There was a standard joke (and as a business ethics speaker, business ethics consultant and book author) I would kiddingly use it in my ethics speeches. It was the joke about unethical companies promising contract employees and vendors payment that never seemed to arrive. The check didn’t show up in “net 30 days as promised” or 60 days or 90 days for that matter. When the organization was pressed, the typical response was either “Your check must be lost in the mail,” or “So sorry, we’ll track the payment and get it out by Wednesday.” Of course, Accounts Payable didn’t specify which Wednesday.
In other words, the check was never in the mail, had no intention of being in the mail and truthfully, the check “hoped” vendors and contractors would completely forget about it.
Granted, we’re in a different time. However, in spite of promises made in terms of meeting the expectations corporate social responsibility and corporate governance; in spite of payment platforms and even threats by disgruntled vendors and contractors of angrily posting on social media, promises made are not necessarily kept. In fact, it is a joke to some companies.
Business ethics is no joke
It is no wonder that the perception of business ethics is that it is a joke. So as an ethics speaker and ethics consultant when I say, “Business Ethics. And…your check is in the mail,” I get many heads nodding in agreement. However, the perception that business ethics is incongruous with corporate values is changing.
The corporate world is at a crossroads that was clearly exacerbated by COVID-19 and the massive fraud that came out of it. Abuse of government funding during the pandemic is still coming to light, in every business from healthcare to accounting to sports. With that fraud, many workers, hundreds of thousands of them, walked off jobs in what has been called “The Great Resignation.” The walking-away continues to this day. Why are they leaving their employers? Surprisingly, it is not solely due to pay or benefits, but to unethical behavior.
In fact, more often or not when I deliver a business ethics keynote speech, I get audience members (in-person or virtual) approaching me and confiding that their organizations are unethical and that they are leaving.
They complain of bribes to vendors (one R&D person confided his director of research had his house re-carpeted by a vendor), sexual harassment (where the whistle blower was being retaliated against), rampant HIPAA violations, inappropriate internet usage (a sales team member bore witness to her manager and other team members spending hours on sports bets) and racial and religious discrimination.
Those confiding in me are not low-level workers but mid-level managers and executives. Some were leaving situations to join more ethically enlightened companies, to start their own businesses or to train for entirely new careers.
A note to unethically-driven companies: the social media is a powerful tool. If a corporation (that has been targeted for unethical behavior) cannot find strong people, it might be wise to search for posts, tweets and even TikTok videos.
What to be done
Business ethics will take center stage along with diversity and inclusion, green initiatives and social corporate responsibility. In fact, as an ethics speaker and ethics consultant, I know that those social enterprises fall under good ethics. Corporations can no longer hide behind words but must prove their ethical commitments through their actions. Equating “Business Ethics. And…your check is in the mail,” will no longer be acceptable comparisons.
It is up to companies to expand ethical training and reinforcement with a commitment to employees, contractors and vendors. Business ethics must lose its sense of humor and get serious.
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