1. Introduction
1.1. At our last meeting you will recall that we concluded that there was sufficient commonality between our three religions with respect to business behavior that it would be both beneficial and worthwhile to give further consideration to the development of a common code of personal and business ethics. This was embodied in our closing resolution which had our unanimous approval.
“To recommend to HRH Prince Hassan and to HRH the Duke of Edinburgh to initiate consultations to set up a committee of people of distinction, drawn from various sectors of life but in their personal capacities, who would address the historic task of establishing guidelines on personal and business ethics.
Such guidelines shall be based on the principles of morality in the three monotheistic religions, and shall be concerned with elements of agreement therein.”
In an attempt to formulate a set of guidelines for common excellence, the committee shall aim at drawing a matrix of values and norms to identify convergence as they may bear on personal and business ethics.
This may provide a basis for accountability substance for education of future generations with the hope of bringing us all closer together in a better world.
1.2. The purpose of this paper is to suggest the procedures which might be followed and the structure and operating rules which might best achieve the implementation of this resolution. The suggestions outlined here are intended primarily to stimulate discussion so that hopefully at the end of this dialogue we will have a clear understanding and agreement on the institutional framework through which we will operate/function.
1.3. In seeking to agree upon the procedures-the “HOW”, it will also be necessary to consider the topics which the committee will have to address- the “WHAT”- and also a realistic timetable for the objectives it wishes to achieve-the “WHEN”. It may be that the first pronouncement which is made and thus the first topic to be considered will be a background paper-a Statement of Intent of Explanatory Foreword-outlining the reasons why it is felt that issuing guidelines on personal and business ethics is needed and what is hoped to be achieved by doing so-the “WHY”.
1.4. More simply, we must consider the “HOW”, “WHAT”, “WHEN” and “WHY” of a set of guidelines on personal and business ethics. I have started with the “HOW” not only because it is the aspect on which I perhaps have most to contribute, but also because I believe it is the principal issue which this dialogue should deliberate and decide upon.
2. Procedures for Establishing Guidelines-(HOW)
2.1. The procedures we adopt should be set such that any document likely to be issued, should be given maximum “internal” scrutiny first, so that there is a general consensus/agreement about its contents. If we cannot agree amongst ourselves there is little point in exposing those thoughts to the wider world for comment and even less in implementing them.
2.2. The procedures I am going to suggest themselves raise many other questions to which answers are needed, some of which I will identify as I go along and others I am sure you will raise. These procedures are based on the approach which has been adopted by a number of professions in seeking to develop international standards and which also follow, in broad outline, the approach adopted by most national and professional societies when developing national standards or codes.
2.2.1 Authoritative Body An “Authoritative Body” will have to be established. The Authoritative Body is the group which will ultimately issue the guidelines and endorse them with its seal of approval. I will assume for the rest of this paper that the Authoritative Body is the Dialogue-i.e. those are presented here today, but that is also a question we have to consider in detail, for example:
i) How will the Authoritative Body be constituted?
ii) How will it be appointed/elected? In the first instance at least I believe this should be done by the Dialogue.
iii) Who will be appointed and what are the required skills?
A combination of religious and business skills from all three religions would seem obvious, however more must be required. Such skills will provide the group with the technical expertise required to exercise sound judgment on whatever subject is placed before it. This is indeed a fundamental condition but not necessarily a deficient condition to give the group the authority it
requires.
iv) How long wilt individual appointments last?
Other than the patrons, the body should not be seen as self-perpetuating but rather as a dynamic group. That is that over time, there are regular changes stimulating a continual flow of new thoughts and energies. However, in the first instance there obviously must be continuity and therefore perhaps we should be thinking along the lines of initial appointments of five years followed by three year appointments.
v) Should there be a permanent/full-time secretariat?
I believe the answer to this is yes. In addition to dedicated people such as yourselves we need-if I can use a business phrase-”product champions” i.e. person (s) who strongly believe in what we are trying to accomplish and who will devote themselves exclusively to this purpose.
vi) If a permanent secretariat is required then in which country it should be located?
vii) How will, the whole operation be funded?
It is essential that the Authoritative Body be seen as totally independent. You cannot have acceptability and credibility without independence. Independence is one of the foundations upon which my own profession is built and without which it would collapse.
I do not want to elaborate in length on these latter operational matters, such as location and funding, lest we spend too much time arguing about the shape and color of the leaves without seeing the trees far less the woods, but they will have to be addressed.
3. Topic Identification
3.1. Having established the constitution of the group (the Authoritative Body) under whose authority statements will be issued whenever a statement is felt necessary, following the required discussions.suggestions on an agreed topic or matter of concern. I indicated earlier that I believe the first topic should be a Statement of Intent or Explanatory Foreword.
