A Question of Ethics – Ethical Communication
by Marcy J Maslov
You are asked to sign a code of conduct which requires you to advise the company if you are aware of any illegal or unethical behavior. You’ve just witnessed Big Boss changing market research statistics in your report in order to align the project results with company standards.
Is this action something that warrants advising the company of illegal or unethical behavior? Why or why not?
This is a dilemma of interpretation and communication. How the words are written and how people react to those words influence the conclusions people make and once made, the conclusions are tough to change. After watching hundreds of people react and respond to this situation, I’ve seen even more clearly that people are much more likely to make a negative judgment here. People will determine that this action should be reported even though there are a lot of missing facts.
Why is this so? Let’s take a look at some specific words. When we use the word “witness” we might be inclined to attach a negative connotation to the situation if we relate the word to trial or legal action. On the other hand, if we relate the word to a religious action, we might have a more positive view of the word. So we might be neutral to this point. However, adding the words “change” and “align” together in the context of this situation definitely leads to a more negative interpretation, especially without more details about why the change is being made.
What is the right thing to do? At this point, we’ve jumped to a conclusion. And we haven’t even determined all the facts to help us decide what action to take! Here again is where the difference in viewpoint between leader and staff enters the picture. From the staff level a lot of (hopefully) painstaking effort went into obtaining the research data and ensuring its accuracy. From a leader level, new information or confidential plans may have become available. This information might be necessary to make the analysis complete and relevant. Staff may not see this side of the picture, and Leader may be unwilling or unable to share the new intelligence.
Let’s also explore the difference between illegal and unethical, because this determines the severity of potential consequences. Is changing information on a report illegal? In some cases, it can be. But in this case? We don’t know enough to judge accurately. And walking by the office in time to see Big Boss changing the report doesn’t provide any additional guidance here. More likely people would view this situation as unethical simply because Big Boss is changing someone else’s work. Again, though, we’re jumping to conclusions. The scenario doesn’t actually say whether or not Big Boss informed the team about the changes! So again, it is a matter of interpretation, left to each one of us with our different backgrounds, experiences, and culture to determine.
What are some possible actions we could take here? I think this is where a simple thing like good old-fashioned curiosity might be appropriate.
At staff level, if you’ve seen something that is questionable in your mind, ask for more information! This is not a challenge of authority; it is a request for clarification. Even if the data is confidential and sensitive in nature, the Big Boss can still reply that new information has come out and the report is being adjusted to be more complete and accurate.
At leader level, it is important to realize that changing the report could be an action that destroys trust. If some sort of communication is not made to staff, the building blocks of trust begin to unravel and real, long-term problems can result between leader and staff.
So I ask you: What would you do in this real-world situation? And why? Write in your comments and share your perspectives on this situation.
Marcy J Maslov earned her ethics stripes over 25 years working in Fortune 500 companies including Pepsi, Motorola, and 20th Century Fox. In 2003 Marcy started her coaching business and offers workshops on building trust, business ethics, and finance for non-accountants. Marcy invented e-Factor!®, a business ethics educational board game, to help people solve ethics dilemmas in a fun, creative and engaging manner. Marcy has an MBA, BS (Accountancy) and CPA registered in Illinois. Marcy can be reached at Marcy@e-factorgame.com or via the website www.e-factorgame.com
No related posts.
Posted in General, Human Resources
