Dangers and Opportunities: Incorporating Ethics into Your Organisation Dr Suzanne Le Mire

Today What is the best way to ‘create’ an ethics system and culture within your organisation? Conventional wisdom says that ethics is top-down, but is this always the way in which ethics works? What practical strategies can be useful in encouraging ethical behaviour in a busy and complex organisation? Which areas present particular points of danger, pressure or opportunity in the ethical arena? University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

AWB University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

Leighton Holdings University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

Bullying Ms SB [2014] FWC 2014 Keegan v Sussan Corporation (Aust) Pty Ltd [2014] QSC 64 University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

Causes of Unethical Behaviour ‘Bad Apples’ ‘Bad Cases’ ‘Bad Barrels’ (Kish-Gephart, Harrison and Trevino, 2010) University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

What makes an apple bad? Limited cognitive moral development Machiavellianism Moral relativists/idealists Sense of control Job satisfaction ?Demographics Link: self-interest (Johns 1999) University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

How to avoid the bad apple Demographics are unlikely to solve the issue Selection interviews that use hypotheticals psychological testing Training training can enhance cognitive moral development Employee satisfaction Sense of responsibility University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

What makes a bad case? Cases that are perceived as having a low ethical intensity are more likely to lead to unethical actions Ethical intensity: Magnitude of consequences Social consensus Probability of effect Temporal immediacy Proximity of victim Concentration of effect (Jones 1991) University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

How to avoid the bad case Adopt clear rules--explain legality/ethical implications University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

How to avoid the bad case Make harms real Make victims real and proximate University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

What makes a bad barrel? Inadequate formal and informal ethical infrastructures Powerlessness Chaos Unfair bureaucratic processes Lack of transparency, accountability and capacity University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

How to avoid the bad barrel Carefully considered and appropriate ethical infrastructure: Policies and systems No gap between policy/practice/perception What is the perception? Blind surveys/whistleblowing protection Addressing chaos Transparency Accountability Capacity Competence and coherence are essential components of organizational functioning and a required foundation for an organizational culture of civility and professionalism (Hodson et al 2006) University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

Professionals within Organisations How do embedded professionals effect change in their organisations? Using formal authority By building legitimacy through external and internal networking Exercising influence by framing issues and adopting existing organisational infrastructure University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

Ethical opportunities In context of in-house lawyers Could be active as “corporate consciences” Engage in ethical and regulatory education Likely to have good knowledge of ethical dangers and opportunities within organisation (more so than external lawyers) Can exercise influence within organisation and also influence external lawyers to act ethically University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

Conclusions Unethical behaviour most commonly arises where there are: Bad apples Bad cases Bad barrels Practical steps can be taken to avoid these Professionals within organisations are particularly well placed to initiate these steps University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire