A values framework for ethical business

Martin, G. 2012, A values framework for ethical business, Australian Journal of Professional and Applied Ethics, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 63-77.

A values framework for ethical business Glenn Martin University of Notre Dame The ethics of managers in business contexts is a matter of public interest and concern. Dramatic events like the collapse of large corporations cast attention on the behaviour of managers, raising concern about their inclination to act unethically. The ethics of managers also face public scrutiny when employers are censured by industrial tribunals and courts for actions such as underpayment of workers or unfair dismissals. And interest in the ethics of managers is also elicited by instances of bullying, misuse of organisational resources and managers putting pressure on workers to act unethically (Ethics Resource Center and Hay Group, 2009; StJames Ethics Centre & Beaton Consulting, 2009). Public concern about executive conduct has led to questions about how leaders are educated, and in particular, whether business schools should bear some responsibility for corporate and economic crises (Ghoshal, 2005; Frederick, 2006; Giacalone & Wargo, 2009). In the wake of the global financial crisis that unfolded in 2008 some universities in Australia considered increasing the level of ethics education in degree courses (Slattery, 2009), even as the debate continues about whether there is any subsequent beneficial effect in the workplace from having students formally study ethics (Donaldson, 2001; Hooker, 2004; McDonald, 2004; Bige1, 2005; Balotsky & Steingard, 2006; Frederick, 2006; Cloninger & Selvarajan, 20 I0). This paper asks whether ethics education and training programs could benefit by entering into the emerging discourse in management studies about the role of values. While the primary orientation of this conversation is about how values drive superior performance (Collins & Porras, 1994; Whiteley, 1995), ethical values invariably arise, and some writers argue that ethical values are fundamental to sustained high performance (Posner & Schmidt, 1992; Kuczmarski & Kuczmarski, 1995; Fairholm, 2003; Barrett, 2010). The paper suggests a framework of values, building on studies that have investigated common values across many cultures (Rokeach, 1973; Schwartz, 1992, 1994; Peterson & Seligman, 2004). The paper argues that this approach establishes a foundation for operating ethically in professional and leadership roles that is coherent, action-oriented and motivational. In ethics education and training contexts it can be complemented by a teaching approach that focuses on learners' identification of their personal values, and reflection on experiences where values have been called into question. Ethics education and training programs

We know that managers do not become ethical leaders simply by completing a formal ethics course. One study that looked specifically at the translation of student outcomes in an ethics course into the workplace (Handelsman, 1989) indicated that achievement in the educational context does not necessarily lead to ethical competence or confidence in practice. However, it could be argued that this failure lies not so much with ethics education but with management education in general, as Ghoshal (2005) and others have argued.

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The latter is suggested by the action of a group of prominent management thinkers in publishing an article in the Harvard Business Review called 'Moonshots for management' (Hamel, 2009). The article described shortfalls in current management programs and enunciated twenty-five principles on which future programs should be based, including ensuring that the work of management serves a higher purpose than profit, and ensuring that the practice of management gives credence to timeless human ideals such as justice, beauty and community. Business ethics courses have been criticised for being too preoccupied with philosophical concepts and too far removed from real-world concerns (de Rand, 1996), while some commentators argue that a sound basis in ethical concepts, principles and theories is essential (Hobson & Walsh, 1998; Klein, 1998; Miner & Petocz, 2003). Many commentators maintain that a greater emphasis needs to be placed on decision-making processes and skills; the discussion of cases figures prominently in their methodologies (Jackson, 1997; Stajkovic and Luthans, 1997; Trevino & Nelson, 1999). Gentile (2010; Adkins et al., 2011) addresses the practical question of how to respond ethically when faced with pressure to act unethically in the workplace, in the 'Giving Voice to Values' program. A common thread in these critiques is the idea that acting ethically in organisational contexts is not simply the product of 'correct reasoning' {Agle et al., 2011; Cloninger & Selvarajan, 2010). Rather, it involves the development of skills and habits through experience, and what Mele (2005, p. 100) calls 'the personal disposition of the person making the moral judgment in a concrete situation'. This is to tum attention from rules for ethical behaviour to the person as moral agent (Weaver, 2006). Advocates of virtue ethics would argue similarly. Solomon (1996, p. 30) states that 'choice and character get cultivated first, philosophical ethics ... afterwards', which is to say that generally, 'one's personal judgements precede rather than follow one's abstract ethical pronouncements' (1996, p. 7). Extending this idea, Van Hoof\ (2006, p. 4) asserts that 'the justification of our moral norms must be sensitive to what we are as human beings'. Gellermann et al. (1990, p. 42) maintain that the ethical conduct of professionals and managers requires a framework that embraces both (I) ethics as ethical rules and reasons for rejecting unethical behaviour, and (2) personal development of the whole person, the aspect that is addressed by virtue ethics. Corriing from this perspective, the literature on values in management invites examination, as it places values at the heart of the practice of management, and for managers and students learning how to become a manager, it may offer a familiar ground where ethical issues can be addressed.

