Ethics, morals and values: learn the importance of cultivating them in your company in times of pandemic - s2 Consultoria
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There are some themes that are fundamental to the cultural alignment in institutions. These reflections are important for positively influencing the performance of leaders and employees, not only in the search for better results, but also in improving engagement between sectors.
To have such a discussion, starting with an analysis of the concepts surrounding the ethics, morals and valuesThis will be a very productive path. The topics may seem complex (and, in a way, involve several ramifications), but they are crucial points when thinking about analyzing business conduct, and are directly related to people management.
When it comes to the corporate world, there are some factors and strategies that leaders can observe in order to apply these concepts. To help you understand a little more about the subject and its importance, I've prepared this article with a complete analysis of the topic.
How ethics, morals and values can influence the success of an institution? What are the particularities and points of attention of each concept? Read on and find out more:
Values, morals and ethics: what are they and how do they move our lives?
Before directly addressing values, morals and ethicsI would like to share a lesson I learned from Terezinha Rios, a Master in Philosophy of Education and a consultant on Ethics and Values.
We live in a society where moral values are taken into account, especially in relation to religious, political and educational choices. However, we understand little about the meaning of values, morals and ethics, especially the latter.
Terezinha Rios helps us with this understanding, saying that it is extremely important to know the distinction between Morals and Ethics. In other words: don't differentiate, because they are complementary. This process allows people to understand the concept behind these words, especially as they are directly linked.
For example, she explains that societies have different customs. Taking a very simple case, there are those societies where it is customary to eat meat, and others where it is not. However, both are driven by values that determine what is "good", what is "right" and what is "wrong". Custom generates values and values generate rules, norms and laws.
So that's where morality is bornMorals are a set of prescriptions that guide people's lives in society. Morality indicates what is good and bad for its members and shows how they should behave. Shall we understand these concepts better?
Values, morals and ethics: definitions
In Etymology: Moral is More (Latin) and means custom. Ethics is Ethos (Greek) and also means custom. But then, what is custom? It's the way man invented to live in nature and deal with his interpersonal relationships. For example: "dogs don't usually bark, they bark" as opposed to: "We Brazilians are used to eating rice and beans every day" - that's customary.
Every society has its own customs and these are based precisely on values!
And we are guided within each society to judge what is right and wrong! Or we say: "This is how it should be done...", and then rules, norms and laws are constructed within a society that are considered correct, otherwise, if they are violated, people are punished.
Here we enter the field of morality, a set of prescriptions that guide people and society.
And as Terezinha says: "Why do I have to be honest and pay taxes? Is that for my own good? Here we enter the field of ethics.
Unlike morality, which is normative and based on rules, ethics is reflective and involves the common good of society.
How do we identify values? And what are values?
Values direct human behavior and govern all our decisions. Customs are based on values. These are emotional states that we attach importance to and seek to experience, even if unconsciously. And our values have been built up throughout our lives, mainly through our parents or the people who brought us up as children.
As well as education, we are influenced by our culture, our school, the city we live in, our life experience, through our family members, the stories lived by our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and so on. Values don't change, they continue to be reinforced throughout our lives.
They are words that describe what motivates us to act, whether in a way that is considered "bad" or "good".
And within the theme of values, we still have other ramifications:
- examples of values: Freedom, security, responsibility, contribution, commitment, trust, integrity, etc. This list is endless and differs from person to person;
- examples of ways to meet these values: home, business, career, car, relationship, money, family, etc. Means are ways that each person has and chooses to meet their needs (which are based on values);
- examples of value criteria: here are rules that throughout our lives determine "how" we are going to fulfill our values, through these means that I have chosen;
- and, finally, the Hierarchy of Values: Throughout our lives we value different things and values follow this prioritization. So that list of values that each person has follows a hierarchy, a priority that is influenced by age, experiences and preferences that change throughout life.
In other words, there is a complexity of very important concepts that should be brought to everyone, involving all choices, decisions, customs, life experience, stories, and that it would be much easier to deal with what is different and not better or worse.
