Dangers and Opportunities: Incorporating Ethics into Your OrganisationDr Suzanne Le Mire

2

Today• What is the best way to ‘create’ an ethics system

and culture within your organisation? Conventional wisdom says that ethics is top-down, but is this always the way in which ethics works?

• What practical strategies can be useful in encouraging ethical behaviour in a busy and complex organisation?

• Which areas present particular points of danger, pressure or opportunity in the ethical arena?

University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

3

AWB

University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

4

Leighton Holdings

University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

5

Bullying• Ms SB [2014] FWC 2014

• Keegan v Sussan Corporation (Aust) Pty Ltd [2014] QSC 64

6

Causes of Unethical Behaviour• ‘Bad Apples’

• ‘Bad Cases’

• ‘Bad Barrels’

– (Kish-Gephart, Harrison and Trevino, 2010)

University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

7

What makes an apple bad?

• Limited cognitive moral development•Machiavellianism•Moral relativists/idealists • Sense of control• Job satisfaction• ?Demographics

• Link: self-interest (Johns 1999)

University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

8

How to avoid the bad apple• Demographics are unlikely to solve the issue

• Selection – interviews that use hypotheticals– psychological testing

• Training– training can enhance cognitive moral development

• Employee satisfaction• Sense of responsibility

University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

9

What makes a bad case?

• Cases that are perceived as having a low ethical intensity are more likely to lead to unethical actions

• Ethical intensity: – Magnitude of consequences– Social consensus– Probability of effect– Temporal immediacy– Proximity of victim– Concentration of effect (Jones 1991)

University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

10

How to avoid the bad caseAdopt clear rules--explain legality/ethical implications

University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

11

How to avoid the bad case• Make harms real

• Make victims real and proximate

University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

12

What makes a bad barrel?• Inadequate formal and informal ethical

infrastructures• Powerlessness• Chaos

– Unfair bureaucratic processes– Lack of transparency, accountability and capacity

University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

13

How to avoid the bad barrel• Carefully considered and appropriate ethical

infrastructure:– Policies and systems

• No gap between policy/practice/perception– What is the perception?– Blind surveys/whistleblowing protection

• Addressing chaos– Transparency– Accountability– Capacity

• Competence and coherence are essential components of organizational functioning and a required foundation for an organizational culture of civility and professionalism (Hodson et al 2006)

University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

14

Professionals within Organisations

• How do embedded professionals effect change in their organisations?– Using formal authority – By building legitimacy through external and internal

networking– Exercising influence by framing issues and adopting

existing organisational infrastructure

University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

15

Ethical opportunities• In context of in-house lawyers

– Could be active as “corporate consciences”– Engage in ethical and regulatory education– Likely to have good knowledge of ethical dangers and

opportunities within organisation (more so than external lawyers)

– Can exercise influence within organisation and also influence external lawyers to act ethically

University of Adelaide Dr Suzanne Le Mire

16

Conclusions• Unethical behaviour

most commonly arises where there are:– Bad apples– Bad cases– Bad barrels

• Practical steps can be taken to avoid these

• Professionals within organisations are particularly well placed to initiate these steps