NASBA Center For Public Trust 
As a young professional, it is important to understand your role to effectively complete the tasks assigned when at work. You also must understand the corporate culture and be aware of ethical dilemmas that can derail your career.
A Harvard study of young professionals uncovered alarming data. Young professionals aged 30 and younger with two to five years of work experience surveyed shared that there was a prevalence of ethical issues in the workplace, many of which were justified by co-workers and leaders in the organization. Because there is a lack of deep mentoring, young professionals expressed that it can be challenging making the right decisions when leadership is encouraging them to do something totally opposite and unethical.
Ethical decision making is doing the right thing even when nobody is watching. Imagine being a young professional in an environment where ethical dilemmas are prevalent and the leadership team is aware, but they turn a blind eye because business is going well and driving profits. How do you hold firm to ethical behavior when it seems that others are being rewarded for bending the rules?
The NASBA Center for the Public Trust (CPT) provides ethics training for students and professionals to give them the tools needed to make ethical decisions. One of the tools used in ethics training is the RAISE Model for Ethical Decision Making. A few of the key components of the RAISE Model are using ethical courage to do the right thing, standing strong even when doing the right thing is not the popular choice, having confidence in decisions and commitment to ethics, and trusting individual processes. Using these components of the RAISE Model for Ethical Decision Making can give young professionals the courage needed to not be afraid to do the right thing.
If you or your organization would like more information on the RAISE Model for Ethical Decision Making and to schedule a training, please contact the CPT by emailing us at [email protected].
-Sedrik Newbern, Consultant, NASBA Center for the Public Trust