Comments for EthicScan Blog http://ethicscan.ca/blog Ethics Research and Education Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:02:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Comment on Can You Predict the Ethical Failures of Leaders? by NSteinberg http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=442&cpage=1#comment-4156 NSteinberg Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:02:36 +0000 http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=442#comment-4156 I believe he is one and the same I believe he is one and the same

]]> Comment on Can You Predict the Ethical Failures of Leaders? by James http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=442&cpage=1#comment-3966 James Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:55:31 +0000 http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=442#comment-3966 I know a Richard Davis personally, and am curious to know if we are talking about the same person - Philosophy Professor? I know a Richard Davis personally, and am curious to know if we are talking about the same person – Philosophy Professor?

]]> Comment on Mandatory Reporting on Misbehaviour by James http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=454&cpage=1#comment-3965 James Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:53:53 +0000 http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=454#comment-3965 Nice posting, I agree corps. should need to publicly report deficiencies, as they already report all their good deeds through the media. I am really interested in your blog, and will be following your posts. James Nice posting, I agree corps. should need to publicly report deficiencies, as they already report all their good deeds through the media.
I am really interested in your blog, and will be following your posts.
James

]]> Comment on Why Economic Recovery Hinges on Values by David Nitkin http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=400&cpage=1#comment-3100 David Nitkin Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:38:50 +0000 http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=400#comment-3100 This commentator's thesis isn't merely that the current financial crisis is about values, not economics and not mismanagement at a few large financial corporations. Rather he argues that our system as a whole is predicated upon what we do or don't value. What we prefer to produce and consume, he argues, doesn't value either the future, the environment, people or our individual happiness. But how rather than why? What he really doesn't address is why more and less managed economies, and both more capitalistic and more controlled, are all exhiting this malaise. Is there any economic syatem that prevents such greed, misallocatuion of capital, indifference to the pain of others, and societal divergence of wealth? This commentator’s thesis isn’t merely that the current financial crisis is about values, not economics and not mismanagement at a few large financial corporations. Rather he argues that our system as a whole is predicated upon what we do or don’t value. What we prefer to produce and consume, he argues, doesn’t value either the future, the environment, people or our individual happiness. But how rather than why? What he really doesn’t address is why more and less managed economies, and both more capitalistic and more controlled, are all exhiting this malaise. Is there any economic syatem that prevents such greed, misallocatuion of capital, indifference to the pain of others, and societal divergence of wealth?

]]> Comment on The Courage to Implement Codes of Ethics by David Nitkin http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=296&cpage=1#comment-2027 David Nitkin Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:51:31 +0000 http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=296#comment-2027 The thesis here is that students would benefit from developing their own codes, that there would be great uniformity in the content of such cod3es, and that the real challenge lies in the courage to implement codes. While I concur with the first and third observations, I question wherther or not we would see such uniformity and consistency in the codes of university-aged business students. The idea of uniformity of results across different cultures and genders and personalities is surely not assured. I'd welcome efforts by business ethics instructors to not only conduct such questions with their students, but also to do so if they have engaged in such a project. The thesis here is that students would benefit from developing their own codes, that there would be great uniformity in the content of such cod3es, and that the real challenge lies in the courage to implement codes. While I concur with the first and third observations, I question wherther or not we would see such uniformity and consistency in the codes of university-aged business students. The idea of uniformity of results across different cultures and genders and personalities is surely not assured. I’d welcome efforts by business ethics instructors to not only conduct such questions with their students, but also to do so if they have engaged in such a project.

]]> Comment on The Ethical Responsibility of Engineers and those that Pastor to them. by September Bartus http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=272&cpage=1#comment-1166 September Bartus Mon, 19 Jul 2010 07:24:24 +0000 http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=272#comment-1166 Greatful for this resource, I will add it to my early childhood education articles. Greatful for this resource, I will add it to my early childhood education articles.

