Morality and ethics in organizational administration

The article is a detailed case study of theft and fraud by an employee in an organization. The analysis suggests that in the process of dealing with the employee, the issue was notprimarily one of ethics, but of two moral principles in conflict, compassion and concern for a fellow human being and the morality governing responses to betrayal. The latter governed the results because that morality was congruent with the predominant ethics of the organization concerned with preserving the authority structure and integrity of the organization rather than the personal welfare of the individual in the organization. In sum, the paper argues that, based on this case, organizational behavior towards individual employees may be determined by individual morality that is reinforced by organizational ethical principles more concerned with the self interest of the organization than ethics per se.Howard Adelman, a Professor of Philosophy, directs the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University, recently recognized as a Centre of Excellence by the Canadian government. Adelman has authored three books, edited three others and published over 70 articles in other books and refereed journals. He has specialized in detailed case studies in such fields as psychiatry and law, the philosophy of higher education, philosophy of history and political philosophy.