University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh WORK ETHICS AMONG CHRISTIAN WORKERS IN GCB BANK LIMITED IN THE TEMA MUNICIPALITY THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MPHIL RELIGIONS DEGREE. BY EMMANUEL KOFI AWORTWE (10508190) JULY 2016 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis, with the exception of materials quoted from other scholarly works which have been duly acknowledged, is the original production of research work by the researcher undertaken under supervision. Any errors in this thesis are fully acknowledged as that of the researcher. Signature......................................................... Emmanuel Kofi Awortwe (Student) Date:............................................................... Signature......................................................... Dr. Harry L. K. Agbanu (Supervisor) Date:............................................................... Signature......................................................... Dr. Ernestina Novieto (Supervisor) Date:................................................................ i University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABSTRACT This work sets out to examine Christian work ethics from the perspective of bankers and the banking industry in Ghana, with particular focus on branches of GCB Bank Limited in the Tema Municipality. The research was born out of an observation that in spite of increasingly ubiquitous signs of Christian religiosity all over Ghana, work ethics compliance appears not to be improving in tandem. In using phenomenological approach, this study investigated whether this resurgence of Christianity has any implications for ethical attitude of people in the workplace. The data was collected through the use of questionnaires that were administered to workers of GCB Bank Limited in the Tema Zone. Interviews were also conducted with the operations manager of the GCB bank and some staff, and also an observation made. The framework of Wrzesniewski et al on people’s relations to their work as ‘job-career- calling’ construct was used and it was discovered that – 43% of workers at GCB Bank Limited conceive of their work at the bank as a job, 41% perceive it as a calling, and 16% think of their work as career advancement. The extant literature establishes that Christian principles on work may be summed up in the idea that work is a divine injunction rather than a punishment on humanity, and that whether one is engaged in a religion-related, voluntary, or a purely economic vocation, one ought to exhibit utmost dedication and integrity to be able to measure up to the lofty standards of the Christian work ethic. Using corporate code of ethics as a vehicle for institutionalizing morality and ethics into its operations, the GCB Bank’s codes of conduct and ethical values was found to have been built on a corporate values system called STARS, an acronym crafted to represent service, trust, action, relationships, and smiles. One notable ethical challenge found to have been plaguing the GCB Bank is that too many employees are working merely for money and for personal professional progression, instead of seeing their work as a higher calling to serve God and humanity. The result is that there is generally a lack of sense of urgency, leading to poor customer satisfaction. The research recommends a closer examination and possible fine-tuning of the job-career- calling construct of contextualizing work ethics orientation, given that some inconsistent results were observed when this framework was used in parts of the survey questionnaire. In addition, the GCB Bank and other organisations need to do more in the area of inculcating the virtues of customer service in their employees. Lastly, corporate organizations need to educate their members more on ethical principles related to copyrighted software products, as worker attitudes in this area appear to be too permissive. ii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for His Grace and Love to complete this work and also to my good friend Comfort Esenam Gbesemete. iii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to the Almighty God for granting me the strength and knowledge throughout my course of study. May His name be praised and adored. I deeply appreciate Dr. Harry L. K. Agbanu and Dr. Ernestina Novieto who supervised this work, for their support, guidance, encouragement, and patience. I also acknowledge, with sincere gratitude, the contributions of all my lecturers as well as colleagues in the Department for the Study of Religions, University of Ghana. Special thanks also go to Rev. Titus Amralo and Mr. McClean Agbalenyo for reading through my work, your contributions were immeasurable. My sincere thanks go to the workers of the GCB Bank Limited, for finding time despite their busy schedule to furnish all the data I requested. I also thank them for completing the questionnaire sent to them. Finally, I hereby acknowledge the moral and spiritual support of my senior minister Rev. George Bansah, and members of Good News Bible Church, especially Ashaiman-Zenu Branch, for coping with me for the two years period of my study. May God richly bless you in your entire endeavour. I acknowledge the financial, moral, spiritual and emotional support of my siblings and the entire Awortwe family. May God richly bless you. iv University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Page DECLARATION ..................................................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................ ii DEDICATION ....................................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................ v LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................. viii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER ONE ..................................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background to the Study ............................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................................. 8 1.3 Research Questions ....................................................................................................................... 8 1.4 Aims and Objectives ..................................................................................................................... 9 1.5 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................................. 9 1.6 Scope of Study ............................................................................................................................ 10 1.7 Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 11 1.7.1 Types and Sources of Data ................................................................................................... 12 1.7.2 Methods of Data Collection ................................................................................................. 12 1.7.3 Survey Design ...................................................................................................................... 12 1.7.4 Population and Sample Size ................................................................................................. 13 1.7.5 Sampling Method ................................................................................................................. 13 1.8 Literature Review ........................................................................................................................ 14 1.8.1 Ethics and Morality in Ghana .............................................................................................. 14 1.8.2 Models of Morality .............................................................................................................. 18 1.8.3 Christian Work Ethics .......................................................................................................... 20 1.9 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................................ 25 1.10 Organization of Chapters .......................................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER TWO .................................................................................................................................. 27 WORK ETHICS, BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE OF WORK, AND ETHICS IN THE BANKING SECTOR ............................................................................................................................................... 27 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 27 v University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.2 Historical Background of Business Ethics .................................................................................. 27 2.3 Definitions of Ethics and Morality.............................................................................................. 29 2.4 Ethics and Ethical Dilemma ........................................................................................................ 30 2.5 What is business ethics? .............................................................................................................. 33 2.6 Universal Values in Corporate Code of Ethics ........................................................................... 35 2.7 Importance of Ethical Business Decisions .................................................................................. 36 2.8 Why Be Ethical in Business? ...................................................................................................... 38 2.9 All Work is Service to God ......................................................................................................... 44 2.10 Biblical Perspective on Work ................................................................................................... 46 2.11 The Banking Sector and its Historical Antecedents .................................................................. 48 2.12 Relevance of Ethics in the Banking Sector ............................................................................... 51 2.13 Characteristics of Code of ethics .............................................................................................. 53 2.14 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 55 CHAPTER THREE .............................................................................................................................. 56 THE GCB BANK LIMITED AND ITS ETHICAL CODES ............................................................... 56 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 56 3.2 Brief History and Rebranding of GCB Bank Limited ................................................................ 56 3.3 Vision and Mission Statements of GCB Bank Limited .............................................................. 58 3.4 Corporate Values of GCB Bank Limited .................................................................................... 59 3.5 The Relevance of Ethics in GCB Bank Limited ......................................................................... 62 3.6 Some Specific Ethical Codes at GCB Bank Limited .................................................................. 63 3.7 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 67 CHAPTER FOUR ................................................................................................................................. 68 DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS ON WORK ETHICS OF THE CHRISTIAN GCB BANKER. ............................................................................................................................................. 