Post on 13-Feb-2016
description
Ethical intelligence &Good decision-making
Financial Counsellors Australia2012 Conference
What is ethics?
What is ethics?
Ethics is about answering a very practical and far-reaching question:
What ought one do?
Which is often connected with the question:
What is a good life?
And the question:
What is a good society?
What is ethics?
It’s about understanding (and pursuing) what’s important in a complex and choice laden world:• asking what’s important to me
and what’s important to others and how they’re connected
What is ethics?
What isethics?
Often ethics is in the grey zone
Competition between different:• values• stakeholdersDifferent decision making frameworks and perspectives
What isethics?
Reflection and discussion
Ethics is about reflecting on and discussing ‘what ought one do?’; having a conversation about the right thing to do
Ethical organisations foster an environment of open and productive reflection and discussion to enable good decision-making and action
Diversity is crucial
Why ethics?
Whyethics?
Yes, ethics is about looking beyond individual immediate self interest; about building a better society, a better worldBut also, ethics is about making better decisions which advance the long term, considered interests of individuals and organisations
Ethics and laws, rulesand customs
Ethics and the law
Just because something is legallypermissible does not make it ethical
Sometimes it may be ethical to break the law
Ethics and (rules based)compliance, regulation
Like society, organisations and professions need a basic structure of rulesBut can’t regulate, supervise everything (cost; practicality)Over-reliance on rules-based compliance systems can cause individuals to lose their capacity to make responsible decisions:• lose sense of personal responsibility• lose the skillAfter ticking all the internal and external regulatory boxes, the question remains: Is this the right thing to do?
Ethics and professionals
Ethics andprofessions
What is a profession?
Professions enjoy privileges e.g.:• Preferential right of practice• Right to self-regulate• Community status
The bargain with society: the grant of privilege must be in the interests of society as a whole
Doctors to pursue social good in advancing health
Lawyers to pursue social good in advancing justice
Financial counsellors to pursue social good in advancing …………….
Ethics and professional financial counsellors
How is this duty to society to be fulfilled?Simply by observing the counsellor’s duty to their clients?
What about:
• Facilitating client in achieving legal purpose, though generally harmful to society
• Facilitating client in achieving legal and worthy purpose, though by unethical means
Can counsellors ethically suspend their judgement about the ethics of their clients’ plans?
Client wants and needs
Diabetic approaches doctor, wanting to eat chocolate
Counsellor’s role beyond technician and facilitator: • as advisor, guide, leader Bringing to bear your expertise and experience on the question ‘what ought one do’ What are the client’s real interests?
Your role as a trusted advisor
Ethics and professional financial counsellors