Ethics are simply a moral code or standard that one follows. Ethics should be the cornerstone of all businesses, but we know this isn’t always true. Writers need a code of conduct or ethics just as much as any other business. Carson posted “Humiliation as an outgrowth of plagiarism“.

Not only does plagiarism lead to humiliation (unless you simply don’t care) but it’s also bad ethical behavior. You have individual ethics and business ethics. While they may have some differences, the core of those ethics should run parallel to one another.

Integrity: “the quality or sate of being of sound moral principle, uprightness, honesty and sincerity”.
Simply put, just do the right thing. But all too often people are out for number one, a quick buck, or just plain selfish reasons. I have recently ran into this situation in my personal life, so this post really isn’t about a writers ethics, but about all ethics.

Some time ago I had to deal with a credit card company who was charging me for a service I didn’t want. Not only was the customer service rep barely an English speaker, but she kept trying to tell me the benefits of this service. I had to tell her three times to please stop her sales pitch at which time I handed the phone to my husband and he got even uglier with her. So the ethics of this company left a bad taste in my mouth. Not only do they not hire people who can pronounce the English language but the employees are obviously badgered into talking you out of canceling their service. The first attempt I can understand, it’s business. But any further attempts only annoy the customer.

“The Customer is Always Right”

If I were a content buyer I would not pay for material you copied and pasted and claimed as yours. I would prefer to get a piece that lacked quality instead of one that was stolen. If you must quote something that someone else has written, then quote them. Give a link, give credit to them, set it in block quote and italics–but give the original author the credit. It will look better for you in the long run. I would prefer a writer to have enough integrity to admit–”this is not mine but I found it so compelling that I thought it should be added.”

Just do the right thing–no matter what your business dealings are–just do the right thing.
Give credit where credit is due. If you didn’t write it, don’t say you did. If you must use it, give the credit to the author. We are allowed to quote people but they must receive the credit for it.
Go the extra mile for your customers. Without customers you don’t have a job and it makes no difference if it’s the writing world or if you run a business selling widgets. Treat your customer with respect and treat them fairly. If they believe that you are doing everything possible to help them in their situation, chances are they will return. Don’t let a bad experience for the customer turn into a worse experience for the both of you.

Ethics and integrity will be what the customer remembers the most when talking to their friends. And we all know how fast “word of mouth” travels and if it’s bad news it travels at the speed of light. You want your customer to tell other people, “You know, I had a bad experience with Widgets R Us, but John Doe really went above and beyond the call of duty. I would use them again.”

Ethics are one of my pet peeves. Another (along the same lines) is going to a store and the clerks are either ignoring me, chatting amongst themselves or on the phone (and it’s not business related). I’m the customer. I make your weekly paycheck. If you would like me to continue contributing to your paycheck–then give me your attention.

I have stopped going to several stores for this reason and because the employees are rude. I refuse to pay people to be rude to me because you can get that for free on any street corner in America. Don’t pay for it.