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

St JamesEthics Centre:Ethi-call

www.ethics.org.au