self-controlled.
• Confident but respect towards others.

Practice Humility by the following:

1. Give Credit
2. Perform service and charity anonymously
3. Accept Humiliations
4. Obey legitimate superiors
5. Think better of others than of yourself

Promoting Happiness
Happiness is a sense of well-being, joy etc. When people are successful or safe, lucky they feel
happiness. Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well being defined by positive or pleasant
emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.
Tips to improve Happiness:
1. Be in the Moment
2. Laugh out loud
3. Go to sleep
4. Hum along
5. Visit a quiet place
6. Spend time alone
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 7. Walk mindfully
8. Do one thing at a time
9. Take daily risks

Karma Yoga
Karma Yoga is an English book of Swami Vivekananda, which was published in February 1896
from New York. Goodwin recorded some of the lectures of Swami Vivekananda and those
lectures were published as the book Karma Yoga in 1896.
Karma Yoga or the Discipline of action is a form of yoga based on the teaching of the Bhagavad
Gita, a scared Sanskrit scripture of Hinduism.

Meaning: The word Karma is derived from the Sanskrit Kri means “To Do”. Karma Yoga is
described as a way of acting, thinking and willing by which one orients oneself towards
realization by acting in accordance with one’s duty (dharma) without consideration of personal
self- likes or dislikes. Karma Yoga is a mental discipline that allows a person to carry out his/her
duties as a service to the entire world, as a path to enlightenment.
Importance:
1. It is the pathway that achieves knowledge through the work done in day to life.
2. We always receive the results of our actions, good results for good actions and vice
versa.
3. Our Karma will determine the kind of body we get in the next life. But in the context of
Karma Yoga, Karma is simply used to denote actions.
4. It is concerned with the correct way of doing work.
5. It sets out to teach what our duties are and how we should perform them to attain this
sense.
6. We have to work simple to earn a living for ourselves and for those for whom we care.
Principles of Karma Yoga:
1. Right Attitude
2. Right Motive
3. Do your Duty
4. Do your Best
5. Give up results
6. Serve god
7. Follow the discipline of the job.

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 PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Professional Ethics encompass the personal and corporate standards of behaviour expected by
professionals. The word professionalism originally applied to vows or a religious order. By 1675,
the term had seen secular application and was applied to the 3 learned professions: Divinity, Law
and Medicine along with Military.
Professionals and those working in acknowledged profession exercise specialist knowledge and
skill. How the use of this knowledge should be governed when providing a service to the public
can be considered a moral issue and is termed as professional ethics.
Every profession has its own rules, regulations or principles. A person when choosing a job must
know that specific professional ethics. They are the guidance for people working in a particular
profession that tells them what they supposed to do and what they are not supposed to do while
working there.
Example: The Hippocratic Oath taken by Doctors when they are rewarded the degree in
Medicine. This Oath is one of the ethics that they have to follow before practicing medicine.
Features of professional ethics:
• Openness
• Transparency
• Privacy
• Impartial
• Practical and un-biased
• Loyal
• Co-operative
• Objective oriented
Need/Importance of Professional Ethics:
• They build up your reputation
• Provide emotional security
• Promotes teamwork
• Enhances commitment and performances
• Attract talents
• Establishes code of conduct
• They can lead to business growth
• They make you a role model
• Lead to highly valued work
• They widen your network
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 Ethical Dilemmas in Professions
A. Healthcare sector:
1. Patient Confidentiality: Information about a patient’s medical condition is considered private.
Violating a patient’s confidentiality can hurt the patient and have legal and ethical consequences
for the health care worker. The Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act (HIPAA) has
drawn up specific laws that govern the release of a patient’s medical information. These laws
state clearly the type of patient information that can be released to third parties and which
information must be kept confidential. The laws also set forth who can see the information and
who cannot. Although these laws appear straightforward, there are Grey areas such as when
withholding information about a patient’s condition would be unethical because it could harm the
patient or someone else.
2. Patient Relationships: Health care providers are ethically prohibited from entering into
personal relationships with patients in the course of providing treatment. Violating this policy,
especially if it involves a sexual relationship, can result in losing a license to practice, in being
sued and in being forbidden to provide any kind of healthcare services in the future. Entering into
a sexual relationship with a patient is considered a serious violation of that patient’s rights and an
act of misconduct and abuse of power on the part of the health care worker. When under medical
care, a patient is considered vulnerable and unable to defend or protect themselves. Even the
appearance of a sexual relationship with a patient can have serious consequences for a health care
practitioner.

3. Malpractice and Negligence: Health care providers are always at risk for being charged
with malpractice and negligence. A patient who is harmed by defective medical equipment or
products, injured in the course of a medical treatment or placed in danger because of medication
errors can sue to recover their losses. Patients can also sue when health care providers fail to
provide a critically needed treatment or service. Due to the ever-present threat of litigation,
health care providers must carefully cover all the bases in the course of providing patient care.
4. Informed Consent: In order for any medical treatment to be considered legal, the patient must
first provide the health care worker with an informed consent. Unless a patient provides informed
consent for a procedure, that procedure can considered an assault or even a homicide if the patient
were to die as a result of treatment. Informed consent means that a patient has had all of their
questions answered and freely agrees to a treatment or procedure with full knowledge of the risks,
benefits and possible consequences. Informed consent also means that patients are informed
about other options as well as about the option of doing nothing.

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 5. Issues Related To Physician Assisted Suicide (PAD): Most health care professionals are
aware that physician assisted dying is already legal in other countries like California. Support for
PAD is growing in momentum as the baby boom generation gets older. Surveys show that
roughly 50 percent of doctors now support some form of physician assisted dying. These days,
physicians are broadening the concept of “Do no harm” to include providing relief for those who
are dying and suffering as a result of a fatal illness.
6. Inequality in access to healthcare.
• Unequal distribution of healthcare facilities.
• Privatization and corporatization of healthcare.
• Overpricing of medical interventions and unnecessary prescription of drugs and
procedures to inflate the costs, by private hospitals and doctors.
• Lack of quality healthcare professionals in rural and backward areas.
• Issue of granting and extending patents; ever greening of patents etc.
• Issues related to disclosure of information to the patient and the caretakers.
• Ethical issues like Euthanasia; abortion etc
B. Education Sector:
1. Social Inequity: One of the biggest ethical issues that any school today faces is that of social
inequity. Education institutions often fail to address the problems that arise thanks to the
inequalities that exist between different children because of their family backgrounds in
economic, ethnic, and other terms. A child who is coming from a poorer background, who is
not having enough food or getting enough time to be an active kid at home will likely have a
much more difficult time in school than someone from the rich family. Such children are
often punished by school administrators for having bad academic performance instead of
being offered assistance in an alternative fashion.
2. Cheating: Cheating has been a prominent historical issue in every school. While it is very
difficult to tackle this problem completely, there are things schools can do to minimize it.
For example, using a respectable plagiarism checker can allow a teacher to assess student
work before grading it. But while this is one of the best practices all private and public
schools should adopt, there is another issue to consider. Assisted cheating is now becoming
more popular and is one of the biggest ethical concerns education providers are facing. This
relates to a teacher helping struggling children to boost a classroom’s overall performance
in order to secure more funding. This, as you can imagine, is among the major ethical
issues that public schools are facing today.
3. Social Diversity: In multicultural countries and neighborhoods, it is vital for every place of
education, especially public schools, and colleges, to aim for ethnic and social equality in

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 what is offered. Students from ethnic minorities and diverse backgrounds should not feel left
out. Every school must organize multicultural festivals and ethnic sports to make such
students feel included. Steps must be taken as ethnic and social inequity can become one of
the most significant ethical issues in any place of education.

