One of the social problem

1. UNETHICAL PRACTICE IN
DIFFERENT PROFESSION
PREPARED BY:
SHIKHA BASNET
MPH,2021
SPH & CM
BPKIHS, DHARAN

2. REASON FOR CHOOSING THIS TOPIC
• Unethical behavior in the workplace is, unfortunately, more common than what
we think.
• The first things that come to our mind are probably issues such as fraud, theft and
other but there are so much more than these extreme cases like from misusing
company time and violating company internet policies, through showcasing
abusive behavior and disrespecting colleagues.
• Unethical behavior creates a toxic work environment and an issue of society.
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3. ETHICS (1)
• Ethics is the science of conduct. It considers the actions of human beings with
reference to their rightness or wrongness.
• The word "ethics" is derived from the Greek word ethos, which means
"character".
• The study on ethics helps to know the people‘s beliefs, values, and morals, learn
the good and bad of them, and practice them to maximize their well-being and
happiness.
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4. ETHICS (2)
• It involves the inquiry on the existing situations, form judgments and resolve the
issues. In addition, ethics tells us how to live, to respond to issues, through the
duties, rights, responsibilities, and obligations.
• Ethics related to medical practice research and public health policies for health
care delivery had always been considered to be of paramount importance from the
beginning of the history of human civilization.
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6. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION (1)
• Ethical guidelines for medical practice and their violations are as old as the
history of human civilization.
• In Europe, during the time of Hippocrates and Gallen, the father figures in the
history of modern medicine, there were surgeons like Hirophilus Erasistratus,
etc., who dissected live human bodies, mostly the victims of war, without
anesthesia to study the human anatomy.
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7. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION (2)
• Hippocrates (460 BC to 377 BC) vehemently opposed this cruelty, which resulted
in the origin of the famous "Hippocratic Oath."
• The essential component of the Hippocratic code of ethics was based on the
principle of non-maleficence and came out as a three-worded phrase "DO NO
HARM," which subsequently evolved into the 181-worded Hippocratic Oath
recited at Graduation ceremonies.
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9. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION (3)
Nuremberg Trial
• It was conducted in the city of Nuremberg in Germany to try war criminals
between 20 th of November 1945 and 1 st of October 1949 where case was heard
by an international Jury.
• This was followed by Doctors Trial conducted by U.S. Jury in the same city of
Nuremberg in the palace of Justice against 20 doctors including Karl Brandt, the
personal Physician of Adolph Hitler, who used the innocent prisoners in
concentration camps, mentally retarded children, terminally ill patients etc. for
human experimentation without their consent and ultimately killed them under the
guise of Euthanasia.
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10. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION (4)
Nuremberg Code
• It is a set of ethical principles for human experimentation in medical research
framed in the year 1948 following the verdict in the Doctors Trial on August
20 th 1947.
• Nuremberg Code was the first international document that advocated voluntary
participation and informed consent for all human experimentation in medical
research.
• The code also insists that human experimentation should be done only by
qualified scientists and doctors
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11. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION (5)
Guatemala Trial (1946-48)
• It was a project of the U.S. Public Health Department to study the transmission of
syphilis through direct contact and effect of Penicillin against syphilis.
• 1003 innocent people consisted of prisoners of Indiana soldiers, sex workers,
mentally handicapped and orphans; 83 of them died at the various stages of
syphilis.
• Dr. Cutler was the main person behind this ethical tragedy and he went to
Tuskeejee after this cruel trial, because all the four principles of ethics viz,
Autonomy, Beneficence, Non-maleficence, and justice were violated.
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12. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION (4)
Thalidomide Tragedy of 1950:
• Thalidomide was a drug used to control sleep, nausea, and vomiting, associated
with morning sickness in pregnant women.
• Soon it was proved that the drug causes severe congenital anomalies.
• But, the medical community never revealed the new invention to the patients and
continued to use the drug. Later, it was found that 12,000 babies were born with
severe congenital deformities.