4. Topic Consideration (Discussion Draft)
4.1. The next stage after topic identification is topic consideration. By topic consideration, I mean the preparation of a discussion draft which would: I Further elaborate, define and perhaps limit the topic which is to be considered.
ii) List, if there are any, the options/choices available with the appropriate arguments for and against each option. The options are unlikely to be either/or situations where our three religions diverge because we are hopefully going to be concerning ourselves with where they do converge. Options will rather be more related to the degree of emphasis and the appropriate styling of any recommendation.
iii) Contain an outline draft statement, compatible -i.e. not contrary to or inconsistent with the ethical values of the three religions.
iv) Append to the draft statement, if appropriate suitable illustrations of the application of the guideline.
5. Working Party (Discussion Draft Preparation Group)
5.1. The work involved in preparing the discussion draft cannot obviously be done by the Authoritative Body. It is too large and cannot meet regularly enough for the detailed discussions which are involved. Therefore, a small working party or discussion draft preparation group should be formed for each distinct topic. Another question which must be addressed is the typical composition of such a working party:
i) Should it be religious or business leaders or a mixture of the two? I favor a mixture.
ii) Should it be representative of one or all three religions?
At first glance, the obvious answer is to have representation from all three religions, but is it so obvious? We have to bear in mind the question of time, logistics and cost. There is a lot to be said for having a homogeneous group prepare the discussion draft. It is sometimes easier and better to start with something which is strong and which has been built-up from a particular point of view and then have it amended/adjusted in later discussion rather than start with something which is perhaps a compromise which then gets further weakened at the next stage because further compromise takes place. On the other hand, in dealing with what are bound to be sensitive issues it is perhaps better to determine as quickly as possible if there is sufficient consensus so as to avoid fruitless and unnecessary efforts and a mixed group would be more likely to conclude this.
6. Post Discussion Draft
6.1. The working party would then present to the Authoritative Body their completed statement. Hopefully this would not contain any unresolved matters- i.e. matters on which agreement have not been reached but should any arise they should be highlighted along with the reasons for lack of agreement and the alternative views expressed. These would then be fully discussed at a meeting of the Authoritative Body (given a clearly set timetable which would give the secretariat ample opportunity to gather in advance views, observations and comments so that proper working papers can be prepared). At this meeting three options would be available:
a) accept the discussion draft with the required alterations as have been unanimously agreed.
b) send it back to the working party with views and comments and directing attention to certain problem areas where it is felt that further refinement is required before the Authoritative Body would feel able to issue a public document.
c) come to the conclusion that due to the nature of the topic any agreement on purposeful statement is unlikely and for the time being at least, abandon further detailed work on it.
6.2. Discussion cannot go on forever and therefore the Authoritative Body would be faced with either reaching agreement under (a) or (c) above. On the assumption that in some matters at least agreement under (a) would be achieved we would then move on to the next stage which is the issue of what we would call, in my own profession, an exposure draft.
7. Exposure Draft
7.1 The finalized version of the discussion draft would now be issued not as
a definitive guideline but for comments. While not necessarily universally true, I think there is a general acceptance that people tend to more readily accept rules or standards if they have had the opportunity of commenting on them before they have been finalized. This is especially true of bodies which, it is hoped, will endorse whatever is ultimately issued. This is an important purpose of an exposure draft in addition to obtaining further comments and suggestions from a wider group of constituents.
i) To whom and/or what organizations should exposure drafts be sent for comment?
I am sure there will be no difficulty in building-up such a list, but one definitely needs to be prepared. I will not dwell on this but I would like to raise the point as to what proactive is adopted for clearance with the authorities of the three religions. Should these be regarded as simply appropriate bodies to be consulted at the exposure draft stage-I think not. Certainly they must be consulted at this stage but I think they should be consulted again at the pre-publication stage because their support is essential.
ii) What religious authorities will be contacted?
8. Issue of Guideline
8.1. After suitable time period of exposure, the various comments and observations received will be collated, aggregated and summarized by the secretariat and an amended post-exposure draft prepared for the Authoritative Body. Agreement, eventually, on the contents of the final guideline will be reached and subject to what I said earlier, perhaps at this stage issuing again the revised final version for the authorities of the three religions to look over, following which the document will be published in the appropriate languages.
9. Compliance and Review
9.1. The final stage in the guideline process is the monitoring of compliance and review. Monitoring the compliance of any standard of guideline is a tremendously difficult operation in any sphere but for personal and business ethics, the difficulties are increased a million fold. Nevertheless, there will be a need to review what has been issued and what has been achieved even if initially such a review is based merely on the subjective opinions and assessments of the members of the Authoritative Body itself.
