
A dejected father confided in his pastor with a problem: his youngster had been caught cheating on a test at school. He was crushed, feeling like he had failed as a father, concerned it would saddle the child with a reputation for dishonesty.
“Not at all,” said the clergyman, “the worst thing at the start of a person’s life is to cheat and NOT get caught.”

What is a good parent’s main job?
The days of simply supporting the family financially may be over, according to a Pew Research Center report.
Asked what’s “extremely important” for a father to provide, a telephone survey of 1,004 American adults got these findings:
- Values and morals: 58 percent
- Emotional support: 52 percent
- Discipline: 47 percent
- Income: 41 percent
The challenge we all face is that we cannot fudge on our own set of ethics and values, even when it is extremely tempting.
That is the kiss of death.
John gives three reasons why people make unethical choices.
First, people tend to do what’s most convenient.
They fall into the trap of doing what’s easy, but not necessarily what’s right.
Second, people do whatever it takes to win; what they call “win at any cost.”
If it’s a choice between winning by being unethical, or being ethical and perhaps losing – then ethics loses.
Third, he refers to situational ethics.
People rationalize their choices with relativism.
They make their choices based on whatever seems right at the time.
A code of business ethics usually doesn’t stand alone, it works in conjunction with a company’s mission statement and more specific policies about conduct to give employees, partners, vendors, and outsiders an idea of what the company stands for and how its members should conduct themselves.
It should address both the particular nuances of the company’s industry as well as its broader goals for social responsibility and should be concrete enough to serve as a guide for employees in a quandary without laying out rules for every situation that could arise.”
“The reality these days is that the business that does not have a code of ethics subjects itself to a much greater risk in its day-to-day operations and if there is an unfortunate incident, they expose themselves to much greater risk [from] regulatory and prosecutorial authorities.”
One example of a simple statement of ethics was written in 1904 for Rotary International.
Apply these four questions to everything your organization says or does:
- Is it true?
- Is it fair to everyone concerned?
- Will it build good will and better relationships?
- Will it benefit everyone concerned?
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