After reading Carucci’s “Why Ethical People Make Unethical Choices”, I immediately began to think about the lasting effects of unethical leadership and a toxic workplace culture. Outside of financial damages and fines, unethical decisions in the workplace can have lasting negative effects on a company’s reputation, harming all stakeholders and employees. The source also made me realize that it is much harder than you would initially think to create a ethical and comfortable workplace environment, and it is extremely easy to fall victim to a harmful one.

This article reminded me of our Hot Topic Headline for this week, being the 2023 Titan submarine implosion. The “toxic workplace culture” along with flaws in procedure and weak attention to detail did not only bring out the worst in its respective employees, but even led to the tragic death of many. Again, this is hard to directly trace back to the lack of ethical leadership, but it certainly played a part in the preventable death of innocent lives.

My favorite reason that Carucci mentions as to why people make unethical choices is that “a positive example isn’t being set” which is one of the foundations and reasonings behind this course. As a Cross-Disciplinary Leadership minor and somebody who strives to hold a management position in the financial world, I believe it is unequivocally important to set a strong example for your employees and to not boss, but serve your surrounding community in an ethical manner. This semester, I am extremely excited to further my knowledge within this discipline to become a leader in the greater NC State community, as well as pursue my career aspirations and life goals.

Carucci, Ron. “Why Ethical People Make Unethical Choices.” Harvard Business Review, 16 Dec. 2016, hbr.org/2016/12/why-ethical-people-make-unethical-choices. Accessed 27 Aug. 2025.