Imagine being a Financial Services Provider (broker) selling an insurance product such as, say, Loss of Employment to a pensioner, a Retailer peddling the equivalent of a tomato box covered in Crazy Store fabric as a Chaise Lounge sofa or a lender overextending clients to the point where the credit offering extended borders on reckless lending. Now imagine, if you will, that despite these basic moral blunders the CEOs of these organisations profess to aspire to a Code of Conduct equivalent to the Ten Commandments Moses carried down Mount Sinai. “Thou shalt not . . . behave with impunity despite your obvious frailties.”
I have seen and experienced enough ethical parodies to provide the jigsaw killer with ample victims, so I do not for one minute believe any statement that a company and its directors abide by the highest ethical standards and will be granted a free pass by St John at the pearly gates. Those executive share schemes have a formidable way of altering the direction of a person’s moral compass so the ferryman may caste those aspirations overboard before getting to the other side of the River Styx with his Executive Committee.
The culture of an organisation is set by the tone at the top, and if a company’s leadership is morally bankrupt then you really shouldn’t expect anything less from their employees. A Code of Ethics should be deeply entrenched in the values of the business and reflected in how it positions itself in the environment in which it operates. Giving back or doing something goof is no longer enough – it’s a tax write off and gratis promotion. It can no longer be a stand-alone document that exists by virtue of being a requirement of a mandatory governance framework. So, invest in a Code of Ethics, but make it a living document that leaves an indelible corporate footprint on the path your organisation walks among stakeholders.
Next time we will look at the fascinating world of Risk Management and the significant impact it can have on your business if performed with the necessary introspection and honesty. Until then, stay true to yourself.
V Vince van der Merwe is Managing Partner of MC Squared, specialising in online business consulting. Follow on www.mcsqrd.co.za or @mcsqrdv
