200 Negative Ethics Actions in Business

• 1Setting financial targets that implicitly pressure staff to cut corners on quality or safety
• 2Publicly endorsing ethical values while privately tolerating or rewarding unethical behavior
• 3Failing to act on escalated ethics concerns, allowing them to fester or be buried
• 4Creating a culture of fear where staff are punished for raising concerns
• 5Awarding contracts to suppliers owned by family members or personal associates without disclosure
• 6Using company resources (vehicles, travel, expenses) for personal benefit without authorization
• 7Manipulating board reporting to conceal problems or underperformance from shareholders
• 8Making significant decisions while in an undisclosed conflict of interest
• 9Retaliating against whistleblowers through demotion, reassignment, or layoff
• 10Accepting personal gifts or hospitality from suppliers in return for preferential treatment
• 11Selectively sharing strategic information with favored insiders, excluding others equally entitled to it
• 12Positioning oneself as a champion of inclusion while privately undermining diverse candidates for promotion

• 13Making false or exaggerated claims in product marketing or advertising
• 14Knowingly selling defective or substandard products without disclosure
• 15Using hidden fees or charges that are not clearly communicated at point of sale
• 16Designing contracts with terms that are deliberately difficult for customers to understand
• 17Failing to disclose known product safety risks to customers in a timely manner
• 18Using manipulative sales tactics that exploit vulnerable or elderly customers
• 19Sharing customer data with third parties without explicit consent
• 20Providing selective information to customers to steer them toward higher-margin products not in their best interest
• 21Refusing to process legitimate refund or warranty claims without justification
• 22Falsifying customer feedback, reviews, or testimonials to misrepresent product quality

• 23Discriminating in hiring, promotion, or pay on the basis of gender, race, age, or disability
• 24Tolerating or ignoring workplace bullying and harassment when reported
• 25Paying employees below the legal minimum wage or withholding legally required benefits
• 26Requiring employees to work excessive hours without appropriate compensation or rest
• 27Misclassifying permanent employees as contractors to avoid employment rights obligations
• 28Conducting surveillance of employees in ways that are invasive or disproportionate
• 29Using non-disclosure agreements to silence employees who have experienced wrongdoing
• 30Taking credit for an employee's work or ideas without acknowledgement
• 31Failing to provide promised training, development, or career progression opportunities
• 32Structuring layoffs to target employees who have raised concerns or complaints

• 33Inflating revenue figures by recording sales before they are confirmed or completed
• 34Understating liabilities or provisions to make the balance sheet appear stronger than it is
• 35Creating fictitious invoices or expenses to misappropriate funds
• 36Using off-balance-sheet vehicles to conceal debt from investors and regulators
• 37Paying or receiving bribes disguised as consulting fees or facilitation payments
• 38Approving expense claims that do not meet policy criteria without challenge
• 39Falsifying procurement records to justify awards to preferred suppliers
• 40Engaging in insider trading using material non-public information
• 41Structuring financial transactions to avoid legal reporting thresholds
• 42Deliberately delaying supplier payments beyond agreed terms to manage cash flow at suppliers' expense

• 43Failing to conduct meaningful due diligence on suppliers' labor or environmental practices
• 44Knowingly sourcing from suppliers that use child or forced labor
• 45Applying extreme price pressure on suppliers in ways that force unsafe working conditions
• 46Turning a blind eye to modern slavery risks identified in the supply chain
• 47Accepting inferior or substituted materials from suppliers without proper testing or disclosure
• 48Leaking competitor pricing information to a preferred supplier during a tender process
• 49Splitting purchase orders to stay below approval thresholds and avoid oversight
• 50Awarding contracts based on personal relationships rather than objective evaluation criteria
• 51Failing to hold suppliers accountable for repeated quality failures to preserve a relationship
• 52Using supplier audits as a check-the-box exercise without acting on findings

• 53Falsifying environmental monitoring data or compliance reports submitted to regulators
• 54Illegally disposing of hazardous waste to avoid licensed disposal costs
• 55Making exaggerated or misleading environmental claims (greenwashing) about products or operations
• 56Continuing to operate a process known to exceed legal emission limits without remediation
• 57Concealing a significant environmental incident from regulators and local communities
• 58Selling products marketed as sustainably sourced without adequate verification of the supply chain
• 59Failing to disclose climate-related business risks to investors as required
• 60Deliberately mislabeling the recyclability or environmental credentials of packaging
• 61Lobbying against environmental regulations while publicly claiming to support sustainability
• 62Using carbon offsets purchased from unverified or low-quality sources to claim net-zero status

