General

Attitudes about morality or ethical standards develop, evolve throughout life, and perceptions alter to absorbing an intricately expanding view of the world: of what encompasses reality. What’s more, studies have also found that people’s judgments of behaviour vary with their levels of moral development, albeit the whole process per se may often be justified, or castigated, depending upon the ground swell of opinion vis-à-vis one’s conviction and mindset.

From that vulnerable stage of adolescence to early childhood, and middle-age, people often experience either a sense of satisfaction and self-worth, or utter despair that their life and, perhaps, career have been wasted. So, you may ask again: when does one mellow with age and belief?

Says Kiron B Shenoy, a corporate team leader: “After age 40, and early 50s, you assess life, not in terms of money, but business success. You suddenly put aside your ambitions for fame, glory, and fortune, in sharp contrast to some of the commonplace business scandals that made front-page news, when you were going through the much-debated ‘mid-life crisis.’” This is precisely a situation psychologists describe as being equivalent to what is termed as generativity-versus-stagnation ‘syndrome.’”

In other words, this premise is a phase, in life, where people choose a career-course in tune with their original career plan. It is also a stage where some of them may decide to change, become better, and work towards excellence. What, of course, would be common to all, at this level, irrespective of one’s “game plan,” is the means to an end: of a means adapted towards achieving a set, high-altitude/attitude target, or goal.

To look at the “credo” differently. Witness a plethora of corporate antics, unethical interpersonal behaviours, such as lying, cheating, discrimination, and sexual “forays,” at the workplace. One would feel let down -- and, dismayed as to whatever happened to that wonderful idea of “corporate conscience” -- of training sessions that are, quite often, held with good intent, with all the right ingredients in place: a jazzy five-star concept, high-tech presentation/s, and critique, and innate exclusivity. It, of course, pays to attend such sessions, and learn from them.

But, ethics ain’t as easy as it sounds. Avers a Mumbai-based corporate executive: “Agreed that only a minuscule percentage of organisations take interest in promoting ethics worldwide. And, whatever little has been done has not put to shame the perpetrators and led them to their doom, or out of business, or even transformed the impertinent. This is, indeed, the basic and, perforce, the inescapable truth.”

Argues M L Ravi, President, Computer Society of India: “Just because most of our ethics/vision programmes -- whatever they are, in reality -- have not led us to Paradise, one cannot cast the entire idea as fanciful, and have it dumped in the Indian Ocean. We’ve got to look at the issue without prejudice… It goes without saying that some interest in ethics training has continued to rise very slowly, but positively, every year. In my view, the concept needs to be X-rayed with understanding, sympathy, and dogged realism.”

Which brings us to a host of inevitable questions: What can be really achieved through ethics programmes? Can these training concepts contribute something to the betterment of the individual, or the organisation? How does an effective programme work? And, how can one use, or measure, some known or unknown index to scanning and evaluating “planned” effectiveness?

There are also pitfalls. Here’s one example. When the ethical character of a company is always set by its big bosses, wielding a bag of ethical choices can be dangerous, and injurious, to one’s career. Avers R Kumar, a senior manager: “When your chief feigns a commitment to ethics and does something different, what can you do, at your level? Not much.”

Analysts opine that legislated ethics may not work at all. Self-regulation, they say, can possibly work with such guidelines as codes of conduct -- but, not always. Reason? Any newly-acquired weapon can be ruthless. So also regulation of ethics. Ethics, needless to say, cannot overcome all contingencies. The only way it can be made use of in training, experts point out, is by way, or methods, of discussion, appreciation, acknowledgment, discovery, and development, and not on the basis of a taut resolution which defines behavioural codes or parameters.

Ethics can also only be generalised by implication: of a set of rules, or demeanour, that mirrors the sentiments and character of a community, or workforce. Ethics training, says Yashwant Rao, a computer engineer, becomes vital when companies need to answer challenges: from employees, stock/shareholders, governmental regulations etc., He adds: “Although ethics programmes cannot change personal values, or cure all the ills of men, women, and the world, they can offer us a platform for discussing moral issues and questions -- to arrive at optimally viable choices.”

All of us face ethical dilemmas, practically everyday. As Jack Casey, author of Ethics In The Financial Marketplace, puts it: “Ethics training should teach people how to work through complex issues with those who are knowledgeable about the alternatives.” Adds Thomas von der Embse, a renowned ethics-management guru: “For many people, ethics simply means staying out of trouble…” He explains: “Ethics has a certain amount of economic motivation because getting caught may mean losing your job. But, there are people who have maintained a sense of conscience and an awareness of the so-called consequences of their actions. They are not campaigning for a particular issue, but for a renewed sense of conscience in the organisation. They want to be able to feel good about what they are doing, and they want to be able to sleep at night. They are the pioneers; they are also pathfinders in the field of ethics.”

People are, quite simply, proud to work for a company known for high ethical standards, vision and values. Also, for companies that invest in people. And, for good reasons, a large number of companies have found it advantageous to discover, foster, and nurture their corporate conscience. Which is the best thing that has happened ever since man invented the word -- ethics.

As one noted ethics expert once explained: “This much can be taught: a rational argument why some types of behaviours are correct, why some are not. You can show that it is unsatisfactory to steal. You can sensitise people to think through their behaviour and consequences, but you can’t teach people not to steal. Ethics training does not provide any predictability that a person will behave in a certain manner when faced with a certain situation.”

Yet, there’s hope. The best way to promoting ethical values could be realised though ideas that stimulate discussion, focusing on problems of mistrust, their identification and solution -- and, also by aiding processes based on personal exploration and growth, and not through advocacy alone. As one editor of Business Ethics magazine once remarked: “Don’t underestimate the caring of your people. And, don’t feel like you have the trick of pushing your employees into ethical behaviour. They want to be decent people doing the right things, too [As goes an old proverb: in each one of us there is a “king” — and, also a “queen” — speak to him/her, and s/he will come forth].”

To conclude, although one cannot make everyone a prophet and/or mystic out of ethics training, or programmes, you could just make them think what is, at least, right. This, by itself, is half of the battle won -- for a better world to emerge forth, not just at the workplace, but also at your home, and neighbourhood.

Inference? Ethics, in its essentiality, is a great ideology -- it works best when it is practiced. Practice, as you know, makes things perfect…