Ethical Integrity Issues - Essay Example

Introduction At one point or another you have heard people try to justify their deeds or plunders using the words like "There was nothing I could do"or "the circumstances were tight" or "I had no option" among other justifications. It may be true that circumstances may be tight thus forcing one to plunder or the options in any one situation may be limited making one to behave against the moral and ethical standards. However, anyone who claims to have ethical integrity, the situation, the circumstances and the options are all irrelevant and useless. The ethical and moral standards have to be upheld. Therefore, ethical integrity may be construed to refer to the steady orientation not to contravene moral and ethical standards or convictions in spite of the consequences. There are people who have been subjected to situations of life and death but they ended up not betraying their ethical and moral convictions. Such are the people who have what is termed as ethical integrity. Having said this, this paper aims to prove the fact hat there is no excuse or/and reason for going against or betraying morals, ethics, convictions or ethical integrity. Integrity Ethical and moral standards hold this world together in peace. Imagine if there were no standards of demeanor; then people would behave anyway anyhow. There will be chaos everywhere. But now thanks to the ethical and moral standards, as yardsticks to measure and rate behavior and conduct, peace and order is possible. Imagine a world where everyone subscribed to highest possible ethical integrity; it would be basically a paradise where there is no hypocrisy and problems are honestly and objectively handled without reservation. Indeed there will only be the truth and this truth will set the mortals free. Truthfulness and honesty are the core pillars that describe integrity and without these in every thought, word and deed, then there is no integrity at all except for hypocrisy. At some points, integrity has been described as doing the right things more especially when no one is watching you and that is exactly what it is (Carter, 1996). Integrity is defined as the strict devotion to the ethical principles. It may as well be termed as the unassailability of moral character or simply as honesty. Honesty is equal to integrity only when there is consistency and this kind of honesty is reminiscent in every level of being: thoughts, words and deeds. The synonyms of integrity are words like probity, goodness, decency, virtue, honor, godliness etc. The opposite of integrity is simply dishonesty, deceit, corruption, hypocrisy and fraudulence among others. All these are used to enable a deeper understanding and appreciation of the concept of integrity and more especially ethical integrity. More often than not, integrity and ethics are tied. When one talks about integrity, ethics is implied and vice versa. Ethics, according to the American Heritage Dictionary (2000), is construed to refer to the set of principles that govern behavior or simply the regulations or principles that govern the demeanor of a person or the membership of a profession such as law or medicine. This explains why we have things like medical ethics, law ethics etc. The code of conduct that guides people in their professions is often referred to as professional ethics. Such ethics are often based on carefully considered principles of truthfulness, accuracy and respect for human rights and dignity. Morality also guides the enactment of these ethics. Ethics as already mentioned is everywhere. Think of any profession or situation, ethics will still apply. We have ethics in medicine, in church, in school, in law, in business etc. Ethics is everywhere. The fact that these ethics do exist doesn't necessarily mean that they are all the time adhered to. They are most of the time contravened more than they can be adhered to and this is what differentiates people in every profession or situation. There are those who will adhere and those who will dare not to. Such people or their behaviors which do not agree with ethics are called unethical. This is why we have unethical statements, actions or even thoughts. 'Unethical' simply refers to the disregard of the ethics. Ethical Integrity As mentioned earlier, ethical integrity is the failure to betray ethical convictions and principles regardless of the perceived consequences. It may also be construed to be the act of being the same both in light and in darkness. Doing the right thing both when people are watching and when they are not. Ethical integrity can be more appreciated when the right thing is done especially when no one is there to watch. It has often been said, and it has some truth, that the true character of a person is in what that person does when no one else is watching. What you do in the dark, where no one is watching has much to do with whom you are that what you do in broad daylight when everyone else is watching. Is it Possible to Maintain Ones Ethical Integrity and Achieve a Competitive Edge in Business It has never occurred before that competition and integrity would at any point conflict. Actually, the two will never conflict (Solomon, 1992). If anything, the two can work to your advantage provided you get devoted to one; ethical integrity. Most people believe that it is not possible to maintain ethical integrity and maintain a profit margin feared by competitors. They think that ethical integrity and a competitive edge in market are mutually exclusive. They are all wrong. The two are complimentary and can augment each