4. Special Treatment: Whether because of something as simple as personal preference or

something as problematic as racial inequality, schools have been suffering from the ethical
issue of special treatment for a long while. Teachers often grade students differently based on
how much they like them. Principals might treat athletes better so that their parents keep
donating and teachers might give such students better grades to let them keep playing. This is
one of the biggest ethical issues that need to be addressed by every educational institution.
5. Discipline: When it comes to employing a zero-tolerance policy or a second chance policy,
things can get a little complicated. Neither of these can be utilized in every situation. A
teacher can use one or the other depending on the situation. A zero-tolerance policy can be
useful when it comes to issues like bullying or racial issues in schools whereas the second
chance policy can be used to help students improve their academic performance.
6. Grading Exams: As schools move forward, it is important to reassess how the performance
of a student is graded. Exams and tests are not necessarily a good way to do so as many
children can face issues when sitting in exams. A bright student might find it impossible to
pass the easiest of tests just because of anxiety or another concern. This also leads to pretty
predictable outcomes because certain students will always do well in exams while others
won’t. To assess the quality of education provided to a student in private and public schools,
there needs to be a change in teaching strategies, curriculum development, assessments, and
more. Otherwise, this can become one of the most prominent ethical issues that a place of
education faces.
7. Bullying: Bullying is a huge problem in many schools. It is no surprise at this point and pretty
much everyone knows that some children are going to face some form of bullying in schools.
However, the institutions often brush away the signs of bullying and ignore it even when they
see it happening. Many people also believe that a child who is constantly bullied or hurt is
more likely to be the one who ends up carrying firearms. That is one reason why there needs
to be a deep understanding of this issue among people and both private and public schools
should have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to cases of bullying.

8. Uniforms : Among the biggest issues with ethics in places of education revolves around
uniforms. Should a school ask students to wear a strict uniform or allow them to wear what
they’re comfortable in? There are two very strong sides to this particular argument. People
who are against uniforms claim that what children wear has no bearing on how they perform
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 in their education. They also raise the point of money – a lot of parents are not in a position to
afford a uniform for their kids. These are both valid arguments but then how does an
institution make sure that students don’t show up in immodest or provocative clothes? That
is why this is among such big ethical issues.
C. Corporate Sector:
1. Unsafe Working Environment- Maintaining the ideal working environment is a major
consideration in business ethics. In an ideal world, we want workplaces that have enough
security, safety features, and protection from both internal and external threats. However,
establishing such systems cost money, money that is either insufficient or the higher
management are unwilling to spend for. However, it’s part of the duties of businesses to
provide the best possible working environments for their employees.
2. Discrimination- In an ideal world, we should live in a world where discrimination is not
present. However, this is not often the case in the real world. People discriminate against
people for a wide variety of reasons. Some discriminate on the basis of gender, while others
do on the basis of social standing. However, when people discriminate in a business setting,
it can lead to some problematic practices. For example, people may or may not be hired for
things that have nothing to do with their qualifications for the job.
3. Falsification- This is one of the most common forms of unethical practices being done at all
levels of organizations. People in business falsify information for a wide variety of reasons.
Some do it to make it look as if specific forms of data fit their personal agenda, while others
do it in order to achieve promotion or to avoid sanctions. Depending on the type of
falsification done, the damage can range from negligible to extremely destructive. Some
examples of falsification include plagiarism, tampering, and intellectual dishonesty.
4. Espionage- This is one of the most controversial ethical dilemmas in business. Espionage is
defined as the illegal acquisition of data from one organization for the benefit of another one.
Espionage can come from different sources:
✓ People hired by a business entity to spy on rivals
✓ Former employees who spill information to rival companies to sabotage their former
company.