Each person has this as their "internal compass", which accompanies them throughout their life and which, when known, makes you much more conscious, consistent and predictable in your actions and choices.
As you can see, the three concepts are related to the particularity of individuals and also to their collective experiences. It's almost impossible to analyze these concepts without taking both points into account: individual and collective. Therefore, the analysis is also opportune for the corporate world and can help in the implementation of new processes.
Remember that values also guide what a company values in what it considers important for the corporation. It's not enough just to have a banner that's pretty to look at, but what's important and highly valued to live and behave within that company.
Ethics, morals and values: how do they apply in companies?
Do people understand these concepts of values, morals and ethics in companies, where a giant set of rules, norms and laws prevails? How dedicated are companies to this transparency in relation to norms and laws for the common benefit of all?
The topic should be the basis for any employee, even before they are hired or when they are joining the company. Propagating a culture that defends the three concepts can bring more effective results and integration between employees. To this end, it is possible to cite some processes that facilitate this alignment.
One of them is the search for a more transparent communication process, in which employees are aware of the processes and rules and feel free to clarify doubts or point out flaws. The idea is to build various communication channels and make them accessible, creating trust between leaders and those they lead. Whether it's through individual or collective meetings, the communication of standards and values must become increasingly clear.
Another important point is to always remember the the need for an example. When there is a strong culture, based on ethics and morals, the rules must be applied uniformly, regardless of hierarchy. In other words, leaders must take a stance that meets the company's standards, with no exceptions.
Have you ever stopped to think about it? How is your company's culture designed and what strategies are used to communicate it to employees? To allow this thinking to be more complete, let's analyze the relationship between norms and ethics in the corporate world.
Standards + Ethics: how this combination works in the corporate sector
When we distinguish between the concepts, it's easier to understand their implications, right? Within this discussion, there is another important ramification, which is the relationship between the norms and ethics of institutions. Well, while morality orders these norms, ethics has the responsibility to think about about these standards, i.e. measuring the consistency and comprehensiveness of these principles in depth within companies.
Still using Professor Terezinha's teachings, it is worth complementing her reasoning as follows. Ethics is based on 3 principlesThey are:
- respect: recognition of the existence of others and constitutes society as a whole;
- justice: equality in difference. We are unique individuals, but equal in rights;
- solidarity: respect taken to its ultimate consequences; I genuinely think of the other person.
By using these three principles, managers are able to share with their teams and subordinates the importance of each member's responsibility for actions (internal or external). Standards help to identify what needs to be done, regardless of how each sector is followed.
In fact, the concept is much more complex and comprehensive. When we think, for example, of delivering a service to the customer, the employee needs to understand that it is important to generate a value on delivery. When you sell a product, you're also selling the image the brand carries and the benefits it can offer the end consumer.
The same goes for customer service, where ethics must always be taken into account. Employees must be professional, try to solve problems efficiently and guarantee the best customer experience.
This responsibility, beyond individual issues, can (and should) be shared with all employees. How? Through the rules, in which the institution makes it clear what is expected of the employee. This is where ethics comes in, where the individual (with all their moral history, teachings and experience) decides how to act, conscious of their responsibilities.
How can this issue be monitored within the company?
Institutions that are concerned about developing these values and strengthening their internal culture can rely on a number of development (and monitoring) strategies. One of these is PIR (Resilient Integrity Potential), a tool developed by S2 Consulting.
You might think that monitoring employees' technical skills is fundamental. However, there are other points of competence analysis that make all the difference, and among them is the monitoring of the ability to deal with ethical conflicts.
The more resilient and upstanding the employee, the better they tend to deal with problems involving the values of the institutions. For this analysis, the PIR assessment collects responses in three formats: video reports, multiple choice and essay. With these, it is possible to assess various factors, including non-verbal ones.
As you can see, the the relationship between ethics, morals and values in institutions is complex and can have a major influence on companies. Taking this issue seriously can improve results and positively impact various situations involving communication with employees and their personal development.
I hope you enjoyed our content and understood a little more about how ethics, morals and values are related to the corporate world. To conclude, don't forget to share the content on your social networks and let more people get a context on the subject!
