Exercise 10C What Is My Business Ethics Quotient? Purpose This chapter reveals that being unethical is not abnormal or rare. Misconduct is a normal phenomenon and wrongdoing is as prevalent as "right doing," Misconduct is most often done by people who are primarily good, ethical, and socially responsible. Palmer reports that individuals engage in unethical activities because of a plethora of structure, processes, and mechanisms inherent in the functioning of organizations, and, importantly, all of us are candidates to be unethical under the right circumstances in any organization. Implications of this new research abound for managers.

The purpose of this exercise is to determine your business ethics quotient. We can use the word quotient to refer to the extent that your behavior and attitude are good or bad compared to your fellow business students. In this exercise, your business ethics quotient can range from very bad (total score of 16) to very good (total score of 80). (Donald Palmer, "The New Perspective on Organizational Wrongdoing," California Managment Review, 56, no. 1 (2013): 5-23).

Instructions Step 1: Rate your personal behavior and attitude on the following dimensions on a 1- to 5-scale where 1 is really bad, 2 is bad, 3 is OK, 4 is good, and 5 is really good. Beside each word given, rate yourself compared to your fellow business students.

A. Trustworthy

B. Reliable

C. Dependable

D. Caring

E. Humble

F. Considerate

G. Compassionate

H. Forgiving

I. Loving

J. Courteous

K. Respectful

L. Reverent

M. Supportive

N. Encouraging

O. Helpful

P. Giving

Step 2: Sum your ratings to determine your total business ethics quotient score. Are you pleased with your score? Do you need to improve your score? How can you improve your score? Would a business thinking of hiring you be pleased with your score?