The majority of the time, most people will choose to act in an ethical manner when given the choice. I firmly believe that the average person is hardwired to want to be ethical and fair; it’s just that human nature sometimes gets in the way. Of course, if you read this blog on a regular basis, you might not think so. Given the topic, my blog is generally focused on bad behaviors that I hope to use as a learning opportunity. The good stuff is definitely out there, however, and I thought it was time I mixed it up a bit.
Best Buy’s ethics website is freely accessible on the internet at www.BestBuyEthics.com. If you scroll down, you will see a “Tell Us About The Good Stuff” link where we encourage Best Buy employees to provide examples of co-workers who “stepped up and did the right thing.” I recently received this submission from a Best Buy employee about a co-worker named Norrand:
It has amazed me through my time working for this company that some of the most important staff goes unappreciated. One such person is the DCI of the Geek Squad, Norrand. This man has, at times, worked from open to close because one of his agents had called in sick. When one of his “Geeks” has a family emergency, he is the first one to step up and get that employee to their family’s side. He is the Saint of this store and he allows for his agents to go to school and helps them out as much as he can. There was an incident where one of the college-attending Agents had to, at the last minute, go to a speaking engagement. Norrand stayed and covered that agent’s shift until he could make the several-hour round trip, being several hours late to work. This agent could have been scolded for being late on such short notice, but instead he was just commended for being able to do such things. [Norrand] is a man who should receive all that comes to him.
You may wonder why I posted this example. Being a great team player and maintaining a positive attitude don’t appear to be directly related to business ethics – or are they? Is it possible that attitude and ethics are actually two sides of the proverbial coin? My questions for you:
1) Based solely on the description provided above, do you think it is likely that Norrand is more ethical, less ethical or no different from the “average” employee? Why?
2) If you worked on the same team as someone like Norrand, do you think your ethical decision making would be influenced in any way? If so, how?
3) One of my favorite books, The Art of Possibility by Benjamin Zander, talks about how you can “lead from any chair.” It’s a reference to the fact that every musician in an orchestra, even the unheralded cellist in the 11th chair, has the power to enhance the quality of the orchestra’s overall performance from where they sit. How is the concept of “leading from any chair” relevant to a discussion about business ethics?
4) I am grateful this story was brought to our attention so we can express our appreciation to Norrand for everything he does. What sometimes happens to the Norrands of the world when their efforts go unrecognized?
I normally make best buy my first stop and sometimes only stop on black Friday. This year however I will not be shopping on black Friday and I may never shop at any of your stores again based on your greedy plan to make employees work on thanksgiving. To make more money you are opening earlier and earlier and now your employees are going to have to go in on thanksgiving ? even if your not a christian and the holiday is just a national day off it is still filled with family, This is one of the reasons that you should fire your ethics director as this is clearly non ethical and the worst part of capitalism. Having said all of that I strongly disagree with the whole occupy wal street trash it’s not money that bothers me or the making of it. It is sacrificing what money can’t buy I.E. memories for the children who parents have to work at your now terrible heartless and greedy store which they(memories) now will not have. Nice job Best buy turns out your entire story and website is a lie.
I should not be shocked but I am sad.
” where are you going dad”?
” I have to go to work this year and every year from now on son”
” why dad its thanksgiving night”?
“Because I love you and mom, I am sorry y’all have fun goodnight”
Pathetic best buy, Pathetic.
I’m with JJ that it’s not necessarily an ethical stand, but someone who is obviously demonstrating altruism almost surely has strong business ethics as well. Acting in a way that is within proper business ethics tends to lead one naturally to altruistic actions because what’s best for everyone is typically what’s most ethically appropriate.
I do somewhat disagree with the earlier assessment by Andi that Norrand would continue on this path unrecognized if his convictions were strong. Regardless of strength of conviction and truly altruistic motives, society does wear down on the individual who is always leaned on but never propped up. The recognition isn’t so much a boost in self-worth as much as it is a confirmation that others in the world comprehend altruism and appreciate it. We all need to work far harder to recognize employees like Norrand. Thanks for printing this!
