We Provide Systems & Solutions To Enable Humanity & Enrich The Planet:
It is not uncommon to hear or read statements which are along the lines of, “Human beings are selfish, ignorant, brutish, aggressive and untrustworthy creatures who will, if given the chance, lie, cheat, steal, destroy and even kill in order to benefit themselves at the expense of other people and the natural world.”
Now whilst such “people are basically bad” types of statement are undoubtedly true with regard to some individual human beings, and are no doubt equally true with regard to certain distinct groups or “criminal-gangs” of human beings, our general life experience and scientific research alike make it clear to us that in fact, “people in general are basically good.”
Extract: Scientific American Article On Human Nature
Scientists Probe Human Nature – And Discover We Are Good, After All.
Recent studies find our first impulses are selfless.
Extract: Throughout the ages, people have wondered about the basic state of human nature—whether we are good or bad, cooperative or selfish. This question—one that is central to who we are—has been tackled by theologians and philosophers, presented to the public eye by television programs, and dominated the sleepless nights of both guilt-stricken villains and bewildered victims; now, it has also been addressed by scientific research. Although no single set of studies can provide a definitive answer—no matter how many experiments were conducted or participants were involved—this research suggests that our intuitive responses, or first instincts, tend to lead to cooperation rather than selfishness.
Although this evidence does not definitely solve the puzzle of human nature, it does give us evidence we may use to solve this puzzle for ourselves—and our solutions will likely vary according to how we define “human nature.” If human nature is something we must be born with, then we may be neither good nor bad, cooperative nor selfish. But if human nature is simply the way we tend to act based on our intuitive and automatic impulses, then it seems that we are an overwhelmingly cooperative species, willing to give for the good of the group even when it comes at our own personal expense.
To read full article by Adrian F Ward online, please click here.
With the above in mind, therefore, we feel that it is important to point out that even though the systems and solutions we offer must inevitably include safeguards against “bad actors”, this is always done and must always be done in order to protect the good people of the world and must always be done in ways that respect and honor basic human rights.
Competence, Compassion & Clarity In Compliance:
Competence:
Because one of the core areas of our work is in devising, developing and embedding Compliance Systems, obviously we must create such systems so that “bad actors” are ideally prevented from engaging in “bad action” in the first place.
However, if the prevention of bad action has not been possible for any reason, then our systems must quickly, accurately and effectively identify “bad actors” whilst the bad action is taking place or as soon as possible after any bad action has occurred.
Therefore we must ensure that our Compliance Systems are designed to function extremely competently in the most effective and ethical manner possible. This of course includes training the people who must operate and manage such systems so that they too are able to function extremely competently in the most effective and ethical manner possible.
Clarity:
In order to facilitate the highest levels of competence, ethical conduct and organizational effectiveness, we must start with ensuring clarity as to what is actually required in order to ensure compliance, both in terms of complying with relevant laws, protocols and regulations and in terms of complying with the practical procedures that enable the various systems we provide to actually work.
All of which can imply that ensuring appropriate compliance will produce a very cold and soulless environment – but that is not the case at all, because in addition to facilitating competence by ensuring clarity we also encourage and facilitate the wise and appropriate use of compassion in the workplace.
Compassion:
Whenever human beings are dealing with other human beings, especially in a community or in an organizational environment where compliance with laws, protocols and regulations is not only mandatory but essential for the survival and health of that organization or community, there is often a tendency for people to become somewhat “clinical”, “heartless” and “hard” – almost robotic.
Such inhumane human behavior in the workplace, and even in the wider community, ultimately proves to be counter-productive from the perspective of the organization, and extremely unhealthy from the perspective of the individuals themselves.
Conversely, as recent research shows, nurturing a humane culture of proactive compassion throughout an organization improves performance, effectiveness, health, professionalism and community-spirit.
Extract: Berkeley - University Of California: Why Compassion In Business Makes Sense
Why Compassion In Business Makes Sense
From: The Greater Good Website – By: Emma Seppala
A new field of research is suggesting that when organizations promote an ethic of compassion rather than a culture of stress, they may not only see a happier workplace but also an improved bottom line.
Consider the important—but often overlooked—issue of workplace culture. Whereas a lack of bonding within the workplace has been shown to increase psychological distress, positive social interactions at work have been shown to boost employee health—for example, by lowering heart rate and blood pressure, and by strengthening the immune system.
Happy employees also make for a more congenial workplace and improved customer service. Employees in positive moods are more willing to help peers and to provide customer service on their own accord. What’s more, compassionate, friendly, and supportive co-workers tend to build higher-quality relationships with others at work. In doing so, they boost coworkers’ productivity levels and increase coworkers’ feeling of social connection, as well as their commitment to the workplace and their levels of engagement with their job. Given the costs of health care, employee turnover, and poor customer service, we can understand how compassion might very well have a positive impact not only on employee health and well-being but also on the overall financial success of a workplace.
So why does compassion provide such a boost to employee well-being? One reason may be its impact on social connection. Research by Ed Diener and Martin Seligman suggests that connecting with others in a meaningful way helps us enjoy better mental and physical health and speeds up recovery from disease; research by Stephanie Brown at Stonybrook University has shown that it may even lengthen our life.
Despite this research, managers may shy away from compassion for fear of appearing weak. Yet history is filed with leaders who were highly compassionate and very powerful—Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, and Desmond Tutu, to name a few. They were such strong and inspiring leaders that people would drop everything to follow them. Wouldn’t any manager wish for that kind of loyalty and commitment?
Support for this view comes from research by Jonathan Haidt at New York University. His research shows that seeing someone help another person creates a heightened state of well-being that he calls “elevation.” Not only do we feel elevation when we watch a compassionate act, but we are then more likely to act with compassion ourselves.
When Haidt and his colleagues applied his research to a business setting, he found that when leaders were fair and self-sacrificing, their employees would experience elevation. As a consequence, they felt more loyal and committed and were more likely to act in a helpful and friendly way with other employees for no particular reason. In other words, if a manager is service-oriented and ethical, he is more likely to make his employees follow suit and to increase their commitment to him or her.
Elevation may even be a driving force behind creating a culture of compassion and kindness, whether in a workplace or in society at large. Social scientists James Fowler of UC San Diego and Nicolas Christakis of Harvard have demonstrated that helping is contagious: Acts of generosity, compassion, and kindness beget more generosity in a chain reaction of goodness. This is how culture is formed. Isn’t that the kind of workplace culture you would want to work in or lead?
Research on compassion is setting a new tone for the workplace and management culture. But this field is still new. Scientists are exploring the most effective ways to foster compassion in the workplace, and to help these best practices spread across organizations.
To read full article – please click here.
Given the above, we hold the view that far from being mutually exclusive processes, compliance and compassion go hand in hand and both work together in support of ethical and effective action in the workplace and beyond.
Therefore, a core aspect of the training and development services we provide as a natural part of installing our various Compliance Systems is to facilitate both Technical Competence and Compassionate Professionalism.
Author: Ray Murray
Consultant | Global Project Engineering Group
