Ethics
In "After 'I'll Break You in Half,' Grimm Apologizes," Wheaton and Santora address the ramifications of ethical misconduct in the workplace. The issues addressed in this article pertain directly to the chapter on ethics in practice. The article describes Michael Grimm, a Tea Party Representative from Staten Island. He delivered "unusually vitriolic threats" to a reporter at the United States Capitol building, and the outburst attracted scorn (Wheaton and Santora). Since the outburst, Grimm has apologized, but the apology does not make up for the fact that the reporter's questions were related to a deeper type of ethical misconduct. In particular, Grimm is under investigation for campaign fundraising fraud. The allegations have thus far resulted in at least one arrest: that of Diana Durand "on charges that she illegally funneled more than $10,000 into his campaign," (Wheaton and Santora). At least one other member of Grimm's campaign fund raising team has turned himself in.
Thus, this...
The first type is the fraud that the reporter targeted in the pointed questioning related to the campaign finance scandal. In Chapter 8, corruption and misconduct are dealt with in a frank way. Corruption and misconduct is a serious infraction in any position. The text points out that the public and private sectors are both at risk for ethical misconduct and corruption, which is defined loosely as an abuse of power. Grimm's campaign fundraisers have engaged in illegal behaviors, which is expressly unethical especially coming from a public official's office. As the text points out, no amount of peer pressure can justify an intern engaging in illegal activities, corruption, or misconduct. The difference in what the text discusses in relation to intern misconduct and what Wheaton and Santora discuss regarding Grimm's campaign finance misconduct is in matters of degree. Interns are not in a position of power like that of Grimm, and thus their power…
