Thursday, August 07, 2008

Ethics vs. Compliance

Why do we need ethics in our society? You only need to turn on the news, on any given day, to hear about scandals and violence everywhere. Or, hang out in the employee lounge or your workplace hangouts and you will likely hear stories about who "fudged" or did something to get out of doing something using some sort of unethical means. What can you do about that? What efforts are being made to build an ethically sound culture?

It is important to understand the difference between ethics and compliance.

1. COMPLIANCE means that we are doing what we are legally required to do, or what we must do in our work and our life.

2. ETHICS involves doing what you are morally obligated to do and doing what you "should" do.

It is really important to understand the difference between these two. Ethics comes into play when outcomes are not always black or white - solutions to ethical problems or actions are not always easy to identify and they involve making wise and prudent choices.

One of the foundations of ethics is having respect for one another, this is first and foremost. Respecting one another is typically shown by engaging in trustworthy conduct, respectful behavior, accountability, compassion, good citizenship and responsible management.

Just a few days ago I was having a conversation with a co-worker and we discussed ethics in our particular industry. I was saddened to hear this person say that often times individuals in our industry cross the line and engage in unethical conduct because they are "forced" into doing so by their employer. Presumably to either keep their job or simply because they have given up and no longer have the energy to distinguish between right and wrong.

It is my personal belief that we lose ourselves in ethics, and compliance, when we no longer can stand up to what we believe in. If you believe something to be either right or wrong, you must be willing to take a stand for it. It may not be the popular stand and it could very well involve some conflict that would need to be managed by yourself and those you are communicating with. However, I can guarantee that when it is all said and done, you will be standing taller and have kept your self-respect intact by doing so. We should never engage in unethical conduct or slack in our responsibilities for being compliant because we cannot stand up to another.

As you lead, train and inform others of their abilities and help them to grow, do not neglect talking of, and demonstrating, compliant and ethical behavior!

Copyright Michele A. Webb, 2008. All Rights Reserved.