Ethics Tips

We've spoken a bit about the need for creating an ethical culture within in your organization. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines actually require that public companies "promote an organizational culture that encourages ethical conduct." That's easier said than done. But Stephen Harrison, chairman of Lee Hecht Harrison, has one word of advice: decency. He says that if you set a tone of simple human decency, good things follow across the organization. But that doesn't come easy to harried executives. Some advice: be nice to your receptionist, volunteer first for all the ethics training, walk the halls and chat with people. The ROI on this of course is hard to measure. But it's one intangible way of creating a "bubble wrap of good deeds" that will set the right tone. Another tip: you may want to create or boost the role of your chief ethics officer.  

For more:
- here's an article from Knowledge at Wharton