When a company needs a guide - Organizations are increasingly looking for help to decipher their ethical dilemmas
By AUGUSTA DWYER
Wednesday, October 30, 2002 – Page C5
TORONTO -- Between Enron, ImClone, Martha Stewart, Dolly the sheep, and our own federal government, if anyone should be busy these days, it's an ethicist.
David Nitkin, founder and president of EthicScan, agrees that interest is growing in his field, especially from people who are "looking for career transition, and would now like to hang out their shingle as a corporate ethicist or a corporate auditor."
Ethicists help companies, government departments or individuals make ethical decisions, or devise a code of ethics by which to operate. They can help a corporation understand values beyond those of their board members and shareholders, or a volunteer organization clarify issues, such as using a portion of donations to raise more donations and aid a broader group. As well, it is now fairly standard practice for hospitals to hire or retain bioethicists to help them and their patients grapple with quandaries raised by genetic screening or embryo research.
EthicScan publishes books, such as The Ethical Shoppers' Guide,and the monthly journal Corporate Ethics Monitor and maintains a database of 1,500 private corporations. But a crucial part of its work is consulting.
Different clients have different needs, motivations and attitudes toward working within an ethical framework, Mr. Nitkin says. "Some companies believe themselves to be ethics leaders, so they want some kind of benchmarking: How good are we really? So, these are assessments of performance."
Other companies approach him after being pilloried in the press, or because they notice that businesses in their sector are doing well after setting up codes of ethics.
"So, they are coming and asking us to develop an ethics code. We can help make them aware and apprise them of what is socially responsible practice as defined internationally or within their sector, and we try to get them to focus above the level of just their own performance."
Mr. Nitkin founded EthicScan in 1989, after a series of jobs that included teaching, running a $3-million a year heating program for churches and synagogues and working for the provincial government. With nine associates across Canada, an editor and four full-time researchers, as well as clients in the United States and Europe, EthicScan is now the largest ethics auditor in North America.
That is not to say there weren't hair-raising moments in the company's early days.
"I had been in business all of five weeks," Mr. Nitkin recalls, "when I got a call from the deputy chairman of one of the Canadian banks profiled in the first issue of Corporate Ethics Monitor, saying: 'You've said some very uncomplimentary things about how we treat women.'
"And I thought: 'Oh my goodness, I'm going to be sued. Corporate ethics was a very quick career!' " he said with a laugh. The executive, however, was not calling to warn him of a suit but to ask advice.
"And a light came on," Mr. Nitkin said. "Hey, openness and transparency is a key part of the emerging paradigm, and organizations like ours that stress either individual responsibility or helping organizations improve themselves have a future in the 1990s. It has proven, fortunately, to be that way."
Just last week, the federal government announced its intention to create an independent ethics commissioner's position and develop an ethics code for all MPs and government ministers. Auditors, charities and volunteer associations are also making increased use of ethicists. One of EthicScan's associates, Jane Garthson, provides services to the volunteer sector after a long career as a civil servant.
She studied psychology in university, "and maybe what I do is not so different from what I originally intended, it's just that people want the advice on behalf of their organization, instead of themselves."
The Institute of Global Ethics, founded in the United States in 1990, is a charity that promotes ethical behaviour across the board, from individuals to national governments. It has had a branch in Toronto since 2000. Aside from consulting work and seminars, its director, Douglas Bryden, is having "great success," as he put it, bringing ethics curriculums to independent schools throughout Ontario. "Teachers can either set up an ethics class or integrate the concepts into their courses.
"We look for teachable moments, where there is an opportunity to introduce an example of right versus wrong, or right versus right." While corporations are not yet rushing to hire full-time ethicists, many are either looking for part-timers or handing the purview to existing staff.
"People in one field or another are finding that applied ethics is becoming part of their duties," says Cornelius von Baeyer, an ethics consultant in Ottawa. "Typically, they may find they have to scramble a bit to find other people already doing it."
Indeed, Mr. Nitkin says, "there are very few people within the ethics community who can make a living out of this full-time. Virtually everyone has to have some other source of income."
Mr. Nitkin is finding that many graduates are turning to the EthicScan database to get an ethical history of the companies interested in hiring them. If the company's behaviour doesn't measure up, it may find itself having a hard time attracting qualified staff.
An occasional series on career alternatives.
Making the Transition
Skills/training:
Theoretical ethics courses are offered in universities and in colleges across Canada, but courses and seminars in practical ethics are indispensable. These are offered by companies already working in practical ethics, and by the Institute of Global Ethics.
According to Douglas Bryden, director of the Toronto branch of IGE, "an ethicist needs to not only be interested but committed." Many ethicists have backgrounds in public service, law or academia. Bioethicists will need plenty of background in medicine or biology, and new technology.
Ethicists need to be able to think clearly and defend their ideas, so courses in critical reasoning could be helpful. Travel and learning about other cultures is also useful, as is volunteer work with the disadvantaged or a charity.
Income range:
Varies widely and is very had to pinpoint. Corporate consultants can earn anything from $5,000 to $12,000 for a consultancy or a workshop. Full-time salaries in the government range above $60,000.
Information:
The Ethics Practitioners Association of Canada: http://www.epac-apec.ca
The Canadian Bioethics Society: 403-208-8027, http://www.bioethics.ca
The Institute for Global Ethics: http://www.globalethics.org
The Centre for Practical Ethics at York University in Toronto: 416-736-2100, ext. 30446 or http://www.yorku.ca/ycpe
Media Coverage Index