Misconduct is wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts. It is an act which is forbidden or a failure to do that which is required. Misconduct may involve harm to another person's health or well-being.
Misconduct is of particular importance in professional settings (e.g. lawyers, scientists, doctors, military personnel), in the workplace and various institutions (e.g. schools, hospitals, prisons). Two categories of misconduct are
sexual misconduct and
official misconduct. In connection with school discipline, "misconduct" is generally understood to be student behavior that is unacceptable to school officials but does not violate criminal statutes, including
absenteeism
Absenteeism is a habitual pattern of absence from a duty or obligation without good reason. Generally, absenteeism is unplanned absences. Absenteeism has been viewed as an indicator of poor individual performance, as well as a breach of an implici ...
, tardiness,
bullying
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imba ...
, and inappropriate language.
Misconduct in the workplace generally falls under two categories. Minor misconduct is seen as unacceptable but is not a criminal offense (e.g. being late, faking qualifications). Gross misconduct can lead to immediate dismissal because it is serious enough and possibly criminal, e.g.
stealing
Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...
or
sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...
.
Organizational
Organization and management scholars have paid much attention to the causes, forms, modes of development, and consequences of misconduct within or among organizations. They have studied different types of misconduct, such as
white-collar crimes,
insider trading
Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider information ...
, or deceptive accounting.
Financial misconduct became prominent after the
financial crisis of 2007–2008
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...
that revealed how financial organizations can operate profitable illicit activities over decades.
Organizational misconduct can involve many organizations that collaborate, such as the case of
cartels where firms reduce competition by agreeing on production or pricing, then conceal their actions together and maintain collective secret.
Financial
The failure to understand and manage
ethical risks played a significant role in the financial crisis. The difference between bad business decisions and
business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...
misconduct can be hard to determine, and there is a thin line between the ethics of using only financial incentives to gauge performance and the use of holistic measures that include ethics, transparency and responsibility of
stakeholder
Stakeholder may refer to:
*Stakeholder (corporate), a group, corporate, organization, member, or system that affects or can be affected by an organization's actions
*Project stakeholder, a person, group, or organization with an interest in a proje ...
s. From CEO's to traders and brokers, all-too-tempting lucrative financial incentives existed for performance in the financial industry.
The past widespread financial misconduct led to a call for financial reform. The
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was passed in 2010 to increase accountability and transparency in the financial industry and protect consumers from deceptive financial practices.
[Ferrell, Fraedrich: ''Business Ethics'', ''eleventh edition'' Ethical Decision Making and Case, Sexual Harassment in Workplace. February 17, 2017. p. 80]
Police misconduct
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{abuse
Legal terminology