Article April 4, 2005 Issue

Steering through the winds of ethical challenge

By Rosalie E. Dunbar

When it comes to honesty in business ethics, stories about Enron and ethical breaches at other companies often take the spotlight. But these are the exception, not the rule, says Madelon Miles, co-founder and president of Milestones, Inc., a California-based company that has provided over 100 businesses with executive coaching, strategies for developing leaders, and teambuilding guidance for executives and senior managers.

"When an executive gets taken from the courthouse in handcuffs, it handcuffs, justification to this myth that corporate America is an unethical, snake pit kind of environment. It's anything but that," Miles says. "It's a place where people are tested every day, and where the majority of executives reject ethical breaches."

Dishonesty often takes simpler forms than news reports suggest. Miles points out actions that keep people from getting jobs or that can lead to their immediate dismissal when they are caught:

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