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================================================= Ethics Today Online Published
by the Ethics Resource Center =======================================================
** A Word from
the President: Civil Society and Civil Ethics **************************************************************************** ** A Word from the President: Civil Society and Civil Ethics We live in an age where abusing other people seems to be accepted. Those who disagree with us are considered fools or idiots. Talk shows replace debate and discussion with nastiness and rudeness and reality television turns abuse into entertainment. Unfortunately, this attitude infects the classroom as well as the workplace even though it is clear that an environment that removes civility debases us all. Civility sounds like such a dated concept, having more to do with etiquette than ethics. Yet "respect for others" is one of the bedrock concepts of ethics. It allows us to build organizations that have both an ethical climate and a proactive environment. At the Ethics Resource Center, we specify respect as one of our shared organizational values because we believe that treating others with dignity and mutual consideration builds a community that encourages individuals and organizations to relate openly and fulfill their potentials. So, what does a society look like without respect, without civility? A recent Smithsonian Magazine jogged a memory for me of living in such an environment. The article was a series of reflections by "influential" people on the 40th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination. One piece, filled with vituperation, proffered a historically challenging suggestion that Kennedy had little to do with civil rights, reminding me of my own experience on that fateful day in 1963. I was in my first year of high school in suburban New Orleans. The federal government was pressing for the desegregation of public schools and colleges in the state of Louisiana. My high school was recently all male, the sexes having been segregated the year before because, as the local newspaper averred, white girls could not be in the same classroom as "Negro" boys. The integration of the New Orleans schools that September was the major topic of conversation and local television stations aired daily footage of white kids and adults throwing things and spitting on young black children. Everyone in the school it seemed, including the teachers, was expected to be a virulent racist. There was no voice of opposition, just voices of hate. On November 22, 1963, I was in the lunchroom with about 500 other boys when the principal announced that President Kennedy had been shot and killed in Dallas that morning. In response, the majority of my fellow students stood up and clapped, shouting and cheering. It is an image that will never leave me. Among the many lessons I learned that day, and from the violence and tension that marked the remainder of my high school years, was that civil society needs civil ethics. It is remarkable to me how often we forget this in our day-to-day interactions with each other. Some of the greatest accomplishments in the United States, however, were not achieved through personal triumphs or silencing others but through mutual consideration and respect for the ideas of others. The Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson, but edited by a committee and changed in many ways by Congress. The Constitutional Convention almost failed to produce a document, until Benjamin Franklin, too ill to read it himself, had a colleague speak on his behalf, concluding: "Thus I consent…to this Constitution because I expect no better, and because I am not sure, that it is not the best…. On the whole…I can not help expressing a wish that every member of the Convention who may still have objections to it, would with me, on this occasion doubt a little of his own infallibility, and to make manifest our unanimity, put his name to this instrument." Greatness for an individual, an organization or a society, does not come from dehumanizing a group or slandering the opposition. Societies gain strength from compromise and agreement. Democratic civil cultures create both rights and responsibilities and one of our fundamental responsibilities is respect for persons. The quote, "The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins," attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes, is often used to explain the coexistence of rights and responsibilities, and, as far as it goes, I concur. I suggest also that society might be better served by our not swinging a fist at all, but by offering a hand, at least as an indication of our willingness to listen to and respect the ideas and beliefs of others. Without this primary respect, the foundation of our economy and our government will erode and ultimately disappear. Stuart C. Gilman, ERC President ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** ERC's Roots in Citizenship Values: Notes from an Oral History Although it did not take on its present name until the 1980's, the ERC's history actually begins in 1922 with the establishment of American Viewpoint, an organization that pioneered education programs in citizenship for immigrants entering America. Former ERC Treasurer Hy Krieger visited the ERC on November 3 to share with staff his knowledge of the development of the ERC from 1922 to 1995. Read about the
ERC's history, as told by Hy Krieger, at: View a business
