Corruption and complicity

Creating a successful personal brand begins with maintaining a high standard of ethics. But what can you do if you discover that you are working in a company that is acting illegally? Could you be a manager waiting to see if your company is going to be investigated and your possible involvement revealed?

How might this happen? You are well-regarded by both colleagues and senior management. You have advanced fairly quickly, now earn a good salary, have substantial benefits and have been told that you have a real future with the company. You and your spouse, who holds a full-time job at another firm, enjoy life in the Charleston community.

Your youngest child has a serious medical condition. Fortunately, the doctors expect improvement in time. For now, you are grateful for your company's comprehensive health care coverage, which pays nearly all of the medical expenses.

It is also reassuring to know that you work for a company that publicly embraces the highest standards. The written guidelines contain numerous statements of business ethics, including this one:

"Compliance with the law and ethical standards are conditions of employment, and violations will result in disciplinary action, which may include termination. Employees are asked to sign a statement indicating that they have read, understand and will comply with this statement and employees are periodically asked to reaffirm their commitment to these principles."

Things seemed to be going well three months ago when you were assigned to head a new project that is both important to the company and a test of your leadership. Recently, however, after becoming increasingly concerned about your company's business practices, exotic accounting methods and financial reporting, you have come to realize that what your company is doing is clearly illegal.

After gathering the facts, you approached first your boss and then the chief financial officer. The message they sent is clear. We have been doing things this way for years and the practices are blessed by the firm's lawyers. The policies will remain as they are and your full cooperation is expected.

What can you do? You have roughly four choices.

The first is to go along. Convince yourself the bosses and attorneys are right, that all businesses do these kinds of things and that you should be a great team player. Downside: You are right about the illegality, and by going along you will be participating in a criminal conspiracy.

You can resign. Leaving removes you from any legal risks, and your reputation stays intact. Downside: Finding a new position in this economy will be difficult. Resignation may require relocation with both you and your spouse job hunting while having to pay high medical bills.

Blowing the whistle is another option. Stay on the job, inform federal and state regulatory authorities of what is going on and cooperate in building a case against your company. Downside: While some whistleblowers have been compensated, even written best-selling books, many did not accomplish anything aside from putting their families through extreme misery. The company will suffer from what the bosses have done, but many will blame you with names such as outsider, traitor, difficult and not a team player. Any mitigating effects of the whistleblower protections in the recently enacted financial regulatory legislation are as yet unknown.

One choice seems attractive, at least on the surface. Live two lives. Cooperate in carrying out the company policies but guard your future by regularly warning against inappropriate actions and keeping copies of e-mails, memos and other records. If there is no investigation, your life sails along. If there is an investigation, you assume, you will be protected because you have kept records. Downside: You could not be more wrong. If your company is investigated, you will either voluntarily or be forced to turn your records over to the authorities. Your own written record shows that you knew criminal activity was taking place but continued to work at the company and thus participated in the scheme. As these are among the strongest possible evidence of criminal intent on your part, prosecutors will have no problem indicting and convicting you.

The sketch above is hypothetical but based on actual events. The description of personal life is taken from a compilation of the experiences of the employees at WorldCom. The ethics language is quoted directly from Enron's statement of ethics.

So what can you do if you uncover indisputable evidence that your company is acting illegally?

According to the experts, there is only one choice: Quit. Even if the consequences to your personal life will be terrible.

It sounds unfair, and it is. But as a career choice, when the company is corrupt, nothing is attractive. Only quitting immediately keeps you out of harm's way and preserves the personal brand of ethical behavior that you have worked so hard to create.

Dorothy Perrin Moore, Ph.D., is professor emerita of business and entrepreneurship at The Citadel.

The Job Coaches are experienced volunteers from the Center for Women's Job Counseling Program. Ask them a question by calling 763-7333 or e-mailing info@c4women.org. If you would like further assistance, make a counseling appointment; a donation of $35 is requested.