Ethical culture

I worked with the following colleagues: Professor Claire Lapointe, Educational Leadership; Professor Pierre Valois, Psychometrics; Professor Manon Truchon, Workplace Psychology; Professor Luc Bégin, Ethics; Professor Steve Jacob, Political Science, Organisational Ethics; Dr. Olivier Charpateau, Ethical Auditing and Risk Management; Professor Yves Boisvert, Political Science, Ethics and Public Governance; and Dr. Géraldine Foin, Organizational Sociology. Together, we conducted various research projects that enriched the understanding of an ethical culture.

In the text "Well-being: what if the establishment of an ethical culture was the key?", "ethical culture" is defined as being ideally co-constructed with stakeholders on the understanding that it “rests upon a set of shared values. This platform allows for the guidance of organizational procedures, rules and policies through dialogue and reflection. This ethical culture is evolving, as it is based on a continuous learning process designed to give meaning to organizational practices by focusing on the exercise of professional judgment. Ethics is used to guide, to mark and translates into concrete actions” (Langlois et al. 2021).

In my book, "The anatomy of ethical leadership: to lead our organizations in a conscientious and authentic manner", I stated: "This [...] concept [of ethical culture] is closely related to leadership, because it represents values, norms, beliefs, traditions, and common assumptions that guide ethical behavior". (Langlois, 2011, p.43)

Over the course of my work on ethical culture, I have striven to illustrate, both graphically and conceptually, the different phases of ethical culture as encountered during research conducted within organizations. In this context, the metaphor of the thermometer has appeared to me as being quite representative, because it helps illustrate the evolutionary levels of ethical culture. The thermometer metaphor is a useful tool for reflection, in order to promote ethical culture.    

For more information on the subject, see:

Bégin, L., Boisvert, Y., Jacob, S., Langlois, L., Lacroix, A. et Aubé Beaudoin, F. (2021). La prévention des risques éthiques dans les grands projets d’infrastructure : résultats d’une étude. Éthique publique, 23(1), https://doi.org/10.4000/ethiquepublique.5473

Langlois, L., Truchon, M., Foin, G. et Gril, E. (2021). Bien-être : et si l’instauration d’une culture éthique était la clé ? Gestion, 46(3), 98-103. https://www.revuegestion.ca/bien-etre-et-si-linstauration-dune-culture-ethique-etait-la-cle 

Langlois, L., Centeno, J. et Lapointe, C. (2013). Le leadership des femmes et des hommes : plutôt violet que rose ou bleu. Recherches féministes, 26(1), 69-87. https://doi.org/10.7202/1016897ar

Langlois, L., Centeno, J. et Fillion, L. (2012). Quelle culture pour l’expression et l’actualisation de la sensibilité éthique au sein des unités de soins intensifs ? Revue internationale de soins palliatifs, 27(4), 131-140. https://doi.org/10.3917/inka.124.0131