Currents:Book Review—Ostriches Not WantedHere: Reflections on Ethical Choices,Best Practices, and Optimism GILL IAN RICE

Porrini, Patrizia, Hiris, Lorene, and Poncini, Gina.Above the Board: How Ethical CEOs Create HonestCorporations. McGraw-Hill, 2009. 240 pp. ISBN:978-0-07-149631-5 (hardcover) $27.95.

Lugo, Alejandro. Fragmented Lives, AssembledParts: Culture, Capitalism, and Conquest at theU.S.-Mexico Border. University of Texas Press,2008. 339 pp. ISBN: 978-0-292-71767-1 (paper)$27.95.

Goldman, Stephen M. Temptations in the Office:Ethical Choices and Legal Obligations. Praeger Pub-lishers, 2008. 224 pp. ISBN: 978-0-275-99675-8(hardcover) $39.95.

The unusual is what is typically reported. BarryGlassner in The Culture of Fear (2000) argues thatpeople are afraid of the wrong things—things lesslikely to happen (violent crime, catastrophic acci-dents, and so on) because these are what the me-dia emphasize. A similar pattern predominates inreporting about the business world. Bad news pre-vails, whether about growing unemployment, fallingshares, or scandals involving ethical breaches. SirDavid Tang (2008), writing for the BBC News Website, rightly observes that pessimism has an uncannyknack of being self-fulfilling: “It is only with a senseof optimism, preferably accompanied by a senseof energy and laughter, that we will be able topick ourselves up from a broken Humpty Dumpty,”he argues. The November/December 2008 issue ofMarketing Management contains an upbeat article

illustrating that business can certainly contribute tothe greater good. John Quelch and Katherine Joczexplain how Unilever’s multiyear “Campaign forReal Beauty” for the Dove brand, by focusing onbuilding women’s self-esteem and by using ordinary-looking models and unconventional advertising onYouTube, has achieved financial success and thestated mission of interpreting beauty as celebratory,inclusive, and democratic. The Dove “Evolution”spot on YouTube uses a speeded-up film to showhow a billboard model is created by hair stylists,make-up artists, and computer-enhanced imaging.The tagline is: “No wonder our perception of beautyis distorted.” The Dove brand managers, in con-junction with their advertising agency, Ogilvy, re-versed typical advertising practices aimed at womenand deliberately did not use sophisticated, young,sexy, thin, “Photoshopped” models as aspirationalfigures. The commonly used communications strate-gies in the marketing of fashion and beauty prod-ucts are regarded as unethical by many, as docu-mented by Jean Kilbourne in her film series “KillingUs Softly.”

What is unethical business behavior? Is it easy toidentify? How can executives make ethical choicesthat contribute to the positive reputations of theircompanies, to a comfortable, even inspiring workenvironment, and to the betterment of society asa whole? Can making choices ethically help liftthe economy out of the crisis partially caused bythe mortgage industry debacle? Can a greater focuson ethics by global corporations make a difference

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to the lives of workers in third-world economies?Patrizia Porrini, Lorene Hiris, and Gina Poncini—like Tang, Quelch, and Jocz—adopt a positive tonethroughout Above the Board, which details a cel-ebration of best ethical practices by large corpora-tions. Alejandro Lugo is much more subdued andless hopeful in Fragmented Lives, Assembled Parts,his ethnographic account of life in the maquiladorasof Ciudad Juarez. Perhaps reflecting his experiencespracticing and teaching law, in Temptations in theOffice, Stephen M. Goldman is cautious and recog-nizes the temptations surrounding people to behaveunethically, even when businesses have policies andtraining designed to achieve the contrary.

