Signing Off on Ethics

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  michaellgooch06/21/08 Report as spam
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  Ethics

  The worlds of Politics, Business, Education and Ethics are difficult to blend. Organizations have negative results because the people on board cannot tell the difference between right and wrong. Due to scope, these consequences usually take longer to materialize, but is the result the same? You can find a ton of articles and books about business ethics about businesses ?losing their way,? e.g., WorldCom, Tyco, Enron. You can also sign up for seminars where they preach to ?do the right thing.? They paint the world in stark black and white. These resources ask one-dimensional ethical questions, such as, ?Should you take kickbacks from suppliers?? For me, ethics in the workplace including schools are varying shades of gray. You have to rely on moral law, that is, does it ?feel? wrong? It?s easy to say, ?There is right, and there is wrong.? In my management book, Wingtips with Spurs (http://www.amazon.com/Wingtips-Spurs-Michael-L-Gooch/dp/1897326882/) I address these issues in detail. All major corporations have their written code of conduct. Each one is pretty much just a copy of the others and is a major dust bunny. The next time you walk into someone?s office, ask to see the company code of conduct. Good luck on finding someone who will produce it within five minutes. The moral law is much easier to find and digest. It resides in each of us. Michael L. Gooch, SPHR Author of Wingtips with Spurs: Cowboy Wisdom for Today?s Business Leaders http://www.michaellgooch.com

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  mweinberg06/24/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Signing Off on Ethics

  An old and wise friend once told me, "First, be true to yourself. Then, be true to your profession. Lastly, be true to your company. When they come into conflict, you'll have your priorities in order."

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  jerryvnix06/24/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Signing Off on Ethics

  The main problem I see is that you are confusing ethics with morality. Ethics is about right versus good; morality is about right versus wrong.

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  JeanneAmey06/24/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Signing Off on Ethics

  One of the biggest problems we have in today's society is a stubborn reluctance to admit there are "rights" and "wrongs". The prevailing sentiment is "it's all good as long as no one gets hurt." Well, sometimes the person(s) getting hurt is/are out of sight. It's the investors, customers, employees or even ourselves down the line who wind up paying for the wrongs that a company perpetuates.
  
  Leadership and ethics are demonstrated by the top management in a company. When character no longer matters and "wrongs" are not treated as such it leads to the deterioration of our institutions.
  
  I think we've begun a long slide down a slippery slope of moral (could be read ethical) relativism that is having wide and deep impact in our society.
  
  Thanks for a thought provoking discussion!

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  Lady Socrates06/24/08 Report as spam
  5

  RE: Signing Off on Ethics

  As an ethicist, I remind people that it is not my job to make decisions for them but, rather, to give them the information and tools to help them make better decisions for themselves. Regardless of how you define ethics or morality (I define ethics as theoretical and morality as applied ethics), the same thing is true. People can, do and should make their own decisions. If I make them *for* them, then they're not *their* decisions and I, not they, are responsible for them (at least in the ethical sense, if not the moral).
  
  One of my colleagues in governmental ethics uses a "traffic light" metaphor. He gives "red lights" and "yellow lights" but never a green light, in response to ethical questions. The reason is that we are seldom privy to all the information we'd need to do that and folks (self included) have a tendency to relate a story in ways that are already biased towards the conclusion they favor and/or leave things out that they don't even realize are crucial to the decision.
  
  Yes, moral relativism is a problem, which is the very reason that codifying ethics in law is helpful. On a personal level, determining the priority of your values ahead of time is similar and, in business, having a code of ethics serves the same purpose. Determine what principles you should follow so that, when the tough questions arise, those principles can help you decide what to do. However, an ethicist should never tell people what they should do. That's the realm of moralists and best left to the pulpit - the religious pulpit, not the bully pulpit.

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  mbmattis@...06/24/08 Report as spam
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  Code of Ethics?

  What is your preferred code of ethics, if you have one?

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  Derrill06/24/08 Report as spam
  7

  Ethics

  Ethics is a inward and very personal confirmation of a code of conduct and relationship with those we come into contact with and enteract. A corporation cannot of itself have ethics. Only the people of a like mind and dedication to the common good can project a corporate ethicical behavior. This is now an ethos.