other in a way that can bring forth beautiful results. It is not automatic that to succeed in business you have to be somehow corrupt. There are those honest businessmen who have posted great profit margins based on their ethical integrity. The benefits of embracing ethical integrity especially in business are far reaching as compared to the alleged benefit of shelving it in the hope to make profits and maintain competitive edge (Benjamin, 1990). Inasmuch as ethical integrity is about what we say and intend, it is more of what we do than anything else. There must be consistence in ethical principle and ethical practice for one to be seen as embracing ethical integrity. The foregoing statement simply tries to prove the fact that ethical integrity is the central measure of character at any level of humanity: whether rich or poor, white or black, tall or short, fat or slim; ethical integrity accurately measures character. Therefore, when one's character needs to be assessed then one needs not go far than looking for the ethical component in the thoughts, words and above all the actions of that person. It is for this reason that all businessmen are supposed to walk the talk and act the ethical integrity they profess. If you profess ethical integrity and act otherwise, then that is hypocrisy and soon or later people are going to notice and the profits you were protecting so much by pretending will fly away once people realize that it was all a facade. True ethical integrity offers genuine permanent benefits. Most argue that they betray ethics and morality to protect profits but it is now clear that profits in business and ethical integrity are not mutually exclusive making their argument vague. This is only an excuse used by rogue and selfish businessmen so as to support their otherwise misinformed and corrupt interests. There is no way that human dignity, rights or even life can be sold for business profits and then you claim that there is no way ethical integrity can be maintained and make profits at the same time. This is a defense mechanism called rationalization where one tries to justify his/her unbecoming demeanor by offering logical, rational and plausible excuses or reasons or both. Seek Ye Ethical Integrity First and the Profits Shall Come According to a British advocacy group, the Institute of Business Ethics, companies that demonstrate a devotional commitment to ethical integrity characteristically do better than those that do not. The commitment to ethical integrity should not only be expressed throughout all the corporate practices such as marketing, tax returns, profits declaration, procurement etc, but also should be seen from the top flowing downwards (Tichy & McGill, 2003). The management of a company should set the example for ethical integrity if at all the management wants ethical integrity to be part of their organizational culture. It is going to take some time before the whole organization truthfully embraces ethical integrity but eventually somebody is going to notice and the benefits are going to start flowing in. It is however important to note that albeit someone misses to notice, it is the responsibility or rather the obligation of every mortal to do what is right and surely the benefits of doing right are going to come. After all, how are those with ethical integrity going to be distinguished from those without if not for these benefits The benefits of doing the right things all the time are going to be the distinguishing factor. The company that needs to embrace ethical integrity only needs to do what is right and bring forth ideas and initiatives that enhance the public general well being. Do not sacrifice the public well being for business profits and gains. There is no company that is an angel for all have made a wrong turn once in a lifetime; they have embraced malpractices in the name of profits. What distinguishes ethically committed companies is their response to crises. An ethically integral company responds to crises not with public relation campaigns but with real actions reminiscent of the stakes at hand and the ethical components upheld in taking the remedial action. For instance, maintaining absolute transparency with the public and showing considerable attempt at fixing the core problem is reminiscent of a real action to a crisis as opposed to a PR campaign. A PR campaign will instead of taking a real action, withhold the truth of the circumstances that led to the crisis, withhold all the facts surrounding the crisis and offer reasons or/and excuses in a bid to justify the company's actions that led to the crisis. Everybody does the incorrect thing from time to time. Countering with the right thing is how you regain your ethics that may have been eroded by the incorrect things done. Is There a Reason for betraying Ethical Integrity At one point a company may be asked to give a reference to their employees. It is common practice that many companies have given their bad employees good references because they fear hefty lawsuits. The question that remains is; is this practice ethical and is it suggestive of the ethical integrity of the company In 1984 Frank B. Hall & Company, an insurance company was asked to give a reference for one of their salesmen and they, honestly, rated the salesman "a zero". What followed was that the insurance company was forced to pay $1.9 million in libel (the employee having filed a defamation suit). Will this company be honest next time Will other companies that had hitherto embraced ethical integrity maintain this orientation Your guess is as good as