MAKING IT WORK: WORKPLACE ETHICS
Ensuring that you take all the necessary steps to foster a high level of ethics in your
workplace and business practices is something that every organization – no matter what
size – should do. This is very important because at the very foundation of business ethics
is the commitment to treating customers, employees, partners, investors, vendors and
anyone else involved with your organization with honesty, integrity and respect.
A high level of ethics starts at the very top with the executive leadership. After all, such a
critical aspect of your organizational identity is something that needs to be owned by
your leadership and management. Your workplace ethics is what identifies you. It is a
high level of corporate and social values which is the trademark of all successful
applications of social responsibility; that is what permeates every business process,
practice and procedure. Staying true to a responsible social and ethical compass can:
1. Raise employee morale.
2. Strengthen customer relationships.
3. Improve the company image in the community
4. Provide a competitive edge
5. Create a better workplace overall
6. Improve your bottom line
Whether writing a code or developing an ethics program, organizations need to identify
and develop a set of values; that is, values that represent the ethical ideals of that
organization. Regardless of the means by which you select and implement your values, it
is also important to have a clear-cut definition of your core values passed along.
Creating an ethics policy is an important initiative for every organization in the
workplace of today. Whether you call it a Code of Ethics, a Code of Conduct, an Ethics
Policy or some other name, it’s important for management to have expectations and
guidelines that rule your organization’s commitment to honesty and integrity in your
workplace.
The best workplace ethics policies are those that address employee conduct and promote
an ethical organizational culture. A good ethics policy should also provide examples as
needed to demonstrate the application of the rules as a general guideline. It is not possible
to create a specific rule for every situation that may arise, but an ethics policy should be
aimed at each and every possible scenario that may occur.
The following issues and topics should be addressed by your organization’s ethics policy:
• General employee conduct while at work - What is expected of employees by the
organization when it comes to ethical behaviour and giving their best performances.
• Confidentiality – Address central issues within the organization or company; sharing
confidential information with other employees and departments, as well as, with issues
pertaining to the sharing of information with people outside the company.
• Conflicts of Interest – Clearly define what constitutes “conflicts of interest” and give
examples so that employees are sure about the types of things that fall under this. Make
sure that you distinguish between acceptable conflicts of interest as opposed to those that
are deemed unacceptable.
• Relationships with clients, customers, suppliers and vendors – What types of
professional and personal relationships are acceptable? Should they even be disclosed?
What would be the repercussions to the employee in the event of questionable
relationships?
• Unethical behaviour – Define ethics in general and ensure that you outline which ones
are strictly prohibited, such as taking kickbacks or bribes, disseminating confidential
information, and falsifying organization documents.
• Gifts – Are your employees permitted to accept gifts? If yes, how large may these gifts
be? Are there any types of gifts that are strictly forbidden?
• Entertainment – Define what types of entertainment activities are allowed, and how
often they may occur as a result of a business relationship?
• Using the organization’s assets for personal activities and gain – Are employees
allowed to use any company resources for personal purposes? Consider things like
Internet access, office supplies, copiers, vehicles, etc.
• Reporting fraud or unethical behaviour – There is nothing wrong with encouraging
employees to report suspicions of fraud and clearly outline the procedures in place once a
complaint has been received or suspicious activities reported.
Decision Making and Workplace Ethics
The process of creating a fair, equitable and straightforward ethics policy in the
workplace starts with decision-making from leadership. The field of workplace ethics has
traditionally been the domain of philosophers, academics and social critics as opposed to
organizational and business leaders. Consequently, much of today’s literature about
business ethics or ethics in the workplace is not geared towards leaders and managers –
the people primarily responsible for managing ethics in the workplace.
This lack of practical information, however, is not the fault of philosophers, academics or
social critics. Some of that problem is the outcome insufficient involvement of leadership
and management in open discussions about workplace ethics. More leaders and managers
must become involved in a hands-on manner.
This important task of decision making when it comes to workplace ethics is another one
of those lead by example scenarios; after all, the emergence of workplace ethics is similar
to other management disciplines. For example, organizations realized that the need to
present a better image to the public and so the discipline of public relations was born.
Organizations then realized they better needed to manage their workforce and the
discipline of human resources was created.
But the all-important criteria for decision making when it came to ethics in the workplace
could perhaps best be encapsulated by first addressing the myths surrounding ethics in
the workplace. After all, workplace ethics are also about avoiding what is wrong.
Myths Surrounding Workplace Ethics
1. Myth: Our employees are ethical so we don’t need to focus on this.
Most of the ethical dilemmas faced by leaders and managers in the workplace are highly
complex ones. When presented with complex ethical dilemmas, most people do not
realize that there can be wide-spread “gray areas” that are not covered in their ethics code
of conduct. That is why it is necessary and important to have clear-cut communications.
2. Myth: Workplace ethics are unnecessary. It only asserts the obvious: “do good axiom”
Many people mistakenly believe that a code of ethics, or lists of ethical values to which
the organization aspires are quite superfluous because they only represent values that one
should aspire to anyways. However, the value of a code of ethics to an organization
should be viewed as a priority to its focus regarding certain principles relating to honesty
and integrity. A code of ethics should be organic to each specific organization.
3. Myth: Workplace ethics is best left to philosophers, theologians and academics.
The lack of involvement of leaders and management in planning and implementing a
code of ethics has led many to believe that workplace ethics can be construed as a fad or
temporary movement, having little to do with the day-to-day realities of running an
organization. They believe workplace ethics is primarily an academic or religious debate.
4. Myth: Ethics can’t readily be managed.
Actually, ethics are constantly “managed”- but often in an indirect manner. Strategic
priorities ( improving client services, profit maximization, expanding market shares,
cutting costs, etc.) can be very strong influences on morality and integrity. Laws, rules
and regulations directly influence behaviours to be more ethical, usually in a manner that
improves the general good of the organization.
5. Myth: My organization is not in trouble with the law, so we’re ethical
One can often be unethical, yet operate within the limits of the law, e.g., withhold
information from superiors, unduly complaining about or unjustifiably criticizing others,
fudging reports and other documentation, etc. However, breaking the law actually starts
with unethical behaviour that has simply gone unnoticed.
Benefits of Making Ethics Work in the Workplace
• Attention to workplace ethics has substantially improved society as a whole.
• Ethics programs cultivate strong teamwork and foster productivity.
• Ethics programs help maintain a moral rectitude in tough times.
• Ethics programs support employee growth and give them a sense of meaning.
• Ethics programs promote a strong and positive public image.
• Ethics programs are like an insurance policy – ensuring that policies are legal.
• Ethics programs help avoid inadvertent and/or criminal acts of “omission”.
• Ethics programs help establish values and the organization’s identity.
The important thing about making an effective ethics program function in your workplace
is to always remember that this is an all-encompassing initiative that needs to be created
before any crisis occurs. Or to view an ethics policy in you workplace as something that
needs to be put into place so that you have rules to catch the crooks, so to speak.
Compliance with your jurisdiction’s rules and regulations is also very critical to devising
and managing your code of ethics. But as with all important decisions in small or large
organizations, these codes must start at the very top of leadership and management.
Some organizations have become known worldwide for having impeccable values that is
a direct reflection of their ethics policies. Companies Ben & Jerry’s, Johnson and
Johnson, Hewlett Packard, etc., are admired for operating in a highly ethical manner. One
way they have managed to attain this level is by committing a well organized, thought out
and implemented code of ethics that benefits every component of their organizations.