1) Based solely on the description provided above, do you think it is likely that Norrand is more ethical, less ethical or no different from the “average” employee? Why?
Ethic is in my opinion the study of morality (= norms, values, beliefs which are embedded in our social processes and that show us what’s right and wrong) that help us to determine what’s right and wrong in any given situation.
Concerning this definition I don’t think, that Norrand is more ethical but maybe has a more intense morality feeling. But only with the example of one person, you can’t decide whether Norrand has a more intense morality feeling than other employees.
2) If you worked on the same team as someone like Norrand, do you think your ethical decision making would be influenced in any way? If so, how?
There are a lot of individual and situational factors that influence a person’s decision making process. One individual influencing factor is the psychological factor where I would definitely classify this type of influence. People go through different stages of moral development during their lifetime and they look up and around to see what peers do and how they behave as a guide for action. So I Norrand’s behavior would influence the co-workers and therefore their decision-making process. They would try to imitate/follow his behavior if they see that Norrand earns credit for his actions.
3) One of my favorite books, The Art of Possibility by Benjamin Zander, talks about how you can “lead from any chair.” It’s a reference to the fact that every musician in an orchestra, even the unheralded cellist in the 11th chair, has the power to enhance the quality of the orchestra’s overall performance from where they sit. How is the concept of “leading from any chair” relevant to a discussion about business ethics?
This questions is highly related to my answer of the second question. In my opinion this question aims on the situational factors that influence our decision making process, namely work roles. If a behavior is seen as a good one sometimes depends on who we observe by doing an action. People tend to put more value on actions of supervisors and managers and try to behave like them. And people tend to behave different in different work roles. So maybe not every “player in the orchestra” tries to improve the performance just because of his work role (he thinks that he is only one player among many players). But I think that if a person is socially embedded and he feels/thinks that his behavior influences the performance of the group as a whole, that he tries to improve this performance, even if he is not a manager or supervisor.
The concept of “leading from any chair” is relevant to a discussion about business ethics because it may be/may become part of the company culture. Having a feeling of togetherness and a feeling that a single employees’ voice counts as much as this of a manager, the performance of the company could be improved. Employees would come up with new ideas because of this feeling and would
4) I am grateful this story was brought to our attention so we can express our appreciation to Norrand for everything he does. What sometimes happens to the Norrands of the world when their efforts to unrecognized?
This heavily depends on the strength of his values. If he is profoundly convinced about his actions, he won’t change his behavior in the future. But if the pressure of the society is too strong, he will stop being social and adapts his behavior to the behavior of the group (to become conform by changing his views).
I don’t think this particular example is directly relevant to business ethics however, I do think it is indirectly relevant and important. I have worked doubles and extra shifts to cover for co-workers too many times to count but that was never done out of a sense of ethical duty or commitment. It was done because I would want the same to be done for me. Because I was available and could do the job. Ethics, however is a matter of “ought.” At this point, I don’t have any ethical obligation to work the extra shifts for the company or even the individual. However, if I value the department I work in and the people I work with then I should feel it important to see that it is properly staffed and run.
Others may pick up every extra shift because they like a larger paycheck. They are no more or less “ethical” because I don’t believe this particular action should be measured in ethical terms. This isn’t an “ought” issue whereby one employee “ought” to go out of their way to cover another shift. It obviously is convienient and benifical if they do but that isn’t an ethical issue.
However, working with individuals who will sacrifice for the “greater good” of the team can absolutely create an environment where people want to do the right thing and feel compelled to do the right thing more than if they worked in a discordant team where everyone was out of their own interests. It creates an enviroment where peole consider the “ought” not just for themselves but also for others.
In general, I think that working with the interests of others in mind will tend to lead towards the more ethical actions. So when you promote an environment of altruism as opposed to egoism you will see more ethical behaviour.