Ethikos Weekly Editor’s Picks – July 22, 2014

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Editor’s Top Choice:

Where American kids learn to cheat 

From Butch Bracknell of Real Clear Sports:

I have been coaching youth sports, particularly baseball, since my kids have been old enough to be interested, about 10 years now. My oldest son plays “travel” baseball, where individual teams organize independent of a formal league structure, like Little League or Pony Baseball, and play each other in area and interstate tournaments run mostly by commercial companies. A few big outfits run national tournaments, like Cooperstown Dreams Park in New York, Ripken Baseball in South Carolina and Maryland, Big League Dreams in Texas, and ESPN Wide World of Sports in Florida.

When you travel to these tournaments, you see a wide range of baseball talent and ability, from local recreational teams taking a stab at the “big stage” all the way up to teams who recruit interstate and fly in ringers to pitch in key games. You see baseball being enjoyed by kids, parents, coaches, umpires and plain old fans. You see the essence of American sporting life, which feeds the professional game, but also simply grows kids steeped in the grand American tradition of sportsmanship, perseverance, weathering adversity, teamwork, and leadership.

You also see cheaters. Read more


Other Featured Picks of the Week

Learning to speak up when you’re from a culture of deference 

Andy Molinsky, contributing writer for Harvard Business Review:

Many of us are uncomfortable speaking with people of higher status. We can feel self-conscious, unsure of what to say, and afraid what we’re going to say — or what we’re saying — is the wrong thing. After these conversations, we often replay in our heads what we said, analyze what we shouldn’t have said, or realize what we should have said but didn’t.

But imagine what communicating up the hierarchy is like for people from countries and cultures where notions of hierarchy are much deeper and much more ingrained than ours. Where even as a small child you are taught to speak only when spoken to, and that in the presence of authority figures, like your parents, your teachers, or your boss, you should remain quiet, put your head down, do solid work, and hope to be noticed. Read more


Here’s the truth about lying at work

Lydia Dishman of FastCompany, “Is there harm telling little white lies at work? Or can lying potentially destroy your career? Workplace experts weigh in.

Admit it. You’ve called in sick to work when you weren’t officially down with the flu or some other contagious illness. It’s a common fib, especially around major sporting events.

A global survey by Workforce Management company Kronos found that as many as 58% of employees call in sick on days they want to watch or attend a sporting event. International competitions, like the FIFA World Cup, tend to boost employee absence rates even though 80% admit to feeling guilty for doing it.” Read more


Company culture initiatives: 5 bottom-line reasons to rebuild your corporate culture now 

From Micah Solomon, contributor to Forbes, “Undertaking a company culture change initiative, with the goal of consciously building a company culture – as opposed to la-dee-dah-ing your way through the workday and taking what comes – isn’t for the faint of heart. As a consultant on corporate culture initiatives, I can’t recommend a company even begin the company culture review and overhaul process if your heart and the hearts of your key lieutenants aren’t actually committed to the effort. If they aren’t, you’ll never commit to the follow-through that is all important to sustaining the initiative.

Which would be too bad. Because a consciously created customer- and employee-centered culture is central to sustaining any company whose image and livelihood depend on a great customer experience.” Read more


How to build a strong ethical culture at your agency 

From Linda Fisher Thornton, contributor to Government Executive, “Government leaders have to manage the tension between price, quality, speed and ethics. An affordable contractor may be reliably fast, but to finish quickly may cut safety corners, leading to injuries or deaths. The lowest bidder may have the best price now but could run into problems that end up costing thousands, even millions, of dollars more after the contract is under way.

Thinking beyond the project to its impact on the stakeholders and having ongoing conversations about ethical behavior helps agency teams weigh the long-term consequences of their decisions.” Read more


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