Character Development
The objective evidence is compelling...
...Ethics are essential for successful, enduring enterprise. Commerce and industry of all kinds thrive and prosper on the basis of trust, respect, and integrity. Everyone in every organization of every type wants their leaders to be men and women of character. Similarly, every leader wants their subordinates to be trustworthy, loyal, and conscientious. However, we know that character, like competence, is not bestowed. It must be developed - continuously. Yet, there are few institutions that invest in character development - overwhelmingly organizations and corporations focus their developmental programs on competence.
The consequences of neglect for character development are manifest at every level of leadership and management (from the loading docks to the boardrooms). This observation is supported by studies and is frequently front-page news when scandals such as the Enron and WorldCom debacles come to light. Most observers react by calling for severe consequences for perpetrators, stricter rules, rigid enforcement, etc. While these measures may be necessary and could reduce the incidence of misconduct, they will not, by themselves, prevent unethical practices. People of character do what is right because it is right - such people need not be deterred by negative consequences, they are motivated by the positive results that ensue from ethical practices.
Len Marrella is a certified trainer from the Institute of Global Ethics. This program on the nature of ethics and ethical decision making has been designed by the Institute for Global Ethics for use with adults in a business setting. It is based on Rushworth M. Kidder's book How Good People Make Tough Choices: Resolving the Dilemmas of Ethical Living (Simon and Schuster, 1995). The program takes participants through a series of logical steps so they can independently apply specific decision-making tools to any ethical issue they might encounter. The process works best in a small-group or classroom setting.
Goals of the Ethical Fitness Seminar
- To cultivate an awareness that sound ethics is essential for survival in the 21st century.
- To provide a language for talking about ethics and to encourage discussion of ethical issues.
- To provide practical experience in negotiating a set of values that reflects a group's common ethical ground.
- To promote Ethical Fitness by providing practical tools to use in dealing with difficult dilemmas.
Intended Learning Outcomes
As a result of this program, participants should be able to:
- Understand the changing role of ethics in a technologically driven world.
- Use ethics terminology in a clear and consistent manner.
- Broaden their understanding of the difference between right and wrong and of the concept of right-versus-right ethical dilemmas.
- Analyze right-versus-right dilemmas using four paradigms and develop an ability to resolve them using three decision principles.
- Define moral courage and identify how moral courage plays a part in decision making.
Overview of Seminar Contents
The Ethical Fitness(tm) Seminar has been organized into a series of four basic sessions. The four sessions build on one another, so it is important to follow them in order. The sessions include:
Session I: Ethical Awareness
What is our nation's ethical barometer doing - is it rising or falling? That is, ethically speaking, are things getting better, or are they getting worse, and why? What do we, as citizens, need to do about it?
Let's consider the basic challenge: How will technology in the 21st century magnify the importance of ethical behavior? Why is personal responsibility more important now than ever before? What do we mean by "ethical relativism" and "obedience to the un-enforceable?"
Session II: Values Definition
Ethical values are different from other kinds of values, such as economic values or artistic values. How are they different? What are codes of ethics and what function do they play in bringing groups of people together?
Is there a core of shared ethical values on which our group can agree? That process described in this session will take the group through a series of steps to build the group's own code of ethics.
Session III: Ethical Analysis
The most difficult ethical dilemmas occur when two of our core ethical values come into conflict. How do we know when we have a right-versus-right dilemma? What types of right-versus-right dilemmas can we observe?
In our experience, right-versus-right dilemmas, however complex and varied, typically reduce themselves to one or another of four dilemma paradigms: truth versus loyalty, the short term versus the long term, the individual versus the community, and justice versus mercy.
Session IV: Dilemma Resolution
It is not enough simply to understand what kind of ethical problem we are facing. How can we approach identifying the higher right? What series of steps can lead us to a resolution?
In this session, we explore three decision-making principles drawn from the traditions of moral philosophy. We call them the Ends-Based, Rule-Based, and Care-Based principles.
Ethical Fitness, the overall objective of this workshop, is like physical fitness - it needs to be practiced to be learned. Our ethical values need to be acted upon, and sometimes this requires moral courage.
SEMINAR PARTICIPANTS WILL:
- Expand their awareness of why ethics matters
- Understand the critical need for personal Ethical Fitness(tm)
- Experience how a group of people can discover the values they all share.
- Develop an increased facility in using the language of ethics.
- Learn to analyze and resolve right-versus-right ethical dilemmas.
BUILDING A FOUNDATION OF TRUST
An Example of Professional Ethics
Purpose: In order to foster trust in all endeavors, personal or professional, we adopt this Code of Ethics to guide our decisions and actions, in pursuit of excellence.
Premise: Trust is belief in reliance on the integrity and competence of another person, organization, or institution. Trust is the foundation for successful relationships and endeavors.
Goal: In order to be trustworthy, we aspire to be people of character. As such, we seek to discover the truth, decide what is right and demonstrate the courage, and commitment to act accordingly.
We pledge allegiance to our values, including:
- Integrity - decision-making and action based on principles.
- Honesty - being truthful.
- Responsibility - fulfilling obligations and accepting consequences.
- Respect - recognizing the infinite dignity and worth of people and the sanctity of their property.
- Service - contribution to the welfare of others.
- Community - teamwork and consideration for others.
- Justice & Mercy - adherence to moral law: fairness & compassion.
- Competence - proficiency, expertise, professionalism, and wisdom.
- Moral Courage - willingness to do what is right despite uncertainty, risk, and fear.
In the conduct of our activities we will strive to continuously develop our character and competence, seeking to improve these attributes in order to be worthy of trust and to contribute to the common good.
That which is good is consistent with our sense of aesthetics, virtue, righteousness, and morality.
That which is moral is known to our conscience - to which we pledge to be true.
Patrick A. Toffler, Sr. - November 2002
COMMISSIONED OFFICERS OF THE US ARMY
Commissioned Officers are the uniformed leaders of the Army; they are professional soldiers and servants of the nation. In war and peace they are trusted leaders of character. They are collectively responsible for successful accomplishment of the Army's Mission. In the conduct of their duties they demonstrate competence and commitment to the Professional Military Ethic as embodied in the enduring creed: Duty, Honor, Country. Commissioned Officers adhere to Army Values in their decisions and actions.
As leaders of character and competence, Commissioned Officers continuously develop as members of the Army Profession. They diligently prepare for the responsibilities of their present and future career opportunities and obligations. In all cases they serve to accomplish the mission to the best of their abilities. They seek to discover the truth, decide what is right, and demonstrate the courage at act accordingly.
Upon taking the Oath of Office, Commissioned Officers accept the obligation and privilege of providing loyal support for and defense of the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. In fulfilling this obligation, Commissioned Officers accept the responsibility to obey the legal orders of those appointed over them and to manifest unqualified integrity, fostering trust between the Army and the society it defends.
As leaders of character, Commissioned Officers accept that all people have unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These fundamental rights demand a respect for humanity and property that is unqualified, even in the presence of the violence of war and the uncertain nature of hostile environments.
As a Commissioned Officer in the US Army, I am a leader of American Soldiers, a member of the Profession of Arms; I am dedicated to the cause of liberty, under the Constitution of the United States.
