Tough economic circumstances shouldn’t preclude a focus on ethical values in business.

In economies good and bad, ethical behavior offers a glimpse of a business person’s value system.

So says David Mielke, dean of Eastern Michigan University’s College of Business, which hosts its fourth annual Ethos Week starting Monday to emphasize the importance of ethics in business.

“It is a set of personal values,” Mielke said. “Whether it’s integrity, honesty, personal responsibility or respect.”

But how does a treacherous economy influence ethical decision-making? The implications are wide ranging. They include:

• People desperate to pay the bills consider illicit business activity. Chris Hall, CEO of Canton-based RepairClinic.com, said his firm recently threatened legal action when a competitor stole intellectual property online.

“There’s a tremendous opportunity for businesses to shade the truth and hide behind the Internet,” Hall said. “IP concerns are a big concern for us.”

• Discouraged unemployed workers consider lying on their resumes. Amy Cell, director of talent enhancement for Ann Arbor SPARK, said she encourages jobseekers to stick to the truth.

“I always push for transparency and honesty in the interview process,” she said. “If you lie about something, it is going to come back and bite you, because people are always doing background checks, and with the Internet there’s more information about you.”

Mielke said EMU grads are increasingly encountering prospective employers who conduct rigorous background checks to ensure they’re making the right hires. He said hiring companies are also asking their interviewees to describe how they would handle hypothetical ethical scenarios.

“In those scenarios, there are clear ethical situations that clearly get at the basic sense of honesty,” Mielke said.

-The increasing political influence in business - a remnant of the financial crisis - is leading to a conflagration of competing interests that spells ethical trouble.

“There’s certainly a need for government officials on all levels or all places to really start to adhere to some real values,” Mielke said. “All too often it’s that entrenchment that leads to some of the ethical problems. It’s how do we maintain our current position or maintain our current power base. That’s where the corners start to be cut and that’s where we start to get into these problems. It all really boils down to doing the right thing.”

Contact AnnArbor.com’s Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com or follow him on Twitter. You can also subscribe to AnnArbor.com Business Review's weekly e-newsletter or the upcoming breaking business news e-newsletter.