A strong sense of ethics can be just as bad as a weak one. I have a friend (Joe) who thinks every one of his actions and would almost never do something that seems even suspiciously unethical. As a result he silently suffers at his workplace. For example, Joe contributes to the project but the manager mistakenly gives another person the credit for the work. Even though Joe did the work, his sense of ethics prevents him from claiming credit and criticize the other person for accepting the credit. A lot of people would say that there is nothing unethical about this, but what they think doesn’t matter. Joe has his own sense of ethics and would feel very upset with himself for causing trouble in the workplace to his own gain. The problem is that Joe deserves the credit and he would have gotten the promotions he deserved much earlier if he fought for himself.
In fact, I have met a lot of people like Joe in my life. They have such a twisted view of ethics, that they believe making sacrifices is more ethical than fighting for what is rightfully theirs (like Joe). These kinds of people repeatedly get the short of the stick. I think that the root of this problem can be traced to the fact that someone’s skewed view of strong ethics was imposed during their upbringing. Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done once these people have grown up because they almost never change their view of ethics.
For this reason, I think that people should be brought up with the least amount of ethics imposed on them possible. They should also be told that it is ok to disagree with others and fight for themselves when they are not treated fairly.
Too Much Ethics...
Throughout my life I have also encountered many people like Joe. It’s kind of sad that they are so afraid of pushing their ethical boundaries. For most of us, we wouldn't think twice about ensuring that we received proper credit for work we completed. I also believe that this will continue to plague them throughout their career, because if you’re not willing to stand up for yourself, why should someone else? Despite this however, I must say that I disagree with you about kids being brought up with the least amount of ethics imposed on them possible. Although many kids would most likely benefit by having less ethics imposed on them, eliminating would ultimately create more Enron situations.
Ethics
I understand what you mean about "Joe". It is probably common that people in work places take advantage of others. I think that ethics takes over some people way too much. It reminds me of the situation when people are assigned groups in college and one person does not do much work in their group. Then at the end of the project, a person emails the teacher of the class recommending that the person gets a lower grade. I think that this is a great example of taking ethics too far. In a college environment I think that this situation was taken too far, but in a professional environment this could have been avoided. If a person is not being professional at a work place, then escalated situations must be taken.
Are we talking about ethics or etiquette?
I don't get the argument that you can take ethics too far. Having ethics is not about hurt feelings, its about approaching professional endeavors with the highest integrity. I do understand that sometimes ethical priorities are in conflict, but I don't think that's the case in Joe's situation.
Joe is not being ethical by letting someone else take credit for his work, because he isn't being honest. It might be a nice, if foolish, thing to do, but nice does not mean ethical. It wouldn't be ethical for Joe to take credit for something he didn't do, and it isn't ethical for Joe to let someone else take credit for something he or she didn't when he knows that isn't the case, regardless of whether he is the one who deserves credit.
I know ethics is not always clear issue, but I'm really concerned for Joe if his definition of ethics includes letting someone else take credit for his work. Does that mean he would let someone else steal his posessions? Is that ethical? On the other side, would he let someone else take the fall for his mistakes, too?
Etiquette
I would have to agree with that it is more etiquette than ethics. Joe might be part of a team and it would be frowned upon if he disrupts the team dynamic if he claims that he did all of the work. Also, what about that other person who took credit for the work Joe did? He could have stopped his superior and said that Joe did the work and that they should be thanking him. It is not a twisted sense of ethics but rather being polite and thinking others will act the same way towards you AKA The Golden Rule.
Application of the Golden Rule
I think you hit it perfectly; I don't think this is an ethical issue for Joe. We all do things like keeping our mouths shut at our own expense for the sake of maintaining personal and professional relationships. I deifnitely agree with your take on the Golden Rule, and I think it serves to show that the Golden Rule actually is not the ultimate benchmark for ethics.
good ol' ethics
I think Jeff makes a good point about the other side of the story in Joe counterpart. I think the taking credit for works that’s not your would question your personal ethics. Why couldn’t the other person stop and inform his superior of the situation and give the proper credit? I wonder if this other guy knew if he didn’t say anything Joe wouldn’t react because that wasn’t nature of his character. Would the person who took credit personal ethics change if it there was a different person involve in the situation. Maybe? I just know I wouldn’t have kept my mouth shut at my own expense.
etiquette
I completely agree here. Your "Joe" example isn't valid because his actions of not taking credit are not ethical. When Joe doesn't take credit he's letting someone get away with something that is un-ethical, taking credit for someone else's work. This makes sort of a pseudo un-ethical situation for Joe because as TaNoNati put it, he's not being honest. Also, In a true team setting, no team member should be able to shift credit either from or away the group as a whole or the individual work of team members.
To answer your questions, I don't believe his example "Joe" would let someone steal his possessions, because this a much clearer example of ethics that would directly affect Joe's wallet.