WHEN ETHICS AND EXPEDIENCY COLLIDE

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” ~Aristotle

“There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” ~Ronald Reagan


As Compliance and Ethics Professionals, we are daily reminded that violations of law and dignity are no less common now than they were in ancient civilizations. We report upon and read about corporate, government, and personal scandals that boggle the mind. Acts and omissions that defy common sense are nonetheless undertaken out of expediency, greed and ignorance, only to eventually expose the perpetrators in the public square.

Why?

Why--with all the failed historical examples, complex laws, regulatory bodies, education and training—do some organizations continue to succumb to poor judgment and wrongdoing, while other organizations rise above?

While we speak often about the ‘tone at the top’, we must also acknowledge that ideas and actions emanate at all levels of our organizations. Driven by deadlines, profits, corporate goals, marketplace competition, etc., individuals contemplate ideas and execute upon those ideas. But not all ideas for generating revenue, decreasing expenses, or streamlining processes merit the same consideration.

An organization’s culture, modeled by its leaders at all levels, must unambiguously communicate that execution must meet its values. A healthy exchange of ideas should always be weighed sufficiently and transparently by knowledgeable stakeholders, so as to expose potential ethical, legal and financial pitfalls. Though we are charged with educating our operational and administrative colleagues about our Code of Conduct and our Legal and Regulatory obligations, we have the additional obligation to actively counsel them as well.

Leveraging our Anonymous Reporting Hotlines, Internal Audit Departments, and industry and regulatory trends, we ourselves must be prepared to actively engage our colleagues across our organizations to probe for prospective lapses. In a highly-charged competitive environment, we cannot idly sit by and fail to question if expediency is trumping ethical decision-making. Let’s not forget that we are the protagonists—not the villains—in this story.