]]> Comment on Ethics Cannot be Taught by Donna Boehme http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=111&cpage=1#comment-9 Donna Boehme Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:07:18 +0000 http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=111#comment-9 “Ethics” are not something that needs to be taught, so much as they are values to be adhered to or respected. Nearly everyone caught violating ethical behaviour expresses sorrow or regret for their acts — not necessarily regret at doing what they did, but regret at being caught. Like Tiger Woods, perhaps. Peter Worthington Every time I read a commentary like this, that "ethics can't be taught", I cringe and then I sigh. Underlying statements like this reflect a fundamental lack of clarity about what the ultimate goal of "teaching ethics" should be. If the ultimate goal of "teaching ethics" is misunderstood to be preventing all possible frauds or misconduct (eg the person taking a $100K bribe as per Worthington's hypothetical) , then of course it will ultimately be viewed as a losing proposition. This is the same as saying that no compliance program, however well-constructed and effective, can be guaranteed to stop a employee bent on embezzlement or fraud, so why have one? Or to bring it closer to home for the people and wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico, no safety system can prevent a devastating oil spill from happening, so we shouldn't even try. The fact of the matter is that the person determined to take a bribe will do so. The manager who is motivated to cook the books will attempt to get away with it. The deep drilling oil company with lax or poorly implemented safety rules will likely find itself in the middle of an environmental and PR disaster. None of that means we give up. In fact, to illustrate why it is indeed an imperative that we continue to “teach ethics” in business schools (and we need to teach it smarter, better and differently than it is currently being taught in most schools- but then that’s a different conversation) , let’s examine why within companies, there is logical and good business reason (not to mention legal drivers) to establish a culture of integrity through clear written standards, training and communicating, auditing and monitoring , setting tone from the top, and creating a safe way to raise concerns or report problems to the top of the organization. These include: 1. First, business judgments are not always black and white. The vast majority of employees who are not hell-bent on embezzlement and fraud need support, encouragement and training on how to make good business decisions. What kind of due diligence do I have to conduct when hiring a foreign intermediary? What do I do when approached by a competitor who wants to discuss pricing? What am I allowed to say on Facebook about my company or job? Employees not only need to know the rules, but need “practice” and role modeling on how these rules should apply. In a company serious about compliance and ethics, business leaders act as role models to their direct reports on exactly this. The best examples I have seen involve managers who integrate the code of conduct visibly into business decisions. The best training gives employees scenarios so they can “practice” what they would do in different scenarios. And if the answers appear to be in a gray area, those employees learn where to go for further answers. And that they will not be retaliated against for doing so. 2. Second, by creating a setting a tone of integrity, accountability and transparency, we strive to empower the 99.99% of employees and managers who want tto make good business judgments, consistent with the company’s legal and ethical standards, to do so, and to raise issues when those around them do not -whether that means raising a question with a colleague or a manager, or using a confidential means of raising concerns to management. So in Mr. Worthington’s example, maybe the bad apple will take an envelope full of cash, or maybe a ‘rogue employee’ will embezzle funds, but these things are rarely done in a vacuum. In most cases there are others who are aware of the wrongdoing, and we want them to raise their hands. If they work in a culture of integrity, they are likely to do so. So let’s go back to the concept of “teaching ethics” so disparaged by Mr. Worthington and others before him. Why do it? Because managers need to start thinking about and practicing good business judgments even before they land in HR orientation at their first employer. While studying various business models and strategy in school, they also need to have integrated in the conversation the significance of compliance with laws, the value of a good reputation as a license to operate, and the competitive advantage of being viewed by employees, customers, vendors, business partners and other stakeholders as a good corporate citizen that makes legal and ethical business decisions. And those students who will ultimately become managers and CEOS should understand the significance of setting “tone from the top” by words and actions, for their teams, co-workers and the rest of the company. Anyone who doubts the commercial value of a good reputation and compliance with laws need only review the parade of companies who have lost, either temporarily or permanently that license to operate: Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Parmalat, Tyco, Siemens, Satyam and now, painfully and horribly, BP. In my perfect world there would be a “Dean of Ethics” in every business school that would have the mandate of working with all the other departments to integrate compliance and ethics into the curriculum of their classes, just as the issues of compliance and ethics are woven into the everyday decisions that employees make on the ground every day. This isn’t idealistic, it’s realistic. Idealism is running a business class or a business scenario in a vacuum, without any consideration of the legal and ethical issues that may arise in the real world. In some leading companies, management have actually tied compensation and performance evaluation to ethical leadership criteria. It is within this scenario I have a personal anecdote to respond to those who say you can’t “teach ethics”. Once I worked with a company to tie 30% of top management bonus to ethical leadership criteria such as transparency of decision making, supporting the compliance and ethics program, providing a safe environment to raise concerns and have open conversations, and acting as a role model in words and action. When this program was rolled out about a third of the way into a performance cycle by an over-eager HR department, the most common objection from affected leaders was “if I had known I would be graded on these things, I would have done things differently!” Morale of the story: there is a lot companies can do to influence and encourage ethical leadership in their managers and employees. So what’s the ultimate goal of “teaching ethics”? Not to prevent every case of unethical behavior in the universe. But to begin to instill in students the fundamental realities of the business world: that in today’s complex legal and ethical environment, the business of ethics is the business of reputation, license to operate, competitive advantage and continued success. Donna Boehme Principal, Compliance Strategists LLC http://compliancestrategists.com “Ethics” are not something that needs to be taught, so much as they are values to be adhered to or respected. Nearly everyone caught violating ethical behaviour expresses sorrow or regret for their acts — not necessarily regret at doing what they did, but regret at being caught. Like Tiger Woods, perhaps. Peter Worthington