68 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 68 4.2 Demography of Tema ................................................................................................................. 68 4.2.1 Population Size and Distribution ......................................................................................... 69 4.2.2 Religious Affiliation ............................................................................................................ 69 4.3 Banks in the Tema Municipality ................................................................................................. 69 4.4 Types of Work and Industry in Tema ......................................................................................... 70 4.5 Types of Occupation in Tema ..................................................................................................... 71 4.6 Sampling Frame .......................................................................................................................... 71 4.6.1 Respondents’ Association with GCB Bank Limited ............................................................ 72 vi University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.6.2 Religious Affiliations of Respondents ................................................................................. 73 4.7 Attitude towards Work ................................................................................................................ 74 4.8 Work life of the Christian ........................................................................................................... 81 4.9 Ethical Behaviour in Practice ...................................................................................................... 85 4.10 Ethical Dilemma and its Challenges ......................................................................................... 87 4.11 The Challenges of Work Ethics in GCB Bank Limited ............................................................ 90 4.12 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 94 CHAPTER FIVE .................................................................................................................................. 96 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ............................................................. 96 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 96 5.2 Summary of Salient Issues .......................................................................................................... 96 5.3 Summary of Main Findings ........................................................................................................ 99 5.4 Suggestions and Recommendations .......................................................................................... 102 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................... 105 vii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1 Distribution of Respondents’ view of work as a career, Job or Calling………….80 Figure 4.2 Distribution of Respondents’ basis for deciding Right and Wrong at the Workplace……………………………………………………………………………...86 viii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Values, Principles and Examples of expected behaviour…………………………36 Table 4.1: Gender Distribution of Respondents……………………………………………..72 Table 4.2: Distribution of Respondents’ view of work as a Profession to make a living, Calling of God, or Duty to employer………………………………………………………...81 Table 4.3: Motivation for Moral Judgment on Right and Wrong…………………………....84 ix University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Study The issue of religion and work ethics has received significant attention from the academic, 1 corporate, and public sectors over some decades now. This has risen notably because of the several reports of unethical practices and conduct at the workplace. According to Samuel N. Woode, these cases of unethical workplace practices range from plunder, abuse of power, selfishness, greed, misconduct, and corrupt practices which involve people at all levels of organization such as artisans and professionals, workers, managers and 2 executives. He further observes that, some people acquire their wealth by cheating the tax system, their workers, and consumers through tax evasion, manipulation of the labour force, 3 and price rigging. The subject of work ethics achieved a huge global attention due to the negative publicity generated by unethical behaviour discovered at Enron and Arthur Andersen, two large companies in the USA. The abuses included the shredding of subpoenaed documents and 4 forgery of financial documents as well as other highly publicized scandals. In recent times, there has been religious renewal in Ghana especially in the Christian religious circle. All manifestations of Christianity including Charismatic, Pentecostal, Mainline churches, Prophetic and Spiritual churches have experienced some form of renewal resulting in the proliferation of churches and Christian activities all over the country. 1 Stephen J. Conroy and Tisha L. Emerson, “Business Ethics and Religion: Religiosity as a Predicator of Ethical Awareness among Students,” Journal of Business Ethics 50: (2004), 383-396. 2 Samuel N. Woode, Ethics in Business and Public Administration: Introductory Essays and Cases (Accra: Asempa Publishers, 1994), 16. 3 Woode, Business and Public Administration, 16. 4 Conroy and Emerson, “Business Ethics and Religion,” 383-396. 1 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In recognizing that the Ghanaian is very religious, Pobee noted that “homo Ghanensis is homo radicaliter religiosus; meaning that religion was and still is a significant and important 5 dimension of Ghanaian society.” Concerning religious affiliation in Ghana, the 2010 Population and Housing Census reveals that 71.2% of the population professes the Christian faith, followed by Islam with 17.6%, while 5.2% of the population adheres to traditional 6 religion and those who are not affiliated to any religion were put at 5.3%. Religion in Ghana has influenced almost every aspect of the daily lives of most Ghanaians. Y. Fredua-Kwarteng in this vein notes that, “Religion is also the framework through which the average Ghanaian 7 interprets daily life events, phenomena, and the future.” Since the coming of foreign religion in Ghana, especially Christian religion has contributed to a large extent in the development of the nation. Fredua-Kwarteng avers that, “Religion, particularly Christianity, has become a potent social force in every facet of Ghanaian life, from family life, economic activities, 8 occupation, and health to education.” Religion is perceived as an important factor that forms and directs individual’s ethical values 9 and helps to handle difficulties and challenges at the workplace. Moral principles that promote values such as probity, diligence, truthfulness, honesty, accountability, respect and 10 dedication are supposed to guide and drive Christians in their way of life and conduct. However, in spite of the visible signs of Christian religiosity all over the country, yet at the same time there is laxity among Christians towards work ethics compliance and blatant disregard for moral expectations intrinsic to the Christian tenets. 5 John S. Pobee, “Religion and Politics in Ghana, 1972-1978 Some Case Studies from the Rule of General I. K. Acheampong,” Journal of Religion in Africa XVII, 1 (1987): 58. 6 2010 Population & Housing Census, Summary Report of final results, Ghana statistical service (May, 2012), 6. 7 Y. Fredua-Kwarteng, “The Potent Force of Religion in Ghana’s Economic Development.” Article of Monday, 10th April, 2006. In Modernghana.com /https:mobile.ghanaweb.com/[Accessed: 15th August, 2015.] 8 Fredua-Kwartent, “The Potent Force of Religion” In Modernghana.com /https:mobile.ghanaweb.com 9 Farzana Quoquab and Jihad Mohammed, “Work Ethics from the viewpoint of Different Religious Faiths: Do They Talk the Same?” Journal of applied sciences research vol. 9, no 9 (2013): 5436-5452. 10 Joshua N. Kudadjie and R. K. Aboagye-Mensah, The Christian and Social conduct (Accra: Asempa Publishers, 1992), 50-51. 2 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh B. J. Van Der Walt observed the same phenomenon when he posited that contemporary African society is lamenting a moral world fallen apart, and concluded that the African 11 society currently seem to be in a state of near chaos in the realm of morality. Also, Joshua N. Kudadjie in his book entitled Moral Renewal in Ghana: Ideals Realities and Possibilities lamented over the moral decline in Ghana. He noted that during the colonial and the early post-independence days, the Ghanaian public service was guided by an important document called “General Orders”. The document constituted the moral code of conduct for 12 public servants and constituted a guide to administrative and disciplinary procedures. He observes that, provisions under the code were strictly adhered to and any attempt to depart from them was heavily frowned upon. Crime rate was decidedly much lower and society generally condemned corruption in all its forms; and moral tone in the community at that 13 time was considerably high. Crime rate, corruption and immoral behaviour has increased even all the more as compared to the 1992 period that Kudadjie was making the comparison, in the current situation, this immoral vices has permeated almost all sectors of the Ghanaian society and this is a very disturbing situation. An analysis of the moral situation in Ghana reveals a huge cry over moral decline and th lowering standards of work ethics. For example, on the 16 July, 2015, in an address, the Chief Justice of Ghana, Mrs. Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, lamented: We need to deliberate over the condition in which we find ourselves as a nation; a country plagued by dishonesty, divisiveness and unfaithfulness in both public and private life and an introspection will reveal the stark reality that the nation is in dire need of honest and God-fearing people in both public and private spheres to move the 11 B. J. Van der Walt, “Morality in Africa: Yesterday and Today. The reasons for the contemporary crisis” in die skriflig 37, no 1 (2003): 51-71. www.indieskriflig.org.za/...351 12 Joshua N. Kudadjie, Moral Renewal in Ghana: Ideals Realities and Possibilities (Accra: Asempa Publishers, 1995), v. 13 Kudadjie, Moral Renewal in Ghana, v. 3 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh nation forward. We must confess our desperate cries to God to raise for us men and women of truth and purity and people who are determined to defy the odds and remain steadfast in the faith and this desperate cry must however be met by a 14 corresponding desire on the part of the church. An expose by Anas Aremeyaw Anas, a Ghanaian investigative journalist, in 2015 demonstrates moral and ethical issues at workplace. Anas and his team used hidden cameras to record incidences of about 180 workers in the judicial service of Ghana (among which 34 were Judges) receiving bribes with the intent of fixing the outcomes of cases pending in the 15 courts. Commenting on the scandal, Chairman of the National Peace Council, Rev. Professor Emmanuel Asante was quoted as saying ‘the video by Anas Aremeyaw Anas on the 16 alleged 34 corrupt Judges shows Ghana is rotten, torn apart and smelly’. Conroy and Emerson examined the issue of work ethics and Christianity in their article, “Business Ethics and Religion: Religiosity as a Predictor of Ethical Awareness among Students”. Quoting the work of Kohlberg, who argued that religion helps to answer questions as to why we should be moral, Conroy and Emerson related the ‘why’ question to the 17 existential question: “why live?” Kohlberg maintains that, the ‘union with God’ experience found in religion may provide a suitable opportunity to find answers to these and other existential questions. This experience may provide a motivation to incorporate the universal 18 ethical principles. This point resonate in the writings of Manaf, Osman, Abdullah and Latif in their article “Analysis of Religious Affiliation and Workplace Attitude as Predictors on Employees Job Commitment.” They pointed out that religion influences workers attitude and conduct who are then obliged to their job requirements and willing to sacrifice their time and effort to 14 nd http://www.peacefmonline.com/../248011.php, quoted an address presented by the Chief Justice at the 22 Synod of the Accra Diocese of the Anglican Church of Ghana. [Accessed: 15 April, 2016.] 