mine; these companies that have hitherto embraced ethical integrity including Frank B. Hall & Company will technically chicken out of their ethical orientation for fear of unfortunate consequences. This should not be the case. As intimated earlier in this paper, ethical integrity is the steady orientation not to contravene moral and ethical standards or convictions in spite of the consequences. Whatever the circumstances, ethical integrity must prevail. It is imperative to note that after the 1984 incident in the foregoing paragraph, most companies started drifting deep into an era of reference fear; there emerged an unwritten law which stated that "If you have to give a reference to an employee, however bad an employee is, the reference has to be good". This law is as a result of the fear of likely hefty multi-million law suits. Is giving a good reference to a bad employee ethical based on the circumstances that a law suit is in the offing There is no good or right thing that can be bent by any circumstance. Good is good and nothing more and right is right and nothing more. No shades of grey; it is either white or black. You are good or evil, right or wrong, ethical or corrupt period. Therefore, trying to cheat or betray ethical integrity due to fear of consequences basically underscores the very ethics you profess to uphold. Why then not cross over to the other camp that is proud of cheating even when the circumstances allow otherwise Anyway, as far as ethical integrity is concerned, circumstances are irrelevant and not a factor to map direction at all. At the end of the day what matters is not what situation or circumstance influenced your action but what you stand for as inferred from your actions. There have been people and/or organizations that have stayed consistent in maintaining ethical integrity no matter what. Just to demonstrate the fact that there is no excuse for betraying ethical integrity, a story is told. A story of a one James Burke, former CEO Johnson & Johnson Company; This gentleman demonstrated great ethical integrity when he sacrificed the company's profit for the consumers' interests. It was in 1982 when about seven people died in Chicago from Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules which were laced with Cyanide (very dangerous poison). Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules were being produced by Johnson & Johnson Company. It wasn't clear how much of these capsules were laced and still in the stores waiting to claim more lives. It is possible that only seven were laced and the rest were just fine. Anything is possible. Based on the value of the capsules in the store, any CEO would have apologized the deaths and hope that the ones in the stores were fine so as the company would not lose profits or candidly still, wait for some few more to die to get the probability of laced capsules. This is not what Burke did. He simply, and swiftly at that matter, recalled all forms of Tylenol from each and every store in the country. This course of action cost the company more than $100 million but Burke realized that the public's trust was worth more. Today as we speak, Johnson & Johnson Company enjoys a reputation as a company which, through its immense ethical integrity, has earned ultimate public trust. As a result of this trust, Johnson & Johnson claims unparalleled brand recognition and Tylenol products continue posting rapid upward trends as far as sales are concerned. It is indeed common knowledge that the cyanide lace might be accidental or simply the intentional works of unethical competitors but all the same way, Burke made the best decision. In any competitive market nothing is as vital as a good reputation coming from unparalleled public trust. This trust can only be realized if a company devotes itself to ethical integrity. Conclusion In conclusion, ethical integrity can spur individuals and organizations to high levels of success. The only thing the individuals or/and organizations need is a devotion to ethical integrity no matter what. In spite of the circumstances, they should not shy away for the ideals of ethical integrity. In business, it is important to seek first ethical integrity and profits will freely flow in as witnessed fro the Johnson & Johnson Company scenario. Indeed, there is no excuse for betrayal or contrivance of ethical integrity. The benefits of ethical integrity come only when there is unwavering consistence in the practice of ethical integrity and when this ethical integrity is seen not only in thoughts and words but more importantly in actions. It has often been said there is no structure big enough built to contain the truth because at its on time, the truth eventually shows off its 'ugly' head at the most inappropriate time. The consequences of ethical integrity can not be compared to the consequences of its absence. Therefore, you are either ethical or not and there is no excuse, reason or both for being unethical when you believe you should be otherwise References The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, (2000), 4th Edition, Houghton Mifflin Publishers Carter S L, (1996): Integrity. New York: Basic Books/HarperCollins Publishers, pp7-10 Benjamin M, (1990): Splitting the Difference: Compromise and Integrity in Ethics and Politics, Lawrence University Press of Kansas, pp224-225 Tichy, N M & McGill A R, (2003): The ethical challenge: how to lead with unyielding integrity, John Wiley and Sons, pp121-125 Solomon R C, (1992): Ethics and excellence: cooperation and integrity in business, Oxford University Press, pp70-73 Read More