Every time I read a commentary like this, that “ethics can’t be taught”, I cringe and then I sigh. Underlying statements like this reflect a fundamental lack of clarity about what the ultimate goal of “teaching ethics” should be.

If the ultimate goal of “teaching ethics” is misunderstood to be preventing all possible frauds or misconduct (eg the person taking a $100K bribe as per Worthington’s hypothetical) , then of course it will ultimately be viewed as a losing proposition. This is the same as saying that no compliance program, however well-constructed and effective, can be guaranteed to stop a employee bent on embezzlement or fraud, so why have one? Or to bring it closer to home for the people and wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico, no safety system can prevent a devastating oil spill from happening, so we shouldn’t even try. The fact of the matter is that the person determined to take a bribe will do so. The manager who is motivated to cook the books will attempt to get away with it. The deep drilling oil company with lax or poorly implemented safety rules will likely find itself in the middle of an environmental and PR disaster. None of that means we give up.

In fact, to illustrate why it is indeed an imperative that we continue to “teach ethics” in business schools (and we need to teach it smarter, better and differently than it is currently being taught in most schools- but then that’s a different conversation) , let’s examine why within companies, there is logical and good business reason (not to mention legal drivers) to establish a culture of integrity through clear written standards, training and communicating, auditing and monitoring , setting tone from the top, and creating a safe way to raise concerns or report problems to the top of the organization. These include:

1. First, business judgments are not always black and white. The vast majority of employees who are not hell-bent on embezzlement and fraud need support, encouragement and training on how to make good business decisions. What kind of due diligence do I have to conduct when hiring a foreign intermediary? What do I do when approached by a competitor who wants to discuss pricing? What am I allowed to say on Facebook about my company or job? Employees not only need to know the rules, but need “practice” and role modeling on how these rules should apply. In a company serious about compliance and ethics, business leaders act as role models to their direct reports on exactly this. The best examples I have seen involve managers who integrate the code of conduct visibly into business decisions. The best training gives employees scenarios so they can “practice” what they would do in different scenarios. And if the answers appear to be in a gray area, those employees learn where to go for further answers. And that they will not be retaliated against for doing so.

2. Second, by creating a setting a tone of integrity, accountability and transparency, we strive to empower the 99.99% of employees and managers who want tto make good business judgments, consistent with the company’s legal and ethical standards, to do so, and to raise issues when those around them do not -whether that means raising a question with a colleague or a manager, or using a confidential means of raising concerns to management. So in Mr. Worthington’s example, maybe the bad apple will take an envelope full of cash, or maybe a ‘rogue employee’ will embezzle funds, but these things are rarely done in a vacuum. In most cases there are others who are aware of the wrongdoing, and we want them to raise their hands. If they work in a culture of integrity, they are likely to do so.