15 http://graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/49131-bribery-scandal-rocksjudiciary.html#sthash.mXV2akYX.dpuf 16 Ghana|AdomNews |Samuel Dowuona.September 22, 2015. http://www.myjoyonline.com 17 Conroy and Emerson, “Business Ethics and Religion,” 383-396. 18 Conroy and Emerson, “Business Ethics and Religion,” 383-396. 4 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 19 perform effectively. In addition, Hejase, et al in their article “Business Ethics and Religion in the Financial Business Sector: Case of Syria,” posit that the banking sector is more often 20 exposed to unethical practices. They declared that ethical issues are rampant these days as reflected in the latest financial scandals that may be attributed to distorted work ethics 21 practised by members of financial institutions in their actual dealings. The banking sector has witnessed insider abuse, fraud, greed, and poor internal controls in recent times. Ailemen and Oluwatobi maintain that this is as a result of unethical behaviour 22 from employees and management. The banking industry in Ghana has been growing at a very high rate over the last few decades. GCB Bank Limited (formerly known as Ghana Commercial Bank Limited) is the oldest of 32 universal commercial banks licensed to 23 operate in Ghana, and also Ghana’s largest indigenous bank in terms of the number of 24 branches. The GCB Bank Limited (hereafter referred to as GCB Bank or GCB). Just like any other bank, GCB Bank has suffered considerable scandals having to do with workers engaging in unethical behaviour such as misappropriation of funds. For instance, the th Daily Graphic published a story in its 25 January 2014 edition captioned ‘Nigerian in court for fraudulently transferring GH¢ 250,000.00 from GCB Bank Limited’. That story speaks of 19 Arman Hadi Abdul Manaf, Abdullah Osman, Muhammad Safizal Abdullah and Latifah Abdul Latif, “Analysis of Religious Affiliation and Workplace Attitude as Predictors on Employee’s Job Commitment: A Perspective from a Public University in Malaysia” in Asian Journal of Business and Management, Vol. 5, no. 5 (2014), 414-421. 20 Hussin Jose Hejase, Bassam Hamdar and Mohammad Raslan, “Business Ethics and Religion in the Financial Business Sector: Case of Syria” Journal of Business and Management Vol. 1, no.2 (2013), 72. 21 Hejase, Hamdar, and Raslan, “Business Ethics and Religion,” 73. 22 Ikpefan Ochei Ailemen, and Ayeni Oluwatobi, “The Impact of Ethics and Professionalism in the Nigerian Banking Industry” in Department of Banking and Finance, Covenant University, Ota Ogun State (2012): 1-33. 23 Bank of Ghana, “Licensed Banks, Representative Offices & Their Registered Offices in Ghana – June 2016,” https://www.bog.gov.gh/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=82&Itemid=124. Accessed: 10 July, 2016. 24 http://www.ghana-mledia.myjoyonline.com.gh/bu...reported by Ghana News-GCB opens three more branches. 5 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh some employees of the bank illegally siphoning money into the accounts of their external 25 collaborators. Alleged cases of fraud are not limited to GCB Bank alone. As a case in point, Graphic Online of Thursday, 23 July 2015 published that a former head of operations at Access Bank was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment by an Accra circuit court for stealing GH¢ 809,611.24 belonging to the bank. This was after an Accra circuit court had found the operations 26 manager guilty on the charges of conspiracy to commit crime, and stealing. Assessing ethical issues within the banking sector; Chibuike U. Uche quoted Arnold Ekpe, a former Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank Ghana as having lamented that: Sometimes, it would appear that in spite of the lofty goals contained in their mission statements, banks really have only one mission: that is to make a profit at any cost. The core values of integrity and professionalism are set aside in the pursuit of ever increasing profits. Are we bankers willing to do the right thing ethically and forego the profits? My belief is that many of us pay lip service to ethics but are not willing to 27 take the pain that it entails. The above cases also provide evidence of widespread malpractice and fraud within the banking sector, a reflection of what goes on in today’s workplaces in Ghana. Furthermore, the situation may also be seen as a reflection on perceived injustice and moral degradation at 28 the Ghanaian workplace. From the foregoing, it may be concluded that morality and work ethics violations within the Ghanaian context may be quite pronounced. In view of this, the research focuses on the relationship between Christian worker’s religious beliefs on the one hand, and their attitude to work on the other. 25 Daily Graphic, Saturday, January 25, 2014. Published in General News. http://www.spyghana.com>Home Headlines. 26 “Access Bank’s Head of Operations Jailed for Stealing” in Daily Graphic, Thursday, July 23, 2015. Published in General News. 27 Chibuike U. Uche, (2005), "Ethics in Nigerian banking", Journal of Money Laundering Control, Vol. 8: Issue 1: 66-74. 28 Conroy and Emerson, “Business Ethics and Religion,” 383-396. 6 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh This brings into question the supposed religious renewal and its impact on the people of Ghana. Although one cannot conclude that religion is the only source of morality in Ghana, however, its role in the promotion of moral values and principles cannot be 29 overemphasized. While there is general agreement on the value of addressing work ethics, no such consensus 30 exists as to the most appropriate and effective means by which this can be accomplished. In spite of contending with ethical issues, the banking sector in Ghana is said to be doing well. This is evidenced by a statement issued by the Bank of Ghana’s Monetary Policy Committee in September 2014 thus, “the banking industry continued to experience steady growth in both nominal and real terms, evidenced by trends in total assets as well as branch expansion across 31 the industry.” In a recent visit to the Ashaiman branch of GCB Bank Limited, I discovered that workers conduct morning devotion where they pray and have word of exhortation before the start of work and this I learnt is widespread among the other branches as well. However, despite this piety among workers in the banking sector, there is still public perception that those who 32 work in financial institutions are more tempted to behave unethically. It therefore becomes necessary to explore the extent to which work ethics compliance among Christian workers has contributed to the growth of GCB Bank Limited within the past few years. 29 Kudadjie, Moral Renewal in Ghana, 75-76. 30 Conroy and Emerson, “Business Ethics and Religion,” 383-396. 31 http://spynewsagency.com/ghanas-banking-sector-is-in-good-health-obg/[Accessed: 20 March, 2016.] 32 Observation, Emmanuel Kofi Awortwe, GCB Limited in Ashaiman Branch, January 2016. 7 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.2 Statement of the Problem 33 As stated earlier, 71.2% of Ghana’s 24 million people consider themselves as Christians. It stands to reason that if such a large proportion of the population is truly Christian, and Christianity indeed transforms lives; then one would have expected that ethical behaviour would improve in commensurate measure with the rising level of religious awakening. However, as earlier established, there is instead a pervasive shortfall in work ethics compliance and indifference to basic principles of the Christian faith in the country. It is against this background that this study intends to investigate whether Christian religiosity has corresponding positive implications for the ethical conduct of workers of GCB Bank Limited. 1.3 Research Questions The main motivation for this research is to find out if Christian spirituality and ethical standards affect the ethical decision and behaviour of workers in general, and workers of GCB Bank Limited in the Tema Municipality in particular. To achieve this goal, the following questions guided the work: i. In what ways are Christian bankers guided by their moral values at the workplace? ii. What are the factors that influence Christian bankers towards work ethics compliance? iii. How does the condition of work take precedence over Christian Ethics? 33 2010 Population & Housing Census, Summary Report of final results, Ghana statistical service (May, 2012), 6. www.statsghana.gov.gh/.../2010Populationandhousingcensus.ghana. 8 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.4 Aims and Objectives This study mainly seeks to discover the underlying religious and social factors that motivate workers in GCB Bank Limited to go about their work ethically, or otherwise. In order to meet this overarching objective, the following specific objectives were set: i. To investigate the attitude of Christians who work at GCB Bank Limited. ii. To establish the motivating factors for ethical behaviour of Christian workers at GCB Bank Limited. 1.5 Theoretical Framework The thoughts Amy Wrzesniewski, Clark McCauley, Paul Rozin and Barry Schwartz contributed to the shaping of the theoretical framework: In their article, “Jobs, Careers and Callings: People’s Relations to Their Work,” they argue that there are three distinct relations people may have towards their work. That is, those who perceive their work as a job, career, 34 or a calling. Wrzesniewski et al further explained that people who see their work as a ‘job’ are only interested in the material benefits from work and therefore do not seek or receive any other type of rewards from it. Those who hold this view see their work not as an end in itself, but instead as a means that allows individuals to acquire the resources needed to enjoy their time away from the job. The major interests, ambitions and satisfaction from a job holder are not expressed through their work. 34 Amy Wrzesniewski, Clark McCauley, Paul Rozin, and Barry Schwartz, “Jobs, Careers and Callings: People’s Relations to Their Work, “Journal of Research in Personality Issue 31 (1997), 21 – 33. 