Book Review: Ethics for the Real World

Ethics is a topic that book authors, who are subject-matter experts, should endeavour to make available in layman understandable terms in order to be useful for the everyday person and worker. Ronald Howard and Clinton Korver are quite successful in doing this through their book Ethics for the Real World: Creating a Personal Code to Guide Decisions in Work and Life. Much credit should also go to Bill Birchard, the writer, who converted the academic work of Howard and Korver into a reader-friendly, self-help book.
Summary of the Book
The format of the book is unique and very instructive: 1) it provides a reader-friendly road map of the entire text; 2) the actual content itself is brief and concise, interspersed with real life, as well as highly unique and uncommon, examples of ethical dilemma situations; 3) at the end of the appendices is a section titled “Our Messages”, which provides a very helpful reference guide of listing of key words, concepts and messages for each chapter of the book.

The introduction provides the key message, as well the tone and pace of laying out the subject matter and instructive materials, that the authors would like to convey to their audience. The book maps out an engineering-like methodology for skilful and disciplined decision-making that includes ethical considerations. A standard approach to decision-making should distinguish the dimensions of ethical and non-ethical (legal and prudential) issues. Understanding these dimensions is necessary in order to avoid ethical compromises. The introduction also sets the parameters for defining a disciplined decision-making methodology by suggesting to its audience that ethical thought should be drawn from within one’s own person and that focus should be on self-improvement. Setting and committing to one’s own set of ethical principles and practicing a disciplined decision-making approach involves constant introspection and considerations on how one’s decision may impact others. After reading this book, one should be able to draft one’s own “personal code”.

Chapters 1 to 3 talk about drawing the line to distinguish what is right and wrong in everyday ethical situations involving temptations to lie, deceive, steal and harm. The authors propose that avoiding the grey areas will steer one clear of ethical compromises. After all, “the lesser of two evils is still evil.” Fundamental to maintaining a high standard of personal ethics is avoiding those compromises that stem out of making exceptions to the rules. Every instance of making an exception represents one small step towards the edge of the proverbial “slippery slope”.

Chapter 2 specifically talks about what distinctions have to be made, i.e. the ethical, legal and prudential dimensions of a decision; positive and negative ethics; action- and consequence-based ethics; reasoning versus rationalization.

Each one’s environment and upbringing are sources of touchstones, or standards of ethical principles. Chapter 3 discusses these touchstones, such as religion, institutions, our parents, leaders, role models and friends.

In making the right choices and decisions, a thoughtfully crafted reference manual to which one is committed, is of great importance. Chapter 4 outlines a step by step guide in crafting one’s own personal code.

Once the decision tool is in place, in Chapter 5 the authors push for decisive actions whenever one is faced with an ethical issue. Their precept is also based on Edmund Burke’s famous maxim: “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” If one is to have high ethical standards, acquiescence is in itself complicity to a wrongdoing, or even to a crime.

Transforming one’s personal and work life to a nobler and more satisfied one through astute decision-making with the use of the personal code is the focus of Chapters 6 and 7. Being that among the authors’ preposition that ethical concerns always involve people around oneself, the impact of correct ethical decisions almost always transforms ones relationships with the people around us, in personal life or at work.

Going beyond skill-building, the book’s epilogue suggests that the reader strive for excellence through constant practice, introspection, reinforcement and continuous improvement of one’s personal code. As it was declared by Aristotle himself, the father of virtue ethics, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”

My Think Piece
Among the classroom lessons that came to mind as I was reading the book was the Seven Step Model to Moral Decision-Making by Dr. William May (Velasquez, M., 2006: 637-645). Although Howard and Korver’s decision-making process is simpler with only three steps, Chapter 5 (Choose Action) of the book describes a process similar to May’s. Both methods prescribe a definition of the ethical issue, creation of alternatives and evaluating to make a decision thereafter. Another parallel classroom lesson is the discussion in the book on consequential ethics, which is essentially an application of the utilitarian principle.

What I consider to be the best take-away lesson for me from this book is that the right decisions, especially those that are ethically sound, thoughtfully assessed, and astutely framed, ultimately transform our relationships with family, co-workers and friends. The approach presented is not merely reactive ethical decision-making but it provides a framework by which we can “take the right action...” and “create opportunities to do right by other people.” After all, personal relationships are more enduring than any transactional interaction (Howard et al, 2008: 113-116).

