Exactly, these companies spoiled just train these employees on not to break the law. It’s the drive to find an edge over competitors that’s making employees take these unethical behaviors. When they realize nobody’s watching, they’re more likely to act unethically.
A good comparison is the outrage that arises at speed cameras. People can’t believe that a camera could write a ticket for them. They’ll spoof and obscure license plates, take alternate routes, and try all sorts of things to avoid following the law. Just don’t speed and you’ll be ok. Don’t act unethically in business and you’ll be ok too.
>"Don’t act unethically in business and you’ll be ok too."
Easy to say, but the real world is full of grey areas, judgement calls, and interpretations. We don't have a law that says "don't act unethically" because it is way too broad. Regardless, you would still need a judge or a jury in order to make a verdict that unethical actions were taken.
Ethics is not something that requires written laws to understand. Acting ethically will avoid fines and penalties, but that’s not the purpose of acting ethically. Ethics is a superset of good laws. If laws were the only way to understand ethics we would be unable to define ethics, as you are getting at.
Here’s a good article from London talking about the grey area argument and where it leads and how to counter it at your company.
A good comparison is the outrage that arises at speed cameras. People can’t believe that a camera could write a ticket for them. They’ll spoof and obscure license plates, take alternate routes, and try all sorts of things to avoid following the law. Just don’t speed and you’ll be ok. Don’t act unethically in business and you’ll be ok too.