Values in management Examination of the role of values in the performance of organisations has increased in recent years (Collins & Porras, 1994; Whiteley, 1995; Argandona, 2002; Colins & Chippendale, 2002; Hall, 2003; Lombardo & Eichinger, 2007; Barrett, 2010). Values are being recognised as a key driver of behaviour, and offer the promise of generating significant improvements in business performance (Fairholm, 2003; Lennick & Kiel, 2008; Paine, 2003; Blanchard & O'Connor, 1997). Organisations and researchers have examined issues such as identifying an organisation's current and desired values, and the relationship between the personal values of employees and those of the organisation.

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Proponents of values-based management hold that management and leadership are not values-free (e.g. Chakraborty, 2001). Management is embedded in a social context and the actions of managers are inherently value-laden, and not just in terms of competency values (e.g. achievement, excellence, creativity), but in terms of ethical values too (Rokeach, 1973; Schwartz, 1992, 1994). Paine (2003, p. 27) says Executives are coming to see attention to values not as a frill or an indulgence but as an integral part of effective management ... adhering to the core principles found in virtually all of the world's ethical traditions is neither naiVe nor a sign of weakness, but rather smart and a source of organizational strength. This is not to say that the possible tensions between ethics and business efficacy have disappeared. In the 2009 Annual Business and Professions Study (StJames Ethics Centre & Beaton Consulting, 2009), 22% of respondents believed that other employees would not adhere to the code of ethics if they thought that profits or funding would be harmed. It takes a deeper understanding of the links between ethics and business perfonnance to accept Paine's assertion. Paine offers evidence, but evidence generalised from particular studies may not be compelling to a manager who is uncertain about his/her ethical stance and who is faced with an immediate risk to business outcomes. An alternative approach for ethics educators is the professional argument; that is, explaining how ethics is part of the construct of 'professional'. This is illustrated in the work of Lombardo and Eichinger (2007) on the Leadership Architect. In their model of the leader, competencies are broken down into six categories: strategic skills, operating skills, courage, energy and drive, organisational positioning skills, and personal and interpersonal skills. Within this framework, they identify sixty-seven essential competencies, which include 'ethics and values •, and 'integrity and trust'.

The scope of the Leadership Architect construct also signifies the expansion of our understanding of the management role over recent decades. Whereas management has largely been seen as consisting primarily of strategic and operational skills, it now encompasses emotional (personal and interpersonal) competencies (Goleman, 1998) and, increasingly, ethical competencies (examples include Lennick & Kiel's Moral Intelligence (2008), and Fairhohn's inner leadership model (2003)). It is noteworthy that at times when the unethical conduct of executives has precipitated a crisis, as in the case of Enron (Sims & Brinkman, 2003; Jenning~ 2006), commentary on business ethics tends to assume the language of moral values. It is not a question of having made erroneous decisions, but of having revealed a moral character that is lacking in virtue: recall Solomon's words (1996, p. 30): 'choice and character get cultivated first, philosophical ethics . . . afterwards •, and noting that Enron had an exemplary code of ethics and had been publicly recognised for the quality of its ethics program (Koehn, 2005).

From values to ethics Values are qualities or priorities that are important to us (Barrett, 2010, p. 274). They are our measure of worth, desirability, goodness and rightness. They represent ideals that are implicit in our vision of how we would like the world to be. Values can embrace anything to which people assign intrinsic worth - fun, excellence, productivity, money, freedom, commitment, innovation, success, etc. Gellermann et al. (1990, p. 66) propose that values are standards of importance we use in making judgements.

