Practical tips for dealing with ethical dilemmas, for advancement and communiation professionals

1. “You’re Asking Me
to do What?!?”
Dr. Joe Brennan, APR
University at Buffalo
SUNYCUAD
June, 2009

4. A crisis of ethics?
One in three workers observes misconduct:
• Lying
• Withholding needed information
• Abuse or intimidation
• Misreporting hours worked
• Discrimination
Ethics Resource Center, National Survey of Business Ethics,
2000

5. A crisis of ethics?
Two in five workers don’t report
misconduct
• Fear being viewed as a troublemaker or a snitch
• Fear retaliation
• 40% of those who do report wrongdoing are not
satisfied with organization’s response

6. A crisis of ethics?
One in eight workers reports pressure
to compromise ethical standards
• Two-thirds say pressure is from supervisors, co-
workers

7. What HR managers say:
• More than 50% see workplace misconduct
• 12% see “regular pressure” to break rules
• Misconduct twice as frequent in
organizations with regular pressure
Ethics Resource Center/Society for Human
Resources Management 1997

8. Employees care about ethics
• Ethics are “important reason” why they
continue to work for their current
employers.
• 90 percent want organization “to do what
is right, not just what is profitable.”
Ethics Resource Center, National Survey of Business Ethics,
2000

9. View from the top
“Senior and middle managers’ perceptions
about ethics in their organizations are
consistently more positive than those of
lower level employees.”
Ethics Resource Center, 2000

10. “At what point does this become our problem?”

11. Why should we care?
When leaders, supervisors and
coworkers model ethical behavior,
employees …
• Feel less pressure to commit misconduct
• Report higher overall satisfaction

12. Why should we care?
“The foundation of our value to our
companies, clients and those we serve
is their ability to rely on our ethical
and morally acceptable behavior.”
PRSA Board of Directors, 2000

13. What “causes” ethical behavior?
Two schools of thought
1. “Deontological” – inner norms
2. “Teleological” – external consequences

14. “Everyone lies son. There’s just different pay scales.”

15. “Let me get back to you. I’ve got an office full
of people right now.”

16. Many factors influence choices
Ethical conduct determined by . . .
1. Social and peer group expectations
2. Organization’s norms and standards
3. Individual’s beliefs and values
Linda K. Treviño & Katherine A. Nelson,
Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk About
How To Do It Right, 1995

17. Professional codes of ethics
• PRSA Member Code of Conduct
• CASE Statement of Ethics

18. 8 steps for ethical decision-making
1. Gather the facts.
2. Define the ethical issues.
3. Identify the affected parties.
4. Identify the consequences.
5. Identify the obligations.
6. Consider your character and integrity.
7. Think creatively about potential actions.
8. Check your gut.
Source: Treviño & Nelson