A good indicator of high levels of corporate, and hence, employee ethics is how well employees protect their company's assets. TIers who take pride in this company's ethical standards reflect that pride in a respect for TI assets.
Employees who are treated with dignity and respect, who take pride in their organization and its ethics, tend to respect the assets of that organization. One of the most evident indicators of the employees' opinion of their organization is their conduct at work.
Employees who have respect for their organization and co-workers will avoid such practices as
There are many forms of theft. In addition to lost supplies and equipment, an employee with little self- or organizational pride can subject that organization to losses in time, production, overhead charges, initiative, professionalism, customer respect, reputation, attitude, spirit and drive.
Every TIer can play an important role in creating an environment where people are valued as individuals and treated with respect and dignity, fairness and equality, where people perform with unquestionable ethics and integrity. In such an environment, employee pride blossoms and theft losses disappear.
Much time and effort are spent discussing those obvious ethical problems and situations. Sometimes, however, our work relationships, our productivity, job satisfaction, and trust in our fellow TIers are damaged by the subtle and subversive games that people play.
Ethical scandals in today's businesses quickly make it to the national spotlight. Almost every newspaper highlights some situation or issue reeking of unethical behavior, questionable business practices, or outright law violations. However, Frank Navran writes in a recent issue of Training and Development magazine that those spectacular scandals account for only about 10% of the business losses attributable to poor ethical behavior.
That other 90% accounts for billions of dollars annually across the U.S. and appear in the way we treat each other when we try to protect our own turf, or get ahead at the expense of others, or do the wrong thing because we believe that is what our company wants us to do. Mr. Navran lists these examples of the "silent saboteurs"
The cost of these activities is high...in the areas of motivation and morale, stress, quality, turnover, productivity, pride, and customer satisfaction, all of those areas that we want to emphasize in a highly ethical company.
Much time and effort are spent discussing those obvious ethical problems and situations. There is, however, great damage potential in the subtle and subversive games that people play. Know how to combat the subtle is often as important as dealing with the obvious.
In last article we identified nine examples of what Frank Navran of Training and Development magazine called the "silent saboteurs", those self-serving subtle and subversive games that people play that tend to destroy an organization from within. His research reports that 90% of the business losses attributable to ethical behavior fall within these kinds of practices, and that accounts for billions of dollars annually across the U.S. To bring those numbers closer to home, he estimates that for a company the size of TI, losses resulting in unrealized productivity and profitability due to these behavioral types of problem could range from $5000 to $7000 per employee per year. You simply cannot ignore them. So how do you combat them?
Generally, there are two governing principles in effect here. First is that we tend to do what we think the company, our management, and supervisors want us to do. We tend to live up to their expectations as we perceive them. Secondly, we identify through our work environment and culture what we perceive it takes to be successful and move toward it. Both of these drives are so strong that even good employees are sometimes tempted to follow them even if their choices mean that they violate their basic understandings of what is right and what is wrong.
The key issues here are perceptions and expectations. Problems arise when perceptions are either incorrect or are not in alignment with the TI culture. And the solution centers on proactive communications and candor. The supervisor/manager must take an active personal role in making employees aware of the organization's values and ethics so that they will understand how the organization defines right and wrong along with its goals and expectations. Employees must have a clear knowledge of their organization's ethical standards and equally important, a feeling of management support when they act within those standards. Management must demonstrate through consistent examples their personal alignment with documented TI ethical principles and values, their expectations that employees will do what is right and fair, their support for a work environment that recognizes and respects individual ethical behavior, and their encouragement and support of open communications and candor within the organization.
On the other hand, organizations that squelch the "bad news", that discourage the sincere open discussion and resolution of problems, and make employees fearful of bringing concerns to the attention of their supervisors and managers are very costly. Self-serving people who allow this type of environment to exist, and those who use short-cuts, compromises and half-truths to achieve near-term gains are destructive over the long run. They divide people and organizations into winners and losers, ruining relationships and destroying trust.
Whatever your position is here in the TI organization, I encourage you to continually pursue integrity, openness, fairness and credibility, for they are the vital elements in a high quality, productive organization and the most effective weapons in combating the subtle subversion.
Readers respond with more examples of the silent saboteurs, those subtle and subversive games that people play that damage our work relationships, our productivity, job satisfaction, and trust in our fellow TIers.
Several weeks ago, this article ran several issues on the "silent saboteurs", those subtle games that are so damaging and appear in the way we treat each other, or do the wrong thing because we believe that is what our company wants us to do. You, the readers, responded to those articles more than to any previous article. Consider these additional examples of silent saboteurs, sent in anonymously on the ethics communications line
The cost of these activities is high in the areas of motivation and morale, stress, quality, turnover, productivity, pride, and customer satisfaction, all of those areas that we want to emphasize in a highly ethical company.
The first of the six corporate principles in the TI Commitment is that we will perform with unquestionable ETHICS and INTEGRITY. Who is responsible to insure that we comply with that requirement?
In everything we do at TI, at every level, in each situation, we must conduct ourselves with unquestionable ethics and integrity. We simply do not have a choice in this matter. TI has always committed itself to conducting its business in accordance with the highest moral, ethical, and legal standards in all fields of activity.