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There have been a number of descriptive studies of values resulting in groupings of different types of values. Rokeach (1973) grouped values into terminal (end state) and instrumental values. Schwartz (1992, 1994) extended the work of Rokeach, exploring people's values across many different cultural contexts. He produced a list of fifty-seven personal values, which he grouped into ten motivational domains: security, hedonism, confonnity, tradition, benevolence, achievement, power, stimulation, self-direction and universalism. Ethical values fall into the domains of benevolence and universalism. The values under benevolence include: helpfulness, honesty, forgiveness, loyalty, responsibility, spirituality, friendship, love and meaning in life, while the values associated with universalism are: environment, nature, beauty, broad-mindedness, social justice, wisdom, equity, peace and inner harmony. This paper is concerned with values related to ethics. Mele (2005) distinguishes ethical (or moral) values from other values in this way: values in general arise out the definition of value, that is, they relate to anything that a person might consider worth having, getting or doing. This might be fame, success, competence, achievement, humour, music, etc. In contrast, ethical values are those which contribute to the good of the person and society. Extending Schweitzer's definition of ethics (in Hill, 1976), Martin (2011) defines ethics as having regard for the well-being of others and the physical environment, and the framework described below is derived from this definition. Sissela Bok (2002) defines ethical values as those necessary for the survival of human societies (e.g. duties to refrain from hannful actions against others); beyond this, ethical values are those needed to live a good life, for being in full touch with one's humanity, and to ensure a thriving family or community. Haidt and Bjorklund (2008) define moral values in terms of moral intuitions, which are sentiments that give us an immediate feeling of right or wrong. These sentiments are mediated through a person's cultural context, and so there are differences in values between cultures, and in the configuration of those values. Nevertheless, they identified a small number of categories of values that are common across cultures. A variety of approaches could be taken in devising a framework for ethical values. For example, ethical values may be analysed in tenns of the different contexts in which persons act - self-functioning, participation in organisations, interaction with other persons and dealing with objects and the material world. Van Hooft (2006) presents lists of virtues from Aristotle and from Peterson and Seligman (2004) and he discusses key virtues that illustrate the workings of virtues in general. Sarros eta/. (2006) examined the character attributes of Australian leaders, identifying fifteen aspects of character, such as respectfulness, fairness and integrity. Lists of values and classifications of values need to be understood as interpretive exercises (Van Hooft, 2006; Haidt and Bjorklund, 2008) rather than as exact science. It is more a question of how much they resonate with an audience, how convincing they are as a representation of life as the audience experiences it and, it may be added, how much they are useful for learning about ethics. In the current context, it is a question of identifYing a list of values that can be applied by managers, leaders and people working in business environments.

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A framework of values

The number of identified values is quite large, as has been indicated above. Peterson and Seligman's (2004) list of 'character strengths' consisted of twenty-four values; Colins and Chippendale's (2002) framework consists of one hundred and twenty-five values, while Schwartz's (1994) list had fifty-seven values. This illustrates the view that identifying values is an interpretive exercise, but it also points to a difference of views among commentators on ethics. A lengthy list of values seems difficult to portray with any coherence, and this has led to the quest to derive a single 'master value'. In ethical theories this presents as the championing of a central principle, such as 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you'. Peterson and Seligman (2004) group their 24 character strengths into six categories: (I) Wisdom and knowledge, (2) Courage, (3) Humanity, (4) Justice, (5) Temperance, and

(6) Transcendence. Haidt and Bjorklund (2008) arrive at five basic values, and Colins and Chippendale (2002) also group their list of values. The framework to be presented here posits five core human values. What· it offers, in addition, is an explanation for the selection of these values in tenns of a model of the person. The model sees the person as consisting of five dimensions (Martin, 2010, 2011): • • • • •

Cognition Emotions Moral valuing Spirit/Energy Identity/Psyche.

These five dimensions are a useful way of understanding our experience, our grounds for making decisions, our actions, the projects we undertake, and our feelings. Other models might focus more on, for example, spiritual development or psychological aspects of the person. A psychologist might be more interested in levels of consciousness, and how dreams and the subconscious feed into our conscious experience. A spiritual enquirer might include higher consciousness and the collective unconscious. The focus of this model is the role of values in human behaviour, with a view to applying it to leadership and organisational life. The model can be explained as a story about the development of management theory through the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. Dimension 1: Cognition If we view management from the perspective of the five dimensions of a person, then through the 1960s to 1980s the major focus was on the rational aspects of managementactivities like devising strategy, analysing the organisation and its market, and planning systems and processes. This is exemplified in management textbooks of the time (e.g. Koontz & O'Donnell, 1972), which applied the planning-organising-staffing-directingcontrolling paradigm. The cognitive focus of management began to shift from the late 1980s onwards, but retained its prominence in the fonn of knowledge management. As commentators became aware that the basis of wealth creation was shifting from physical resources such as land and machinery towards the intangibles of knowledge and infonnation, efforts began to be

