Integrity

What is the price of your integrity?

We live in a world where everyone seems to have lost integrity. Atleast that is what we get to hear from all around us. What is this integrity and what is ethical behavior? Oxford dictionary defines integrity as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. According to me integrity is the quality of an individual to act ethically in line with the accepted norms of the society when no one is watching.

To put it in layman’s terms, integrity is being true to one’s own value system and hence automatically confirming to the norms of the society.

Is integrity a value? Or is it something more than that? Classical definition says that integrity is a value. But does it limit itself to being a value? Can it be told that learning the definition of integrity or attending trainings on integrity makes you a person with integrity? For me integrity is more than a value. It is not a single value. It is a combination of a lot of things. For me integrity is a result and not the path. And since it is a result, the actions that we take, the pressure that we face and the circumstances that we are in all lead to the result which is integrity. This also means that each one of us has a break point where we will be ready to compromise.

This break point is different for different people and gets decided by a host of factors, some of which are mentioned below. These circumstances, pressures and actions that we take ultimately decides whether we would behave ethically or not.

1) Values taught at home:

Research shows that the value system of a child is formed by the time he reaches the age of 5. The famous psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg, in his Theory of Stages of Moral Development, stated that the first level of moral development is that of obedience and punishment. This then further gets developed through different stages till he reaches the level of universal ethical principles. Or in other words, from the stage of an action and its associated consequences, the person moves to a stage of universal awareness and informed choices. A child is typically in the first stage of development. However, as the child grows up he learns to make informed choices. And he gains this information from his surroundings and primarily parents. He learns to move from the stage of doing an action to prevent punishment to a stage where he makes decisions based on what he sees and observes others do, in the child’s case, mainly parents.

Values taught at home do not mean the words spoken by parents. More important is the actions of parents. Our children are far more intelligent than we think. Every act of the parents gets registered in them. If any parent has a misperception that he can fool his child, it is that they are fooled themselves. Our actions, at the witness of our children lay long lasting impressions on them. Small acts that lack integrity, which we may think as inconsequential may leave deep impressions in them. For example, a father how promises his child to take him out and does not, may have a child who promises his teacher that he will do his homework but won’t. He may even be an expert in cooking up excuses for not doing it, like his father does. Our children learn from us.

Children who are raised in families, where values of honesty, truthfulness and so on get practiced everyday tend to develop more of these qualities. Punishing a child for a behavior that is even exhibited by the parents will not have any impact on the child. Now I know why many developed countries have strong laws against punishing the child (sic).  But punishing a child for an act which not only his parents disapprove of, but also that they do not do, will leave a lasting impression on the child.

2) Pressure from loved ones:

If the pressure put on an individual is to live a life of integrity, then the world would have been a different place. The greatest need of a human being, after meeting his need of food, shelter and clothing, is to love and to be loved. In other words, it is the need to be accepted by those whom he loves. Sadly the ones he loves, holds him to a ransom when they measure his love, through his performance and results. A school boy is told that he must repay the love of his parents by being the first in class. There is a point where we are ready to let go our value system and succumb to that pressure. I call it the break point. Like the case of a boy who is ready to cheat in his exams, as he wants to live upto the expectations of his parents to top his class. The parents may have taught and shown through their lives exemplary values, but he is ready to give it up, due to the pressures. The only other option that he may have is to take away his life, tragically as to is the case with many youngsters these days.

This continues even as we grow up. It’s only that the stakeholders change. The expectations from wife, husband, and children and so on may lead to the break point

3) Societal Pressure

A society is defined as the community of people living in a particular region and having shared customs, laws, and organizations. Within each society every individual has interactions with different individuals and groups within the society. This means that we may be part of different groups at any point of time. Some of them can be your groups at work, community groups, and society / lifestyle groups and so on. Each of these groups can put pressure. The term peer pressure that gets used very often is closely related to this. One often wonders why CEO's cheat. They have achieved almost everything anyone could have possibly achieved. They have money, power, position and everything you can ever think of. One may say it is raw greed. But is not greed related to this pressure? Everyone wants to score a point over their peers. In business it can be termed as ambition, to be better than the rest. But in layman's terms it is nothing but pure greed. In fact, from our school days, we are taught this. To better the rest, to leave the competition behind. And there comes a point where this pressure forces us towards the break point

This societal pressure also includes pressure that gets from the perceived definitions of success. Media and the present day education system have a lot to do with this. When I was in school, my definition of being successful was wearing a suit and a tie and owning a big car. Even today's media portrays success this way. If these would have continued to be my definitions of success, then there would come a point where I would break up and compromise to achieve those signs of success.

