Do you think we are in an ‘ethics bubble?’ NO

Have the recent scandals and recession taught strong enough lessons to our current and future corporate leaders? Again NO.

There will always be that segment of "corporate America" so obsessed with a profit motivation as to make ethics an unnecessary 6-letter word. When penalties for ethics violations (even many legal violations) are so small as to make them laughable the profit motivation will always win. I cannot tell you how many times I was asked, in a former position, "What is the cost of the fine and what is the cost of compliance?" Followed by, "What do you think the odds are that we will be caught, reported, etc?"

Without enforcement, without penalty appropriate to stoping the misconduct, ethical violations will be a fact of life for some.

That is why when I do come across an ethical leader and organization I remain highly impressed. That doesn't happen enough but at least it happens.

While the law obliges companies; "to make money for their shareholders" and nothing else, ethics will always take a back seat unfortunately.

I'd be amazed if this "bubble" existed at all, I think it's more lip service while it's fashionable than actual "doing".

I am truly sorry, but I have a have a hard time believing that in the current economic climate people have come to find their "ethical center"... A job was posted in Phoenix recently for a truck driver for $10. an hour, there were over 800 applicants, most of them middle management that had been laid off and couldn't find a job - so since mortgages have to be paid, they applied. Most of them didn't know what a 6-speed, spilt axle cab-over was, let alone how to drive one, yet they tried in vain to positioned themselves as suitable for the job. Even if they had been hired, any sensible recruiter would have to wonder how long they would stick around - for as soon as anything better came along they would be long gone (and who would blame them, especially if something came along that was truly addressing their sweet spot.)

Some sobering statistics to think about:

Approximately 75% to 87% of resumes are “Padded” and/or contain outright misinformation. Given the current economy and high unemployment it is quite common place. This phenomena is not restricted to low hourly paying jobs…. a recent survey by Morgan & Banks found that an alarming 17 per cent of male and 7 per cent of female respondents admitted to lying outright on their CVs to secure a position, with those earning $50,000-$100,000 most likely to commit what we call “resume fraud”. If you think those figures are causes for concern, how about this one: an astounding 80 per cent of Silicon Valley employees admit to having lied on their resumes. In fact, about 30 percent of all job applicants make material misrepresentations on resumes, according to some staffing experts. Another example….ADP Screening and Selection Services…a unit of the Roseland, N.J.- based ADP payroll and benefits managing company, says that in performing 2.6 million background checks, it found that 44 percent of applicants lied about their work histories, 41 percent lied about their education, and 23 percent falsified credentials or licenses...............so huuummm, an ethical bubble about to burst.... I don't think so.

The Society of Human Resource Management article you reference ..."ethical bubble" will burst .....this appears to be somewhat nieve to say the least.... we forget that the human condition (e.g., mortgages, food, taxes have ot be paid) must be satisfied.... Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs...... .so if, as HR and Talent Management practitioners we want the kind of credibility that comes with facing hard business questions we, by default, we wanr to make an honest difference, we have to be able to look at ivory tower pontificators and know the difference. After all, it was Mintzberg who said "If you torture the data enough it will confess to anything"......

I, too, was surprised by the research. Perhaps because we deal primarily with behavior/conduct issues in the workplace, we have seen an increase in stress-related behavior problems (particularly among managers) and certainly no decrease in harassment/discrimination/retaliation complaints.

There has been plenty of "ethical grandstanding", but little to say that there has actually been created a "bubble". People are more aware now, true, and some organizations are under more scrutiny, but once the dust has settled, it will be back to business as usual. Performance will always take the path of least reisitance to the lowest acceptable point.

I posit, however, that for the economy to truly move forward and for the country as a whole to move into its next age of social and economic development there will have to be an "ethical revolution"; the bar will need to be set higher, and unethical performance will have to have consequences.

This can only happen if the folks in the trenches, the rank-and-file employees, and the front-line managers take a stand against unethical behavior. Part of this stems from better education as to what is acceptable (and legal) to employees at all levels. The other part stems from people seeing merit in taking a stand against bad decisions.

With high profile ethical misbehaviour being given justifiable consequences (Goal, fines and banning), people and organisations are now thinking twice in first world economies.
However in 3rd world economies it still a case of follow the leader. That is the heads of government line their pockets and all the way through the society it is seen as what is good for the leader is good for us.
I operate in these economies and our people suffer constant ethical dilema as they see senior people acting unethically and they are torn between doing the same or listening to their training and acting ethically.
Most of the time I get an opportunity to hear from staff before they act (if not sure call me), but sometimes I have to meter out the consequences.

This is a very interesting discussion. I am aware of executives who have commented that employees' behaviors would improve because of the downturn in the economy and not to worry about implementing major changes in the organization. Engagement would actually go up because people need their jobs. People in a down economy probably don't want to get fired because of tardiness, absenteeism or performance. But does leadership change enforcement of policies and procedures during down economies because "there are more where they came from" syndrome? doing more with less? other factors?

When I think of ethics violations, I tend to think of ethics violations as very high risk actions such as intentional financial reporting violations, conflicts of interest, discrimination, etc. i.e. the high profile ethics violations that make the news and are the downfall of major companies. But this "ethics bubble" list appears to be associated with some basic work ethics -"playing nicely", being respectful, managing resources, using the internet - basically poor work ethics that steal from the company. Such bad behavior can be unethical, immoral, or unlawful.

I'd like to have more faith in the human condition that people don't need consequences or rewards to improve behavior and they naturally do the right thing. But, unfortunately, that is not the case. I think people know what's right and wrong, it's a choice on how to act, respond, etc.

Bubble is a little strong word. It creates a visual of individuals just bursting to intentionally "play badly." I'd like to think most people really don't sit around and say "I can't wait for the economy to get better so I can get back to bullying, discriminating, cheating and lying." There are some people I'm sure that do have some semblance of those thoughts but should those folks be on your payroll anyway? You can weed them out though if they are truly damaging your company.
So, if you had to consider consequences of an economic recovery, would you consider a potential increase in ethics violations, or your high performing employees potentially jumping ship?