10. Summary of Procedures
a) Topic identified.
b) Discussion draft working party appointed.
c) Exposure Draft issued.
d) Final guidelines approved (and submitted to religious authorities).
e) Guideline issued.
f) Companies monitored.
11.Topics to be considered (What)
11.1. Having agreed on the procedures, we should spend some time discussing the “what” i.e. topic consideration. What are the issues a code of personaland business ethics should address? I am not avoiding the question- which I will return to later-when I say that my first answer to this is “WHY”? I believe that we need to issue an Explanatory Foreword or Statement of Intent which covers:
i) Objective of the Dialogue and the Constitution of the Authoritative Body which it has established
ii) Why it is felt appropriate to issue guidelines
The need for a common code of business ethics for all, but particularly for the large business companies, is being increasingly recognized. The power such corporations possess is significantly greater than that of individuals and small groups and the potential social impact of their decisions is a raising concern not only with the public but with these corporations and the business community themselves. Such decisions should therefore be taken within an ethical framework which can help corporations and individuals better define their objectives, policies and methods. Our religions have a role to play in this especially as some unifying principles are required for multi-national business which operates in countries with differing cultures.
iii) Authority of guidelines
iv) Obligation of Christians Jews, Muslims to observe the guidelines.
v) What it is hoped will be achieved:
a) Set of guidelines to which individuals and business can look for guidance:
b) Tangible demonstration of the closeness and the commonalities of the three religions; c) and in the worlds of our closing resolution “provide a basis for accountability and substance for education of future generations with the hope of bringing us all closer together in a better world”.
iv) An outline of the procedures to be adopted
Whatever we finally agree on regarding the matters raised in the first part of this paper, I am sure we will not face any difficulty in identifying further topics which should be considered. There is indeed, attached as appendices to this paper, observations I have received and within which a number of topics are mentioned
A recent survey in the United states of America of a number of large corporations from all over the world identified the following six items as those regarded by business as currently presenting the most important ethical issues;
1) the environment
2) product safety
3) employee health screening
4) security of company records
5)shareholders interest
6) workplace safety
All of these, it was felt, required consideration in relation to what business regarded as its most important constituents, employees, customers and suppliers . I am sure a group like us would also wish to add “society in general” to this.
However, before embarking upon an analysis of such specific issues, it would be wise considering as a first guideline some general principles regarding personal conduct in business. This could provide a background for dealing with more specific issues and/or the responsibilities of corporations as opposed to individuals. Such a general framework would cover the various duties, rights and obligations which an individual has in his relationship with:-
a) employee
b) employees
c) suppliers
d) customers
e) society in general
Most -indeed all- of you here today are much better qualified than I am to suggest just what such a code of conduct should cover. However as an introduction it would certainly have to encompass all the duties and obligations which a person has towards the law of the country in which he/she works and quite separately the law of the countries in which his/her organization conducts business. It must also address what should be done in the event there is a variance between the laws of his/her religion and/or our proposed ethical guidelines. This could then lead on to responsibilities and obligations if his/her employer is breaking the law and / or ethical guidelines and so on. Examples of other matters which could be covered are confidentiality, conflict or interest, integrity and so on.
12. Future Timetable (When)
12.1 It will be important and it is a good discipline to work according to a pre-agreed timetable if for no other reason than to let us know when we are not adhering to it . While it is premature to start drawing up a timetable for specific issues I would suggest that, subject to whatever we resolve, we could consider the following: January/March 1990:- Establish small working groups to prepare documentation on the following:-
a) procedures to be adopted
b) bodies/organizations to be consulted
c) budget estimates for three years (assumes we have decided on the format of the secretariat and its location)
d) drafting of Explanatory Foreword/Statement of Intent.
e) drafting of personal code of conduct. April/June 1990:- a), (b), (c), above to be circulated for comment.
July/September 1990 d) to be circulated for comment. October/December 1990:- Next meeting of Dialogue to formally establish/ratify:
i) the Authoritative Body and individuals to serve on it
ii) procedures to be adopted by the Authoritative Body
iii) appointment of Secretary-General
iv) agreement on final wording of Statement of Intent.
v) passage to the Authoritative Body of the work done to date on the
personal code of conduct (e) for processing through the now agreed procedures.
13. Conclusion
13.1 My task was to prepare a draft which would provide a focus for our discussions on the procedures which might be used, and the steps which may be followed in formulating a code of personal and business ethics and this is indeed what I have attempted to do. If I have exceeded my brief I hope you will excuse me and simply attribute it to my enthusiasm for this project.
13.2 More and more corporations and other businesses are going to establish ethical codes to regulate their business behavior. There should be a religious input into these. Many individuals wish guidance on how they should behave in the work environment. A religious input is needed there also.