It is so easy to get into the trap:  To succeed at this job, in this office, in this community, I must:.do as they do, act as they act and think as they think even if it goes against what I believe and how I really believe I should act.

  

The problem with this way of thinking is that over time it becomes comfortable, a way of life so to say.  At Davenport University I taught Professional Ethics for several years.  We would discuss how a new employee wanting to succeed would tend to follow along with the others who had been there for a while, right or wrong.  This became the norm, a little corner cutting here and a little cheating or lying there.  "No big deal.  After all, everyone else does it."

    

As the individual moves up the organization, he/she, now that this has become comfortable, does even more things that would be considered unethical until, eventually, it really impacts people at which time, major consequences result. We can all list businesses that have gone bankrupt and people who have gone to jail as a result of this kind of unethical behavior.

  

The moral is "Behave as you believe" even if it means not accepting a good job or making changes in your life.  Yes, the short term consequences may be negative but the long term piece of mind will more than offset those negatives.