ethics timeline at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Educating Citizens: The Role of Higher Education In his Plenary Address at the AACSU Academic Affairs Summer Meeting in 2003, Tom Ehrlich said: "Throughout our work we refer to moral and civic values, development, and education. We do so in order to underscore that moral and civic values are inseparable. By the term "morality" I mean prescriptive judgments about how one ought to act in relation to other people, in personal relationships, in one's work, and in the public realm. Morality is centrally important in public as well as personal domains, and many core American democratic principles, including tolerance and respect, impartiality, and concern for both the rights of the individual and the welfare of the group, are grounded in moral principles. "The problems that confront civically engaged citizens almost always involve strong moral themes. These include fair access to resources such as housing, the obligation to consider future generations in making environmental policy, and the conflicting claims of multiple stakeholders in community decision-making. None of these issues can be adequately resolved without a consideration of moral questions and values. A person can become civically and politically active without good judgment and a strong moral compass, but it is hardly wise to promote that kind of involvement. Because civic responsibility is inescapably threaded with moral values, undergraduate education should aspire to foster both moral and civic maturity and should confront educationally the many links between them." Read the rest
of Mr. Ehrlich's speech at: Buy "Educating Citizens," by Anne Colby, Thomas Ehrlich, Elizabeth Beaumont, and Jason Stephens, at: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0787965154/ethicsresourcece ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Shaping Civil Society: Resources from Independent Sector's Annual Conference "Shaping Civil Society: How Do We Mobilize Citizen Participation and Build Vibrant Democracy Around the World" was one of three learning tracks at Independent Sector's Annual Conference "Uncommon Visions for the Common Good" which took place in San Francisco November 2-4. ERC Development Director Gigi Ledkovsky attended the conference and collected information and publications on civic engagement, especially as it applies to youth engagement in the ethics of democracy. She also attended presentations highlighting programs that have engaged low-income youth to address social, political, and economic concerns. She was especially struck by a presentation by a young man from Oakland who spoke about his successful efforts to obtain free bus fares for high school students whose only way to get to school was to take public transit. Read more about
the Independent Sector Conference: The following organizations were among those represented by speakers and moderators:
Read more about
these organizations and get links to their websites on the ERC's
special resource page on civic engagement at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Articles and Reports on Civil Society and Civic Engagement * The Carnegie Corporation of New York awards grants in a number of areas, including strengthening U.S. democracy, and maintains a number of reports and publications online including the following: - "Civic
Education in Schools: The Right Time is Now" Read this article
at: - "Does
A Downturn in Civic Education Signal a Disconnect to Democracy?" Read this article
at: - "The
Youth Challenge: Participating in Democracy" Read this publication
at: - "The
Civic Mission of Schools" Get the executive
summary, recommendations, and full report at:
Read more about
these reports at: * The Pew Charitable Trusts supports the following programs on youth engagement:
In addition, the Pew Foundation supported research for a December 2002 study entitled "The Civic and Political Health of the Nation: A Generational Portrait." The study analyzes two comprehensive surveys of the nation's civic and political behavior -- from voting to volunteering -- and chronicles the differences among four separate generations. According to the study, young people are just as engaged in apolitical civic activities as are older generations, but are less likely to trust others and participate in electoral politics. They don't share older generations' views about the responsibilities of citizenship, but they do say that civic education makes a big difference in fueling their interest in public affairs. The report also identifies what is working to increase the civic engagement of young people. The whole study
is available at: Read more about
the youth engagement projects of the Pew Trusts at:
-"Citizenship: A Challenge for All Generations" reports on a national public opinion survey comparing the attitudes of 15-26 year-olds to those of older people toward citizenship and representative democracy. According to Karl Kurtz, director of state services at the National Conference of State Legislatures and co-author of the report, "The generational gaps in civic knowledge, attitudes and participation are greater than they have ever been, at least since we have public opinion polls to document. The baby boomers, the World War II generation and our schools have failed to teach the ideals of citizenship to young people." On a more positive note, the NCSL reports that high school civics or government classes "have a positive effect on the political participation of young people." Read the press
release at Read the full
report at: Other resources provided on the NCSL website include:
Access these
and other publications at:
Read this publication
at:
Read this paper
at:
Read more about
these organizations and get links to their websites at the ERC's
