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**************************************************************************** ** A Word from the President: Moral Courage When an employee picks up the phone and dials the company's ethics helpline; when a student approaches the teacher to raise a concern; even as a leader references organizational values as the prevailing principle guiding a strategic decision … there is an important dynamic at work. Moral courage. It is a concept that is not often talked about, but we certainly notice when it is absent. Nevertheless, the ability for people to take risks to do what is right, and the presence of a climate that supports that courage, is a necessary element to the success of any ethics effort. Defining moral courage is not just an intellectual exercise. Having the strength to do what is right when faced with difficult decisions is key to being an ethical leader. Instilling and rewarding that courage in all employees is critical to developing an ethical organization. As ERC's research has shown, ethics codes and training alone cannot improve the ethical culture of an organization. The leadership must "walk the talk" and exhibit moral courage by making the right decision when faced with difficult ethics issues. Last summer, ERC undertook some research on moral courage. As a part of an internship, Rielle Miller began conducting research on the topic, with a specific goal of defining moral courage and determining if and how it can be developed. We are pleased to make her paper available in this issue of Ethics Today with a selection of her resources, such as a new book on the topic just published by Dr. Rushworth Kidder, President of the Institute for Global Ethics. Developing moral courage may be difficult, but fortunately, we have many role models. As noted below, I had the opportunity to visit ERC's sister ethics center in South Africa, EthicSA, this month. It's befitting, therefore, to point to one such exemplar, the great South African civil rights leader Nelson Mandela who said, "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." Our goal at the Ethics Resource Center is to help organizations and individuals not only conquer that fear but to learn the rewards of exercising moral courage. Patricia J. Harned, Ph.D. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Moral Courage: Definition and Development Courage is something we all admire. When asked to describe courage, most people conjure up the image of an individual running into a burning building, or maybe a fictional hero saving the day. Images of courage are prevalent in our society; from the images of our soldiers overseas to the local hero who saved her neighbor from imminent danger. But when asked to go deeper, to really define courage, the only response that comes to mind is "I know it when I see it." What makes courage so hard to define? We use the word courage to honor the firefighters, rescue workers, and police officers who ran into the two towers that were on the verge of collapse. We also use the word courage to honor the individuals who blew the whistle on corporate corruption. The two cases are very different: in the first case the individual's very life was in jeopardy by the physical actions being performed; in the second case the individuals risked their jobs by telling the truth. For the first case, we can distinguish the actions as being physically courageous. In the second case, we can say the actions were morally courageous. We use the phrase "courage of my convictions" in our society to assign courage to less extreme actions, to mere "everyday" actions. We want to acknowledge the courage demonstrated when the right thing is done, especially when others looked away or chose to do nothing--the courage demonstrated through holding onto to one's values is moral courage. Last summer, Rielle Miller began conducting research on moral courage, with specific objectives to define moral courage, determine if/how it can be developed, and determine the role of the organization in this development. In this issue, we link to her in-depth discussion of moral courage. Read Ms. Miller's paper on moral courage
at: Please NOTE: This is a PDF document. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download a free copy at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Links, Books and Articles on Moral Courage Ms. Miller found the following resources particularly helpful in her research: WEBSITES: -- Rescuers: Portraits of Moral Courage
in the Holocaust: http://www.holocaustrescuers.com This website supports a book, exhibition and video that presents a series of 49 personal reminiscences of non-Jewish citizens in various European nations who risked their lives to hide resident Jews from the Nazi horror. According to one editorial review, "most of those interviewed felt their actions were done out of friendship and for people caught in a web of hatred and anti-Semitism. They did not feel that they were acting heroically but that they were doing what was right." -- Foundation for Moral Courage: http://www.moralcourage.org According to its website, the Foundation for Moral Courage is dedicated to educating high school students and the general public about the importance of individual acts of moral courage in modern civic life, specifically by producing educational television documentaries, encouraging other institutions to do the same, and convening annual award events to recognize the exemplary actions of individuals and a documentary film. -- Center for Moral Courage: A Division
of the Institute for Global Ethics: This site is dedicated to the January 2005 book Moral Courage, written by Rushworth M. Kidder, President of the Institute for Global Ethics. "Based on extensive research into the stories of leaders, whistle-blowers, and ordinary individuals, Moral Courage examines recent events including the Enron scandal, the Columbia space shuttle tragedy, and the war in Iraq to apply essential litmus-test questions that can positively influence behavior" Visitors can read the first chapter
at: A predecessor to the book, "Moral
Courage: A White Paper" (2001) is also available at:
For more reading on courage, see the
bibliography prepared by Ms. Miller in conjunction with her paper,