The value that Howard et al places in the human face of ethical decision-making is consistent with James Rachel’s “Minimum Conception of Morality.” Rachel similarly emphasizes that morality provides for considerations of consequences that may befall each affected individual whenever one makes a decision or takes action (Rachels, 1993).

On the professional and work aspect of this lesson, this consideration of and for others is akin to the concept of accountability. Acceptance of responsibility and having the willingness to give honest and adequate explanations for actions or decisions taken presupposes due consideration that other people may be or may have been affected.

There are likewise local studies that illustrate awareness of similar concepts that are innate to Philippine culture. In her Series on Filipino Values, F. Landa Jocano talks about the innately Filipino concepts of “halaga” (value), “kapwa” (fellow being), “damdamin” (feelings, intuition), among others. Jocano takes particular note in “Halaga: The Evaluative Core of Filipino Value System” that the Filipino typically gives consideration for others – how others will be affected by one’s action and how others will approach a situation. The assumption is that our touchstones usually have a more or less common shared value that we can look up to (Jocano, 1993: 1-5).

Howard et al also talk about distinctions between ethical and legal. This recalls to mind the classroom discussions regarding the differences between moral and legal. In the same light, the court injunction promulgated by Judge Jaime Logarta, with the complicity of Hoechst counsel Cesar Cruz, which inhibits the government from disrupting the selling of banned Hoechst chemicals in the Philippines is legal but immoral and unethical (Severino, Ethics class handout: 3-9).

There are certainly practical applications for the personal code that is being espouseed by Howard et al. Both a personal code and a company code of ethics can help strengthen ethics in enterprise and the workplace. For organizations or companies that do not yet have their own code of ethics, they can make use of this book as a guide in crafting one.

In creating one’s personal code, one can start simple, similar to what Chip Mason of Legg Mason had. One can also start with a touchstone, such as the four cardinal virtues of Thomas Aquinas: courage, temperance, prudence and justice (Aquinas, 1981). However, in order for one’s personal code to be a fully operational manual, one has to take the steps prescribed in the book.

I recommend the book as a good read, particularly for those aiming for happiness via a virtuous life. Indeed, it takes a lot of practice and introspection to continually improve one’s personal code. The guiding beacons are learning lessons as one applies the personal code, taking careful thought for continuous improvement and aspiring for the same “internal anchors” that Jesus Christ used in decision-making. Jesus Christ’s “internal anchors” consists of his own set of established values and principles, his own personal code of ethics (Jones, L.B., 1995: 19-20).

On the other hand, one has to realize that the book does not offer a complete compass or a single-bullet solution to ethical issues and dilemmas. No matter how much thought and preparation one invests into a personal code, there will be very rare ethical situations that will stump us. In those rare occasions, we may find ourselves understanding completely the full “moral meaning” of a certain behaviour or action “after the connection between choice and consequence has revealed itself” (Carroll, 2002: 609).

References:

Howard, R.A., Korver, C.D., with Birchard, B.
Ethics for the Real World: Creating a Personal Guide to Decisions in Work and Life
Harvard Business Press, 2008

Velasquez, Manuel
Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases 6th Ed.
Prentice Hall, 2006

Rachels, James
The Elements of Moral Philosophy
McGraw Hill, 1993

Jocano, F.L.
Halaga: The Evaluative Core of Filipino Value System
Punlad Research Paper No. 3 (Series on Filipino Values)
Punlad Research House, 1993

Severino, H.
Ethics Class Handout (Prof. D.Gonzalez)
Ateneo Graduate School of Business, 2009

Coronel, Sheila
Investigating Officials
June 2007
Posted online at:
http://woodyooi.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/investigating-officials.pdf

Treger, Billy
Multinational Monitor: Pushing Pesticides
June 1994
Posted online at:
http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1994/06/front.html

Aquinas, Thomas
Summa Theologiae
Trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province
Christian Classics, 1981

Jones, Laurie B.
Jesus CEO: Using Ancient Wisdom for Visionary Leadership
Hyperion, 1993

Carroll, James
Constantine’s Sword: The Church and the Jews
Mariner Books, 2002

Various Book reviews
Posted online at:
www.ethicsfortherealworld.com