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Ethics Today Online Published by the Ethics Resource Center February 2007 Volume 5, Issue 3
** A Word from the President: The Ethics Role of Human Resources Although typically an ethics officer is responsible for developing an organization's ethics policies, creating communication related to the organization's code, planning ethics training programs, and overseeing the ethics reporting function, the most effective ethics officers know that it is also critical to operate as part of a team that brings together many different partners: finance, audit, operations, and especially human resources. These individuals enlist the help of other critical groups throughout their organizations, drawing on their knowledge and resources to embed ethics throughout the organization's culture. The human resources department is a particularly important partner in efforts to promote ethical culture. As recruiters, HR professionals determine who is invited to join the team. They employ reward and punishment systems to reinforce what kind of behavior is valued. They may use information gleaned from exit interviews to support and improve the ethical environment. It is easy to see that, apart from the ethics and compliance office, there is no other department so critical to the development of an organization's ethical culture as human resources. In 2003, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and Ethics Resource Center collaborated on a business ethics survey of SHRM's membership. Of the HR professionals surveyed, 67% either agreed or strongly agreed that the human resources department is a primary ethics resource for their organization. Similarly, 71% of those surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that HR professionals are involved in formulating the ethics policy of their organization. Recognizing the vital role that HR plays in the development of ethical culture, the ERC Fellows focused their January meeting on the ways in which HR professionals can work synergistically with ethics and compliance officers to improve an organization's ethical culture. I was pleased to share a podium with academic ERC Fellow Linda Trevino, Professor of Organizational Behavior at Penn State University, and ERC Board member Sue Meisinger, President and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, who gave thoughtful presentations full of research and experience on the role of HR in organizational ethics. Find key highlights of their presentations below. During the ERC Fellows meeting, I was also honored to present the 2006 Pace Award to an individual representing another profession important to the ethical health of any organization -- accounting. Charles Bowsher, former Comptroller General of the United States and chairman of the Public Oversight Board, represents all that is good about public service and graciously shared his wisdom at a dinner in his honor. As we move into the new year, ERC is busy developing additional methods of disseminating information and research. This month, ERC and Working Values, Ltd., will be sharing research findings from the white paper announced in the last issue of Ethics Today through a webinar entitled "Ethical Actions that Matter: Critical Elements of an Ethical Culture." You will find more information below about the February 27 seminar and how to register. We are excited to share new developments in the field and our research with you. We promise to keep you updated with timely announcements of new research and programs that will guide you in advancing high ethical standards and practices. Patricia J. Harned, Ph.D ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** ERC Fellows Discuss HR/Ethics and Compliance Office Relations The ERC Fellows gathered in Potomac, MD, January 17-19, to discuss HR/Ethics and Compliance Office Relations. Presenters at the meeting included Pat Harned, ERC President; Linda Trevino, Professor of Organizational Behavior at Penn State University; and Sue Meisinger, President and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). In addition, Charles Ruthford, from The Boeing Company; Dede O'Donnell, from SAIC; and Barbara Kuryk participated on a panel that discussed the challenges and successes that the HR and corporate ethics office might face when working together. The Fellows heard updates from the five active working groups, which cover:
The Fellows Program is made up of 76 members overall from 41 member companies, including 61 corporate representatives, 9 academic invited fellows, 3 non-profit representatives, and 3 government liaisons. Read more about the ERC Fellows Program
at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** The Key Role of HR in Organizational Ethics Linda K. Treviño is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Pennsylvania State University is known primarily for her unique focus on business ethics as a management issue. In the area of business ethics, she has followed up her conceptual work with empirical research that has contributed to knowledge regarding the management of individual ethical conduct in organizations and the management of organizational climate and culture to support and encourage ethical behavior. In a January 2007 presentation to the ERC Fellows, she said that human resource professionals can and should play a pivotal role in ethics management. Furthermore, research suggests that successful ethics management depends more on employees' fairness perceptions, ethical leadership at all levels, and the alignment of multiple formal and informal cultural systems to support ethical conduct than it does on formal ethics programs. To the extent that HR systems invoke fairness evaluations, HR managers design leadership training, and HR systems help to create and maintain organizational culture, HR professionals must play a key role in ethics management. Read the synopsis of Linda Trevino's presentation
