Government and Community Relations
Speeches and Presentations
The Elephant on the Table: Confronting Ethical Behavior Dustin Swanger, PhD. Associate Vice President, Workforce Development and Dean, Technical Education Democrat & Chronicle 09/13/2002 The “elephant on the table” often refers to a major issue that people in organizations fail to discuss because that discussion may be uncomfortable. It may even be an issue that is about to rock the very foundation of the organization, but discussing it may offend someone or just be too cantankerous for our sensibilities. So folks talk to each other, smile at each other, and develop business plans. They continue their lives as if no one can see the elephant. Recent articles and news reports suggest that for some time the elephant has been a lack of ethical behavior among business executives. Overreporting revenues, underreporting expenditures, building extravagant homes while laying off employees, and exaggerating profitability clearly demonstrate a lack of respect for accepted ethical behavior. Or does it? What do we mean by ethics or ethical behavior? The American Heritage College Dictionary defines ethics as: a set of principles of right conduct; a theory or system of moral values; and rules or standards governing the conduct a member of a profession. I do not defend those who have misled their investors. Nor am I offering justification for the actions of those who do not act in an ethical manner. Business leaders need to talk with employees about ethics and point out the ambiguity in the application of ethics. They must encourage other business leaders, community leaders and those making decisions to discuss ethics with colleagues and employees. After so many people feel wronged by the decisions or actions of Global Crossing, Enron or WorldCom -- to name a few -- discussions of ethics may seem like clear-cut arguments of right and wrong. However, in practice, ethical dilemmas and decisions are almost never that clear. Philosophers since Aristotle and Plato have wrestled with ethics, moral behavior and what they mean. Every one of us makes ethical decisions each day, while not even considering the ethical questions. For example, many of us tell our children not to lie because Santa Claus is watching and will not reward them with toys on Christmas. The ethical question here is: is it right to teach children not to lie by telling a lie? Why does it seem that unethical behavior is on the rise? There may be several explanations. First, there may not be a rise at all. As pointed out earlier in this essay, early Greek philosophers spent many hours discussing the parameters of ethics and the application to daily lives. These philosophers would suggest that one should do no harm to people as a foundation for ethics. Yet, many Greek households had slaves to serve their masters. Some of those slaves were beaten. Was slavery ethical behavior? Second, as we conduct our lives we receive many mixed messages on what is acceptable ethical behavior. We believe that all are equal under the law, but accept that the wealthy are much less likely to serve jail time for crimes than the inner-city poor. We profess that honesty is paramount to relationships and societal harmony, yet watch a reality television show in which the master of deceit and trickery is the one who isn’t voted off the island and is rewarded with $1 million. Finally, we are under a tremendous amount of pressure from expectations to perform on the job, return a profit, reduce costs, take care of children, care for elderly parents and try to keep our heads above the water of debt. While we may think through the legality of our decisions, we often don’t even take time to consider the ethics of them. So what do we do about the elephant? First of all, college presidents, deans, and faculty must discuss ethics openly with their colleagues and staff. They must also demonstrate a behavior that models ethical values in decision-making. When making decisions, we should ask ourselves some questions. What are the likely outcomes of this decision? Whom would it harm? Will it respect the rights and dignity of others? Does it demonstrate the values that we believe? If this decision or action were written about in the newspaper tomorrow, would it be good or bad news? Colleges offer classes for credit and non-credit that explore the issues of ethics and ethical decision-making. However, ethical issues can be taught in ant class. In a computer class we should discuss the ethics of computer hacking. In a history class we should discuss the ethical considerations of past human behaviors. In a music class we should discuss the ethics of downloading music from the Internet. We must have these discussions and debates even if they seem uncomfortable. We have to discuss it and teach our employees and students how to acknowledge it because the elephant on the table isn’t going away. |
