What exactly does it mean to be ethical; and how does it impact your
reputation? It’s all about doing the right thing, right? All and sundry claim
to have integrity and say how important it is to them. Taking a look at recent
social media debacles, the most recent being that of Ntokozo Qwabe and Judge
Mabel Jansen; it is quite clear that ’integrity’ and ’reputation’ are very
often just paid lip service and sadly losing their zeal to overuse.
Everyone knows and says that these things are important to them and it
sounds great to use them in conversation. However, if you have to tell someone
that you have integrity, are trustworthy and are ethical, then there’s a strong
chance that you are not. For example, what images are conjured up when you hear
someone say, “Trust me…”. Why would you have to tell someone that you
are ethical and trustworthy? Surely they should experience this through your
behaviour and the interactions they have with you and your business.
It’s all about leading by example; this may seem fairly obvious;
unfortunately there are still too many examples of companies and individuals
getting it wrong. What and how you or your employees engage and conduct
yourselves will ultimately impact the business’ reputation, regardless of
whether you are posting something on Facebook or Twitter in your personal
capacity or as the Managing Director of your company. The public generally and even
those closely associated to the company, don’t differentiate between the company
and the individual.
Businesses and reputations grow by association; like-minded people and
companies attract like-minded individuals and other companies to do business
with. There is thus an integral connection between the organisation’s brand and
reputation and your own; the two can’t be separated.
Someone once explained moral fibre to me as the way you act when no one
else is around. People who are on the same ethical page have a built-in radar
for what is right and what is wrong, and use that to make sensible daily
business decisions. This then contributes to a strong reputational foundation.
Having a solid, moral building block in place, allows you to then focus on
other areas of the business.
Who determines the moral compass? There are no hard and fast rules, it
is about how you conduct yourself in terms of what is right and wrong, what is
decent, what is good, what is honest and what is honourable. Rotary’s four way
test ethos is a good measure that can be used as a guiding principle across the
board; everything that Rotarians say, do and think relates to these four
questions: Is it the truth? It is fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill
and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
What I like about it, is that it is four relatively easy questions that
you can ask yourself when you are faced with a problem; and it is not linked to
a specific religion, culture or creed. These principles have been developed
over the years to provide Rotarians across the world with a strong common
purpose and direction. They serve as a foundation for our relationships with
each other and the actions we take in the world.
It is said that organisations
with an ethical decision-maker are more effective and more productive. The
leader of the business needs to lead by example. How can the leader be taken
seriously or respected if their moral fibre is questionable? As much as we look after and
foster the reputation of our clients, we have to be merciless when it comes to
protecting our own. If we associate ourselves with people and companies with
questionable values, our own values will be brought into disrepute, damaging
our reputation. As Warren Buffet famously said, "We can afford to lose
money — even a lot of money. But we can't afford to lose reputation — even a
shred of reputation.”
Ethical behaviour needs to be ingrained at a strategy level and in all
the dealings and interactions of the business, it shouldn’t be just something
that sounds good in a public relations and marketing exercise.
In Alice Schroeder’s, The
Snowball: Warren Buffet and the Business of Life, reference is made to
Peter Kiewit who said, “A reputation is like fine china, expensive to acquire
and easily broken.” In making ethical decisions, therefore, “If you’re not sure
if something is right or wrong, consider whether you’d want it reported in the
morning paper.”
In the Corporate
Reputation Review
it says that throughout the world, the media keep a wary eye on corporate
behaviour and zoom in sharply on suspected organisational misdeeds. The television
news’ guillotine and the Internet are ever ready to defame organisational leaders
who are accused of unethical behaviour. Don’t we know it! The media will sniff
out any and all corporate misdemeanours; after all, scandal and drama are what
sells.
Also, through the
media customers are provided with information that enables them to make
purchasing choices based not only on traditional parameters, such as price and
functionality, but also on matters such as how and where products and services
are produced and the reputation of the producer. People want to do business with
businesses that are socially and ethically responsible as well as environmentally
conscious. This is a clear message that comes out very strongly from all the
reputation research projects that we have conducted to date.
Being unethical is business suicide and a death knell for your
reputation. Your business may no longer be around, but your name will still be
associated with unethical practices so it will be very difficult to get others
to affiliate with you in the future.
Things to remember
·
If you have to tell people that you are ethical and have integrity, are
you really?
·
Moral fibre is how you act when no one else is around;
·
If you’re not sure whether something is right or wrong, consider whether
you’d want it reported in the morning paper;
·
If in doubt, use Rotary’s four way test to help you make a decision;
·
Having a solid, moral building block in place, allows you to then focus
on other areas of the business;
·
It is important that your personal and business values be aligned and
reflected in all areas of your life;
·
Reputation and integrity are more than just buzzwords to be used in PR
and marketing campaigns.
To
continue the reputation management conversation, join Regine on Twitter
@ReputationIsKey or Facebook www.facebook.com/yourreputationmatters.
Pruzan, P. 2001. Corporate reputation: Image and
identity. Corporate Reputation Review, 4(1):50-64.