4) Strengths and Weaknesses

Every individual is gifted with his own sets of strengths and weaknesses. This is true in all areas of life. Education, intellect and even values. There may be some values that we are strong at and some that we are not. These strengths and weaknesses may also determine your tipping point. I guess the biggest weakness of us is to accept the fact that we may not be strong in all values. It is sort of demeaning to say that I am not strong in values. Atleast we all like to be known as men and women of incorruptible values.

For most men, the typical weaknesses are the 3 W's. Wealth, wine and women. I know this is like painting the whole canvas black. Each one of us has a set of weakness and strengths. The break point of weaknesses will be way lower than the strengths. For some IPL players, it was Rs 60 lakhs. What is yours?

Bribe giving and taking culture (Applicable for only some countries)

Looking at all the scams that have been in the news, especially the ones in India got me thinking. Why would anyone want to give a bribe if I have an option of doing business without it? Look at the 2G scam. (For more read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2G_spectrum_scam). The accused are all players with prominence in the field of telecommunications if not in India, globally. Why would such organizations bribe? Is it that these organizations are filled with men and women who have reached their tipping point? The thought is hilarious isn't it? An organization filled with men and women who are crazy as they have reached their tipping point. It’s too simple an explanation to the point of being illogical. If this is not the case what else? I guess the reason is that in some countries you cannot do business without giving bribes. Especially in sectors where government permission is required to open up a business.

Aristotle defined politics as “A polis is not an association for residents on a common site, or for the sake of preventing mutual injustice and easing exchange. The end and purpose of a polis is the good life, and the imitations of social life are means to that end”. According to him a politician is someone who has the moral right and the character to lead the society towards this good life. Considering this definition of a politician, how many of today's politicians have the right to be in politics? One may think this is an epidemic in the developing countries, but looking at some of the developed countries and their unholy alliances with gun makers, prostitutes’ shows that the cancer of corruption is everywhere. In countries where bribe taking and giving is almost a culture, surviving as a business without being party to it is almost impossible. Organizations that operate in such countries are definitely not made of employees who have reached their tipping point, but it’s such a case of survival. Let me make myself very clear. I do not support giving bribes or taking it. I personally do not do both. And let me tell you that, from experience, in the country that I live in, it’s a very very tough thing to do.

5) Relationship with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Fig: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs [Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs]

 One gets to wonder, whether the willingness to act without integrity has any relationship with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Proposed by Maslow in 1943, this theory classifies needs into 5 main categories starting from physiological to self actualization. According to him these needs are in the form of a pyramid, with the most fundamental needs like breathing, food water etc at the bottom and the need for self actualization at the top

Linking propensity to violate ethical standards and act unethically with the hierarchy shows that the lower the need that is not met, greater the chances to move towards break point. For example a person may act unethically if he does not have food to eat, than the need to own a car.

But does it mean that those who do not have food to eat steal would steal more that the ones that does not own a car? If that is the case, many of the thefts, robberies, scams that we see would have no possible explanations.  If Maslow’s hierarchy is looked at in isolation, the hypothesis holds true. Given that all the other possible causes that leads one to the break point given above remains constant and equal for an individual then the probability to steal for food is more that the probability to steal to buy a car. For example, consider two individuals whose value systems are exactly the same, pressure exerted from the family is exactly the same, the pressure from society is exactly the same, strengths and weaknesses are also exactly the same. One of this individual does not have food to eat. The other has all the bottom 2 needs of Maslow’s hierarchy met (food, shelter, security etc). His need is that of a car for social acceptance. In such a case where all other reasons for break point is same for the 2 parties considered, the chances are that the person whose need for food to act without integrity is more that the one whose need is for a car.

