{"id":9463,"date":"2022-11-30T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beebole.com\/blog\/?p=9463"},"modified":"2025-01-22T11:47:57","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T10:47:57","slug":"how-to-promote-workplace-ethics-in-your-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beebole.com\/blog\/how-to-promote-workplace-ethics-in-your-business","title":{"rendered":"How to promote workplace ethics in your business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Concerned about workplace ethics? You should be. As it turns out, simply hiring good people and hoping they\u2019ll make the right decisions isn\u2019t enough. And while making a good hire is a step in the right direction, it\u2019s just the beginning of your journey to leading an ethical company. If you actually want to encourage ethical behavior within your organization, you must invest time and resources in educating and inspiring your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethics vocabulary: Let\u2019s sort through them before they get confusing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before things get messy, let\u2019s clear up the difference between the following terms related to workplace ethics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is a code of conduct?<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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A code of conduct is a written document that highlights a company\u2019s mission, vision, and values in order to establish the obligations, rules, and regulations that employees should follow. A code of conduct is an essential part of a compliance program that defines an organization\u2019s dos and don\u2019ts.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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What is a code of ethics?<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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A code of ethics or ethical code is a written document that outlines the values and principles that guide a company\u2019s business operation. This guide is designed to help employees conduct business with honesty and integrity. This document should provide guidance to employees and influence their company-related decisions.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

So, there are certain similarities between the code of ethics and the code of conduct\u2014Both documents play an important role in shaping people\u2019s behavior. But keep in mind that while they share a similar purpose, they are different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is the organizational purpose?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To understand the organization purpose of an organization, you need to answer this question:Why are we in business? <\/strong>The answer should be bold and inspiring\u2014a short statement that underlines the very reason everyone comes to do their job each day. The answer will most likely be related to a company\u2019s mission, cause, or culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you define a set of values?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This comes down to ethical values (e.g. honesty, integrity, respect, fairness) and business values (e.g. innovation, community impact, customer-focused). Defining these sets of values helps set the tone for the way in which a company will conduct business. According to the Institute of Business Ethics<\/a>, \u201cbusiness values are what the company will deliver; ethical values are how the business values will be achieved.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that we\u2019ve tackled some of these related terms, let\u2019s go deeper into workplace ethics and the nature of unethical behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workplace ethics in simple terms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Quite simply, workplace ethics is the application of ethics in the workplace<\/strong>. According to human resources author Paul Falcone, workplace ethics is \u201cthe application of an ethical code of conduct to the operational and strategic management of an organization and its leadership and people practices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Thomas Mahan, author at Work Institute, puts it differently. He refers to ethics in the workplace<\/a> as the \u201cthe moral code that guides the behavior of employees with respect to what is right and wrong in regard to conduct and decision making<\/strong>.\u201d That\u2019s why corporate ethics touches every single aspect of a business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The construction of ethical workplace cultures depends on how employees apply ethics in the workplace. According to The Institute of Business Ethics (IBE), \u201can ethical culture<\/a> is a combination of factors that define the way people within an organization behave and make decisions<\/strong>.\u201d That combination starts with a clear purpose and a set of ethical values that can influence behaviors and daily interactions among people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those behaviors and interactions represent the norms\u2014what people do when no one is looking\u2014<\/strong>of an ethical culture. In fact, in order to understand what an ethical culture means, you need to differentiate the rules (compliance) from the norms (culture) of an organization. According to Daniel Beunza, Associate Professor of Management at Bayes Business School, City, University of London, the norms represent the key element of an ethical culture<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s the norms that are internalized,\u201d argues Beunza on an IBE webinar about building an ethical culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, Deborah Allen, Group Director Governance, Conduct & Sustainability at BAE Systems, highlights the influence that an ethical culture has on the choices people make<\/strong> in a company. \u201cWhen I\u2019m making decisions about how I behave in a meeting, the tone of my emails, all of that is a choice, it\u2019s not a compliance tick box,\u201d states Allen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The nature of unethical behavior at work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before promoting workplace ethics across your company, it\u2019s important to understand the dynamics of unethical behavior and why it happens. Let\u2019s start with some of the insights that Mark Chambers, Associate Director – Governance at IBE, shared in an article where he explored a very simple question: Why do good teams go bad?<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To begin with, \u201ccorporate wrongdoing is rarely restricted to a group of \u2018bad apples\u2019 in the workforce,\u201d argues Chambers. That, however, doesn\u2019t mean that companies that go wrong are full of bad people. Quite the opposite. According to Chambers, \u201cthe problems come when decent people across the organization collectively lose their moral compass<\/strong>. The reality is that good teams can go bad, with a gradual cultural drift that eventually engages and consumes everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Enron scandal is one of the best examples of how that gradual cultural drift tore apart an organization. \u201cThe Enron Fraud is the story of synergistic corruption. There are supposed to be checks and balances in the system. The lawyers are supposed to say no, the accountants are supposed to say no, the bankers are supposed to say no, but no one who was supposed to say no, said no,\u201d recalls Bill Lerach, attorney for the shareholders suing Enron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what does it take for decent employees to lose their moral compass?<\/strong> In most cases, it is a combination of factors. Things like judgment ambiguity, confirmation bias, others\u2019 behavior, and excessive and undue pressure to achieve specific targets can negatively affect the ethical behavior of good employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brooke Deterline, Founder and CEO of Courageous Leadership, reminds us that \u201cit is a natural human tendency to be a bystander<\/a>, to follow a leader or a group that we know is doing something wrong for a sense of acceptance or a sense of security<\/strong>.\u201d Such a sense of acceptance and security is reinforced even more when there\u2019s pressure to accomplish specific goals. \u201cWhen we\u2019re focused on operational objectives and you throw pressure on top, the ethical implication of our acts will fade from our minds,\u201d affirms Deterline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this in mind, there are three main ideas to understand:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Unethical behavior goes hand in hand with the very essence of human nature. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. It isn\u2019t difficult for decent employees to act unethically. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Context plays a big role in shaping people\u2019s actions and behaviors.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    So, how can you prevent good apples from going bad?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Don\u2019t be discouraged\u2014there are several tactics business leaders can employ to counteract good apples from going bad. First thing\u2019s first: Understand \u201cethical danger zones<\/a>,\u201d and act upon them in a timely manner. According to Steven D. Olson, director of the Center for Ethics and Corporate Responsibility at Georgia State University, you need to watch out for the following danger signs in your organization:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Second, and most important, if you want to build an ethical culture in your company, you need to create a system that encourages employees to act in an ethical way. As stated by professors Nicholas Epley and Amit Kumar, \u201cReal people are not purely good or purely evil, but are capable of doing both good and evil.\u201d That\u2019s why \u201corganizations should aim to design a system that makes being good as easy as possible<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Of course the golden question is, \u201cHow do I do that?\u201d Luckily, there are some effective strategies you can implement within your organization. Before we jump into those, let\u2019s look at why these kinds of strategies actually matter, and how both good and bad ethical behavior can impact your company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why ethical behavior is so important<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    There are a plethora of powerful arguments to show you why promoting workplace ethics in your company should be a priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The consequences of unethical conduct<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Your employees\u2019 unethical conduct can seriously damage your company\u2019s reputation and credibility. If that happens, your brand and corporate image can suffer, and recovering from that (if that\u2019s even a viable option) likely requires a huge investment of time and money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Apart from diminished reputation and credibility, Jason Gatchalian of HRZone, lists the following problems as some of the most negative effects associated with unethical conduct<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n