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devoted to how managers could harness and cultivate these qualities. This was initially approached as a cognitive challenge. Dimension 2: Emotions

In the 1990s, Daniel Goleman (1998) and others (e.g. Salovey & Mayer, 1990; Gardner, 1993; Bar-On, 1997) challenged the prevailing management paradigm by saying that rationality was inadequate for carrying out the management role effectively. Goleman argued that managers also need to understand the emotional aspects of the role, so emotional intelligence (EQ) became part of the discourse about management (1998). Interestingly, this new perspective has even affected approaches to knowledge management, as observers noted that having excellent databases and data-capturing systems is not sufficient in itself to achieve effective management of knowledge. Employees' relationship-building skills are required, as company-critical knowledge arises and flows among people who work together as a community. Dimension 3: Moral valuing More recently, some writers have started to cast the focus onto values (e.g. Kuczmarski & Kuczmarski, 1995; Fairhohn, 2003; Henderson & Thompson, 2003). They maintain that addressing emotional intelligence is still not sufficient to create a highperforming organisation (recognised by Goleman in his later work (Goleman, Boyatzis & McKee, 2002)). A strong and explicit values orientation is required, for example, respect for customers and employees, integrity and fairness. These qualities go beyond EQ; they are specifically ethical, because they relate to our concern for the well-being of others. This dimension is what is being recognised in the values-based management discourse. It is grounded in the recognition that the human mind is always evaluating, always judging what it experiences along a good-bad or right-wrong spectrum (Haidt & Bjorklund, 2008). This process is informed by the person's upbringing and culture, but it is an inherent quality of the mind. Dimension 4: Spirit (or Energy) The fourth dimension - spirit or energy - refers, in the organisational context, to the generation of enthusiasm and camaraderie that begins to occur when the first three dimensions are cultivated. As values are clarified and commitment around them develops, buttressed by the rational and emotional dimensions, energy starts to develop in organisations. Two of the more significant organisational studies of the 1990s recognised this aspect. Jim Collins in Good to great (2001) and Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in Built to last (1994) demonstrated that when the leaders in a company establish clarity around operating values and emphasise high-quality, trusting relationships, the energy of the organisation starts to build, generating its own impetus for success. A sense of community and purposefulness develops among people in the organisation, and generates employee engagement and organisational transfonnation (Hawley, 1993; Owen, 2000; Csikszentmihalyi, 2003; Zohar & Marshall, 2004; Ayers, 2006). Dimension 5: Psyche (or Identity) The fifth dimension refers to the sense of identity that forms for persons or organisations that have established a foundation of values combined with rational and emotional skills. As organisations (and their managers) persevere in their purpose, they

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begin to develop an awareness and appreciation of their own sense of uniqueness, their own style and identity, generally characterised by an attitude of service to society. This aspect may be experienced, both in organisational life and at a personal level, as an overtly spiritual phenomenon (Zohar & Marshall, 2000; Hawley, 1993). Five core human values This model leads to a framework offive core human values, as an ethical value can be associated with each dimension. The framework will be compared below with Peterson and Seligman's (2004) structure. The advantage here is that each of the values is connected with a dimension in the structure of the person. This is not to assert that the model is 'true'; rather, it is to suggest that it may be a helpful tool in education and training contexts. The value associated with Cognition is Truth. The dimension of Cognition includes reasoning and rationality, the use of intelligence and the ability to separate emotions from observable phenomena in the world. Accordingly, the value Truth calls up associated values of honesty, integrity and sincerity. The value associated with Emotion is Peace. The dimension of Emotion is about being able to identify our emotions and desires, and manage our emotions healthily. In the language of emotional intelligence, the value Peace is about the self-management of the emotions, and it calls up associated values such as harmony, humility, cheerfulness and patience. The value associated with Moral Valuing is Right Action. The term is borrowed from Buddhist parlance, and refers to acting ethically out of regard for the well-being of others. It means that we act fairly and justly towards others: we do not cheat, steal, practise deceit, or treat another harshly. The value associated with Spirit (or Energy) is Love. The Spirit dimension is about the energy that is generated when people act in accordance with truth, peace and right action. Hence the value is Love, which evokes the qualities of compassion, harmony and enthusiasm. This value is what enables a sense of community to arise among people. In work contexts the word 'love' may be confronting, and it may be better expressed in those contexts as deep respect for other people as humans. Other people are seen as more than just a means to fulfil business ends. The value associated with Psyche (or Identity) is Insight. What distinguishes this value from the other four core values is that this value is receptive rather than active. Insight is about seeing the whole, having awareness and a sense of meaning and purpose. It describes the state of being confident about who you are, and appreciative. Table I gives the core value for each dimension, and the constellation of values that unfolds from each core value.

