Issue 8: May 2013
In this issue of Setting the Example, we share our views on ethics ratings and the value they add to organisations. This is well illustrated by the case study that has been written of Strate Ltd's Ethics Monitor survey results over a two year period. We address the important issue of ethics without borders and challenge the stereotypical view that ethics always differ. This issue also explores the link between corporate ethics and risk management.
 

DOES YOUR COMPANY HAVE A AAA ETHICS RATING?

Credit ratings fulfill an important role in evaluating the credit worthiness of businesses and governments. The rating is based on the rating agency’s assessment of risk of the debtor's ability to pay back the debt and the likelihood of default. The value of a AAA investment grade rating is widely recognised, as is the negative impact when a rating is downgraded.

Similarly, an ethics rating can add significant value to enable investors and other stakeholders to assess an organisation’s ethical risks and for organisations to get recognition when they have been operating ethically. Read more ...

 

ETHICS WITHOUT BORDERS

For organisations that strive to be ethical, there are two important criteria for earning and maintaining an ethical status: the continual, consistent application of their values to all their stakeholders and their on-going adherence to all applicable laws and regulations. If a company’s commitment to their values or their compliance with regulations is intermittent or applied selectively, it erodes their ethical standing. The constancy of ethical behaviour reflects the practice of “ethics without borders”. Read more ...

 

WHO’S REALLY STRIVING TO BE ETHICAL?

STRATE LTD CASE STUDY

Strate Ltd completed the Ethics Monitor, a web-based ethics survey, in May 2012 and again in May 2013. Their results over this period provide an excellent example of a company that is successfully improving and strengthening its ethical culture.
Read more ...

 

Q & A: WHAT’S THE LINK BETWEEN CORPORATE ETHICS AND RISK MANAGEMENT?
Cynthia Schoeman, MD of Ethics Monitoring & Management Services, speaks to Mitchell Mackay, Senior Analyst at Pasco Risk Management Read more ...

 

PRESS ETHICS AFTER LEVESON
“If journalism is to regain its credibility and the trust of the public it is essential that it takes ethics very seriously.” Phil Harding

Phil Harding, former Controller of Editorial Policy at the BBC, is a contributor to a new book edited by John Mair, After Leveson? The Future for British Journalism. He makes the following recommendations about raising the profile of ethics in training and about how journalistic ethics should be taught:

  • Mid-career ethics training for senior journalists is necessary
  • Teaching regulation is different from teaching ethics
  • Editors require 're-education' to change newsroom culture
  • Why journalists must train journalists...
  • NEW TALKS
    For Women’s Day in August:
  • Women, leadership and workplace ethics
  • All newsletter articles are available as talks:
  • Ethics without borders
  • What’s your company’s ethics rating? AAA?
  • To book Cynthia Schoeman for a presentation or to enquire about an ethics talk, click here.

     

    CORRUPT CULTURES ARE NOT JUST ONE BAD APPLE
    In an interview by Joyce Lau of the New York Times, Nitin Nohria, the dean of Harvard Business School, said that corrupt cultures, such as Enron’s, are toxic and are the most common cause of ethical meltdowns. “This is the biggest mistake people make when they think about ethical failings: They think it’s one bad apple,” Nohria said. “But much of the time it’s good people who have found themselves in circumstances in which they’ve lost their moral compass.” Nohria also says it is important for emerging professionals to be open about their ethical failings. “We tell our students to be truthful - to recognize when they’ve had a moral lapse. We ask them to admit to things they’ve done in the past, like cheated or taken bribes. And then we say, ‘Why did that happen?’”

     

    HOW LOUD SHOULD THE WHISTLE-BLOWER BE?
    by Kim Strom-Gottfried, PhD, posted on Ethics Newsline, 29 April 2013

    A company experiences a data breach. A student is caught drinking beer against team rules. A search committee member asks a job candidate questions that violate nondiscrimination laws. All of us have encountered scenarios in which we had to address infractions in policies, rules, or laws. Even in cases of egregious behavior, it can take courage to call attention to the problem and to speak truth to power. But is speaking up sufficient? Read more ...

     

    Send us a comment
    We’d like to receive your comments on our newsletter or your suggestions of topics or issues which you think are pertinent. Please email cynthia@ethicsmonitor.co.za
     

    About Ethics Monitoring & Management Services (Pty) Ltd

    Ethics Monitoring & Management Services was started by Cynthia Schoeman to help organisations to improve ethics in the workplace and to encourage them to manage ethics proactively. Cynthia developed The Ethics Monitor, a web-based ethics survey, which enables organisations to measure, monitor and report on their ethical status. Ethics Monitoring & Management Services also offers ethics talks, workshop, consulting and training.

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    Contact us

    Cynthia Schoeman
    Managing Director,
    Ethics Monitoring & Management
    Services (Pty) Ltd
    011 447 7661; 082 821 3729;
    cynthia@ethicsmonitor.co.za
    www.ethicsmonitor.co.za

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