JIM: Paul, we left off last time talking about a sort of “check list” as a starting place for evaluating our approach to conducting business ethically. While I am sure that it sounds a bit simplistic, a periodic review or “self evaluation” certainly is not harmful, and may do some real good. And when we get into those gray situations where it really is not all that clear what the “right” thing is to do (and no honest businessman can deny that those situations occur), it would be helpful to have a sort of measuring stick to use other than a simple wish or intent to “do what’s right.”
PAUL: Jim, first let me respond directly to your request for a Checklist of sorts. Whatever else it may have, I think the following are the “universals” you are looking for:
- Will this action strengthen the positive image of our business in the community and beyond?
- Will this action enhance the business’ reputation for providing exceptional quality goods and/or services?
- Does this action reflect our desire to treat all persons with whom we do business, including our employees and customers, as well as other stakeholders in the way we want to be treated?
- Would we be proud to have this action written up in the local newspaper or appear on the evening television news?
- Does this action make us feel good about what we have done?
- Is this action legal and in compliance with pertinent regulations?
- Is this action morally defensible?
- Will this action make a positive difference in the long run in both the profitability of the business and the betterment of the community?
What words go with these questions? Words like integrity, honesty, consideration, concern, awareness, commitment, compliance, contribution, fairness, equity, justice. For a helpful treatment of these and other terms in ethics as well as Six Pillars of Character or Ten Core Values go to the website: www.josephsoninstitute.org.
JIM: That is a pretty comprehensive list of questions to ask of oneself when facing tough business decisions. I suppose one could say that it is a more complex way of stating the Golden Rule, and that is not a bad thing. The Rotary four-way test is another approach to take as well, and perhaps warrants some elaboration.
- Is it the truth? Well I would say that is a very solid starting point, and not as simplistic as it appears. My personal experience is that it is all too easy to lie to yourself in a number of ways, from acting from incorrect information, wrong assumptions, to plain old bullheaded unwillingness to admit you are wrong. I have been guilty of all of that at one time or another, and I suspect we all have episodes in our history that we don’t look back upon with any pride.
- Is it fair to all concerned? Whoops! There’s that fairness thing again. Now we are getting into that pesky subjective territory, in a golden rule-ish sort of way. What may be fair to me is not fair to you, and vice-versa. An ethical approach to business will provide a guideline on how to conduct yourself when a dispute arises over what your idea of fair is if it does not agree with mine? Which view will prevail? Will we compromise? Will I automatically defer to your view every time?
- Will it build good will and better friendships? More of that golden rule type stuff. That is, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Generally speaking, an ethical approach takes into consideration building long-term business and personal relationships over short-term gain. Maybe the situation is not fair to you, in your view, but maintaining a good relationship or friendship dictates deferring to the other party. (Hey, nobody said this was going to be easy or fun!)
- Is it beneficial to all concerned? The fundamental concept of a business transaction is that of exchanging value for value. Currency, money, cash, gelt: whatever form of value exchange one party offers in an amount that is acceptable to the other party, is exchanged for an agreed upon good or service. Simply agreeing on what and how much is to be exchanged is not a guarantee that the transaction is beneficial to all concerned, however. We can easily think of situations where an “agreed upon transaction” is not beneficial to all concerned.
Whew! Well. That is a lot of food for thought, Paul, and without building a generic one-size-fits-all ethics program (impossible), I think this is a pretty cracking good set of beginning guidelines! We are again out of space, so we will have to take this up with your response in our next conversation. |