The purpose of Goldman’s book is to help peopleimprove their ability to think coherently and effec-tively about concrete ethical business practices. Heintentionally does not use an anecdote or intuitionapproach such as presenting cases and asking read-ers to imagine what they would do in the circum-stances. Rather, he presents detailed, in-depth analy-ses of a few situations to ensure that readers developskills in thinking through circumstances that appearto be straightforward but where the decisions thatmust be made hinge closely on values; these situa-tions are also ones that could tempt decision makersto behave less than ethically, perhaps without realiz-ing it. Goldman spends some time initially definingwhat is meant by ethical as opposed to legal. Hecritiques the moral philosophy of utilitarianism in aclear fashion, calling it “consequentialism.” A con-sideration of whether the projected course of con-duct produces a greater net benefit that any of theother alternatives does not take a decision maker’sethical motivations into account. One should alsoevaluate the claim of moral right. Goldman empha-sizes the rights embedded in the U.S. Declarationof Independence. These rights are also fundamentalideals in other cultures, philosophies, and religions.An additional perspective Goldman describes is thatof “virtue ethics.” Here the focus is not on an ac-tion done to someone else but on its effect on theperson taking the action. This is Aristotle’s view of

ethics: ethics is not about duty but about creatingexcellence in ourselves.

Goldman presents a framework, or “foursquare pro-tocol,” to guide managers in ethical decision mak-ing. The four prongs of this framework are findingout all of the details; exploring other past situationswith similar circumstances and evaluating how theywere resolved; identifying similarities between thepresent and past situations; and preparing to decide.Making a decision should incorporate an assessmentof any self-interest on the part of the decision maker,a consideration of what it would feel like to be onthe receiving end of the decision, and a reflection ofthe decision maker’s moral instincts. Goldman thenimplements this framework in detail in situationsof sexual harassment, conflicts of interest, manufac-turing and design, workplace bullying, and racialdiscrimination.

With respect to conflict of interest, he particularlyemphasizes the dangers of so-called “win-win” en-vironments. Goldman considers that in the twenti-eth century, the law gradually became lax at limit-ing the prohibition on self-dealing. An after-the-factvalidation of people acting in their self-interest as a“win-win” outcome diminishes the integrity of a fi-nancial result. Goldman cautions that while mostpeople won’t blatantly ignore their duty to theiremployer, a substantial number are capable of suc-cumbing to temptation. This is just one reason whya company’s ethical code of conduct must mandatedisclosure. According to Goldman, temptation andgreed also provoke abuses of even carefully designedincentive compensation plans. While these plans en-courage employees to achieve company objectives,they also incentivize people to falsely report whatthey have accomplished. Temptations always ex-ist, and opportunities are ubiquitous. Goldman ob-serves: “when circumstances appear unencumberedby risk, because the company does not articulateand act upon a policy of ruthless intolerance of dis-honesty, the result is predictable.” Top executives,therefore, must demonstrate ethical leadership: an

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ability to achieve market success but not at the ex-pense of undermining the importance of trust andhonesty within the company or between the com-pany and its customers and stakeholders.

In a search for ethical leaders to use as exam-ples, one can turn to the research results of Por-rini, Hiris, and Poncini. Their Above the Boardprovides suitable follow-up reading to Goldman’s.It is light on definitions and reasoned discussionsof how decisions can be made in an ethical way,but it provides a thorough catalog of examplesof ethical leadership approaches, codes of con-duct, and policies. In a time when ethical devi-ations in business continue to be the object ofmedia attention, positive role models are needed.Ethics can be contagious—in a company and acrossan industry. Much of the discourse of Porriniet al. reflects Goldman’s call for ethical leadership.

One of the ways in which the CEOs they surveyedcommunicate the ethical foundations of their com-panies is through storytelling. These stories oftenrecall the founder or individual employees and in-struct members of a corporation in what it means tobe a part of that specific organization. Walgreens’former CEO Dave Bernauer had a favorite storyhe often shared: “A store operation vice presidentfound a three-inch-thick notebook marked ‘Confi-dential’ on an airplane some years ago. Inside werethe operating figures, discount information, and vir-tually every piece of the financial data for one ofWalgreens’ largest competitors. The VP brought itto [the then-CEO] Dan Jorndt . . . although Jorndtwas sorely tempted, Dan dropped it in a FedEx enve-lope addressed to the competitor with a note saying‘we didn’t peek.’ Two days later, Jorndt receiveda call from the competitor’s chairman saying howglad he was someone from Walgreens had foundthe book because, ‘you guys do the right thing.”’

