Ethics 102
Rhonda L. Bishop
Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer
LIFE @ UCF
September 17, 2013
Agenda
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Ethical Framework

Ethical Failures

Ethical Decline

Ethical Leadership
What is Ethics?
 Merriam-Webster
Dictionary
1. Discipline dealing with what is
good and bad, with moral duty and
obligation
2. Set or system of moral values and
principles
3. A guiding Philosophy
3
Ethical Framework for Decision Making
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Recognize the event, decision, or issue
Get the facts
◦ Who will be impacted?
◦ What are your obligations?
◦ What are possible options and consequences (harm, perception
etc.)
Evaluate alternative actions
◦ Consider your values and the university’s values
◦ How will each option impact others (fairness, equality, most good)
Decide on a course of action and test it
◦ Is it consistent with our values?
◦ Discuss with others
◦ Do a litmus test (front page of the newspaper test!)
Take action, note the outcome, and reflect
Valesquez, M., Moberg, D., Meyer, M, Shanks, T., McLean, M., DeCosse, D., Andre, C., and Hanson, K. (2009, May) A
Framework for Thinking Ethically. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/framework.html
2012 Ethical Failures
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Scott Thompson- former CEO Yahoo
◦ Lied on his resume
Christopher Kubasik – former CEO, Lockheed
Martin
◦ Terminated due to an affair with a subordinate
Ernst Lieb – former CEO Mercedes Benz USA
◦ Remodeled his house, golf club expenses, favors
Lance Armstrong – stripped of seven Tour de France
medals
◦ Doping offenses

Graham Spanier – former Penn State President
◦ Child abuse scandal, criminal charges files
Cheating Statistics
High School Students:
College Students:
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20% reported cheating in
1940
49% reported cheating in
1993
75% to 98% 2003 to
2011
Engineering and business
majors more likely to
cheat
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Cheating declined in
2012 for the first time
51% reported cheating in
2012
59% reported cheating in
2010
Cheating begins in
middle school
Source: Josephson Institute for Ethics
Are We in Ethical Decline?
Charles Ponzi
Ethical Failures

1830’s, Trail of Tears and Indian War
against Native Americans
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1865 slavery abolished

1920 women allowed to vote

1965 Civil Rights Act prohibited
discrimination based on age, race, religion,
gender and national origin
Ethical Failures

1932 – 1972 more than 400 African
Americans deliberately left untreated for
syphilis

1950 – 1952 1000 pregnant women given
diethylstilbestrol without consent

1953 James Watson and Francis Crick
discovered DNA – stole key data from
Rosalind Franklin

1956 -1980 Hepatitis experiments
conducted on mentally disabled children
Ethical Failures
2 million children age
3 and up employed in
1910
 1938 Fair Labor
Standards Act
regulates child labor

General Motors Fraud
1920s to early 1940s
 Formed a holding company to buy
streetcar companies
 Replaced them with buses
 Standard Oil and Firestone contributed to
9 million
 1949 – All three found guilty of
conspiracy to monopolize the local
market
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Good News
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We as a society are less violent than we
were 30 years ago
Criminologist estimate that homicide rates
are 1/6 of what they were in 1700s, 1/4 of
1850
Divorce rates are the lowest since the 1970s
Teenage pregnancy at its lowest rate in 40
years
2011 – Americans gave an estimated $347
billion to charity
Boomer and older women give 89% more of
their total income than male conterparts
What Drives Ethical Failures?
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Pressure to succeed
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Competing incentives
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Focus on short term
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Belief they will not be caught
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Minimize the wrong doing
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Different values
What Drives Students to Cheat?
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Too much emphasis on test scores from
federal programs:
◦ No Child Left Behind Act
◦ Race to the Top
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Emphasis on firing teachers
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Lack of response by parents and schools
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Better predictors of success are family
income and family education
Seven Habits of an Ethical Leader
1.
strong personal character
2.
a passion for doing right
3.
a proactive behavior
4.
keeping the stakeholders’ interests in mind
5.
a recognition of their value as role models
6.
an awareness that decision making should be
transparent
7.
a holistic view of human beings
“I” Project Competition ICAC Winners – Azul, Kiran, Nidhi,Yifan
Ethical Leadership
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Lead by example – one person can make a
difference
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Educate yourself - be aware of the rules
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Use ethics in your decision making
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Exhibit selflessness
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Don’t be afraid to ask for help or raise concerns
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Speak up
No One Said it Would Be Easy
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Doing the right thing
is not always easy
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Competing
Incentives
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Focus on long term
results not short
term successes
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Must be visibly
ethical and consistent
Rhonda’s 4 Rs
Respect
 Responsibility
 Reconcile
 Remember
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“Tough situations don’t build character…
tough situations reveal character!”
Thank You
Contact Information:
Rhonda L. Bishop
University Compliance, Ethics and Risk Office
Millican Hall, Rm 328
Rhonda.Bishop@ucf.edu
823-6263