Ethics: #1

[samvara]

Otherwise known as Ethical Dimensions of Organisations, Leadership and Management and never to be referred to in such a lengthy way again.

I'm experimenting with taking all the readings in on the ipad and found it very easy to skim through them and read my annotations. I need to be able to get my hands on the lecture presentation before I get there which may prove to be a problem. For this week I popped my final handwritten notes through a scanner and PDF'd them for transfer to the ipad - less paper darn it.

On successful completion of this unit I should be able to:

• Demonstrate a broad understanding of diverse moral and ethical theories and be able to apply them in a decision making capacity
• Participate in ethical dialogue on a number of levels (intra, inter etc.) giving consideration to the needs of multiple stakeholders
• Demonstrate through critical reflection an ability to describe, explain and justify a personal ethical position and know what to do to act on it

Whee!

Assessment is individual, in teams and a combination of tests, group work, a project, a journal and participation. We did a practice test - it's like on Organisational Behaviour where you do the test individually then browbeat negotiate with your team for a final combined result.

We had a nice talk about how to treat the space, about respect and expectations. All the usual stuff, mobiles off, punctual, courteous, not judgmental, pulling your weight.

Quick discussion about what 'ethics' are

• "Morality" refers to the belief and practices about good and evil by means of which we guide our behaviour. Ethics, in contrast, is the reflective consideration and evaluation of our moral beliefs and practices.
• "Ethics" is the explicit reflection on and evaluation of moral beliefs and practices.

We did some warm up exercises where S. gave us scenarios and we all walked to the place in the Ethical <------> Unethical line that we felt best represented our position - then stood about and talked. In the first scenario she set up she was very careful not to use gendered pronouns and people jumped to calling one person 'him' very quickly. *g* I cannot claim special insight in noticing this; I'm just used to playing the pronoun game.

We are often unaware of our beliefs until someone steps on them - we can develop better skills to examine this.

What ethics is not

• not the same as feelings
• not religion, although most if not all religions present a set of ethical standards
• not following the law
• not following culturally accepted norms

Executive Integrity

• Executive integrity is more than the presence of morality or the appropriation of values; integrity involves the process of seeing or creating values.
  
• Whereas ethical moralism is blindly obedient, integrity represents the 'insightful assent' to the construction of human values. In this sense, organisation is not viewed as a closed, determined structure but is seen as in a perpetual state of becoming.
  
• Dialogue is the transformation of mere interaction in participation, communication, and mutual empathy. Executive integrity is, therefore, a breaking out of a narrow individualism and is based on a fearless trust in what true dialogue and understanding might bring, both new responsibilities and new forms of responsiveness to the other.

Srivastva and Cooperrider, 1988: 7

Giving Voice to Values (GVV) Starting Assumptions (PDF)

• I want to do this
• I have done this
• I can do this more and better
• It is easier for me to do this in some contexts than others
• I am more likely to do this if I have practiced how to respond
• My example is powerful
• Mastering and delivering responses to frequently-heard rationalisations can empower others who share my views to act, but I cannot assume I know who those folks are
• The better I know myself, the more I can prepare to play to my strengths and be protected from my weaknesses
• I am not alone
• Although I may not always success, voicing and acting on my values is worth doing
• Voicing my values leads to better decisions
• The more I believe it's possible, the more likely I will be to do this.

Things to think about/discuss

• Your reaction to these assumptions
  • These assumptions articulate a practice I already have, although never expressed so comprehensively.
• Why/how might this approach work for you
  • I think it's already working for me.
• Why/how might it not
  • It doesn't work for me when I forget to think about other people and/or reach out to them, it doesn't work when I'm not clear on my values, it doesn't work when I can't express myself skillfully or when I'm talking to people who can't hear me.
• What are the risks of voicing your values in the workplace
  • I feel like, for me, the biggest risk is in being labeled someone people choose not to hear because I'm a 'feminist' or an 'angry woman' or an 'idealist' or 'negative'. This results in being heard less :(
• How can these risks be managed/diminished
  • Still working on this! One approach is trying to only speak when I feel I can do so skillfully, when I feel there will be a positive impact.

Then we ran away... by which I mean I hung about for 30 mins after chatting to one of the other students.