By Paul Plotczyk, President, WSA
Ethics are the values that guide us to do the “right thing” even when no one is looking.
We think it ought to be fairly easy to choose between right and wrong by relying on our principles, but business activity often requires that we select from alternative actions that are neither wholly right nor wholly wrong.
This reality and the fact that individuals typically bring to the workplace an already-established code of ethics which may not completely align with the organization's ethical standard, raises many questions about ethics in business.
- Why should we focus on ethics when the economic sky is falling?
- Are people really capable of change?
- Aren't people either essentially ethical or unethical?
- Where do people find an ethical compass they can reference at work?
- How do you imbed ethics into the organizational culture?
- Can ethics be taught?
This article explores these key questions and provides insight based on our real-world experience helping organizations grapple with this important issue.
Why Ethics? Why Now?
Ethics in the workplace is about knowing what is right or wrong and acting on it in regard to customers, other employees and stakeholders. We talk about two categories of ethics:
1. Compliance Ethics: The black-and-white legal issues that, when violated, make newspaper headlines: Fraud, Bribery, Stealing, Harassment.
2. Interpersonal Ethics: The issues that determine how we work together and how we treat each other. These are not necessarily illegal, but are the types of things you wouldn't want your family to see you do: Abusive behavior, Lying to employees, Putting one's interests ahead of the organization.
Attention to both types of business ethics is critical during times of fundamental change and upheaval, as with our current economic crisis.
Business Case for Compliance Ethics
During times of change and disruption, values that were previously taken for granted may be questioned and no longer followed. Shortcuts, “getting away with it when no one's looking,” or not noticing problems or defects that might further slow down work, can become more prevalent and can even replace what was considered the norm and become accepted.
Additionally, the risk of litigation increases dramatically when previously tested and useful standards or rules are not followed. The potential damage to an organization's reputation can be financially destructive for years to come. Customers tend to have a long memory!
Business Case for Interpersonal Ethics
There is hardly a person above the age the age of 12 who isn't experiencing some level of stress about our current economic state. People are bringing this fear, doubt and uncertainty to the workplace. Anything that organizations can do to avoid adding to stress levels is critical.
One clear way to avoid adding more weight to already over-burdened shoulders is to model and reward strong interpersonal ethics. Insist that people treat each other with respect and dignity. Create a safe, ethical environment for your staff – the entire organization will benefit – now and in the long run.
5 Keys to Establishing an Ethical Culture
Many organizations erroneously think that establishing a code of ethics is all it takes to create an ethical culture. Corporations and government agencies write codes of ethics and conduct that tend to be no more than a piece of paper that employees may or may not read.
If having something written somewhere was all it took to change or teach behavior then our education system would be quite different – and many consultants would be doing something else!
At WSA, we often say that it is not in the “knowing” but in the “doing” – which is consultant-speak for, “Don't just talk about it –DO IT!”
Establishing a culture in which doing the right thing is expected helps to ensure that a set of beliefs, ideologies, or standards becomes ingrained and helps to guide the actions of employees – regardless if anyone is watching or not.
To successful create an ethical culture remember these 5 things:
- Create a Code of Conduct that is practical and enforceable.
- Communicate regularly about the organization's ethics. This is a dynamic issue for a dynamic society. (Who would have thought of the problems associated with photos sent from cell phones even 5 years ago?)
- Model the Desired Behavior – If leaders don't walk the talk, then no one will.
- Enforce the Code. Do it clearly and publicly. (Are you hesitant? Remember Enron?)
- Reward employees who “live the culture.” Especially in this economic crisis, positive reinforcement may be in the form of public praise. Positive attention still has value – it always will.
Leadership's Role in Ethics
Leaders play a pivotal role in imbedding ethics into the culture of an organization. People look to them to define what the organization really believes about ethics. Actions speak louder than words.
Unfortunately, much of today's literature and training about business ethics is not geared toward the practical needs of leaders and managers. This is mainly a result of the fact that the field of business ethics, as well as most ethics training in organizations, has traditionally been the domain of philosophers, academics and social critics. Or the lawyers.
While it might be daunting to think of yourself as the moral compass for your organization, we suggest you focus on the key activities identified by the 2005 National Business Ethics Survey, conducted by Ethics Resource Center as having the greatest impact on employee ethics and compliance:
- Set a good example
- Keep promises and commitments
- Support others in adhering to ethics standards
We would like to add one more - ‘Fess up if you mess up.
If you fall short of the ethical code or fail to keep a promise, quickly and honestly own your mistake. People will understand and accept imperfection but they have little tolerance for hypocrisy.
Ethics Training Works
Given that the foundation for ethical behavior starts in early childhood, many people wonder whether you can truly have any impact on ethical behavior in the adult workplace. We offer two data points that suggest ethical training in the workplace can be highly effective:
- In a comparison of 2000 and 2005 results of the National Business Ethics Survey ethical misconduct dropped by 60 percent in organizations with well-implemented ethics programs and strong ethical cultures.
- Results from our recently launched, Ethics in Leadership Workshop indicate that even a 1-Day program can produce significant positive results if it is embraced by top leadership.
Ethics Training Tips
Here are a few elements of WSA's Ethics in Leadership program which participants found most helpful. You may want to incorporate them into your ethics initiatives:
- Provide practical examples drawn from the full range of daily work situations.
- Don't attempt to teach “correct” morals rather, allow participants to examine their assumptions and the process they use for making ethical leadership decisions in complex and ambiguous work situations.
- Provide ideas and tools that are easy to use on the job when faced with an ethical dilemma.
- Include a self-assessment tool which allows participants to explore what they think is ethical and unethical. Then provide a safe discussion format to increase their awareness of the “slippery slope” of ethics.
- Create a structured open dialogue among participants about specific work-related ethical dilemmas – this activity consistently rates as the most helpful part of our Ethics in Action Workshop.
A Final Note
As always, we are pleased to discuss our articles with you. Phone calls with questions about content or the design and implementation of a program we might feature, are always complimentary to our readers. Pick up the phone. Call us. We'd love to hear from you.
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