A client of mine who is a compliance/ethics officer in the Pharmaceutical industry sent me his comments on the distinction between compliance and ethics. Thoughts?
Simply stated , Ethics is the internal intangible that drives us. It’s the value system, or lack thereof , that guides us when we make decisions in our day to day actions. Compliance is much more clear cut. Compliance is about following the rules, the policies , the regulations that are articulated in laws and internally drafted documents. There are consequences for violating those policies and regulations that can result in discipline up to and including termination. Often, there’s no analysis related to intent. If you violate the rules, there will be consequences. Ethics is more about your personal values. I heard an expert say , either you have ethics or you don’t . Maybe the rules and regs are for those that don’t have guiding principles they live by. Employees that will do anything to get where they need to go , need a structure in place to stop them from crossing the line.
Companies that incorporate a culture of ethical behavior, get employees to follow the rules, not just because they have to, but because it’s the right thing to do.
fbucaro
Like you, business ethics and ethical leadership expert, Frank Bucaro has seen the challenges and problems of corporate leadership, particularly over the past few years in regards to poor decision-making, SEC violations, and record breaking financial settlements in a number of different industries.
With over two decades of executive training, speaking, writing and with real life experiences, his view and approach to ethics in the workplace is uniquely different. He emphasizes that ethics is a moment-to-moment choice and has little to do with position, titles, personalities or education. Ethics is everybody’s responsibility from the top down.
His goal is to help organizations to:
a. Strengthen their ethics training initiatives in order to significantly decrease the odds of an ethical/compliance violation.
b. Energize, train and motivate employees to understand the value of consistent “high road” behavior as a business advantage.
c. Support individuals and thereby the organization by contributing to its success by quality, ongoing values based leadership development.
Frank is known for his very practical, slightly irreverent, yet somewhat humorous approach to ethics and leadership development. His conversational style and real life stories connect with his audience in a personal, intense and practical level.
Companies such as Bayer Healthcare, BP, ReMax International, EnMax Energy, Danone, etc. have partnered with Frank when they want to proactively stress the message, tools, insights and practical applications that good ethics IS good for business!
