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, tardiness,
bullying
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...
, 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 or
sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...
.
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 crime
The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. The crimes are believed to be committed by middle- or upper-class indivi ...
s,
insider trading, or deceptive accounting.
Financial misconduct became prominent after the
2008 financial crisis
The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
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
cartel
A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collaborate with each other as well as agreeing not to compete with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. A cartel is an organization formed by producers ...
s 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
Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied e ...
risks played a significant role in the
2008 financial crisis
The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
. 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 ...
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
stakeholders. 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
Problem behavior
Legal terminology