Transcript ethics - WordPress.com

Ethics: A system of moral principles;
the branch of philosophy dealing
with human values and moral
conduct. The science of moral duty.
Ethical: Conforming to moral
standards. Conforming to standards
of a profession.
“The shortest and surest way to
live with honor in the world is to
be in reality what we appear to be.
All human virtues increase and
strengthen by the practice and
experience of them”
- Socrates
“What you’re doing speaks so loudly
that I can’t hear what you’re saying.”
Emerson
Character can be measured by what
you do or how you act when no one is
looking. “How can you know what is
in your heart? Look at your behavior.”
- Psychologist William James
An opposite view: “A prince should therefore be very
careful that nothing ever escapes his lips which is not
… the embodiment of mercy, good faith, integrity,
humanity and religion …
It is not essential, then, that a prince should have all
the good qualities I have enumerated above, but it is
most essential that he should SEEM to have them … “
Niccolo Machiavelli
We describe those who do bad deeds for the sake of gaining
power as Machiavellian. (The end justifies the means)
“We will not survive the 21st century
with the ethics of the 20th century.”
Dr. Rush Kidder
President, Institute for Global Ethics
Just look at our:
- Politicians
- Business leaders (Enron, Worldcom)
- Sports heroes
Are there any ethical people left?
YES!
They are out there. Your goal is to
be one!
“Ethics is essential to effective
leadership.”
Dr. Len Marrella
Searching for Ethical People
“The leader is responsible for the set of ethics or norms
that govern behavior of people in the organization.
Several ways they do this are:
- Demonstrate by their behavior their commitment to the
set of ethics
- Choose carefully the people they surround themselves
- Communicate a sense of purpose
- Reinforce appropriate behavior
- Articulate their moral positions to external and internal
constituencies”
Expressions that are prevalent today:
“Don’t give me that goody goody garbage - everybody
cheats.” (Who is everybody?)
“What’s the big deal, I see my parents doing it.”
“How dare that teacher punish my child. My son is a good
kid.”
“Whatever, anything goes.”
“What’s the use? How can I make a difference? I don’t
vote. All politicians are crooks anyway.”
“So what if I take a few items? I’m not stealing from a
friend. I’m stealing from a big company and they can
afford it.”
Some statistics:
- A Reader’s Digest study found a high
percentage of high school students think
cheating is okay. Why? They indicated
the chances of getting caught are slim.
- The Josephsen Institute of Ethics found
that 40% of high school students have
stolen within the past 12 months. The
students justify this, thinking it is necessary
to lie, cheat , and steal in order to succeed.
- About a fourth of the 40% who have
stolen agreed with the following
statement:
“It is not unethical to do whatever you
have to in order to succeed - as long as
others are not seriously hurt.”
How do you quantify how bad a person
might be hurt? This is ends justify the
means thinking. (Machiavelli )
- Who’s Who Among American High
School Students support the before
mentioned statistics. Students claim they
have to cheat to make good grades. Why?
So they will be competitive for top-ranked
colleges. (What surprise is awaiting these students?)
A large number admit to cheating even
though they know it is wrong.
There is a disconnect between
knowing what is right and actually
doing what is right.
Is it just kids who have this problem?
NO!!!
Adults who have been surveyed have seen the
following:
- Lying to supervisors or falsifying information
- Observation of theft or misuse of organizational
property
- When asked if they had reported what they had
observed, the answer was NO.
-- 60% justified not doing anything by saying,
“Nobody cares about business ethics.”
-- Over half of them did not trust the company to
protect their identity.
--- These are the same people, when
asked, who value loyalty and courage
as being important.
See the disconnect?
What do people value? (Have cadets take
survey.)
“Survey Says!!”
Institute of Global Ethics conducted the same survey you
took. They found the following from their 272 participants:
Value
Chosen
Most Important
Truth
169
33
Compassion
153
44
Responsibility
147
33
Freedom
113
19
Reverence for Life
108
25
So, where do we go from here?
You must put feet to what you know to
be right. You must be willing to do the
harder right instead of the easier
wrong. You must connect what you
know with what you do.
(Talk about the Ethical Dilemma)
Next, an ethics check.
When making an Ethical decision, ask
yourself the following:
1. Is it legal?
-- Not just talking about civil or criminal
law.
-- Includes company policy.
-- Not doing something that is or gives the
appearance of being illegal, improper, or
immoral – an unfair advantage.
2. Is it balanced?
-- What is meant, is the decision fair or
will it heavily favor a party over another
in the short or long term.
-- Will there be a BIG winner or BIG
loser?
-- If not balanced, it will probably come
back to haunt you.
3. How will it make me feel about
myself?
-- Unethical acts will erode your self-esteem.
(No amount of money or power is worth
that.)
--- Would you want your decision published
in a major newspaper or shown on the
nightly news?
“There is no pillow as soft as a clear
conscience.”
“Okay, but how do I behave ethically when I’m
pressured to do unethical things?”
You need “Ethical Power”. This power comes
from the core principles of ethical behavior.
We’ll look at five principles. They are:
1. Purpose
2. Pride
3. Patience
4. Persistence
5. Perspective
1. Purpose: This is your objective, intention something you are always striving toward.
- A purpose is ongoing. Goals have deadlines.
- Purpose is a particular road you choose to
travel.
- Purpose is the picture you have of yourself the kind of person you want to be.
- Purpose is your attitude toward ethics and
morality.