9 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In contrast, people who view their work as ‘Careers’ have a deeper personal investment in their work and mark their achievements not only through monetary gain, but through advancement within the occupational structure. This advancement often brings higher social standing, increased power within the scope of one’s occupation and a higher self-esteem. Those who see their work as a ‘calling,’ find that their work is inseparable from their life. A person who view his/her work as a calling does not work purposely for financial gain or career advancement, but instead for the fulfillment that comes along with doing the work. 1.6 Scope of Study The banking industry is one of the growing sectors of the Ghanaian economy. There is public perception that those who work in financial institutions are more tempted to behave unethically, hence the decision to situate this research in the banking sector. This study was conducted on GCB Bank Limited because it is the largest indigenous commercial bank in Ghana in terms of the number of customers and branches. 35 GCB Bank has about 160 branch network in Ghana. The extent to which GCB branches are spread around the country ensures that the bank caters for the needs of all kinds of social classes, from the most affluent to the rural poor, and has therefore seen exponential growth in its clientele base. Workers of the six GCB Bank branches in and around the Tema Municipality, including the Ashaiman branch, constitute the population in focus. Tema is a cosmopolitan city with a lot of industries and a major sea port that serves Ghana and some of its landlocked neighbours. 35 http://www.ghana-media.myjoyoline.com.gh/bu...reported by Ghana News -GCB opens three more branches. 10 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The Ashaiman branch does not fall within the political jurisdiction of the Tema metropolitan area, but it lies just on the outskirts of Tema, and actually used to be part of the erstwhile Tema Municipal Authority until 2008 when Ashaiman was carved out as an autonomous district. However, GCB runs the Ashaiman branch as a part of its cluster of banks in Tema due to proximity. 1.7 Methodology This work adopted the phenomenological approach. Phenomenology provides a method for investigating the way we know reality. Phenomenology involves an effort to describe the 36 actual state of affairs as disclosed by the phenomena. In view of this, the phenomenological approach has helped the researcher to suspend judgments and employ epoche in order to discover the extent to which the phenomenon of GCB Bank workers religiousity has 37 influenced their work ethics. This study investigated whether the fact that up to 71.2% of Ghana’s population claim to be Christians does have any implications for ethical attitude of workers in general, and those of workers of GCB Bank Limited in particular. Research instruments such as interview, field observation, as well as a survey questionnaire were used to collect data to assess respondents’ knowledge, attitudes and religiosity. 36 J. L. Cox, Expressing the Sacred; An Introduction to the Phenomenology of Religion (Harare: University of Zimbabwe Publications, 1992), 15. 37 Cox, Expressing the Sacred, 26-29. Epoche is a method or tool whereby the observer could avoid value judgments. 11 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.7.1 Types and Sources of Data For this study, primary and secondary data were used. Primary Data: In this instance the primary sources included questionnaires that were administered, as well as observations made and informal interviews conducted. Secondary Data: Secondary sources included books, journal articles, research papers and unpublished thesis on the topic under study by theologians, and other authors. Newspaper articles and the internet were also utilized. 1.7.2 Methods of Data Collection The data was collected through the use of structured questionnaires that were administered to workers of GCB Bank Limited in the Tema Zone to elicit information regarding the influence of the Christian religion on their work ethics. Direct interviews were also conducted with the operations manager of the GCB Bank in soliciting information regarding the code of ethics for workers and managers. The interviews involved a qualitative (asking open-ended questions) approach. Extensive literature was gathered and reviewed. 1.7.3 Survey Design Questionnaires administered were in these categories: Respondents Information: This section collected information on the gender (sex), the number of years or duration one has been working in GCB Bank Limited; how long the worker has 12 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh been in the current branch, religious affiliation of the respondents, and name of Church if a Christian. Section A: This section evaluated respondents’ attitude towards work and also determined if they related to their work as a job, career or a calling. Section B: This section assessed the Christian worker in GCB Bank and his/her work life; thus, Christian workers’ perspective about work. Section C: In addition, this section measured what informs the judgment of good and bad by Christian workers in GCB Bank; thus ethical behaviour in practice. Section D: And finally, this part assessed how Christian workers in GCB Bank make decisions when faced with ethical dilemmas. 1.7.4 Population and Sample Size The population of the study was based on six GCB Bank Limited branches around the Tema Municipality, namely, the Tema Main, Tema Fishing Harbour, Tema Industrial Area, Tema Market, Tema Safebond, and the Ashaiman branches. The sample size was fifty-three (53) respondents with 64% (34) being female and 36% (19) being male. 1.7.5 Sampling Method The selection of the respondents was done using a non-probability sampling technique called purposive sampling technique. The purposive sampling technique was used to select respondents within the target population, with the choice of individual respondents being 13 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh based on judgment. In addition, a convenience sampling method was also adopted since the researcher used respondents who were willing to answer the questionnaires to help the researcher obtain the desired information. 1.8 Literature Review This study dialogues with scholars in Ethics and Morality and Christian work ethics, through their literary works and their relevance to the study. The thematic areas of relevance that the selected literature therefore focuses on are Ethics and morality, and Christian work ethics. 1.8.1 Ethics and Morality in Ghana In his book entitled Moral Renewal in Ghana: Ideas Realities and Possibilities Joshua N. Kudadjie observed that, there have been several voices since Ghana’s independence about the decline of moral values in the country. He mentioned the era of President Kwame Nkrumah where Nkrumah advocated for a high quality of life. President Kwame Nkrumah in his New Year’s Eve message to the nation in 1961 remarked: Ghana and Africa need a new type of man: a dedicated, modest, honest, and devoted man, a man who submerges self in service to his nation and mankind, a man who abhors greed and detests vanity, a new type of man whose meekness is his strength 38 and whose integrity is his greatness. Clearly, President Nkrumah saw the fight against the erosion of morality and ethical values as a national issue for which reason he attempted to rally the whole nation to action. In 1962, Nkrumah reiterated his beliefs for selfless ethical behaviour when he encouraged his 38 Kudadjie, Moral Renewal in Ghana, 4-5. 14 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh compatriots that ‘we must devote ourselves to the ideals of service, sacrifice and plain living. 39 We must cultivate self-denial, selfless devotion to duty and self-criticism.’ The kind of ethical revolution President Nkrumah advocated for may not have been achieved, which is why years later Gen. I. K. Acheampong, Ghana’s military head of state from 1972 to 1978 lamented over the same kind of moral decline during his time. He noted that: ‘The church must lead a crusade against the evils of politics, economics, social and moral depravities.’ He further emphasized that ‘the answer is that you can’t change society and end up with anything good and lasting without changing the individuals in it. Problems can only 40 be solved, morals improved as individuals are changed by the power of Jesus.’ Gen. Acheampong seemed to have a good understanding of the efficacy of Christian values in transforming individuals and nations at large. This is in line with the view expressed by some scholars that the Christian religion influences people and brings about moral 41 transformation and compliance to work ethics. Apparently, Ghana’s moral woes persisted beyond the regime of Gen. Acheampong. This is because during the era of Flt Lt Rawlings, who led Ghana as a military head of state from 1981 to 1992 (he also led the nation briefly in 1979, and won two elections to rule Ghana again as a civilian head of state from 1992 to early 2001), the same problems continued. On May 28, 1986 Flt Lt Rawlings addressed a durbar of chiefs and people of Tarkwa, on the theme: “Restoration of Integrity and Morality in National life”. In that address he stated: Anyone who cares for the future of our dear country will not fail to have noticed the complete absence of probity, morality and integrity in the conduct of our private and public affairs. In the offices and other places of work, dishonesty, fraud and forgery abound. Turn where you will and you will be confronted with the sad tale of corruption, bribery, greed and selfishness. 39 Kudadjie, Moral Renewal in Ghana, 4-5. 40 Kudadjie, Moral Renewal in Ghana, 9-10. 41 Manaf, Osman, Abdullah and Latif, “Analysis of Religious Affiliation,” 414-421 15 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh I call upon workers – the office workers, managers, and directors, miners, government officials and self-employed in the region to pull their socks in one massive bid to rescue our dear country now. Let punctuality, hard work and loyalty 42 be the watch-words. In spite of these pronouncements, Kudadjie affirms that not much was accomplished with regards to unethical and immoral practices at workplaces during the various regimes mentioned. Kudadjie is borne out by current happenings in Ghana, of which Chief Justice Georgina T. Wood observed in the year 2015 that Ghana is beleaguered by dishonesty, divisiveness and unfaithfulness in both public and private life, and that the nation is in dire 43 need of honest and God-fearing people. Furthermore, Rev. Professor Emmanuel Asante, after watching a video recording on Ghanaian judges receiving inducement in 2015 44 exclaimed that ‘Ghana is rotten, torn apart and smelly.’ Given the persistence of the canker of moral decadence in Ghana over the decades, one may wonder what must have gone wrong. Kudadjie seems to have the answers to this question. Among other things, he diagnoses that moral standards are fast eroding partly because there is inadequate moral education infused into the post-elementary school system, professional studies, and apprenticeship programmes. Second to this is the lack of inspiring example by those in positions of leadership, such as parents, teachers, religious leaders, managers, and government officials. Many people in leadership position and older people more often than not engage in this social vices and immoral activities that sometimes the younger ones get engulfed and corrupted by their 45 actions. 42 Kudadjie, Moral Renewal in Ghana, 17-18. 43 An address presented by the Chief Justice at the 22nd Synod of the Accra Diocese of the Anglican Church of Ghana. http://www.peacefmonline.com/../248011, [Accessed: 15 April, 2016.] 44 th Ghana|AdomNews |Samuel Dowuona.September 22, 2015. http://www.myjoyonline.com, [Accessed: 20 April, 2016.] 