Issue 9: August 2013
In this issue of Setting the Example, we acknowledge Women’s Month with our article on Women, Leadership and Ethics, a commentary on Sheryl Sandberg’s book and our recognition for the good work being done for abused women at Bethany. This issue also explores whether a country or a company can be ethical if its leaders aren’t and includes an interesting article on cheating and the argument that “everyone is doing it”.
 

WOMEN, LEADERSHIP AND ETHICS

Published in HR Future, August 2013 issue

There have been numerous studies that show that women are not equally represented in senior roles in the workplace or in the boardroom. So too are there a number of stumbling blocks that are particular to women, even in companies that support the need for gender transformation, of which two are especially noteworthy as they cross the line of sound ethics.
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ETHICS AND THE NATION

Published in GIBS Acumen, Issue 4, Second Quarter, 2013

Can a country or a company be ethical if its leaders are not? The ethical status of a country, like a company, translates into either a good or a bad reputation. And the difference is profound.
Read more ...

 

CHOICES IN A CHEATING CULTURE

by Kim Strom-Gottfried, PhD, posted on Ethics Newsline, 12 August 2013

Why would elite athletes resort to using banned substances, especially in an era of aggressive drug detection strategies? Like generations of wayward teenagers before them, the accused retort that “everybody’s doing it.” In the words of bicyclist Lance Armstrong, the race was “impossible to win without doping” and he “simply participated in a system.”
Read more ...

 

RECOMMENDED READING
Among the many publications on how to advance women in business, a recent book has attracted much attention: Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer. Looking at what must change for women to make it to the top, Sandberg believes that women derail their own careers. She suggests that they “lean back” during meetings - sitting in the corner and not at the table. Women question their capacity to lead more often than men do, and push less often for promotions or pay rises. She quotes internal research by Hewlett-Packard that found that women only apply for jobs for which they feel they are a 100% match; men do so even when they meet no more than 60% of the requirements.

But Sandberg thinks women are not solely responsible for their lack of leadership, recognising that corporate structures and cultures work against them too. She notes that men continue to treat women differently, even without meaning to hold them back - something she calls “benevolent sexism”. Kerry Hannon, writing for Forbes, summarises the five steps Sandberg recommends: Be more open to taking career risks; skip the people pleasing; visualize your career as a jungle gym, not a ladder; allow yourself to fantasize about your career; and start a Lean-In circle, a peer group of eight to ten women who meet monthly, offering one another encouragement and development ideas.
Carte Blanche interview
Listen to Cynthia Schoeman being interviewed on Sunday 1 September on the ethical debacle at First Strut.

 

Client endorsements
Liberty Holding Ltd is committed to building and maintaining an ethical culture and is pleased to work with Ethics Monitoring & Management Services in pursuit of this goal.

ACSA is committed to making ethics a central feature of its organisation and is pleased to work with Ethics Monitoring & Management Services to realise this objective.

 

Who’s doing really good work?
Bethany Home for Abused Women (NPO no. 001-362, PBO no. 930002543) is a shelter home in Johannesburg that caters for abused women and their children. The home provides accommodation, food, a safe environment, counselling for women and their children, referral for medical needs, legal assistance from highly qualified volunteers and career training – all for no fee.

Make a difference for Women’s Month and make a donation to Little Saints of Bethany, FNB, account no. 50390026307, Eastgate branch 257705. Reference ethics + your name

 

PRISA focuses on ethics
Cynthia Schoeman recently spoke on ethics at a breakfast hosted by the Public Relations Consultancy Chapter (PRCC), a division of the Public Relations Institute of South Africa (PRISA). “Ethics is a topic very dear to the heart of the public relations industry,” noted Gillian Findlay, PRCC Chair and MD of Cambial Communications. “As PRISA members we commit to a Code of Ethics and Professional Standards. When you are engaged in managing the reputation of others, there is no room for compromise on our own behalf.”

 

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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