The story of a homeless Guatemalan immigrant bleeding to death on a New York street after his good Samaritan effort has made headlines around the world. Continue reading…
It’s tragic, without a doubt. We’re struck with indignation as we read the details. “How callous are those people in New York City, walking by a dying man and not even stopping to call 911?” People stopped to take pictures, but not to help? What is the world coming to?
My office has a huge window that faces a busy street. A few months ago, in the middle of the night on a long weekend, someone threw a brick through it and helped themselves to my computer. When we were outside taking pictures of the break-in for insurance purposes, a woman walking down the street slowed down and looked at the damage. We explained what had happened and she didn’t seem particularly surprised. In fact, she said “Yes, it happened at 1:35 in the morning.” She then went on to explain that she lived in the apartment building located kitty-corner to our office space, and heard the smashing of the glass. She looked out of her window to see the burglar slip through the hole in the glass and emerge shortly with computer in hand. “Did you call the police?” “No.” “Would you give us your name and contact information so we can pass it on to the police?” “No.” What is the world coming to?
Are we all inured to the social ills that surround us? Is that why no one seems to respond to the violence or injustice that they witness? I don’t think so. I certainly hope not.
What I do know is that if people fear retribution or personal consequence, they generally turn away. Simply knowing that something is wrong isn’t reason enough to respond. Was that woman who saw my computer walk down the street under someone else’s arm fearful of what might happen to her if she called the police? Did those people who walked by Mr Tale-Yax’s bleeding body think they would be putting themselves into danger by getting involved? And I do know that this turning a blind eye doesn’t only apply to situations on the street or in public. In fact, it probably happens even more frequently inside. And ‘inside’ means it happens in our organizations. The Ethics Research Center (ERC) say in their 2007 National Nonprofit Ethics Survey Report that “employees remain silent because of fear and futility. The top two reasons that employees don’t report misconduct are the belief that reporting will not lead to corrective action, or fear of retaliation.”
But it’s not all bad news. The good news, according to the ERC, is that organizations who take ethics seriously - implementing programs and building a healthy and strong ethical organizational culture - “experience the greatest reduction in ethics risk. A strong ethical culture can virtually eliminate pressure to compromise ethics standards and retaliation for reporting.”
The moral of the story? It’s in your hands. And if you’re looking for some help along the way building that strong ethical organizational culture, we’ve got resources to help you get there. Give us a call.