45 Kudadjie, Moral Renewal in Ghana, 49-51. 16 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Another reason stated by Kudadjie is that people tend to have a very poor outlook on life, in the sense that materialism seems to have become the measure of success. In addition, is the falling moral standard to worsening economic conditions that have placed basic necessities such as decent food, clothing and shelter beyond the reach of many, however, he was also quick to point out that a greater number of the people involved in financial misappropriation, diversion, embezzlement, smuggling, fraud, and the like do commit these crimes out of greed 46 rather than out of the need to merely survive, and lastly, he observes that people may abandon moral principles in order to find shortcuts around self-frustrating official policies 47 and bureaucratic red-tape. To add to the discussion on the causes of corruption and unethical practices—Kwame Gyekye in his work on the topic “Political Corruption as an Essentially Moral Problem,”— avers that though other factors such as political system of a state, certain features of its social structures, its economic circumstances, as well as the inadequacies of the law and its enforcement may contribute to corruption and unethical practices in the workplace. However, he believes the fundamental problem is ultimately a moral problem. In other words, ‘the fundamental reason why one person involves in an act of corruption and immorality, while the other does not, lies ultimately in their moral character, and not in the institutional framework within which they function or in the differences between their economic 48 situations’. It is essentially a person’s moral orientation that influences whether they would behave ethically or otherwise in a given situation, an idea that is best conveyed by the models of management morality, as discussed in the next section. 46 Kudadjie, Moral Renewal in Ghana, 49-51. 47 Kudadjie, Moral Renewal in Ghana, 49-51. 48 Kwame Gyekye, Philosophy Culture and Vision: African Perspectives: Selected Essays (Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers, 2013), 82-116. 17 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.8.2 Models of Morality Much as unethical behaviour has become a norm in the corporate world, people may virtually have forgotten that there are still leaders, practitioners, and organisations that are moral or ethical in their dealings. In a recap of a theory he had developed earlier on in 1987, Archie B. Carroll further explained that actors in the world of business may be classified into those who 49 are moral, immoral and amoral. Rebecca L. Greenbaum, Matthew J. Quade and Julena Bonner have come up with three categories similar to Carroll’s classifications. These are ethical leadership (moral management), unethical leadership (immoral management), and 50 ethically neutral leadership (amoral management) respectively. According to Carroll, individuals and organisations which have moral orientation (ethical leadership) strive to conform to lofty standards of ethical behaviour. Although moral managers do want to succeed in business, they would always want to do so within the ambit of ethical principles and legal regulations. The immoral (unethical leadership) model describes situations that are diametrically opposed to accepted ethical precepts. Immoral people or organisations are deliberately selfish; they perceive legal standards as obstacles that must be circumvented by hook or crook. Carroll observes that ethical education would seldom cause practitioners who are patently immoral or 51 unethical to change. The final category which is amoral orientation or ethically neutral leadership refers to situations that are neither moral nor immoral. Amoral managers fail to perceive a relationship between decisions and actions on the one hand, and ethicality on the other. Rather than an 49 Archie B. Carroll, “Models of Management Morality for the New Millennium,” Business Ethics Quarterly, Vol. 11, no. 2 (2001): 365-371. 50 Rebecca L. Greenbaum, Matthew J. Quade and Julena Bonner, “Why do leaders practice amoral management? A conceptual investigation of the impediments to ethical leadership,” Organizational Psychology Review, (2014):1–24. 51 Carroll, “Models of Management Morality,” 368. 18 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 52 intention to do wrong, amoral practitioners or organisations are simply indifferent. Intentionally amoral person consciously decide that ethics and business should be kept separate, and therefore fail to consider ethical factors in their moral choices. By contrast, the unintentionally amoral person is simply casual, careless or ignorant about ethical issues. They may even be so ethically unconscious that they may behave unethically and still 53 erroneously think they are being moral or ethical. However, Treviño, Brown, and Hartman found that some business practitioners do argue that the concept of ethically neutral leadership is inconceivable because, whether leaders like it or not, their core mandate demand them to deal constantly with ethical dilemmas; and so there ought not to be any loophole for excuses such as the one offered by the idea of amoral 54 behaviour, be it of the intentional or unintentional strain. Therefore, it stands to reason that morality and ethical behaviour depends on a person’s orientation to the right ethical values and principles and also commitment to these values and principles. The situation prevailing in the Ghanaian environment needs education and revolution of our moral orientation and commitment. While there may be several suggestions and general consensus of this moral decline in Ghana, however, there is no consensus as to how to address this canker. Can we have the solution to these moral ills through religion? It is in this vein that this research work comes in to investigate the impact of Christian religiousity at the place of work. Has Christian religion play any vital role in the transformation of people’s character and attitude towards work. What would have been the effect on workers attitude if there was no Christian religion at play? 52 Greenbaum, Quade and Bonner, “Amoral Management,” 110. 53 Greenbaum, Quade and Bonner, “Amoral Management,” 110. 54 L. K. Treviño, M. Brown, and L. P. Hartman, “A qualitative investigation of perceived executive ethical leadership: Perceptions from inside and outside the executive suite,” Human Relations, Vol. 56, no.1 (2003), 13. 19 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.8.3 Christian Work Ethics Robertson Mcquilkin in referring to the ‘protestant work ethic’ makes the point that work is considered as a gift of God. He is of the view that, the faithful worker is following the 55 example of the worker God. However, some researchers are opposed to the so-called protestant work ethic, which says that man is made to work, and thus finds fulfilment by doing so. For Mcquilkin, the bone of contention is that some scholars assert that man really was made to play, and that work is a necessary evil to provide resources for finding personal fulfilment in fun activities and in the family. These divergent views dominate the debate about the essence of work, in that, while some may see work as dignifying, others may conceive of it as a result of punishment for the 56 fall of man. German social historian Max Weber in a major study entitled “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” observed that the idea of work being a dignifying enterprise may be linked to the Protestant concept of seeing work as a “calling” or devotion to God. The idea of viewing work as a calling highlights the importance of the fulfilment of duty in worldly 57 affairs as the highest form of moral activity. Mcquilkin asserts that, ‘work must be done as service to God. Hence, the Christian must view 58 his or her ‘work’ as relevant to every social structure’. Alfred A. Glenn in his work entitled “Taking your faith to work” also maintains that: “So the Christian can fulfil his vocation under any political or economic system so long as it brings glory to God. To bring glory to 55 Robertson Mcquilkin, Introduction to Biblical Ethics, Second Edition (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1995), 388-389. 56 Mcquilkin, Introduction to Biblical Ethics, 388-389. 57 Henry Catherwood, The Christian in Industrial Society (London: Tyndale, 1964), 115. 58 Mcquilkin, Introduction to Biblical Ethics, 389-390. 20 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh God means to bring benefit to humankind. ‘Work is to be done for the benefit of humanity in 59 Jesus’ name”. With regards to God being honoured through our work; Kudadjie and Aboagye-Mensah say: A Christian should engage in honest and clean work, he must not cheat, or engage in work that is dishonourable – such as robbery, prostitution or gambling. He must work hard – whether self-employed, an employer or employee. He must not be wasteful; rather he must manage money well, and spend wisely. And if he is blessed with 60 riches, he must invest them in productive businesses that benefit society. Mcquilkin further opines that work also should not be harmful to the worker, whether physically, morally, psychologically, or spiritually. Among other implications of this principle, Karl Barth points out what he sees as the evil of working under tension. He says, ‘to work tensely is to do so in self-exaltation and forgetfulness of God…Tension makes work drudgery, a mad race, an affliction, not only for the worker himself but also for those 61 around’. John Stott encourages a deeper understanding of God in order for one to appreciate the Christian work ethic: One needs a fuller doctrine of God in order to appreciate the link between religion and work ethics. This will reveal that God is concerned for the whole of human life in all its colour and complexity…The living God is the God of nature as well as of religion, of the “secular” as well of the “sacred”…His concerns are all-embracing; not only the “sacred” but the “secular”; not only religion but nature; not only his covenant people but all people; not only justification but social justice in every community; not only his gospel but his law. So we must not attempt to narrow 62 God’s interest. Samuel Waje Kunhiyop is of the view that Christian ethics should affect the Christian in every facet of life, as the scriptures do not teach that the spirit is more important than the 59 Alfred A. Glenn, Taking Your Faith to Work (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980), 57. 60 J. N. Kudadjie and R. K. Aboagye-Mensah, The Christian and National Politics (Accra: Asempa Publishers, 1991), 62. 61 Karl Barth, “Church Dogmatics,” trans. Geoffery W. Bromiley, Vol. 3 (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1961), 553. 62 John Stott, Human Rights and Human Wrongs: Major Issues for a New Century (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990), 31. 