Fill This Form To Receive Instant Help
Homework answers / question archive / Estimates indicate company losses due to employee dishonesty to be nearly $50 billion per year in the United States1
Estimates indicate company losses due to employee dishonesty to be nearly $50 billion per year in the United States1. Moreover, employee theft, abuse, and embezzlement are estimated to account for 30% of all business failures2. In response to these alarming figures, many organizations are now utilizing honesty and integrity tests as a screening mechanism during the selection process in the hopes of weeding out high risk applicants. These tests aim to uncover job applicants who may have a propensity to steal, or otherwise engage in counterproductive behavior such as sabotage, cyberloafing, excessive absenteeism, etc. Please answer the following questions as they relate to this topic (note: I encourage you to do some independent research through the web or through our library if you are largely unfamiliar with these tests):
First, in your view, how do you define integrity? Second, do you feel integrity is part of our personality or is it influenced by our environment? Third, can you really test an applicant for integrity or can they merely lie their way through it (aka "faking")? Lastly, is there any downside to having employees who are high on integrity?
References:
https://www.embroker.com/blog/employee-theft-statistics/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ivywalker/2018/12/28/your-employees-are-probably-stealing-from-you-here-are-five-ways-to-put-an-end-to-it/?sh=1a843b9d3386
I see integrity as someone who is honest, someone who has strong moral principles has respect, pride and responsibilities. A person with integrity behaves ethically and does the right thing, even behind closed doors. Integrity is part of your personality but it is also influenced by the environment. I was always told "you are who you hangout with" basically saying if your friend is a thief then most people are going to think you are too. If you have a strong sense of integrity then you might not follow in that path and that would be considered as a personality trait. I think applicants can merely lie their way through a job screening. Most people already know the correct answers and of course are going to pick them even if they don't agree completely just so they will get hired. But then again I feel like a lot of people would pick the answer they would prefer because most people have morals and it would be hard to keep up with the lies if their not going to act on it. I'm not too sure that the test are a good idea because theres no telling if people are being honest or not.
I cant really think of a negative reason for having employees with a high level of integrity. I think hiring employees with good morals is a positive thing because you are sure they will get their work done on time and the right way. You wont have to worry about wether or not they are doing the right thing or not. The only thing I could think about was if you caught someone who was perceived to have good morals not doing the right thing then it could end badly.