Management%20Communication%20About%20Ethics

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Management Communication About Ethics

• The Difficulties of Managing for Ethics

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Compliance with Laws
Ethical Behavior
SWEET SPOT
Compliance and Ethics Program
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Moral Muteness

• The fact that managers rarely talk about ethics
  directly. Managers talk instead about
• a. organizational interests
• b. practicality
• c. economic good sense

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In reality, many of their decisions are actually
guided by

• a. morally defined standards codified in law
• b. professional conventions
• c. social mores

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And they defend moral activities such as

• a. service to customers
• b. effective cooperation among personnel
• c. use of resources for companys benefit

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Go it Alone

• Managers struggle with ethical issues, but dont
  talk to one another about it much
• Morality is a live topic for individual managers
  but it is close to a non-topic among groups of
  managers.

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Communication Follow-Through are Essential

• While normative expectations are explicitly given
  through legal rulings, regulatory agencies
  decrees, professional codes, organizational
  policies and social mores, if these are not
  communicated well, and acted upon, the message
  will not get out.

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What is communicated?
Ethics Materials Mission Values Code of conduct/ethics Policies Decision methods Your culture
Ethics program Who is the Ethics Officer? How to make contact?
Senior Management Commitment to Ethics Why organizational ethics matters?
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Methods of Communication

• Evaluate current ethics communication lines
• Formal and informal
• downward, upward, and two way
• Clear, consistent, credible messages across
  communication lines

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More about Methods of Communication

• Hiring Announcements
• Website
• Email
• Brochures
• Meetings Formal Informal
• Orientation sessions
• Newsletters
• Manuals
• Code Handbooks w/certifications
• Badges and Wallet Cards
• Key Fobs

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Causes of Moral Muteness

• 1. Threat to Harmony moral talk often requires
  some challenge and confrontation

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Causes of Moral Muteness

• 2. Threat to efficiency
• a. if done with ideological exhortations it
• i. does not facilitate problem solving
• ii. doesnt usually clarify issues
• iii. seems self-serving

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Causes of Moral Muteness

• Threat to Efficiency (contd)
• b. moral talk adds an extra burden to business
  decisionsseen as distraction
• c. Adds additional rules and regulations, may
  hinder quick decisions

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Causes of Moral Muteness

• 3. Threat to image of Power and Effectiveness
• a. moral ideals highlight imperfections in
  current practices
• b. managers dont want to expose their own moral
  illiteracy
• c. lower managers are expected to solve their
  own problems

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Consequences of Moral Muteness

• 1. Moral Amnesia forget that ethics is part of
  business
• Ex Milton Friedman acts as though business
  should be concerned only with profit, not social
  responsibility, yet he alludes to 8 important
  ethical issues no fraud, no deceit, fair
  competition, respect law, respect contracts,
  recognize employee and investor rights, maximize
  consumer satisfaction and freedom

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Consequences of Moral Muteness

• 2. Narrowed conception of morality Discuss
  business only in terms of strategy and common
  sense, and avoid discussing the ethical reasons
  for the decision. Ethics is construed to be only
  for the severely immoralrules to punish
  breakers.

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Consequences of Moral Muteness

• 3. Moral Stress managers who dont discuss the
  ethical issues will have more stress that they
  internalize

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Consequences of Moral Muteness

• 4. Neglect of Abuses Many moral issues are
  simply not organizationally recognized and
  addressed. Many moral abuses are ignored, many
  moral ideals are not pursued, and many moral
  dilemmas remain unresolved.

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Consequences of Moral Muteness

• 5. Decreased authority of moral standards The
  less we talk about it, the less those standards
  will seem real.

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Not Just Cheerleading

• Charismatic Leadership and forceful commands
  bring about short term change, but long term
  changes require shared values which provide a
  common vocabulary for identifying and resolving
  problems.

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How to make Changes

• Must provide an opportunity for open discussion
  without any danger of retribution or corporate
  punishment.

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Making Changes

• 2. Important to help all involved realize that
  they hold similar long-run objectives and value
  common principles
• Help make shared commitments seem basic/core
• Less likely to become contentious if unity is
  emphasized
• Legitimate dissent will be more cordial and
  controlled if ground-rules are set up first.

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Making Change Happen

• 3. Role of Senior Managers
• Must demand that these ethical conversations take
  place
• Need to build these into fabric of organizational
  life
• Interventions require patience

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Management Creates a Culture
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Management is All About Ethics

• Typically, unethical business practice involves
  the tacit, if not explicit, cooperation of others
  and reflects the values, attitudes, beliefs,
  language, and behavioral patterns that define an
  organizations operating culture. Ethics, then,
  is as much an organizational as a personal issue.
  Managers who fail to provide proper leadership
  and to institute systems that facilitate ethical
  conduct share responsibility with those who
  conceive, execute, and knowingly benefit from
  corporate misdeeds.

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Gallup Research Based Findings

• During nearly forty years of research and tens of
  thousands of interviews, Gallup has determined
  the
• Seven Demands of Leadership.
• These are behaviors of individuals who are
  perceived as leaders within their organizations,
  communities and nations.

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WHAT GREAT LEADERS DO MOST - the most commonly
expressed demands Gallup Organization
VISIONING
7 D E M A N D S
MENTORING
BUILD A CONSTITUENCY
CHALLENGING EXPERIENCES
MAKING SENSE OF EXPERIENCES
STABILIZING VALUES
KNOWING SELF
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Values Gallup Organization
The true test of character is how we behave
when we dont know what to do. John Holt
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Our Values
Communication We have an obligation to
communicate. Here, we take the time to talk with
one another and to listen. We believe that
information is meant to move and that information
moves people. Respect We treat others as we would
like to be treated ourselves. We do not tolerate
abusive or disrespectful treatment. Integrity We
work with customers and prospects openly,
honestly, and sincerely. When we say we will do
something, we will do it. When we cannot or will
not do something, then we wont do
it. Excellence We are satisfied with nothing less
than the very best in everything we do. We will
continue to raise the bar for everyone. The
great fun here will be for all of us to discover
just how good we can really be.
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Tone at the Top Gallup Organization

• The challenge at the top is to lead in accordance
  with the true values of the organization.
• If your organization does not have an entrenched
  value system, dont claim that you do. Just
  writing it down doesnt make it so.

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Enforcement

• Reality Codes and rules without enforcement and
  adherence are useless.
• Question How do we ensure compliance with legal
  rules and corporate policies?

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Types of EnforcementThe best policy is to
prevent wrongdoing

• Getting Compliance (preventative)
• Training and Education (I didnt know)
• Review Audit for compliance and quality
• Incentives compensation and recognition
• Model Leadership talks, and walks the talk
• Punishment (responsive)
• Clear Sanctions in place
• Ethics Committee (method in place)
• Someone with oversight responsibility

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Summary

• Avoid Moral Muteness through Communication
• Good leadership will help create a strong
  corporate culture of ethics/compliance
• Talking the talk and walking the walk both are
  essential

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Final Thoughts

• Often, doing the right thing is clear, even if
  its not easy
• We tend to cut corners for short-term apparently
  inconsequential issues, but this can come back to
  haunt us
• Having Ethical Habits takes practice, and some
  thoughtfulness.