at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** HR's Role in Creating an Ethical Culture, and How Ethics Officers Can Work With HR In a January 2007 presentation to the ERC Fellows, SHRM President Sue Meisinger discussed several ways in which HR can help build an ethical culture. These include:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Resources on the Ethics Role of HR On its website, SHRM offers a number of documents that discuss the role of HR in cultivating an ethical culture. These include: The Ethics Squeeze Available to the public at:
Available for purchase at:
Available to SHRM members only at:
Available to SHRM members only at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Fellows Present 2006 Pace Award to Charles A. Bowsher In January, the ERC Fellows awarded the 2006 Pace Leadership in Ethics Award to Charles A. Bowsher, who formerly served as comptroller general of the United States and chairman of the Public Oversight Board (POB). In her nomination of Mr. Bowsher, ERC Fellow Kathryn. Reimann, Citigroup Global Consumer Group, said "Chuck has been an inspiration to many during his long and diverse career of public service. . . He operates by a set of unwavering principles and a strong commitment to those who rely on him." During a ceremony held at The Mansion at Strathmore, ERC Chairman Stephen Potts spoke about the warmth and humor of his long-time personal friend. Ms. Reimann recalled that when he was a board member of American Express, Mr. Bowsher would visit individual banks whenever he traveled to seek the opinion of bank tellers and managers. She noted that these visits demonstrated that the "top" was genuinely interested in how the company was run and conveyed the importance of ethics to the everyday employee. Mr. Bowsher recounted a similar story from his early days on the board of Northrop Grumman when he visited one of its ship-building docks and spent the day going through the plant. While the employees found it remarkable that a board member would spend an entire day with them, Mr. Bowsher thought his behavior was simply good leadership. Currently, Mr. Bowsher is an advisor to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), a public member of the board of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), and serves on corporate, foundation and university boards. He is also a recipient of distinguished public service awards from the Department of the Navy and the Department of Defense. Read the press release announcing his selection
at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Webinar: Ethical Actions that Matter: Critical Elements of an Ethical Culture A February 27, 2007, webinar will feature ERC President Dr. Patricia Harned and ERC Research Analyst Laurie Choi, and Working Values President David Gebler discussing how ethics and compliance officers can make sure their programs and recommendations have the greatest impact within their organizations. The Ethics Resource Center's National Business Ethics Survey (NBES®) is a key measurement of the impact of culture on the effectiveness of ethics and compliance programs, helping to guide business leaders in fostering ethical behavior. Further ERC research commissioned by Working Values identified three types of Ethics Related Actions that have a profound impact on outcomes expected of an ethics program. Setting a good example, keeping promises and commitments, and supporting others in adhering to ethics standards can have a powerful influence on building an ethical culture. This webinar will discuss the importance of the ERC's research and how these results can be used to enhance a company's ethics and compliance programs. The one-hour session beginning at 2 PM EST is free but you must register in advance. Get more information or register at: Download a copy of the white paper serving
as the background for this webinar at: Working Values Ltd., a SmartPros company,
is a leading developer of integrated values-based corporate responsibility
and ethics awareness and compliance learning programs. Learn more
