Ethical dilemmas surround everyday life. Whilst most people do not have to deal with big moral dilemmas day-to-day, they are still likely to face an ethical dilemma at some point in their career. In a 2018 survey in eight European countries, the Institute of Business Ethics found that nearly one in three employees has witnessed or been aware of misconduct at work, and 16% of respondents felt that they had been pressured to compromise their organisation’s ethical standards.
“Ethical” will vary from company to company and sector to sector, though there are common themes.
“An ethical business is one which lives, breathes, and conducts its business in straightforward, transparent, honest, and truthful manner,” said Melanie Kanaka, FCMA, CGMA, chair of CIMA’s Professional Standards Committee, a CIMA Council member, and board director of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.
If you find yourself facing an ethical dilemma, the best course of action may be unclear, and it can be hard to know how best to respond.
The following steps can help you to identify and begin to address an ethical challenge at work.
Trust your instincts
“Trust your instincts” is a useful motto when it comes to spotting ethical issues. A gut feeling that something is wrong is enough to warrant further consideration.
This does not mean you should immediately jump into action and report your concerns without further thought. When you feel something might be wrong, check your facts, and run through the steps below.
Check the law (but legal does not necessarily mean ethical)
A useful question to ask is: Is it within the law? If the action is illegal, this can make things simpler, as there is now a duty to act. There can be consequences for being aware of a legal issue and failing to report it.
Just because something is legal, however, does not mean it is ethical. Juliet Oliver, general counsel of the UK’s Solicitors Regulation Authority and a member of CIMA’s Professional Standards Committee, said that an ethical business is “one which is trying to do the right thing. It goes beyond a tick-box approach to compliance and doesn’t look for legal loopholes.”
Consider reputation
It is a good idea to examine the issue and potential chain of events and ask: How would this look published in the media?
This will help see the bigger picture beyond your personal moral beliefs and consider the possible ramifications of ignoring the issue.
For example, recent company failures in the UK have placed the spotlight on large firms which, it has been argued, should have spotted the issues earlier. The reputational damage of failing to spot or report issues early has been massive for the firms involved.
Check your company guidance
It might be that a situation or an action directly contravenes the company’s ethical standards.
Most organisations will have a code of ethics or conduct. You can also look through policies to see if anything can support your thoughts.
For example, a company is likely to have a policy on bullying that would back up a feeling that a manager gossiping about one of their direct reports is wrong.
Check your professional guidance
In some cases, someone else in the organisation might see something as OK, but you still feel uncomfortable. This could be because of a specific position you hold or knowledge you have.
CIMA members and students have to follow the CIMA Code of Ethics. This gives specific guidance around issues relevant to management accountants, such as on confidentiality or producing misleading reports.
Talk it through
Ethics isn’t always clear-cut. Sometimes the gut instinct might remain even when there is nothing in a code of ethics or the law that backs up this feeling of it being wrong.
Talking it through with other people can be helpful to get further perspectives on the situation. This could be with a colleague, manager, ethics ambassador, or someone external to the organisation. Often this input from another person can help make it clear to you what your next steps should be.
You should also consider external guidance, for example, from CIMA or a legal advice service.
Sometimes there simply isn’t a right answer, but being able to explain the rationale behind choosing a course of action will stand you in good stead if questioned on the decisions you made.
Resources:
— Bryony Clear Hill is the associate manager–Ethics Awareness for CIMA and is based in the UK. To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Drew Adamek, an FM magazine senior editor, at .
Discover how compliance training courses can help your organization
Ethical behavior is established through concrete policies, employee training, effective internal controls, positive reward programs and — most importantly — by example. Thomson Reuters has a variety of courses covering issues essential to creating a positive corporate environment, including training on Ethics and Compliance, Code of Conduct, Avoiding Retaliation and Workplace Sensitivity.
During ethics training, employees should gain a thorough understanding of company policy, as well as the importance of maintaining an ethical workplace. Here are some practical guidelines for ethics training:
- Introduce new employees to the organization’s ethics policies and standards during their orientation period.
- Make sure that all employees—old and new—get awareness training that introduces them to ethical problems and issues on the job.
- Periodically review policies and codes of conduct with employees. These are the standards to which employees will be held. They need to fully understand them.
- Make sure your training program also teaches employees how to make ethical decisions on the job.
- Include in your training sessions studies of ethical problems that could occur—or have already occurred—on the job; for example, case studies based on actual or realistic scenarios within your organization or industry can help drive home the training message. By discussing case studies and/or using role play, employees will gain insight and practice in solving ethical problems and develop a greater awareness of and sensitivity to ethical issues in the workplace.
All your employees can be leaders in ethical behavior if they receive effective training, and now there’s a convenient and reasonable way to get it done—BLR’s Leadership for Employees Library at the online, 24/7, Training Today. Get More Information
What are the Warning Signs of an Ethical Dilemma?
Train employees at all levels to recognize the signs that they may be facing an ethical dilemma. Explain to them that sometimes ethical problems are obvious. But other times they may not really be aware of a looming ethical dilemma. They may be preoccupied with other pressing issues, or they may be in denial. But warning signs of an impending problem are usually there if they know what to look for.
For example:
- If something about a situation is making them feel uncomfortable, it’s time to start digging and try to figure out what’s bothering them and why. There may well be an ethical issue at the root of their discomfort.
- A clearer indication of an ethical problem is a feeling of guilt. If they’re feeling guilty, they probably did something wrong—or are thinking about doing something they know is wrong. They shouldn’t deny this feeling. They should explore it and respond appropriately to it.
- Stress can be another indicator of an ethical dilemma. They’re feeling a lot of pressure; they’re losing sleep over something. These can be signs that they’re putting off making a difficult, but necessary, choice. Time to take a closer look.
- Anger might also be a sign of an ethical problem. If they’re feeling pressured to make a decision that makes them feel uncomfortable, they may be angry at the person or people who are pressuring them.
- Embarrassment is also a sign of possible misconduct—or the contemplation of misconduct. Would they be embarrassed to tell their boss, co-workers, friends, or family about what they’re doing or thinking of doing? If so, there’s a very good chance that it is unethical. They shouldn’t do it. Why risk losing the respect of all these important people in their life?
- If they’re afraid of getting caught for what they’re doing or thinking about doing, it’s pretty clear that it is something they should not be doing. They need to pay attention to this feeling and stop before it’s too late.
Acting ethically is the behavior of a leader, and in that way all employees can be leaders. What other ways can employees show leadership? By training them on communication, organization, team building, and other skills, you can empower all your employees to be leaders on the job.
How can you go about training your employees to be leaders? It’s never easy to find the time or the money, but leadership training has a tremendous ROI value for employers.
The Leadership Library provides you with a sensible (and economic) solution.