Integrity... Should It Matter?

In our fast paced work culture, manned by technology savvy generation in a globally competitive environment, quality and productivity became the battle cry of corporations to stay in business. Though this is not necessarily bad, an equally important ingredient to succeed is seemingly taking the back seat.

Knowledge and Skill--- two competencies, through the years, were given much emphasis by the corporate world. As long as the job is done, the sales target is met, attitude, character and habits of employees became secondary in importance.

When evaluating employees for promotion, leaders are at times in dilemma to choose between a technically competent guy with a not so good character and a trustworthy candidate but still lacking in skill. When the demand to fill the office is immediate, can a business unit afford to wait? Which choice is more expensive? The investment cost to train a trustworthy guy or the losses that may result from character flaw? We know that skills and knowledge deficiency can be addressed by a training program, is there an organizational intervention that can address character problem?

Attitude and character is part and parcel of "integrity". But what is integrity? Should it be a factor in a person's effectiveness and development? Should it matter in an organization?

Integrity, according to Richard Dortch "involves everything about the wholeness of our inner person, our heart, mind and will. Integrity simply means singleness: Singleness of our purpose, singleness of our will, singleness of our hearts. There is no dividing of the truth that splits the wholeness of what we are about". Mr. Dortch further explained that the prevailing duplicity in a person's professional and private life is a manifestation of an eroding integrity.

Values are supposedly consistent regardless of time, place, culture and environment. The force that restrains us from doing certain activities when our superiors are around should also be present even when they are not. Similarly, the restraint to do certain actions in the presence of our family should also be felt when we are alone.

Integrity In Business Context

In business context, integrity is "investing your money to where your mouth is"-- The product can live to its promise(s) to end users, clients, customers and business partners.

One of the top and well known companies in Asia is SM Prime, the Philippine's number one company managing shopping malls and retail shops. INTEGRITY is part of its corporate mantra. Ms. Teresita Sy-Coson, President of SM Mart Inc. and Chair of Banco De Oro, shared the 14 principles of her father. In her speech in a series of Taipan fora sponsored by the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII), Ms. Sy-Coson said "the second principle, is about integrity...our father taught us to be fair, credible, trustworthy and to put a lot of weight in commitments and responsibilities".

Integrity In Leadership

"Leadership by example" is still one of the best approaches in leading the human capital. The story below often used to coach can best illustrate this point.

This is a story of Mahatma Gandhi counseling a child for removing a bad habit.

A lady reached Mahatma Gandhi with her 10 yr. old son. She told Gandhi, " Sir, my son has a bad habit of eating a lot of jaggery ( a special kind of Indian sweets ). I have been telling him to reduce eating jaggery but he does not listen to me. Mahatma ji, the whole nation listens to you and you are a revered personality. I am sure my son too will heed to your advice. Please tell him not to eat too much of jaggery."

Mahatma Gandhi thought for a while and asked the lady to bring her son again after a week.

After a week , the lady again took her son to Mahatma. Mahatma Gandhi put his hand on the head of the boy and told him, "My dear child, don't eat jaggery too much. It can be harmful".

The conversation ended.

The bewildered lady asked the Mahatma, "Sir, this was simple. You could have told him the same thing last week itself !! Why you made us come again after a week ?"

Mahatma told the lady," I myself used to take jaggery till last week. I needed a weeks' time to quit eating jaggery so that I could counsel your son with conviction".

The lady bowed in reverence to Mahatma Gandhi and took leave of him.

Integrity In Failure Management

Integrity is the strength of character to admit failure regardless of what is at stake.

As Samuel Goldwyn, movie producer, said, "I don't want any yes-men around me. I want everybody around me to tell me the truth, even if it costs them their jobs."

When our means to live is at stake, our tendency is to keep silent--either to cover for our own mistake or tolerate the deviations and misdeeds of peers in the workplace. Personal survival is more important than the truth, silence is misconstrued as innocence. In most cases, people remained silent for fear that his/her own "skeletons" will be revealed, or because of "peer pressure". In some cases, the reason for silence is "situational ethics".

Is Integrity Important?

An organization is built in integrity. An individual with flawed character will not last in good organizations. Likewise, good people will not stay for long in bad organizations. An excerpt from the article written by Lala Rimando entitled "When Executives Misbehave"in Newsbreak published on August 2, 2004 will prove this point.

Ms. Rimando wrote:

"I can't take it anymore," Mike, a thirtyish company vice-president, told Newsbreak. For the past years, his boss has been paying off a government official to avoid taxes. The legally mandated amount would have cost them three times more than what they are paying the official. Mike, bothered by his conscience, is leaving that company next month.

"Cancer cells." That's how Eduardo Roberto, marketing professor at the Asian Institute of Management and fellow of the Social Weather Stations, describes the likes of Mike's boss. Roberto is the principal researcher of a study entitled "CEO Perceptions and Attitudes Toward Corporate Misconduct." The results show that the majority of the 96 chief executive officers (CEOs) and top management officials surveyed considered what was "wrong" in shades of gray, not in black and white terms. These executives are members of the AIM Alumni Association, American Chamber of Commerce, Financial Executives Association, Management Association of the Philippines, and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

"They are the bad cells that contaminate the good cells until the whole body is too sick," Roberto said during the presentation of the study results... When CEOs distort the meaning of wrong and these cascades down the line, the excellent and honest employees like Mike leave. But more usually, employees tend to adopt the behavior of their superiors.

The cultural rejection of whistle blowing is strong among most senior executives, the study shows. Since executives twist the meaning of wrong to protect their own interests, Roberto said they might be inclined to do the same for their employees who misbehave. In fact, 57 percent of the respondents say it is acceptable to keep quiet about the misconduct of others.

Corporate misconduct can also be deodorized through corporate philanthropy. The practice of giving and receiving favors is well entrenched in our culture, Roberto said. In fact, donating to earn "political points" or condoning a wrongdoing is sometimes equated with giving favors?".

Our ability to lead is eroded when integrity is damaged. Our credibility to impose discipline and implement corporate values will be put in question. Character and attitude problems slows down an organization. Time and resources are wasted in the hiring and training of new employees brought by integrity related turnover. Time is also consumed in attending to administrative cases brought by employee dishonesty.

Lack of integrity in leadership will lose its ability to set an example and lead. Lack of integrity in the organization will lose its ability to correct itself, therefore, loosing good employees either by resignation or conformation to the corrupt culture.

Alexander Solzehnitsyn, a novelist, hit the nail when he said:

In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers...we are ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations.

Integrity... should it matter?

Severo Santos, also known as "Sonnie", is a Human Resource Manager, Trainer, Volunteer Worker and Forum Moderator. He has authored several articles and in the process of completing a book on Spiritual Intelligence.