MSETM 5110 – Ethics for Technology Managers
What Constitutes Ethical Behavior?
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MSETM 5110 – Ethics for Technology Managers
Recap of Session 2
• Continued the Ethics Journey
• Ethics Issues in the News
• Reviewed the Landscape – Economy, Globalization,
Security
• Reviewed Applicable Codes of Conduct
• Reviewed Effective Ethics Programs
• What Works, What Doesn’t
• Values-Based Ethics vs. Compliance-Based Ethics
• Legal Compliance/U. S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines
• Ethics “Mini-Survey and Continuum” Exercise
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MSETM 5110 – Ethics for Technology Managers
Purpose
Connectivity
Relevancy
Application
Science: “what is”
Engineering: “creating what has never been”
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MSETM 5110 – Ethics for Technology Managers
Purpose
• Create Value/Improve Quality of Life
• Sustainment/Survivability
Connectivity
• Responsibility
• Accountability
Relevancy
• HBR Articles/Case Studies
• Newspaper Articles
Application
• Capturing the Learnings
• Furthering Science and Technology
• Personal Growth and Development
Science: “what is”
Engineering: “creating what has never been”
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
Corruption Scale
(Best to Worst, As Measured in 15 Emerging Markets)
Australia
Sweden
Austria
Canada
The Netherlands
Belgium
France
Spain
Germany
Singapore
United Kingdom
United States and Japan
Others
Source: Transparency International, Gallup International Association, Fox
News Channel, August 28, 2002.
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
So, What’s at Stake?
“By exhibiting and supporting ethically sound behavior,
managers can strengthen the relationships and
reputations their companies depend on.”*
*Paine, Managing for Organizational Integrity.
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
The Hallmarks Of An Effective Integrity Strategy*
• The guiding values and commitments make sense and are
clearly communicated.
• Company leaders are personally committed, credible, and
willing to take action on the values they espouse.
• The espoused values are integrated into the normal
channels of management decision making and are reflected
in the organization's critical activities.
• The company's system and structures support and reinforce
its values.
• Managers throughout the company have the decisionmaking skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to
make ethically sound decisions on a day-to-day basis.
*Paine, Managing for Organizational Integrity.
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MSETM 5110 – Ethics for Technology Managers
The Tylenol Story
“Probably the most famous tale of responsible business
leadership in the last twenty years.”
Joseph L. Badaracco, Leading Quietly.
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
The Tylenol Story
Background
•
•
•
•
•
1982
Johnson & Johnson Chairman James Burke
Cyanide Intentionally Put in Tylenol Capsules
Seven People Died
Panic in America
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
The Tylenol Story (cont’d.)
Actions Taken
• Full Cooperation with Public Authorities and
Media
• Defined the Issue as Matter of Public Health vs.
Corporate Profits
• Withdrew All Tylenol from Market
• Introduced Triple-Seal Packing (An Industry
Innovation)
• Engaged the Entire Employee Community to
Address the Problem While Focusing on the
Things to Sustain the Business
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
The Tylenol Story (cont’d.)
Bottom Line Result
• Enhanced Credibility for J & J
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
Personal “Mini Survey”
1.
My company acts ethically and with integrity:
a. consistently
b. occasionally
c. rarely or not evident
2.
My company promotes acting with integrity:
a. strongly
b. somewhat
c. not evident
3.
I act with honesty and integrity:
a. consistently
b. most of the time
c. occasionally
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
Personal “Mini Survey” (cont’d.)
4.
Place your company on the following continuum:
Lowest Integrity
Average Integrity
Highest Integrity
0
5
10
_________________________________________________________
5.
Place yourself on the following continuum:
Lowest Integrity
Average Integrity
Highest Integrity
0
5
10
_________________________________________________________
6.
Your comfort level with your company’s behavior and commitment to
ethical behavior:
a. very comfortable
b. somewhat comfortable
c. uncomfortable
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
Personal “Mini Survey” (cont’d.)
7.
Your comfort level with your own behavior:
a. very comfortable
b. somewhat comfortable
c. uncomfortable
8.
I am familiar with my company’s values statement:
a. yes
b. no
9.
I am familiar with my company’s strategic/business plan:
a. yes
b. no
10.
There is clear linkage/integration of values and strategic/business plan:
a. yes
b. no
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
Leading Quietly: An Unorthodox Guide to Doing the Right
Thing, Joseph L. Badaracco, Jr.
Three Quiet Virtues
• Restraint
• Modesty
• Tenacity
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
Eight Practical Guidelines for Leading Quietly
by Joseph Badaracco, Jr.
1.
Don’t Kid Yourself
•
Quiet Leaders are Realists
•
Quiet Leaders See the World As a Kaleidoscope (vs. Fixed
Target)
2.
Trust Mixed Motives
•
Balance Self Interest and Altruism
•
Best leaders Think They Must Act (vs. Think They Should
Act)
•
Quiet Leaders Want to Act Responsibly and Ethically But
Sometimes Have to Persevere and Improvise
•
See Others and Ourselves As We Really Are
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
Eight Practical Guidelines for Leading Quietly
by Joseph Badaracco, Jr. (cont’d.)
