Ethics in Practice: Articles

Most people think of themselves as good people. They set out to be ethical, and hope that in pivotal moments we will rise to the occasion. But when it comes to building an ethical career, good intentions are insufficient. Decades’ worth of research has identified social and psychological processes and biases that cloud people’s moral judgment, leading them to violate their own values and often to create contorted, post hoc justifications for their behaviour.

Unethical behavior takes a significant toll on organizations by damaging reputations, harming employee morale, and increasing regulatory costs—not to mention the wider damage to society’s overall trust in business. Few executives set out to achieve advantage by breaking the rules, and most companies have programs in place to prevent malfeasance at all levels. Yet recurring scandals show that things could be improved.

And, in truth, most of people won’t cook the books, steal from customers, or take that bribe. The first step requires shifting to a mindset termed moral humility—the recognition that people all have the capacity to transgress if they're not vigilant. Moral humility pushes people to admit that temptations, rationalizations, and situations can lead even the best of us to misbehave, and it encourages them to think of ethics as not only avoiding the bad but also pursuing the good. It helps them see this sort of character development as a lifelong pursuit.

This paper studies how individual characteristics, institutions, and their interaction influence moral decisions. We validate a moral paradigm focusing on the willingness to accept harming third parties.

Si le « care » et son éthique pouvaient sembler abstraits, la période actuelle a mis en évidence la connexion avec la réalité de ces notions et de leurs mots-clés, vulnérabilité, interdépendance, soin, invisibilité (de celles et ceux qui, concrètement, prennent soin des autres), qui renvoient à des principes essentiels du management. L’éthique du care pourrait-elle, alors, contribuer à la formulation d’un nouveau paradigme managérial ?

Most companies have ethics and compliance policies that get reviewed and signed annually by all employees. “Employees are charged with conducting their business affairs in accordance with the highest ethical standards,” reads one such example. “Moral as well as legal obligations will be fulfilled in a manner which will reflect pride on the Company’s name.” Clearly it takes more than a compliance policy or Values Statement to sustain a truly ethical workplace.

L'éthique de bureau peut faire référence à un ensemble de codes et de valeurs, ainsi que des règles qui en découlent, qui permettent de déterminer les bons choix et le bon comportement au bureau. Celles-ci peuvent être différentes selon les bureaux et sont principalement basées sur les valeurs fondamentales que le bureau souhaite exprimer et que les employés doivent respecter.

AS the future of work rapidly evolves, and organizations are integrating people, technology, alternative workforces, and new ways of working, leaders are wrestling with an increasing range of resulting ethical challenges. Organizations that tackle these issues head-on—changing their perspective to consider not only “could we” but also “how should we”—will be well positioned to make the bold choices that help to build trust among all stakeholders.

What separates a “good” ethics and compliance program from a “great” one? How does an organization’s investment in compliance and reputation risk mitigation systems and processes measure up against leading practices? At a time when risks are increasing, what are the building blocks upon which to build a world-class ethics and compliance program that not only protects an organization from internal and external threats, but also enhances its brand and strengthens its relationships with all stakeholders?

We’re in an era where Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plays an integral role in how companies strategise. Employees and customers vote with their feet; they are preferring to work for, or spend money with, businesses that are responsible. To exhibit the highest ethical standards, it is no longer enough to offer the right product (or service) at the right price in the right place, it also needs to be done responsibly.

An Ethics Advisory Board (EAB) can bring great value to an organization — but effective implementation is fraught with challenges. In this piece, the author shares eight strategies to help leaders successfully set up and run an EAB: Ensure a unified mission, recruit diverse board members, clearly specify the EAB’s scope of responsibilities, develop targeted meeting agendas, consider a wide array of stakeholders, avoid prescriptive directives, invite honest input from the EAB, and bring the EAB into key decisions as early as possible.

Drawing on historical institutionalism, this article considers the emergence and evolution of the Commission’s public ethics system after 1999. The article distinguishes between the formative and post-formative stage in the system’s emergence and evolution, arguing that in both periods, structural factors and agency, both externally and internally, were important in explaining institutional change.

Leaders can influence the policy, culture, and behavior of an organization. As a result, ethical leadership may be the most important lever in an ethical system designed to support ethical conduct.

This tip is adapted from the author's book. Every good leader has to balance getting the job done while upholding ethical standards, and the deeper you get into your career, the more challenging this can become. Living up to your ethical ambitions requires honest conversations — with yourself, your leadership team, and those you lead.

Le dirigeant doit aiguiser son intelligence éthique. La grande majorité des individus est sincèrement attachée à se comporter selon les règles de l'éthique. Mais si le respect de l’éthique est généralement assez simple lorsqu'il s'agit de choisir entre le mal et le bien, il l'est beaucoup moins lorsque l'on est confronté à des alternatives souvent insatisfaisantes.

À l'heure où les scandales se multiplient, l'éthique devient la valeur tendance. Les formations à l’éthique économique et professionnelle restent cependant marginales.

The nature of ethical decisions changes in a virtual environment; it becomes far easier to slip up and make an unethical decision merely because the individuals affected by the decision are removed from the decision maker. In our busy and chaotic world, we're also more apt to rush to a decision and, therefore, we’re less likely to make a fair and evaluative decision.

Digital science and technology are at the heart of major economic, social, and-in the eyes of some-anthropological shifts. This is why we need to think about the ethics of how these tools are produced and how they are used.

Digital ethics is emerging as a field of practical or applied ethics. Digital ethics are an occasion for exploring how, in relation to digital technology, the lives, interests and welfare of others make claims on us. How can we reconcile the claims of others on
us with the aim of pursuing our own goals?