tion to business ethics is critical during times of fundamental change -- times much like those faced now by businesses, both non-profit and for-profit. During times of change, there is often no clear moral compass to guide leaders through complex conflicts about what is right or wrong. Continuing attention to ethics in the workplace sensitizes leaders and staff to how they want to act. 3. Ethics programs cultivate strong teamwork and productivity. Ethics programs align employee behaviors with those top priority ethical values preferred by leaders of the organization. Usually, an organization finds surprising disparity between its preferred values and the values actually reflected by behaviors in the workplace. Ongoing attention and dialogue regarding values in the workplace builds openness, integrity and community -- critical ingredients of strong teams in the workplace. Employees feel strong alignment between their values and those of the organization. They react with strong motivation and performance. 4. Ethics programs support employee growth and meaning. Attention to ethics in the workplace helps employees face reality, both good and bad, in the organization and themselves. Employees feel full confidence they can admit and deal with whatever comes their way. Bennett, in his article "Unethical Behavior, Stress Appear Linked" (Wall Street Journal, April 11, 1991, p. B1), explained that a consulting company tested a range of executives and managers. Their most striking finding: the more emotionally healthy executives, as measured on a battery of tests, the more likely they were to score high on ethics tests. 5. Ethics programs are an insurance policy -- they help ensure that policies are legal. There are an increasing number of lawsuits in regard to personnel matters and to effects of an organization's services or products on stakeholders. As mentioned earlier in this document, ethical principles are often state-of-the-art legal matt...
