A634.7.4.RB - Ethics and Behaviors

Watch the two videos from business ethics speakers and discuss how your organization portrays its values. Share any examples where behaviors were portrayed positively by your leaders or an instance where someone was unethical in your work environment.

Dr. Bruce Weinstein and Chuck Gallagher discuss their perspectives on ethics from unique perspectives. Dr. Weinstein lives up to his moniker as "The Ethics Guy"; he received a B.A. in philosophy from Swarthmore College, a Ph.D. in philosophy with a concentration in bioethics from Georgetown University, and a National Fellowship from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Practicing good ethical behavior sounds like a way of life that is in line with normalcy; that morality may be expected from a deontological point of view, but most people suppose that their actions are not as unethical in practice as they are in theory (LaFollette, 2007). Therefore, speaker Chuck Gallagher notes that we are situational ethicists; we know it is wrong to steal but see nothing wrong with trying a few berries while walking through the market or ordering a few extra boxes of pencils at work to supplement our kids' schoolbag. We rationalize wrongdoing based on our effort and our perception of who it hurts. Where is the line in such behavior? When do we go from being the typical "ethical" person who commits little white crimes to the big leagues?

Gallagher explains it as a slippery slope in which the wrongdoer begins to believe their lies about the act being wrong. In his MarketWatch interview, he states:

If you can convince yourself that what you’re doing is somehow OK, then you can sleep at night. You get so caught up in your own delusion that the delusion starts to be real.

How would Gallagher know? He is an ex-felon, who was a certified public accountant at a firm in North Carolina. Gallagher created a Ponzi scheme in the 1980s that landed him in federal prison (Fottrell, 2014). Now he travels about, discussing business ethics with high-end companies who know that his discussion of his experience could quell a employee from going down the same road. In his talk, he discusses a TV store who tries to sell his parents a very expensive TV that did far more than the 80something customers needed, for twice the amount of money the TV they needed cost.

Gallagher (2013) discusses in his presentation evaluating the action, not the person. Was the act of selling the more expensive TV good for the customer or good for the seller? Was it good for the employee, or for the company? It is presumed that the seller gets a commission for what they sell, which makes it desirable for the seller to try and sell the highest priced items. Is a consumer supposed to understand this in asking for a store representative's help? In the case of these customers, they were older and clearly did not understand some of the lingo the agent was using with them (for example, he talks about gaming systems and online streaming use). Though it should not be assumed that the aged customers are completely unfamiliar with new technology, their responses ("my games are in the cupboard"; Hulu is misinterpreted as a hula hoop) note that they would find the expensive television fairly complicated. Not only does the seller wish to extort as much money out of the unsuspecting couple as possible, he completely disregards that the television will present additional challenges to the could when they get it home. This sale would be good for the employee getting a commission, and good for the company selling it, but horrific for the customer. Perhaps the couple would complain about the sale afterwards, but as most customer experiences surveys are online, this disappointment may never get to the ears of those who need to change their selling practices.

Weinstein discusses how leaders balance convenience with harm. He says that we, at times, have no choice but to hurt people. When considering convenience, one must evaluate whether the means is better for themselves or for the person who is going to get hurt. He notes, "sometimes it is ethically required to hurt people. The ethically intelligent solution is to minimize harm that is unavoidable."
Dr. Weinstein believes there are three ways in which we do less harm:

• Keep private things private. Breaches of confidentiality show disrespect for people.
• Tell the truth. Do not try to cover up mistakes or accidents, not matter how they may take it.
• Keep our promises. Do not wait until the last minute to cancel solidified plans.