Hence, all of the reasons mentioned above cannot be treated in isolation. Each one of these points can add up and lead to the point of break down and compromise. The difficulty here is that all of the above reasons for break point are not measurable and hence we do not know how it adds up. But looking around one can surely say that the effect is atleast a sum if not multiplier or exponential.

This is exactly the reason why we see so many cases where people compromise and choose to give up on integrity. The pressure is from multiple quarters these days when compared to the past. This can surely be attributed to the sudden increase in unethical behavior over the last few decades. It is the pressure from all quarters along with your weaknesses. Even weaknesses add up. A little of money and immorality may suffice for one, rather than a ton of money for another. This is why this epidemic runs across. From children to scientists to businesses to sports.

What can I do?

I think that the least a person can do is to accept that everyone including oneself can be corruptible. It is just a question of what will make you corrupt and how much will make you corrupt. I think this realization itself is humbling. This in itself will make one to be aware. It is indeed a depressing to know and accept that I have a break point.

 Understanding your strengths and weaknesses in terms of values is important. It is humanely impossible to be strong in all values. For example a person who is strong in honesty as a value, may not be strong in transparency as a value. He may have a weakness for wealth. This is a fact that is difficult for us to accept. We all like to be known as people with good values. Accepting that we may not be strong in all values may not be a very easy thing to do.

Having a clear view on your goals and dreams for life is also important. One must spend enough time on what my aims and dreams in life are. These dreams and goals will prove to be an anchor that will prevent you from sailing after the expectations set in from others

What can businesses do?

1)      Accept that there is a break point for everyone:

Organizations must accept that everyone including their CEO has a break up point. Hence organizations must have 2 thumb rules always in mind

a) Natural state of human beings is to act with integrity

b) Every human being, whose natural state is to act with integrity, has a tipping point, where he will behave and act unethically

Hence, it is the prerogative of organizations to have policies and processes to prevent, monitor and address unethical behavior that is applicable for everyone. In fact these must be policies that has no exceptions and applicable to all, from the CEO to all below.

2)      Evaluate values at the time of hiring

Research shows that 80% of employee turnover is due to bad hiring decisions and a poor hiring decision for a candidate earning $ 100,000 per year could cost, on an average $ 250,000 [Source: Harward Business Review http://resources.dice.com/report/the-cost-of-bad-hiring-decisions/]. It is only logical so say that hiring an employee whose values are not in place is like handing over the key to the thief. The more senior the position is the riskier it gets. It is important that the recruiters look for any signs of unethical behavior even before the candidate gets hired. Getting proper feedback from previous employers on the values, background checks etc can help. Organizations must be willing to give away with a potential good resource, if his values are not found to be in place

3)      Mechanism to report, address and track ethical violations:

Organizations must have sound processes in place which enables its employees to report ethical violations. Some of the characteristics of  good reporting system includes

Facility to report without fear of retaliation

Facility to report without revealing identity

Certainty of impartial investigation and closure

Organizations must have clear systems and processes that keeps track of these reportings and must have a database of those employees in the susceptible category

4)      Certainty of punishment

The biggest deterrent to a crime is not the severity of the punishment but the certainty of punishment. Organizations must ensure that disciplinary action is taken without any exceptions for all ethical violations. This not only helps in reforming the concerned party but also is a serious deterrent for the rest. Most organizations make the grave mistake of showing exceptions when employees in the leadership team is involved. This is highly dangerous and will cause unethical behavior to spread like cancer in the organization.

5)      Pressure cooker management

Today's world of business is like a pressure cooker. This pressure as explained in the above pages can be a primary course for unethical behavior. Hence it is important that the leaders of organizations realize this and promote a tension free atmosphere in office. Having a good, understanding and positive leaders can eliminate unethical behavior.

