Ethics: Working Well With Stakeholders

“That was truly excellent! Such lucid explanations of ethically murky areas, interesting and nuanced discussion from the team, and a lovely place for the whole team to arrive at, at the end.”

This series of workshops is for leaders and their teams seeking a reliable way to decide ethical issues raised by the prospect of working with clients, partners or other stakeholders.

Any organisation may face ethical questions when engaging with stakeholders. For instance, a company might have a lucrative opportunity to work for a government with some ethically troubling policies, or a non-profit organisation may be approached by a funder from a morally questionable industry. 

Such cases often prompt leaders and their teams to ask, “Is it appropriate for us to be involved? If so, how should we manage the relationship?”

Why a framework matters

One can simply respond to situations as they arise, without any framework beyond the requirements of laws and generic codes – but that can limit the breadth and depth of the team's thinking, lead to inconsistent decisions, and expose organisations to various risks.

A better approach is to adopt a framework that promotes careful, reasonable and pragmatic reflection about the ethics of working with stakeholders.

In this compact series of workshops, Dr Greg Fried will help delegates to develop such a framework, suited to their organisation's context and purposes.

As a facilitator with a Philosophy PhD, business ethics expertise, entrepreneurial experience, and a background working with organisations on five continents, Greg draws from a range of approaches to help an organisation produce a strong ethical framework.

Balanced reflections

The framework that emerges will be a pragmatic and well-informed document adapted to the organisation’s needs and circumstances, and designed to ensure good ethical decision-making.

It lays out a broad procedure for reaching an ethical decision in the organisation, including input from key internal and external actors.

The framework also includes considerations and principles to encourage thinking from many perspectives, and stimulate balanced ethical reflection. For instance, considerations will:

• Be sensitive to the organisation's values and aims, while incorporating relevant ethical concepts and theories 
• Promote the thriving of the organisation and its people, while respecting the interests of all stakeholders
• Take the views of all team members into account, while maintaining overall coherence and consistency
• Be as straightforward as possible, without seeking formulaic solutions
• Drive towards firm organisational decisions, while catering for individual disagreement and welcoming the evolution of views over time

Three focused workshops

There are standardly three workshops, which aim to clarify circumstances, explore the ethical issues, and finalise the framework. The entire process falls under a non-disclosure agreement, so delegates can be assured that their discussions will be held in confidence.

Workshop 1: Clarifying circumstances (2 hrs)

To begin the process, leaders and other key team members meet with Greg to discuss their situation and needs, potentially also sharing relevant documents. Topics include the organisation’s aims, values and structure; what ethical issues it faces and expects to encounter; and how ethical decisions have been made so far.

Workshop 2: Exploring ethics (3 hrs)

The whole team meets with Greg to explore their ideas for meeting ethical challenges, prompted by hypothetical cases and the actual cases that occupy them. After the workshop, Greg draws on these ideas to produce a draft of an ethical framework, and shares this draft with the team for feedback.

Workshop 3: Finalising the framework (3 hrs)

Together with Greg, team members jointly strengthen the framework by considering implementation, practical consequences, other contextual issues and any contentious aspects of the draft. What emerges is a robust and credible approach to making ethical decisions for their organisation.