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13. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION (5)
Tuskeejee Syphilis Study 1932-72:
• The notorious Tuskeejee Syphilis study was conducted by the United States Public Health
Service to study the natural history of syphilis.
• Four hundred low-income African Americans who were infected by syphilis were
observed for 40 years consecutively without giving any treatment in spite of the fact that
definite curative treatment was available from 1950 onwards without informing the
patients or their relatives.
• In 1973, this was noticed by the public and became a political issue, and the Government
was forced to withdraw the study in 1973 due to political pressure.
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14. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION (6)
Belmont Report:
• This incident also resulted in the genesis of a new Act viz., National Research Act
of 1974. As per provisions of the Act, a National Commission was constituted for
the protection of human participants in bio-medical research, behavioral research.
• The Commission drafted the historic "BELMONT REPORT" in 1979 April 18,
which is now considered as the landmark document on ethics of human
participants in medical research. The three principles that highlighted in Belmont
Report are (i) Respect for persons and informed consent, (ii) Beneficence, and
(iii) Justice.
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15. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION (7)
Helsinki Declaration of 1964
World Medical Association took the initiative in bringing out this landmark declaration on
ethics related to bio-medical research. Research in human should be based on research from
lab and animal experimentation.
• The research protocols should be reviewed by an independent and competent committee
prior to the initiation of research.
• Informed consent from human participants is mandatory.
• Research should be carried out only by medically/scientifically qualified persons.
• The risk involved in the research should not exceed the benefits.
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16. WORK ETHICS
• Workplace ethics are the set of values, moral principles, and standards that need
to be followed by both employers and employees in the workplace.
• It also ensures maximum productivity output at work. And could be pivotal for
career growth.
• Examples includes; obeying the company's rules, effective communication, taking
responsibility, accountability, professionalism, trust and mutual respect for your
colleagues at work.
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17. UNETHICAL WORKPLACE BEHAVIOR
• Unethical workplace behavior is any action at work that goes against the
prevailing moral norms of a community.
• At work, unethical behavior can take multiple forms and have multiple
targets.
• From minor to severe forms, everyone can behave unethically, hurting
societies, organizations, colleagues, and even the self in the process.
• Unethical workplace behavior can be intentional and unintentional
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18. IS IT ETHICAL?
• A consultant oncologist examines a woman who previously had breast
cancer. As he performs the physical examination, the doctor feels a
suspicious breast lump. When he tells the woman what he has found, she
starts to cry. But he seems not to notice and carries on examining her,
ignoring her obvious distress and need for support.
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19. COMMON UNETHICAL PRACTICE OF
HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
practicing without the proper educational qualifications
practicing without required licenses and registrations
 over-charging; negligence; and uncertain prescriptions
supervising, monitoring or conducting torture; and sexual misconduct with patients
 disclosure of a patient's medical history to employers
 accept bribes or excessive fees for expert testimony
 making narcotics and other substances that can be misused
 may perform illegal abortions or treat unreported gunshot wounds.
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20. OTHER UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN THE
DIFFERENT WORKPLACE
• Misleading Communications: Advertising a product/service feature that does
not exist, Making misleading claims to clients or suppliers, Raising prices
temporarily to subsequently apply a pseudo-promotion/discount, Overpricing
products and services.
• Fraudulent behavior: Evading taxes, Bribing, Violating or ignoring
environmental regulations, Sharing false information with regulators,
Endangering clients by keep selling a faulty product or service.
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21. OTHER UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN THE
DIFFERENT WORKPLACE
• Anti-competitive activity: Price fixing, Market sharing, Information sharing that
might reduce the competition (price, stock, market, and plans), Agreeing with
competitors to limit production with the intention of raising prices.
• Production deviance: Dragging out work to get overtime payment and to miss
deadlines, Making mistakes on purpose, Purposely leaving work unfinished so
that someone else has to finish it, Distracting colleagues instead of working,
Complaining about unimportant issues at work, Covering up mistakes with lies,
Pretending not to know how to do something to avoid a reasonable work request.
