Ainsley Deer, Contributor
Benoit Corbeil, former director-general of the Liberal Party-Quebec wing, pauses during testimony at the Gomery Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program in Montreal, May 9. The Inquiry is investigating allegations of fraud in millions of dollars to Liberal Party-friendly advertising firms for little or no work. - REUTERS
MOST OF the people I encounter in the workplace, on training courses, seminars and other such situations, prefer when their organisations' work is sound. They would prefer not to have to compromise ethical standards. They want to feel good not only about themselves but also about the work they do. This places an awesome responsibility on the shoulders of managers in almost every situation not only to reinforce customer confidence and avoid litigation, but also to protect the workers' sense of well-being. If they are forced to compromise ethical standards some will in turn be inclined to feel bad about themselves and the organisation they work for. In short, they will be demotivated.
As long as we belong to the human family, we must be concerned about ethics regardless of whether we operate in the public or private sector. We must be as concerned about babies who are fed real fruit juice with no fruits as Americans must have been about people who lost their retirement savings due to the avariciousness of a few high-profile thieves at Enron. We have had our own experience with highly placed con artists in theJamaican public and private sector. Our consciences have become so calloused that we seem to forget that those we swindle are our own parents, uncles, mothers, siblings, friends and children.
RESULTS OF SELF-INTEREST
If we are going to rescue Jamaica from sure destruction brought on by ourselves, we must resist the temptation of acting purely out of the pursuit of political self-interest and instead let our actions be guided by moral commitments. For a country of only 2.5 million inhabitants, there is no scandal that we have not attracted allegations of businesses that overcharge, government employees who steal or misuse funds, ministers who steal from their congregations, top management who feather their nests here and abroad at employees' expense and students who cheat. You name it, we have it. Business and political heroes are hard to find these days. Jamaica just cannot afford anymore scandals or ethical lapses. We are under the microscope of the civilised world and the slightest slip on our part could have grave economic consequences. For those who might disagree with me, I refer you to my favourite charitable organisation, the United Way.
In 1992, we are told that its impeccable reputation as a premier philanthropic organisation was severely damaged when the extravagant lifestyle of its leader was exposed by the press. President William Armony eventually resigned under a cloud of charges pertaining to the misuse of agency funds. That year the network lost millions, we are told and it was not until it appointed a new president implemented new cost controls and accountability measures and established an ethics programme that it was able to regain public trust. Similarly, problems in the church community have seriously damaged the trust of believers and the ability of the church to carry out its role as a moral authority. Jamaica is not immune from the negative effects of poor ethical behaviour. Among other things, it will deter our nationals from sending remittances from overseas, impair our ability to collect taxes and makes us very unpopular among investors a very high price to pay for lapses in our ethical standards.
Ainsley Deer is a management consultant with Training Dynamics and Consultants Ltd. He can be contacted at 969-0128. Email: ardeer@anbell.net.
