How Organizations Can Learn from Others and Build a Culture of Ethics Through Leadership
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This is my final presentation on how organizations can promote a culture of ethics through ethical leadership.
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How Organizations Can Learn from Others and Build a Culture of Ethics Through Leadership
- 1. Christina Griffiths| Perspectives of Ethics in Leadership How Organizations Can Learn from Others and Build a Culture of Ethics Through Leadership System Changers
- 2. Ethic. (n.d.). Retrieved December 20, 2017, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethic a : a set of moral principles : a theory or system of moral values ·the present- day materialistic ethic b ethics plural in form but singular or plural in construction : the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group ·professional ethics c : a guiding philosophy d : a consciousness of moral importance ·forge a conservation ethic What are ethics?
- 3. Respect Empathetic and tolerant Service Community Justice Honesty Put others first Fair and equalPromotes teamwork and a healthy culture Truth and appropriate representation Principles Says, B. M., & Says, D. P. (2012, December 09). Ethics Principles of Leadership. Retrieved December 20, 2017, from https://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2012/12/09/ethics-principles-of-leadership/
- 4. Works in cubicle CEO of a Holarchy Spotlight: Tony Hseih- Zappos Removed hierarchies Noguchi, Y. (2015, July 21). Zappos: A Workplace Where No One And Everyone Is The Boss. Retrieved December 20, 2017, from https://www.npr.org/2015/07/21/421148128/zappos-a-workplace-where-no-one- and-everyone-is-the-boss
- 5. The Credo CEO during Tylenol Crisis Communication is Key Spotlight: James Burke- Johnson & Johnson K. (2012, October 05). Tylenol and the Legacy of J&J’s James Burke. Retrieved December 20, 2017, from http://business.time.com/2012/10/05/tylenol-and-the-legacy-of-jjs-james-burke/
- 6. This reaction isn’t excusable. But it is predictable. What James Burke, Johnson & Johnson’s CEO, did was anticipate the possible results of these pressures, well before they built up. He shared Henry James’s “imagination of disaster.” And it’s why he introduced, if you will, a set of counterscripts. It was a conscious effort to tinker with the unconscious criteria by which decisions at his company were made. The result was an incremental descent into integrity, a slide toward soundness, and the normalization of referencing “Our Credo” in situations that might otherwise have seemed devoid of ethical content. K. (2012, October 05). Tylenol and the Legacy of J&J’s James Burke. Retrieved December 20, 2017, from http://business.time.com/2012/10/05/tylenol-and-the-legacy-of-jjs-james-burke/
- 7. Loss of strategic focus, privileged access, control of resources, and inflated belief in ability to manipulate outcomes. Bathsheba Syndrome
- 8. Spotlight: Volkswagon “But,” he wrote, “bills aren’t paid with personal satisfaction, nor house payments with ethical principles.” https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/01/what-was-volkswagen-thinking/419127/
- 9. Appropriate awards No favoritism Equal treatment Be Fair http://www.instituteforpr.org/ethical-leadership-communication-engage-employees/
- 11. Clear Expectations Constant Feedback Develop Boundaries Clarify Roles https://www.ethicaladvocate.com/traits-ethical-leaders/
- 13. Sustainability Welfare of society External effects of decisions Be environmental-friendly https://www.ethicaladvocate.com/traits-ethical-leaders/
- 14. Don’t be afraid to DREAM BIG!
- 15. Think Globally Respect Cultural Diversity Respect Environment Respect Human Dignity and Basic Rights Donaldson, T. (2016, April 29). Values in Tension: Ethics Away from Home. Retrieved December 20, 2017, from https://hbr.org/1996/09/values-in-tension-ethics-away-from-home
- 16. Evaluate and train Leadership Reevaluate Incentive Plan Diversify Board Develop Internal Communications Plan Lead by Example! Revamp Code of Conduct-Define Purpose Tackle Heirarchy Be a WMEC World’s Most Ethical Companies Actionable Insights from the 2015 World's Most Ethical Companies (pp. 1-31, Rep.). (n.d.). Ethisphere.com.
- 17. Diversify Board Actionable Insights from the 2015 World's Most Ethical Companies (pp. 1-31, Rep.). (n.d.). Ethisphere.com.
- 18. Develop Internal Communications Plan Actionable Insights from the 2015 World's Most Ethical Companies (pp. 1-31, Rep.). (n.d.). Ethisphere.com.
- 19. Train Leadership Actionable Insights from the 2015 World's Most Ethical Companies (pp. 1-31, Rep.). (n.d.). Ethisphere.com.