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22. OTHER UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN THE
DIFFERENT WORKPLACE
• Withdrawal: Taking excessive personal time for lunch, breaks, and other
personal deeds, Daydreaming excessively, Pretending to be unwell, Working on
personal matters during normal work time, Coming late to work or finishing the
day early consistently and without reasonable justification, Playing online or
computer games while at work.
• Property deviance and sabotage: Taking property without permission, Wasting
organizational property, Damaging, on purpose, the organization’s equipment,
services, or property, Destroying or falsifying important documents, Helping
others to take property.
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23. OTHER UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN THE
DIFFERENT WORKPLACE
• Political deviance: Showing favoritism to people who are important for personal
goals, Gossiping and undermining others to gain personal advantage, Creating
personal connections with others to push them to work beyond job description,
Giving or accepting gifts in exchange for special treatment, Competing with
colleagues instead of working collaboratively.
• Ostracism: Ignoring or avoiding a colleague at work, Not replying to a
colleague’s greetings, phone-calls, or emails, Acting as if a colleague is not
present in the room, Ignoring a colleague’s inputs in a work debate/meeting.
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24. OTHER UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN THE
DIFFERENT WORKPLACE
• Interpersonal deviance: Making fun of, embarrassing, or making hurtful
comments, being rude to a colleague, Playing unwanted and mean pranks,
Making mean gender, ethnic, or religious comments, Blaming a colleague for
personal mistakes, Starting unreasonable arguments, Pushing a colleague to
discuss personal issues.
• Aggression: Physically or psychologically threatening a colleague; Insulting at
work, Purposefully breaking your colleague’s working tools; Failing to alert a
colleague of an immediate danger; Endangering a colleague at work.
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25. OTHER UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN THE
DIFFERENT WORKPLACE
• Abusive leadership: Yelling, blaming, making negative comments, being rude,
and putting supervisees down, Influencing supervisees through threats and
intimidation, Humiliating supervisees when they fail to reach a desired standard,
Isolating supervisees or by blocking access to important information,
Intentionally providing false information , Ignoring and diminishing the inputs of
supervisees.
• Bullying
• Alcohol and drug use/abuse
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The survey concludes that untimely legal action including changing project manager’s responsibility and
delays in payment processes are key unethical practices from owner/client aspect, while contractor’s
unethical practices are under bidding, bid cutting and shopping, bid rigging and over billing. But from
the consultant aspect; lack of supervision, poor monitoring and taking bribes under different pretend are
found to be the encouraging factors for unethical conducts in the construction industry. It is also found
that accepting the bribes, gifts and conflicts of interest are the most common forms of unethical practices.
The findings from the study are expected to help as an important eye opener to policy makers and
regulatory agencies in detecting and preventing unethical practices. The study recommends that
promoting awareness regarding the values of ethical behavior at different forum and ensuring the
effective punishment for unethical activities at different stages of project life cycle might reduce the
unethical practices in the construction industry.

27. CAUSES OF UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN
WORKPLACE (1)
The Ethics & Compliance Initiative 2020 global survey identified that:
• Misconduct rises with an increase in organizational change. The results
indicate that employees who experience four or more changes in 12 months were
two times likely to observe misconduct compared to employees working in a
business without any significant changes. Some examples of significant changes
are cost-cutting strategies resulting in layoffs and business reorganizations. 2020
uprooted employees and businesses because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many
organizations allowed employees to work remotely from home, created flexible
working schedules, and banned business travel.
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28. CAUSES OF UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN
WORKPLACE (2)
• Pressure to compromise organizational ethics standards plays a role. Work
pressure creates several stress factors for managers and employees such as work
deadlines, performance goals, technology issues, and demands from other areas in
the company.
• Pressure to bend the rules exists within organizations. As a result of change
and work stressors, the ECI report identified that 22% of employees feel the
pressure to bend the rules to get the work done and meet the demands placed on
them.
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29. GLOBAL SCENARIO (1)
• The Harvard Business Review article, “How Common Is Unethical Behavior in
U.S. Organizations?” references a national survey conducted by the Yale Center for
Emotional Intelligence with the collaboration with the Faas Foundation, which
found that: 29% of U.S. employees have witnessed or experienced unethical
behavior. 27% of U.S. employees experienced an unhealthy work environment.
