When the Houston-based Enron fraud also caused Andersen Accounting to go under, one of my New York friends who worked for Andersen called me in Texas and commented on my unethical state!
The “moral spillover effect” is when the personal reputations of good and ethical leaders are damaged in companies that have a corruption or a scandal (Source: Social Psychological and Personality Science).
Thus, you have two responsibilities:
1. Make sure you make ethical decisions
2. Make sure your colleagues make ethical decisions
Their behavior can impact your reputation in significant ways. Many former Enron employees today leave this work experience off their resume.
Do your colleagues make ethical decisions?