3.
Buy A Little Time
•
•
•
•
4.
Effective Leaders Don’t Rush to “The Answer”
Let Turbulence Settle (Fully Understand the Problem) and Work
for Best Solution With the Right Sense of Urgency
Make Pragmatic and Ethical Decisions (Moral Compass)
Ready/Aim Fire vs. Fire/Ready/Aim (Conventional vs.
“Contemporary”)
Invest Wisely
•
•
•
•
•
Doing What’s Right to Improve Reputations and Relationships
Resist Throwing Away Hard-Earned Political Capital
Fight the Right Battles for the Best Returns (Personal and
Organizational)
West Point Credo: “Cadets Do Not Lie, Cheat, or Steal Nor
Tolerate Those Who Do.”
Aristotle’s List of Human Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Courage, and
Temperament
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
Eight Practical Guidelines for Leading Quietly
by Joseph Badaracco, Jr. (cont’d.)
5.
Drill Down
•
Quiet Leaders Drill Down Into complex Problems
•
Dealing with Complex Issues—Science and Technology,
Hiring and Firing
•
Application of Moral Commitment and High Principles
•
Complexity Should Not Be A Smokescreen for Wrongdoing
6.
Bend the Rules
•
Conventional vs. Contemporary View—Obeying the Law
and Playing by the Rules vs. Strict Adherence in Complex
Everyday Situations
•
“Criminal Behavior vs. Obstruction of Justice”
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
Eight Practical Guidelines for Leading Quietly
by Joseph Badaracco, Jr. (cont’d.)
(cont’d.)
6.
•
•
•
•
•
Two Guidelines Leaders Follow in Complex Ethical
Dilemmas:
1. Take the Rules Very Seriously
2. Look Creatively and Imaginatively for Ways to Follow
the Spirit of the Rules While, at the Same Time, Bending
Them
Most of the Time, Taking the Rules Seriously Applies;
However, There Are Times When Strict Adherence May Be
Irresponsible
Room to Maneuver
Entrepreneurial Ethics
Quiet Leaders Approach Problems With the Conviction That
Practical-Minded Creativity Can Almost Always Create New
Possibilities for Responsible Action
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
Eight Practical Guidelines for Leading Quietly
by Joseph Badaracco, Jr. (cont’d.)
7.
Nudge, Test, and Escalate Gradually
•
Prudent Improvisation
•
Identifying Alternative Solutions That Stand the Test of
Efficacy
8.
Craft A Compromise
•
Distilling Problems Into Layers of Complexity
•
Finding Responsible, Workable Compromises
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
Challenger Disaster
Challenger Disaster, accident that destroyed the United States space
shuttle Challenger 73 seconds after takeoff from the Kennedy
Space Center on January 28, 1986. The crew—mission
commander Francis R. Scobee; pilot Michael J. Smith, mission
specialists Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuke, and Judith A.
Resnik; and payload specialists Gregory B. Jarvis and Christa
McAuliffe, a high school teacher from New Hampshire—died in
the accident.
Following the incident, President Ronald Reagan appointed a special
commission to investigate the cause of the accident and to develop
corrective measures based on the commission’s findings. The
commission was headed by former secretary of state William
Rogers and included former astronaut Neil Armstrong and former
test pilot Chuck Yeager. It found fault with a failed sealant ring
and with the officials at the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) who allowed the launch to take place
despite concerns voice by NASA engineers.
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
Challenger Disaster (cont’d.)
According to the commission’s report, the disaster was caused by the
failure of an “O-ring” seal in the solid-fuel rocket on the shuttle’s
right side. The seal’s faulty design and the unusually cold weather,
which affected the seal’s functioning, allowed hot gases to leak
through the joint. Flames from inside the booster rocket escaped
through the failed seal and enlarged the small hole. The flames
then burned through the shuttle’s external fuel tank and through
one of the supports that attached the booster to the side of the
tank. The booster broke loose and collided with the tank, piercing
the tank’s side. Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuels from the
tank and booster mixed and ignited, causing the shuttle to tear
apart.
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MSETM 5110 - Ethics for Technology Managers
Challenger Disaster (cont’d.)
The shuttle launch program was halted during the commission’s
investigation and was not resumed until shuttle designers made
several technical modifications and NASA management
implemented stricter regulations regarding quality control and
safety. Shuttle missions resumed on September 28, 1988, with the
flight of the shuttle Discovery. See Space Exploration: Current
and Future Programs.
“Challenger Disaster”. Microsoft® Encarta Online Encyclopedia
2002 http://encarta.msn.com (3 Sept. 2002)
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
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MSETM 5110 – Ethics for Technology Managers
Due Date
Assignment “0”
- Personal Profile
Assignment 1 - Read HBR Articles:
1.
2.
3.
8/28/02
George Iwaki and Oscar Hauptman, Final Voyage of the
Challenger.
Trevino, et al., Managing Ethics and Legal Compliance: What
Works and What Hurts.
Paine, Managing for Organizational Integrity.
Assignment 2 -
9/18/02
In approximately 400 words, critique the decision process to launch
the Challenger, including the respective roles of the engineers
and management team. What would you have done differently?
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