TI managers have a responsibility to see that their employees receive adequate training in the proper performance of their jobs. Their organizations should acquire knowledge about the laws, regulations, contract obligations, applicable TI policies, and procedures and other obligations and expectations. Equally important, managers must set an example through their own style of leadership and always perform to the highest standards of ethics.
But ethical behavior is not just the job of the manager. It results from good ethical decisions, so the responsibility for ethical behavior lies wherever decisions are made. And each of us, regardless of job level, makes numerous decisions each and every day, both on the job and off. The responsibility for the ethical standards and reputation of TI lies in the hands of individual TIers at all organization levels.
Our daily journey through ethical behavior is made of many small steps. Sometimes the small decisions are as important as big ones.
Every day of our lives we are deluged with ethical issues of major magnitudes. Worldwide, financial and governmental leaders are alleged to be involved in misdoings ranging from fraudulent check writing to improper conflicts of interests, from misapplications of power to turning public monies into personal gain. Men running for the U.S. presidency are being accused of ethical misbehaviors ranging from sexual improprieties to military service irregularities. Religious leaders appear to have violated major ethical expectations. Ecological indifferences are left for future generations to repair. All about us are serious ethical violations.
The danger of this notoriety is that we may become dulled to those ethical problems and issues that occur in our everyday lives. We may begin to think of ethical problems only as those which gain international headlines. On the contrary, those ethical issues that should concern us most are those we face everyday... in our homes and in our work place. Good ethics involves you and it involves me, where we work, where we live, anywhere we face a personal decision.
What do you do when the cafeteria cashier gives you too much change? Would you accept a compliment for your work that honestly should go to another? If you would like to have a day off from work tomorrow, will you call in sick or will you take a day of vacation? Do you give your child pencils and paper for school that you brought home from your work at TI? These are examples of personal, daily ethical decisions that reflect just what sort of a person we really are. Whether we make the right or wrong decision, often the only one who knows the truth is the one who makes the decision.
Dr. Mark Pastin of the Lincoln Center for Ethics at Arizona State recommends the test of "turn-about," a test that will help us make the right decision, even when different cultures and scenarios are involved. How would you want to be treated if the roles were turned about, if someone else were making the decision and the results were to impact you? Many of us know this test as the "Golden Rule". It will serve us well, even when no one else is watching.
David Glidden, a philosopher at the University of California, gives us this final thought: Virtue is its own reward and that, above all else, is why we can be optimistic. People who live virtuous lives live better lives and that's that.
Several months ago in one of our T NEWS Ethics Articles, we asked TIers to submit their examples of the silent saboteurs, those subtle and subversive games that people play that damage our work relationships, our productivity, job satisfaction and trust in our fellow TIers.
Here are more examples.
The cost of these activities is high...in the areas of motivation and morale, productivity, pride, and customer satisfaction, all of those areas that we want to emphasize in a highly ethical company.
The improper use of TI assets is your main response to our survey question about the most common unethical acts.
In the school principal's office sat a young man explaining to his father why he was in trouble. "Well, Dad, they caught me stealing a pen from the school library." "Why would you be stealing pens?" asked the irate father. "What have you been doing with those pens I bring home from work every day?"
Not long ago we asked you what kinds of unethical acts would you expect to be most common within an organization. We pointed out that we were not asking for confessions or accusations, but rather opinions and perceptions. The answer given most often was theft in the form of misuse of office equipment such as fax machines and computers to the removal of TI equipment and supplies. Every response dealt with small value items, a pen or pencil here, a long distance phone call there, a minute or two of labor charged incorrectly.
Few would argue that theft of company assets is acceptable, or that the improper use of company assets is acceptable. But in fact, when individual behavior, or management style, or perceived expectations prevent company assets from being used properly to the fullest extent of their intended purpose, is that not a form of theft? The U.S. Chamber of Commerce labels this type of theft as "intangible crime".
The insidious danger surrounding intangible crime is that some do not identify such behavior as improper. Rationalizations are simple, such as
Most of our decisions have some ethical issues or impact, here are some guidelines that should raise sensitivity and improve our decision-making process.
Over the past several weeks, we have suggested guides for personal decisions and activity, including what we say, how we approach ethical decision-making, and personal character traits. But how about guidance to determine if the decision even has ethical implications?
Labeling a decision as an "ethical decision" may disguise the fact that almost every decision holds some ethical issue or impact. Perhaps a better approach would be to develop an ability to judge the ethical implications. What role do my ethics play in this decision? How do I recognize an ethical situation or problem? What are the warning signs that this may be a tougher decision with deeper issues and wider impact? Here are some guidelines. Not all apply every time, but they should raise sensitivity and improve our decision-making process.
If you face a tough decision and you feel as if you need help, there are many places to turn. Your supervisor or manager is generally the best for that is the one who understands your situation the best. But there are other sources of good information...the open door to higher levels of management, the ethics booklet, TI Legal, Human Resources, and your TI Ethics Office. Ask and keep asking until you feel you have a good answer that complies with TI standards. Know what's right. Do what's right.