✓ People who illegally pick up goods and/or practices from other businesses to incorporate
into their own.
5. Non-Disclosure- One common element found in employment contracts is nondisclosure.
Employees shouldn’t put confidential company information out in public. At the same time,
employers shouldn’t use the private information of their employees for whatever reason
except for the individuals who consented to it. However, this agreement is very commonly

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 breached by both sides, and such breaches are common subjects of legal consequences. In
spite of the legal issues, non-disclosure remains a common issue in business ethics.
6. Breaches in Privacy- This is another common source of complications in business
relationships. You shouldn’t breach private information, except information that can
potentially cause harm to you and others. It is unethical for both employee and employer to
divulge information without the implied consent of the other party. However, for many
reasons, either party chooses to use such information without consent.
7. Improper use of social media- Social media is now a big part of our day-to-day lives. It has
now become a means to stay updated, communicate with other people, and share one’s
opinion with the rest of the world. However, there are more than a few cases that people
have misused social media, which resulted in some unethical uses. For example, an
employee shouldn’t slander a current or former employer, especially if they cannot back up
their claims. At the same time, companies should not slander former employees and other
companies.
8. Bad Accounting Practices- Those involved in the financial end of a business are under
massive amounts of pressure. Any financial record not properly done can lead to a potential
crisis in the company. There are some parts of a company that can be guilty of inappropriate
use of funds, and the only way to cover it up is by altering the way expenses are filed and
processed. This area of business is particularly prone to ethical violations.
9. Corporate Research violation− Research is at the heart of the growth of all forms of
industries. However, research performed or sponsored by a particular company may be prone
to some ethical dilemmas. For example, there is what you call research bias. There is a
possibility that businesses are looking for specific outcomes in the research, resulting in
biased methods, results, and evaluation. Additional, there are some areas of research where
the framework of the study does not comply with ethical standards of scientific research.
D. Social Work:
• Personal bias- A social worker's personal or professional values conflict with serving their
client.
• Conflict with ethics guide- A social worker's values or conduct deviate from the
professional code of ethics that governs social work.
• Confidentiality safety- A social worker must decide whether to break confidentiality for
the good of their client.
• Professional dilemmas- An organization or colleague violates a standard of ethical
Conduct.

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 Reasons for the crisis of Professional Ethics

1) Nepotism: It is a specific form of favoritism in which a business leader prioritizes hiring a

family member over a non family member. While it is certainly a controversial topic in business
ethics, it isn't inherently unethical to employ family members. The nature of your business,
standards for employment and consistency in policies affect the ethical nature of nepotism.
• Basic Concerns: The basic concern about nepotism in business is that it contradicts
typical customs in employment to hire and promote the most qualified candidate for a
job. While a son, daughter or nephew may be the most capable employee, nepotism
sometimes leads to relatives getting jobs when other candidates have stronger education
and work experience. Even when a relative is most qualified, hiring him may give the
impression of nepotism. If you partner with non family or formalize a corporation with
shareholders, the business takes on a formal standing that is distinct from your
involvement. In these cases, nepotism is more questionable because other parties have an
ownership stake or vested interest in the operation.
• Policy Consistency: In large companies, nepotism isn't inherently wrong, although some
people believe it is unethical in all cases. A 2009 Family Business Institute article noted
that companies may benefit from nepotism if it consistently enforces fair policies. In a
small organization, employees are often hired from internal referrals rather than formal job
postings. Some companies encourage referrals of family members and friends to open
positions. The ethics in this type of culture relate to the company's consistency in
accepting family referrals and giving candidates fair access to jobs.
• Practical Matters: Along with the ethical nature of nepotism, you need to consider the
practical business matters. While family businesses often establish legacies from multiple
generations of family involvement, not all companies benefit from nepotistic behaviors. In
some cases, well-meaning owners or operators hire under qualified, unmotivated family
members that aren't worth what they are paid. Even worse, they undermine the workplace
culture and increase the burden on other staff. Balancing your desire to help family while
managing a successful business is key.
2) Favoritism: Favoritism in the workplace is counter-productive and, in some cases, illegal.
When management assigns responsibility or gives promotions based on favoritism, the company
is not always getting the most qualified person in a job. Certain forms of favoritism, such as
soliciting sexual favors for job advancement, are illegal throughout the United States. Become
familiar with the types of favoritism those are practiced so that your company can develop
effective policies to combat them.

