In Ethics We Trust

The subject of ethics has become the new media buzz of today's society. The media is determined to highlight the plight of business and political leaders who have gone wrong, "key leaders" who are making the wrong choices. Academic institutions are puzzled with trying to deliver the right educational message that prepares future leaders and equips them with the values for today's society.

Yet, the news is full of “well educated” business leaders who were trusted by society and are now caught doing the wrong things. Banking officers, top managers of giant corporations are just a few of the many who choose to look the “other way” when it comes to their learned ethical values. Just a few days ago, Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer resigned in disgrace after getting caught in a call-girl scandal that made a mockery of his straight-arrow image and left him facing the prospect of criminal charges and perhaps disbarment. Such events are so difficult to understand, how an individual who preached morals and values choose to deviate from them in such a disgraceful and career ending manner.

With home foreclosures surging to unprecedented levels in the United States, homeowners are being devastated by bankruptcy and home loss, often times the result of agreeing to unintelligible, misrepresented, and even fraudulent mortgages peddled by predatory lenders. As a result, ethical mortgage brokers are unfairly losing the trust and the business of people who truly need and would benefit from honest home loans.
In the past couple of days, Minnesota Assistant Attorney General, Amy Lawler's a recent Harvard Law School graduate, was placed on “paid leave” for not going through proper channels and failing to bring accusations of ethics violations to a board that investigates lawyer misconduct.

The Hendrickson Institute for Ethical Leadership, an enterprise of St. Mary's University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, shed some light on the rising situation of business leaders going wrong.
"Spitzer's resignation as Governor of New York is not surprising. As the former New York Attorney General, Spitzer demonstrated an aggressive, righteous approach in prosecuting large corrupt businesses. “He was very clear about what was right and wrong and what was moral and immoral. Sptizer's behavior is not uncommon for some men in positions of leadership and authority.” said Lindsay E. McCabe, Executive Director of the Hendrickson Institute for Ethical Leadership at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota. He adds,
“Why does this kind of behavior happen? It's not that Spitzer or any other leaders don't know the difference between right and wrong, legal or illegal, and moral and immoral. As leaders, people such as Spitzer may believe that they are the exception to the rule and by virtue or their positions; they are not accountable for their actions. Leaders, whether they are in the public or private sector need to work on remembering that at all times, they are not outside public and private scrutiny.”
In their newly released book, Doing Right in a Shrinking World, authors Brother Louis DeThomasis, chancellor and president emeritus of Saint Mary's University, and Neal St. Anthony, a business columnist of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, describe how “to do what is right” is “to do Ethics”. “Our universities and business schools require nothing less than a transformation,” states the book. “We must form our students by integrating ethics into every course and internship until it becomes nothing short of second nature;” suggesting that future business leaders must be able to face complex situations and know how to assess the extent of their options, considering legal implications and how it affects the entire range of stakeholders.

In many ways academic institutions have to rise to the challenge.  It is an opportunity for everyone involved in education to passionately and lovingly create and nurture “Trust in Ethics” by instructing the real meaning of “doing ethics”; That is, “to do what is right”.
“It is Human Nature”, said Brother Louis. “An ethical action has its basic fundamental rational motivations and it's not

"The Business Round Table meets monthly on The Twin Cities campus of Saint Mary's University of Minnesota and is sponsored by the Hendrickson Institute for Ethical Leadership. The group is comprised of a diverse group of small and medium sized business owners who believe that ethical leadership is a critical part business. Some of the discussions on current ethical issues have been: Character and Values; The Early Years of Starting a Business: Obstacles, Opportunities; Walking the talk: Leading a Diverse Company; What is Work Ethic? Barriers and Opportunities for Leadership; The Late Years: Continuity in Your Business; and Following Through with Your Values."

Lindsay McCabe

Executive Director

The Hendrickson Institute for Ethical Leadership