Dr. Michael G. McMillan- Ethical Decision Making Presentation Summary

Director of Ethics and Professional Standards for CFA Institute, Michael G. McMillan, addressed a joint gathering of CFA Charterholders, CPAs and CFPs at the Palms Bistro.  Dr. McMillan reminded attendees of the goals of ethics training.

1. To encourage you to become more conscious about your thoughts and behaviors, to increase the likelihood that you will notice and act upon ethical issues before they become destructive.
2. To recognize that ethical dilemmas are a normal and predictable part of most jobs.
3. To discuss approaches for dealing with ethical issues.  

On the first point situational influences have more to do with unethical behavior than a person’s character. Under the right conditions, good people can be led into acting in an unethical manner. Furthermore, the ethical dilemmas in which people find themselves often have more to do the culmination of small decisions and actions people take than unethical character traits. Therefore, it often requires an elevated situational awareness to understand that conditions for unethical decision-making may be present.

Secondly, recognize that ethical challenges are part of everyday decision-making. They can stem from an obedience to authority, the need to conform to an expectation, incremental movements toward unethical behavior, group thinking, and overconfidence or optimism. Tangential to this larger point, there is a difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. Dr. McMillan stresses that the law is a minimum level of expected conduct. The role of ethics is to address situations not covered by the law and, subsequently, often lead to creation of new laws. The key point is that abiding by the law is no guarantee that one will behave ethically.

Finally, he offers advice on resolving ethical dilemmas. First, acknowledge that there is an ethical issue to deal with, determine who is effected by the problem and gather relevant data on the issue. Determine the right vs. wrong decision parameters and potential ethics-grounded resolutions. Finally, make a decision and be sure to reflect on what you’ve learned from the decision.