Temptations In The Office Book Review Examples

Summary

This book gives an analysis on how temptations find their way into offices, affecting productivity of the employees in a negative manner. In a direct manner, Goldman discusses some of the key temptations that are universal in the office. Although offices differ from one to another, sex, money and power emerge as being experienced in most offices throughout the world. Hypothetically, employees tend to be more productive when subjected to humane conditions and environment. As Goldman puts it, high ethical standards are essential in motivating the employees to give their best for the purposes of an organization’s success. Although this is the case, few organizations implement such ethical standards of a high threshold. Goldman’s suggestion is that an organization’s management ought to set the tone. This can be achieved through various ways that include embodying and talking about relevant values that promote positive and decent behaviors in the workplace.
Although setting such a tone seems easy, implementing it is difficulty. As the author further discusses, there are several workplace challenges that should be overcome in order to make the workplace a safe place for productivity. Some of the challenges that the author discusses in the book include greed from employees and managers, conflict of interest within the workplace, sexual harassment towards employees and abuse of power. In essence, these evils are often intended to further personal interests at the expense of promoting the organization in question. In essence, these challenges take both a legal and ethical nature. This is what gives people hope, the existence of remedies. As Goldman further discusses, companies or organizations have the ability to move to a better direction if they combine their thinking about what is wrong and right and understanding what the law says about such conducts or challenges. The analytical skills that Goldman employs are essential in enabling one to understand the business environment. The guidelines that the author gives will probably give individuals and companies the ability to cope with such challenges whenever they arise.

How the points could be applied

As a matter of fact, most work places all over the world face one challenge or the other. Such challenges pose a huge threat to the success of the organization as unity of the employees will be at risk. Employees come from various walks of life, with different believes, morals and cultures. As a result of this, challenges are bound to arise which should be handled in a manner that is not only adequate, but also satisfactory. This is where the guidelines that Goldman gives come in.
The challenges that Goldman discussed in the book are both ethical and legal. The general consensus is that employees in an organization will co-exist peacefully with respect. With this in mind, issues such as greed and dishonesty should never come in. Each employee should cope with the ethical standards that are laid by the company (organization) in question. The legal aspect is essential as it provides for the remedies and punishments that the deviant employees will be subjected to. It is important that employees are prior informed about what is expected of them in the work place. In future, the challenges discussed by Goldman will still be experienced in the work place and offices. As a result of this, it is important to have understanding about how such problems should be solved. Applying the guidelines that Goldman gives will essentially help in finding relevant solutions. As such, the book is a good source of information.
In a nutshell, Goldman’s book gives the best theoretical framework on how managers should deal with ethical challenges that arise in the work place. This is because the book gives practical advice of the ethical challenges that might be experienced. He further gives some of the ethical choices that may be necessary in any office. The manner that Goldman articulates these points is simple and clear, making the book enjoyable to all categories of people. His approach of analyzing such challenges from a personal perspective ensures he gives more insight about these challenges and choices.
Unlike most books that seek to address this issue, Goldman’s book can be argued to be the best. In essence, he employs three thinking modes o discus the theories. The consequentialism mode emphasizes on the results that a possible action may have. Though this approach, he goes on to discuss the foursquare protocol that is very relevant in the modern workplace. He then introduces ethical rights such as the employees’ civil rights and possible remedies in case these rights are breached. Lastly, he introduces virtue ethics (which may appeal to the character). Through these approaches, Goldman manages to explore the challenges in a great detail, offering possible solutions to each of the challenges that he discusses.
In a nutshell, the simplicity of the book is welcomed. In the current environment, managers need a yardstick on which to base performance on. Without such information, managers would find themselves in a difficult position trying to overcome these challenges.

Bibliography

Goldman, S. M. Temptations in the office: Ethical choices and legal obligations. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2008.