CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Employment, a relationship between two parties, is usually based on a

contract where work is paid for, where one party, which may be a corporation, for

profit, not-for-profit organization, co-operative or other entity is the employer and

the other is the employee. Employees work in return for payment, which may be

in the form of an hourly wage, by piecework or an annual salary, depending on

the type of work an employee does and/or which sector she or he is working in.

Employees in some fields or sectors may receive gratuities, bonus payments or

stock options. In some types of employment, employees may receive benefits in

addition to payment. Employment is typically governed by employment laws or

regulations and/or legal contracts. (Wikipedia, retrieved: 2016)

Professionalism implies quality of competence and workmanship of a

professional. It is all about success and influence. Every organization knows that

a professional reputation is the difference between success and failure and they

seek to keep their most professional staff. Having a reputation for excellence and

being thought of as someone who exhibits professionalism under any

circumstances can open doors for the person either in the workplace or in his or

her personal ambition. (Valente, 2014)

Effective employees are critical to the success of a growing business. As a

manager or owner, one must be able to recognize and filter out the good from the

bad. Employees who consistently demonstrate good work ethics can be

invaluable assets. Recognize who they are, treat them well and work together to

further the goals of the business. (Lawrence, retrieved: 2016)

Small businesses often have a close, tightly knit, familial atmosphere. It is

natural to experience some growing pains or rough days. In general, employees

should have a positive attitude and be willing to help each other out. Negativity

and dissent can spread like a disease and damage workplace morale and

productivity. Employees should show initiative to make themselves useful and act

as teammates to one another. (Lawrence, retrieved: 2016)

Strong interpersonal skills can help form cohesive teams among employees

and make handling challenges easier. Employees must communicate effectively

and understand the difference between constructive criticism and destructive

griping. Related to interpersonal skills is an employee’s outward appearance. If

the job calls for professional attire, the employee should dress the part. Strong

interpersonal skills involve understanding a little about office politics -- the

employee should know when to speak up and when to listen. (Lawrence,

retrieved: 2016)

Workplace ethics and behavior are a crucial part of employment, as both are

aspects that can assist a company in its efforts to be profitable. In fact, ethics and

behavior are just as important to most companies as performance as high morale

and teamwork are two ingredients for success. Every business in every industry

has certain guidelines to which its employees must adhere, and frequently outline

such aspects in employee handbooks. (Amico, retrieved: 2016)

 All companies specify what is an acceptable behavior, and what is not, when

hiring an employee. Many even summarize expected conduct in job descriptions

or during the interview process. Behavior guidelines typically address topics,

such as harassment, work attire and language. Workers who don’t follow codes

of conduct may receive written and verbal warnings, and ultimately be fired.

(Amico, retrieved: 2016)

A key component to workplace ethics and behavior is integrity, or being

honest and doing the right thing at all times. For example, health care employees

who work with mentally or physically challenged patients must possess a high

degree of integrity, as those who manage and work primarily with money.

Workers with integrity also avoid gossip and sneakiness while on the job. (Amico,

retrieved: 2016)

Ethical and behavioral guidelines in the workplace often place a high amount

of importance on dedication. Although possessing the necessary skills is

essential, a strong work ethic and positive attitude toward the job can carry you a

long way. Plus, dedication is often viewed in the business world as “contagious,”

meaning employees who give a strong effort can often inspire their co-workers to

do the same. (Amico, retrieved: 2016)

Situated learning, sometimes referred to as situated cognition or everyday

cognition considers learning as it happens in everyday authentic circumstances

making use of concrete tools (psychological and technical resources) provided by

the cultural context to acquire and apply knowledge. These cultural tools or
cultural referents can especially be helpful to the new millennial professional in

identifying and dealing with routine ethical scenarios in the workplace. (Kumar,

2015)

A pawnbroker is an individual or business (pawnshop or pawn shop) that

offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral.

The items having been pawned to the broker are themselves called pledges or

pawns, or simply the collateral. While many items can be pawned, pawnshops

typically accept jewelry, musical instruments, home audio equipment, computers,

video game systems, televisions, cameras, power tools and other relatively

valuable items as collateral. (Wikipedia, retrieved: 2016)

The pawning process begins when a customer brings an item into a pawn

shop. Common items pawned (or, in some instances, sold outright) by customers

include jewelry, electronics, collectibles, musical instruments, tools, and

(depending on local regulations) firearms. Gold, silver, and platinum are popular

items—which are often purchased, even if in the form of broken jewelry of little

value. Metal can still be sold in bulk to a bullion dealer or smelter for the value by

weight of the component metals. Similarly, jewelry that contains genuine

gemstones, even if broken or missing pieces, have value. (Wikipedia, retrieved:

2016)

The terms “moral” and “ethical” are often used interchangeably in society,

although it is important to understand the difference between these concepts.

While morality involves an individual’s personal belief system, ethics are more so
comprised of society’s expectations of acceptable behavior. Norms of acceptable

ethical behavior are naturally formed in social environments including work

situations. In these certain environments, individuals tend to adhere to these set

standards of conduct and act in a similar way to their surrounding population.

(Kott, 2012)

The 2013 National Business Ethics Survey, the most recent edition of the

research, was conducted primarily among employees in the for-profit sector, but

the findings are consistent with other studies of workplace ethics in government

and nonprofits, Harned says. Among the highlights of the ECI survey: Just over

40 percent of workers said they had observed on-the-job misconduct that

violated their employers’ standards or rules; of those who witnessed misconduct,

63 percent reported what they saw; of those who reported misconduct, 21

percent said they experienced some form of retaliation; sixty percent of

misconduct involved someone with managerial authority—as the survey report

notes, “the very people who are supposed to set a good example of ethical

conduct and make sure employees honor company rules.” Roughly a quarter of

observed misconduct involved senior managers. (Taylor, 2015)

The researchers conducted the study to explore the work ethics of

pawnshop employees and its consequences to their company’s existence,

economy, and development.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pawnbroker
https://www.asaecenter.org/resources/articles/an_plus/2015/december/making-
ethics-a-priority-in-your-workplace
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140831053426-77080879-10-golden-rules-to-
professional-ethics-in-the-workplace
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/workplace-ethics-behavior-5239.html
http://scholar.utc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1042&context=theses
http://dc.uwm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1893&context=etd
Analysis of Workplace Ethics on Pawnshops

by:
Gian Andre Correa
Rachelle Mae Banday

2016