Courage and personal moral philosophy
Credit to Author: LERMA BUTIGAN BAUTISTA| Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2018 16:19:14 +0000
Businesses and organizations over the past few decades have faced ethical issues involving their employees. As a result, public trust in organizations has declined as more managers and employees are believed to be practicing unethical behaviors. Businesses today, meanwhile, are complex environments that challenge the moral philosophies of employees. Employees face dilemmas involving competition with rival companies in getting big clients, reporting greater earnings per share, landing a desired higher position, living up to expectations of superiors — in general, morally intense situations.
What do employees do when their personal interests are in conflict with the interests of their organizations? This may be influenced by their moral philosophies. It is ambiguous how our morals are defined and developed but knowing what is right or wrong is something that is embedded in us as a matter of culture and societal definition and not by legislation.
Children raised in families nurturing values and guided by church teachings may grow up to be moral persons. However, this is not conclusive as we know of individuals who grew up in seemingly morally upright families who became involved in unethical behaviors such as theft and malversation of funds, among others. If society fails to show us what is right or wrong, schools and churches are here to nurture our values. But why do some employees still practice immoral activities?
According to John Hendry, a professor specializing in ethics and finance, we live in a “bi-moral society” where there are traditional and market moralities. Traditional morality claims that individuals are driven by their sense of duty. This may explain why some employees tend to look after the welfare of their co-workers and their companies. They tend to choose doing what is right over favoring their personal interest in times of conflicts of interest and tempting offers from suppliers or competitors.
Market morality, meanwhile, is driven by self-interest. This may explain why some managers choose whatever is in their favor even if this will cause harm to many others, lead to the company’s bankruptcy or the sacrifice of performing employees to favor personal friends.
Consequently, courage plays an important role in employees standing up for what is right. A courageous employee will uphold what he believes is the right thing to do even if it means losing his job or putting his life at risk. A less courageous employee, on the other hand, will tend to step back and simply watch the unfolding of events.
Importantly, courage is not the absence of fear for such constitutes fearlessness. A scholar proposed that courage is the product of willingness and fear so that an individual who is courageous is one who has the willingness to act despite being afraid.
Courage and personal moral philosophy can be illustrated in many ways. A manager who chooses to promote a well-deserving employee over a friend aspiring for the same position, even if it means losing the friendship, is moral and courageous. Managers should award contracts to suppliers who offer the required specifications and quality at the least cost. They should not accommodate the supplier who offers expensive gifts or the supplier who threatens to displace them from the company. Accountants and finance officers must ensure truthful reporting of financial performance even if they are pressured to alter reports to show a better picture of the company’s performance.
Some people view aggressively acting on a situation as courageous and taking no action as cowardly. However, saying no can also be courageous. Thus, an employee who says no to his superior who is asking for the manipulation of reports even if he loses his job is courageous.
It does not take legislation to know what is moral and one does not have to be fearless to stand up for what one believes is right.
Lerma Butigan Bautista is a Doctor of Business Administration student in the Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business of De La Salle University. She is a Certified Public Accountant, an associate professor of the School of Accountancy and Business Management at Saint Louis University and a consultant to various firms. Email lerma_bautista@dlsu.edu.ph
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