Spirit Lake Consulting Forum

I am working on the section on by-standers now. I think this is really important, in any organization.


“It’s not the mistake the organization makes that brings it down. It’s the second mistake, the cover-up, and everything that follows that brings ethical collapse. The key is to create a culture that catches the first mistake. As long as human beings run organizations, there will be mistakes and ethical lapses. The key is to have a culture that brings that lapse to the attention of the right people with the right attitude to take the necessary steps ... to halt the follow-up mistakes.”

I can name a half-dozen organizations off the top of my head where they have major ethical problems, e.g., promoting people unfairly, using ethics investigations to "get' their political enemies while ignoring much worse violations by their friends, covering up for board members who have engaged in the worst kinds of sexual harassment, etc. Not all of these organizations are on reservations.

What they all do have in common is that substantial numbers of people know about these violations. They cover them up, though, muttering,

"Well, he might have exposed himself to that young girl but he is the best legal counsel we ever had."

Or

"You'll never change it and you're just going to get yourself investigated. They have always used ethics investigations around here to put people in line."

Can anyone give me more insight on how someone justifies being a by-stander and doing nothing? Your own experiences would be most appreciated but any examples would be welcome as well.

Do people really believe nothing can be done or the ends justifies the means or whatever? Those people who KNOW what is going on is wrong, how do they justify it to themselves?