Every-day ethics

According to a 2006 study of 8000 U.S. adults conducted by Zogby International, 97 percent of those interviewed considered themselves to be trustworthy. However, only 75 percent felt that their circle of acquaintances was also reliable! Does this mean that we are more demanding of others than of ourselves? Not necessarily. While most people try in general to do the right thing, they are often tempted to make day-to-day compromises which may seem trivial, but which nonetheless erode their perceived trustworthiness.

Sincerely adhering to certain values does not guarantee that you will succeed in applying them without fail. The daily life of a manager is filled with dilemmas that undermine the certainties he or she takes for granted. Can a desire for transparency be honored, when communicating the truth risks unnecessarily undermining employee morale? Is it always possible for a manager to be fully tuned into his or her subordinates when faced with performance demands? Isn’t a white lie sometimes the best way to keep things moving forward? Etc.

To stay the desired course in the face of these constraints, the selected publications recommend great discipline in one’s decision making methods:

– Force yourself to think about ethical issues with precision and lucidity.

– Clarify your personal code of ethics, and refine it with experience.

– Do not make decisions too hastily; rather, systematically validate them based on an ethical filter.