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February 24, 2006
Thresholds Of Decency
In our complex 21st century, tens of millions of us experience what has traditionally been meant by the word community in the organizations where we work. It is in that context that we depend on other people we know for critical aspects of our lives: security, affiliation, meaning, and more. Each day we go to work, there are co-workers who will do much to influence our health, well being and future. And, these co-workers are not limited to close friends or family. They have little relationship to us other than the purposes we share with them that are related to the purposes of the organization where we work with them.
In too many organizations, the shared purposes reflect a bias toward value (profits, money, winning) over other values (family, social, environmental, spiritual, political and so forth). Value is the trump card. If a decision will increase profits and shareholder wealth, the odds are that decision will get made. Indeed, this is a profoundly powerful description of the shared beliefs and behaviors in our organizations -- of the 'way we do things around here'.
Consequently, news that employees calling themselves scientists doctored information about health risks in order to gain profit making opportunities for their companies come as no surprise. In our world of value trumping values, this is 'dog bites man' -- not the reverse. It's common place. It's not really news in the sense of surprise. It's predictable.
Tomorrow, though, when you go to work, ask yourself: In this community you know as your organization, is there any threshold of decency below which you -- the thick we of your organization who share fates -- will not allow value to trump values? For example, if sickness and death of some of your co-workers are a potential consequence of profit making choices, does that sit above or below the threshold of decency?