6)      Work Life Balance

Organizations must ensure that its employees have a good work life balance. The earlier school of thought told that the whole responsibility of ensuring good work life balance lies with the employee. But I feel that it is for the employer’s interest that good work life balance is maintained. The employee must not be in a situation that in addition to his pressure from work, he has pressure from home which when added with his weaknesses will rocket him to his break up point.

Epilogue

The reasons mentioned above are only some. A complex human mind, when multiplied with a complex world will give rise to umpteen other reasons as to why human beings behave unethically. In fact, this is the reason why it is almost impossible to predict human behavior accurately. This article is just an attempt to lay down some reasons that I feel are major contributors to acts that lack integrity

A Day at the Adhar Queue

A Day at the Adhar Queue

It was a typical January morning at Ayroor a small rustic village in Pathanamthitta District in Kerala. Many would associate a January morning with blankets and sweaters but here in Kerala it is a different story. It was hot and humid with the mercury touching 33 degrees. It seemed so unfair when the rest of the country was inside blankets, that here wearing a shirt itself seemed to be a torture. Unfair, is what I felt when I had to spend a day of my meager and hard earned leave to get registered for the Adhar card.

Adhar, an ambitious project of the Government of India, touted as a project that will change the face of this country. Many parallels has been drawn with the Social Security Number that is in existence US and many developed countries where an individual gets tagged to a 10 or 16 digit number. But the comparison stops there. Tagging a citizen and all about him is no mean task in a country where most of its citizens live below the poverty line and more than half of its population does not even know how to read and write. In fact, one if left to ponder whether this multi billion project is the real need of India today. Will tagging a poor man who owns under Rs 22 a day, as below poverty line as per the strange definitions of the Government of India provide him the food that he needs to feed him and his family. Or will it eradicate the caste based imbalanced and injustices prevailing in this country? Surely, the authorities must think so. Otherwise, why would they attempt something like this at such a hurry?

The process of getting an Adhar card is very simple. All you need is an address proof and an ID proof. You need to enter all your details in the form given, stand in a queue, give your finger prints, get your retina scanned and viola, you are done!!! Easy ain’t it? Well it looks good in paper. In a country of 1 Billion people, it is no mean task. Queues can tend to be very long, and confusions galore. In fact, the government agencies also seem to be confused as to what are the uses of Adhar and as to why the common man must be getting himself tagged. In fact the sheer number of "cards" that is there issued by the Government is a clear indication of the confusion of the Government and the ego clashes between the different ministries within the Government. Each ministry seems to be keen on having its own "card". Gone are the days where a simple ration card was enough a  proof of your identity. Now there is a PAN Card, Voters ID Card, NPR Card, Adhar Card and the list goes on.

The queue was not very long at the Akshaya Center in the sleepy town of Plankamon. About 30 people had queued up, those lucky ones who has taken their token numbers in advance. I was approximately 25th in the line. Cursing my luck I stood in the line. People from all walks of life  was  in the queue. The young and the old, the educated and the uneducated, the rich and the poor were all in that line. In front of me was Chandran an auto rickshaw driver from the nearby town of Kozencherry has come here to get registered as he thought the queue would be shorter here that at his hometown.

Plankamon is a small agricultural town. In fact it is so small with a few shops that seems frozen in time that it can be better termed as a junction than a town. The whole area of Ayroor and the nearby village of Ranni is primarily an agricultural region. In the earlier days, these villages had different cultivations that include sugarcane, tapioca, coconuts, bananas, rice and many more. Our fore fathers worked in this land and reaped gold out of it. They worked till their backs broke and they educated their children. They sent them to good schools, gave them good education all with the hope that their children will have a good future, And indeed it did happen. But it came at a cost. The educated children did not want to do agriculture any more. They moved to cities and far off countries like US, Europe and Gulf while their parents stayed back. Hence, the towns look deserted. The once bustling towns look sleepy. The villages seems to be filled with the old and the young is nowhere to be found. I am no exception. I also come here only on holidays. Just like a tourist. What a tragedy. They say that home is where the heart is. By that definition, Ayroor is where my home is. I cannot associate myself to belong to any other place in the world. The real tragedy is when that ceases. The real tragedy is when the future generations fail to associate themselves with this place and the sacrifices and hard work made by their forefathers.