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Co2nition Truth Honesty Integrity Reasoning Sincerity Trustworthiness Competence Curiosity

Emotions Peace Harmony Cheerfulness Humility Hope Politeness Discipline Patience Self-discipline Caring Moderation Empathy

Moral Valuim! Ener!!V/ Soirit ldentitv/ Psvche Right Action Insight Love Responsibility Compassion Awareness Respect Tolerance Consciousness Purpose Fairness Enthusiasm Sense of Meaning Justice community Appreciation Dignity Courage Friendliness Forgiveness Honour Fun Wisdom Non-violence Grace Equality Reliability Joy Beauty Faith Loyalty Benevolence Duty Kindness Reverence Modesty Trust Equanimity Selflessness Creativity Rectitude Correctness Table I: The core human values and their subsidiary values

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Considering Peterson and Seligman's model Peterson and Seligman's (2004) framework for values (character strengths) is given brief consideration here as an example of what emerges when different frameworks of values are compared. The six categories in their framework appear to have some correspondences with the core human values framework presented above, but on closer inspection the organising principle reveals itself to be somewhat different. Table 2 discusses the two frameworks. and Key values in P&S Peterson Seligman (P&S) model (1) Wisdom and Creativity, curiosity, openknowledge mindedness, love of learning, perspective I (wisdo;;;) (2) Courage Bravery, persistence, integrity, vitality

(3) Humanity

Love, kindness, social intelligence Citizenship, fairness, leadership

(4) Justice

Comments on correspondence to Core Human Values (CHV) model Cognition: Most P&S values align; CHV model sees wisdom as located with Identity/Psyche CHV sees bravery as integral to Moral Valuing, persistence as part of Emotions (self-discipline) and vitality as belonging with EnerJN Energy/Spirit: P&S values align; CHV puts more emphasis on enerJzy and communitY Moral valuing: P&S concept is somewhat different; CHV would put leadership with Energy/Spirit Emotions: Most P&S values align but forgiveness in CHV is related to Insight Identity/Psyche: Most P&S values align; humour is placed under Energy/Spirit

Forgiveness, humility, prudence, self-regulation (6) Transcendence Appreciation ofbeauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, humour, spirituality Table 2: Companson of Person and Seligman's framework With Core Human Values (5) Temperance

I

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The discussion shows that there are many similarities between the Core Human Values (CHV) model and the Peterson and Seligman Character Strengths model, but the organising concept is not the same. In the present context, the question is whether the CHV model is pertinent and helpful in discussing ethics with students in business ethics courses. The persuasive factor may be that the CHV model can tell a story about the emerging consciousness in our understanding of the management role over the course of the twentieth century. The literature on management has, over time, broadened the scope of the management role from the cognitive realm to the emotional realm and to ethical values. Through the increasing attention given to employee engagement in recent years (Ayers, 2006; Towers Watson, 2008; Ethics Resource Center & Hay Group, 2009; Royal & Agnew, 2012), the dimension of energy, or spirit, has also been recognised, and there is also increasing attention being given to spirituality in the workplace, which highlights the identity/psyche dimension (Mitroff & Denton, 1999, 1999a; Pava, 2003; Bubna-Litic, 2009; Harmer, 2010). Responsibility and other issues Van Hooft (2006) observes that the virtue of responsibility does not appear on many lists of values. He sees it as more than taking the blame for something you have been involved in; it is recognising that you are responsible for acting where a situation calls for action, for example, helping a person who has fallen over. The CHV model, although it includes responsibility under Moral Valuing, also sees responsibility as a pre-requisite issue: a conversation about ethics has to be preceded by a discussion of the notion of being responsible as a person. Being responsible is about accepting one's part as a moral agent in the situation, with the ability to affect outcomes. Lists of values differ, and may be grouped in different ways. The CHV model is not prescriptive about the list. The subsidiary values may be added to; it is not a definitive list as Peterson and Seligman's has become. There may also be debate about which category a value falls under, but that debate is useful in terms of provoking consideration and enhancing understanding of the five dimensions of the person. Lists of values are often criticised for not assisting decision-making and not offering ways of resolving apparent or real conflicts between values - hence the search for a 'master value'. Haidt and Bjorklund (2008) accept this situation happily: 'An adequate normative ethical theory should be pluralistic, even if that introduces endless difficulties in reconciling conflicting sources of value'. This is to say that it would be unrealistic to expect things to be otherwise. As Chappell (2009, p. 195) says, we need to look beyond reasoning about particular ethical decisions - we need to generate an 'ethical outlook' a set of views and commitments about the central questions concerning value: what is worth living for and what is worth dying for; what is really admirable and what is really contemptible; what we must do at all costs and what we must not do no matter what. In one sense, what Chappell says sounds like the master value, but once we try to specify what is worth living for, the values arrive and they multiply. Significantly, Rokeach's studies (1973) identified a long list of terminal (end state) values.

