Ethics and Decision Making

Although viewed by some as intrusive and unnecessary, ethics is vital to the well-being and performance of federal agencies and private institutions alike. Employees may feel ethics provisions are written for contracting officers, those accountable for funds, and other such specialized employees. They may feel ethics provisions do not apply to their type of work. However, ethics policies and procedures apply to all employees, so everyone needs to be conversant with the applicable regulations.

Traditional approaches to ethics trainings have justifiably been lamented by employees because they can be boring or redundant. However, in Benchmark Training’s approach, the nature, sources and requirements of ethics provisions and consequences for failure to comply are presented in an informative, interesting and relevant manner. The class focuses on understanding ethics-based concepts and systems, on rights and responsibilities, on individual compliance with ethics policies and procedures, and on how to make ethical decisions. The approach is interactive and encourages questions. Each ethics program will be tailored to the individual organization and its relevant provisions.

What You Will Learn:

• The general nature of ethics and conflicts of interest
• The sources of ethics requirements, including statutory and regulatory provisions
• Your rights and responsibilities under ethics rules, including your conduct, including reporting requirements
• The importance of conflicts of interest, including avoiding even the appearance of such conflicts
• Why it is in your best interest to understand and comply with ethics requirements in your organization
• The consequences to you and the organization for failing to comply
• Where to go for help with ethics questions and issues
• Ethics and the decision making process

How You Will Benefit:

• By understanding the nature of ethics and reasons for complying, ethics will be less of a burden and frustration and more a routine way of doing business

• By recognizing potential conflicts of interest before they become problems

• By understanding your obligations, you’ll make appropriate decisions and lessen the chance of becoming the focus of an ethics investigation, administrative action or criminal proceeding

• By knowing which awards or gifts you may accept thus avoiding compromising situations

Who Should Attend: All employees who are required to take ethics training and all employees who need greater familiarity with, and understanding of, ethics policies and procedures should enroll.

Competencies Addressed: Service Motivation, Integrity/Honesty, Decisiveness

Program Length: One or Two Days