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| Viewpoint |
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| Ethics
and Integrity: A businessman's view |
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I
am delighted to be back at 'home'. I completed my
professional exams of the Association about 30 years
ago! I must also like to add that the training I
received from the Association more than prepared
me for all the challenges I have met in my professional
life.
Since then, for this, I shall be eternally grateful
to the Association.
Let me first confess that I was frightened when
I was asked to deliver a paper with the above title.
After a while, fear gave way to suspicion-of the
real motive of the organizers given the natural
tendency to subject advocates of subjects like these
to public scrutiny.
Then, I began to wonder what credentials I possess
in my rather “brief” career to qualify
to join a discussion on such a touchy subject.
The more I wondered about the subject, the decision
to select me and the real intention of the organizers,
the more I got fascinated by the subject.
Then I suddenly realized that integrity and ethics
are like Siamese twins whom we have to necessarily
live with everyday of our lives, be it at home,
at work, at our places of worship and play. Then,
I tried some reading to add some intellectual background
to my local intelligence on integrity and ethics. |
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INTEGRITY
The Thesaurus in my MacBook Pro computer provided
thefollowing words as synonyms for Integrity: Honesty,
Truth, truthfulness, honour, veracity, reliability
and uprightness. And the antonym is DISHONESTY.
ETHICS For Ethics, I got the following: |
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Principles,
morals, beliefs, moral code, moral principles and moral
values.
ETHICS & INTEGRITY
Looking at these words, I see a convergence, which more
than justifies my earlier description of ethics and integrity
as Siamese twins. They are co-joined at the head and heart.
So, one can say without fear of contradiction that they
are literally and medically inseparable; which means-
as a human being- one cannot be ethical in one's conduct
without integrity.
What, therefore, does ethics and integrity entail for
a businessman like me? Generally, being ethical in my
business undertakings is synonymous with displaying high
level of integrity in all my dealings. Two things are
at play here: compliance and conscience. While the former
is associated with codes and policies and he law, the
latter is based on morality. Let me subject compliance
and conscience to further scrutiny so we can all see the
role they play in our lives as businessmen, and indeed
as humans.
Compliance
Compliance has everything to do with conformity, observance
and fulfillment and absolutely nothing to do with disobedience.
When you comply with the policies governing your organization,
you are being ethical.
When you observe the laws of your country, you are being
ethical. When you fulfill agreements, you are being ethical.
And so on. When you are compliant, you might be seen like
the Lagos Driver, who simply refuses to drive against
traffic and instead chooses to be law-abiding in spite
of the long delay and discomfort-which could be exacerbated
by a malfunctioning air-conditioner! Conscience.
I am always fascinated by the legend on the masthead of
The Guardian Newspaper credited to Othman Dan Fodio, which
says “Conscience is an open wound, only the truth
can heal it”. A newspaper could not have chosen
a better pay-of line but even for you and me, it rings
very true. As you know, when we do something wrong, our
conscience switches into regret mode-even if we pretend
about it. In a nutshell, there is a little pin that pricks
us each time we err.
naturally results in unethical behaviours including corruption. |
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Doing
business in Nigeria (as in any other country in
the world) brings one face-to-face with situations
that challenge our integrity.
This brings me to one of the most dangerous cankerworms
eating deep into the socio-economic and political
fabric of our Nigeria: CORRUPTION.
Lack of integrity |
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naturally results
in unethical behaviours including corruption.
I remember in the early 80's when companies in Nigeria could
not import anything except they had import licenses. There were
a lot of companies that engaged in unethical behaviours just
to obtain import licenses. Most of those companies are not in
existence today. In the same vein, banks have collapsed because
of unethical behaviours. In the international scene, well-known
companies have folded up due to unethical behaviours. These
companies are well known to us and too numerous to mention.
The Nigerian business landscape is replete with failed businesses
which gave way to the deleterious impact of unethical activities
of managers and directors. The sad story of two major Multinationals
which you all know about brings to fore the consequences of
unethical conduct in business and lack of integrity. Elsewhere,
the poor state of infrastructure at local government, state
and federal levels are not unrelated to the lack of integrity
among political leaders. So, while few individuals may benefit
from the proceeds of corruption, a much larger number of people
suffer from it. In the case of Nigeria, the entire populace
is bearing the brunt of several decades of unbridled and shameless
corruption.