Have a purpose and stick to it!
(Here are some examples)
- Purpose to be honest (Forget the
past failures.)
- Purpose to be fair
- Purpose to do the right thing even if
it’s not popular
2. Pride: The sense of satisfaction you get from your
accomplishments as well as those of others.
- A healthy dose of self-esteem gives strength to do
the right thing.
- It is healthy and justified to feel good about
yourself.
- - Some have too much or too little.
--- Too much = false pride.
--- Too little = self-doubt
---- Both impact ethical behavior
False Pride:
- Distorted image of own importance
-- Big “I” little “you”.
-- Don’t need the help of other people.
- False pride can blur your purpose.
- Constant need to always win.
-- Leads to rationalization, exaggeration, cover
ups, arguing, and lying.
-- Can’t let anything make them look bad.
All of this could lead to unethical decisions
- The need to be right all the time is very
tiring.
- It’s also very lonely.
-- Separates a person from their true self.
-- Separates from others and the feedback
they could have given them.
What about self-doubt?
Self-Doubt:
- People with self-doubt don’t like
themselves very much.
- They don’t trust their own judgement.
- Driven by a desire to be liked and
accepted by others.
- More difficult to be morally strong.
- Have trouble standing up against
pressures from others.
- People with self-doubt listen to
others too much.
This leads people with self-doubt
to second guessing themselves or
letting others mislead them into
doing things that are wrong unethical - in an effort to be liked
and accepted.
Both false pride and self-doubt are bad
and both come from a low self-esteem.
Both are trying to make up for their
own “I-don’t-count” feelings.
YOU MUST HAVE BALANCE
You don’t want to feel worth-less than
others nor worth-more than others.
“You have permission to like yourself!”
Stay away from those who would say
negative things (untrue things) about
you - putting you down.
Surround yourself with
those who would build
you up!!!
Having pride, healthy self-esteem,
will lead to you sticking with your
purpose thus making ethical
decisions.
3. Patience:
- Having faith.
-- A complete trust, confidence, or reliance.
--- Both spiritual and in a general sense.
--- Thinking positive is another aspect.
----An energized belief that no matter what
happens, things are going to work out.
We have faith when we believe in something
and we base our actions, indeed our whole life,
on that belief.
- A lack of faith will cause us to grasp for the
here and now and thus sabotage our future.
- We make what seems a sound, ethical, decision but
we want an immediate reassurance that we did the
right thing.
- We’ve got to slow down, have faith, and let the
process work.
Faith, yes patience, teaches us there is a
more universal timing.
- Things don’t always happen right when
we want them to.
- We need to know there is something
greater than ourselves - a higher power.
Don’t let others pressure you to make a quick
decision that could end up being okay in the
short-term but very bad in the long-term.
4. Persistence:
- Patience is important but without
persistence combined with it, you’ll
probably get off track.
- Got to have that “Stick-to-itiveness.”
-According to Winston Churchill,
“Never, Never, Never, Never, give
up!” (PUSH)
You MUST be persistent - consistent knowing right from wrong and acting on that.
- Being ethical person means behaving
ethically all the time - not just when it’s
convenient.
- Don’t just “try” - do it!
- Trying is just a noisy way of not doing
something.
- You must be committed!!!!!!!!
5. Perspective:
- This is the capacity to see what is really
important in any given situation.
- It’s from perspective that you oversee
the other four principles.
- Perspective brings balance and a sense of
being fulfilled.
- This sense of fulfillment then impacts the
other four principles in a positive way.
How do you gain perspective?
- Waking up your inner self.
-- The inner self focuses on being
reflective and thoughtful. (Serious
thought.)
--- Its attention is on meaning and
values, the finding of significance in
life.
Simply put, giving your inner being a
chance to catch it’s breath.
How?
- By the quieting, calming, of the mind in solitude.
- Prayer.
- Meditation.
- Taking a walk, not running, and
reflecting on what has happened and
what will be happening.
- Must have quiet - solitude - for this
to work.
Every Problem Can Be
Solved If You Take
Some quiet time
To reflect,
Seek Guidance,
And
Put Things
Into Perspective
The Core Principles of Ethical Power:
1. Purpose: See yourself as being an ethical
person. You let your conscience be your
guide.
2. Pride: Feel good about yourself. You
don’t need the acceptance of others to feel
important. Have a balanced self-esteem.
3. Patience: Believe things will
eventually work out well. You don’t
need everything to happen right now.
Have faith!
4. Persistence: You stick to your
purpose. Your behavior is consistent
with your intentions. As Churchill said,
“Never, Never, Never, Never, Give
Up!”
5. Perspective: You will take time to
reflect and be thoughtful. You will quiet
your mind so you can hear your inner
self and see things more clearly. You
will strengthen your inner self through
prayer, meditation, and reflection.
Moving on to the ethics check.
The Ethics Check:
1. Is it Legal: Will I be violating
either civil law or company policy?
2. Is it balanced: Is it fair to all concerned
in the short as well as the long term? Does
it promote a win-win relationship?
3. How will it make me feel about
myself? Will it make me proud? Would
I feel good if my decision was published
in the newspaper? Would I feel good
about it if my family knew about it?
In closing:
There is
No RIGHT way
To do a WRONG thing.
Choose this day to do what is right and
ethical!!!!! You will turn the tide and we will
survive the 21st century.
Any examples you would
like to talk about?