In addition to stories, actions demonstrate how seri-ously companies take ethical breaches. Many com-

panies are vulnerable to unethical behavior that ismotivated by taking shortcuts and doing things moreefficiently. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation was chal-lenged by the distribution to national media of an“undercover” video showing inhumane treatmentof chickens in one of its processing plants. Manage-ment quickly took a number of actions: an immedi-ate stoppage of production at all the company’s 25plants, an aggressive and thorough investigation, areview of previously established animal welfare poli-cies, meetings with employees, obtaining signaturesfrom all employees indicating that they understoodcompany policies, and termination of the employeesinvolved in the ethical breach. These actions becamepart of the company’s history, and a story aroundthem can instruct future employees.

Ethical leadership and decisive action to implementan ethical workplace go hand in hand with ethicalcodes, training, and other activities. Porrini et al.explore Lockheed Martin’s complex web of ele-ments that reinforce the company’s ethical capital.These include full-time ethics officers; an ethics ori-entation; compliance training; an ethics helpline; ane-mailed “integrity minute”; ethics communicationposters, newsletters, and giveaways; and a yearlyarts and film festival where employees use the cre-ative arts to celebrate the shared culture of diversity,ethics, and leadership at Lockheed Martin.

Above the Board takes a broader view of ethicsthan Temptations in the Office and also incorpo-rates ideas relating to good corporate citizenship andsocial responsibility. Porrini et al. note that ethicalchallenges are often embedded in the environmentand have wider implications for the organizationand for wider society. Companies such as Texas In-struments, ExxonMobil, and Pilgrim’s Pride haveused business challenges particular to their indus-try to be ethically proactive. Unilever, referred toearlier, has been ethically proactive in building theDove brand in a way that does not make women feelunhappy with their looks or erode their self-esteem.

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Porrini et al. quote Edward B. Rust Jr., chairman andCEO of State Farm, in an address to the Associationto Advance Collegiate Schools of Business Interna-tional: “Ethics are harder to ensure in a world wherecompanies have ballooned in size and crossed polit-ical and cultural boundaries.” William V. Hickey,president and CEO of Sealed Air Corporation, pro-vided Porrini et al. with his company’s approachto decision making: “our workforce is multiculturaland international, but our way of doing business isnot. We made a conscious decision to adopt a singlemodel everywhere around the globe.” What happenswhen ways of doing business conflict? Hickey ex-plained: “We opt for what we call the ‘higher road.’So if our Code of Conduct is stricter, we apply theCode. If a local government regulation is more de-manding, we follow the regulation. If it’s a questionof local cultural norms versus higher standards con-sistent with our corporate philosophy and practices,we choose our own way.”

One can assume that the corporations owning themaquiladora plants studied by Lugo in FragmentedLives, Assembled Parts do not implement the samestandards discussed by Hickey. Lugo’s absorbingethnographic account is based on in-depth inter-views and his experience as a participant-observerposing as a maquiladora worker in several assemblyplants located in Ciudad Juarez, one of the world’slargest border cities, founded in 1659. Lugo ob-serves that in manufacturing (and assembling) cap-italist societies, working-class life has not improvedfor many people around the world, and in CiudadJuarez, he concludes, it has gotten worse. He offers acritique that he hopes might lead to official recogni-tion, legitimization, and the viability of attempts bymaquila workers to obtain better working and livingconditions.

