My motivation to speak to groups in my role as an ethics motivational speaker, ethics consultant, and book author comes from numerous sources. Today, I reach back to those ancient, pre-pandemic days of June 2018 and an article by Jeffrey Kaplan for the National Defense online magazine. This magazine is the publication of the defense contracting industry. Kaplan poses the same question I asked above: "Are we as ethical as we think?"

Kaplan refers to a book by professors Max H. Bazerman of Harvard and Ann E. Tenbrunsel of Notre Dame, entitled Blind Spots: Why We Fail to Do What's Right and What to Do about It.

The book maintains that "the act of doing good can 'morally license' doing something bad later on."

When, in a contract, an organization is compelled to sign a moral document in regard to a deal, it almost gives some people within that organization permission to not be so ethical down the line. The authors tell us that when managers disclose a conflict of interest now, it is almost a guarantee they see it as a positive in the "ethics bank," where down the line, the managers can feel empowered to draw down from that account to be unethical. The authors aptly named this phenomenon "ethical fading." 

The authors also found that power actually does corrupt and that we humans readily differentiate poor ethics in business as opposed to life in general:

"Most people are subject to powerful influences, such as peer pressure, organizational norms and internal biases that can cloud their ethical compasses."

Suppose your boss encourages the staff to commit an unethical business maneuver, e.g., taking "gifts" from vendors during the holidays in return for a favorable consideration later. In that case, it will be perceived as shady, perhaps, but ethically acceptable because it's business.

Unfortunately, the ethical fade occurs when employees submit fake receipts, pad expense accounts, or shy away from considering a hire because the person is (fill in the blank).

Are we as ethical as we think?

I began this post with a tongue-in-cheek comment about the ancient days of pre-pandemic 2018. As an ethics motivational speaker, ethics consultant, and book author, I will convey that lockdowns then semi-normalcy; in-person to virtual to hybrid; no vaccines to vaccines to therapeutics; fear to resolution has done little to change the fundamental lack of ethics in many organizations. At least in a business sense, the past three years – complete with COVID drama – have produced massive amounts of fraud, scandals, compliance and governance issues, price gouging, workplace bullying, safety issues, sexual discrimination, and abuse.

The federal government, to this day, still has no firm grasp on PPP fraud; healthcare organizations have been rife with Medicare abuses, HIPAA violations, prescription drug abuses, and eldercare exploitation.

Are we as ethical as we think? I don't believe so.

Part of the problem is buy-in. As an ethics motivational speaker, ethics consultant, and book author, I maintain that business ethics, healthcare ethics, and governmental ethics must have a buy-in from the CEO, executive leader, or any position from the top down to the intern level. It is not happening. We are operating in a time of ethical relevancy ("do as I say, not as I do") and a lack of commitment to what is fundamental and proper.

Organizations will never be ethically perfect. I understand that. But to not strive for that goal of creating more ethical organizations is fundamentally wrong. Commitment is needed. The CEO who ethically fades is every bit as culpable as the outside vendor who is allowed to paint and carpet the CEO's house (and I have witnessed that).

Are we as ethical as we think? No, but organizations can strive to be better.