at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In "Wanted: Leaders with Courage," Brisbane Institute Chairman Ray Weekes calls for institutions and their leaders to "reinstate courage as a vital element of leadership" if they are to rebuild public trust in the wake of Enron, WorldCom and other corporate failures. "As a leader in business or in any field," he says, "you must have the courage to care, to care enough about your deeply held personal principles, that you hold to these in the face of personal risks." "Leadership is primarily about change," he says. "It is about action. It is about having the courage to develop a different vision and strategy, to empower others to act and to have the strength of character to set the right examples and to stay with the pain and sacrifices of change." Read this article at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In her President's Column, Pat Harned quotes one leader, Nelson Mandela, on the topic of courage. ERC has compiled a list of other quotes about courage -- both physical and moral - on our website. Read the quotes on courage at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** What ERC Does to Implement Moral Courage The following are three programs developed
and sustained by ERC that help build moral courage in tomorrow's
workforce. For more information about these and other character
development programs, please contact Katie Sutliff at Katie@ethics.org
or (202) 872-4767. -- MAXIMize the Moment™ MAXIMize the Moment (MTM) and MAXIMize the Moment Junior (MTM Jr.) are subscription character education resources designed for use in elementary, middle, and high schools. They combine current events and everyday issues kids and teens face with the time-honored wisdom of maxims. Each week, subscribing schools receive a lesson plan featuring a story, a maxim, background information about the character traits being addressed, links to websites about the featured maxim's author and/or issue, and related discussion starter questions. We also offer MAXIMize Your Family Time (MAXFam), which can be used in conjunction with the MTM programs or independently. MAXFam subscribers receive additional tips for communicating effectively with young people and an extra question set that encourages dialogue within families. The stories themselves are about students who find themselves in everyday dilemmas or situations - a technique that helps the students think about themselves in similar situations. Each week the story is accompanied by discussion questions that ask the students to discuss the implications of a decision/action from the story, to think about what they would have done in the situation, or to come up with better options available to the characters or themselves in a similar situation. By having the students reflect on the characters and sometimes replace the characters with themselves, the students gain experiential knowledge. Many educational experts agree that students learn values through stories, especially stories they relate to. Students can emulate the characters in the stories and learn how to apply the values from the story to their own lives. In many of the stories, a critical decision is made--one where moral courage plays a factor. Asking the students to place themselves in the character's role helps the students practice moral courage in a safe environment. Read more about MAXIMize the Moment
at: -- Student Ethics Office™ The Student Ethics Office (SEO) is a unique character development program modeled on corporate ethics offices. The SEO furthers the cause of ethics in the school community by creating an infrastructure to promote the school's core values. Students, acting as ethics officers, communicate the ethical ideals of the community through trainings and educational endeavors. The students also identify areas of need within the school community, develop effective solutions, and serve as a force for positive peer-pressure. Student Ethics Officers are given the opportunity to act as leaders within their school community and to serve as exemplary models of civic engagement. Rather than merely telling students what it means to be ethical, the SEO approach gives students the opportunity to practice ethical leadership by identifying issues within the school community and developing strategies to address them and communicate them to others. Student ethics officers are placed in a position where they will be able to practice moral courage on an ongoing basis. Being a student ethics officer also provides students with the chance to serve as role-models for their peers. SEOs not only develop moral courage in the student ethics officers, but in the rest of the student body as well. Other students in the school community can more easily identify individuals to whom they should model their behavior. Modeling a more socially responsible and civic-minded ethos can have a cascading affect on others in the student body and a measurable impact for the communities within which they live and serve. Read more about Student Ethics Offices
at: -- Student Fellows Program The Student Fellows Program (SFP) brings student ethics officers together to share their successes, challenges, and future directions. The Student Fellows Program is modeled on the ERC Fellows program, and the participants come from SEO schools. The SFP is comprised of an executive meeting in January and a full meeting in the summer. The Student Fellows Program is an important piece of the SEO experience. Getting the chance to meet other students from different schools who also care about values and ethics helps student ethics officers develop the moral courage they need to implement change. The SFP also helps students develop moral courage by providing a safe environment where they can test out their ideas. The group offers constructive feedback to improve strategies and programs student ethics officers may use in their own school. The focus on leadership also helps the student ethics officers develop moral courage. Each student is asked to take a close look at his or her strengths and weaknesses. The students are encouraged to work together to change their weaknesses into strengths. This process causes the student to identify values important to him or her. Assessing one's own value prioritization helps an individual recognize which values will not be compromised. Moral courage requires drawing upon one's own value system, and the student ethics officers are given the opportunity to formulate their systems in a protective environment. Read more about the Student Fellows