• 63Collecting personal data beyond what is necessary for a stated purpose without consent
• 64Retaining customer data longer than policy or regulation permits
• 65Selling or sharing personal data without adequate transparency or lawful basis
• 66Failing to notify affected individuals of a data breach in a timely manner
• 67Using algorithmic systems that produce discriminatory outcomes and failing to investigate or correct them
• 68Designing digital interfaces (dark patterns) that manipulate users into unintended actions
• 69Accessing employees' personal emails, messages, or accounts without authorization or legal basis
• 70Using AI-generated content or deep fakes to misrepresent a person's words or actions
• 71Deploying surveillance technologies on customers or employees without adequate disclosure
• 72Acquiring competitor data through hacking, social engineering, or misuse of a former employee's knowledge

• 73Knowingly releasing a product with a known defect that poses a safety risk without recall or disclosure
• 74Falsifying quality inspection records to meet contractual or regulatory requirements
• 75Using cheaper or inferior materials than specified in contracts without customer knowledge
• 76Approving production batches that fail quality criteria under commercial pressure
• 77Backdating quality records to cover missed testing or inspection windows
• 78Suppressing internal audit findings that would require costly process improvements
• 79Failing to report a product safety incident to the relevant regulatory authority
• 80Labeling products with false country-of-origin information to circumvent trade restrictions
• 81Repackaging or relabeling out-of-date or returned goods for resale
• 82Providing customers with misleading performance data or test results to win business

• 83Operating without required licenses, certifications, or permits
• 84Misrepresenting the organization's compliance status to regulators during inspections
• 85Instructing employees to destroy or conceal documents relevant to a regulatory investigation
• 86Failing to maintain legally required health and safety records
• 87Ignoring enforcement notices or improvement orders from regulatory bodies
• 88Deliberately misclassifying products to reduce tariff liability or meet regulatory thresholds
• 89Submitting false information in grant applications or government-funded contract bids
• 90Failing to report notifiable incidents as required by law
• 91Using jurisdictional differences to conduct activities offshore that are illegal domestically
• 92Coaching employees on what to say (or not say) to regulators prior to inspections

• 93Making public commitments to ethics or values that are known internally to not reflect reality
• 94Selectively disclosing information to investors to manage share price or analyst expectations
• 95Using deliberately vague or complex language in communications to obscure accountability
• 96Holding double standards - applying policies strictly to junior staff while exempting senior leaders
• 97Suppressing negative employee engagement or culture survey results rather than acting on them
• 98Allowing a star performer to repeatedly behave unethically because of their commercial contribution
• 99Blaming individual employees for systemic failures to deflect organizational accountability
• 100Creating an atmosphere where ethics is treated as a compliance exercise rather than a genuine value
• 101Failing to communicate the outcome of a reported ethics concern to the person who raised it
• 102Publicly celebrating awards or certifications for ethics while concealing known internal problems

The actions in this category are distinguished by their subtlety. Unlike overt misconduct, these behaviors are often carried out incrementally, individually deniable, and difficult to evidence. They cause significant harm to individuals and culture over time, and are increasingly recognized as a serious dimension of ethical risk in well-governed organizations.

Relevance to ISO 9001:2026: These behaviors directly undermine the ethical culture and psychosocial work environment requirements of Clauses 5.1.1, 7.1.4, and 7.3. A Note to Clause 5.1.1 says quality culture and ethical behavior are reflected in shared values, attitudes and practices, and these behaviors are where that shows first.

• 103Gaslighting an employee by denying that a conversation, instruction, or incident occurred when it did
• 104Persistently reframing an employee's legitimate complaint as a personal failing or overreaction
• 105Downplaying the severity of a reported incident in front of the affected person to discourage further action
• 106Using selective memory or vague recollection strategically to avoid accountability in performance reviews
• 107Framing a coercive request as a choice while making clear that only one answer is acceptable
• 108Using a person's personal vulnerability or insecurity - shared in confidence - as leverage in professional decisions
• 109Applying pressure through implied consequences rather than explicit threats, so nothing can be proven
• 110Presenting unfair decisions as the outcome of a fair process to prevent challenge
• 111Deliberately excluding an employee from meetings, communications, or social events to signal disfavor
• 112Engineering an employee's professional isolation by subtly undermining their relationships with colleagues
• 113Giving an employee the 'silent treatment' following a complaint, resignation attempt, or act of independence
• 114Assigning a targeted individual to tasks beneath their level as a form of quiet punishment
• 115Consistently interrupting, talking over, or dismissing an employee's contributions in group settings
• 116Providing excessively vague or delayed feedback designed to keep an employee uncertain and dependent
• 117Setting employees up to fail by withholding resources, information, or support needed to succeed
• 118Giving credit publicly for group work while privately attributing failures to specific individuals
• 119Creating a culture of obligation where employees feel indebted to the organization for basic courtesies
• 120Implying that work-life balance requests are a sign of insufficient commitment or team loyalty
• 121Using past acts of support or sponsorship to emotionally oblige an employee to comply with requests
• 122Normalizing self-sacrifice as a cultural virtue to discourage boundary-setting without explicit pressure
• 123Performing visible concern for an employee's wellbeing in front of others while privately undermining them
• 124Using the language of psychological safety or inclusion to co-opt and neutralize genuine dissent
• 125Publicly praising an employee who raised a concern while privately ensuring their career stalls
• 126Framing retaliation as management discretion - restructuring, changing scope, or reallocating work - so it cannot be identified as retaliation
• 127Designing performance management processes that systematically erode employee confidence rather than support growth
• 128Using probation or performance improvement plans disproportionately against employees who raise concerns
• 129Fostering unhealthy internal competition that encourages employees to undermine rather than support each other
• 130Creating ambiguity in roles, responsibilities, and expectations as a method of control rather than by oversight
• 131Normalizing emotional volatility in leadership so that employees manage the leader's mood rather than their own work
• 132Cultivating dependency by being the sole source of information, access, or approval for key decisions

