Ethical Enlightenment
as a Foundation for
Business Health
Sponsored by
ASBA, IKEA, and
Empowerment Unlimited Coaching, LLC
Agenda
1.
2.
3.
4.
Overview of today’s ethical environment
Live simulation of e-Factor!
Ethical impacts debrief
Action plan and evaluation
TM
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Ethics - Definition


Ethics: “Character or custom”
“The code of moral principles
and values that governs the
behaviors of a person or group
with respect to what is right or
wrong.”
- Ferrell and Fraedrich, 1997
Main Entry:
eth·ic
Pronunciation:
\e-thik\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Middle English ethik, from Middle
French ethique, from Latin ethice, from
Greek ēthikē, from ēthikos
Date:
14th century
1 plural but sing or plural in constr : the discipline
dealing with what is good and bad and with moral
duty and obligation 2 a: a set of moral principles : a
theory or system of moral values <the present-day
materialistic ethic> <an old-fashioned work ethic>
—often used in plural but singular or plural in
construction <an elaborate ethics><Christian ethics>
b plural but sing or plural in constr : the principles
of conduct governing an individual or a group
<professional ethics> c: a guiding philosophy d: a
consciousness of moral importance <forge a
conservation ethic> 3 plural : a set of moral issues or
aspects (as rightness) <debated the ethics of human
cloning>
3
Corporate Social Responsibility
Multi-faceted
 Examples of success and failure

4
Thinking Man…
Contingencies
Vision
Operations
Strategy
Profit/ROI
Leadership
Employee Factors
Teamwork
Customers
Innovation
Product/Service
Unintended
Consequences
Workforce Challenges
Effective Decisions
Communication
Economy
Sustainability
Future Trends
Competition
Political Impacts
Generational Viewpoints
5
But Where’s the Ethics?
Contingencies
Vision
Operations
Strategy
Profit/ROI
Leadership
Employee Factors
Teamwork
Customers
Innovation
Product/Service
Unintended
Consequences
Workforce Challenges
Effective Decisions
Communication
Economy
Sustainability
Future Trends
Competition
Political Impacts
Generational Viewpoints
6
Does It Really Matter?
“80% of people say they decide to buy a
firm’s goods or services partly on their
perception of its ethics.”
- 2003 Survey, Wirthlin Worldwide
7
Another View…
“It takes years to build a
good business
reputation, but one false
move can destroy it
overnight.”
- Edson W. Spenser
former Chairman, Honeywell
8
The Ethical Landscape
“Despite new regulation and significant
resources dedicated to decreasing misconduct
and increasing report of misconduct, the ethics
risk landscape in business is as treacherous as
it was before implementation of the SarbanesOxley Act of 2002.”
- Ethics Resource Center’s
2007 National Business Ethics Survey
(www.ethics.org)
9
The Bad News

“Ethical misconduct in general is very high and back at preEnron levels – during the past year, more than half of the
employees saw ethical misconduct of some kind.”

“Many employees do not report what they observe – they are
fearful about retaliation and skeptical that their reporting will
make a difference. In fact, one in eight employees experiences
some form of retaliation for reporting misconduct.”

“The number of companies that are successful in incorporating a
strong enterprise-wide ethical culture into their business has
declined since 2005. Only nine percent of companies have
strong ethical cultures.”
- Ethics Resource Center’s 2007 National Business Ethics Survey
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Ethics Risk IndexSM
- Ethics Resource
Center’s 2007
National Business
Ethics Survey
11
Current Ethics Deliveries
Live training seminars
 On-line training with test
 Code of conduct/stated values
 Speeches by attorneys, ethicists
and felons
 Just in time (call the attorney)…

12
Role Models
“ ________, I taught you better than that!
So now, _____________…”
What did Mom know?
13
Behavior
Culture
Expectations/parameters/consequences
 Learn by experiences and mistakes
 High engagement in the process
 Encouragement, pride, rewards, and
leading by example
 Character, reputation, integrity

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The
News

“The number of formal ethics and compliance programs is on
the rise. Furthermore, in companies with well-implemented
programs, there is increased reporting, reducing ethics risk.”

“The 2007 NBES has been able to show definitively that
companies that move beyond a singular commitment to
complying with laws and regulations and adopt an enterprisewide ethical culture dramatically reduce misconduct.”

“The 2007 NBES has identified the characteristics that comprise
an effective ethical culture, providing a blueprint for individuals
within companies responsible for corporate governance and
compliance.”
- Ethics Resource Center’s 2007 National Business Ethics Survey
15
Strong Enterprise-Wide Culture

“Ethical leadership: tone at the top and belief that leaders can
be trusted to do the right thing.”

“Supervisor reinforcement: individuals directly above the
employee in the company hierarchy set a good example and
encourage ethical behavior.”

“Peer commitment to ethics: ethical actions of peers support
employees who ‘do the right thing’.”

“Embedded ethical values: values promoted through informal
communications channels are complementary and consistent
with a company’s official values.”
- Ethics Resource Center’s 2007
National Business Ethics Survey
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If You Think It Can’t Happen
Here…
Real-Life Story of Marcy Maslov,
creator of e-Factor!TM
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Are YOU
ready to
“engage” in a
tool that’s
foundational to
ethical culture
and behavior?
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e-Factor!TM Game Play

Simulate creation and launch of new
product

Your team is in charge and has
authorization to make all decisions for
this new product
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e-Factor!TM Game Play

Metrics for the project
Company Target
Units Sold
200,000
Unit Price
$100
Revenue
$ 20.0 MM
Unit Cost
$ 55
COGS
$ 11.0 MM
Profit Margin
$ 9.0 MM
Operating Exp
$ 0.5 MM
Net Income
$ 8.5 MM
Current Result
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e-Factor!TM Game Play
How to win the game
 Explanation of PEPs
 Choose your team token
 Icons on the board and Milestones

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e-Factor!TM Game Play

Character cards

2-Minute Drill: How would your
character guide the team?

Roll die to select starting player
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e-Factor!TM Debrief

List key learnings you experienced

Share two (2) key learnings with your
teammates

Team chooses top two (2) learnings to
share with everyone
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e-Factor!TM Debrief
Give one or two-word descriptions
Respectful – Enlightened – Sad – Angry – Surprised – Brave
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e-Factor!TM Debrief
How would an experience
like this simulation
be useful to an organization?
- 5 Minute Discussion 26
Summary

Journey from discussion of
ethics in general to a live
simulation to a sharing of
potential outcomes

Experiential learning
accelerated your
understanding of this
complex topic
27
Ethics Action Plan

Take a moment to answer
these questions:
1.
What is one action regarding ethical
enlightenment that you could
implement in your organization
today?
2.
What type of ethical culture do you
choose for your organization?
28
for your participation
and interest
29
For more information, please contact:
Marcy Maslov
marcy@e-factorgame.com
Dave Cohrs
david@e-factorgame.com
30
Ethical Enlightenment
as a Foundation for
Business Health
Sponsored by
ASBA, IKEA, and
Empowerment Unlimited Coaching, LLC