Tips for Stress free life > Expert Zone > Ethics
Ethics Tips by experts
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
Tips for Stress free life > Expert Zone > Ethics Ethics Tips by experts |
|
|
|
|
Enron's Ultimate Victim: Ethics
FROM the 'MORAL HIGH GROUND', where we imagine ourselves, the Enron fiasco should have come as no surprise. Enron is simply a quintessential example of the degradation of principles such as trust, loyalty and ethical standards. Why it happened,however,is what really needs to be understood if business is to restore its ethical foundation and survive tumultuous times. Few will argue that business today is more challenging and competitive; most everyone accepts that the marketplace is more cutthroat than ever. We live in a dog-eat-dog world where for most, corporate survival is focused on just trying to not get eaten. Not long ago, things were not so ruthless, or so we'd like to think. Companies had a tacit understanding with their employees: the company will always be there for you. The expression, "I'm a company man," once represented the unquestioned relationship between employees and employer. The company was our family, and families looked out for one another. Anything less was considered disloyal and unacceptable. The 1990s ushered in changes that still exist today. The 90's also started us on the slippery slope that altered the ground rules for ethics and basic corporate loyalty. Call it downsizing, rightsizing or realigning, but dedicated employees suddenly found themselves on the outs with new, supposedly competitive, corporate initiatives that were sold as necessary to keep companies viable. Keeping viable sometimes meant severing long-serving employees, who were left disillusioned, betrayed and often unarmed to fend for themselves. Pre-1990, the downsizing of corporate workforces was inconscionable. Companies had an obligation to look after their people, didn't they? Apparently, they didn't. The targets of the realignment strategies were the suddenly "overpriced," tenured employees. Survival strategies were designed to replace higher-income staff (in reality, those who had given the most to the company) with less experienced workers to reduce payroll expenditures. Cuts in tenured staff were easy to justify providing you bought into the argument that older employees were redundant, i.e., bereft of computer skills. There was some legitimacy to this, but therein lies one of the clearest examples of expediency and cost-cutting prevailing over loyalty and ethics. It was train existing staff or replace them with young techno-grads at half the price. History demonstrates the route most companies took. It also marked the beginning of the separation of trust between employees and their companies. There is little loyalty left. Today, employees lucky enough to have outlived the 90's occupy many of the corner offices on the executive floors. Those who write the cheques and run the companies are the surviving veterans of the last decade, well-trained in guerilla management now unfettered by moral obligations for traits such as loyalty or ethics. This is not to cast aspersions upon today's executives but to show how "Enronesque" outcomes can result when industries abandon components essential to sustaining moral values. Ethics and morality have taken a backseat in business, and there is no greater example than the outgoing settlement cheques being issued to Enron execs. At the same time, 20- and 30-year Enron employees are losing their entire retirement portfolios. Executives cannot be held totally to blame. They are victims themselves, the byproduct of those well-trained in the new business religion. Most new executive contracts include a Parachute Clause, insurance against the executive or company who wants to part ways. The practice is ethical but, in my opinion, another example of a breakdown in loyalty. It all but promotes failure. Parachute Planning is analogous to a prenuptial. The purpose and logic is understood. The facts speak for themselves. I read recently that reported 98.9 per cent of prenup-weddings in North America fail within three years. From another perspective, it appears there are now tangible rewards for failure or disloyalty. The Bottom Line: Ethics, trust and loyalty are still there. Fundamental values have not changed. Companies who buck the "all-for-me" trend to garner respect and trust will benefit everyone, but it will take time. About The Author Author, corporate coach, international keynote speaker and president of Success 150 Group Inc., Suite 458, 7305 Woodbine Ave, Markham, Ont.L3R 3V7 T: 416-728-5556 / 1-866-855-4590 W: www.paulshearstone.com, http://www.success150.com
MORE RESOURCES: See the complete list of Articles on Ethics here Have a look at Best Selling Books on Ethics
See also : Other articles on
Depression,
Grief Loss,
Happiness,
Humor,
Inspirational,
Motivation,
redChamber to push for ethics code and good corporate governance - Netherlands Antilles Daily Herald
Ethics - Google News
Why not be an expert yourself ? If you can write on
any of the above topic, you are welcome to submit your Submit