Category 12 covers behaviors explicitly prohibited under US federal securities law and actively enforced by the SEC. These apply primarily to public companies, their officers and directors, broker-dealers, investment advisers, and anyone who trades in or advises on US-listed securities. In fiscal year 2025, the SEC filed 456 enforcement actions and received a record 53,753 tips, complaints and referrals. Many of these behaviors also constitute criminal offenses prosecuted by the Department of Justice.

Key legislation: Securities Act of 1933, Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 (SOX), Dodd-Frank Act 2010, Investment Advisers Act 1940. Relevant rules include SEC Rule 10b-5, Rule 21F-17 (whistleblower protection), the SEC Marketing Rule, and Regulation FD (fair disclosure).

• 133Trading in company securities while in possession of material non-public information (classic insider trading)
• 134Tipping a friend, family member, or colleague with material non-public information that enables them to trade
• 135Trading ahead of a known merger, acquisition, or earnings announcement using information not yet disclosed to the market
• 136Using information obtained in a professional role (lawyer, auditor, banker) to trade in a client's securities
• 137Trading in a competitor's or supplier's stock based on material non-public information learned through business dealings
• 138Filing materially false or misleading statements in annual reports (Form 10-K), quarterly reports (Form 10-Q), or proxy statements
• 139Omitting material information from SEC filings that a reasonable investor would consider important to an investment decision
• 140Prematurely recognizing revenue to inflate reported earnings before results are legitimately earned
• 141Failing to disclose related-party transactions between the company and its executives, directors, or their families
• 142Certifying financial statements as accurate under Sarbanes-Oxley Section 302 or 906 when known to be false
• 143Engaging in 'pump and dump' schemes — artificially inflating a stock price through false statements then selling before the price collapses
• 144Wash trading: buying and selling the same securities simultaneously to create artificial trading volume and the appearance of market activity
• 145Spreading false or misleading information about a company on social media, forums, or in press releases to move its share price
• 146Front-running client orders — trading in advance of a large customer order that will predictably move the market price
• 147Engaging in 'spoofing' — placing large orders with no intention of executing them to mislead other market participants about supply or demand
• 148Offering or selling unregistered securities to the public without a valid exemption from SEC registration requirements
• 149Making materially false or misleading statements in a securities offering prospectus or registration statement
• 150Running a Ponzi scheme — paying returns to early investors using new investor funds rather than actual business profits
• 151Conducting an initial coin offering (ICO) or token sale that meets the definition of a securities offering without registration
• 152Misrepresenting the use of proceeds from a securities offering to investors
• 153Churning a client account — executing excessive trades primarily to generate commissions rather than serve the client's interests
• 154Recommending investments that are unsuitable for a client's risk profile, investment objectives, or financial situation
• 155Failing to disclose material conflicts of interest to advisory clients, including compensation arrangements from third parties
• 156Misappropriating client funds or securities — taking assets entrusted by clients for personal use
• 157Violating the SEC Marketing Rule by advertising hypothetical or misleading performance figures to prospective clients
• 158Using personal email, WhatsApp, Signal, or other off-channel messaging platforms for business communications to avoid regulatory recordkeeping
• 159Destroying, altering, or concealing records that are subject to an SEC subpoena or investigation
• 160Failing to maintain required books and records as mandated under the Securities Exchange Act for broker-dealers or advisers
• 161Backdating trade confirmations, account documents, or compliance records to misrepresent the timing of transactions
• 162Failing to file required beneficial ownership disclosures (Schedule 13D/13G or Form 4) when crossing mandatory reporting thresholds
• 163Requiring employees or clients to sign agreements that waive their right to report potential violations to the SEC
• 164Including confidentiality clauses in settlement or severance agreements that impede an individual's ability to contact the SEC
• 165Retaliating against an employee who has reported suspected securities law violations to the SEC or internally
• 166Coaching employees on what not to say during an SEC examination or investigation
• 167Failing to establish, maintain, or enforce a compliance program adequate to prevent and detect securities law violations