- 20. Do you have power over or provide power to? Erich Fromm
- 21. West Virginia University Extension Volunteer Leaders Program Would you do it if kids were watching? Would you want it to be on the front page of a newspaper? Would it be ok if everyone did it? Ask Yourself: Would you be happy if the decision being made effected you?
- 22. References Donaldson, T. (2016, April 29). Values in Tension: Ethics Away from Home. Retrieved December 20, 2017, from https://hbr.org/1996/09/values-in-tension-ethics-away-from-home Ethic. (n.d.). Retrieved December 20, 2017, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethic K. (2012, October 05). Tylenol and the Legacy of J&J’s James Burke. Retrieved December 20, 2017, from http://business.time.com/2012/10/05/tylenol-and-the-legacy-of-jjs-james-burke/ Leadership-Ethical Systems. (n.d.). Retrieved December 20, 2017, from http://www.ethicalsystems.org/content/leadership Men, L. R. (2014, November 25). Does Ethical Leadership Communication Engage Employees? Retrieved December 20, 2017, from http://www.instituteforpr.org/ethical-leadership-communication-engage-employees/ Noguchi, Y. (2015, July 21). Zappos: A Workplace Where No One And Everyone Is The Boss. Retrieved December 20, 2017, from https://www.npr.org/2015/07/21/421148128/zappos-a-workplace-where-no-one- and-everyone-is-the-boss Posted by Administrator on Dec 30, 2016. (2016, December 25). Traits of Ethical Leaders. Retrieved December 20, 2017, from https://www.ethicaladvocate.com/traits-ethical-leaders/ Says, B. M., & Says, D. P. (2012, December 09). Ethics Principles of Leadership. Retrieved December 20, 2017, from https://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2012/12/09/ethics-principles-of-leadership/ Useem, J. (2015, December 28). What Was Volkswagen Thinking? Retrieved December 20, 2017, from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/01/what-was-volkswagen-thinking/419127/
Editor's Notes
- Today we will be discussing how an organization can put into place changes within their systems to become more ethical from the top down.
- To begin it will be helpful to actually define ethics. Merriam Webster has the most clear definition where ethics can be described in four different fashions. A set of morale principles, the principles that govern an individual or group in professionally, a guiding philosoohy, or a a consciousness of moral importance.
- There are many references that you can find that describes what actually goes into ethics in leadership. Penn State’s principles may be most relevant in working within an organization where leaders need to be advised on how to provide ethical leadership. First, respect where leaders are empathetic and tolerant of their teams. They put others and the organization first and also works to promote a sense of community within the organization. This can help increase engagement and buy in. Next they are just in their dealings with employees and outside organization and last and very important they are honest. They represent themselves appropriately to everyone they work with.
- A good way for us to guide our organization is to look at other organizations that are considered very ethical. One of these is Zappos. Zappos founder and CEO Tony Hseih believes very firmly in our principle of being equal. Tony works within a cubicle at their office and also coined the term holarchy. This is where an organization does not have tiers of management. This provides every employee with more of a sense of responsibility and engagement. While this may be an extreme example, it has worked well for the company and promotes an ethical environment.
- Another way to explore how leaders in organizations can be ethical is to study how they have dealt with difficult situations. A good example of this is James Burke, former CEO or Johnson and Johnson. James was CEO during one of the most difficult times of the organizations history, Thousands of bottles of Tylenol had been laced with cyanide and people who trusted taking their product to help them were dying. James has been credited as one of the best CEO’s in history because of his swift action during this time and the obvious effect of his leadership on his team’s responsibility. James immediately recalled all Tylenol, costing the company a loss of 100 million dollars. He spent the next several months constantly communication with the media. He would call the media every day to give them updates. This is a key factor in the positive response to a very negative time. The company also lived by their “Credo”. This document was their guiding principles and while always a part of their meetings as a reminder, became even more important during this time and moving forward. It allowed James to properly handle his employees and lead them to ethical decision making.
- This excerpt from an article about the travesty describes how James was able to lead his company through this difficult time. James had an “imagination of disaster” according to historians which allowed him to always be ready to respond to negative situations and deal with them swiftly.
- But what can cause a leader to become unethical? One theory is the Bathsheba Syndrome. This describes how a leader can be initially ethical but once given power, can allows that to lead them to unethical decision making. The privlaged access and control of resources can be difficult for some individuals to deal with appropriately.
- An example of this is Volkswagon. Volkswagon had several occasions where they misguided the public of their vehicles safefy because of parts that were known to not be safe. The CEO of Volkswagon was known for several ethically inappropriate comments during his tenure including the one seen here.
