TRSA Hosts Business Ethics Webinar

TRSA’s June webinar offering focused on ethical decisionmaking in the workplace. The hour-long presentation, titled “Applying Ethical Practices to Your Business,” was hosted by Dawn R. Elm, Ph.D., the executive director for the Society for Business Ethics (SBE). She is the chair of SBE’s Board and oversees the day-to-day operations of the society.

In addition to her work with SBE, Elm also chairs the Ethics and Law Department at the Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas (Minneapolis). She also has served as an outside director on a number of corporate boards and has management experience with Procter & Gamble Co.

During her presentation, Elm highlighted five ways companies could gauge whether they are operating with a strong moral code. These include:

1. Evaluate leadership’s commitment to ethics – do leaders actively participate in the training and communication of ethical values?
2. Evaluate the language used – is moral language used in the mission and vision statement, code of conduct, performance evaluation materials, etc.?
3. Evaluate framing and ethical decisionmaking – are issues framed in terms of business or ethics, and are decisions considered using ethical reasoning?
4. Evaluate the communication effectiveness – are communications value or rule based, and are ethical successes communicated regularly and clearly?
5. Evaluate the incentives and systems – is ethical behavior rewarded in meaningful ways, and is unethical behavior punished in meaningful ways?

TRSA has an on-demand learning library that will allow you to “live stream” all of the association’s webinars, including this latest edition on ethics. TRSA members can purchase webinars, and other training and educational resources at a reduced member price. Click here to visit TRSA’s On-Demand Learning portal to view this webinar and more.

TRSA’s next webinar will be titled “Demystifying the Selection, Use, Care and Maintenance of FR Clothing.” The hour-long presentation is scheduled for July 13 from 2-3 p.m. EST, and will be hosted by Derek Sang, technical training manager, QSSP, IASHEP, Bulwark Protective Apparel. Registration is free for TRSA members. Thanks to Monarch Brands, Philadelphia, for their support of TRSA’s webinars.