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 BUSINESS ETHICS GUIDELINES AND RESOURCES

Home > When In Doubt About Ethics Questions - ASK!

There's a common phrase in business that encourages people to display initiative. It suggests that they determine ways to overcome the obstacles of bureaucracy, of "red tape," and to move a project ahead. This phrase is: It is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.

In the context of ethics, however, do not follow that concept. In fact, when dealing with ethics that concept would serve you best if you reversed it: It is better to ask for permission than to ask for forgiveness.

Why? The reason is the stakes in behaving ethically in business are very high. We see weekly, if not daily, in the news media report how one person made a poor ethical choice that caused disaster in a company. One decision may impact hundreds or thousands of people. With the result of an ethical decision that large, it is better to ask for permission before you act.

You are expected to continually do what's right and ethical at work. There are resources available to you to help meet that expectation. Use the resources. Obtain the input from others.

Whenever you are unsure if an action is appropriate or not, ask a proper authority such as your boss, a senior manager, a mentor, the owner (if you work at a small company), someone in the Human Resources Department or the Legal Department. Keep asking until you get an answer.

If you are not sure who to go to in your organization, ask whom you should ask.

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This information is compiled and provided by George S. May International Company.
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