ETHICS AND YOUR EMPLOYABILITY
(The flipside of “How to Choose an Ethical Employer”©)
Have you noticed how many times job ads ask for someone with integrity, ethics, high professional standards
and commitment to the organisation’s values? What do organisations actually mean by this?
KNOW THE TERMINOLOGY!
ORGANISATIONAL VALUES
• These are high level statements that provide an understanding of what the company or organisation stands for and may
be described as Corporate Values, Vision or Purpose, Mission Statement or even Goals and Objectives.
• With the move from an industrialized to a knowledge society there has been a shift in organisational culture and
values, which now place a premium on balancing respect for all key stakeholders (employees, community, customers,
environment, investors/shareholders), tolerance of diversity and rising expectations for interpersonal communication skills,
integrity and professionalism.
• Thus values commonly include - commitment to teamwork, honesty, integrity, respect for stakeholders, (e.g. community,
customers, clients), high standards, professionalism, achievement, and in the private sector a commitment to profitability,
creating value for shareholders. E.g. Westpac: Teamwork, integrity and achievement.
• Simultaneously concepts of corporate responsibility/sustainability, global citizenship have emerged. A new form of ethics,
!lobal "thics now ranks highly in organisational values e.g. Microsoft’s commitment to “responsible global citizenship”.
Broadly !"obal #thics encompasses an awareness of and concern for the social and environmental impacts of both
the individual and organisation and acknowledges the implicit social contract involved in running a business. In this way
companies hope to manage any reputational risk - of critical importance in the global marketplace.
• Your ability to engage in ethical reflection over these issues will increasingly affect your employability.
Universities are beginning to recognize this and may include a version of global citizenship or ethical and professional
understanding in their graduate attributes.
CODES OF ETHICS AND CODES OF CONDUCT
In turn organisational values are drawn upon to guide everyday business practice and decision-making throughout the
organisation, becoming articulated into more detailed principles and policies including codes of ethics and conduct. Each
code has a different function:
• A Code of Ethics expresses fundamental principles that provide guidance in cases where no specific rule is in place
or where matters are genuinely unclear. Therefore they require ethical judgment, for example: “Act with integrity in all
business dealings.”
• A Code of Conduct will provide much more specific guidance and rules consistent with the code of ethics e.g. “Where
conducting business never accept bribes.” Note the Code of Conduct is much more prescriptive.
• In turn these codes lead to specific objectives and targets for an organisation.
INTEGRITY
Integrity means holding true to one’s values and acting consistently with these - knowing what is important to you and living
your actions accordingly. Within an organisational context integrity can be taken to mean acting consistently in the spirit of
the organisation’s values. As reputational risk grows in importance for business, integrity has become an important attribute
for the job-seeker.
COMPLIANCE
Compliance is the process by which organisations manage their obligations arising from the law, industry standards, and
codes. A purely legal focus on obligations is not enough to properly manage all compliance risks. An organisation with
a strong ethical base (demonstrated in its values and ethical codes) usually leads to reduced risk, a lower cost of doing
business and greater market appeal.
,
REFERENCES AND OTHER PLACES TO GO
TEST YOUR VALUES
St James Ethics Centre:
EthicsWorld.org:
Ethics Updates:
Australasian Compliance Institute:
The World Values Survey:
My Guide:
Career Ethics:
www.ethics.org.au/
ethicsworld.org/
ethics.sandiego.edu/
www.compliance.org.au
www.worldvaluessurvey.org/
www.myfuture.edu.au
www.careerethics.com.au/
“YOUR TURN” OVER PAGE ...
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