EthicsandIntegrityinBusiness:NavigatingEthicalRisksandTransgressionsintheWorkplaceCaseB

CaseB:PersonalIntegrity-RecognitionandCredit

Severalmonthslater,Andreawasoneofthefront-runnersforakeypromotion-agreatandchallengingdevelopmental opportunity she had been eyeing for a while. One of her main competitors for this positionwas an engineer named Jared, with whom she had been working on a project just completed a few weeksago.SheandJaredworkedverywelltogether,buttherewasalwaysaslightlytenseandawkwardbackdroptotheirrelationship.AndreafeltthatJared,whowassixyearsolderthanshe,wasveryambitiousandmayhaveconsideredAndreatobeathreattohisprospectsforpromotion.

One day in a meeting with her boss and the hiring director to whom she'd report if she got thepromotion, the director mentioned the vacant position. He said Andrea would be a great fit, citing someaccomplishments related to the just-completed project. At first, Andrea was thrilled that her work wasnoticed by this director, but as the conversation continued, she realized that many of the successes citedbythedirectorwereactuallyaccomplishmentsthatJaredhadachieved.

Andreabegantofeeluncomfortable,unsureofhowtogetpastthissomewhatawkwardsituation.Afterall, it was a team project, and accomplishments of the team members were still accomplishments of theteam, right? However, remaining silent felt a bit to Andrea like she was taking credit for the work done byanother. If the tables were turned, she believed she would feel slighted and disrespected. Clearly this wasanethicaldilemma,andAndrea,particularlygivenherstrongethicalupbringing,wasconflicted.Shedidn'twanttotakeanyofJared'scredit,althoughshefearedthatopenlycorrectingthedirector'sopinionmightmeanlosingoutonanexcitingpromotionalopportunity.Shefeltflushinthemeetingandhaddifficultyfocusingonthetopicsbeingdiscussed.Shedidnotknowhowtohandlethissituation.