When considering institution and individual, is there a difference in the ethics?
When you look at corporations, there needs to be an established culture of mutually accepted, shared values. It is commonly understood that the real test of personal and corporate values is stress. Just ask a company’s leaders who have to make a decision re: a product recall, reduction in force, or a social media mishap. These instant decisions made under pressure reveal the most about personal and corporate character. The question is, do these values hold steady during a stressful situation, or does each individual bail out himself/herself? It is not the printed materials/official training that dictates an organization’s culture and values. Instead, it is the stories people tell that transmit an organization’s “proper behavior” and culture.
The head of an Indian IT company said, “We ask our people to persist and prevail, not to take shortcuts. Do what is right, not what is convenient. Over time, people will know what is acceptable here and what’s not. Social memory is many times more effective than a bunch of policies.”
Institutional ethics is the agreed-upon process for dealing with adversity and change (i.e., corporate culture), while individual ethics are one’s own core beliefs. It is the leader’s responsibility to understand, interpret, and manage the corporate value system. It is also the leader’s role to know that “empowered employee” means accountability, not just left alone.
When do you as an individual take an institutional stand?