about Working Values at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Compliance Week: Personal Missteps Should Raise Eyebrows [In August 2006, ERC President Patricia Harned started contributing a monthly column on ethics to the well-known national publication Compliance Week. This newsletter on corporate governance, risk and compliance reaches over 40,000 financial and legal executives at U.S. public companies electronically every Tuesday morning and is published as a glossy print magazine on the first day of the month. Compliance Week has granted permission for ERC to reprint Dr. Harned's columns after they have appeared in both the electronic and print versions. For more information about Compliance Week or to subscribe, please visit http://www.complianceweek.com] Many people firmly believe that what others do in their private lives should not matter to the office, as long as they are able to perform their jobs properly and safely. To a large extent this is true. As the president of an organization myself, I cannot (nor do I want to) tell my employees what they may or may not do in their off-hours. That is, so long as they continue to perform quality work, uphold our values statement, abide by our employee manual and the law, and do not maliciously harm the organization. Recently we've seen boards of directors investigate and take action when chief executive officers engage in behavior that generally is not associated their respective company's moral standards. We've also read headlines of executive indiscretions that likely forced board members to consider the best way to respond. Time Warner's CFO Wayne Pace, Boeing's former CEO Harry Stonecifer, and even the Department of Homeland Security's Deputy Press Secretary Brian J. Doyle have faced difficult personal situations, which ended up causing concern for their organizations. Sometimes it seems that these leaders are forced out unfairly on the basis of rumor or gossip or even "doing something everyone does." Is that right? At what point do an executive's personal mistakes warrant board attention? Read this column originally published in
the October 11, 2006, electronic edition of Compliance Week, at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** News, Publications and Media Coverage -- Martha Ries of Boeing Appointed Chair Of Ethics Resource Center Fellows Program January 16, 2007 -- M. Martha Ries, Vice President - Ethics and Business Conduct at The Boeing Company, is the new Chair of the Ethics Resource Center's Fellows Program. ERC President Patricia Harned, Ph.D., announced the selection of Ries by the Fellows' Advisory Panel. "Martha Ries has outstanding credentials in the development and implementation of corporate ethics principles and practices," Harned said in announcing the appointment. "She is committed, as are all of us at ERC, to building strong ethical practices at all levels of our society. She will provide superb leadership as the Fellows Program enters its second decade this year." Read this press release at:
January 18, 2007 -- President Bush's appointment of Fred F. Fielding, Vice Chair of the ERC Board of Directors, as his new White House counsel puts a strong advocate for ethical principles in a critical Administration leadership post. "We are delighted that Fred, an activist on our board since 1993 and our Vice Chair since 2004, has been selected for this key White House position," said ERC President Patricia Harned, Ph.D. "He is well respected in Washington, across party lines, for his devotion to the highest ethical principles for our society." Read this press release at:
February 1, 2007 - Ethics Resource Center - celebrating its 85th anniversary throughout 2007 - has become the preeminent institution in the assessment of workplace ethics environments and the promotion of a stronger ethical foundation for society, in America and worldwide. The oldest U.S. non-profit devoted to workplace ethics, ERC and its predecessor institutions have since 1922 worked to build a stronger society through evolving educational and research initiatives. Today, ERC is active not only in traditional ethics research but also as a strong voice in the public discussion of what constitutes ethical behavior across the public and private sectors. "We are proud of our decades of service, but longevity alone is not the true test of an organization," said ERC President Patricia Harned in marking the 85th anniversary. "Actual achievements - and how long they continue to affect society - establish the institution's real value. Read this press release at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Supporting Character and Integrity We extend our gratitude to everyone who has contributed to the Ethics Resource Center this year. Without your dedication and trust, many of the programs and projects highlighted in this newsletter would not be possible. The Ethics Resource Center achieves its goals through its research, surveys and measurement tools, network of international ethics centers and character education programs. These programs can only continue through philanthropic support. We invite you to join our loyal contributors in lending your support. And now you can make a secure donation
online at: 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. To find out more about how you can support the ERC and its many programs, call 202-737-2258. ======================================================= 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: http://www.ethics.org/erc-publications/ethics-today.asp For questions about your subscription, please email ethicstodayonline@ethics.org The Ethics Resource Center 1747 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Suite 400 Washington, DC 20006 Telephone: 202-737-2258 http://www.ethics.org Copyright © 2007 Ethics Resource Center. All rights reserved. |
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