Add value as an ethical voice
Trust and risk are the necessary consequences of our profession. Ours is not a profession that treats the subjects of trust and risk lightly. We rely on our professionalism and training to determine what actions to take in situations involving risk. We expect people to act honorably and, when they don’t, we are disappointed. It impacts ourselves, our employers and those we serve.
Ethics are a subset of trust and risk. I’m convinced that our ethical codes are of the highest caliber, but I also think we need to do a better job training others to understand what we hold closest to our core. We inoculate our purchasing staff against unethical behavior; we teach them with case studies and articles from the newspapers and periodicals, yet we have different standards of behavior in our own organizations.
Consider what our economic development departments do to attract business, or how the convention and visitors bureaus treat prospective clients, and balance that against the ethics of the purchasing department. I don’t know what the answer is, but it is worthy of discussion. And ethics-related discussion has been around for centuries. In an article from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entitled “Plato’s Ethics: An Overview,” the author explores how Plato bases ethics on virtue, explaining: “All human actions serve some end or purpose. Whether these purposes are judged right or wrong depends on their overall aim.” The larger question: Is it our responsibility to resolve the differences?
Decisions that affect us should be based on professionalism. The facts should be investigated without prejudice, and decisions should be made on the facts. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Other factors come into play, including favoritism, politics and personal prejudices. We are taught to treat our own employees, our vendors and the public with the same level, even-handed approach. We expect our rules to be written and administered even-handedly and honorably. I would like to believe that’s done all of the time, but the realist in me suggests otherwise.
Approximately four years ago, my county uncovered a monumental scandal; failure of administration is still being discussed. Those who were charged with reviewing and approving expenditures failed in their obligations. Those responsible for oversight were not doing their job. The external auditors had not performed their duties and did not question what was done, nor did they follow paper and computer trails. They had conflicts of interest that only came to light after the state audit. Subsequent investigations by newspapers found mutual supporting decision-making by their senior staff that was prejudicial and not in the best interests of anyone but themselves. If there were problems, they were swept under a rug by their arrogant and self-absorbed chief executive, and he bristled at criticism.
The county comptroller said, “The most important lesson…is to establish audit committees made up of citizen volunteers. These committees provide an additional level of oversight.” It’s a great idea! All organizations are staffed by professionals, but purchasing pros know how to follow the money. We know what is an ethical expenditure and what is questionable. We can point out to external auditors where to look and explain to them how it may impact both public relations and ethical procedures.
It’s time! We can start to market this as part of our skill-set, or, as Nelson did at Copenhagen, turn a blind eye.
Frederick Marks, CPPO, VCO, is a retired purchasing officer who has held positions as a supervising buyer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as well as director of material management for Northern Virginia Community College. Contact Marks at [email protected]