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The Ethics Of Stealing

Decent Essays

What makes someone more likely to steal and feel justified in doing so? As a child we are taught that stealing is wrong and even against the law. However, most of us have stolen something at some time. Whether it be a box of tissue from a hotel room, or the tiny lotions off a hotel cart left in the hallway by a maid. On a more severe note people who are faced by unforeseen hardships are sometimes forced to steal when hungry for their families. Socrates says that “no one knowingly commits an evil action, evil is turned into good in the mind.” For example the thief, like the rapist, who convinces himself a women really wants to make love to him, convinces himself that he has a right to the object he desires. He needs it more than the other does. …show more content…

(National Association for shoplifting Prevention) General human behavior is focused on doing things that feel right at the specific moment rather than things that feel right in the long term. For example, if you are thirsty and you see someone else’s ice cold bottled water in the refrigerator, you drink it even though you know what you’re doing is wrong. This means that people need to be aware that they are prone to compromise their long-term values in the presence of short-term temptations. Which leaves the question still unanswered why do people do things they know are wrong and expect not to suffer the …show more content…

Many employees had observed other team members breaking the rules and decided that it was acceptable and followed suit, kind of like a monkey see monkey do attitude. Other reasons included feeling like their job didn’t value them and treated them poorly so this was a good way to stick it to the company. In other instances, the way they’ve been treated by their bosses or other employees have also been cited as other reasons why they have stolen from employers. When trying to figure how who is more likely to commit theft from the work place and prevent it you need to know who is at higher risk of committing the crime. Managers account for 55% of all employee theft. (The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology) This may be because they have the freedom to do so. They are able to work freely with little to no supervision because they are the ones in charge. However, most employees who are not managers and commit theft from the workplace are under the age of 35 and more likely to be

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