your article here |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Diversity And Success, In The Workplace This article relates to the Diversity in the Workplace Competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. This competency explores whether your organization provides understanding and supports interaction among diverse population groups while respecting individuals' personal values and ideas. MacDonalidisation: Braverman, Taylor & Mayo Background:George Ritzer defined McDonaldization as ".. Vice of Buggery at FTC At the Federal Trade Commission we have seen attorneys who suffer from the vice of buggery get promoted to higher and more important international divisions. Now then, are these attorneys who have personal sexual problems and are breaking the laws of sodomy not wanted in the main group of Federal Trade Commission Employees? Is the FTC worried about sexual harassment laws? Are they worried about on-the-clock Men's Restroom "Quickies" and the possibility of the need for an unflattering in-house employee investigation becoming public? Is the Federal Trade Commission afraid to fire these buggerists, for some employee unlawful termination suit? Is buggery so pervasive that the FTC has to invent new titles for these guys so they can be moved up in rank to other divisions? If so why doesn't the FTC adopt a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy" to prevent special treatment of those who suffer from buggery? Can't the FTC get psychological help for these men who thrust their penis up another man's rectum? Obviously these human organs were not set up to do that. What is a Ponzi Scheme? This is for those who don't believe me when I talk about the dangers of "mystery money" schemes.The terms "pyramid scheme" and "Ponzi scheme" are used almost interchangeably. Private Carrier Pepsi Embraces Diversity Amongst Employees Many companies claim to be committed to diversity, but private carrier Pepsico has proven their desire for a diverse employee base. With the progression of globalization in the world, Pepsi continues to embrace and value diversity in customers, suppliers and employees. The Armaments Industry and Holy (?) Roman Emperors "The time for fixing every essential right on a legal basis is while our rulers are honest and ourselves united. From the conclusion of this war we shall be going down hill. Selling Truth as a Differentiator The last few years have been a period of heightened scrutiny and scandal for the financial services industry. Most recently, the SEC issued a report on pension consultants regarding conflicts of interest and the objectivity of advice given to retirement plan sponsors. The Need to Survive; A Death Knell For Organizations Changing the driving force upon which business decisions are based is crucial in order to not only restore ethics in business but to truly improve the lives of those whom they were meant to benefit: executives, employees and consumers. After all, weren't business activities meant to improve the state of existence of human beings on this planet?So what is this driving force that I am referring to? Well its the "fear of not surviving". No Credit is Due: Bad Telemarketing Just a few minutes ago I was debating what to write about this week -- something interesting, perhaps, or maybe it was about time to give some credit to snails, I thought. Then, by some random stroke of luck, fate or writer's lightning (a term I created just now), I received a phone call from a credit card company. Are You Selling Out Your Integrity? Integrity in business is a quality that is highly under-rated by executives these days. Many executives are so "pushed and pulled" by a not so hidden force called the "profit motive" that they often find themselves compromising something that without which they could lose all credibility and trust from those they are trying to retain business from. Ethics? How To Take the Measure Business When asked to write a small piece pertaining to ethics and integrity in the business world, my first inclination was to draw on personal experience.Everyone has bad experiences to relate. How To Build A Business Ethics Program Recent corporate financial scandals have highlighted the importance of business ethics and legal compliance. Yet a recent National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) survey of 280 corporate CEOs and directors found that "only one of three directors felt that they were highly effective in ensuring legal compliance". Diversity I know that diversity has been a big topic of conversation ever since the early 1990s when research supported the demographics that by the year 2000, 85% of the entering workforce would be female, African-American, Asian-American, Latino, or new immigrants. The fact that white males would be a minority entering the workplace was a wake up call for corporate America. Conflict: Not Necessarily a Bad Thing I got yelled at tonight. Not the type of yelling that someone does when you've done something to tick someone off, but the kind of yelling that was a swift kick in the pants about something that I'm NOT doing. The Only Thing You Get for Free in Life is Hungry! My grandfather was a very wise man. Simple but wise. Business Ethics: Functional Choices Years of experience have taught me there is no such thing as "Business Ethics". If a person isn't ethical in the rest of their lives, their business ethics aren't worth the shoe leather they've worn out either. Top 10 Principles for Positive Business Ethics This morning, I read about a company using on-line auctions to defraud customers. Last week, I consulted on an ethics complaint where a business coach betrayed a client's confidentiality. Better Business Boundaries To get a new client, we might be inclined to make concessions no matter what the cost: offer a second or extra long sample session; reduce fees; set session times we don't want to work. We might leap at any opportunity before looking at the possible return on investment of time. The Three Schools of Business Ethics G. Richard Shell, author of Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People, identifies three primary schools of ethics in negotiation. Dont Hate Them Because Theyre Beautiful Tonight I'm going out with two extremely impressive ladies who I am introducing to one another. They are both GORGEOUS, in their mid 20s and both incredibly intelligent.
|
|
You are here |
|
| Ethics Home | Ethics Tips - Complete list | |
|
| Main Home | | Meditation Corner | |
|
|
| Recommend us | |
|
[About
us] [Contact] [Privacy
Policy]
Copyright 2006, Meditation
is Easy.com, All
rights reserved