Both speakers give situational questions regarding the workplace, which struck a chord with me about how to deal with employees who do not-so-ethical things. I agree with Dr. Weinstein in that if someone does something wrong, it should be addressed, no matter the relationship you have with them. For instance, I once had a supervisor who would ask me to do work that was assigned to them, but take my name off of the work and put theirs on. Even though I understood that they could assign it to me, they would complain about all of this work they had to do with others (and explain their over-consumption with their supervisor) about things they weren't actually doing ("I'd love to do X project, but I'm busy with A, B and C" but I was doing X and C). We were in good accord, but I also realized that they were still slacking on A and B projects. I felt that it was unfair to claim they did all of the work themselves, because I was then being assessed as unoccupied and getting assignments that were slowing me down from finishing their work. They would then berate me. When it became apparent I was doing some of their projects, they then intentionally messed my work up and said they were busy correcting my mistakes. The supervisor was dedicated to using unethical means to make themselves look competent when they clearly lacked time management, organization and leadership skills (particularly honesty and recognition). This example is very much like Gallagher's recollection of his criminal behavior. In his book, “Second Chances: Transforming Adversity Into Opportunity,”he discusses the definition of an unethical person as someone who is not inherently evil and genius. "They are making simple, stupid small choices," he says. "They end up getting caught in their own psychological drama." I believe this is what the case was with my supervisor. He did not want to be honest about having too much work and needing my help to get things done. But because he did not share his struggle, his supervisor did not know how overwhelmed he was and his supervisors also felt that I was doing nothing. I am not sure if my supervisor was unaware of how his silence impacted me, or if he simply did not care.

I disagree with one of Gallagher's statements in his talk. He says to the unethical person who is caught: "You have made a (terrible mistake), but you are not a mistake." I do believe they are a mistake. If one believes they need to lie and cheat people out of their money, recognition or value in a role, they were the wrong hire. It is not ethical to realize you are bad at your job and risk other employee's careers for your own. I felt that because my supervisor continued to try to place undue blame on me, he went from being a careless employee to a destructive one. He did not want to fess up to his supervisor and was willing to mop the floor with me.

What I found most interesting about Gallagher is that he was able to steal $254,000 from the firm’s clients over four years and served one year in prison; this in itself seems unethical. How is there a woman serving five years (originally sentenced to 12) for "stealing more than $15,000 in educational services" when she gave a false address so that her child could attend a better school, when this fellow stole a quarter of a million dollars to buy houses, automobiles, collectible items for himself  and served one (The Associated Press, 2012; Tepfer, 2012; Fottrell, 2014)? Mother Tanya McDowell sits in a state prison while Gallagher served his year in a minimum security federal camp. In describing his experience, Gallagher denies that he was in a comfortable, easygoing environment for white collar criminals. "My job was cleaning the urinals with a toothbrush for 12 cents an hour. It was the first year I was not required to file a federal income tax return, as I made $246 that year," he states. He now gets paid a typical fee is around $5,000 to talk about ethics. It amazes me that he is hired for such discussions, and that his entrepreneurship is not prohibited under a state Son of Sam law - any law designed to keep criminals from profiting from their crime. Gallagher lives in South Carolina, ARTICLE 5: Notoriety for Profit states:

(5) "Profit from a crime" includes any of the following:

(a) property obtained through or income generated from the commission of a crime for which the offender was convicted;

(b) property obtained or income generated from the sale, conversion, or exchange of proceeds of a crime for which the offender was convicted, including gain realized by the sale, conversion, or exchange; or

(c) property which the offender obtained or income generated as a result of having committed the crime for which the offender was convicted, including assets obtained through the unique knowledge obtained during the commission of or in preparation for the commission of the crime, as well as any property obtained by or income generated from the sale, conversion, or exchange of that property and any gain realized by that sale, conversion, or exchange.

It would seem that Gallagher's speaking engagements on MarketWatch and his ability to profit as a self-proclaimed International Business Ethics speaker would qualify as a violation of Article 5.

References

The Associated Press. (2012). Mother who stole son's education gets 12 years in prison. WFSB 3 - NORWALK, CT. From http://www.wfsb.com/story/16988714/tonya-mcdowell-to-plead-guilty#ixzz44EifXR4p
Fottrell, Quentin. (2014). Chuck Gallagher: Accountant, Ponzi schemer. MarketWatch.
Gallagher, Chuck. (2013). Business Ethics Keynote Speaker - Chuck Gallagher - shares Straight Talk about Ethics! YouTube. From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUJ00vNGCPE
South Carolina Legislative Services Agency. (2000). South Carolina Code of Laws. Title 17 - Criminal Procedures : CHAPTER 25: Judgment and Execution. From http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t17c025.php
Tepfer, Daniel. (2012). Tanya McDowell sentenced to 5 years in prison. From
http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Tanya-McDowell-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-3437974.php Weinstein, Bruce. (2011). ATP 2011 Opening Keynote Speaker - Bruce Weinstein. From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPFOGeeCeio#t=191