Program at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Free MAXIMize the Moment Lesson: Courage "Stand up for what you believe in, even if it means standing alone," is the maxim for this free sample lesson from our subscription character education service, MAXIMize the Moment and MAXIMize Your Family Time. The family version provided here, which also includes the class discussion questions, encourages all members of the family to consider times when they have and have not been courageous, and to identify other people they know as well as famous people who have modeled courage to them. Read this MAXIMize the Moment lesson
at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Publications and Media Coverage -- "How Good Is Your Word," Real Simple magazine, April 2004 The following paragraph appeared in a column entitled "How good is your word?":
-- "How and Why We Lie at the Office: From Pilfered Pens to Padded Accounts," Wall Street Journal, March 24 According to this article, some studies show that rank-and-file employees are lying more often at work. The article mentions a variety of surveys on sick leave abuse, false academic credentials, personal use of computers, and dishonest excuses for absence from works, then cites the ERC's National Business Ethics Survey when discussing possible reasons. "Research has shown a persistent gap between lower- and higher-ranking workers on certain measures of workplace ethics," says the article. "Rank-and-file employees are less likely than managers to report misconduct they observe: 44% say they resist doing so, compared with 28% of managers, according to the Ethics Resource Center survey. And younger managers with three years or less experience are nearly twice as likely as older or more experienced managers to say they feel pressured to violate ethical principles." Read the article at: -- NPR Marketplace, March 29 ERC President, Patricia J. Harned, Ph.D., was interviewed for a story on Warren Buffett and recent regulatory interest in accounting practices involving a unit of his company, Berkshire Hathaway. Listen to the program at:
-- "Ethics Regulations: Federal agencies follow same basic ethics rules, yet NIH appears alone in conflict of interest woes," Chemical & Engineering News, February 21, 2005 In this article on the new restrictions on NIH employee participation in outside activities, ERC Board Chairman Stephen D. Potts, who served on the NIH Blue Ribbon Committee on Conflicts of Interest Policies last spring, says the situation arose because "a number of scientists who had an obligation to report consulting arrangements ... simply failed to report them. There wasn't anything sophisticated about it; they just didn't do what they were required to do," he said. "The rules are perfectly clear, and the vast majority of scientists file their information, which is reviewed by the ethics office and either approved or disapproved." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- ERC President Patricia Harned, Ph.D., ERC Fellows Academic Chair Linda Trevino, Ph.D., and ERC Associate Consultant Abby Davidson visited the Ethics Institute of South Africa (EthicSA) the week of March 14, 2005, to develop an international survey instrument. Based on the ERC's National Business Ethics Survey(SM) (NBES) and drawing additional questions from the work of Dr. Trevino and EthicSA, the survey will measure the effectiveness of ethics and compliance programs by assessing employee perceptions of ethics in the workplace. The instrument consists of a core group of questions based on the ERC's NBES and adds questions specific to the concerns of the South African business community. While ERC is administering the 2005 NBES in the United States, EthicSA is preparing to implement this newly developed survey in several South African based companies. The two organizations will jointly analyze the data to identify trends across the U.S. and South African business communities. This project was made possible by grant
funding from The Merck Company Foundation, who has supported the
ERC's work with EthicSA since 1999. -- Pace Award Nominations The ERC Fellows Program is now accepting nominations for the 2005 Stanley C. Pace Leadership in Ethics Award. The Pace Award is presented annually by the ERC Fellows and honors an organization, individual or group of individuals displaying excellence in the ethics field and recognizes the recipient's accomplishments and contributions to ethical business conduct. Nominations are due by June 1, 2005 and will be voted on at the July 2005 ERC Fellows meeting. Read more about the Pace Award or get
a nomination form at: -- NBES Notification Research for the National Business Ethics Survey 2005 is underway, with the final published report due out this summer. If you would like to be notified by email when the report is available for purchase, please follow the link below to submit your name and email address. Submit your name for NBES notification
at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Support Organizational Ethics Research (and get NBES 2005) The National Business Ethics Survey (NBES)SM has proven to be of great value to organizations, as it identifies the issues and challenges facing our nation's employees that must be addressed in order to create and sustain an effective ethics program. The 2005 version of the study will undertake additional analysis of compliance practices, communications efforts by corporations, and industry-specific measures. We are in need of sponsors to enable us to expand the survey to allow for increased representation of prominent industries. Sponsors of this effort will help create a widely used and highly respected resource that business leaders, educators, and researchers like yourself can use to advance ethics and integrity in your workplace, schools and society. Donors of a tax-deductible contribution of $50 or more will receive a complimentary copy of our 2005 NBES and acknowledgment as a sponsor in the publication. Make a contribution to the 2005 NBES
at: For more information or to make a major contribution, contact Development Manager Allison Pendell-Jones at allison@ethics.org. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 generous support:
We acknowledge with appreciation contributions to the NBES Customer Campaign from the following:
We invite you to join our loyal contributors
in lending your support. You can make a tax-deductible credit
card donation online at: To find out about other ways to contribute,
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 10 times this year, with the July and August issues combined into one. ======================================================= Copyright (c) 2005 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
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