Ethics by Design: Strategic Thinking and Planning for Exemplary Performance, Responsible Results, and Societal Accountability

42 Ethics by Design

These are pretty complex examples, but so are the realities

of organizations. So trying to over-simplify effective planning

has led to poorly defined objectives and poor results and con-

sequences. The work comes on the front-end in these exam-

ples, rather than continually having to re-do poorly planned

activities.

Note in particular what the clearly-defined desired ends

entail. These are measurable—you will know whether the end

has been achieved. They are very clear on who will achieve the

objective, to what degree (criterion), by when, and as meas-

ured by what. In the next chapter, we’ll go into great detail on

articulating effective objectives with examples of objectives for

socially desirable ends for all types of organizations.

Values Statements vs. Value Added:

Key to Ethics by Design

For a long time, we have not included socially desirable ends in

our plans. McDonough explains, “ …it’s no longer acceptable

for us to say this isn’t part of our plan…because it’s part of our

de facto plan. It’s the thing that’s happening because we have

no other plan. Then we realize as a culture that we have

become strategically tragic.”

9

By not defining these ends, we

deliver a future and a world to our children that are unintention-

ally tragic, and potentially irreversible.

Thus, it is crucial to articulate clear ends so we can plan

and design towards these desirable ends. And those ends must

be both useful and ethical.

Ethics are often addressed (if addressed at all) in organiza-

tions through statements—such as values statements or codes

of ethics. However, the results of these exercises often reflect

the core beliefs and values of the individuals at an organization.

Part of the problem with using core beliefs and values of indi-

viduals is addressed later in this chapter. The real drawback to

addressing ethics only through values statements or codes of

ethics is that they are often just window dressing—something

someone may point to as evidence of ethics in an organization,

when really they’re just evidence that something got written