Internship Ethics

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 article describes two distinct types of ethical misconduct. 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 cannot be abused as readily.

However, interns who get away with corrupt or unethical behavior may be likely to practiced that behavior later in their careers. Interns who learn how to manage their position with honor and dignity can avoid corruption, misconduct, and run-ins with angry reporters. The second issue that Wheaton and Santora raise in the article about Grimm is related to privacy and confidentiality. Interns are expected to maintain professional decorum by avoiding divulging information and maintaining strict confidentiality.

While reporters may also be expected to maintain a sort of decorum, the public has a legal and ethical right to information. Freedom of information takes precedence over the privacy of public officials, when it comes to misconduct that is related to campaign finance. If the Grimm issue occurred because of a personal issue, then the ethics of the reporter's behavior would be more ambiguous.

There is no real reason why politicians' private lives should be available to the general public, except when their private lives have a direct bearing on their ability to serve. In this case, campaign finance corruption does have a bearing on the elected.