This section will first examine how perceptions of the value of business ethics are unfolded through the stories of four individuals, whose names have been replaced with pseudonyms. They had recently graduated with a business degree, where Applied Business Ethics was a core module. The insights derived from these stories will then be informed by the theory that was discussed previously.
The people
Mary, who is in her late twenties, is a foreign-born national who has been a Singapore Permanent Resident for a number of years. Her early years of education were in hospitality and she recently graduated with a business degree. Her work experience spans primarily the service industries, like the hotel industry and pharmaceutical sales, and she is now working as a sales manager in nutrition and healthcare products.
Vincent heads an aerospace repair centre of a multi-national company set up in Singapore. He is a foreign national who has worked in Singapore for several years as an expatriate. His early working experience was in the medical industry as a software quality engineer, and the remainder of his career was spent in various aerospace companies both overseas and in Singapore. He is in his early fifties.
Harry is in his early fifties and has spent a good part of the last two decades in Singapore, as is a citizen. Although foreign-born, he is married to a Singaporean. He is from a technical and engineering background, having spent almost his entire career in the oil and gas industry, specifically oil drilling. He continues to work in a management position in an oil and gas multi-national company.
Tracy has had various career experiences in the service industry, ranging from information technology programming, car sales and as a stewardess in a renowned airline. Born a Singaporean, she is in late thirties, and is currently working as a manager in medical equipment repair sales.
Perceptions of the value of business ethics
The stories uncovered five major themes that could explain the perceptions and orientations of these individuals in relation to business ethics. These are framing common sense knowledge, workplace utility, organisational environment, building character and perceived importance of ethics education.
“Actually, we were doing this all our life or we have done this before … theories help you to understand the decision that you have taken, whether you have actually taken the right decision or not.”
(Mary)
“In the past, before I attended this class, I didn’t know there was this thing called ethics of duties. I am supposed to do because I was paid to do so. But after class, then I know there is this thing called ethics of duties.”
(Tracy)
The knowledge formed a basis by which this common sense could be better understood. Vincent’s revelation of a right decision, from one perspective, possibly being a wrong decision, from another perspective, was instructive.
“But I kind of learned that just because something is right doesn’t necessarily mean that it is right. There are alternate views … ”
(Vincent)
“I did not know that ethics was important but when I started doing one of our modules with ethics then I learned the actual importance of it; how to actually apply it … I also learned that when you are on a management level and you have to make a certain decision … means that basically making a decision that doesn’t hurt the party you are actually deciding on.”
(Mary)
For Harry, the entire experience of looking at things from an ethical perspective was refreshing, and he saw the value of immediate application at the workplace.
“After learning some of the theory, I started using them. I think it should be more than just theory; it should be practised.”
(Harry)
In both these instances, knowledge from ethics education was seen as having utility at the workplace, which seemed to reinforce the value of ethics education.
On the other hand, the perceived lack of workplace utility diminishes the value of the knowledge gained in the ethics education. While Tracy shared Harry’s perspectives on workplace utility, she also felt certain aspects of the theory were too amorphous to have practical application at the workplace.
“ … virtue ethics, everybody must do and all but you can’t determine one person’s character from the whole galaxy. So I think virtue ethics is not so relevant in terms of in society.”
(Tracy)
Vincent echoed a similar sentiment, referring to his perceived usefulness of the theory on Kohlberg’s levels of moral development.
“The Kohlberg one I felt wasn’t that useful because I just didn’t find that particular part to be so relevant.”
(Vincent)
Hence, the perceived and experienced utility of ethics education at the workplace seems to surface as an important link between use and exchange value.
“We ignore them!”
(Harry)
He felt that the oil drilling industry was a rough environment that bred rough attitudes.
“It was a very macho sort of environment, where people were bullied, punched and kicked, and that’s normal.”
(Harry)
Similarly, when organisations are seen as being contrived in their conduct of ethics education, scepticism about ethics education is reinforced.
