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ACL Services Ltd.
First Internal Control & Fraud Conference, September 25-26, 2006, Atlanta, GA Second Annual National Performance Management Conference, October 30-31, 2006, Schaumburg, IL
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PDC Attendees Hear from Ethics Guru Marianne Jennings & Futurist David Zach
A presentation by Jennings, professor of legal and ethical studies at Arizona State University, kicked off the second day of AGA’s 55th Annual Professional Development Conference & Exposition in San Diego Tuesday morning. Jennings outlined the many factors that can contribute to the corrosion of ethics. She pointed out how pervasive cheating is among students at the high school and college levels, and revealed that some of the excuses for cheating on exams were the same ones expressed by CEOs on trial for cheating shareholders out of millions of dollars. As one high school principal told Jennings, “They’re not bad kids, they’re just under pressure.” While students and executives alike may feel pressure to be “team players” who do not snitch on their co-workers, she told the audience that truth “is one defiant force.” There is no question that the truth will come out, she said. The only question is when. “Ethics requires hard, daily introspection where you’re constantly questioning: Is this right? Is this wrong? ” Employees must also be assured that revealing wrongdoing will not be punished. Half of employees who see unethical acts will not report it, she said. Managers must ask themselves: “Do we have the type of culture that encourages employees to come forward? ” Employees will only report ethical violations if they see consistent action to punish wrongdoers with no repercussions for those who blow the whistle. Jennings discussed the importance of maintaining a high ethical reputation for businesses, and for governments. Domestic diva Martha Stewart, for example, led stockholders to believe she could not be trusted after the sale of her personal ImClone stock got her in legal trouble. Stock in her own company declined dramatically as a result. Government corruption is even more damaging because it hinders, and even halts, economic development, she said. Define issues by your values, not by the pressures of the moment, she told the audience. “Stay with the rules, stay with your values and you’ll be OK.” She said people can make ethics too complicated instead of simply following the Golden Rule—treating others the way you would like to be treated. She also urged the audience to continue doing their important work of maintaining high ethical standards and rooting out fraud, waste and abuse for America’s citizens. “Without your watchful eye for that corruption and its destructive effects, we don’t have much.”
While the promise of technology has been to provide more leisure time, the fact is that people who own a laptop, cell phone and have access to a fax machine will work eight more hours per week, on average, than those without those tools. “First we shape our tools, then they shape us.” Quoting information from the New York Times, Zach said the average American employee works 11 minutes on any given task before being interrupted; eight different windows are open on the desktop at any one time; and after an interruption, it takes 25 minutes to get back on task. He said many employees start to think that tending to the interruptions IS their job. Technology has brought Americans a life filled with endless entertainment options, but consider the teenager who can simultaneously listen to music, send instant messages to friends, talk on the phone and browse websites, yet still be bored. “This is the world we have given them,” Zach said. In a world of limitless choices and information, many people are still paralyzed when faced with making a decision. Zach gave the audience several suggestions about how to take more responsibility and care over the future. No. 1, he said, was to start smoking. Smokers take breaks. They talk to strangers. They find instant friendship and equality with fellow smokers. Where else can a CEO and an entry-level worker find a common bond? “My point is not to take up smoking,” he said, “but to take up conversation.” His second piece of advice? Start drinking. Go out to lunch. Do things. What he really meant was to build community. “We are so comfortable in our worlds that strangers are pushed away.” Connections are a key way to understand the future and to create a rich life. He also suggested that we think about things from different points of view, “then have a conversation about it.” Studying philosophy, theology, history and biography can help us defend the things we believe in and invent the things we need. Zach also urged the audience to play. Find a silly picture of yourself as a child, he suggested, along with a photo of someone you love and respect in your past. Place the photos on your desk. They will remind you of how much you used to play, and they will remind you to listen to the lessons of history in helping shape your future. By: Christina M. Camara |
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© Association of Government Accountants 2006 |
While students, professionals and top executives have
rationalized and deluded themselves into excusing ethical lapses,
professor Marianne M. Jennings, JD, believes the
ethical decline in this country can be reversed.
The luncheon speaker, futurist David Zach, gave the audience no real predictions about the future, but
possibly a different way to think about it and to feel a stronger
sense of ownership over it.