It takes around 25 minutes to complete one registration of Adhar which includes finger print recording and retina scanning. The officer was doing a real commendable job working with virtually no breaks. In spite of her commitment and best efforts the queue was moving very slow. Almost all in the queue were from Ayroor and hence knew each other. Mr Varghese a Gulf returnee is still not sure as to how Adhar is going to benefit him. He is engaged in a conversation with Mr Nair a retired government employee. They talk about the Goonda culture in Kerala and the "Quotation Gangs" that runs. They feel that the society in Kerala has become compartmentalized and everyone confined to the affairs of his home and not bothered about the society at large. They are reminded of those golden days of their youth when people used to respond to the needs of the society. I have to agree to their view that such "Quotation Gangs" cannot have any rule in a place where people collectively respond to such ails. But I guess such a Kerala exists only in stories today.

Through the Adhar scheme government is trying to get rid of all middlemen involved in all subsidy related transactions in the country. Presently, the cooking gas distribution centers, ration distribution centers etc holds the trump in the distribution of subsidized commodities. Wide spread corruption with one person holding multiple ration cards, gas connections etc is a head ache for the government. The government plans to transfer the subsidy amount in cash directly to the citizen's bank account thereby eliminating the middle men involved. However, does this involve real elimination of middlemen or it is shifting to a new different set of middle men who in fact are the most corrupt lot in the country? I am talking about the entire bureaucrats here. What if the same corruption and misuse happens through this new set of middlemen? They do not have such a good track record any way. What if the same problems of multiple ration cards and gas connections still continue? All if needs is multiple Adhar cards and it is surely easy with the able support of a corrupt bureaucracy

Its 12:00PM which means I am standing in the queue for more than 2 hours. In the line is an old 88 year old man Mr. Thomas. I have known him from the time I can remember. I remember his press "Ebenezer" which had stood the test of time. But time does change a man. I am seeing him after a good 10 years. My memories of him were of a man always in his white "mundu" and white sleeveless banian in his press. Everything in his press seemed to be old. The old fan which was once white looks pale yellow. The colour is not just because of the age of the fan but also the pale yellow light coming from the 40 Watt bulb. Every book in my house was bound by him. I remember going to his press with my grandmother to bind old bibles, novels and other books. He even bound books which were half eaten by termites. He reminds me of things that remain forever. Neither the weather, nor time nor the new technologies have changed him and his press. It stood the test of time as a testimony to those things which holds fort come what may. But time has changed him. He has grown old and has difficulty in walking. He is finally closing down his press for good as he like all the others in his village has worked hard, educated his children. They are now in different parts of the world and have no desire to come and run their ancestral press.

He was engrossed in a conversation with a young man in the queue. They say that you lose your ability to lie as you grow old. This is the reason why many children would want to vanish from the face of the earth when their old parents talk. However, listening to Mr. Thomas talk, I am sure his children will be proud. I guess this is a measure of a good life. At the fag end of your life as you grow old, will your children feel proud when you talk or would they squirm in their seats on seeing their parents talk. He was a good man.

I began to wonder why am I standing in this queue. What benefit am I going to get? Frankly, I don’t have an answer. I guess, the only reason is that I am a law abiding citizen and want to make every attempt to follow the law. One of the main reasons why many are in the queue is that going forward the gas subsidies will get transferred directly to the Adhar card holders account. In fact the process has already started. So the citizen will get a gas cylinder at Rs 1000 instead of Rs 480 if he does not get registered at Adhar. Mrs Indira, a house wife says that her neighbor has travelled back and forth between the gas agency and the Akshaya center 5 times to get her gas connection subsidized through Adhar. Other than this, no one in the queue had any reason to stand at that queue. In fact not a single soul in that line including me believed that this will make a paisa's worth of difference to their life.

