Exploring The Transition of Plagiarism from Higher Education to The Workplace

In practice, plagiarism is taking someone else’s work and claiming the work to be one’s own. Education is a place in which plagiarism is viewed as an intolerable, underhanded act. “Plagiarism, considered as a dishonest act, has been reported by both academic and non- academic institutions. Given the seriousness and repercussions of the act, its current implications go beyond regulatory sanctions, and its scope reaches both legal and criminal spheres,” (pg 48) (Nunez, Arias, Chavez, & Cara, 2019). The following research paper describes the struggles many are facing in the search of receiving a diploma from a higher institution. The following will discuss why plagiarism is carrying over from the educational system to the work force.

Plagiarism in Higher Education

Academic dishonesty, or plagiarism, is over-looked because of the social stigma created in today’s society in terms of being unsuccessful. Holding everyone to a high standard creates a sense of fear in our world. “Permissiveness is a macro-social factor, that is, it is justified because it is a tacit condition for belonging to a group: there is a tacit agreement among students that they would not report their classmates,” (pg 52) (Nunez, Arias, Chavez, & Cara, 2019). The community of academia is one that has lost touch with the ideal of honesty and holding students to higher expectations. Students are taught to just jump through hoops to get to where they want to be, instead of applying themselves consistently and actually learning. Many students in higher education empathize with the struggle’s others face, because they themselves are facing them. The high workload, the stresses of high grades, the distractions of life, all play into why plagiarism levels have skyrocketed in the last few years. “…finding regarding the influences of working pressure and unfair competition on plagiarism…” (pg 415) (Santoso & Cahaya, 2018).

Students who plagiarize in the education system are carrying these badly acquired habits and carrying them over into the workplace, causing frustration for many employers.

How Plagiarism Affects Business

Plagiarism, in whatever form it may be, is a form of theft. Partaking in plagiarism brings question to one’s credibility and reputation, as well as negatively impacting how a person is viewed in their career. Plagiarism is not only based around written, but it is also taking credit for a colleague’s ideas or concepts, is a form of plagiarism. This may cause turmoil to fester in the workplace, forcing everyone to be on their toes 24/7. “The multiple regression analysis reveals that working pressure and unfair competition significantly influence the intention to undertake plagiarism,” (pg 403) (Doss, Henley, Becker, Mcelreath, Lackey, Jones, & Lin 2016). Employees who plagiarize do not often know they are plagiarizing. Many become blinded by the idea of success and view plagiarizing as seeing an opportunity and taking it. In certain instances, employees may be overlooking citations and claiming the work as their own because they feel advancement in the company is only achievable through deceit. One thing employees and new graduates must understand is the seriousness of plagiarism in the workplace. “All businesses routinely confront ethical dilemmas. Society usually becomes aware of such dilemmas when a lawsuit is filed or criminal charges are pressed against a corporation or individual who handled an ethical dilemma inappropriately,” (pg 96) (Elliott, Marquis, & Neal, 2012). Those running a business are looking for employees who hold high ethical standards. If this is not being correctly executed, many will face termination and have a newfound reputation as unreliable and dishonest.

Conclusion

The commonalities in plagiarism in the workplace and plagiarism in the classroom are endless, but overall there is an immense amount of pressure on both students and employees to put their best foot forward.

• Plagiarism, cheating, and academic dishonesty affect institutions of higher education. (pg 43) (Doss, Henley, Becker, Mcelreath, Lackey, Jones, & Lin 2016)
• Academic dishonesty in higher education receives significant attention, but much of the research focuses on the behavior of college students and not that of the faculty members. (pg 92) (Elliott, Marquis, & Neal, 2012)
• It is concluded that respondents perceived few, if any, attributes of unprofessionalism. Many of the respondents were undergraduates that never experienced professional work settings. (pg 45) (Doss, Henley, Becker, Mcelreath, Lackey, Jones, & Lin 2016)

In all, plagiarism is taking someone else’s work and trying to pass it off as your own. Plagiarism cannot continue to be overlooked because it is being carried from the classroom to the workplace leading to disgruntled management and unreliable employees.