Creating and Maintaining a Culture of Ethics - 3-hour Virtual ...9B4229C7...10/8/2020 1 Creating and...
Transcript of Creating and Maintaining a Culture of Ethics - 3-hour Virtual ...9B4229C7...10/8/2020 1 Creating and...
10/8/2020
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Creating and Maintaininga Culture of Ethics
Dr. Scott Paine
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Very quickly (30 seconds each) introduce yourselves: • Name
• City • Position held• A favorite thing about serving in municipal government
We’ll give you a 1‐minute warning before the room closes
Speed Introductions
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I pledge allegiance to my flag and the Republic for which it stands—one Nation indivisible—with liberty and justice for all.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the‐man‐who‐wrote‐the‐pledge‐of‐allegiance‐93907224/#XpMs1i8G41bs1G3k.99
Francis Bellamy’s 1892 Pledge of Allegiance
So What is Ethics?
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“moral principles for living and making decisions.”Larry Z. Leslie (2004) Mass Communication Ethics: Decision making in postmodern culture, 2nd edition.Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 6.
“the study of what we ought to do.”A. David Gordon and John Michael Kittross (1999) Controversies in Media Ethics, 2nd edition. New York: Longman, 1.
So . . . What is Ethics?
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Simply following the ethics laws• Ethics laws are passed when the public becomes aware of the prevalence of certain unethical behavior
• BUT that behavior was unethical long before it was illegal
Ethics is Not . . .
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That is . . .Whatever it is that we value
And that is relevant/important to consider
‘Moral values’Broadly defined
The Foundation: Values
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Not only what we ourselves value personally
Values associated with our roleThe values of our community membersInstitutional values
Values related to the public trust we hold
The Values of a Public Servant
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Public servants need to adopt codes of ethical conduct that reflect their roles, not just their personal values
In this sense, consistency between one’s conduct as a public servant and one’s private conduct may not be a virtue
The Necessity of Inconsistency
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Guide us in determining which of our values should be considered
Determine the decision(s) that must be made
Provide data for evaluating the merits of various options
The Role of the Facts on the Ground
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Guides to deciding what to do, given our values and the facts on the ground
Methods of applying our values to the facts
Ethical Principles
Sample Ethical Principles
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Do that which you can justify and for which you are willing to take complete responsibility.
Existentialist (Jean‐Paul Sartre)
Character/Virtue
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Choose actions that support the growth and well‐being of affected individuals while maintaining and strengthening the relationships between them.
(Based on the work of Carol Gilligan, Virginia Held and Maurice Hamington)
Ethic of Care
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Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.The “Golden Rule” (Jesus of Nazareth)
Duty
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The greatest good for the greatest number, while doing the least harm possible
Utilitarianism (John Stuart Mill)
Consequentialist
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Imagine that you do not know anything about who you are in the society in which the results of your decision are to be experienced. What decision would you choose?
“Veil of Ignorance” (John Rawls)
Consequentialist
Questions?
• Please use the ‘hand raise’ feature in the Participant window• I will call on two people, asking both to unmute, asking one to speak• After answering a question, I’ll invite another person to unmute and
call on the person who already was waiting unmuted• Please mute your mic after we’ve finished with your question
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Making Ethical Decisions:Dealing with Ethical Dilemmas
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A difficult choice between two or more alternatives, each of which can be defended plausibly in ethical terms
Struggling with doing the right thing, when the right thing is obvious, is not an ethical dilemma
• It is a character test
Ethical Dilemma
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Fact Summary:• Former councilmember considering a run against an incumbent
• Former councilmember was a great friend to you and to staff generally
• Incumbent is a pain in the . . .
• Former councilmember asks to be alerted to any potentially damaging communications from incumbent
Early Warning System
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Fact Summary:• Former councilmember considering a run against an incumbent
• Former councilmember was a great friend to you and to staff generally
• Incumbent is a pain in the . . .
• Former councilmember asks to be alerted to any potentially damaging communications from incumbent
Task:
Breakout Exercise: Early Warning System
1. Identify and agree upon the values that are relevant to this decision (especially those you ought to hold as a public servant)?
2. Through discussion, apply the ethical principle you have been assigned and the values you’ve identified to the specific facts of this case. What decision do you reach?
Make sure to write down your breakout room number!
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Questions?
• Please use the ‘hand raise’ feature in the Participant window• I will call on two people, asking both to unmute, asking one to speak• After answering a question, I’ll invite another person to unmute and
call on the person who already was waiting unmuted• Please mute your mic after we’ve finished with your question
Take a Short Break
Organizational AttributesThat Foster a Culture of Ethics
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Values/Commitments of the organization
Hiring processQuestions about ethical practice
Orientation
1. Ethics is given priority on the front end
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Organizations can impart skills and knowledge relatively effectively in a reasonable amount of time
Instilling values can take considerably longer and is more difficult
Hire for the Values You Need
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• Values held for their own sake (Essential‐Intrinsic)
• Values held because honoring them produces desirable results (Essential‐Instrumental)
• Values that do not have a significant and necessary effect on success (Nonessential)
But Which Values?
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Identify values that the staff of your departments hold. Through discussion, decide whether, for the work of a municipal clerk’s office, each value is:
• Essential‐Intrinsic• Essential‐Instrumental
• Nonessential
Breakout Exercise: Which Values?