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 • Nepotism: Nepotism is the practice of hiring family members regardless of their
qualifications. In some cases, a relative of a company executive may be qualified to
perform the job for which she is hired. The fact that she is an executive's relative gives
her an advantage over the other applicants. But when the employee is not qualified to
perform the job, then nepotism becomes counter-productive. Your executive staff begins
hiring family members because they need jobs, But the family members' lack of
qualifications and ability can affect your company's profitability.

Business Structure: The ethics of nepotism in business have a lot to do with the
business structure. A family business, often established as a sole proprietorship,
partnership or S corporation, typically means you own and control the operation by
yourself or with family members who are partners. If you partner with non-family
members or formalize a corporation with shareholders, the business takes on a formal
standing that is distinct from your involvement. In these cases, nepotism is more
questionable because other parties have an ownership stake or vested interest in the
operation.
• Policy Consistency: In large companies, nepotism isn't inherently wrong, although some
people believe it is unethical in all cases. A 2009 Family Business Institute article noted
that companies may benefit from nepotism if it consistently enforces fair policies. In a
small organization, employees are often hired from internal referrals rather than formal job
postings. Some companies encourage referrals of family members and friends to open
positions. The ethics in this type of culture relate to the company's consistency in
accepting family referrals and giving candidates fair access to jobs.
• Practical Matters: Along with the ethical nature of nepotism, you need to consider the
practical business matters. While family businesses often establish legacies from multiple
generations of family involvement, not all companies benefit from nepotistic behaviors. In
some cases, well-meaning owners or operators hire under qualified, unmotivated family
members that aren't worth what they are paid. Even worse, they undermine the workplace
culture and increase the burden on other staff. Balancing your desire to help family while
managing a successful business is key.

• Cronyism: Cronyism is the other side of nepotism. It is the act of hiring friends regardless
of qualifications. One of the main problems with cronyism, which you also find in
nepotism, is the feeling of entitlement that employees hired under these circumstances feel.
Because they know or are related to an executive with the company, they feel they deserve

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 raises and promotions that should be reserved for more qualified staff members. This
creates conflict in the workplace and can result in losing qualified personnel.
• Sexual Favors: Even if the situation is consensual, the exchange of sexual favors for
career advancement is a form of discrimination and can be classified as sexual harassment.
The employees who are denied promotions and raises in lieu of sexual favors being
exchanged between a manager and employee can claim that they were discriminated
against. Companies should discourage inter-office relationships, and should consider a
policy that makes relationships between managers and subordinates grounds for
termination.
• Patronage: Patronage becomes a round-about way for an executive or manager to engage
in nepotism or cronyism. An executive promotes employees he trusts into positions of
management, and then asks those managers to hire the friends and family members. This
kind of favoritism has the potential to spread throughout the company as the executive
brings more of her favorite employees into positions of authority.

Moral Entrepreneur
Moral Entrepreneurship is a term related to Sociology. They are committed to the enactment and
administration of regulations against specific behaviors. The group defines such behaviors as
‘Atypical.’ As a result, they are the active and visible members of social governance.
Moral entrepreneurs are a group, individual persons, or a formal business entity. They try to
persuade a group to accept or sustain a standard by bending the rules of obligation, compassion,
deviance, and altruism. Basically, they take the initiative of tagging a particular activity or
behavior. Furthermore, they popularize the tag throughout society mostly on a negative note.
Additionally, the responsibilities of a moral entrepreneur are to remove the negative labels, spread
positive labeling, and eliminate positive labels.
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ASST. PROF. M GEETHA (ACMS) 15

ASST. PROF. M GEETHA (ACMS) 16