|
 |
 |
| Publications: Ethics Today Archives |
|
|
|
|
|
Ethics
Today Online ** Does Ethics
Pay?
In sports, in business, in government, in life - ethics matter. Yet, over the past year, I have been surprised at the number of times I have been told "I know we ought to do ethics because it is the right thing to do" followed closely with the question, "But does it pay?" It is a fascinating question -- fascinating because it suggests that we do not take seriously the environmental data around us. Let's do a quick scan of just a few news events in the United States. (Also see sidebar below for a list of recent headlines.)
Bad ethics hurt.
One can argue that effective ethics offices will not cure these problems. Our environmental scan suggests, however, that the organizations that commit unethical acts do not have effective ethics offices. Effective ethics offices are those that are empowered by leaders who know how important it is to a successful business to have a foundation of fundamental values. Recently, one of our sister institutions in Great Britain released a study showing that good ethics benefit shareholders. (See "IBE Survey Asks "Does Business Ethics Pay?" in the April 2003 issue of Ethics Today.) Companies with good ethics reputations were shown to consistently return greater profits. In addition, the ERC's National Business Ethics Survey 2000 demonstrated that companies with good ethics programs ranked higher in employee satisfaction. Pressure to commit misconduct, on the other hand, was more closely aligned with the lack of ethics programs. In a few weeks the ERC will release the 2003 National Business Ethics Survey. There will be some surprises and changes from 2000, but the one consistent theme is the importance of solid ethics programs to organizational integrity. Does ethics pay? Can you really afford the alternative? Stuart C. Gilman, ERC President ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Sidebar: Corporate Ethics Headlines April 29 to May 9, 2003 The following stories appeared in the Washington Post in the past two weeks:
In addition,
the Washington Post has collected general articles about the recent
scandals, policies and regulation as well as specific info on GE,
Tyco, WorldCom, Andersen, Enron, Merrill Lynch, Imclone, Global
Crossing, Adelphia and Wall Street. Browse the Washington Post's
special section on Corporate Ethics at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Ethics in a Pressure Cooker: Why There Are So Many Ethical Dilemmas in Professional Sports Before writing this article, ERC Programs Manager Jerry Brown recalls, "My premise was that ethical dilemmas in professional sports were the product of player avarice and arrogance combined with a fast lifestyle. It seemed to me that the situation could be set right by raising awareness and setting limits on demands made by spoiled elitists living off their physical prowess." "I could not have been more wrong," he admits. Instead, he concludes, unethical conduct in sports is as much a systemic problem as it is one fed by individual greed, and athletes don't deserve to shoulder all the blame for ethical miscues. In this article, Jerry discusses the pressures to compromise ethical standards that exist at all layers of professional sports and offers recommendations for diminishing those pressures. Read the full
article at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Ethics in Sports In the dictionary, sports is described either as "a physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively" or "an active pastime; recreation". That is also very true when you analyze sports in real life, says Necati Guler, Managing Director of the Turkish Ethical Values Center (TEDMER) and a former professional basketball player. "One may participate in sports either as a pastime or recreation or as a part of a huge business environment, a part of a grand industry." Mr. Guler shares his views on the business aspect of sports, based on his experience as a player, parent, coach, and organizer. "Whether the ancient or modern Olympics, gladiator fights or the NBA, sports have occasioned great public interest since the early ages," he writes. "Results are no longer decided by an emperor who just wishes it to be that way. Instead, we have rules and regulations, with umpires, referees, and judges to apply these rules and regulations for every sport. The existence of these rules and regulations is the igniter for many discussions of ethics as it concerns athletes, coaching staffs and management, media, referees, fans and agents." Read the rest
of this commentary at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Ethics and the Game of Tennis "Tennis at its best emphasizes good sportsmanship," says Stephen Potts, ERC Fellows Program Chair and former Director of the US Office of Government Ethics. During a lifetime of tennis, Steve, playing with his son, won one International and five National Father/Son Tennis Championships and was twice ranked #1 in the United States for Father/Son Tennis. He is a former Tennessee State Singles Champion and Mason-Dixon Singles Champion, was a Finalist in the Irish National Tennis Championships and qualified and played in Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals at Forest Hills. He attended Vanderbilt University on a combination scholastic/athletic scholarship and is a member of the Middle Atlantic and Washington Capital Area Tennis Halls of Fame. Steve has also been a playing partner of former President George Bush. In this interview, Steve explores some of his most memorable experiences with ethics and character in both competitive and "social" tennis. Read this story
at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Reflecting on How Sports Influence Character Sports are a big part of culture in the United States and across the world and often play an important role in our lives -- whether one participates at the professional level or in pick-up games, watches sports on TV or drives the soccer carpool. It is commonly said that sports build character, but we hear more and more accounts of un-sportsmanlike, unethical, and even illegal conduct at all levels of athletic competition. For this article, we asked colleagues, family and friends to tell us how they felt sports had affected their character and what lessons they had learned through sports - either negative or positive. Respondents included a high school physical education teacher and coach, a regional squash champion and college player, and recreational athletes in their 20's, 30's and 40's participating in everything from softball to fencing. Most who contributed told us how sports had enhanced their character, although the stories were not always positive. Read this series
