Honesty and Humanness
Orientation: You are about to give an orientation session to new employees and you plan to stress ethical behaviour as outlined in a company brochure. You know that company executives have recently been convicted in a foreign country of bribing government officials. Will you mention this?
Training: During a training program, which requires taking tests to measure progress, you notice that one of the participants, who struggled in some early tests, suddenly submits tests without mistakes. She is a probationary employee. You notice too that she is dating a staff member in your department, who has access to the test solutions. What do you plan to do?
Orientation
As outlined in the Canadian Code of Conduct for professional behaviour, “if you are a supervisor you are expected to: set an example by your own behaviour, be open and available to discuss concerns, and ensure that all employees under your supervision are familiar with the Codes. By creating the proper environment, you will encourage a values-based culture in the workplace, and create a culture of right-doing. In a culture of right-doing, all employees will feel comfortable in coming forward to discuss and disclose possible wrongdoing and conflicts of interest.” Therefore, I would disclose the information about the previous convictions of accepting bribes to new hires in orientation. It would be framed in a way that presents it regretfully, takes responsibility and accountability, reiterates that it was wrong, and uses that to lead into how unethical behaviour, such as accepting bribes, compromising personal or professional integrity, and disrespect for democracy and people will not be tolerated or overlooked, as the company has learned a valuable lesson from that experience and wants to work toward fixing the damage caused by the unethical behaviour by championing to high ethical standards and practices across the organization. This will open up the communication surrounding unethical practices and allow employees to feel they have empowerment and duty in maintaining the integrity and will be supported in reporting any wrong-doing. I feel that some people may perceive this approach as hypocritical, and in turn they will use it against the company in order to gain an advantage. However, I think overall most people will be positively impacted by it if it is delivered in a tactful way that fosters a communicative and conscientious relationship.
Training
Since this issue is based purely on observation, my first step would be to talk to the employee in an attempt to figure out if this person cheated. There are many factors that could lead to someone doing poorly (lack of sleep, stress at home, hangover, menstruation, mental health, etc) and then doing good (got a chance to read material, got study help and support from her partner, had a good night sleep, etc) so we cannot assume that cheating occurred, even though it may seem that way. Through a private, face to face conversation with this person, with a compassionate approach, I may be able to get this employee to open up about what happened, and if they do trust me and feel I am their advocate, they may even admit that they cheated and needed extra help but were perhaps too afraid to ask. Usually if someone cheats or acts unethically, there is a relatable and oftentimes sad reason behind it, and to further penalize that person before giving them a chance to rectify could cut off meaningful networks and connections that had the potential to be even stronger if you just saw it through with this person. Usually if someone makes a mistake or a bad judgment call, you have an opportunity to build on your relationship. You can react emotionally, judgmentally, and authoritarian, or you can see the humanness in the experience and try to help them work through whichever struggle or barrier they are facing to be their best selves. This is generally my first approach. I always give people the benefit of the doubt for being a human, and as long as I can assess that they are making an effort to redeem themselves, work on self-improvement, and trying to right their wrong, I will patiently guide them and support them along the way. However, if I notice that someone is not putting in the effort, is making excuses or not taking it seriously, or is taking advantage of my kindness and treating it as a weakness, I will have no problem taking harsher, more direct corrective/disciplinary action which could involve filing a formal complaint or recommending unpaid suspension for insubordination and breaking the rules. In situations that are ambiguous and not of an urgent nature, I recommend starting with the person, human-to-human, to see if you can help them through it and resolve it that way. However, set your boundaries clear, and only provide your compassionate support as long as they are putting in the effort. If they start to show signs of taking advantage, making excuses, or not taking it seriously, then take it to the next level and turn on the authority.
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