Murphy Has Been Found 
The CIA had lost track of one its top operatives and called
in one of their top spy hunters. The CIA
boss says to the spy hunter, “All I can tell you is that his name is Murphy and
that he’s somewhere in Ireland. If you
think you’ve located him, tell him the code words, ‘the weather forecast calls
for mist in the morning.’ If it’s really
him, he’ll answer, ‘Yes, and for mist at noon as well.”
So the spy hunter goes to Ireland and stops in a bar in one
of the small towns. He says to the
bartender “Maybe you can help me. I’m
looking for a guy named Murphy.”
The bartender replies, “You’re going to have to be more
specific because, around here, there are lots of Murphys. There’s Murphy the Baker, Murphy the Banker,
Murphy the Blacksmith. And as a matter
of fact, my name is Murphy, too.”
Hearing this, the spy hunter figures he might as well try
the code words on the bartender, so he says, “The weather forecast calls for
mist in the morning.”
The bartender rather quickly replies, “Oh, you’re looking
for Murphy the Spy. He lives down the
street.”
I read with great interest a recently released report from
the Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMA) organization titled,
“Managing Responsible Business, A Global Survey on Business Ethics.” The report is based on a global survey of
management accountants in some 80 countries.
The key findings in the report are:
1. Corporate
leadership appears to be less actively engaged in reviewing and taking
responsibility for ethical performance compared to 2008. A weakened “tone from the top” has
potentially serious implications for the overall ethical operating culture of
an organization.
2. In
accounting for ethics, the good news is that there was an increase in
organisations both collecting and reporting on ethical information and
corporate social responsibility. The bad
news, however, is that the number of firms collecting and reporting information
is still a minority and lag way behind the 80% of organisations that have
ethical codes.
3. Despite
an increase in ethical codes and training, there is greater pressure within
organisations to act unethically.
Pressures are most apparent in some emerging economies.
4. Security
of information remains the greatest issue of concern across all markets. Bribery has risen from 6th to 3rd
in the rankings of issues of concern.
Fewer now believe that business has a moral imperative to help address
global issues, with a decline from 84% to 77% since 2008.
The overall conclusion drawn from the survey results is that
while there have been positive developments in terms of building the
architecture for ethical codes and policies, the translation of these into
actual practice and everyday business processes is lagging behind.
When I completed my study of the CGMA report, I felt a
little like the spy hunter and wondered, where are the ethics leaders? My goodness, how long does it take a company,
a firm, a country, a world to learn something about right behavior? Where is the ethics leadership?
I’m glad, even excited to tell you that I am optimistic and do
see bright hope in the development of ethics leaders. Oh yes, there are some excellent models today
in the corporate realm, in professional firms, in universities, in government
and in our homes. I want to tell you
about one significant development that gives me great confidence in ethics
leadership for the future.
Dr. O.C. Farrell and his wife, Dr. Linda Farrell are
Professors of Marketing and Bill Daniels Professors of Business Ethics at the
University of New Mexico. They are renowned
for their research, scholarship and publications in ethical decision-making,
stakeholder relationships, social responsibility and are welcomed throughout
the country as speakers on the subject of business ethics. Under the overall auspices of the NASBA
Center for the Public Trust (CPT) O.C. and Linda will provide content for a
university student certification program in ethics. This vast CPT project is focused on ethical
leadership and will be delivered in six separate modules on line through
universities all over the country. The
conclusion of the program is reached by a student passing through the rigors of
course work and confirming examinations and then receiving her
Certificate. Can you imagine the edge
this type certification gives a student as he pursues a career? No, it doesn’t automatically make him an
ethics leader but it does—more than anything else I’ve seen—move him in the
right direction in a positive, confident manner. Again, imagine hundreds, thousands and tens
of thousands of students going through the CPT certification program validating
their intent to be part of a dynamic culture of ethical leadership.
However elusive ethics leadership may now be in our
fast-paced organization cultures, I am encouraged that CPT and the Farrells recognize
the leadership potential with our university students. The CPT Ethical Leadership Certification
Program will better secure the future for integrity and ethics in the
marketplace through the identification and development of tomorrow’s ethics leaders.
Murphy has been
found!
Ad astra
Per aspera
