- a brief description of how the program fits in with other concepts and practices related to organizational effectiveness -

The Ethics of Choice Training Program is designed 1) to teach an elaborated work ethic, and 2) if taught within an organization, to foster the development (within that organization) of an ethical culture.

(Depending upon your point of view, the ethics of choice could be called "the ethics of personal growth," "the ethics of personal responsibility," "the ethics of right livelihood," "the ethics of collaboration and teamwork." Regardless of what they are called, conduct in accord with them evolves us, expands us, affecting consciousness and character in beneficial ways. For this reason, I have called them the ethics of choice.)

Increasingly, leaders from all quarters agree that it is the integrity of those who make up the organization (i.e., the corporation, the business, the school, the governmental agency, etc.) that relates most to its long term success. Too many people, they argue, lack a clear understanding of what it means to serve fully the organization of which they are a part; too many people fail to understand that both they and the organization are most fully and effectively served through ethical conduct.

The Ethics of Choice Training Program spells out what it means to be a responsible, fully-functioning member of an organization. It defines integrity and does so in terms that are clear and precise. The Ethics of Choice Training Program clarifies for all members of the organization, regardless of position, the higher standard which, if served, optimizes both individual and organizational growth.

Here is a brief consideration of how the Ethics of Choice Training Program fits with other concepts/practices necessarily related to organizational effectiveness..

VISION AND CULTURE

An organization's culture is the medium wherein its vision takes hold. By analogy, the organization's culture is the earth and the way it is tended, its vision is the seed.

If the culture is ethical, the vision takes hold, flourishes, and in the shortest possible time, is realized. If, on the other hand, the culture is not ethical but in some way self-destructive, then the vision is compromised, distorted, perhaps lost altogether.

THE ETHICAL CULTURE

An ethical culture is a culture continuously in the process of minimizing its self-destructiveness (fraud, libel, theft, negligence, abuse) while at the same time maximizing its prospects for survival and prosperity. It is a culture actively involved in supporting and encouraging the ethical conduct and growth of its members; members who, in turn, creatively and ethically interact with the requirements of the organization's vision.

The specific benefits of an increasingly ethical culture are:

· improved work habits · less waste
· increased self-esteem · less self-destructiveness
· improved teamwork · less strife
· increased honesty · less scapegoating
· increased pro-activity · less procrastination
· increased creativity · less violence and fear
· increased commitment · less carelessness

Further, as the organization's culture becomes more ethical, other measures of organizational success also should increase. For business, industry and the corporate enterprise, this means--other things being equal--an increase in revenue and/or a decrease in expenditures. At base, the increasingly ethical culture adds value to the organization, increasing the likelihood that it will win the niche for which it is competing.

ETHICS AND THE QUALITY SYSTEM

With respect to "quality," it is the view of the Ethics of Choice Training Program that a "Total Quality Operating System" is just that, an operating system, a technology, a means for pursuing a desired end. Only if individuals choose to use that means will its value be felt. Only if individuals throughout the organization take responsibility for its implementation will it be fully effective. Thus, before quality comes ethics.

As mentioned above, the Ethics of Choice Training Program teaches the ethics of personal responsibility. These are the ethics fundamental to the successful implementation of any operating system. If the Total Quality Operating System is the first floor of the organization's structure, then the Ethics of Choice are its foundation.

ETHICS AND LEADERSHIP

The Ethics of Choice Training Program invites all participants, regardless of rank or position, to assume responsibility for the success of the organization. While not all will accept this invitation, some will and by their example others will be encouraged to do the same, especially if the organization acknowledges and, as appropriate, celebrates their efforts.

In this program, everyone is expected to be responsible for customer satisfaction, everyone is encouraged to seek out problems and root causes as they attempt to make organizational improvement, everyone is expected to review and revise the processes of which they are a part. The Ethics of Choice Training Program encourages commitment, follow-through, attention to detail and personal initiative. With this program, everyone is reminded of the importance of being "the change they expect" as they discern and interact with the day to day requirements of the organization's vision.

ETHICS, CULTURE AND FEEDBACK

One of the key elements in the development and maintenance of an ethical culture is feedback. The Ethics of Choice Program has an evaluation and feedback component built into it, one that calls on all members of the organization to evaluate regularly the degree to which they view themselves and the various practices of their culture as ethical.

The information gathered from these evaluations--with anonymity protected--is fed back to the organization's leaders who then can creatively interact with, and correct for, any "drift" that may have occurred; in this way, the culture of the organization is kept on course and thus, continues to evolve.

ETHICS AND DIVERSITY

The Ethics of Choice Training Program addresses the issue of diversity in two ways. First, it faces the problem of conflicting ethical codes (due to the diverse nature of America's work-force) by teaching the one code it believes is most related to overall organizational success. And second, embedded in that code, and in the training of that code, is a proscription for the ethical treatment of others regardless of gender, race, ethnic origin, age, sexual orientation or physical challenge. The Ethics of Choice Training Program offers a means for obtaining the unity that is required for organizational effectiveness in the midst of the diversity that, too often, is the organization's untapped strength.

ETHICS AND THE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE ORGANIZATION

Implementing the Ethics of Choice Training Program is one of the most civic-minded and socially responsible things an organization can do. Not only does it serve the organization by anchoring its members to the code that most facilitates organizational success, but it also provides individuals with the code that most effectively equips them to grow, create and succeed in other areas of their lives. As mentioned above, the Ethics of Choice are the ethics of personal responsibility. To teach them is to empower those taught. The organization that implements the Ethics of Choice Training Program, while serving itself, serves also its community--both are strengthened.

CONCLUSION

The Ethics of Choice Training Program is a unique and powerful training program. The organization that implements it and thereby attempts to anchor itself to the ethics of choice serves not only itself but its community as well.

In the future that is already upon us, organizations that seek to honor the public trust must go beyond mere compliance with the law. They also must embrace, practice and teach the ethics that will lead us to a better world. These are the organizations that will win our attention, our respect and, hopefully, our allegiance. They also, for the reasons detailed above, are the organizations most likely to survive and prosper. The Ethics of Choice Training Program was developed with the hope that it might serve organizations attempting to travel this course.

David L. Thomas, Ph.D.
dtec@cox.net

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For a detailed description of the training program, click here: