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Similar to Ethics in Action - Aligning Values and Business Practices to Create the Right Culture
Similar to Ethics in Action - Aligning Values and Business Practices to Create the Right Culture (20)
Ethics in Action - Aligning Values and Business Practices to Create the Right Culture
- 1. Ethics in Action Aligning values and business practices to create the right culture Luncheon February 16, 2012 Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy Business | Employment | Information Security | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 2. The Key Stakeholders • The SHAREHOLDERS who have every right to expect a fair return on their investment • The EMPLOYEES who are the engine of the enterprises growth • The COMMUNITY, it provides resources sometimes taken for granted • The CUSTOMERS without whom the enterprise would not have a reason to exist Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 3. Every Individual Brings Their Values • There are system shortcoming in the selection process: – Interviews tend to focus on discerning competency – Behavioral Interviewing – Example based inquiring fails to assess likely behavior in the face of ambiguity or in new situations • Management and Employees are best thought of as separate groups with sometimes divergent objectives Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 4. But every employer presumptively wants employees of high integrity: People who will do the right thing when no one is looking. Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 5. At least Intuitively, We All Recognize the Importance of Values Alignment •Thus the organization promulgates values: integrity, customer service, good corporate citizenship, for example •And to further provide guidance culture statements are developed too that advocate for open and honest culture and camaraderie But employees do not always use these statements during critical decision making. Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 6. So How is Decision Making Really Happening •People apply their own filters in lieu of the organization’s prerogatives to problems •A command and control culture develops so few are empowered decision makers •An advisor emerges who regardless of position and responsibility in the leadership hierarchy becomes the keeper of the culture Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 7. And What Role Does the CEO and Her Lieutenants Play • In acquiescence they reinforce individual values as the means for decisioning • In enabling a command and control culture they ensure their involvement in all decision-making but retard the company’s agility and potential growth over time • Sages who are either unidentified or validated, even in acquiescence, can “go rogue” and undermine senior management at critical times Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 8. Inferences • You cannot ignore that individual values play a role in the workplace • Stated company values are not necessarily the filters used in organizational decision making • The CEO and her lieutenants are required to ensure the right messaging, go above-and- beyond to anticipate questions and eliminate any doubt as to decisional alignment with company values Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 9. Developing Company Values • Can and should be a collaborative process that enlists the input of key employees; management and individual contributors • Explanatory statements need to be concise and clear; the best of these can be easily paraphrased and serves as a meaningful tool for critical decision-making Is a process that might be periodically visited, sometimes to add clarity, at other times simply to enable validation Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 10. Scorecarding • Should be used to evaluate strategic prerogatives, and business plans that are derived in furtherance of the organization’s objectives • And prior to releasing the product or service to the marketplace Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 11. Communicating Decisions Weaving in values based explanations into key organization decisioning announcements as a mean of facilitating buy-in, understanding and reinforcing expectations. Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 12. Leaders Must be Cognizant of and Clear in Their Statements • A statement like “We must make this quarter’s numbers” Might be heard as • “Do whatever it takes to get it done, the rules do not apply” Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 13. Values Must Be Lived When employees sense that a leader’s decisions are at odds with company values—even when they’re not—they are quick to conclude that the leader lacks personal commitment to the values. He’s seen as a hypocrite. When Company Values Backfire. - http://bit.ly/aMPEFt Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 14. Signs the Train is Off The Track • A new lexicon emerges – Minimally viable product – Aggressive anything but especially marketing • People tend to over-explain their decisions or argue for short trying something while acknowledging a values compromise • Financial performance is not viewed as a result of doing the right things it becomes the only thing Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 15. Inferences • A collaborative or otherwise inclusive process for values creation increases the probability of buy-in • Benchmarking the company’s operations to ensure values alignment is critical • Communication is key • The onus is on leadership to set appropriate parameters Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 16. Real World Examples Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 17. An Obvious Failure in Leadership Public Relations Firm to Settle FTC Charges that It Advertised Clients' Gaming Apps Through Misleading Online Endorsements A public relations agency hired by video game developers will settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it engaged in deceptive advertising by having employees pose as ordinary consumers posting game reviews at the online iTunes store, and not disclosing that the reviews came from paid employees working on behalf of the developers. “Companies, including public relations firms involved in online marketing, need to abide by long-held principles of truth in advertising,” said Mary Engle, Director of the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices. “Advertisers should not pass themselves off as ordinary consumers touting a product, and endorsers should make it clear when they have financial connections to sellers.” Reverb Communications, Inc. - Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security http://1.usa.gov/bbq6Ld
- 18. Who Signed Off On This? The makers of Airborne tablets have agreed to pay $30 million to settle a lawsuit and federal regulators' charges that they made false claims about the cold-fighting benefits of the fruit-flavored remedies. The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday there is no evidence that products from Bonita Springs, Fla.-based Airborne Health Inc. "provide any tangible benefit for people who are exposed to germs in crowded places." The company, founded by Victoria Knight-McDowell and Thomas John McDowell, markets a line of water-dissolving tablets that are sold in pharmacies and grocery stores nationwide. Airborne's chief executive stressed Thursday that the FTC charges deal with advertising and labeling that the company no longer uses. Airborne, Inc. - http://1.usa.gov/NAcfY Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 19. The If Others Do It, Why Can’t I Mentality Apple says it will not tolerate manipulation of App Store rankings even if a third-party service is responsible for doing the dirty work. Making it to the top of the charts is tough, considering more than 500,000 apps are available for download. Apple knows app developers pay third-party services to increase app rankings and some of them have wiggled apps into Apple’s top 25 most- downloaded chart through illegal methods. “Once you build a great app, you want everyone to know about it. However, when you promote your app, you should avoid using services that advertise or guarantee top placement in App Store charts,” Apple warned developers Monday on its site. “Even if you are not personally engaged in manipulating App Store chart rankings or user reviews, employing services that do so on your behalf may result in the loss of your Apple Developer Program membership.” Apple to Boot Developers. - http://on.mash.to/zloUCV Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 20. Modest Suggestions that Should Work for Every Organization • Incorporate values assessment into the interview process • Educate early and often on the company’s values. And use values [to] provide a common language for aligning a company’s leadership and its people • Establish parameters and encourage people to take initiative within those boundaries Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
- 21. A Modest Solution that Should Work for Every Organization • Make the chief role of managers to set parameters. Know that parameters are going to be different for different individuals. And for the same individual, they’re going to be different for different tasks • Find teachable moments: Most people want to make a contribution and be proud of what they do. But organizations typically teach us bad habits—to cut corners, protect our own turf, be political Chairman and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co., Robert D. Haas: Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security http://bit.ly/y8DLF3
- 22. CONTACT ME HAYDEN CREQUE 2008 11th Street N Sartell MN. 56377 p. 320-247-3439 e. hayden@crequelaw.com Twitter @haydencreque Other www.crequelaw.com Business | Employment | Internet | Privacy | Information Security
Editor's Notes
- -- I do not have all the answers but I do have a lot of experience in this area -- This isn’t necessarily a legal presentation but one that does have legal ramifications -- I would hope it might also be a dialogue one where you will feel free to banter about the content -- This is your time, I have feel privileged that I was asked to present but I am giving you license now to for example ask me a direct legal question -- Finally as you will see my slides are dense. Feel free to take notes but I will make the deck available after the presentation for download on my website and will alert you by email when I post it if you leave me a card at the end of the presentation.
- Before we turn to ethics lets agree on the stakeholders Much of the presentation focuses on employee (Both Management & Individual Contributors) But in the absence of good ethics shareholder value is impacted, community perception (the organizational reputation is harmed), and many customers are unlikely to do business with you. All of this to say that this stuff (event though its sometimes amorphous) is important in building and sustaining a successful enterprise .
