The Relationship Between Ethics and Civility

by Anna Post

Reposted from my discussion group this week on The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics' website.

Tuesday: The Relationship Between Ethics and Civility

Today I'd like to offer up a quote from Emily Post, my great-great-grandmother and the founder of the family business I'm part of here at The Emily Post Institute. In her first edition of Etiquette from 1922 (the book that put her on the map as an etiquette authority), she stated, "Etiquette is a house built on ethics."

I have always loved this quote. Though there are some shades of difference, for today's purposes, let's use etiquette and civility synonymously. Do you think the relationship between ethics and civility in our current society has been diminished over time? And after the conversation generated in the SCCE discussion group, I'll go so far as to ask: Do you think corporate crime could be diminished with a renewed emphasis on civility in the workplace?

Tomorrow we will take a look at where a standard of civility in the workplace needs to come from to be effective, and how that plays out in both small and large organizations.