My colleague at Eagle Training, AJ and I have had a full-on week with some great folks from MSC in Ipswich. During one of the sessions, the subject of ethics came up in conversation, and in particular how they affect the decisions we make. So, let me give you an ethical decision-making scenario and ask you what you would do if you were faced with it.
Imagine that you go to a local ATM to withdraw some cash. You want to withdraw £100. However, instead of the giving you £100, the machine dispenses double what you requested; perhaps because it’s been mistakenly stacked with higher denomination notes by the bank staff.
So, would you keep the extra cash or would you decide to return it to the bank? Tough decision eh? Being honest with you, it would be a tough decision for me to make; but I would hand the money back.
RIGHT decision making
Ethical or right decision making is an interesting and important area, but often difficult. So, let me introduce you to the RIGHT way to make decisions like this (RIGHT Decision Making). To do so I am going to borrow from the work of Roger Steare who originally devised the RIGHT Decision Making model. RIGHT is an acronym for the following steps:
1. R is for RULES and looks at the legal implications of a situation. In the scenario, it would be theft to keep the extra money that the ATM dispensed.
2. I is for INTEGRITY. This explores social and moral values like honesty and trust.
3. G is for GOOD. This means thinking of what’s good for everyone, not just you and doing what’s best for society as a whole.
4. H is for HARM. Stealing someone else’s money will harm them. You might take the view that the money is the bank’s and so it’s almost a ‘victimless’ crime. However, banks are ultimately owned by millions of ordinary shareholders and pensioners, so a great many people might be adversely affected if you keep the money.
5. T is for TRUTH. If you get caught keeping the money, you must face up to the truth of your action.
a RIGHT DECISION-MAKING SCENARIO
Which of these reasons was closest to how you would actually think and feel in this situation? Did you think of more than one of these reasons? As I said above, I would find the scenario challenging!!
I really like the RIGHT decision making formula. Steare describes how it fits into the three ethical lenses of love, logic and law. Rules are about law, integrity is the logic of how we think about our values and love is your concern for maximising good and minimising harm for other people.
Let’s now apply the RIGHT questions to a workplace dilemma. This is based on a true story and one that has reminded many people of similar situations they’ve found themselves in.
One of your colleagues at work is also a good personal friend. Tomorrow, they will complete the purchase of a new and more expensive home. they are a single parent with a three-year-old disabled daughter. Your boss calls you into their office to tell you in strictest confidence that, as a result of budget cuts, several members of your friend’s team are to be made redundant next month, including your friend. What would be the RIGHT thing to do?
- Tell your friend that they are going to be made redundant to stop them from taking out the bigger mortgage
- Drop a hint
- Say nothing, maintaining the confidence of the organisation
The thoughts of Roger Steare
What are the Rules?
If we find any rule that clearly tells us what, or what not to do in a situation, this is the beginning and the end of the process. However, rules, like values, may conflict; especially between legal jurisdictions or they might not tell us clearly what to do or they might not address the issue we face. If in doubt, this is the time to check with a legal adviser or HR. However, remember that just because something isn’t illegal doesn’t mean it’s right!
In this second dilemma, the rules are clear. You have been given this information in strict confidence. All employees have a contractual duty to maintain confidentiality when specifically told. Whilst your heart might tell you clearly that you must do something to help your friend, you would be breaking the rules. So when we ask, “What are the Rules?” telling our friend or dropping a hint are clearly wrong. Why is it, then, that in these or similar circumstances, many good people would believe that what’s right would be to tell your friend or at least drop a hint? That’s why we still have to explore the other questions…
How do we act with Integrity?
To act with integrity means we cannot pick and choose our values to justify what’s easy. So, to answer this question, we need to know what our values are. It sounds obvious, but you’d be amazed at the number of people and organisations who have never thought about what their values are, or if they have, fail to apply them.
If you are in any doubt about what your values are or should be in this situation, remember the list we explored earlier: wisdom, fairness, courage, patience, loyalty, hope, care, honesty, excellence and respect. So how do they guide us?
You may feel that loyalty and concern for your friend’s welfare are paramount. However, we should also remember that moral values are universal insofar that these same values should guide how you act in relation to everyone else involved. We might believe that being loyal to friends is a great quality in life, but what about others who deserve our loyalty? What about everyone else in the team? How about your own family if you get fired? How can we build loyalty and trust if we break confidences?
This is why acting with Integrity is tough. That’s also why it’s dangerous just to focus on one or two values like loyalty and care. We must consider all our values together. That’s what Integrity means – whole, complete and undivided. To act with Integrity means we cannot pick and choose our values to justify what’s easy. We have to embrace them all in order to do what’s right. Most people believe that, as with Rules, to act with Integrity also means that to tell our friend or drop a hint would be wrong.
Who is this Good for?
Asking and answering this question is the first stage in thinking of the consequences of our actions on others. What we have to do is to take each of our options and ask who’s involved and how they might benefit from each of our options.
So, we can argue that to tell our friend or drop a hint might be Good for our friend and her disabled daughter. It might also be Good for our friendship, but that’s pretty much it. If we break the Rules, fail to act with Integrity, and tell our friend just two or three people might benefit. If, on the other hand, we decide to do nothing, we could argue that no one actually benefits because all we are doing is maintaining the status quo. So, if we break confidentiality, we might do some Good for our friend, her daughter and our reputation as a good friend. But then again, telling your friend or dropping a hint could also Harm each of you…
Who could we Harm?
… because you’re panicking and thinking that the worst might happen. It’s our primitive brain reacting to a hostile situation. But is it really that bad? Let’s just assume you do tell your friend and she also reacts with fear and pulls out of the new house deal. She’s lost a new home that she’s been looking forward to for weeks. Someone has also overheard your whispered conversation and you’ve been fired for gross misconduct.
But if we say nothing and keep the confidence, sure, your friend will lose her job, but if you work for a good employer she’ll also get a payoff and she can get another job. And if it takes time, you’ve still got your job because you’ve done the RIGHT thing and you can help her out with the bills, because that’s what good friends do.
What’s the Truth?
Having run this scenario in many different workplaces and cultures, the majority concludes that most people would drop a hint, but remember, the Truth reminds us that dropping a hint is just as bad if not worse than simply telling the friend straight. If you’re found out, either way, you’re both out of a job.
But it also hurts to keep quiet. How will your friend feel when she finds out that you knew and did nothing? Well, you can argue that doing nothing, in this case, is the same as doing what’s right. I think good friends will understand that good friend do what’s right. Do we think life would be better if true friendship was about breaking rules, acting without integrity and reacting with fear? Or do we want friends who we can rely on to do what’s right, even though it takes courage?
You might be wondering what exactly did happen in the real-life incident? The HR person decided to give her friend a hint about what was going to happen. Their conversation was overheard by another staff member; the worker lost her job as predicted and her friend, who dropped the hint, was later fired for gross misconduct.