- Let’s recognize a truth that every individual brings their own values to the workplace. Although there are probably more than I have listed but clearly certainly some systemic barriers to values and business practices alignment: The focus at the beginning of the employment relationship is on discerning competencies. Stated another way we have not traditionally focused on discerning whether a person is likely to exercise good judgment in the face of ambiguity. Managers tend to act differently than employees: Managers are usually easier to align and perceive their value-add as getting their people to do something. Managers however, who “go rogue” or disagree with direction have an incredible amount of power and can easily push the train off of the tracks. Employees usually have less access to information, frequently might not understand in context the importance of their tasks and are more prone to second-guess management’s value commitment and indeed its integrity.
- Consistent with the organizations values.
- This is because we all recognize at least intuitively that if everyone is rowing in the same direction there is a higher probability of arriving at the destination. And the ways of creating alignment has traditionally been to state the organizations values. They are then posted usually in large letters someplace prominent in a building. With a revere that requires genuflection when team members pass by. Why don’t employees always use these statements: 1) A little Pop-psychology – your personal values are the product of years of instruction and sometimes discipline, they took time to evolve; 2) Maybe the employees do not believe in the value; 3) Maybe they have observed a member or members of the leadership team disregard them giving them license to do the same; or 4) Maybe they are just plain wrong for the business.
- Make no mistake about it for every value stated on the wall employees understand certain information truths: 1) Where my authority ends and my manager’s begins; 2) When to cover-your-butt in the face of a tough decision; 3) Who the real decision makers are; 4) The organization’s true interpretation of a value word like Integrity.
- In dysfunctional unempowered environments three situations primarily emerge: The first is usually manifests most times in organizations that have not stated values or culture statements. Everyone gets to do their own thing. The second usually manifests in young emerging and owner led organizations, here regardless of whether the values are stated, management puts its stamp of approval on every decision. The third usually but does not always show up in larger organizations, maybe with divisions. Also it amanifests when management might be viewed as inaccessible.
- If you are starting out then you might consider a collaborative process that enlists the input of key employees, management and select individual contributors. A value makes the cut if it passes three tests: 1) Does the value enable the business (A critical value for a software development company for example might be Quality, for a retail business Customer Service); 3) Does the value serve one or more of the stakeholders; and 3) Is the value something everyone can live with over the long hall Use Good Judgment at All Times – Nordstroms Don’t Be Evil -- Google Be the Number one or Number two Business in the Industry – GE There are no sacred cows businesses evolve and change overtime and it might be appropriate to revisit a company’s values at times to validate and other times to add clarity.
- The idea here is to put systems in place that reinforce organizational values over individual norms and to enable accountability to to assure value and business alignment. Customer Satisfaction – A review of the software application to determine whether customers will be satisfied or are likely for example to be frustrated by bugs. Quality – Might need to eliminate all bugs prior to first release.
- I cannot overstate the role that leadership communication plays in creating values-alignment in an organization. In addition, to score-carding the company’s leadership but weave in values into key organization decisioning. Some would call this walking the talk.
- The intended message is not necessarily what is received. Language is inherently imprecise but setting forth expectations precisely is a requisite for aligned decision-making. Bottom line it is hard.
- In the end it is about setting the right example. Because a single mistake can have very harmful effects. Give example. Never too underestimate the value of an apology and a follow-on explanation.
- Sometimes you won’t even know that the organization’s values have been usurped but here are a few clues. On financial specifically they are the easiest thing for an organization to dashboard. Some businesses can show performance on a daily basis. The question then is if it is that which is most reported on cheered and booed what message are you sending about what is important?
- Scorecarding and KPM’s
- The more you multiply your own effectiveness by the effectiveness of other people The obvious message here is to reinforce positive behaviors and to hold people accountable for eliminating negative behavior.