ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2006 > September > 25 > Entry
I don’t care - Whatever it takes!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Make it happen!
This phrase can be very powerful and very dangerous. Managers and executives who bark out these words can be sending a mixed message to their subordinates.
“I don’t care” could be interpreted as “it is okay to do something unethical” and the translation of “what ever it takes” could be the okay for “integrity is not important”.
However, this is usually not the intent of the message being sent by the boss. Most workers want to do well, however, perceive pressure can distort critical thinking, which initiates poor choices in behavior.
Employees who choose to do unethical and illegal things to increase sales or improve profits in organizations eventually get caught.
Their intentions were to get the job done to satisfy the goals of the organization but their primary responsibility should be to do that in the most ethical way.
Managers are better off replacing the phrase mentioned above with, “I care about us getting results and I want us to do what ever it takes to achieve these results, as long as it is ethical and legal”.
Once integrity is lost, we have nothing.
Have you known of anyone who has lost their job because of they did something unethical or illegal?
Or where you asked to do the unthinkable? Where there any consequences for you or the company?
Comments
By Nina
September 25, 2006 11:39 AM | Link to this
I was asked to skew dates in a report once, so that it would like like we delivered to the client on time even though we were a week late!
I refused to cooperate and this caused a lot of tension between my boss and I for some weeks but I guess he eventually got over it. It just wasn’t right!