of reflections on the impact of sports on the character of amateur
athletes at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** The MAX Files: Sportsmanship MAXIMize the Moment (MTM) is the ERC's subscription character resource for schools and families that combines current events and everyday issues with the time-honored wisdom of maxims. A recent lesson plan deals with the difficulty of admitting defeat, especially when it is unexpected, and working through the initial feelings of anger and disappointment. The story starts with a conversation between two boys after their team loses to a team they feel is not as good. One boy says he thinks the game was fixed or the referees were biased and stalks off to the showers, not even shaking hands with the other team. The coach comes in and talks to him about his feelings and his actions, finishing by telling him "Defeat isn't bitter if you don't swallow it." The MAXIMize Your Family Time lessons include these five tips for using the lesson within families:
All MAXIMize the Moment lesson plans include:
The Family versions also include:
MAXIMize the Moment Junior lessons also include a group activity suggestion called "Extending the Conversation." Request a free
copy of this MAXIMize lesson at: Please note: We will ask you to register using your name and email address. For more information
on MTM, visit: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Guidelines for Effective Character Education Through Sports Because of the growing frequency of unsportsmanlike attitudes and conduct at all levels of athletic competition, many observers have concluded that sports do not build good character. Authors Jeffrey P. Beedy, Ed.D. and Russell W. Gough, Ph.D., offer guidelines for making sure youth sports are a powerful, positive, character building activity. Read this article,
reprinted in Ethics Today, Summer 2001, with the permission of Character
Education Partnership: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Resources on Ethics and Character Development in Sports The number of websites related to sportsmanship, sports ethics and developing character through sports continues to increase. The ERC has created a new page on its website containing links to a number of these resources, including:
Get more information
about these websites and programs at:: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** ERC and SHRM Collaborate on New Survey of Ethics in the HR Field In 1997, SHRM and the ERC collaborated on their first business ethics survey of SHRM's membership. The 2003 report, published in April 2003, updates the study findings from 1997 and provides ethics trend data and benchmarks for HR professionals in a number of important areas. New questions on emerging topics of interest have also been added to the survey to better ensure that it keeps pace with developments in business ethics and the human resources field. As in 1997, a number of questions in this 2003 business ethics survey have been drawn from the ERC's national ethics surveys. (See NBES 2003 press conference below) The questions in this survey address six key themes:
Questions are also analyzed by the respondents' organization size and industry. The report concludes with suggestions for addressing some of the more critical issues raised by the findings. Purchase the
survey from SHRM at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Press Release: HR Professionals Believe Ethical Conduct Not Rewarded in Business: Professionals Feel Growing Pressure to Compromise Standards "Amidst numerous corporate ethics violations over the last year, a new survey indicates that nearly half of HR professionals believe ethical conduct is not rewarded in business today. Troubling figures show that over the last five years, HR professionals feel increasingly more pressure to compromise their organizations' ethics standards, however they also indicate personally observing significantly fewer actions of misconduct in the workplace." "As we've seen numerous times over the last year, companies that failed to live up to their code of ethics are now financial shells compared to what they were, and many people's lives have been adversely affected," said SHRM President and Chief Executive Officer Susan R. Meisinger. "HR must do more than clean up the mess after the damage has been done. They have a responsibility to step up and ensure that their organizations maintain cultures that demand ethical behavior." "This survey offers timely insights on ethics issues from HR professionals on the front lines," said ERC President Stuart C. Gilman. "As recent events show, business ethics is not only an individual concern but an organization-wide matter with enormous implications for business leaders." Read the entire
press release at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** ERC/SHRM Survey: Interview With a Co-Author ERC Senior Researcher Joshua Joseph saw some positive indicators in the ERC/SHRM survey. While the existence of some level of pressure to compromise standards went up - from 47% in 1997 to 52% in 2003 - the level of personally observed misconduct in the workplace went down - from 53% to 35 %. He noted that the survey pool embraced only the SHRM membership, so these results reflect the opinions of people who "do" ethics - and thus have a unique perspective. "Interestingly," he notes, "while many (71%) feel like they are called on to help formulate ethics policies, at least 40% don't feel like they are a part of the infrastructure but are just tasked with 'cleaning up messes'." In general 67% agree that they are satisfied with ethics resources available to them and 56% said they believe the ethics program administrators are skilled. When the group is broken down by organization size, however, those in smaller organizations had a more negative response. In smaller organizations (0-99 employees), only 48% of respondents said the program administrators were skilled while in medium sized organizations (100-499 employees), 51% said administrators were skilled. That number rose to 67% in organizations with more than 500 employees. Josh notes that most respondents were generally positive about the ethics of employees. 