No Result
View All Result
SUBSCRIBE | NO FEES, NO PAYWALLS
MANAGE MY SUBSCRIPTION
NEWSLETTER
Corporate Compliance Insights
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Corporate Compliance Insights
Home Ethics

Winning at All Costs

by Marcy J. Maslov
February 16, 2017
in Ethics, Featured
man pulling ace from his sleeve

Ethics and the Problem of Keeping Quiet

If you know a colleague is taking questionable shortcuts in an attempt to deliver strong performance, and you say nothing, does that make you an accomplice? Unethical behavior rarely affects that bad actor alone; in fact, the consequences can be far-reaching and disastrous. Marcy Maslov explores potential responses.

By: Marcy Maslov

Big Boss offers a sales contest to increase the customer base. You overhear a colleague on the phone telling all his contacts about the contest and promising if they help him win, they can return their purchases after the contest is over, no questions asked. Your colleague doesn’t win, so you stay silent about what you heard. Is this appropriate behavior?

-e-Factor!® scenario

A segment on 60 Minutes entitled “Enhancing the Bike” prompted me to write this article. In short, an inventor in Budapest created a bicycle motor that fits into the bike frame or wheel. Professional cyclists may have used this motor as early as 2010 in the Tour de France and the Olympics to unfairly enhance their performance. When asked if he would actually sell the motor to a prospective client who said they intended to use it to cheat, the inventor replied “If money is big enough, why not?”

The main point of the segment was that cyclists will do anything to win the Tour de France, Olympics or other prestigious sporting events – and that there will always be someone willing to sell the latest “magic bullet” to help them. What is so disturbing for me is the attitude of the inventor, the lengths to which some teams may have gone in order to obtain the bike motor and the seemingly total disregard these pro cyclists exhibit for the reputation of the sport and their colleagues. I was lucky enough to see one stage of the Tour de France when I lived in Paris many years ago, and that level of athletic skill has always left me in awe of the athlete. Not anymore.

The scenario above translates the various ethical dilemmas from the cycling world into a business setting. Would you do anything to “win?”  At what point does the risk of getting caught outweigh the thrill of the win?  How much is it really worth to you to come out on top?

In my usual fashion, let’s dissect this scenario and look at all the components of ethical problem solving.  To start, what are the ethics issues? Yes, it appears that our colleague intentionally cheated to win a prize and displayed evident disregard for the spirit of fair play. Although the scenario doesn’t say specifically, our colleague may have been unauthorized to make the promise of returns.  He may also have broken contest rules, which by most guidelines would not have included a “no questions asked” return policy.

These are the obvious ethical issues; there are more subtle ones as well.  By not reporting what we overheard, we are taking a “no harm, no foul” attitude. If left unchecked, this behavior could happen again and again, ultimately preventing someone who actually did play by the rules from winning legitimately. We might be allowing a culture to form that encourages “win at all costs,” and this might inspire others to find creative ways to cheat, just as they found ways to cheat in the cycling world.  Everyone knows pro cycling is corrupt; would you want your business to have the same reputation?

What options do we have in a situation like this scenario besides staying silent? We could report what we heard, either via confidential hotline or to an executive or another colleague.  We could also confront the colleague and ask them to stop cheating. But what if the colleague was a senior executive? How does this change the picture of options we would be willing to consider? It would certainly change the potential consequences each option offers, because now we would have to consider the risk of retaliation or seeing nothing change as factors in making a decision.

Some might take the approach that it’s none of our business, especially if the colleague doesn’t report to us or is one of our executives.  I don’t know about you, but this would erode my confidence in the organization, especially if the “cheater” was a member of the leadership team.  I likely would also distrust the results of any future contests and could also refrain from participating in them.

If we know for certain that someone is cheating and we do nothing, are we also guilty of cheating? Are we an accomplice?  Are we enabling this type of unethical behavior? And if so, are we willing to pay the price?  In this scenario, the consequences could be loss of a job, repayment of the prize, plus loss of integrity and reputation, but a culture of cheating could result in more severe consequences, such as jail-time, loss of licenses, fines, penalties and business closures.  I’ve seen it happen.  In one case, a customer care representative of a former client made statements to a caller that cost the partners their business when that caller reported them to the IRS.

