Ethics in the work place

It's no surprise to me that there are many examples of poor ethics in the work place. Too often is the road to a bigger paycheck taken in spite of who it hurts, esp in todays office. But what did surprise me is that only a third of those envolved in ethical lapses were actually distracted by them. With all the political and even grass roots talk of helping the little guy out and doing the thing thats right for everyone, I'm a little shocked that there isn't more guilt about not following through on the big talk. But it makes perfect sense that once ethical lapses occur, office relationships are strained. People talk too, it's hard for someone who has done something unethical to keep it to themselves, it has something to do with the guilt of it all. The article mentioned that 46% of ppl admitted to telling someone else, which only increases that office strain. My one thought though is why can't ppl just do what's right?!?! I hope that once I'm in the real world that I can always just say no to ethical lapses.