Ethical Expectations

How to Use this Guide

I am pleased to share a copy of the Ethical Expectations: A Practical Guide to Fostering an Ethical Culture at MC with you. The guide features each of the seven ethical expectations from the Code of Ethics and Employee Conduct – Policy and Procedure 31000, detailed with representative behaviors, warning behavioral signs for each expectation, and resources to learn more.  

Studies show that ethical organizations outperform others and experience high employee satisfaction. The guide is intended to increase our institutional commitment to and practice of our ethical values. There are many ways to use this guide:

• Have team discussions about the ethical expectations, using the handbook as guidance. Encourage conversation around each value, one team meeting at a time.
• For areas of concerning behavior in your team, use the handbook to guide desirable behavior and offer some resources for further work.
• Review the handbook and select portions of it that you or your team would benefit from reviewing. Incorporate it into team or individual discussions.

My hope is that it will be used proactively to encourage and inspire ethical behavior by individuals and within teams. I encourage you to bring the content of this guide forward in your work and with your colleagues to create greater awareness and promote our organizational ethical values. Please use it to engage in conversations, reflect personally and professionally, and for opportunity to enhance our workplace.

Through employee commitment and practice of these values, our ethical culture will grow and thrive.

~Vicki Duggan, Chief Compliance, Risk, and Ethics Officer

History

The Ethical Expectations materials provide frameworks for the seven expectations outlined in the Montgomery College Code of Ethics, Policy and Procedure 31000.

This work is grounded in one of the 2018 recommendations from the Ombuds: “Commit to identifying and operationalizing concrete ways to achieve the purpose of the Code of Ethics and Employee Conduct to ensure that all employees uphold the ethical standards within the Code by convening a group of stakeholders to brainstorm and make decisions on this matter.”

This recommendation was adopted with modification by Dr. Cain, as the Acting President, and a workgroup of employee stakeholders was convened in spring 2019:
“The group’s charge is to refine the ethical standards as articulated in the relevant policy and procedure, make them measurable, reviewing existing policies, procedures, and practices that hold employees accountable for one or more of the stated ethical standards, and find additional ways to embed the ethical standards within the Montgomery College culture.”

This workgroup carried out the charge by developing representative observable behaviors, warning signs of problematic behavior, resources, and scenarios.

Acknowledgments

Sincere appreciation is extended to the Ethical Expectations Workgroup (2019).