- A group of leaders would benefit from some key components that can help during trying ethical times especially in regards to communicating appropriately. First it is important to be fair. This includes giving appropriate awards, not showing favoritism among individuals and equal treatment of the individuals you are leading.
- Empowering employees is another great way to spread ethical leadership throughout the organization as it provides more individual accountability. This means allowing others to be involved in decision making processes, increasing communication, and engaging your employees at all levels.
- An issue that may not seem to be related to ethical leadership is making sure that you and everyone that works for you are clear on their roles. Confusion can cause employees to make poor decisions so setting clear expectations and boundaries while providing constant feedback can keep healthy relationships among leadership and teams.
- One of the most important part of a leaders job is to actually care about their employees. This provides employees with a sense of connection and responsibility to their organization. Transformational leaders are good at this trait as there are constantly trying to engage and inspire the people that work for them.
- A leaders external relationships are also important when it comes to their ethics. Social responsibility is something of pride to organizations that do this well and making ethical decisions in how you treat the environment and members of society can lead to not only a repour with other organizations but increased sales from individuals who respect companies that promote sustainability.
- So how do we change the leaders from your organization to be ethical and promote ethics throughout their teams? It might seem a difficult task to “train” a leader to be ethical but there are proven measures that van be taken from the board down through leadership that can promote ethics.
- First and foremost, we must all think more globally. The world is getting closer as it is becoming easier to do business with other countries and cultures. While there are sometimes discrepancies in the way businesses conduct themselves within different cultures, an organization can start by being cultural diverse themselves, respect their environment as we mentioned before and respect basic human rights. This sets the stage for relationships to develop appropriately as you build these together with other cultures if you decide to expand your business.
- One of the best resources in “teaching” ethics and working to make your organization more ethical is Ethisphere.com which release the world’s most ethical companies every year. The timeline I have developed based on their Actionable Insights paper should be a starting point. First, we must evaluate the leadership and possibly make some difficult decisions if the individual does not fit the direction you wish to go in. Next, the board should develop a plan to diversify itself. The code of conduct should be revamp and communicated throughout the organization. The incentive plan should be evaluated. Incentives are great for instances where there is exceptional performance but can lead to unethical decision making if they become too regular or expected. All companies should have an internal communications plan that outlines how issues will be communicated throughout teams efficiently. Although Zappos holarchy may be too extreme for some companies, lessening the amount of levels within an organization can begin to promote more engaged teams, break down silos, and increase performance. Lastly, all leaders should lead by example. This means that when they are making decisions, those who report to them will see how ethical they are and mimic that potentially negative leniency within their work. This could lead your organization to be named a World’s Most Ethical Company!
- There are three pieces of this plan that are important to go into more detail. According to Ethisphere, diverse boards promote ethical leaders and decision making. This can be done by recreating your leadership development committee and beginning to “build a bench” earlier. A board can start finding talent that would fit them best by targeting minorities for committees and keeping lists of potential future members and keep them engaged.
- Most companies have a business continuity plan but that is not the same as a communications plan, which many are lacking. This plan should outline how the governing bodies decisions are communicated down throughout the organization and how teams can communicate with each other to keep silos from being created. This can include meeting schedules and tools, like internal websites and Microsoft teams and groups.
- The last highlight involves how we train our leadership. While someone may come in to the company ethical, there is always the potential for temptation to cause poor decision making among leaders, therefore creating a toxic environment for their teams. Leaders should be trained yearly on the companies code of conduct, communications plans, gift giving policies and also be provided with yearly consultant opportunities to provide a sense that it is not being forced internally.
- I would like to leave you with a few immediate takeaways. First is from writer Erich Fromm. Eric believes that leaders have two traits, either they believe they have power over, or they have power to. Ethical leaders have power to. They make decisions that positively impact their teams and outside organizations and give others the power to make these decisions as well. A leader that believe they have power over can easily make unethical decisions based on this assumption that they are not benefited by the engagement of others.
- A West Virginia University program leaderships program sums up how an individual can guide their decision making processes. First, would you be happy if this decision effected you? When making a choice, consider how you would feel if someone made this decision and you had to abide by it. Next, would you do it if kids were watching? Would you want children knowing that you made this decision and what would they think about you? Would you want it to be on the front of the newspaper? This question may be best for leaders in large organizations that may critical decisions constantly. If you would not want the public knowing that you did it, it is unethical. Last, would it be ok if everyone did it? If all leaders made this decision would the world be effected negatively or positively? This has been my presentation on ethical leadership and how system changers can be trained and put into place within organizations to begin to develop a culture of ethical decision making now and in the future.