The ethical failure at PwC sent shockwaves through business and government. During my current travels, where I’ve engaged with leaders from Europe, the UK, and the US, the topic has surfaced in nearly every conversation, always met with a mix of disbelief, despair, and dismay.
I so agree that written values don't translate into a way of being unless the culture is permeated with them. In my experience the question of ethics and desire for self-transformation is undermined by our deep human belief that we're good on the inside. We can therefore equate an aim for self-transformation to an affront on this belief. I also think it is always easier to see unethical behaviour as an outsider, or with the benefit of hindsight, but to see it as we act - and moreover do something about it - requires a higher power. This is why I believe that the tone of the culture and the values of an organisation are the biggest influencers of ethical behaviour in an organisation. And that tone of course is set right from the top. In other words, the idea of training people on how to be more ethical is perhaps an exercise in futility; the aim should be to replace those 'fallen angels' with people who live and breath those values.
Trying to change the ingrained and established practices in an organisation of this size is I think analogous to treating addicts. It needs more than intent and willpower, it needs a firm, shared belief in something bigger than profit.
Several years ago, after speaking to a group of business leaders in Nairobi, I was asked "What about corruption in business and government?" At that point, I didn't have an answer for them. As I looked into this question, which is one concerning the place of ethics in the business, I came to the conclusion that the problem wasn't not knowing right from wrong, but rather the separation of authority from accountability. We are really taking about the governance function of organizations. Have we reached a point in this advanced stage of modern civilization where the stakes are too great to practice ethics through an alignment of authority with accountability? If every company or government agency were to be held accountable to a common ethical standard, would we be surprised an increasing number of these embarrassing events would happen?
I so agree that written values don't translate into a way of being unless the culture is permeated with them. In my experience the question of ethics and desire for self-transformation is undermined by our deep human belief that we're good on the inside. We can therefore equate an aim for self-transformation to an affront on this belief. I also think it is always easier to see unethical behaviour as an outsider, or with the benefit of hindsight, but to see it as we act - and moreover do something about it - requires a higher power. This is why I believe that the tone of the culture and the values of an organisation are the biggest influencers of ethical behaviour in an organisation. And that tone of course is set right from the top. In other words, the idea of training people on how to be more ethical is perhaps an exercise in futility; the aim should be to replace those 'fallen angels' with people who live and breath those values.
Trying to change the ingrained and established practices in an organisation of this size is I think analogous to treating addicts. It needs more than intent and willpower, it needs a firm, shared belief in something bigger than profit.
And that is not likely to happen here.
Several years ago, after speaking to a group of business leaders in Nairobi, I was asked "What about corruption in business and government?" At that point, I didn't have an answer for them. As I looked into this question, which is one concerning the place of ethics in the business, I came to the conclusion that the problem wasn't not knowing right from wrong, but rather the separation of authority from accountability. We are really taking about the governance function of organizations. Have we reached a point in this advanced stage of modern civilization where the stakes are too great to practice ethics through an alignment of authority with accountability? If every company or government agency were to be held accountable to a common ethical standard, would we be surprised an increasing number of these embarrassing events would happen?