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Pursuing Profit With Honor

Discover the importance of ethics in business and how it can lead to success and long-term profitability. Learn about the six pillars of character and how to incorporate ethical values into your organization.

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Pursuing Profit With Honor

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  1. Pursuing Profit With Honor Michael Josephson Josephson Institute of Ethics

  2. You don’t have to be sick to get better.

  3. It’s easier to make a good person better than to make a bad person good. • It’s easier to make a good organization better than to make a bad organization good.

  4. Values • Our brand is the most valuable thing we own • Personal honesty and integrity are the foundation of our success • Customer service is our way of life • Enterprise is a fun and friendly place, where teamwork rules • We work hard ... and we reward hard work • Great things happen when we listen to our customers and to each other • We strengthen our communities, one neighborhood at a time • Our doors are open

  5. What does corporate citizenship mean to us? • Contributing to a community's economic vitality by buying goods and services locally • Hiring men and women who reflect the diversity of the communities in which we operate. • Contributing millions of dollars to a variety of efforts and organizations each year while encouraging our employees to involve themselves in the communities that support our business.Simply put: it means making it our business to do the right thing.

  6. Good ethics doesn’t come naturally If you want to get stronger you have to work on it.

  7. JOSEPHSON INSTITUTE OF ETHICS WHAT IS ETHICS?

  8. Lots of People Talk a Good Game “As you go forward in life . . . you will be confronted with questions every day that test your morals. The questions will get tougher and the consequences will become more severe. Think carefully, and for your sake, do the right thing, not the easy thing.” — Dennis Kozlowski, convicted ex-CEO of Tyco, in a commencement speech at St. Anselm’s College two weeks before his resignation and indictment (New York Times, June 4, 2002)

  9. Ethical values direct our lives and guide us in the right direction

  10. Our ethical values inform our consciences and tells others what we stand for

  11. Without a clear set of values, inconsistent messages make life confusing

  12. Ethics is not just rhetoric • “As you go forward in life you will be confronted with questions every day that test your morals. The questions will get tougher and the consequences will become more severe. Think carefully, and for your sake, do the right thing, not the easy thing.” — Dennis Kozlowski, convicted ex-CEO of Tyco, in a commencement speech at St. Anselm’s College two weeks before his resignation and indictment (New York Times, June 4, 2002)

  13. But what do you mean when you use the term ethics?

  14. Ethics is not just a factor to consider – it’s a ground rule

  15. You can’t avoid ethical responsibilities by ignoring them

  16. If you could interview the people your children would date or marry, what are the most essential characteristics you’d look for?

  17. THE “SIX PILLARS OF CHARACTER” (TRRFCC) TRUSTWORTHINESS RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY FAIRNESS CARING CITIZENSHIP

  18. But ethics are personal – what does this have to do with business? • What do you want and expect from your employees and associates? • What do your associates want and expect from their managers? • What do customers expect?

  19. How do you teach ethics? It’s TEAMwork: • Teach • Enforce • Advocate • Model

  20. Two Aspects of Ethics WILL POWERCommitment to do what is right, regardless of temptations and pressures to do otherwise DISCERNMENTAbility to discern right from wrong, good from evil and propriety from impropriety

  21. Two Reasons to be Concerned About Ethics Prudence It’s the smart thing to do (self-interest) Virtue It’s the right thing to do

  22. Ethics Is Not an Option... It’s a ground rule.

  23. Ethics Includes But Is Bigger Than Compliance • COMPLIANCE – doing what you are legally required to do, what you must do. • ETHICS – doing what you are morally obligated to do, what you should do.

  24. Legalistic Loopholes • If it’s legal, it’s ethical. • If it’s permissible, it’s proper.

  25. Ethics Transcends Laws • An act is not proper simply because it is permissible, nor is it ethical just because it is legal.

  26. Ethics Transcends Laws • There is a big difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do. Rights

  27. Ethics Goes Beyond the Law Minimal Compliance Moral Center Minimum compliance is like aiming for the outer rim of the target.

  28. If you aim for the outer rim… You will inevitably miss the target.

  29. Ethics is not about the way things are. It’s about the way they ought to be.

  30. The Practical Dimension of Ethics

  31. It’s the Smart Thing to Do • ADVANTAGES: Good things tend to happen to companies and individuals that consistently do the right thing. • DISADVANTAGES: Bad things tend to happen to companies and individuals that even occasionally do the wrong thing.

  32. Ethics as a risk-management strategy

  33. Ethics as a Risk-Management Strategy • In today’s cynical environment, the risks of budget-breaking lawsuits as well as costly and crippling scandals often driven by hyper aggressive media coverage are ever-present. • Developing an ethical culture is not only a way of assuring that your company develops a good reputation and solid relationships; it is a vital and effective risk management strategy.

  34. Identifying Risks • To effectively “manage” a risk is to reduce the likelihood that the harmful event will occur and/or the amount of harm it will cause if it does occur. • Identifiable risks are manageable risks. • Thus, the first step in effective risk-management is to identify significant risks.

  35. If you care about your reputation you have to be willing to protect it.

  36. Remember, even paranoids may have real enemies out to get them

  37. The Law of Big Numbers How many people have the power to make decisions that can effect the reputation or legal liability of your company?

  38. The Law of Big Numbers In every organization of size there are bound to be some people who are crooked or crazy.

  39. First, create processes to identify and eliminate unnecessary risks Bomb In your company what are obvious reducible risks?

  40. Sometimes a warning is enough to avoid unnecessary risk

  41. Sometimes its wise to warn even about obvious risks Don’t drive off the dock

  42. But sometimes the significance of the warning is lost in the translation

  43. When the “I” isn’t straight, it can make a big difference In the end, risks are created or eliminated by the choices and conduct of individuals

  44. You can’t get anywhere if you’re overloaded

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