Ethics relates to moral actions, conduct, motive, and character. It is professionally the right or befitting action within its context. While a criminal act generally is also a breach of moral conduct, ethics includes numerous behaviors that fall short of breaching crimi- nal or civil laws. The widely heard cliché is that “ethics start at the top” in any organi- zation. As Ira Somerson, an industry consultant, noted: “When busy CEOs take time to discuss ethical issues in their work, the message soon filters down.”11
Seminal research on workplace deviancy was conducted by academics John P. Clark and Richard C. Hollinger.12 Over 9,500 employees at all levels were queried in three geographical areas, representing numerous types of public and private workplaces.
Ethics and Security Operations 25 Table 1.1 Types of Services Potentially Offered by Large, Complex Security Programs
Services Frequency
Alarm monitoring High
Computer security High
Competitive intelligence Low
Emergency planning Moderate/High
Ethics Moderate
Executive protection Moderate
Facilities management Moderate
Guarding—propriety or contract High
High security courier Low/Moderate
Information technology High
Internal consulting High
Investigations High
Loss prevention consulting Moderate
Polygraph Low
Regulatory compliance Low/Moderate
Pre-employment screening High
Risk management Low/Moderate
Safety audits Low/Moderate
Security training awareness High
Results from the Clark-Hollinger study show that the level of self-reporting workplace deviance differs widely and generally is not related to income. Surely not all protection employees are above reproach ethically. Indeed, a rare few seek employment in the field because it affords them the opportunity to steal. Yet security personnel were assessed in all employment segments and ranked among the highest in ethical standards. This find- ing may be due to the fact that security personnel tend to be selected for having higher ethical behavior. Another explanation could be that security practitioners have less opportunity for workplace deviance due to the nature of their job design.
In many organizations, operational security personnel are regarded as ethical arbiters, or are normally part of the facility’s ethical resources. At such organizations, managers are likely to be involved in setting, promoting, and managing ethical programs. They may:
• Draft a corporate ethics policy and disseminate it broadly.
• Emphasize the importance of ethical standards at new employee orientations and on an ongoing basis.
• Provide new employees with a workplace ethics statement to read and sign.
• Create a mechanism whereby the ethics program can be revised and renewed, perhaps on an annual basis.
• Establish mechanisms whereby someone with an ethical concern may approach an ethics officer confidentially who will listen nonjudgmentally to facts or suspicions.
• Investigate promptly and thoroughly all allegations of unethical behavior and refer the results of such efforts to appropriate authorities.
The motivation for the growing emphasis on ethics has many bases. Some execu- tives claim that ethical behavior is morally proper and that is why they believe in it.
Others would agree and discreetly add that voluntary ethical standards decrease public censure and chances of unwelcome litigation and legislation. But more than this is at stake. Perhaps the biggest factor behind the wave of ethical enlightenment is that such behavior is good business. Put differently, if only one part of an organization is perceived as being unethical, the entire organization can and will be tainted and potentially devas- tated in the process.
ASIS International promulgates a Code of Ethics (Appendix B). Violators who come to the attention of the ASIS Ethical Standards Committee are given the opportunity to explain their perceived misconduct. Expulsion from ASIS is one of the consequences for those persons who deviate from the code and whose cases are considered by the Ethical Standards Committee and found in violation of established practices.
Other professional and trade organizations concerned with loss prevention also possess codes of ethics and good conduct. Some of these are the Academy of Security Educators and Trainers, the Business Espionage Controls and Countermeasures Association, the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety, the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association, and the National Council of Investigation and Security Services. This list is not meant to be comprehensive. The point is that secu- rity practitioners generally take ethics as a serious, profound reflection of their responsi- bilities to their colleagues, employees, and clients—and to society as a whole. Such ethical structures usually permit censure, suspension, and expulsion as possible sanctions for
errant members. Normally, the person accused of unethical behavior has an opportunity to respond to the charges at a specially convened board that hears charges and responses.
The appointed group then collects the facts in the situation, arrives at a conclusion, and may report its findings to the full group for a final consideration.
S
UMMARYOrganizational concerns of corporations only became the object of research in the mid- 20th century. Security operations as a discipline arrived later and continue to evolve.
Successful security operations are critical to the growth and stability of organizations of any size and complexity. While usually a part of middle management, security operations are concerned with performance throughout the entire organization. In some large, com- plex, globally oriented organizations, the CSO is a senior officer and reports regularly to the board. The functions of the executive charged with security operations are diverse and subject to change according to the primary operation of the organization. The ethi- cal nature of the chief executive often influences the behavior of subordinate employees and others concerned with the operation. Security practitioners generally are viewed as exponents of an organization’s ethical policy and program and frequently are involved in establishing and managing such a policy.
D
ISCUSSION ANDR
EVIEW1. What is the essence of “the art” of contemporary security practice?
2. When did the era of modern management emerge? When did protection management appear as a distinct managerial function?
3. Briefly describe the purpose of an executive within contemporary organizations.
4. The managerial process involves a sequence of interrelated activities.
What are they, and why does each have significance?
5. What are the similarities on Henri Fayol’s categorizations of the workplace and a typical operation today? How are Fayol’s descriptives similar to contemporary organizational structure and activity? What differences exist between his observations and the present workplace?
6. What were the contributions of scientific management to the contemporary workplace?
7. How does “outsourcing” affect current security practices?
8. Describe the connections between situational crime prevention and research applications for loss problems or concerns.
9. Explain how the structure of the organization permits recourse to investigate and respond to allegations of improper behavior, even at the highest level.
10. Describe the role of security managers in establishing policies and maintaining standards in ethical issues within the workplace.
Discussion and Review 27
E
NDNOTES1 P.F. Drucker (1985). The Effective Executive. New York, NY: HarperBusiness, p. 8.
Also: N. Stone (Ed.) (1998). Peter Drucker on the Profession of Management.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School.
2 H. Fayol (1984). General and Industrial Management, revised by Erwin Gray. New York, NY: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, p. 11.
3 M. Weber (1947). The Theory of Social and Economic Organization, trans.
A.M. Anderson and T. Parsons, ed. T. Parsons. New York, NY: Free Press.
4 C.I. Barnard (1938). The Functions of the Executive. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Also: L.A. Hill (1992). Becoming a Manager. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
5 F.W. Taylor (1911). Principles of Scientific Management. New York, NY: Harper &
Brothers.
6 F.B. Gilbreth (1972). Motion Study. Easton, PA: Hive Publishing Company.
7 J.P. Tomain (1987). Nuclear Power Transformation. Bloomington and Indianapolis, IN: Indiana University Press, p. 36.
8 D.R. Dalton (1995). Security Management: Business Strategies for Success. Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.
9 J.K. Barefoot (1995). Undercover Investigations. 3rd ed. Boston, MA: Butterworth- Heinemann.
10 Duncan, K., Gale, S., Tofflemire, J., & Yaksick, R. (1992). “Conceptualizing a Value- Added Approach to Security Management: The Atkinson Security Project.” Security J.
vol. 3.
11 Quoted in W.C. Cunningham, J.J. Strauchs, and C.W. Van Meter (1990). Private Security Trends 1970 to 2000: The Hallcrest Report II. Boston, MA: Butterworth- Heinemann, p. 49.
12 J.P. Clark and R.C. Hollinger (1983). Theft by Employees. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.