Business Ethics Dr Attracta Lagan Dr Howard Whitton 2011 ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Business Ethics in the 21 st Century Dr Attracta Lagan Professional Ethics - aspirational or embedded? Challenging current mind-sets around ethics management Current best practice ethics management in Australia Dr Howard Whitton Why is RBA in trouble? UNCAC on whistleblowing Australian Government legislates for ethics Q&A Session ©Managing Values 2011

Characteristics of professional status Services a public good beyond good of a client e.g Services a public good beyond good of a client e.g. Legal professional services public good of justice Medical professional services public good of health Companies Secretaries professional services public good of governance because of expert knowledge Insurance professional services the public good of security Serves others – organisations requires specialist skill and knowledge Serves others – organisations requires specialist skill and knowledge In using unique skills is trusted by society to transcend self interest & observe duty of care In using unique skills is trusted by society to transcend self interest & observe duty of care ©Managing Values 2011

4 Agree or Disagree We know the range of ethical challenges our people face We recognise it takes courage to be ethical We accept that ethical people will behave unethically at work Most employees in my organisation experience it as a fair place to work My organisation begins from a premise that any organisation can only be as ethical as its members Finger on the ethical pulse?

Business Ethics vs. Individual Morality Morality refers to how individuals make judgments about right & wrong Business Ethics focused on institutional integrity; how organisational systems support & encourage individuals to move beyond self interest to consider impacts on others & behave with due care Managing ethics requires skill set ©Managing Values 2011

BEST PRACTICE Business Ethical engagement vs. Fraud & Corruption Plans Beginning Perspective The occurrence of fraud and corruption in an organisation is often a clear sign of an unethical culture Endeavour Energy’s designed its ethics program to complement its Fraud & Corruption Control Plan (FCCP) to combat an unethical culture, and consequently reduce instances of fraud and corruption Their ethics framework builds on fraud control principles from: – Australian Standard AS Fraud and corruption control – NSW Audit Office Better Practice Guide: Fraud Control – (‘Integrated fraud control Attributes’) – NSW Audit Office Fraud Health Check Its distinguishing feature is its long term commitment (5 years) and its cascading model which insists managers roll out the program and facilitate bi-annual dialogue with their reports using the resources provided

AS Fraud and corruption control NSW Audit Office Fraud Health Check –Our organisation conducts regular training in fraud control” Fraud control principles / tools