Applied Ethics Contributing to Workplace Violence

The development of recent culture in the workplaces is contributing to the increasing incidents of workplace violation; and applied ethics seems to play a pivotal role in the development of this culture.
Usually, it is the insider threats, from people who are well aware of operational practices and security deficiencies; that are responsible for the violent situation.
Security is provided everywhere but in the presence of insider threats; it has become difficult for security professionals to identify risk exposure. This happens because applied ethics and its influence on organizational environment are often overlooked.

Applied Ethics

Ethics is defined by as a branch of philosophy dealing with what is morally right or wrong. If you ask a question about applied ethics to the people responsible for making and maintaining security policies in an organization, majority of them will claim that their practices are ethical and most of the violent incidents happen due to ill-mannered staff. These people don’t realize that the problem is not with the employees; it is with the management policies they practice to meet organizational goals.

Ethical practices foster a friendly work environment within a workplace. The organizations that stray away from the meaning of applied ethics are more likely to face workplace violation. Statistical evaluations reveal workplace violence as a major contributor of homicide within the workplace. Every year, around 2 million employees file reports of being abused at work. If we consider the economical factor that comes into play with a need to remain employed, we can identify that the abuse statistics could be even higher if all the employees chose to report such incidents.

Legislation

Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970 provide workplace violence protection to the workers. According to the act, organizations must develop policies and procedures to aid the prevention of violent incidents. However, successful policies depend upon effective communication, which is often a difficult task for large organizations. Such organizations leave their violation preventing policies to their agents who may be the major contributors in instigating violent situations.

An effective policy is the key to dealing with threats of workplace violence. Different levels within an organization should be involved in implementing practices that influence applied ethics, to develop a positive working environment. Every department within an organization is equally important for the success of a policy.

•  Human Resource: Make sure that the detailed policies are in place, protect employees, evaluate organizational culture through surveys and evaluate the performance of the agents. 
•  Line Management: Provides training to managers regarding workplace violence and how to respond in such situations and promote team building.
•  Employees:  Report incidents, notify perpetrators and identify the policies.
•  Security personnel: Provide security, conduct investigations, identify the physical vulnerabilities and inform about risks and threat.

In addition, an organization should be maintained on an ethical prism that must ensure accountability, transparency, and non-bias practices. These ethical practices work to reduce the risks associated with flaws in the physical protection system that aims to prevent violent incidents.

Some organizations may not have the expertise to plan workplace violence prevention strategies; thus, they can take help from International Association of Professional Security Consultants (IAPSC) to develop effective strategies as well.