On Being an Ethical Person “Actions speak louder than words.” – It has been reported that this phrase dates back as far as the 1550s, when the French writer Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) said, “Saying is one thing and doing is another.” There are a variety of definitions of actions... Read more →

Should You Keep Extra Money From an ATM? A good philosophy to live by is stated as follows: “Ethical behavior is doing the right thing when no one else is watching." This partial quote from Aldo Leopold (1887-1948), an American author and philosopher, instructs us to act in ways that... Read more →

Rest’s Model of Ethical Behavior How do we make ethical decisions? James Rest[1], a well-known cognitive-developmental researcher, developed a model of ethical behavior that is based on the presumption that there are four steps in moral development that lead to ethical action. Rest asserted that ethical actions are not the... Read more →

How to Know What the Right Thing to Do Is The Moral Point of View suggests that sometimes people have to set aside their own interests and act in the best interests of others. This notion of doing what’s best for others – at least some of the time –... Read more →

Missed Profit and Cash Targets Lead to Firing of CEO General Electric is in trouble. Last week it announced the firing of CEO John Flannery after 14 months on the job as problems developed in its power unit causing GE to warn it would miss profit and cash targets. GE... Read more →

Was it Sexism or Just Following the Rules? Well it looks like Naomi Oaska is human after all. She lost in the finals in the Pan Pacific tournament in Japan last Sunday to Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova 4-6 and 4-6. We saw a different Osaka in the US Open final... Read more →

Lessons Learned or Mistakes Not Corrected? I receive lots of emails from readers of my ethics blogs who look for advice on personal issues. They tell me that someone said something insulting or offended them in some way. They’re looking for guidance on how best to respond. Sometimes, I get... Read more →

“The Only Thing You Can Do to Make Catfish Edible is Fry Them” You’re probably wondering why I used this quote by Blake Shelton, an American country-western singer and song writer. Shelton obviously was thinking about eating catfish not engaging in it as online behavior. Still, the saying seems to... Read more →

“If there’s something weird and it don’t look good, who you gonna call…?” Ghosting on the internet occurs when someone with whom you have established a relationship disappears from contact without any explanation at all. Perhaps it’s someone you just met on social media, communicated with several times, and then,... Read more →

Building a More Civil Society Through Civil Discourse The Merriam-Webster Learner’s Dictionary defines civility as polite, reasonable, and respectful behavior. Linda Fisher Thornton, a leading voice in ethical leadership, suggests that “these behaviors are the ones we use when we treat others with care,” thereby linking civility with ethical behavior... Read more →