The minute a company says, “we need to train people on ethics, they are going down the wrong road” (Thompson, 2014, p. 79). Don L. Seidman, is a CEO for an LRN company that has brought ethical culture to the forefront of business corporations and challenged the thinking and delivery of ethical practice. Mr. Seidman presents a very interesting view of ethics training. To begin with, the term training isn’t an adequate representation of the complexity that is involved with ethics. He highlights the importance of “embracing the higher burden of real education in ethics” (Thompson, 2007, p. 80). This type of education fosters more than an awareness of ethical thought but “transcends thinking into true skills development, thought processes and reasoning abilities” (Thompson, 2007, p. 80). The integration of ethical awareness and reasoning grows as one conducts themselves in a community and is influenced by their environment. Throughout his interview, Mr. Seidman emphasizes the relationship of ethics and values in developing a person’s ethical foundation. It isn’t just a “code of conduct” (Thompson, 2007, p. 80), ethics is a way of being. With this in mind, ethics training as a segment in practice instead of continuous application is not beneficial and should not be considered an adequate method of ethics delivery if the hope is to achieve a moral culture within an organization.

In building on the last paragraph, Mr. Seidman alludes to the history of ethical thought as a “static field of theoretical and philosophical study” (Thompson, 2007, p. 80). The notion that people integrate what they learn better when they can relate to it and apply it to their life is why the history of ethical thought has been deemed ineffective. The issue seems to lie with ethics being taught in isolation, “life is not just about what you do, but how you do it. If you do not talk about how in context of what, then people have a tough time applying ethics in practice” (Thompson, 2007, p. 80). One does not develop the innate ability to think ethically if they can not integrate it into their lives.

The pressures that global economy can place on organizations is tremendous. In a fast-paced and changing market I can appreciate the need to make tough decisions. I do believe that most of society is very focused on “the now” and envisioning the long-term can be difficult. In a business context, Mr. Seidman talks about doing the right thing as an inconvenience due to fact that those decisions may not be the most popular or profitable (Thompson, 2017). I agree that when you are focused on the short term there may always appear to be pragmatic reason behind an amoral decision or action and little consideration for the outcome after enacting. I think that if organizations and people can forgo short term returns and ethics is connected to how people get ahead and succeed, then the pressures placed from global economy will not lead to an amoral response (Thompson, 2017).

In healthcare, particularly the nursing profession, ethical thinking is embedded into our nursing culture. We have a responsibility to “attend to others, be of service to them and make decisions pertaining to them that are beneficial and not harmful to their welfare” (Northouse, 2018, p. 347). Just as we have standards of care, we have ethical practice guidelines in which we adhere to. More than just a code of conduct though, ethics is a personal trait and as nurses caring is a “moral pursuit centered on the beneficent attention of one person to another” (Cortis and Kendrick, 2003, P.77).

Furthermore, ethics is an essential component in any organization. Embracing a cultural approach to ethics training is something leaders in my organization do a really good job of. The focus of ethics training is never delivered by a program approach but rather integrated into how we practice, learn or reflect on the work we do. “Its about […] putting in enough practice to recognize when you’re confronted with an ethical dilemma – and training yourself to response instinctively. Its about becoming an ethical athlete” (Thompson, 2017, p. 83). In regard to our patients, we review care weekly and pay close attention to any ethical undertones that may be present in their care situations. As a team, we foster a climate of respect and commitment to each other and our shared purpose. We are constantly educated and supported to not only think ethically but to act and exist as ethical beings and our performance is measured against ethical guidelines. A cultural approach to ethics behavior works in healthcare organizations because ethics plays a significant part in how we care for others.

In conclusion, the article A Corporate Training View of Ethics Education highlighted the importance of several different items, from the complexity of ethical thinking to current corporate training practices and inadequacies. What stood out, however, was the importance of a cultural approach to successfully integrate proper ethics behaviour into workplaces.

Daneen

References

Cortis, J. D & Kendrick, K. (2003). Nursing ethics, caring and culture. Nursing Ethics 10 (1). 77-88. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.student.twu.ca:3386/openurl?sid=EBSCO%3aedswsc&genre=article&issn=09697330&ISBN=&volume=10&issue=1&date=20030101&spage=77&pages=77-88&title=NURSING+ETHICS&atitle=Nursing+ethics%2c+caring+and+culture&aulast=Cortis%2c+JD&id=DOI%3a&site=ftf-live

Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice, Eighth Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publications.

Thompson, K. R. (2007). A corporate training view of ethics education: An interview with
Dov L. Seidman, CEO of LRN. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 13(3), 79-91.