79% said they felt people in their company personally believed in the organization's ethics standards and values, while 82% said they were comfortable reporting ethics concerns to management. As noted in the press release, 49% perceived that ethical conduct is NOT rewarded. This, however, is down from 58% in 1997. The two reasons cited most often for not reporting misconduct coincide with earlier versions of the National Business Ethics Survey -- the perception that nothing will get done and the fear of retaliation from supervisors, managers and co-workers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Ask the Expert: Are Requests for Donations at Work Ethical? A reader asks: "Are there any ethical implications that should be considered when a non-profit organization's development department goes to each employee personally to ask for a charity donation to the organization of at least $1 a payday through payroll deduction? To me it would seem like they might be twisting an employee's arm a little." ERC Principal Consultant Frank Navran tackles this question in two parts. First, should the development person solicit employees to lend financial support to the organization they already support through their work efforts? Second, should organizations "encourage" charitable contributions to third party charities? Read Frank's
response at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** MAXIMize the Moment Scholarships Available Through the generous donations of our contributors, the ERC has received dedicated funding for almost 100 scholarships that can now be placed in schools. These include:
MTM can be
used by any type of school -- public, private, parochial, alternative,
international -- serving students in grades 3 through 12. Schools
can select their own starting date for the 36-week subscription.
If you know of a school that would benefit from a free subscription
to MAXIMize the Moment, please ask them to complete the application
at: Please note: because of a pre-existing evaluative relationship with the DC Public Schools, we are unable to provide these scholarships to public schools in the District at this time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Opinion Poll: How Much Should CEOs Be Paid? An article on executive pay in the May 6, 2003, Business Week included the following comments:
Furthermore, on May 9, the Washington Post reported that SEC Chairman William H. Donaldson urged executives to accept more modest compensation packages tied to long-term growth rather than short-term stock performance. How much do you think corporate executives should be paid?
Take our May
poll at: Read Business
Week's "Special Report: The Crisis in Corporate Governance,"
which contains the "Executive Pay" article, at: Read "SEC
Chairman Warns Firms to Decouple Pay From Stock" at: Last Month's
Poll: In April we asked whether government employees and members
of the military should be held to higher standards than the rest
of the public? Almost two-thirds (64%) said yes, while 36% said
no. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Shares of Corporate Nice Guys Can Finish First On April 27, Gretchen Morgenson wrote in the New York Times there is proof that the stocks of companies run more selflessly perform better than those of companies run by me-firsters. Academic studies have shown this in the past, she says, and a new study by GovernanceMetrics International, an independent corporate governance ratings agency in New York, also confirms a correlation between corporate performance and an attention to governance. Read the rest
of this story at: Subscribers to the GMI service receive each company's overall rating along with its ratings in seven separate categories. GMI has made public a general overview of the corporate governance characteristics of the S&P 500, listing which companies fall in each of three categories - those whose overall corporate governance characteristics are above average; companies with an average governance profile and those whose governance characteristics are below average. In its first ratings release, five companies achieved a 10 (where 10 is the highest possible rating) and a further 15 scored a 9.5. At the other end of the spectrum, 35 companies scored 3 or lower. See the highlights
of the first ratings release at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Rising Above Sweatshops: Innovative Management Approaches to Global Labor Challenges What have Nike and other multinational companies done to improve labor conditions in their foreign factories? And what can managers learn from such firms in order to make ethical decisions about global labor forces? DePaul University Business Ethics Professor and former ERC Research Fellow Laura Hartman has written a book due out in Summer 2003 based on research sponsored by the Ethics Resource Center Fellows Program. Ms. Hartman and other professors traveled thousands of miles and logged hundreds of research hours over two years to identify and study consumer goods suppliers in Vietnam, China, Thailand, Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador and Costa Rica who have initiated beneficial labor management practices. "The research is based on our belief that it's not enough to tell multinational corporations what they are doing wrong in managing their supplier workplaces and workforces overseas -- there's also an obligation to show them what's right," said Ms. Hartman. "The goal of the book is to showcase innovative management programs that promote workplace health and safety, worker dignity and respect so they can be models for companies that need to improve their global labor practices," she said. Read the rest
of this press release at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Publications & Media Coverage -- Rising Pressure and Falling Standards: A New Survey Shows Human Resources Units Feel Caught in an Ethics Bind In a Washington Post article by Amy Joyce about the survey released by the ERC and SHRM in late April, Susan Meisinger, president of the SHRM and member of the ERC Board of Directors, says that the ethical breaches of the past couple of years have heightened our awareness. People notice ethical -- or unethical -- behavior more now than in years when corporate responsibility was a back-page issue. The current climate "has helped organizations focus on ethics in a broader way," she said. ERC Senior
Researcher Joshua Joseph agrees that one can view the results positively.