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In learning contexts, the central consideration is how students can be assisted to address specific situations and make decisions that are both ethical and wise. Accordingly, the important issue for trainers and educators is how a person's decisions reflect or embody values. The ongoing work of enabling students and managers to clarify their understanding of ethical values involves moving backwards and forwards between the articulation of values and interpretation of them in practice. This continual process of interpretation, application and review leads to the intemalisation of principles, and results in improved decision-making skills. The interaction between general principles and specific situations, and the outcomes in terms of what we might call ethical competency (internalisation of principles learned from reflection on experience and improvement in decision-making ability), is depicted in Figure 1. This process draws on Peter Senge's work in The Fifth Discipline (1992), Laurillard's conversational model of learning (1993) and Donald Schon's concept of the reflective practitioner (1983).

Principles and values

lntemalisation

! Practice: Policies and procedures

!

H

Decisionmaking ability

I

Figure 1: The relationship between principles and practice

Conclusion As long ago as the 1930s, Dewitt H. Parker (1931, p. vii) asserted: 'The study of ethics rests on the study of values'. This paper has argued that ethics education and training programs can benefit from employing, or at least including, a values approach to ethics, and a new values framework has been proposed. One of the criticisms of ethics education is that it is removed from the business world. It seems serendipitous that there is an emerging discourse in the management field on the importance of values in management. It could well provide a useful entry point for ethics educators wishing to discuss ethics with students and managers. It has been noted that there is ongoing debate about whether acting ethically leads to superior business outcomes, and it is tempting to appeal to the studies that have found evidence for this relationship to buttress arguments for being ethical. However, the ground on which the present discussion of ethical values has rested is the appeal to people's inherent desire to act ethically. Hence the practice of ethics has been presented as an integral aspect of the manager as a professional.

Concern may then arise as to how to deal with people who are not inclined to be ethical (except as a matter of expediency). Those who are sceptical about the efficacy of ethics courses maintain that these courses do not alter ingrained attitudes. That may well be true, but it should be noted that psychologists regard sociopathic behaviour as being

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confined to a small percentage of the population (Clarke, 2005). For most of the population, it is the social environment that has the greatest influence on behaviour (Haidt & Bjorklund, 2008), and educators can cultivate an environment where students are open

to awareness, change and development. There are a number of motivations for people to act ethically (Martin, 1998). Intrinsic reasons (to be a virtuous person, to experience self-worth) are complemented by external

motivators such as laws, rules and policies, and social acceptance. As the proponents of employee engagement argue, organisations are much more productive when behaviour and perfonnance are the result of employees' discretionary effort rather than managers' imposition or force. As with engagement, so with ethics (Freeman & Gilbert, 1988; Newstrom & Ruch, 1989; Paine, 1994; Goyder, 1998). Discussion of values needs to be followed by discussion of practice, as indicated in the diagram in Figure 1. Students (or managers) need to immerse themselves in experiences, or in the stories of other people's experiences, in order to learn what values are at play, and how to develop skills in acting ethically. To understand the practice of values (virtues), students need to understand the perceptions and distinctions of meaning that managers bring to a situation and therefore come to understand what ethical principles are being applied in the specific context (Johnson, 1993; Badaracco, 2002). Values always need to be understood on the basis of specific contexts (Skott, 2003). The focus on values and virtues in ethics education and training puts the emphasis on the student or manager as a moral agent (Weaver, 2006), rather than on ethics as a system of rules about right and wrong. While this is a question of emphasis rather than an either/or distinction, the effect is to make ethics personal, and to indicate to students that the higher purpose of ethics education and training is to encourage them to cultivate their virtue. There may be much cynicism expressed about ethics in business, but it helps to renew the message that everyone is responsible for the individual part they play in it

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