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MANAGING FOR SOCIETY
By Ben Teehankee, Dba
Reversing the ethical tide
(Part 2) |
Reversing the ethical tide (Part 2)
Continuing from last week’s column on the options available to
individuals who want to influence the ethical climate in their
organizations, we go back to the human resource (HR) officer of a
manufacturing company faced with the challenge of improving the
working conditions of the workers in the factory. She raised the
issue with the owners that workers were fatigued because they were
not provided seats as they worked. She considered resigning because
of her inability to improve the lot of the workers.
But the HR officer did not resign. She had to
get those seats for the workers. Fortunately, the owner considered
her an asset to the company and always gave her ideas a hearing. She
would bring up her seat proposal every chance she got, improving her
counter-arguments to the owner’s many objections. While the
owner’s stubbornness frustrated her, she was always calm, friendly
and respectful when making her arguments. In time, the owner
relented; finally convinced that productivity gains would offset the
cost of the workers’ seats. The HR officer was pleased with
herself and continues to work in the same company today.
The HR officer had some advantages when she used
dialogue to promote ethical change. Firstly, the owner respected her
work and was, therefore, willing to listen. Secondly, she had the
courage to speak her mind. Her professional principles drove her to
improve a situation, which was unacceptable to her. Finally, she
kept the owner engaged in the situation by addressing his objections
in a way that made business sense. In short, she had the ability to
lead for change without alienating the decision-maker.
Sometimes, the person involved in the ethical
breach may not be so easy to dialogue with because of defensiveness
or even hostility. This can make the personal risk to the ethics
advocate quite high. Privately blowing the whistle to a manager
responsible for or who has influence over the person involved in the
breach may be called for. Whistle-blowing is difficult for most
people. Childhood experience has convinced us that “telling” on
people isn’t done. The “sumbongero” (whistle-blower) is
universally despised by children. But professional managers aren’t
children. Their level of maturity should remind them that legal and
moral duties related to organizations go beyond personal or group
loyalties.
As business journalists and government
regulators worked to unravel the questionable accounting practices
at Enron engineered by CFO Andrew Fastow, vice president Sherron
Watkins wrote president Kenneth Lay anonymously: “I am incredibly
nervous that we will implode in a wave of accounting scandals.”
The letter detailed her concerns and the dangers to the company if
these were not dealt with. Watkins identified herself shortly after
and met with Lay. She did not find dialogue with Fastow feasible
because of the latter’s intimidating personality. Enron did not
mend its ways, leading some writers to criticize Watkins for talking
to Lay instead of going public. However, her approach was meant to
solve the problem internally through management without causing
greater damage to the company through public whistle-blowing.
Another way to advocate ethics in an
organization is by conscientiously objecting to a questionable
practice or policy. An example would be when a manager vocally
advises his colleagues against sexually offensive humor during
meetings. Francis O’Brien, a research director at Searle &
Co., objected in writing to the company’s claims about its Cooper
7 IUD product. His concerns were eventually vindicated when the
company faced more than a dozen lawsuits related to the safety of
Cooper 7.
The quest to promote ethics in organizations is
never-ending and expecting top managers to do it by themselves is
not realistic. However, the ethics advocate must weigh his approach
carefully to avoid career suicide. If the latter is unavoidable, it
would be best to go to an organization where the advocate can
preserve his personal integrity.
Dr. Ben Teehankee is an associate professor at the Ramon V. del
Rosario Sr. Graduate School of Business, College of Business and
Economics, De La Salle University-Manila. E-mail him at teehankeeb@dlsu.edu.ph.
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