Category 13 covers ethical failures that occur during the design and development phase — before a product reaches the customer. These are distinct from product integrity failures (Category 8), which relate to what happens during production and delivery. Design-stage ethics failures are particularly serious because they are often locked in before any corrective action is possible, and their consequences can affect many people at scale.

Relevance to ISO 9001:2026: Product design ethics intersects with Clauses 8.3 (Design and Development), 8.1 (Operational Planning and Control), and the quality culture and ethical behavior provisions in Clauses 5.1.1 and 7.3. Many items also engage customer focus under Clause 5.1.2.

• 168Knowingly proceeding with a product design that contains a foreseeable safety hazard without adequate mitigation or disclosure
• 169Ignoring safety-critical findings from early-stage testing to avoid delays to a launch date or commercial milestone
• 170Designing a product to meet the minimum legal safety threshold when known hazards could be mitigated further at reasonable cost
• 171Omitting safety features from lower-price product variants that are standard in premium versions, without adequate consumer disclosure
• 172Failing to conduct adequate risk assessment on a new product feature before release, particularly where vulnerable users may be affected
• 173Intentionally designing products with shortened functional lifespans to accelerate replacement purchasing
• 174Engineering software or firmware updates that degrade the performance of older hardware models to encourage upgrade
• 175Using proprietary components or connectors to prevent third-party repair, making economical repair artificially impossible
• 176Designing products to be difficult or costly to repair, in conflict with right-to-repair legislation or customer expectations
• 177Using non-replaceable batteries or sealed units in products where this serves no functional purpose other than limiting repairability
• 178Failing to consider the needs of disabled users during product design, resulting in exclusion from use without justification
• 179Removing accessibility features between prototype and final product under cost pressure without assessing the impact on affected users
• 180Designing user interfaces or packaging that are inaccessible to older or less digitally literate users without offering alternatives
• 181Conducting user testing exclusively with able-bodied, young, or technically proficient participants when the product serves a broader population
• 182Using small print, poor contrast, or complex language in product interfaces or instructions in ways that disadvantage vulnerable users
• 183Designing products with non-recyclable mixed materials when recyclable alternatives exist at comparable cost and performance
• 184Incorporating substances of concern (e.g. phthalates, PFAS, heavy metals) in product design when safer substitutes are available
• 185Designing packaging that significantly exceeds what is needed to protect the product, generating unnecessary waste
• 186Failing to design products for end-of-life disassembly, making material recovery or safe disposal unnecessarily difficult
• 187Using energy-intensive components or processes in product design without evaluating lower-impact alternatives
• 188Designing a product that collects user data beyond what is necessary for its stated function, without transparent disclosure
• 189Building default settings that maximize data collection rather than minimizing it, requiring active opt-out by users
• 190Embedding persuasive technology or addictive design patterns (infinite scroll, variable reward loops) without adequate user disclosure
• 191Designing algorithmic features that produce discriminatory or biased outcomes without building in fairness testing or review
• 192Releasing an AI-powered product feature without adequate testing for safety, accuracy, or potential for misuse
• 193Designing product labeling that is technically accurate but structured to mislead consumers about key attributes (e.g. health, origin, environmental impact)
• 194Using ingredient or material names that obscure the presence of substances consumers commonly wish to avoid
• 195Marketing a product as suitable for a purpose (e.g. industrial, professional, medical) for which it has not been adequately tested or certified
• 196Designing packaging or presentation to resemble trusted brands or products in ways that cause consumer confusion
• 197Failing to clearly communicate known limitations, contraindications, or conditions of safe use in product documentation
• 198Designing products specifically targeting children with features that exploit developmental vulnerabilities, such as in-app purchase mechanics, loot boxes, or engagement loops that exploit impulsivity or peer pressure
• 199Intentionally designing products with technical barriers to interoperability or data portability that lock users into a proprietary ecosystem, limiting their ability to switch providers or exercise data rights
• 200Failing to include diverse demographic groups — including different ages, genders, skin tones, or physical characteristics — in product testing, resulting in systematically degraded performance for underrepresented users