We are not the only stakeholders involved in this situation. Some stakeholders don’t even know they’re involved! Everyone who participated in the contest was a stakeholder, along with Big Boss, our colleague and all the clients who were added as a result of the contest. Imagine a new client finding out that other clients were given permission to return their purchases!

This is only a partial analysis of the ethical dilemma we presented at the beginning of this article.  The last step in our ethical problem solving process is to decide the best and most appropriate action to take.  In the scenario, we did nothing.  Is this best?  If not, what action would you prefer people in your organization to take? Might be a good discussion topic for your next team meeting!


Tags: Conduct Risk
Previous Post

2017 Audit Committee Agenda Considerations, Part 2

Next Post

Why Compliance Officers Need Independence

Marcy J. Maslov

Marcy J. Maslov

After watching companies and clients struggle with ethical dilemmas, Marcy J. Maslov invented e-Factor!®, a business ethics board game designed to provide a practice arena for solving real-life ethical dilemmas before they cost time, money or reputation. Marcy is founder and CEO of Empowerment Unlimited Coaching, LLC, a business coaching practice devoted to building strong, ethical leaders and entrepreneurs. She has extensive Fortune 500 and entrepreneurial background including implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley programs, creation of corporate ethics courses, forensic accounting and public speaking on business ethics. Marcy has lived or worked in over 20 countries, including France, Mexico and Canada. She is a Certified Professional Coactive Coach, has earned a BS in Accountancy (U of IL Champaign-Urbana) and MBA (Duke University ‘92). Contact Marcy at marcy@e-Factorgame.com or www.e-Factorgame.com.

Related Posts

businessman holding portfolio with cash spilling out

How WFH Will Accelerate Financial Misconduct

by Erkin Adylov
November 23, 2020

Behavox CEO Erkin Adylov discusses the serious reputational and monetary consequences financial firms face as a result of today’s remote...

hand flipping a coin

“Two Up” – Random Acts of Kindness vs. Selfishness in a Crisis

by Calvin London
April 28, 2020

In a crisis, you may witness vastly different behavior from one person to the next. Calvin London draws parallels between...

red emergency cancel button

What Drives Social Media Mobbing?

by Michael Toebe
January 9, 2020

Social mobs love “cancelling” people. What drives some to pile on, and what can organizations do to effectively manage a...

row of matches with humanoid heads and one match lit

The Human Factor in FCPA Violations and Compliance Issues

by Frank Orlowski
January 9, 2020

An organization comprised of humans will have its failings; people are fallible, after all. But this in no way means...

Next Post
chain breaking

Why Compliance Officers Need Independence

Compliance Job Interview Q&A

Jump to a Topic

AML Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption Artificial Intelligence (AI) Automation Banking Board of Directors Board Risk Oversight Business Continuity Planning California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Code of Conduct Communications Management Corporate Culture COVID-19 Cryptocurrency Culture of Ethics Cybercrime Cyber Risk Data Analytics Data Breach Data Governance DOJ Download Due Diligence Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) ESG FCPA Enforcement Actions Financial Crime Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) GDPR HIPAA Know Your Customer (KYC) Machine Learning Monitoring RegTech Reputation Risk Risk Assessment SEC Social Media Risk Supply Chain Technology Third Party Risk Management Tone at the Top Training Whistleblowing
No Result
View All Result

Privacy Policy

Founded in 2010, CCI is the web’s premier global independent news source for compliance, ethics, risk and information security. 

Got a news tip? Get in touch. Want a weekly round-up in your inbox? Sign up for free. No subscription fees, no paywalls. 

Follow Us

Browse Topics:

  • CCI Press
  • Compliance
  • Compliance Podcasts
  • Cybersecurity
  • Data Privacy
  • eBooks Published by CCI
  • Ethics
  • FCPA
  • Featured
  • Financial Services
  • Fraud
  • Governance
  • GRC Vendor News
  • HR Compliance
  • Internal Audit
  • Leadership and Career
  • On Demand Webinars
  • Opinion
  • Resource Library
  • Risk
  • Uncategorized
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Well-Being
  • Whitepapers

© 2022 Corporate Compliance Insights

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe

© 2022 Corporate Compliance Insights

Welcome to CCI. This site uses cookies. Please click OK to accept. Privacy Policy
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT