Abstract
“Stolen wages,” was the expression used to describe Indigenous Australians inability to access their funds, during the Royal Commission into Finance Services (Commission) (Transcript of Proceedings 13 August, 2018, p. 4705). The Commission, like other finance inquiries, found Indigenous customers were often financially vulnerable due to low levels of financial literacy, a lack of access to finance services, geographical locations, and language barriers (Altman & Jordan, 2009; Bianchi, Drew, Walk, & Wiafe, 2016; Hayne, 2018). During the hearings finance organisations were exposed for their predatory practices which included high pressure sales tactics to sell funeral insurance (which was not fit for purpose) and targeting Indigenous teenagers for pay day loans–leaving them indebted before 20 years (Joyner, 2019; Transcript of Proceedings, 4 July, 2018; Transcript of Proceedings, 13 August, 2018). There was one exception, QSuper, who were recognised for their exemplar service with Indigenous customers (Hayne, 2018; Transcript of Proceedings, 13 August, 2018).
To foster increased dialogue on moral capacity in ethical decision-making, an appreciative inquiry focusing on what works has been conducted (Hammond, 2013). This interpretive case study asks, “How and why does QSuper’s day-to-day decision-making deliver ethical finance service to Indigenous customers?” An integrative ethical decision making-model (IED-MM) has been used to explore QSuper’s approach to Indigenous customers (see Figure 1) (Schwartz, 2016). The design of the case study considers the decision-making of the organisation’s archetypal subcultures: director, designer, and operator (Schein & Schein, 2019). A key finding from this study was how integral subordinate (designer and operator) subculture’s engagement is in the integrative decision-making process (in addition to directors) for the ethical delivery of service. Directors need to be aware of the barriers Indigenous customers experience, be it legislative, internal policy or process, racism, technology, or language. When directors have awareness it facilitates their emotional/rational engagement, to form a judgement, leading to an intention to approve a behavioural change (Schwartz, 2016). Designer and operator subcultures are more aware of the barriers Indigenous customers experience within their organisation, therefore need the ability to speak up to directors. For subordinates to speak up, psychological safety is critical because the issues they report may be of normalised behaviour, which perpetuates unethical barriers (Argyris, 2010)
To foster increased dialogue on moral capacity in ethical decision-making, an appreciative inquiry focusing on what works has been conducted (Hammond, 2013). This interpretive case study asks, “How and why does QSuper’s day-to-day decision-making deliver ethical finance service to Indigenous customers?” An integrative ethical decision making-model (IED-MM) has been used to explore QSuper’s approach to Indigenous customers (see Figure 1) (Schwartz, 2016). The design of the case study considers the decision-making of the organisation’s archetypal subcultures: director, designer, and operator (Schein & Schein, 2019). A key finding from this study was how integral subordinate (designer and operator) subculture’s engagement is in the integrative decision-making process (in addition to directors) for the ethical delivery of service. Directors need to be aware of the barriers Indigenous customers experience, be it legislative, internal policy or process, racism, technology, or language. When directors have awareness it facilitates their emotional/rational engagement, to form a judgement, leading to an intention to approve a behavioural change (Schwartz, 2016). Designer and operator subcultures are more aware of the barriers Indigenous customers experience within their organisation, therefore need the ability to speak up to directors. For subordinates to speak up, psychological safety is critical because the issues they report may be of normalised behaviour, which perpetuates unethical barriers (Argyris, 2010)
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 1-4 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Publication status | Published - 8 Dec 2020 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | 10th Annual Australasian Business Ethics Network (ABEN) Conference 2020: Not Business as Usual: Ethics, Sustainability and Innovation - University of Notre Dame, Australia, ONLINE , Australia Duration: 7 Dec 2020 → 9 Dec 2020 Conference number: 10th https://aben.org.au/conference/ |
Conference
| Conference | 10th Annual Australasian Business Ethics Network (ABEN) Conference 2020 |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | ABEN |
| Country/Territory | Australia |
| City | ONLINE |
| Period | 7/12/20 → 9/12/20 |
| Other | The 10th Annual ABEN Conference will be hosted ONLINE by The University of Notre Dame, Australia. The conference will begin Monday 7th December 2020, and close with the Doctoral Workshop held on Wednesday 9th December (complimentary to all doctoral students). The theme for this year’s conference is Not Business as Usual: Ethics, Sustainability and Innovation. Organisational success today is built on innovative approaches aimed at responding to environmental and social issues by developing new technologies and products and not merely based on the single metric approach which only considers profit. The recent climate and health crises have been a further ‘wake up’ call on the vulnerability of our planet and society. These events have several social, environmental, economic and political implications that pose new concerns and reflections for business ethics academia and practice. This year’s ABEN conference provides an opportunity to explore and debate the central role of business ethics in organisations’ innovation and sustainability discourse. Emphasis will be placed on how new pressures in organisations arise and how business ethics can become an integral component, rather than an afterthought, of the organisation’s innovation and sustainability responses to these dynamic and emerging challenges. Some of the themes to be explored include, but are not limited to: How can business ethics become an integral component of an organisation’s innovation and sustainability approach? What are the roles of individuals, corporations, SMEs, government, civil society, academia and professionals in promoting ethics, innovation and sustainability as part of the ‘business as usual’ equation? |
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