Ethics: What Would My Friends and Family Think?

By Larry Kilman
Assistant Professor, NGO Management

Wednesday, 11 October 2017

The US Office of Government Ethics has reminded government agencies to respect ethical standards following a growing number of dubious practices, the Washington Post reports. The key advice: Ask “should I do it” not “can I do it.”

Far too often, organizations get themselves in trouble when the ethical debate – assuming there is one – focuses on “can I get away with it.”

It’s an issue not only for governments but for organizations of all kinds.

In the NGO Management Program at the American Graduate School in Paris, participants are warned against the dangers of creating ethical frameworks and then taking them for granted. Organizations need to create a culture where ethics are a central consideration in the decision-making process.

The key question to ask: “If this were common knowledge, would I behave differently?”

In today’s open and digitally connected universe, you can assume that internal decisions are likely to become common knowledge.

It is good practice to remind staff early and often about the importance of practicing ethical behavior (preferably before there is a problem). Unethical behavior leads to damage to reputation and loss of public trust – the critical assets for governmental and non-governmental organizations alike – as well as to criminal and civil actions and failure.

The note from the US Office of Government Ethics to agency heads reads like a primer on ethics, covering things you would already expect high government leaders to know. Nevertheless, it is very good advice:

• Demonstrate personal ethical behavior by modeling a “Should I do it?” mentality (versus a “Can I do it?” mentality);

• Talk about the importance of ethics to your organization by including ethics themes in speeches, communicating ethics priorities in memos, and recognizing the support that ethics officials provide;

• Get to know your ethics program, and ensure that it is staffed by qualified personnel and has sufficient resources;

• Include ethics officials in meetings of senior leaders;

• Recognize and praise honorable service by employees in your agency;

• Underscore the consequences to the organization and its mission of unethical behavior.

• Promote a safe culture for reporting misconduct

Image by Madhumathi SV via Wikimedia Commons