special resource page on civic engagement at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Look for a follow-up to this month's focus on ethics and civic engagement in the December issue of Ethics Today Online, when we will discuss the Ethics Resource Center's latest innovative program in character development: the Student Ethics Office™ (SEO™) pilot initiative. A novel approach to character education, the SEO™ is aimed at engaging high school students and empowering them to be leaders in their school's character education efforts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** The Business Roundtable Distributes 2003 National Business Ethics Survey To Nation's Business Schools As part of its continuing effort to improve corporate governance and promote business ethics, the Business Roundtable is distributing almost 900 copies of the 2003 National Business Ethics Survey, a recent landmark study that examines how employees view ethics within their own companies, to business school academic leaders internationally. "Ethical standards and practices in the workplace are the pillars of successful employment and ultimately the benchmark for a strong business," said Franklin D. Raines, Chairman and CEO of Fannie Mae and Chairman of the Roundtable's Corporate Governance Task Force. "Schools of business provide the education and training ground for business practices, and it is crucial that all schools of business ensure that students can both understand the ethical values that underpin business and be able to apply those values to their day-to-day work," Raines added. "The Business Roundtable believes this survey will be a resource in helping them further this goal." The ERC is pleased to partner with the Business Roundtable and thanks them for their support of this important initiative to encourage schools of business education to include ethics as a major program in their curriculum. Read the rest
of this press release at: Learn more about
and order the 2003 National Business Ethics Survey at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Office of Government Ethics of Puerto Rico Releases Survey on Employee Ethics The Office of Government Ethics of Puerto Rico released the results of a sweeping survey of its public servants, measuring the perception of ethics within the workplace and the need to uphold ethical standards in government service. The Ethics Resource Center conducted the survey, which included key findings and recommendations for improving the ethical environment. Hiram R. Morales Lugo, Executive Director of Puerto Rico's Office of Government Ethics recognized the importance of the survey by stating, "This is a critical step in improving the system that serves the public's good. We are committed to creating an environment whereby government employees can freely uphold the highest ethical standards and call attention to acts of malfeasance or improper conduct." Morales Lugo added that reprisals against whistle-blowers should be reported to his office for investigation. Read the rest
of this press release at: In addition to the survey, ERC and the Office of Government Ethics of Puerto Rico also advised business and government leaders in a separate symposium on October 15th on the importance of developing codes of conduct and building organizational cultures that reduce corruption and unethical behavior. ERC's president, Dr. Stuart Gilman, explained the impact of recent legislative mandates such as the U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The press release about the Puerto Rico Office of Government Ethics Survey was picked up by a number of media outlets, including:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Ask the Expert: Compliance-Based Vs. Values-Based Codes of Ethics In answer to a reader's question about the difference between compliance-based codes of ethics and integrity-based codes of ethics, Principal Consultant Frank Navran and Programs Manager Jerry Brown write, "I believe you are comparing compliance-based codes to values-based codes. Compliance-based codes emphasize rules and prohibitions as opposed to values-based codes which emphasize underlying values or principles." Read the rest
of their answer at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Best of Ethics Today Online, Volume 1 The ERC announces publication of a limited-edition 16-page newsletter, which compiles 12 articles that were among those most requested by ET subscribers from September 2002 through August 2003. Articles reprinted from the first 12 editions of Ethics Today Online include:
Get a free PDF
copy of The Best of Ethics Today, Volume 1, at: Organizations wishing to reprint any of these articles, or other articles published in Ethics Today or on the ERC website, should contact Communications Manager Nicole Germain at nicole@ethics.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Publications and Media Coverage -- "Corporate
Ethics and Sarbanes-Oxley" : An article co-authored by ERC
Principal Consultant Frank Navran and Edward L. Pittman, an attorney
with the firm of Thelen Reid & Priest, and originally printed
in the July 2003 issue of Wall Street Lawyer is now available on
the ERC website. As reported in the August 2003 Ethics Today, this
article gives an overview of codes of ethics and the issues to consider
in implementing the spirit and the letter of the new ethics disclosure
rules written pursuant to Section 406 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
The co-authors answer a number of code-related questions in the
article, which also includes a sidebar entitled "Guide to Assessing
an Ethical Culture."
Dollar costs
are not the only costs, said ERC President Stuart Gilman, who was
interviewed for the story. "I see software piracy as symptomatic
of a larger problem of complacency," he says. "It has
become too easy," he adds, to "lose sight of the responsibility
of universities to serve as moral exemplars. Don't we have an obligation
to teach ethics overtly?" He said he was particularly troubled
by the finding that 21 percent of the 300 professors surveyed said
they did not consider unauthorized copying to be wrong. "At
the end of the day, one of the keys of a college education is in
viewing the development of ethics. What are we doing to create that
sense of value?" he asked. While he said that creating a code
of conduct is a start, ethics "is a practice. Ethical leadership
means making the issue visible by talking about it." For another
take on the same survey, see "College students care more about
beer than software" at:
Sometimes, as
evidenced by Tyco, Enron, and others, people make the wrong choice.