1 in 4 employees in the U.S. feel pressured to act unethically and are afraid to
speak up.
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30. GLOBAL SCENARIO (2)
• According to Australian Human right commission, Sexual harassment is a
common experience that occurs in every industry, in every location and at every
level in Australian workplaces. In 2018, one in three Australian workers had
experienced workplace sexual harassment.
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31. GLOBAL SCENARIO (3)
• In 2020, the Association of Certified Fraud
Examiners (“ACFE”) published the 11th edition of
its Global Study on Occupational Fraud and Abuse
entitled Report to the Nations, examining both the
costs and effects of occupational fraud.
• The study examined 2,504 reported cases of fraud
from 125 countries, causing total losses of more
than $3.6 billion, that were investigated between
January 2018 and September 2019.
• The study estimates that the typical organization
loses 5% of its revenues to fraud each year.
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33. MAJOR INSTITUTION WORKING IN NEPAL (1)
Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA)
• It is a constitutional body mandated with controlling corruption and investigating
financial irregularities and corruption involving public officials.
• It also focuses on detection and punishment of corrupt behavior, as well as social,
cultural and institutional reform.
• The anti-graft agency survey report titled “Study of Corruption and Good-
Governance in Nepal-2075” released in 2019 showed that municipalities and
rural municipalities were among the most corrupt government institutions in the
country.
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34. MAJOR INSTITUTION WORKING IN NEPAL (2)
National Vigilance center
• National Vigilance Center (NVC) has mandate to carry out technical audit of the
infrastructure projects that are implemented through the different government agencies.
Nepal Health Professional Council (NHPC)
Nepal Health Professional Council (NHPC) is a autonomous body established under the Nepal
Health Professional Council Act 2053. The aim of this council is to register all the "health
professionals" other than medical doctors and nurses according to their qualification; and bring
them into a legal system as to make their services effective and timely, and in a scientific
manner.
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35. MAJOR INSTITUTION WORKING IN NEPAL (3)
Nepal Medical Council
• The Nepal Medical council is mandated to regulate medical profession within the country
by the Nepal Medical Council Act.
• It is duty bound and responsible for setting the ethical standards of practice and the code of
conduct for the medical professionals and ensuring all medical practitioners comply with
ethical behavior for safe and quality medical practice.
• According to the seriousness of the violation of Code of Medical Ethics, medical
practitioners shall receive punishment ranging from a notice of attention, warning,
probation (not be allowed to work independently/ should work under supervision),
suspension and/or permanent removal from Council’s registration.
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36. MAJOR INSTITUTION WORKING IN NEPAL (4)
Nepal nursing council
• The Nepal nursing council (NNC) is the statutory body, which sets the standards
for the education, registration and professional ethics and conduct of nurses and
midwives in the country.
• NNC also sets standards of practice and provides support for registered nurses
and midwives in the country in implementing standards of practice by
developing, reviewing and publishing a code of ethics and professional conduct;
and providing guidance on all aspects of professional conduct and on maintaining
professional competencies
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37. DIFFERENT APPROACHES TAKEN TO TACKLE
(1)
Following are the few ways to prevent and overcome unethical behavior in
workplace:
1. It all starts at the hiring process
• The first step to solving any issue is preventing it from ever happening.
• Assess whether current screening and hiring system is adequate.
• While qualifications and experience are certainly important, make sure to pay
close attention to values.
• Appropriate screening in the form of background checks is also essential.
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38. DIFFERENT APPROACHES TAKEN TO TACKLE
(2)
2. Be sure to have a clear code of conduct
• A company should have a written code of conduct in place that clearly outlines
what is expected of employees as well as what is unacceptable.
• Having everything written down, makes it straightforward and the employee will
have no other option than to deal with the consequences of their actions.
• Just make sure everyone is up to date with the code of conduct.
• In case of misconduct, make sure the rest of the employees are aware of the
punishment that was carried out.
