The Seven Layers of Integrity®
by
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The model attempts to present multiple perspectives for examining behavior and passing judgment on whether or not an action is right or wrong, ethical or not. In many ways, we do this very thing in our own lives.
Consider, for example, an employee of an oil company that has refineries near
Is the employee doing anything unethical by supporting the application for an extension? The contemplated action by the company will be legal, does not break any contracts or agreements, and is in line with industry standards of behavior.
Now let’s move to another perspective. The individual is a professional engineer. He knows that the delay in equipment upgrade is a sound financial decision. But as an engineer, he also knows that the expected life of the existing equipment has already been exceeded, maintenance costs (already factored into the economics of the deal) are increasing and so is the risk that a significant problem will develop, one that could release tons of toxic chemicals into the atmosphere.
Is the employee being unethical by supporting the application for extension? What does the professional code of ethics for engineers have to say?
Now consider another factor. The employee lives within a ten-mile radius of the facility. He is part of the local community that would be impacted by an accident, and is already affected by continuing the current (legal) level of emissions. So without an accident, his family and neighbors are continuing to breathe air that could be somewhat cleaner if the upgrade were made now instead of later. How does he view the company’s ethical behavior now?
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About the Book
“Can you teach people to behave ethically?”
That’s the question being asked by business leaders and business school administrators across
The Seven Layers of Integrity® both answers that question and provides a model that serves as a learning tool and a decision-making mechanism.
The authors believe people can be taught to behave ethically – and they start by examining the reason people raise this question in the first place.
Common thinking is that by the time people reach adulthood their value systems are already in place – they are either ethical or not ethical. This is classic contemporary American thinking characterized by binary, mutually exclusive options; sound bite analysis; and an easy litmus test for the integrity of degree candidates, job applicants and business people. As with most ideas having these characteristics, it falls apart under even limited scrutiny.
The solution to the business ethics problem lies in corporate culture, and the authors speak from their own familiarity, after years of business consulting, with the impact of corporate culture on human behavior.
The number of ethical dilemmas available to the human race is without limits. Therefore, it is imperative that we teach people how to think about the decisions they may face.
Management and employees need an understanding of how to analyze and resolve the day-to-day ethical questions encountered in a business setting. Standards of behavior do exist and The Seven Layers of Integrity® provides a method for examining those standards.
But in addition, business people should have a process to use when encountering new territory, a model that helps to clarify their thinking and a basic understanding of how to recognize and resolve ethical problems in business operations.
This book presents that method.
About the Author
George P. Jones, a management consultant and co-founder of ChangeMakers, Inc., provides ethics training and consulting. He began his career at Arthur Andersen & Co.'’s
Following Andersen, Mr. Jones was in charge of the Chicago and Houston operations of BSG, a start up systems integrator, where he was responsible for over 120 consultants. In
Currently a faculty member at
After McKinsey, Dr. Ferrill played a significant role as training development specialist for KBR’s Engineering Division, a Halliburton subsidiary. She developed on-going training in communications, management development, quality control, team building, and strategic planning. She was an editor and contributing author to Business and Managerial Communications: New Perspectives, an 800-page college textbook. She has a Ph.D. in the Joint Ph.D. Program in English and Education,