"In the business world, there are so many pressures to profitability
that certain practices, which ought to be questioned, aren't,"
said Dr. Harned. "Vendors offering gifts to purchasing agents,
for example, has become accepted, or at least considered far above
the sin of, say, doctoring financial statements offered to the SEC.
But the honest road can be the longer road," she said, "and
companies should question any practice that betrays the image of
integrity they've set for themselves." The article also discusses
potential causes of and situations resulting in unethical conduct,
and provides practical advice and resources.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** News from the ERC -- On October 8, ERC Board Member Sara Melendez and President Stuart Gilman participated in a press conference in San Juan announcing the results of ERC's survey for the Office of Government Ethics-Puerto Rico.
BoardSource's International Fellowship in Nonprofit Governance brings together trainers, consultants, board and staff members and researchers from around the world for two and one-half weeks of intensive training in the principles and practice of nonprofit governance. The program includes 2 three-day workshops on NGO governance and board self-assessment; consultations with leading nonprofit organizations and government agencies in Washington; and other valuable networking and training opportunities. Since 1997, over 200 Fellows representing more than 30 countries have participated in the program. The International Fellowship works to improve and increase understanding of NGO governance in countries abroad and is very much in line with BoardSource's overall strategy of building governance training capacity in the nonprofit sector by improving the abilities of locally based trainers and organizations. This philosophy is similar to the Ethics Resource Center's commitment to forging international partnerships for the creation of regional ethics centers that will encourage local ethics capacity building and fight corruption. The commonality between the programs was illuminated by the discovery at the conference that BoardSource Fellow Zeynap Uluer from Turkey is also involved with TEDMER, the Turkish Ethical Values Foundation, and ERC's partner in Turkey.
Following Mr. Zalami's presentation, delegates led a productive discussion on integrity and democratic reforms and the challenges they face in promoting ethics agendas in their respective countries.
- Catina Carter joined the Ethics Resource Center in the fall of 2003 as the Operations Coordinator, assisting in the management of the daily operations of the ERC. She has been tasked with providing quality administrative and technical support services to the ERC staff and clients. Ms Carter also answers the main phone line and manages product orders and fulfillment. Prior to working at the ERC, Ms. Carter worked as a contract employee for various government agencies including the Department of Veterans' Affairs, the United States Postal Service, and the US Department of Energy. - Jeff Stout, a graduate student in the Public Policy program at Georgetown, has joined the staff as an intern for the ERC Fellows working group that is looking at NBES findings related to pressures felt by new and low tenure employees and managers. The 2003 NBES showed that compared with other employees, younger managers (under 30) with low tenure in their organizations (less than 3 years) are twice as likely to feel pressure to compromise ethics standards (21% versus 10%.) In addition, younger employees with low tenure are among the least likely to report misconduct (43% as compared to 69% for all other employees). They are also among the most likely to feel that management and coworkers will view them negatively if they report. His efforts will focus on finding and outlining research that confirms or denies the NBES findings. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** 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 Business Roundtable for providing funding and support of our Business School Ethics Initiative by supporting the mailing of the 2003 NBES to business schools around the country and abroad. The ERC thanks the following for their contributions of general support:
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES: Federal employees participating in the 2003 Combined Federal Campaign fund-raising drive may contribute to the ERC by marking number 2456. CFC contributions help students by providing schools with relevant, timely educational resources that encourage good character by modeling positive decision-making and creating healthy dialogue. The ERC has
also been accepted for participation in the Fall 2003 Hewlett-Packard/Compaq
employee fund drive, the Chevron/Texaco employee campaign, and the
Gannett Corporation fund drive, as well as continuing to participate
in the Washington Post, Lockheed-Martin, and other corporate accounts
that disaffiliated from United Way in Washington, DC, last year.
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. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PLEASE NOTE: Ethics Today will be published 11 times this year, with the July and August issues combined into one. An index will be published at the end of August. ======================================================= Copyright (c)
2003 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 For questions about your subscription, please email ethicstodayonline@ethics.org The Ethics Resource
Center, 1747 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 400
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