What to do?
Serious-minded organizations not only sign onto the Charter
for Business Integrity as many of the failed businesses in the
world also did, but they comply or adhere to the policies that
undergird their activities as a business.
So, the first step is to put in place policies and procedures
that make it unattractive to be unethical. The next step, which
is most important, is to ensure the policies and procedures
are strictly adhered to.
In Zain Nigeria, we are all signed on to a Compliance Code,
which makes it punishable for employees to accept gifts or other
inducements offered by business partners in the course of business
transactions. To underscore the import of this policy, we took
adverts spots in the newspapers to inform our business partners
and other associates that we do not receive gifts including
Christmas gifts.
This might sound simplistic, but it goes a long way in tackling
the single most versatile source of corruption in businesses.
You might say that most of the gifts would be taken home and
the company may never find out. You may be correct, but as they
say everyday is or the thief and just one day is for the owner
of the house. For us, it is a matter of business survival and
we adopt zero-tolerance. While we might have a short discussion
with someone who is consistent under- performer, we will not
discuss with anyone proven to have behaved unethically.
Also, we have recently introduced a Whistle-Blower system, whereby
employees can reveal unethical and corrupt activities of their
colleagues. The idea is not to provide a platform for blackmail
or demonization of colleagues (which ostensibly will negatively
affect morale and camaraderie) but to give voice to employees
who believe their conscience is maligned by the unethical behaviors
of their colleagues. |
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The Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt
Practices Commission (ICPC) were set up by the Federal
Government in recognition of the great damage corruption
has done (and is still doing) to the economy and reputation
of the country. Whether these Commissions are doing their
job well is a matter for debate, and depending on how
passionate you are about ethics and integrity you may
wish to rank them on a scale of zero to ten.
Without pontificating, I would like to focus my attention
over the next few minutes on the role of Ethics and Integrity
in business. What matters and what doesn't. What works
and what doesn't. One thing I will not attempt to do today
is to ask you to indicate by raising your right hand,
if you believe you have |
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not sinned. Ethics
and Integrity are the bedrock upon which sustainable businesses
are built. As I said elsewhere in my presentation, whereas some
people may see you as a foolish person (like the law-abiding
Lagos Driver) in the short term, you will be vindicated in the
long run.
In terms of actual loss or gain, you might lose money for refusing
to play ball with corrupt partners and officials, but at the
end of the day, your business will be known for its adherence
to rules, regulations, policies and laws.
So, what matters?
What really matters is the individual's willingness and ability
to put honour in one eye and challenges in the other and look
at both indifferently (apologies to William Shakespeare).
A good name, the Bible says, is better than silver and gold.
As a businessman, you have a choice between behaving ethically
or not. If you have integrity, you will have zero option and
your choice will be clear.
What works?
At the end of the day, what works is taking the straight and
narrow path of ethical behavior and integrity. This is where
leadership comes in. As leaders in our various businesses, we
must ask ourselves the question: what legacy shall we be remembered
for? Don't be fooled, the walls have ears and soon the unethical
leader will acquire a reputation and the word will be out.
The day colleagues and associates start debating your integrity
or questioning your adherence to ethical conduct, your career
is over. Same goes for organizations. Some Accountants and Accounting
firms in Nigeria and indeed the world over have been punished
including having their licenses withdrawn for unethical practices.
At this point, distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, let me remind
you that the job you all do as Accountants is like that of a
Medical Doctor or Priest. Trust is the Highest Common Factor.
And you can only win people's trust, if you are a man or woman
of integrity who conducts his or her business ethically. I personally
have a simple rule about ethics: What is white is clear from
what is black. I would not only run away from the black but
not venture into the grey area.
In other words, any question I cannot answer to my 9 year old
daughter looking at her eyeball
to eyeball, for me is unethical.
Even presenting this paper within he time allotted is ethical.
It shows adherence to a guideline. And so without much ado,
I thank you for the opportunity you have given me to share my
thoughts on Ethics and Integrity. |
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