 What does a flashmob and industrial theatre have to do with building ethical organisations? According to some speakers at the 5th annual ethics conference held on 18 May at Gallagher Convention Centre, it is alternative creative approaches that will get the message of the importance of ethical conduct across.
To build an ethical organisation, four key groups of stakeholders need to be persuaded that ethics is good business and needs to be integrated into how an organisation and its partners go about their daily business. Conventional methods of persuasion like training and giving speeches need to be complemented by others that are potentially more impactful, such as singing, humour and industrial theatre. “When one is building a genuinely ethical organisation, drafting policies and codes is only the first step. Then begins the long business of persuading these four key stakeholder groups—leadership, employees, supply chain partners and industry peers—to buy into ethics,” says Professor Deon Rossouw, CEO of the Ethics Institute of South Africa (EthicsSA), host of the event. Conference delegates were treated to a flashmob and a piece of industrial theatre that showed just how effective alternative interventions could be. Johan van Zyl, Group CEO at Sanlam argued strongly that the process of building an ethical organisation has to begin at the top, beginning with the board, which has to commit publicly to ethics above the pursuit of short-term profits. Tolerance for deviation from the company’s ethical code has to become less and less the higher up the organisational structure it occurs, Dr Van Zyl said. Building an ethical organisation is first and foremost a top-down process. As was made clear in a subsequent panel discussion introduced by Professor Shirley Zinn, that while the “tone at the top” is vital, it also needs to become the “tune in the middle”. Ethical standards must become an integral part of how the organisation does business. Brian Leroni, Group Corporate Affairs Executive at Massmart, made the case for bringing the supply chain on board as well. He noted how deeply a company could be embarrassed—and worse—by the unethical behaviour of members of its supply chain. Some companies who have outsourced all or part of their manufacturing to the Far East have already experienced some of the negative effects of unethical practices by suppliers. However, Leroni emphasised how difficult and lengthy such a process was, and warned that big companies needed to act ethically when undertaking it. Like other stakeholders, suppliers have to be persuaded that ethics make for good business, and not simply bullied into it—in itself an unethical action, after all. Sabine Dall’Omo, CEO of Siemens South Africa, addressed the fourth group of stakeholders, a company’s industry peers. Collective action is essential particularly in industries in which there are entrenched corrupt practices and, consequently, a dramatically uneven playing field. Dall’Omo shared the hard lessons Siemens itself learned by letting itself become complicit in such practices. “All the speakers emphasised the need for both creativity and perseverance in persuading these and other stakeholder groups to buy into the organisation’s ethical standards—but they also stressed the benefits to be gained. Being ethical means fewer sleepless nights but, even, more to the point, improved business performance and results,” Professor Rossouw concludes. ENDS MEDIA CONTACT: Juanita Vorster, 079 523 8374, [email protected], www.atthatpoint.co.za For more information on EthicsSA please visit: Website: www.ethicssa.org LinkedIn: Ethics Institute of South Africa Facebook: Ethics Institute of South Africa
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Organisations have to find ways of getting all their employees—and even their partners—to buy into their ethics. Without this universal buy-in, their businesses will continue to suffer the effects of unethical conduct. How to achieve this will be the subject of the forthcoming conference hosted by the Ethics Institute of South Africa (EthicsSA).
“Rules and codes can only create the framework for ethical behaviour, but if people don’t buy into those ethics, then their behaviour will always have to be policed—something that is expensive and not that effective. But if people believe in the value of ethics, they will act ethically by default,” says Professor Deon Rossouw, CEO of EthicsSA. “Our conference will look at how to get that buy in across the whole organisation and its supply chain.” As all South Africans know by now, leaders set the tone for the whole organisation—getting leaders to act ethically is thus arguably the first step. Dr Johan van Zyl, Group CEO of Sanlam will share his experiences at the World Bank, Santam, Sanlam and the University of Pretoria to give delegates an insider’s view of the value of top-down leadership in building an ethical culture. Professor Shirley Zinn will then tackle the challenge of how to get middle management and staff on board the ethics train. Brian Leroni, Massmart’s Group Corporate Affairs Executive and Sabine Dall’Omo, CEO of Siemens South Africa, will complete the loop by advising how to get an organisation’s supply chain and industry peers on board as well. “Getting ethical buy in from all levels of the organisation and its eco-system means moving away from a policing approach, in which people do whatever they think they can get away with, to a values-based approach, in which they do what is right. The latter scenario is by far the most preferable because it is dependable (and cost effective) in a way that the former never is,” says Professor Rossouw. “Attending this conference will give delegates new inspiration and insights to take back to their organisations—and really drive change and reduce risk.” EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information on the 5th Annual Ethics Conference to be held 18 May 2015 at the Gallagher Convention Centre please visit www.ethicsevents.co.za ENDS MEDIA CONTACT: Juanita Vorster, 079 523 8374, [email protected], www.atthatpoint.co.za For more information on EthicsSA please visit: Website: www.ethicssa.org LinkedIn: Ethics Institute of South Africa Facebook: Ethics Institute of South Africa |
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