Building An Ethics Edge

Published in the Milwaukee Business Journal (July 2004)

by Michael Beightol and Ray Lewis

No matter who you support in our backyard business ethics soap opera, the message is clear: From now on, how you do business will be scrutinized with an ethics edge. Consequences are great for not doing things right. With a local painful experience still fresh in our minds, what are our fundamental thoughts on these matters? Importantly, do we here in Milwaukee offer some insights on building a positive business ethics framework? You betcha!

That's the feedback we get in talking with people from Milwaukee and other Midwest locales about changing ethics in American life. In the past months, your neighbors have delivered some very clear notions about the human behavior equation that drives American ethics.

For example, our firm just concluded an informal survey of Marquette University graduates across a broad range of ethical matters. Strongly affirming core Midwest values, parents and educators emerge as the top two influencers of ethical behavior overall, but they're now joined by a third group -- whistle-blowers.

It's no surprise to see parents as the leading shapers of ethical standards. Isn't that the expectation? It's a playback of life experiences at dinner tables, in front of the TV and around the campfire, on playing fields and in backyards. And for the most part, since "parents" means us, it's refreshing that we point the finger squarely at ourselves for shaping responsible ethical behavior.

Educators, too, top the list of ethics influencers. Again, no surprise here, but it does raise the question about the ethics resources teachers have and use. And about the priority ethics has in day-to-day curricula.

Now, how about whistle-blowers? Clearly, their ascension as an agent for positive change is something to note and ponder. We may not recognize as household names people such as Sherron Watkins and Peter Scannell, but we applaud their results at Enron and Putnam Investments, respectively. They are individuals who have brought haughty hierarchies to their knees (and to the courts). They are a new class of folk hero, not only with a popular groundswell of support, but with statutory encouragement and protection as well.

Businesses we have worked with who are proactive on ethics make sure their people know and live with Sarbanes-Oxley provisions, communicate clearly about reporting fraud, and integrate programs on ethical behavior into the fabric of their business processes.

One timely notion is reconsidering the term "whistle-blower" itself. There's decided deprecation associated with it. But if the attributes we admire in these people include forthrightness, good values and striving for justice, better terms might be business advocate, values champion or commerce referee.

There are other compelling ethical insights to consider. The New York Times reports that more than 80 percent of consumers today believe that "corporate citizenship" influences their personal purchase decisions. Not only is this sobering news, but it's a clear directive for companies. If consumers are laying out a rigorous, new purchase rationale -- one that examines a company's ethical standards and behavior -- then it harkens a monumental change in how successful companies will stay that way. Communicating ethical behavior as a brand attribute to customers, employees and shareholders is becoming a critically important part of doing business.

Just like some consumers -- a 60 percent-plus majority -- are now willing to pay more for organically certified produce, the day is soon coming when a solid ethics reputation will provide a company premium leverage in the marketplace.

So listen to your friends and neighbors about ethics: It's a chance to get a leg up on the next big surge in business growth.