Lugo labels the workers’ lives “fragmented” becausethey are so closely and systematically inspected.Their life is fast-paced, and there are strict uses oftime and space over which they have no control.The majority of workers, even after 30 years of in-

dustrialization, still cannot afford to buy a car. Go-ing to work for a 12-hour day involves rising at4:30 a.m. and using the system of buses and vanscalled “rutera.” These are often full or overcrowdedand unreliable; the dangers of being late to workand incurring wage penalties are ever-present. Inter-estingly, the various work uniforms in the differentfactories in which Lugo worked (electric harness as-sembly for the automotive sector and sewing hos-pital gowns, for example) are always mandated inthe context of protecting the products rather thanthe workers. In the sewing factory, although it wasunionized, there were not enough chairs for all theworkers, and the chairs that were available wereoften broken or substandard. Much of Lugo’s de-scription of the work environment is reminiscent ofthe material about workplace bullying in Goldman’sbook. Workers receive only a half-hour lunch break,at the beginning of which they must queue to clockout, then queue for lunch in the cafeteria, and thenclock in once more to work again. Not surprisingly,there is a high turnover of employees, but there is aready supply, and Lugo notes that the maquila man-agers typically hire inexperienced workers who areeasier to control.

Goldman notes how an ethical issue, the abuse ofpower in the workplace, can easily move into sexualharassment or racial discrimination, both legislatedagainst in the United States. Lugo investigates gen-der issues in the maquiladoras and also spends someconsiderable time on a phenomenon related to racialor ethnic discrimination: skin color. Mexico’s polit-ical officials and its movie and soap opera stars,as well as most pop music stars, tend to be whiteor light-skinned. Lugo quotes Carlos Morton: “Themessage is: if you’re not pretty (white), then youmust be ugly (brown).” A typical advertisement fora receptionist at a maquiladora includes a photo ofa fashionable Euro-American (white) woman, andthe copy reads that she must have excelente pre-sentacion (an excellent image) and must be femaleas well as “preferably” single. The color hierarchy inGreater Mexico, Lugo explains, has historical roots.

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His intricate examination of this and many other el-ements of the culture of the maquiladora workingenvironment is useful reading for executives respon-sible for assembly plants around the world and canbe read keeping in mind Goldman’s analysis as wellas the best practices related by Porrini et al. Whatcan be done to improve the ethical choices made byexecutives in cross-cultural situations?

Porrini et al. quote Curt Culver, CEO of MGIC In-vestment Corporation: “The key safeguard is notlaws, but rather it is the integrity of management.You cannot legislate integrity.” [Italics in the origi-nal.] It’s not the written code of conduct that is im-portant but how people act on a day-to-day basis.Goldman concurs and stresses that to make ethicalchoices one feels good about necessitates having aclear understanding of the facts—another reason forreading ethnographic accounts like Lugo’s and vis-iting far-flung assembly plants for oneself. Historyalso plays a significant role. In Lugo’s words, “if weknew the sixteenth century better . . . we would nolonger discuss globalization as though it were a new,recent situation.” Executives must be educated and

vigilant about creating a culture of trust and hon-esty. Goldman offers the following: “If you wantyour company to be admirable for its ethics, one ofyour mantras must be, ‘ostriches not wanted here.’ ”

References

Glassner, B. (2000). The culture of fear: Why Americans areafraid of the wrong things. New York: Basic Books.

Quelch, J. A., & Jocz, K. E. (2008). Holding a mirror up tomarketing. Marketing Management, 17(6), 16–21.

Tang, D. (2008). Optimism is the cure for the downturn.Retrieved January 19, 2009, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7785564.stm

Gillian Rice was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the Univer-sity of Bahrain in 1996–1997 and is professor emerita atthe Thunderbird School of Global Management. She holdsa PhD from the University of Bradford. Dr. Rice’s researchinterests include environmentally related consumer behavior,the fair trade movement, and models of employee creativ-ity and organizational innovation. She can be contacted atgillian.rice@thunderbird.edu.

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