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39. DIFFERENT APPROACHES TAKEN TO TACKLE
(3)
3. Implement security measures
• Implement certain security and surveillance measures that will keep everyone in
check.
• It becomes impossible to keep an eye on everyone.
• Install a surveillance system that will keep both company and employees secure.
• In addition, to stop the misuse of company time and internet, turn to software that
will keep track of employee behavior while on the computer.
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40. DIFFERENT APPROACHES TAKEN TO TACKLE
(4)
4. Reinforce Consequences for Unethical Behavior
• Business owners must hold their employees accountable when they act
unethically.
• Make sure all new workers know the consequences of policy violations.
• If an employee acts unethically, refer to the code of conduct and take the
necessary measures to warn or terminate.
• In a serious situation, firing the employee on the spot might be the right thing to
do.
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41. DIFFERENT APPROACHES TAKEN TO TACKLE
(5)
5. Have insurance in place
• For extra protection from instances of unethical employee behavior, Employee
Dishonesty Insurance or Fidelity Bonds can be insured.
• Basically, this type of insurance protects in case of any type of fraud is committed
by an employee (or a group of them).
• Stealing company resources (physically or otherwise), forging documents or
altering them, misusing company credit cards or illicitly transferring company
funds.
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42. DIFFERENT APPROACHES TAKEN TO TACKLE
(6)
6. Show Employees Appreciation
• Loyal employees feel that a company values the hard work they put into
accomplishing tasks on a daily basis.
• A loyal employee is less likely to act unethically.
• Show appreciation to workers on a regular basis to encourage loyalty.
• Consider offering an extra day off per quarter or year to top performers or
institute a bonus program in the sales division to reward hard work.
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43. CRITIQUES
• Occupational fraud is widespread from public companies to governmental units
and nonprofits, from large corporations to small businesses.
• No organization is immune from occupational fraud, and these crimes can
originate from anywhere within the organization.
• Oftentimes, what leads to unethical behavior in the workplace is a lack of
accountability.
• It is said that, ‘No official work can be undertaken without paying a bribe.’
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44. REFERENCE
• Unethical behavior in the workplace: Definition, examples, and statistics. Managing Life at Work. (2021, October 1).
Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://managinglifeatwork.com/unethical-behavior-in-the-workplace/.
• Overcoming unethical behavior in the workplace: 9-step guide. GAN Integrity. (2021, March 5). Retrieved December 7,
2021, from https://www.ganintegrity.com/blog/unethical-behavior-in-the-workplace/.
• Nancyrubin. (2021, July 7). Ways to overcome unethical behavior in the workplace. nancyrubin. Retrieved December 7,
2021, from https://nancy-rubin.com/2019/11/15/6-ways-to-overcome-unethical-behaviour-in-the-workplace/
• Mayhew, R. (2019, February 5). How to handle ethical issues in the workplace. Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved
December 7, 2021, from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/handle-ethical-issues-workplace-10157.html.
• https://acfepublic.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2020-Report-to-the-Nations.pdf
• https://www.withum.com/resources/2020-report-to-the-nations-insights-and-lessons-on-occupational-fraud/
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45. REFERENCE
• http://www.smitorissa.org/Documents/professional%20etics%20module%20-%201.NEW.pdf
• https://www.amhsjournal.org/article.asp?issn=2321-
4848;year=2013;volume=1;issue=2;spage=191;epage=194;aulast=Chandramohan
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3267294/
• https://www.ethics.org/wp-content/uploads/2021-ECI-GBES-State-Ethics-and-Compliance-in-Workplace-
Update.pdf?utm_source=pardot&utm_medium=organic&utm_content=primary-landing&utm_campaign=gbes-2021
• http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/problem/134702
• https://nmc.org.np/files/4/Code%20of%20Ethics_Print_version.pdf
• http://nnc.org.np/web-content/upload/The-code-of-ethics-programme.pdf
• https://humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-10/sexual_harassment_in_australian_workplaces_-
_australias_third_upr_2021.pdf
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