The renown Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court during his tenure, made a major contributions to criminal justice reform, civil rights, access to the courts, and Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, once said, “Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.” Ethics are about making choices that may not always feel good or seem like they benefit you but are the right choices to make. They are the choices that are examples of model citizens and examples of the golden rules.
We have all heard the golden rules: Don’t hurt, don’t steal, don’t lie, or one of the most famous: Do unto others as you would have done to you. These are words of wisdom that any productive member of society should strive to live by. Let’s say that I believe that it is important to be an honest person. What do I do when I make an error at work? Do I admit it or do I cover my error and hope that no one finds out? I may rationalize, “If I tell my boss, he will be disappointed in me. I may not get that raise that is coming up next month. There is no harm in not telling him.”
Honesty refers to a facet of moral character and connotes positive and virtuous attribute such as integrity, truthfulness and straightforwardness along with the absence of lying, cheating or theft. “Honesty is the best policy” is a famous statement. If they are doing anything that even could be perceived as questionable, that should be confronted. Integrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes.
We humans tend to weigh the benefits and consequences of our actions and we look for the path of least resistance, where we will suffer the fewest consequences. When we are deciding what to do with our error, we need to ask ourselves, “Do I really value honesty like I say I do? If I am willing to lie to cover up my error, what am I really valuing?” When we lie to cover up our error, we are doing so to protect ourselves from the consequences of our actions. So, what is the greater value to us, honesty or self-protection?
Leaders must always be cognizant of the fact that they are in a fishbowl and how they behave is clearly visible to others. If we consider country an organization and politicians its employees then the rule of business and sanctity of oath, must be kept intact and political ethics must be strictly followed. Political ethics provides a framework for evaluating choices and making a decision based on fairness and reasonable behavior, as well as previous precedents. Politics can involve a wide variety of ethical issues, ranging from accepting campaign financing to balancing the conflicting needs of a constituency. Politicians can struggle with ethical dilemmas every day as they struggle to run a campaign or a legislative office fairly and with the best interests of the public in mind. The ethical and integral values bound to societal uplift should be imbibed and practiced by leaders and politicians with letter and spirit.
Transparency is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed. For example, a cashier making change at a point of sale by segregating a customer’s large bills, counting up from the sale amount, and placing the change on the counter in such a way as to invite the customer to verify the amount of change demonstrates transparency.
Political accountability is the accountability of the government, civil servants and politicians to the public and to legislative bodies such as a senate or a parliament. When a government’s meetings are open to the press and the public, its budgets may be reviewed by anyone, and its laws and decisions are open to discussion, it is seen as transparent, and there is less opportunity for the authorities to abuse the system for their own interests. As an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in the public sector, nonprofit and private (corporate) worlds. In leadership roles, accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and policies including the administration, governance, and implementation within the scope of the role or employment position and encompassing the obligation to report explain and be answerable for resulting consequences.
The common masses do not have any direct way of holding elected representatives to account during the term for which they have been elected. Additionally, some officials and legislators may be appointed rather than elected. Constitution, or statute, can empower a legislative body to hold their own members, the government, and government bodies to account. This can be through holding an internal or independent inquiry. Inquiries are usually held in response to an allegation of misconduct or corruption. The powers, procedures and sanctions vary from country to country. The legislature may have the power to impeach the individual, remove them, or suspend them from office for a period of time.
Ethical behavior is not just about me knowing right from wrong, it is about my willingness to admit it when I have done something wrong and accepting the consequences for my actions. It is about valuing integrity even if it hurts. Ethical behavior makes organizations succeed. A country and organization that do not value honesty, integrity, transparency and accountability and do not “walk the talk” of being ethical will find themselves at the bottom of the slippery slope and wonder when and how they crossed the “line.”
In country an organization, workplace behavior ethics should be a core value. Aside from doing the right thing, conducting ourselves ethically has great rewards and returns. Being ethical is essential to fixing problems and improving processes. It is needed to establish baseline measures and increase efficiencies. Most importantly, it is essential to having strong working relationships with people. On the other hand, covering up our unethical behavior does the opposite of these important workplace practices and impedes on our ability to grow as leaders, as workers and as people.