"One of the main themes is that sense that in general there
is a positive perception about what employees think of ethics,"
Josh said. "That kind of suggests to me that when ethics issues
arise, chances are they are being dealt with." A variety of other publications also carried news about the ERC/SHRM survey, including:
In "Crash
landing?," published April 23 in the Dallas Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Jim Fuquay writes that Carty's apologies might not save his job
at the helm of troubled American Airlines. "This ought to tell
people that we need more light, we need greater transparency and
sensitivity in the corporation," Stuart said. In the case of
American's executive bonuses, he said, "Was the executive team
so focused on self-interest they didn't think of the impact on employees?
The tragedy is, nobody thought about how it would be perceived.
It's a disconnect. It shows a one-way street of trust: You should
trust me, but I don't need to earn it." In an article
published in the Star Telegram the next day, Jennifer Autrey profiles
the Board members of AMR Corp and their interrelationships. While
American maintained that there was nothing inappropriate about those
connections, she writes that experts in business ethics question
the extent to which the public will believe there is no conflict
of interest. ERC President Stuart Gilman said that no chief executive
of one organization should serve on a board with the members of
his own board. "How can you not suggest that this kind of web
wouldn't raise questions in the public's mind?" he said.
** News from the ERC -- REMINDER: NBES Press Conference Scheduled for May 21, 2003 On Wednesday,
May 21, 2003, the Ethics Resource Center (ERC) will release the
results of the landmark 2003 National Business Ethics Survey (NBES)
in a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington,
D.C. The press conference is scheduled for 12pm - 1:30pm. Presenters
will include: Ira A. Lipman, Chairman of the Board and President,
Guardsmark, LLC; Stuart C. Gilman, Ph.D., President of the Ethics
Resource Center; Joshua Joseph, ERC Senior Researcher and primary
author of the study. For information on the press conference, e-mail
ERC Communications Manager Nicole Germain at nicole@ethics.org or
call 202-872-4768.
In January/February 2002, ERC Fellows Chairman Steve Potts joined a group consulting to a Parliamentary Commission in Albania to help them draft a financial disclosure law for public officials. The group included individuals connected with the parliament, consultants from Management Systems International, and Albanian lawyers with connections to government. Starting with a rough draft, the group was able to work through the development of the final language after a series of meetings. "The Albanians were very open to ideas about how to make it effective," he recalled. For instance, they had included language on reporting assets but not liabilities. After Steve pointed out that what one owes can make a person just as vulnerable, the language was amended. Over the course of the next year, progress was slow and, at one point, appeared to have reached a standstill. On April 24, 2003, came the good news: the Law on Assets Declarations was passed by the Albanian Parliament.
The mission
of the Ethics Resource Center's international programs is to build
organizational ethics and good governance capacity in developing
countries as a means of advancing their economic and social development.
The ERC has published a new brochure, which includes information
about the ERC's core capacity-building products, such as ethics
assessment tools, guide to code development, ethics infrastructure
models, good governance strategies, and corporate director training. -- Global Business Colloquium: Ethics and Corporate Governance ERC Fellows
Chairman Steve Potts spoke on Ethics and Corporate Governance at
the Centre of International Business and Management (CIBAM)'s Global
Business Colloquium on February 28 and March 1 in Cambridge. CIBAM
is a research center at the University of Cambridge Judge Institute
of Management. After discussing changes made by the US Government
following a string of well publicized scandals, he emphasized that
the ERC does not believe these initiatives are sufficient, but companies
should go beyond the legislative and regulatory requirements in
order to build effective programs to communicate company ethical
values. He concluded by highlighting the need for all companies
to act with ethics and integrity in the global marketplace. Read an update
on all the speakers and topics at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Offering Our Thanks As a non-profit organization, the Ethics Resource Center depends on contributions from many generous donors. Without their dedication and trust, many of the programs and projects highlighted in this newsletter would not be possible. The ERC thanks the following for their contributions of general support:
We invite you
to join our loyal contributors in lending your support. To find
out how to contribute or to donate online, go to: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Ethics Resource Center (ERC) is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization exempt from taxation under the Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All gifts are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
Copyright (c)
2002 Ethics Resource Center. All rights reserved. Please contact ethics@ethics.org for information about reproducing any of the information contained within this newsletter or on our web site. Back issues of Ethics Today are available online at: /today/et_archives.html The Ethics Resource
Center, 1747 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 400
|
About ERC •
Advisory Services
•
Research
• Character
Education •
Resources
• News
•
Publications
• Fellows
• Support
ERC • Contact
Us
Ethics Resource Center,
1747 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20006
Telephone 202-737-2258 Fax 202-737-2227 E-mail ethics@ethics.org