“ … as I say my company does ethics training, but it is not to that level of detail, but pretty superficial.”
(Vincent)
Such experiences have the potential of forming negative impressions that may spill over to the classroom and create preconceived notions of ethics education.
The stories also highlighted some genuine attempts by organisations to put in place ethical training and education in order to shape ethical attitudes at the workplace.
“Actually, part of our company’s policy is to give ethics training every year.”
(Vincent)
Scenario-based problems were used, but there were standard answers that had to be given, else the employee was asked to re-do the problem until the right answer was achieved. Both Vincent and Harry seem to feel that the effort was more of a façade to stay out of trouble rather than an actual attempt at shaping behaviours.
“They are expecting certain answers, and if you don’t get them, you have to re-do it. It’s a bit contrived … we had to do this because we have a lot of Government contracts and the Government expects you to do certain things.”
(Vincent)
“I don’t recall anybody in my company telling me about the company’s ethics policies, and these are the issues, and this is how you deal with it … I think it’s just for show.”
(Harry)
Organisations that take such approaches as perceived as focusing on the business or financial goals rather than embed ethical practices.
“To me it is the financial benefit that the company is concerned about … .You don’t want to do it because you don’t want to get caught, you don’t want to lose the contract.”
(Vincent)
Unfortunately, in extreme cases, some of these organisations threaten the safe space required for ethical issues to be raised.
“If you actually understood ethics, and brought it up and said this was a mistake, they would say that it is time for you to leave.”
(Harry)
Hence, the stories seem to suggest that organisational culture has a powerful bearing on whether the lessons acquired during ethics education actually bear value at the workplace.
“It made be become a much more responsible person.”
(Tracy)
Harry took on an entirely different orientation towards workplace ethical issues. There was a particular incident where he was asked by his company to gather evidence from a customer to fire an employee, even though the customer did not make a complaint. He stood his ground and fought the issue to keep the employee citing unethical practice.
“It was unethical but I think people need to see that they have rights, as a company, as a person, in the whole scheme of things. But I didn’t understand until this module came along and I thought that was not ethically right.”
(Harry)
This is in spite of the industry having a track record of letting go of people who stand up to the organisation. Harry is still employed and doing well. He feels that the change in his attitude and behaviour was because he saw the lasting value in the ethics education he had received.
“ … people will always practise unethical behaviour unless you teach them this is what we are all about as a company.”
(Harry)
Vincent reflected on an ethical decision-making model that was taught and how it provided clarity on how ethical dilemmas should be handled.
“So it kind of does focus you on what is important, and then you move on to make a decision because you know that is the way it is supposed to be. Whereas if you haven’t done the course you probably may not go to that step.”
(Vincent)
Unfortunately, the manner in which the Applied Business Ethics module was positioned, in terms of overall weightage in the undergraduate programme, manifested in some unintended perceptions of its value.
“It is like it is not important, like it is only ten points for this module.”
(Harry)
“But what disappointed me was that it was only ten per cent of the marks, which kind of shows to me people don’t take this as seriously as they should.”
(Vincent)
This low weightage seemed to suggest that the Applied Business Ethics module was less important than other modules like Marketing or that it was a simple module that students would find easy to receive a pass grade.
Tracy, however, provides a refreshing view where she views every subject as being equally important to her education, regardless of the module’s weightage.
“Number one, I will never check the points. To me every subject is important.” (Tracy)
Vincent goes a step further suggesting that more weight be given to ethics education in the contemporary business environment.
“It is such a powerful module when you look at the realism … Switch it around and make Marketing smaller and give more weightage to the Ethics module.”
(Vincent)
Nevertheless, education, or the infusion of educated people, presumably also schooled in ethics, seems to have an impact on changing even a difficult organisation like that from the drilling business.
“People’s call are changing; to treat people and to treat the system in the countries with some respect. So it is creeping in as people are educated; you got to educate people.”
(Harry)