Its 1:00PM and it is time for lunch for the official. She was a sincere government employee and promised that she will be back in 10 minutes after lunch quite contrary to the lunch breaks that lasts the whole afternoon which I have seen in different government offices. I did not go for lunch as I am now the first in the queue and as she promised she was back  in 10 mins. "Hmm", I thought. "There are atleast some officers that are sincere". When would you call a whole class of people corrupt? I would do so when a whole majority of them are corrupt that it legitimates the usage of such a sweeping statement. By that definition, calling the political class and the bureaucracy as corrupt is a fair statement in the country that we live in. In such a reality, will an Adhar scheme bring any change when the one agency that is to bring sanctity to the scheme itself is corrupt to the core? The work of one or maybe handful of sincere officers like the one here will get drowned.

This brings about a larger question into the picture. What is needed in this country? Do we need stronger laws, like what was demanded after the Delhi rape case? Do we need a Lokpal or do we need better systems as an Adhar would do? What if we bring all of this in this country? Will this change anything? What if Lokpal itself is corrupt? What if stronger laws gets misused by those in power? What if corrupt government officers misuse Adhar?

Organization use a widely accepted term called organizational culture. Organizational culture talks about certain practices that gets followed in everything that the organization does that it is a part  of the DNA of the organization. Similarly every country has a culture, which are a set of practices that cuts across every class of people and everything that gets done in the country. Sadly, over the past 66 years of independence corruption has become a part of the culture of our country. It is rampant at levels of power and that is why it is more prevalent in the political class and the bureaucracy. Culture cannot be changed by new laws and new structures. Organizations spend crores in trying to change its culture. It brings in consultants, does trainings, workshops and many more participative activities to attempt to change the culture. Culture change is always participative in nature. It cannot be done with an iron hand. It needs the buy in of all those involved. Resistance to this change has to be addressed. Concerns of employees have to be addressed. Once this is achieved new processes and system gets implemented to support the new culture. Most importantly cultural changes take time. The more the time the organization has been in a certain culture, the more the time it takes to change it.

This is exactly what me must strive as a country. Before bringing in new systems, what is needed is a sincere coordinated effort to change our culture of corruption. This includes both giving and receiving bribes and favours. Our government and our leaders must strive for this change in culture and we must be ready for the long haul. No band aid solutions are there. The culture of corruption that took 66 years to be at what it is will not vanish by the wave of a band. No magic laws or systems can change it. It needs the long sustained activity of culture change starting from those in power to the common man.

Finally it is my turn. The official takes my photograph. I feel like a criminal whose photograph is taken for criminal records. My finger prints are taken, my retina is scanned. I got a feeling that I am trapped for life. I am skeptical if this will do me any good. Will the corrupt agencies wrongfully use this data against me? I am not sure. Nor is anyone. And no one seems to have any answer. In fact, in a democracy, it is the duty of the government to bring its people into confidence before they launch something as path breaking as this. But as typical with the new style of governance in India, the Government refuses to talk to its people. The intentions of those in leadership in this country might be entirely noble, but they also have the moral duty to communicate it effectively to its citizens. The behavior of the government is of blatant arrogance and seems to go on with its activities as if the citizens do not exist.

They say that all that is needed for a bloody revolution and anarchy is a corrupt and arrogant leadership and an impatient young generation of sizable number that does not believe in that leadership. Examples are there in the history books. What we have seen in Egypt, what happened during the French revolution are just some examples. We are a country at the threshold. I really hope that history does not repeat itself. I hope this for the sake of this country and for our future generations. The beautiful idea called India that was visioned by our founding fathers cannot go waste. It is not late. In fact it is never late. Everyone has a role to play. But any change must be championed by the leadership. Out political class must change first and champion the change. If not for the country, they must do it for themselves. If not their existence is at stake. From them it must drill down to those in power and then down below to its people. Only then not only new laws and systems like Adhar, Lokpal etc but also existing laws will have any meaning in this country. The change has to be top down. It means nothing short of a revolution if the change is bottoms up in nature, i.e the citizens changing it leaders. It certainly is not the best option.

I have finally registered myself for Adhar. It’s been a long day and I am tired, vanquished and hungry. I also have a sense of accomplishment even though I do not know for what. I really hope that I will get an answer to that some day.