managment and ethics

Do the right thing Anonymous . Winnipeg Free Press ; Winnipeg, Man. [Winnipeg, Man]31 Jan 2015: B.14.

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ABSTRACT  

Why should you be concerned? You need to be concerned because your reputation is at stake. If you are an

unethical employee, you may not be able to hold a job and/or secure one in the first place. If you are a business

and don't have a good reputation, you won't be able to attract customers. You won't be able to attract or retain

workers and you won't be able to attract investors. And if you are involved in politics, you won't be able to gather

votes.

Yet, have you ever asked yourself why people engage in unethical behaviour? Some suggest it is all related to

money. Others suggest unethical behaviour results from an employee's emphasis on self-gain, especially when

they know they will not be punished or condemned for their actions. From an organizational perspective, you might

find one "bad apple," an individual who engages in unethical behaviour, but you might also find an entire

organizational culture that condones aggressive, individualistic, and hyper-competitive behaviour that often leads

to unethical, self-centred decisions.

No matter what, individuals who engage in unethical behaviour rationalize their behaviour until they believe it is all

OK. For instance, you might hear them say, "It's OK because I really don't gain personally"; "They owe me so I have

it coming"; "They have more money than I have" and/or "Everyone is doing it!" FULL TEXT  

Building a culture of ethical behaviour starts at the top

Citizens and stakeholders in the community as well as the corporate world are saying loud and clear, "We won't

stand for it anymore! No, no, no!" That's the powerful message you heard last week as some of the details of

unethical behaviour by a former college president surfaced in the news.

No, no, no, said CBC brass as they made the decision to suspend popular radio host Jian Ghomeshi for alleged

inappropriate sexual behaviour. And again, CBC brass said no as they suspended the practice of allowing on-air

personalities to reap the benefits of high-paid speaking gigs outside of their regular work.

And, no, no, no says Winnipeg's mayor, council, police chief and Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Derek

Nepinak as they vowed to overcome Maclean's magazine's new label for Winnipeg as the "most racist" city in

Canada.

However, if we stand back and look at all of these recent incidents, what they all boil down to is the issue of ethical

behaviour. What's right, and what's wrong. Today, more and more people are standing up against unethical

behaviour both in society and in organizations. Citizens, employees and employers alike have had enough. They

want disclosure and rigorous standards to be put in place such that trust in our systems, our institutions and our

people can be rebuilt. They want transparency. They want moral leadership.

And in my view, when we talk about "moral and ethical leadership" it doesn't simply refer to senior leaders. It

means every one of us; every individual on this planet, every individual in the workplace, every individual in any of

our social institutions. All of us!

But why should you be concerned? You need to be concerned because your reputation is at stake. If you are an

unethical employee, you may not be able to hold a job and/or secure one in the first place. If you are a business

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and don't have a good reputation, you won't be able to attract customers. You won't be able to attract or retain

workers and you won't be able to attract investors. And if you are involved in politics, you won't be able to gather

votes.

So, just what is unethical behaviour? Unethical behaviour can be as simple as deliberately taking a colleague's

coffee cup in the morning. It can be a deliberate attempt to slander someone, to gossip, give a false impression or

outright lie about academic credentials and/or experience. It's about deliberately using language to mistreat

someone, to belittle them and make them feel inferior. It's about stealing supplies from the office or falsifying

expense reports or using undue influence to benefit yourself.

Yet, have you ever asked yourself why people engage in unethical behaviour? Some suggest it is all related to

money. Others suggest unethical behaviour results from an employee's emphasis on self-gain, especially when

they know they will not be punished or condemned for their actions. From an organizational perspective, you might

find one "bad apple," an individual who engages in unethical behaviour, but you might also find an entire

organizational culture that condones aggressive, individualistic, and hyper-competitive behaviour that often leads

to unethical, self-centred decisions.

No matter what, individuals who engage in unethical behaviour rationalize their behaviour until they believe it is all

OK. For instance, you might hear them say, "It's OK because I really don't gain personally"; "They owe me so I have

it coming"; "They have more money than I have" and/or "Everyone is doing it!"

Thankfully, organizations are starting to do a better job of holding workers accountable and creating an

environment or organizational culture where ethical behaviour is demanded. They are institutionalizing ethics

policies, imposing discipline for misconduct, and they are letting employees know bad behaviour will be punished.

Enforcement and carrying through with punishment is seen as the key to influencing ethical behaviour.

So, where do you start? Some of the following steps will enable you to ensure you have a reputation as an ethical

organization.

Start at the top -- Building a culture of ethical behaviour starts at the top. Senior executives need to be role models

who make it easy for their employees to do the right thing, while making it difficult to do the wrong things. These

leaders give priority to fairness and equity, honesty and loyalty and demonstrate a tolerance for diversity and

differences.

Make standards known -- Instil formal written standards of what you expect for ethical workplace conduct. Train all

employees, new or otherwise, on your standards and ensure employees know where to go for advice and how to

report violations. Whereas having a code of ethics isn't enough by itself, the strength lies in ensuring your code is

enforced when an incident arises.

Instil values throughout -- A code of ethics that is written but has not been integrated into the hearts, minds and

actions of your employees is simply a waste of time and only invites violations. You need to teach employees

doing the right thing not only matters, but it is expected. Integrate these values in everything you do and in all

training coursework.

Integrate the hiring process -- Be upfront with potential candidates by explaining your culture, your values and your

standards of behaviour. Assess the candidates for a good fit. Ask behavioural-oriented questions that will allow

you to get a good idea of a candidate's true experience when confronted with an ethical issue.

Adopt a decision-making model -- It isn't enough to train people on what ethical behaviour is, you need to adopt a

model that will be used throughout your organization and by all your employees. Best-practice models include

clearly defining the problem and its nature and dimensions, exploring different options for action and their

consequences from an ethical perspective and then selecting the most appropriate for the situation.

Be decisive -- In many cases, you will be confronted with tough decisions, but you must show courage in

addressing the issues raised. Employees, customers and stakeholders alike will be continually watching for how

situations are handled. Inaction, indecision, favouritism and/or weak sanctions will dilute the value of your code of

ethics, and soon people will start ignoring it.

Performance evaluation -- Make ethical behaviour an important part of your appraisal process. Including ethics as

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a key competency reinforces its importance and allows ethics to be measured on an annual basis, both individually

and organizationally. This will enable you to assess your organizational culture, make adaptations to training

and/or the standards should this be necessary.

Reward behaviour -- You don't need to wait until performance-appraisal time to recognize and reward behaviour.

Use "spot rewards," which simply means when you see ethical behaviour, comment and compliment your

employee. Go further and develop an employee-reward system that includes peer nominations and recognition.

Communicate the reward program and create some excitement around it.

Source: Why do employees act unethically: Is it the person the issue or the organization? Research Insights,

Network for Business Sustainability

Barbara J. Bowes, CHRP, CMC, CCP, M.Ed is president of Legacy Bowes Group and president of Career Partners

International, Manitoba. She is also an author, radio host and professional speaker. She can be reached at

[email protected]. DETAILS

Publication title: Winnipeg Free Press; Winnipeg, Man.

First page: B.14

Publication year: 2015

Publication date: Jan 31, 2015

Section: Business

Publisher: F.P. Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership

Place of publication: Winnipeg, Man.

Country of publication: Canada

Publication subject: General Interest Periodicals--Canada

ISSN: 08281785

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1649352730

Document URL: https://search.proquest.com/docview/1649352730?accountid=8289

Copyright: Copyright F.P. Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership Jan 31, 2015

Last updated: 2015-01-31

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