TM - November 2007 - (Page 47)

were then supplied with the ID numbers that served as their “names” during the exercise. The detainees weren’t referred to by their real names at any point in the experiment. Additionally, the guards wore mirrored sunglasses to prevent eye contact with the prisoners. These acts were obviously intended to dehumanize members of each group and make them antagonistic toward each other. With this ethical framework, it’s no surprise the experiment went so badly. Ethical lapses are frequently the product of institutional values or a lack thereof. The highly publicized corporate scandals from the earlier part of this decade were examples of this. “Some of the case studies I’ve read on companies like WorldCom, Enron and Arthur Andersen have to do with driving this culture of expectations of high performance in such a way that the message is, ‘Anything goes,’” said James Murphy, International Business Ethics Institute executive director. “If you’re thinking about whether the right ethical decision or your stock price at the end of the quarter is more important, that’s a very tough choice to make on a day-to-day basis. In some of these cases, companies found those external pressures were too intense.” He also said ethical considerations in enterprises are rising, particularly because of the elevated sense of risk in business environments. “I think what’s interesting is how much these ethical codes are emerging as an opportunity and a priority for companies,” Murphy said. “Companies have them in place, but boards and management are paying much more attention to them. CEOs are viewing them as a priority, which makes a lot of difference in terms of how the culture around ethics is perceived.” The Role of Ethics in Organizations Most enterprises recognize this, and thus have some sort of code of ethics. For instance, technology solutions and services provider HewlettPackard (HP) has what it terms the Standards of Business Conduct (SBC), which applies to everyone in the organization from the rank and file to the board of directors. “Our business is complex,” said Jon Hoak, HP vice president and chief ethics and compliance officer. “It’s global (we operate in 170 countries), and it’s across multiple business units, from computers to printers to services and a lot of things in between. That creates a lot of complexity, but despite that complexity, we have one set of Standards of Business Conduct that applies across all of these operations. That’s what binds us together as a company. Over and above that, we have things like a supplier code of conduct. We also have specialized rules for people such as those on the financial side.” In his role, Hoak is responsible for drafting and revising parts of the SBC, as well as enforcing its provisions. “In addition to that, we have oversight responsibility for all of our HP compliance activities on a global basis, which means across the business — privacy, global trade, environment and those kinds of things,” he said. “Finally, and most importantly, we have the ethics piece, which means being an independent voice, or the ‘conscience’ of the company. We ask whether what we’re doing is not only legal but also ethical.” Media and financial services firm Reuters also has a codified ethical framework that applies to every employee in the company. In addition to that, it has ethics that pertain to various parts of the enterprise, such as journalism. November 2007 “The whole area around ethics for our journalists is very important,” said Charles Jennings, global head of learning. “There’s a stringent set of talent management magazine www.TalentMgt.com 47 http://www.TalentMgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of TM - November 2007

Talent Management - November 2007 Editor's Letter Contents Letters to the Editor Human Performance Leading Edge Learning Connections Viewpoint Finding Candidates with the Right Fit Turning HR Data Into Business Intelligence Compensation Technology: Drive Higher Performance, Gain Competitive Advantage The Art and Science of Influence Training the Ethical Workforce Making the Best Managers Application: Pre-Hire Testing Drives Down Employee Turnover at Advnace Auto Parts Dashboard: The Role of Learning Business Process Outsourcing Insight: Nationwide Insurance: On Employees' Side Advertiser's Index Editorial Resources Full Potential

TM - November 2007

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.