21 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh body. He urges that since the spiritual and physical aspects of a person are equally important, Christians should see their faith affecting all areas of their lives, including their material and 63 community life. Kunhiyop in his book African Christian Ethics quoted William Lane Craig who avers that: God holds all persons morally accountable for their actions. Evil and wrong will be punished, righteousness will be vindicated. Good ultimately triumphs over evil, and we shall finally see that we do live in a moral universe after all. Despite the inequalities of this life, in the end the scales of God’s justice will be balanced. Thus, 64 the moral choices we make in this life are infused with an eternal significance. Furthermore, Kunhiyop opposes the argument made by certain people that non-believers should not be concerned in Christian ethics, which apply only to Christians and do not work when applied to a secular context. The Bible makes it vividly clear that God is sovereign over all peoples of the world, whether they are Christians or non-Christians (2 Chronicles 20:6). Thus, it behoves on Christians, who are God’s agents on earth, to retain their distinctiveness 65 and use same to influence society. Similarly, some other scholars believe that the Christian religion influences its adherents towards moral transformation and compliance to Christian work ethics. A study by Davidson and Caddell indicates that religion has strong influence on people, in that they perceive their work as a higher calling; and other scholars such as ‘Loveland, Sikkink, Myers and Radcliffe’ concluded that religiosity brings about some ultimate level of dedication to, as well as a level 66 of satisfaction from, work. While reviewing the work of other researchers, Manaf, Osman, Abdullah and Latif said strong religiosity does inspire the work environment, and concluded that religious 63 Samuel Waje Kunhiyop, African Christian Ethics (Nairobi: Hippo Books Publishers, 2008), 53. 64 William Lane Craig, “The Indispensability of Theological Meta-Ethical Foundations for Morality,” Foundations 5 (1977): 9-12. 65 Kunhiyop, African Christian Ethics, 96-100. 66 Manaf, Osman, Abdullah and Latif, “Analysis of Religious Affiliation,” 414-421. 22 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh fundamentalists perceive that their religious beliefs and values have significant impact on 67 their work conditions. Kudadjie asserts that one cannot take religion for granted because throughout history humanity’s pursuit for God has inspired their art; poetry, music, literature, morality, etc. He also emphasizes that the Christian religion itself claims the ability to bring change into a person and to give them power to live the good life. It is in this respect that churches have to understand the important role they play in the matter of moral reformation and regeneration 68 in our current dispensation. If the Christian does not reflect his or her faith in all aspects of human endeavour, they will end up living a double life—namely, ‘Sunday life,’ which is the church life, and considered as sacred; and the ‘Monday-to-Saturday life,’ which is predominantly secular. In the same vein, Ken Costa, Chairman of Lazard International asserts that ‘If the Christian faith is not 69 relevant in the workplace, it is not relevant at all.’ In buttressing this same idea, John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York states that: ‘asking someone to leave their belief in God at the door of their workplace is akin to asking them to 70 remove their skin colour before coming into the office’. Christians have a duty to be the ‘church’ wherever they go; they are the light of the world and salt of the earth; whether in church, at home or at the place of work. Kudadjie and Aboagye-Mensah maintain that the Christian worker must avoid negative attitude to work because the Christian creeds abhors that. They explain that, there are those who view work as a necessary evil. For them they work because they cannot escape it. When 67 Manaf, Osman, Abdullah and Latif, “Analysis of Religious Affiliation,” 414-421. 68 Kudadjie, Moral Renewal in Ghana, 75-76. 69 Costa, K., God at work, Continuum. 2007. 70 The Christian Institute, Marginalizing Christians. 2009. 23 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh one keeps away from work, the fellow may be regarded by society as being lazy; and in order 71 to avoid being tagged as lazy, these people go to work, albeit grudgingly. Another negative attitude toward work, which must be avoided by Christians, is the get-rich- quick mentality. Some people think they must become materially prosperous overnight from their work. Based on that, they cheat, exploit, and use other unethical means such as bribery, 72 forgery, and embezzlement to obtain illegal wealth. Yet another workplace attitude that must be avoided is laziness and lack of devotion to duty. Some workers lack a sense of dignity of labour: they are lazy, and also not proud of the work 73 they do, and consequently perform it poorly and grudgingly. The ‘Christian worker should avoid anything that amounts to breach of trust, thus must not cheat through absence from work, or through going to work late, or poorly executing their work. The Christian worker must not be dishonest in the use of employer’s time or 74 resources.’ Mcquilkin reveals that for better work ethics practices, both the employer and employee must see themselves as working for God in their workplace. He points that Christians should see 75 their work as service to Christ because there is both reward and punishment from God. The Christian employee should be subject “from the heart,” meaning they should be humble in their attitude, and fearful before Christ of wronging their employers. Likewise the 76 employer should also be humbly fearful of wronging their employee. 71 Kudadjie and Aboagye-Mensah, Christian and Social Conduct, 46. 72 Kudadjie and Aboagye-Mensah, Christian and Social Conduct, 47. 73 Kudadjie and Aboagye-Mensah, Christian and Social Conduct, 47. 74 Kudadjie and Aboagye-Mensah, Christian and Social Conduct, 50. 75 Mcquilkin, Introduction to Biblical Ethics, 383. 76 Mcquilkin, Introduction to Biblical Ethics, 383. 24 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh A Christian worker should see his or her work as ‘service to God and therefore should approach it with a sense of mission. He should work diligently, be accountable, and make an honest earning. They ought to be faithful to time, punctual at work, and work efficiently and effectively. In exhibiting positive ethics at the workplace, the Christian worker would also be 77 obedient, respectful, and well-pleasing to his superiors’. 1.9 Significance of the Study This study is significant because it engages the attitude of Christian workers in the banking sector, and examines the motivating factors for work ethics compliance. Secondly, the findings of this research would help provide deeper insight into the reasons why people engage in immoral practices at the workplace. Finally, the expected outcome is to add to the existing literature that addresses religious beliefs as an essential factor in influencing worker’s attitude at the workplace. 1.10 Organization of Chapters The study is organized into five chapters – Chapter One serves as the general Background to the Study. It discusses the Statement of the Problem, Research Questions, Aims and Objectives, Theoretical Framework, Scope of the Study, Methodology, Literature Review, Significance of Study and Organization of the Chapters. Chapter Two outlines the meaning and historical background of business ethics, biblical perspective of work, ethics in the banking sector, alternative approaches in considering ethical dilemmas, as well as justification for ethics in business. 77 Kudadjie and Aboagye-Mensah, Christian and Social Conduct, 51. 25 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Chapter Three takes a detailed view of the case study organization, GCB Bank Limited. It deals with the bank’s mission, vision and values systems as well as how it structures and implements its ethical codes. Chapter Four gives demographic information on Tema, as well as presents and analyses primary data on Work ethics of the Christian GCB Banker. Finally, Chapter Five focuses on the Summary of findings, Conclusions drawn and Recommendations made on the topic under research. 26 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER TWO WORK ETHICS, BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE OF WORK, AND ETHICS IN THE BANKING SECTOR 2.1 Introduction This chapter looks at the historical background of work/business ethics, the benefits of upholding high ethical standards on the part of businesses, and a biblical perspective on work ethics among others. The chapter further reviews then banking industry and ethical issues associated with the sector thereof. 2.2 Historical Background of Business Ethics According to Alexi Marcoux, the body of moral principles called business ethics is possibly as old as trade itself. Hammurabi, the ruler of Babylon from 1792 B.C. to 1750 B.C., is much 78 celebrated for proclaiming a set of laws, called the Code of Hammurabi. The Code of Hammurabi of 1700 B.C is said to constitute perhaps one of civilization’s earliest attempts at establishing moral boundaries for commercial activity relating to prices and tariffs; essentially setting out a framework for rules of commerce, as well as penalties for 79 noncompliance. As the social environment evolved, ethics of work came to be regulated by law. As mentioned above, ancient codes such as the ones set up by Hammurabi policed certain aspects of commerce. 78 K. V. Nagarajan, “The Code of Hammurabi: An Economic Interpretation,” Journal of Business and Social Science Vol. 2, no. 8 (2011): 108-117. 79 Alexi Marcoux, “Business Ethics” in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (fall 2008 Edition). Edited by Edward N. Zalta. Retrieved February 9, 2013, from http//Stanford/archives/fall2008/entries/ethics-business/ 27 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Another example is the Torah—the whole body of Jewish literature and law, both written and oral, and including the Old Testament and Talmud—which prescribed a sort of work ethics in ancient Israel. One fundamental principle that stands out from the Torah is that human labour 80 should not only be profitable, but also relational. The Torah indirectly emphasizes the relational character of work, in the sense that it views labour as both an act of productivity as well as a service to God and humanity. In the same vein, the Torah made room for the Sabbath, the last day of the week set aside for people to 81 rest from all work, thus ensuring that work did not become dehumanizing. There is also Aristotle’s Politics. In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle talked about economic activities, commerce, and trade. He also makes normative judgments about greed, or the unnatural use of one’s capabilities in the pursuit of wealth for its own sake. Aristotle provides the first recorded definition of justice and fair treatment of all parties in a transaction. Fair treatment and justice have been a part of our social existence since the beginning of 82 civilization. In addition, the Judeo-Christian moral code embodied in the Talmud (200 A.D.) and the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20: 2-17; Deuteronomy 5: 6-21) prescribes principles for 83 commercial conduct. 80 Daniel J Lewis, The Christian and Social Ethics: Studies in Ethical Decision-making (Michigan: Diakonos Inc. Troy, 1990), 77. 81 Lewis, Christian and Social Ethics, 77. 82 Aristotle Politics; Nicomachean Ethics, ed. Roger Crisp, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 1-2. 83 Hejase, Hamdar and Raslan, “Business Ethics and Religion,” 72-111. 