Why is training in ethics important?
We all judge people based on their behaviour. We have to. We need to know who to trust, who we can rely on and who we shouldn’t, who to admire and model our own behaviour after, who to promote in our business, hire to work for us, or vote for.
When an individual acts on their own, we judge that individual’s action as right or wrong, and the individual as a good or bad person. But people are also part of groups –– and fairly or unfairly, we judge by association, as well.
Professional ethics matters because your company will be judged by the actions of your employees. Your profession or association will be judged by the behaviour of its members. Your reputation will be affected by the business practices of those who work for or with you. The price of unethical behaviour among your employees or associates is lost income, diminished future business, and possibly a law suit.
What can you do about it?
The answer is simple and complex. Hire and reward people you can count on to do the right thing. But the right choice in a situation isn’t always obvious. Although most of us receive years of training to become competent in our jobs, very few people receive training in how to make ethical decisions.
You can create a culture of ethical behaviour within your business or profession by offering that training, and by making ethical business behaviour a conscious choice for yourself and your employees.
What do I mean by a "conscious" choice?
There are four levels of ethical decision-making. At one end of the spectrum is consciously unethical. This is when your employee knows the action he or she is taking is wrong, but consciously decides to do it anyway. At the opposite spectrum is consciously ethical. Once again the decision is a conscious, considered choice, but this time it's to do the ethical thing. In between these two points lie more murky decisions: unconsciously unethical choices occur when an employee is unaware that the action being taken is not ethical, and unconsciously ethical decisions are when the right thing is done, but without conscious thought.
Very little can be done about employees or professionals who deliberately choose to be unethical, and very little needs to be done about those who consistently, consciously choose ethical behaviour. But the majority of people fall into that middle ground, where they do what “feels right” at the time, without thinking very much about it, resulting in inconsistent and unreliable decisions. These are the employees and professionals for whom training in ethical decision-making can make all the difference. If you provide that training, not only will these employees be making more reliable ethical choices, but the consciously ethical employees’ behaviours will be validated and the consciously unethical employees will find it much harder to rationalize their choices.
The benefits to you, as an employer or a leader in your profession, of creating a consciously ethical atmosphere in your company or organization include peace of mind, a reputation of ethical practice, increased business, and decreased employee turnover, client complaints, and law suits.
We all judge people based on their behaviour. We have to. We need to know who to trust, who we can rely on and who we shouldn’t, who to admire and model our own behaviour after, who to promote in our business, hire to work for us, or vote for.
When an individual acts on their own, we judge that individual’s action as right or wrong, and the individual as a good or bad person. But people are also part of groups –– and fairly or unfairly, we judge by association, as well.
Professional ethics matters because your company will be judged by the actions of your employees. Your profession or association will be judged by the behaviour of its members. Your reputation will be affected by the business practices of those who work for or with you. The price of unethical behaviour among your employees or associates is lost income, diminished future business, and possibly a law suit.
What can you do about it?
The answer is simple and complex. Hire and reward people you can count on to do the right thing. But the right choice in a situation isn’t always obvious. Although most of us receive years of training to become competent in our jobs, very few people receive training in how to make ethical decisions.
You can create a culture of ethical behaviour within your business or profession by offering that training, and by making ethical business behaviour a conscious choice for yourself and your employees.
What do I mean by a "conscious" choice?
There are four levels of ethical decision-making. At one end of the spectrum is consciously unethical. This is when your employee knows the action he or she is taking is wrong, but consciously decides to do it anyway. At the opposite spectrum is consciously ethical. Once again the decision is a conscious, considered choice, but this time it's to do the ethical thing. In between these two points lie more murky decisions: unconsciously unethical choices occur when an employee is unaware that the action being taken is not ethical, and unconsciously ethical decisions are when the right thing is done, but without conscious thought.
Very little can be done about employees or professionals who deliberately choose to be unethical, and very little needs to be done about those who consistently, consciously choose ethical behaviour. But the majority of people fall into that middle ground, where they do what “feels right” at the time, without thinking very much about it, resulting in inconsistent and unreliable decisions. These are the employees and professionals for whom training in ethical decision-making can make all the difference. If you provide that training, not only will these employees be making more reliable ethical choices, but the consciously ethical employees’ behaviours will be validated and the consciously unethical employees will find it much harder to rationalize their choices.
The benefits to you, as an employer or a leader in your profession, of creating a consciously ethical atmosphere in your company or organization include peace of mind, a reputation of ethical practice, increased business, and decreased employee turnover, client complaints, and law suits.