“Somewhere along the way a number of decision makers started to believe that achieving success was worth letting go of their values, no matter what the cost. Some people think that being fair in a business deal makes you weak. Some think that being an ethical person is a nice idea, but not always practical in the business world.” Redefining Success by W.Brett Wilson
Immanuel Kant stated not to judge a situation by the consequences but only by its motivation.
If this is true:
1.Where did this belief to separate values from practice, come from? How is this acceptable?
2. How are decisions like this” justified” by the “powers that be.”
3 .Ethics, then, is seen by these people as something “nice to have” but doesn’t affect the marketplace. How are they “conning” the people around them about the importance of ethics and being ethical? How are they getting away with this? Where is C-Level suite oversight, Board of directors, who’s not “guarding the door?”
4. How does an ethics or compliance professional deal with this reality and how is it dealt with differently, i.e. compliance , ethics?
I wonder when the “game playing” about ethics and values being important in these companies will stop? I’m afraid probably not until the money stops coming in!
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!
