That line is one of the most famous quotes from English poetry.  Walter Scott’s poem, Marmion, from which the line comes, is about an English Lord (Marmion) who desires a very rich woman (Clara).  Unfortunately, Clara is engaged to another man (Sir Ralph).  Through an elaborate series of lies told by Lord Marmion and with the aid of his mistress, a dishonest nun (Constance) who is completely smitten with Lord Marmion, Sir Ralph is exiled.  Clara is broken-hearted and chooses to go to a convent rather than be with Lord Marmion.  Lord Marmion, devastated about losing Clara, turns on his former partner-in-crime Constance and abandons her.  

That poem was written in 1806 about an event that occurred in 1513.  So, 500 years later, what’s so different?  If we lose the “Sir” and “Lord” titles, the men in this poem are just government employees.  They are military men serving at the request of King Henry VIII.  Is it really so great a stretch to write a current day version of the story?  

Think of how many times we hear of ethics breaches in the workplace.  Corporate and public-sector scandals are the lead stories most evenings on the 6 o’clock news.  More and more companies are designing ethics policies in an attempt to legislate values and morals.  It seems to be the trendy new policy to add to the Employee Handbook.  While it is important for an organization to have an emphasis on ethics, a culture built around respect might be more effective. 

What are ethics anyway?  What impacts them?  This list is probably endless, but some of the things I’ve come up with are:  peer pressure; current circumstances; gender; culture; religion; position; race; who’s watching; geography; power; money; education; status.  These factors, and many more, determine and ultimately develop our moral convictions.

Some ethical issues are obvious.  All cultures place a value on not inflicting harm and on truth telling.  But what about little white lies? What about the lies we tell to protect someone’s feelings?  One of my dad’s favorite stories occurred when he was visiting with friends for a few days.  On the first morning, his friend, the host, burnt the breakfast toast and was very apologetic.  My dad’s response to his friend was, “Oh don’t worry about that.  I like my toast that way.”  For the remainder of his stay, his friend intentionally burnt the toast—thinking he was accommodating my dad’s preference.  

Since ethics are an applied moral code, let’s examine morality.  In “Moral Decision-Making—An Analysis,” Chris MacDonald, Ph.D., says, “Morality is a system of rules that modifies our behavior in social situations.  It’s about the doing of good instead of harm and it sets some standard of virtuous conduct.”  One definition says, “Morals are arbitrarily and subjectively created by society, philosophy, religion and/or individual conscience.”  So, we all may have a different and unique sense of what’s right and what’s wrong or at least a distinct variation of it.

Collectively, our ethics are based on the culture that is in place at the time.  The early U. S. Constitution declared women ineligible for citizenship.  Our constitution writers were responding to, “What is a citizen?”  Even when the culture remains constant, but the circumstances are different, right and wrong changes.  When is it okay to help yourself to a cookie?  If you’re a non-dieting adult, the answer is probably, “whenever you want one.”  But if you’re a three-year old and must push a stool over to the counter, climb onto the stool, then heave yourself onto the counter to stretch into the high cabinet to grab the cookie bag, the answer is probably very different. 

Some of the current hot buttons with which our society is grappling are centered in our personal interpretation of ethics.  For example, what is the definition of marriage and when does life begin?  Regardless of where you stand on these issues, the fact that we are discussing them is an indicator of how values change.

Defining a single ethical code or creating a definitive list of morally acceptable behaviors is beyond challenging.  It’s nearly an impossible task.  Even if attempted, there will always be extenuating circumstances or gray areas. 

I recently read, The Power of Nice by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval.  In this book they tell us, “The surest and quickest way to self respect is behaving in a way that makes you respectable.”  Good advice, indeed.  And, in this perfect world, workplace ethics policies would not be required and we’d be off to write a different trendy policy.  Oh!  Wait!  We wouldn’t need ANY workplace policies.

A major pet peeve of mine is people getting or taking credit for things they do not deserve.  Think Dunder Mifflin regional manager Michael Scott giving himself the “World’s Best Boss” mug.  Unfortunately this shameful self-promotion is pretty common, especially with the advent of social media as an aid to personal branding.  Think about it, social media provides a way for individuals to build a reputation without ever physically meeting anyone.  Some may say the concept is pure genius.

Too frequently I see people claiming they are subject matter experts when they have no more experience than the average person.  Ben Eubanks of UpstartHR knows what I’m talking about, as illustrated in his post on Jobacle.com! Yet for some reason these individuals win over fans by commenting on blog posts, making public comments in an open forum or getting quoted in an article.  Guess what?  The people you interact with online may not be the same people if you ever meet them in person.  An online persona can be much more grandiose due to the lack of interpersonal communication.  Think online dating sites like eHarmony!  Some take advantage of electronic communication, knowing full well of how different one can portray themselves in an electronic versus in-person format.  His or her commentary may be nothing but a baseless attempt to garnish some form of credit for personal and/or professional gain.

My love of writing and obsession with technology are what ultimately led to the creation of HR Gumbo.  I am not here to get you to buy something from my company or claim that you must hire me to come speak at your next event.  In blogging my goal is to give a different perspective on the human resource industry, that of a Millennial.  I hope to be able to inspire others to recognize areas of improvement and engage in conversation aimed at making change in the workplace. 

I would say that a good number of bloggers are interested in developing their personal/professional brands, including myself.  That’s not a bad thing.  We offer our posts to initiate conversation, to share valuable information, to educate and learn from colleagues.  Unfortunately, there are some out there who would do or say anything to come out on top. 

Now to get to my point…I urge those involved with social media for professional purposes to heed to their gut.  I believe I am a good judge of character but I cannot speak for all you readers out there as I’ve never met most of you.  In that respect I want to share some suggestions with you regarding developing trust in those bloggers you choose to follow.

First, please don’t take everything I say at face value.  Unless I cite something, the content is based on my opinion.  It needs to be said that you will not necessarily know if you agree with something or if it applies to you until you try it out for yourself. 

Second, I urge you to get to know someone you follow on Twitter or someone whose blog you frequently read.  Engage him or her in discussion to make sure you really do want to follow that person and respect their opinion.

Third, know that some people have ulterior motives and what they say or do may be hogwash and designed to inflate their egos and/or their wallet.  It almost seems as if there should be a reference check in the process of whose blog you decide to trust.

Lastly, have fun.  This is an ever-changing interactive process.  Your thoughts and comments frequently create some of the most fascinating conversations among peers across the globe.  We really appreciate the feedback!

[For interest’s sake, if you are a blogger, answer me this one loaded question:  “Why do you blog?”  Share your answers in the comment section along with your name and blog address.]