Make sure to write down your breakout room number!
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Questions?
• Please use the ‘hand raise’ feature in the Participant window• I will call on two people, asking both to unmute, asking one to speak• After answering a question, I’ll invite another person to unmute and
call on the person who already was waiting unmuted• Please mute your mic after we’ve finished with your question
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If we define the relevant values inappropriately (especially too broadly), our resulting hiring decisions may:
• Make the organization more vulnerable to group think
• Lead to less creativity and innovation
• Reflect implicit bias against certain groups
Caution!
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Application review• What they say about themselves
• Work history evidence
The interview• “Can you remember a time when . . .”
• Hypothetical situations
Probationary period
• Coach and evaluate
Hiring for the Essential‐Intrinsic Values
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Because these values are instrumental to department success, new employees can learn to value them as means to employment success.
• Be explicit about them in training
• Show the connection between these values and the achievement of the organizational mission (as means to the end)
Teaching Essential‐Instrumental Values
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Regular ‘training’ or in‐service opportunities are provided
Conversations about ethics are invited, not dismissed
‘Failures’ are treated as learning opportunities
Decision making includes an ethical ‘check’
2. ‘Safe space’ to discuss ethical challenges
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Relevant law
Ethics beyond the legal requirements
• Exercises that invite and challenge ethical reasoning
• Case studies of ethical successes, missteps, and disasters
• From within
• From without
Emphasize the reasoning, not just the rule
Ethics Training
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Aggressive, “zero‐tolerance” policies drive ethical mistakes and misbehavior underground
Accepting errors as opportunities for improvement invites conversations and growth
• Remember, it’s not just about rules
• It’s about reasons
Championing Ethical Missteps and Corrections
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Justification• An explanation that demonstrates that the actions taken were appropriate
Apology• A statement that admits wrongdoing, accepts responsibility, and (often) requests forgiveness
Responses to Apparent Failures
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Excuse• An explanation that acknowledges failure while legitimately seeking to be absolved (or at least forgiven)
Rationalization• An explanation that attempts illegitimately to deny failure or to avoid responsibility for failure
Responses to Apparent Failures
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Following orders
Just doing my job
Everybody’s doing it
Won’t make a difference
Not my problem
No one else knew
Excusable ignorance of circumstances
External constraints
Internal compulsion
• Popular Rationalizations • Ethically‐Valid Excuses
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Fact Summary:
A colleague comes to you (in private). The colleague says he/she had an exchange of text messages with another city official about some sensitive municipal matter. Rumors about this issue recently reached the ears of some in the media (mainstream and social) and people are asking questions.
Your colleague tells you that the other official asked that all of the text messages they exchanged be deleted, and your colleague deleted them. (This probably violates Florida’s public records law.)
Breakout Exercise: Dealing with Failure
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Through discussion at your tables, generate two or three different ‘accounts’ of these events your colleague might have given you, keeping in mind the different responses to failure we have discussed. Be prepared to discuss how you would deal with your colleague (or how you think the city ought to deal with your colleague) in light of each alternative ‘account’.
Breakout Exercise: Dealing with Failure
Make sure to write down your breakout room number!
Questions?
• Please use the ‘hand raise’ feature in the Participant window• I will call on two people, asking both to unmute, asking one to speak• After answering a question, I’ll invite another person to unmute and
call on the person who already was waiting unmuted• Please mute your mic after we’ve finished with your question
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In certain areas of practice, failure must be minimized under most conditions
But even in these areas, we need space for creativity and invention
It must be ‘ok’ to acknowledge failure, to speak of it, and to learn from it
Encouraging Failure and Responsibility
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Compliance Over Consequence
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Metrics used to measure performance
must include an ethics metric
3. Evaluation/Compensation/Promotion includes questions of ethics
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Two key elements:• Behaviors• Reasoning
One way to introduce an assessment of ethics:
• Asking for stories about tough decisions and how they were made
Assessing Ethics
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The ethical ‘speed limit’ is a limit . . . not a suggestion
There also is a difference:
Doing 60 in a 55‐mph zone is not acceptable
Doing 25 in a 15‐mph school zone is gravely wrong
4. Set the Bar High and Be Fair
Questions?
• Please use the ‘hand raise’ feature in the Participant window• I will call on two people, asking both to unmute, asking one to speak• After answering a question, I’ll invite another person to unmute and
call on the person who already was waiting unmuted• Please mute your mic after we’ve finished with your question
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Concluding Thoughts onFostering a Culture of Ethics
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Applying relevant values . . .
Ethical Decision Making Involves . . .
to the facts of a situation . . .
by means of one or more tested ethical principles.
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Clarity about essential values
Hiring, training, and evaluation practices that meaningfully incorporate ethics
Fostering a Culture of Ethics Requires
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Being open about struggles and even failures, in order to encourage candor and improve ethical performance
Being supportive of those who deal with ethical failures in an ethical manner
Fostering a Culture of Ethics Requires
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Unethical conduct thrives in the shadows and withers in the light
Why It Matters
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Personnel who know their colleagues and leaders will accept and even defend reasonable failures tend to be more loyal
Striving for a deeply ethical organizational culture improves the quality of our service to our citizens
Why It Matters
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Creating and Maintaininga Culture of Ethics
Dr. Scott Paine
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