Enron. Wells Fargo. Volkswagen. It’s hard for good, ethical people to imagine how these meltdowns could possibly happen. We assume it’s only the Ken Lays and Bernie Madoffs of the world who will cheat people. But what about the ordinary engineers, managers, and employees who designed cars to cheat automotive pollution controls or set up bank accounts without customers’ permission? We tell ourselves that we would never do those things. And, in truth, most of us won’t cook the books, steal from customers, or take that bribe. But, according to a study by one of us (Christopher) of C-suite executives from India, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, the U.S., and the U.K., many of us face an endless stream of ethical dilemmas at work. In-depth interviews with these leaders provide some insight and solutions that can help us when we do face these quandaries. We were surprised that 30 leaders in the study recalled a total of 87 “major” ethical dilemmas from their career histories. Over 50 had occurred in the course of the last five years. Another surprise was how few of the incidents were caused by bribery, corruption, or anti-competition issues (only 16% of all ethical dilemmas mentioned). More often the dilemmas were the result of competing interests, misaligned incentives, clashing cultures. Based on this study and our collective experience of working with thousands of business leaders, there are a number of obstacles and contradictions we see most often impact the ability to act ethically:
While these obstacles stand in the way of making ethical decisions, they aren’t insurmountable. Here’s what we learned from the leaders in the study about what worked for them in improving the ethical climate in their organizations: Know where you stand You and Your Team SeriesCreating an Ethical Workplace
Instead, you need to understand what matters to you. Companies become ethical one person at a time, one decision at a time. If you don’t know where you stand, or if you can’t accurately read your organization’s underlying culture, you’ll find yourself blowing in the wind (at best). Emotional intelligence can help you here. Self-awareness enables you to build and strengthen that inner compass. Organizational awareness enables you to identify the forces in your company’s culture and processes that could drive you and others to do the wrong thing. You also need emotional self-control: it takes courage to step away from the crowd and do the right thing. Learn what really matters in your organization
Build a strong and diverse personal network The challenge is that most leaders have networks full of people who think and act like them and many fail to seek out diverse opinions, especially in highly charged situations. Instead, they hunker down with people who have similar beliefs and values. This can lead to particularly dire consequences in cross-cultural environments. To overcome this, you need another core emotional intelligence competency, empathy, which allows you to learn how to read others and truly understand what matters to them and what they care about. This will, in turn, help you connect with people and gather their thoughts, opinions, and help when you need them. Speak up If you find you need to speak up, there will be a number of choices to be made. Do you talk to the boss? Consult with peers? Work with advisory functions such as legal, compliance or human resources? You can draw on your personal network for support and guidance on the right way forward within the context of your unique situation. The leaders in the study were clear about the consequences of taking these actions: increased self-respect, improved confidence in their ability to address future dilemmas, and a more ethical work climate. And perhaps more importantly, taking brave action made them happier at work. How do you maintain ethical standards?Maintaining Ethical Standards. Adhere to a concept of selling that respects consumers.. Add value to the mutual benefit of both your company and the customer.. Under no circumstances misrepresent product to customers.. Never take actions that are detrimental to a customer's well-being.. How do businesses maintain ethical standards?Here are our Top Tips for raising the bar and creating a more ethical workplace:. Create a code. ... . Engage with your employees and customers. ... . Reinforce the benefits of the code. ... . Be a good role model. ... . Train your employees. ... . Promote your ethical behaviour. ... . Reward ethical behaviour. ... . Learn from your mistakes.. What are the 7 ethical standards?WHAT ARE THE 7 MAIN ETHICAL PRINCIPLES IN NURSING AND WHY THEY ARE IMPORTANT? There are seven primary ethical principles of nursing: accountability, justice, nonmaleficence, autonomy, beneficence, fidelity, and veracity.
What are the 5 ethical standards?Moral Principles
Reviewing these ethical principles which are at the foundation of the guidelines often helps to clarify the issues involved in a given situation. The five principles, autonomy, justice, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and fidelity are each absolute truths in and of themselves.
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