So let’s go back to the concept of “teaching ethics” so disparaged by Mr. Worthington and others before him. Why do it? Because managers need to start thinking about and practicing good business judgments even before they land in HR orientation at their first employer. While studying various business models and strategy in school, they also need to have integrated in the conversation the significance of compliance with laws, the value of a good reputation as a license to operate, and the competitive advantage of being viewed by employees, customers, vendors, business partners and other stakeholders as a good corporate citizen that makes legal and ethical business decisions. And those students who will ultimately become managers and CEOS should understand the significance of setting “tone from the top” by words and actions, for their teams, co-workers and the rest of the company. Anyone who doubts the commercial value of a good reputation and compliance with laws need only review the parade of companies who have lost, either temporarily or permanently that license to operate: Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Parmalat, Tyco, Siemens, Satyam and now, painfully and horribly, BP. In my perfect world there would be a “Dean of Ethics” in every business school that would have the mandate of working with all the other departments to integrate compliance and ethics into the curriculum of their classes, just as the issues of compliance and ethics are woven into the everyday decisions that employees make on the ground every day. This isn’t idealistic, it’s realistic. Idealism is running a business class or a business scenario in a vacuum, without any consideration of the legal and ethical issues that may arise in the real world.

In some leading companies, management have actually tied compensation and performance evaluation to ethical leadership criteria. It is within this scenario I have a personal anecdote to respond to those who say you can’t “teach ethics”. Once I worked with a company to tie 30% of top management bonus to ethical leadership criteria such as transparency of decision making, supporting the compliance and ethics program, providing a safe environment to raise concerns and have open conversations, and acting as a role model in words and action. When this program was rolled out about a third of the way into a performance cycle by an over-eager HR department, the most common objection from affected leaders was “if I had known I would be graded on these things, I would have done things differently!” Morale of the story: there is a lot companies can do to influence and encourage ethical leadership in their managers and employees.

So what’s the ultimate goal of “teaching ethics”? Not to prevent every case of unethical behavior in the universe. But to begin to instill in students the fundamental realities of the business world: that in today’s complex legal and ethical environment, the business of ethics is the business of reputation, license to operate, competitive advantage and continued success.

Donna Boehme
Principal, Compliance Strategists LLC
http://compliancestrategists.com

]]> Comment on Feeling pity for Bernie Madoff these days-don’t!! by KAR http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=93&cpage=1#comment-7 KAR Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:39:48 +0000 http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=93#comment-7 I would suggest this post be classified under "business ethics" and that it doesn't necessarily need a more specific category. After all, it concerns the conduct of businesses and of business leaders. Examples of immoral behavior are as informative as examples of moral behavior, because in both cases we use the same standards by which to judge morality. But if you intend to focus of white collar crime, etc., and surely there are plenty of examples these days, you might consider introducing a category called "Corporate Crime". I would suggest this post be classified under “business ethics” and that it doesn’t necessarily need a more specific category. After all, it concerns the conduct of businesses and of business leaders. Examples of immoral behavior are as informative as examples of moral behavior, because in both cases we use the same standards by which to judge morality. But if you intend to focus of white collar crime, etc., and surely there are plenty of examples these days, you might consider introducing a category called “Corporate Crime”.

]]> Comment on Baby Morality by David Nitkin http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=69&cpage=1#comment-6 David Nitkin Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:38:58 +0000 http://ethicscan.ca/blog/?p=69#comment-6 I find this research fascinating: long before we are as children socialized by parents, family and school, we seem to have (and be born with) an innate disposition toward recognizing and doing good. Ethics in our DNA? I find this research fascinating: long before we are as children socialized by parents, family and school, we seem to have (and be born with) an innate disposition toward recognizing and doing good.
Ethics in our DNA?

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