People Engaged in Dishonesty Acts should not Be Let to Go Free - Essay Example

Rough Draft For 28 years, Marilee Jones had been living a lie. As the dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she had lied about her academic credentials, holding that she had acquired degrees from three upstate institutions of the New York which include Albany Medical College, Union College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. However, investigations following the revelation that her academic credentials were fabricated revealed that she had never attended any of the three institutions, at least to pursue a degree course.

Only a spokesperson of the Rensselaer said that she attended the institute as a part-time no matriculated student in the academic year 1974-75. The scandal has done a significant harm the dean, who for 28 years has dedicated her service to the university. Students loved her, and felt sorry for her. Her popularity was evident, with the author stating that “On the campus, where Ms. Jones was widely admired, almost revered, for her humour, outspokenness and common sense, students and faculty members alike seemed both saddened and shocked.

” Many students and employees of the institution loved her. The development happened at the peak of her career, having published a book promoting “Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen through College Admissions and Beyond”, with Dr. Kenneth R. Ginsburg that she had been promoting by then. Not only was her career was damaged, by her act of dishonesty, many people saw her as a cheat, ruining her public image. Most of her friends hoped that the development does not ruin the success of her book.

Her dishonesty has done a lot of damage to the people around her as well. The students who loved her for her charms and her humorous nature felt sorry for her, while her colleague workers felt she did not have to lie for her academic credentials. As a public figure, with the promotion campaign for her book, she is likely to be seen quite negatively by the people around her. Moreover, her book advocated for not only avoiding stress to succeed, but the need for integrity, a virtue she herself did not uphold for close to three decades.

While the college was at a big loss for the position that she held and her services, the various schools that she lectured were likely to miss her talks. She had contributed immensely to the development of the application form for the students, such that students were not required to fill 10 co-curricular activities. People engaged in dishonesty acts should not be let to go free, as this encourages others to engage in similar activities. Dishonesty is a lie where the involved party seeks to benefit from the act.

According to Greay (107-108), it is wrong to lie and it is a crime which needs prosecution. Conjuring with the proposal, people who perpetrate such acts of crime should be prosecuted to discourage others from engaging in such acts. A number of measures could be put to avoid such incidences form happening. A clear analysis of interviewee’s academic qualifications should be done in order to ascertain their authenticity and credibility. Conducting an investigation of the institutions attended by a newly hired employee would help in avoiding such incidences.

Such an investigation may reveal other important characteristics of the person that could be of importance to the firm hiring (Furnham and John 87). During her promotion, little focus was considered in relation to her academic qualifications. The ignorance by the university to check her certificates gave her an opportunity to remain at the college, without proper academic papers. A proper check of the papers could have revealed a number of discrepancies in her papers. More concern should have focused on her academic background, not just the experience she had acquired while working at the university.

 Lewin Tamar, Dean at M.I.T. Resigns, Ending a 28-Year Lie, April 27, 2007, the new York times Furnham, Adrian, and John Taylor. Bad Apples: Identify, Prevent & Manage Negative Behaviour at Work. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Print.