Transcript Business Ethics and Leadership

Business Ethics and Leadership
Fostering a Culture of High
Business Ethics and Integrity
Presented by:
Elise M. Farnham
CPCU, ARM, AIM, CPIW
President, Illumine Consulting
www.elisefarnham.com
770-367-3148
©2008, all rights reserved
Elise Farnham dba Illumine Consulting
www.elisefarnham.com
The Birth of Business Ethics
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Traditionally the domain of philosophers,
academics and social critics
Focused on
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Philosophical analysis
Anthologies
Case studies
Social responsibility
©2008, all rights reserved
Elise Farnham dba Illumine Consulting
www.elisefarnham.com
So, what is business ethics?
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Coming to know what is right or wrong in the
workplace and doing what’s right, in the
context of
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Products and services
Relationships to stakeholders
Two broad areas:
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Management mischief
Moral mazes
©2008, all rights reserved
Elise Farnham dba Illumine Consulting
www.elisefarnham.com
Organization Values
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When culture clashes with compliance
When employees’ values differ from
corporate values
Photo courtesy E. Farnham
©2008, all rights reserved
Elise Farnham dba Illumine Consulting
www.elisefarnham.com
Benefits of Managing Ethics…
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Help avoid E&O
Managed values impact the entire
organization
Promote good will
Strengthens the bottom line
Ensure that policies are legal
©2008, all rights reserved
Elise Farnham dba Illumine Consulting
www.elisefarnham.com
Additional benefits…
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Improve society
Help maintain a moral course
Cultivates teamwork and productivity
Support employee growth and meaning
It’s the right thing to do…
©2008, all rights reserved
Elise Farnham dba Illumine Consulting
www.elisefarnham.com
How to describe an ethical
organization?
“It is truly enough said that a corporation has no
conscience. But a corporation of conscientious
men is a corporation with a conscience.”
Henry David Thoreau
American naturalist and writer
©2008, all rights reserved
Elise Farnham dba Illumine Consulting
www.elisefarnham.com
Where do I start?
“All organizations have ethics programs, but
most do not know that they do.”
Stephen Brenner
Professor, article in “Journal of Business Ethics”
©2008, all rights reserved
Elise Farnham dba Illumine Consulting
www.elisefarnham.com
Credos v. Codes
Thou shalt’s v. Thou shalt not’s
©2008, all rights reserved
Elise Farnham dba Illumine Consulting
www.elisefarnham.com
Managing Ethics in the Workplace
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It’s a process
Focus on encouraging
preferred behavior
(prevention)
Find ways to avoid
dilemmas
Group resource
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Diverse design team
Learn and value
forgiveness
Make decisions public,
as appropriate
Communicate continually
©2008, all rights reserved
Elise Farnham dba Illumine Consulting
www.elisefarnham.com
The Best Ethics Trainer
“We start our training even in our job ads,
but the best trainer
is the behavior of our leaders.”
Bill Goodman,
Chief HR Officer,
Aveda
©2008, all rights reserved
Elise Farnham dba Illumine Consulting
www.elisefarnham.com
Dilemma: Clashing of Values
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Truth vs. Loyalty
Individual vs. Community
Short-term vs. Long-term
Justice vs. Mercy
Photo Courtesy IMSI
©2008, all rights reserved
Elise Farnham dba Illumine Consulting
www.elisefarnham.com
Resolving Ethical Dilemmas
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Test for
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relevant information
decision makers
consequences
fairness
values
universal appeal
perception of others
Photo Courtesy IMSI
©2008, all rights reserved
Elise Farnham dba Illumine Consulting
www.elisefarnham.com
The Influential Leader
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Study at Holiday Inn
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The greater the number of positive responses to,
“My manager delivers on promises” and “My
manager practices what he preaches.”
The more profitable the property
“Leaders with character develop cultures of
character…”
Carol and Robert Turknett
Decent People, Decent Company
©2008, all rights reserved
Elise Farnham dba Illumine Consulting
www.elisefarnham.com
References and Resources
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“Complete Guide to Ethics Management: An
Ethics Toolkit for Managers”
http://www.mapnp.org/library/ethics/ethxgde.h
tm
The Josephson Institute of Ethics
http://www.charactercounts.org
U. S. Sentencing Commission
http://www.ussc.gov
The Ethics Resource Center http://ethics.org
©2008, all rights reserved
Elise Farnham dba Illumine Consulting
www.elisefarnham.com