It seems that lately, ethical issues appear every day in the news. The impact: adverse publicity, falling stock prices, layoffs, bankruptcies and now arrests of top ranking individuals. Do you find yourself thinking, “How would my organization measure up to an in-depth scrutiny of its ethical practices?” To be able to learn from the difficulties faced by others, your organization may be considering an Ethics Checkup.
Here are topics for your organization to review during
your Checkup:
- Create Corporate Values: Employees need to know the company’s expectations to guide their behavior. Many organizations communicate their values as guidelines for employee actions, others publish a Code of Conduct.
- Supply Leadership Role Models: What types of messages are your leaders providing? “Almost two-thirds of all employees who feel pressure to compromise their organizations ethics standards attribute this pressure to internal sources – supervisors, top management and coworkers.” 2000 National Business Ethics Survey (NBES)
- Examine Reward Systems: Employees will behave the way they are rewarded, and avoid behavior that has a punishing effect. For example: Are employees encouraged to sacrifice quality for quantity? If employees are honest about mistakes are they punished?
- Review Reporting Systems: Good complaint/reporting systems allow employees to skip their immediate supervisor if necessary. With increasing frequency, larger organizations are using ombuds to encourage and facilitate informal, early resolution of conflicts.
- Provide Employee Training: Employees need more than “thou shall not” training. Training should include how to think about the long-term impact of their decisions so they make the right decisions and take the right path every time.
Organizations that plan to implement Ethics Programs can use these tips to begin their process and for those who already have systems in place may benefit by using the topics to review their programs. A corporate Ethics Checkup may be just the “ounce of prevention” your organization needs in today’s business environment.