28 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh An example of such a commercial code, as stated in Deuteronomy 24: 14-15 is: Do not take advantage of hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the Lord 84 against you, and you will be guilty of sin. 2.3 Definitions of Ethics and Morality In order to thoroughly interrogate issues relating to business ethics, it would be useful to establish the meaning of the words ‘ethics’ and ‘morality,’ as well as question how they are related since the two are often used interchangeably. In etymological terms, Jelena Bozovic postulates that ethics originates from the Greek word "ēthos", which means: custom, behaviour, or conduct. Similarly, the word ‘moral’ is said to 85 have been translated from the Greek word “ēthikos.” P. J. Nel explains morality as the sense and view of what is right and wrong, and that which constitutes an absolute reference for character and behaviour. Furthermore, morality is an authoritative code of conduct in matters of right and wrong. Some perceive morality as encompassing a broader sense than ethics, although the boundaries between the two are 86 somewhat unclear. On his part, Vincent Barry claims ethics is the study of what constitutes good and bad human behaviour, including related deeds and values. He further states that the terms ethics and 87 ethical refer to the moral code of conduct an individual lives by. 84 The NIV Study Bible, New International Version edited by Kenneth Barker (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1985), 273. Deuteronomy 24: 14-15. 85 Jelena Bozovic, “Business Ethics in Banking,” in Economics and Organization Vol. 4, no. 2, (2007): 173-182. 86 P. J. Nel, “Morality and Religion in African thought,” Centre for African Studies, University of the Free State, Bloem-fontein, South Africa. 35. 87 Vincent Barry, Moral Issues in Business (Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1979), 132. 29 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh When moralists use words like good or right to describe a person or action, they generally 88 mean that the person or action conforms to some moral standards. According to A.S. J. Fagothey, morality is the “quality of human acts by which we call them right or wrong, good 89 or evil”. In other words, morality is the rightness or wrongness of human acts. P. J. Nel explains ‘Ethics’ as having to do with acts of human behaviour informed by moral principles of good and evil, and right and wrong for that matter. Also, ethical principles of conduct encompass absolute values that condition human behaviour, which may be linked to 90 assumptions of good and evil. In philosophical discourse, “ethics” is often included as a category of reflection on the fundamental nature of morality and moral values. It is therefore obvious that in parochial discourse, the interchangeable use will be noticeable when speaking of moral or ethical conduct. Nel contends that, ‘morality’ refers to the moral system, and ‘ethics’ to the actions 91 relating to morals. 2.4 Ethics and Ethical Dilemma According to Gareth R. Jones and Jennifer M. George, ‘ethics are the inner guiding moral principles, values, and benefits that people use to analyze and interpret a situation and then decide what is right or the appropriate way to behave’. Ethics and ethical dilemma goes in tandem since most people are faced with ethical dilemma in their work life. 88 Barry, Moral Issues in Business, 132. 89 nd A. S. Fagothey, Right and reason: Ethics in theory and practice, 2 edition. (Rockford, IL: Tan Book andPublishers, 1959), 112. 90 Nel, “Morality and Religion,” 35. 91 Nel, “Morality and Religion,” 35. 30 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Jones and George further suggests that ‘an ethical dilemma is the quandary people find themselves in when they have to decide if they should act in a way that might help another 92 person or group even though doing so might go against their own self-interest’. Tom L. Beauchap and James F. Childress claim that ‘it is just natural that people in a variety of situations make difficult decisions bothering on ethical dilemmas. Their moral judgments regarding what ought to be done in particular contexts are influenced by moral rules, which 93 are in turn grounded in moral principles, and ultimately in ethical theories’. In talking about ethical theories, Judith A. Boss in her book entitled Analyzing Moral Issues situates some Selected Ethical/Moral Theories which influence people’s judgment and their ultimate actions. Boss contends that Moral Philosophy is ‘the study of the values and 94 guidelines by which we live, as well as the justification of these values and guidelines.’ In other words a person’s action is embedded in their moral beliefs or theories whether knowingly or unknowingly. Boss further suggests that there are two traditional subdivisions in moral philosophy: (1) Normatic ethics and (2) Theoretical ethics. Normative ethics is concerned with the study of the values and guidelines by which we live. Normative ethics also include the study of moral issues – applied ethics is the application of normative ethics to actual cases. Also, Theoretical ethics is also known as metaethics which is concerned with the justification of these values and guidelines. This justification involves 95 skill in moral reasoning and critical thinking. 92 rd Gareth R. Jones and Jennifer M. George, Contemporary Management, 3 edition (Boston: McGraw Hill/Irwin, 2003), 141. 93 Tom L. Beauchamp and James F. Childress, Principles of Biomedical Ethics: Morality and Ethical Theory (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979), 33. 94 Judith A. Boss, Analyzing Moral Issues, Third edition (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005), 2. 95 Boss, Analyzing Moral Issues, 2. 31 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The study of moral issues and applied or normative ethics is built on an understanding of moral reasoning and theoretical ethics. A summary of various theories expounded by Boss are listed below: Prescriptive theories deal with values (they tell us what ought to be: e.g. ‘people ought to keep their promises’). While Descriptive theories tell us what is: (e.g. ‘Kofi broke his promise by not paying back the money he owed Efua.’ Thus a ‘theory’ is a conceptual framework for explaining a set of facts or concepts. Divine Command Theory: This theory postulates that something is moral merely because God approves of it, or in other words morality is relative to what God commands or wills. Universalist Moral Theories: Under this theory we have the natural law theory, utilitarian theory, Deontology, Justice, right-based ethics and virtue ethics. The Natural Law Theory advocates that morality is grounded in rational human nature rather than in God’s command or personal feelings or cultural norms. Morality is universally binding on everyone, no matter what religion or lack thereof. Utilitarian Theory says actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. The Deontology Theory (The Ethics of Duty) regards duty as the basis of morality. Thus duty or doing what is right for its own sake, is the foundation of morality. Justice Ethics is considered as the most important social duty. Justice requires that we give each person equal consideration. Right-Based Ethics states that ‘we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. (According to U. S. declaration of Independence, July 4 1776). 32 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Virtue Ethics: It emphasizes right being over right action. A virtue is an admirable character trait or disposition to habitually act in manner that benefits us and others. Actions of virtuous people stem from a respect and concern for the well-being of themselves and others. 96 Compassion, courage, generosity, loyalty and honesty are all examples of virtues. 2.5 What is business ethics? Business ethics (also known as Corporate Ethics) is a form of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. Bozovic defines business ethics as ‘a group of moral actions of an individual, as the element of a collective, that he/she adheres to during all forms of business activities without damaging 97 the business relationships within the business ecosystem as a whole’. Work ethics or business ethics applies to all aspects of business or work conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and business organizations as a whole. Additionally, Barry posits that: Business ethics is the study of what constitutes good and bad human conduct, 98 including related actions and values, in a business context. Barry further observes that ‘business may refer to any organization whose objective is to provide goods and services for profit. Thus businesspeople are those who take part in planning, organizing, or directing the work of business.’ Bozovic contends that business ethics has two basic dimensions of expression and demonstration; namely, collective ethics and individual ethics. He explains the collective 96 Boss, Analyzing Moral Issues, 2-37. 97 Bozovic, “Business Ethics in Banking,” 173-182. 98 Barry, Analyzing Moral Issues, 132. 33 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ethics to mean the application of ethical principles in making management decisions, whether they relate to relationships within the organisation or to external issues and the environment. Individual ethics, on the other hand, has to do with the adherence to the norms of customary business morality. Because individual ethics constitutes the foundation for collective ethics, any deficit in the former results in individuals placing their personal interest above that of the 99 group or organisation, leading to possible damage of business climate. The meaning of business ethics as a field of inquiry is underscored by R. C. Solomon, who opines that ‘business ethics is just the broad understanding and appreciation of business 100 life’. Similarly, Andre Petersen defines ‘business ethics as the principles, norms and standards that guide an organisation’s conduct of its activities, internal relations and 101 interactions with external stakeholders’. The central theme running through the foregoing discussion is that actors in the business organisations need to balance the ideas of business ethics against what is practical. In other words, the need to produce reasonable profit for the owners of a business organisation must be balanced with the need for honesty in business practices, safety in the workplace, as well as with larger environmental and social factors. The scope of business ethics is said to have widened since organizations are getting larger 102 and most of them are attaining multinational status. According to Barry, moral issues in business, mainly has to do with what constitutes good and bad human conduct when it comes to the formation and implementation of business policy, as well as with associated relational issues that mediate the context of business 99 Bozovic, “Business Ethics in Banking,” 173-182. 100 nd Solomon R. C. Above the Botton Line: An Introduction to Business Ethics, 2 edition (Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace, 1994), 1. 101 Andre Petersen, “The Importance of Governance and Business Ethics,” in Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Africa, (2013): 1-19. 102 Hejase, Hamdar and Raslan, “Business Ethics and Religion,” 72-111. 34 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh practice. It is about the behaviour exhibited by people in business situations, and the 103 consequences of these on other people within and outside the organisation. Smith, et al make the assertion that, ‘the main purpose of ethics in business is to lead businessmen and businesswomen to abide by the codes of conduct that would help them secure public confidence in the services and products they offer to concerned 104 stakeholders’. 