As an old Oak tree near my home prepared to lose its leaves, I thought about a question I was recently asked as I was about to deliver a motivational speech on business ethics. The question, innocent enough, was “What are some of the ethical dilemmas in business?”
Where would I start? How would I start to answer that question? And, as a business ethics motivational speaker, ethical consultant and author, I knew there wasn’t a single ethical dilemma that stood above all of the others. It is like seeing the thousands of leaves and wondering which was the nicest or prettiest.
In totality
Here’s a simple truth as any gardener or nature-lover will know: the leaves on a tree or flowers on a rose bush may be individually nice, but the total impact is what makes it beautiful.
Unfortunately, and to take this business ethics conversation 180-degrees, organizations (and I know this not as a gardener but as a business ethics keynote speaker, ethical consultant and author of ethics books), organizations generally suffer from multiple, simultaneous ethical dilemmas.
Case in point: a few years ago, I was asked to speak to an association following the firing of a marketing director for sexual harassment. It was an unfortunate, off-handed comment. Fair enough and apparently, the director accepted their punishment and profusely apologized – which, in and of itself, was a positive step in healing and understanding.
But when I did my due-diligence, I found through the organizational grapevine that at least three board members sexually harassed (two males and a female) and were inappropriate, as was the CFO, along with other staff members who exhibited racism and religious intolerance. In fact, the industry had problems with fraudulently misrepresenting its product.
Taking one leaf, as it were, the marketing director was wrong, admitted it, and the organization was more than happy to move on and continue its mission after it cut the leaf. However, the unethical problems persisted and broad attitudes had not changed. This dilemma is not at all that uncommon.
What are some of the ethical dilemmas in business?
The corporate culture
Therefore, let me start with that ethical dilemma first: the failure of the organization to understand that one incident is but a small piece of a much larger more endemic problem. The dilemma is one of “Should we be satisfied that we terminated one employee or should we pursue a true solution on a much broader scale?” Unfortunately, many organizations choose ignorance over action.
Looking the other way
There are numerous examples I have encountered as a business ethics speaker, trainer and ethics consultant where organizations simply chose to look the other way. This dilemma of not wanting to know what we already know, and the situations I recall include drinking and drug abuse among long-distance drivers, workplace bullying, unsafe manufacturing conditions, possible, illegal dumping and illegal antibiotics in food ingredients.
They aren’t like us
I dislike bringing up this issue especially given it is 2022 and way overdue to be talking about this. In fact, far too many organizations ignore the obvious until it is ethically, legally and socially too late. If there are issues of discrimination at hand, these issues must be addressed as uncomfortable as the moral dilemma may seem of not teaching or addressing the issue. If discrimination is at hand, it must be corrected and not something to shy away from doing.
The dilemma of shared information
We are in an age of digital information and it is often inappropriately (sometimes intentionally shared). Phrases such as “The email looked real,” or “I thought they said their Wi-Fi was secure,” have led to major security breaches. On the healthcare side, despite the many worries over HIPAA violations, the sharing of data, photos and even confidential patient information still occur. The core of the matter is that many employees still don’t understand where their missteps might lead.
Massaging the truth
How far should organizations stretch the truth? In order to make a sale should the sales team take data and “push its boundaries?” Should marketing attempt make unproven claims? Should executives tacitly look the other way rather than ask how competitive information was acquired? And, if dishonesty is dismissed with a wink, what does it say about other ethical white lies?
Social media follies and rants
How is the organization handling the ethical aspects of social media use particularly when so many organizations are hybrid working? Misuse of social media, particularly the sharing of privileged and/or confidential information, has resulted in numerous breaches. It has become an dilemma because often, employees are clueless as to the fact that they are committing a violation.
Going back to raking the leaves, after a while, even the most ardent landscaper might overlook the beauty of the leaves just to get the job done. Understood. However, unethical acts can’t be overlooked. Ethical dilemmas, unlike fallen leaves, tend to come back to ruin everything they touch.
LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS!