2.6 Universal Values in Corporate Code of Ethics Schwartz researched into the idea of developing a set of universal code of ethics that would apply broadly to all organisations, and came out with the notion that any such body of standard ethics should resonate with (1) employees (2) existing company codes both locally and from across the globe, and (3) the extant literature on business ethics. Schwartz proposes the following six values as the pillars upon which universal moral standards for corporate bodies should be built: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, 105 fairness, caring, citizenship. Schwartz nevertheless argues that the universality of these values as a basis for corporate code of ethics lies in the fact that most organizations’ ethical standards may all converge on these six points. 103 Barry, Moral Issues in Business, 132. 104 M. L. Smith, K. T. Smith and E. V. Mulig, “Application and assessment of an ethics-Presentation for accounting and business classes,” Journal of Business Ethics, 61 (2005): 153-164. 105 M. S. Schwartz, “A Code of Ethics for Corporate Code of Ethics,” Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 41, no. (1/2), (2002): 27-43. 35 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In Table 2.1, Schwartz further explains how these so-called universal values may be crystalized into specific code of ethics by linking each of them to particular principles or ethics, and then giving examples of behaviour expected of employees in each case: Table 2.1: Values, Principles, and Examples of expected behaviour Values Principles Examples of expected behaviour Trustworthiness Be honest to stakeholders. Avoid misleading advertising Stick to values despite financial loss. Avoid bribery even if contract lost. Fulfill commitments. Fulfill all contractual obligations. Avoid conflicts of interest. Don’t accept gifts. Respect Respect the rights of others. Do not engage in sexual harassment Responsibility Take responsibility for actions. When misconduct takes place, take Steps to ensure it is not repeated. Fairness Treat stakeholders fairly. Avoid anti-competitive activities Caring Avoid unnecessary harm. Downsize in responsible manner. Act benevolently. Employee community involvement. Citizenship Obey the law. Follow the law in foreign countries. Protect the environment. Recycle materials. 106 (Adapted from Schwartz) 2.7 Importance of Ethical Business Decisions Hejase, et al postulate that behaving ethically—or knowing the difference between right and wrong, and choosing to do the right thing—most often brings about the greatest personal and socio-economic rewards in the long term. They also insist that socially responsible entities are better-placed to reap ultimate success than those whose actions are motivated solely by quick economic goals; thus, any business person wanting to thrive in the long-term should 107 make it a point to live by the highest standards of ethics. Needless to emphasise, the typical business environment is, in fact, a minefield of ethical issues; meaning that people have no choice but to make decisions bordering on ethical values on a daily basis. So then, how are they influenced by moral theories and principles in the course of making such decisions? 106 Schwartz, “A Code of Ethics,” 27-43. 107 Hejase, Hamdar and Raslan, “Business Ethics and Religion,” 72-111. 36 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In their book Contemporary Management, Jones and George proposed four ethical principles for use in the analysis of the effects of business decisions. These are the (1) utilitarian rule (2) moral right rule, (3) justice rule, and (4) practical rule. The utilitarian rule prescribes that an ethical decision is one that produces the greatest good for the largest number of people, whereas the moral right rule ensures that the decision arrived at best maintains and protects the fundamental or inalienable rights and privileges of the people affected by it. Furthermore, the justice rule advocates for decisions that distribute benefits and harm among people and groups in a fair, equitable, or impartial way. Lastly, the practical rule fits with decisions that a manager would have no reluctance communicating to people outside the 108 company because the typical person in a society would think it is acceptable. Similarly, Paul Merchant advised that when faced with ethical dilemmas, one should do well to consider the outcomes of the decision-making process by taking the four-way test, which 109 involves asking oneself the following questions: (1) Is my decision a truthful one? (2) Is my decision fair to everyone affected? (3) Will it build goodwill for the organization? (4) Is the decision beneficial to all parties who have a vested interest in the outcome? The rationale for adopting the above approaches is so that business practitioners may use them as a pragmatic way of infusing ethical considerations into their actions, decisions, and behaviours. 108 th Gareth R. Jones and Jennifer M. George, Contemporary Management-6 edition (New York: McGraw Hill, 2009), 150. 109 Paul Merchant, “A Definition for Business Ethics,” Retrieved February, 8 2013. from http//business.lovetoknow.com 37 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.8 Why Be Ethical in Business? Perhaps the dearth of ethics in business practice may be attributed to practitioners’ lack of appreciation as to why they have to behave ethically. Put differently, what is the motivation for behaving ethically? Andre Petersen in the work “The importance of Governance and Business Ethics,” outlines some views that people have about business in this regard. He quotes the saying that: Business is a “dog eats dog” world. The business environment is a lonely and hostile world. Either you trample on others, or you yourself will be trampled upon. To consider the interests of others, would be a fatal mistake. It would leave you vulnerable and open to attack from any of the other dogs in the pack. The implication for ethics is clear. There is no room for ethics in business, because business demands 110 that you should fight for your own interest. It is argued by some that it is impossible to be both ethical and successful in business; and that ethics and business success are mutually exclusive. This school of thought holds that either one is unethical and successful, or ethical and unsuccessful. In other words, adherence 111 to ethical standards is injurious to business success. However, Rushworth Kidder disagrees with this position and points out that company searching for effective ethics Programmes are increasingly moving beyond a compliance orientation and toward values-based approach. Businesses are said to be realizing that a consensus on a set of core, shared values—especially moral values—provides a foundation 112 for ethics Programmes that bring significant improvement to their organizations. 110 Petersen, “Governance and Business Ethics,” 1-19. 111 Petersen, “Governance and Business Ethics,” 1-19. 112 Rushworth Kidder, Ethics and The Bottom Line: Ten Reasons for Businesses to Do Right,-Insights on Global Ethics (Santa Monica: Lighthouse consulting services, spring. 1997), 1-17. 38 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh While admitting that businesses are interested in measurable results rather than in soft, vague, and intangible benefits, Kidder suggests ten ways in which managers would find that sound ethics can have a practical impact on the growth and image of the organisation. 113 These are outlined as follows: (a) Shared values build trust: Companies benefit immensely from a high level of trust among employees. Such trust is usually created by shared values among members of the organization. In organizations where members congregate around a common set of ethical values, there is consistency in decision-making, and trust for that matter. The absence of such atmosphere of shared values results in an organization that is bogged down with inordinate extents of suspicion, envy, back-stabbing, and lack of personal initiative. (b) Consistency leads to predictability in planning: Companies that have shared- values are better positioned to engage in strategic planning for the future due to the congenial atmosphere created by the sharing of ideas around the common values and goals. Also, a consistency in decision making created by trust among members spins off predictability. If such predictability does not exist, there will be a lurking fear that top management might discard the strategic plan, thereby removing the motivation for lower-level employees to sincerely contribute to the plan in the first place. (c) Predictability is essential for crisis management. With established expectations about decision-making, shared-values organizations find it easier to respond to crisis situations, as both managers and people at the lower levels of the company would take initiative in emergency situations without having to wait for top management approval at every little step. If the values are explicit enough, they will feel at ease to 113 Kidder, Ethics and the Bottom Line, 1-17. 39 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh do the right thing in emergency situations, knowing that the system will not punish them for taking such initiatives. (d) Confidence in such rewards builds loyalty. The entrenchment of a tradition of shared values within an organisation becomes the basis for a flattened management structure, resulting in increased autonomy for lower level managers. This in turn leads to deeper loyalty being built into lower level decision-making, and a higher likelihood that the organisation will groom future leaders from within its ranks. (e) Companies are as good as their people. Kidder does explain that if firms put in place ethical ways of selecting incoming employees, they stand a better chance of not only recruiting the best brains, but also the most honest and hardworking, who would in turn work to uphold the organisation’s ethical commitments. (f) Consumers care about values. As consumers are becoming more and more aware of their rights, they are going to greater lengths at holding companies to account. It is in a company’s own interest to ascribe to such ethical values that would place the customer first. Once the customers come to believe that the firm upholds high ethical values and sincerely cares about them, their approach to complaints world be less adversarial. (g) Shareholders also care about values. It is common knowledge that whenever an organisation gets negative publicity for doing something unethical, its shares invariably fall as investors try to sell off their stakes. This phenomenon should provide ample enough warning that shareholders care about ethical values, and that companies should therefore be ethical in all their dealings. 40 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh (h) Ethical leadership forestalls oppressive regulation. The idea here is that if firms, in say a particular industry, generally behave ethically, they create an atmosphere of self-regulation, thereby warding off the need from the state or international apparatus being deployed to impose certain regulations, some of which might turn out to be too draconian. (i) Effective partnerships depend on common values. While mergers and acquisitions will forever remain part of the business environment, companies that have well thought-out system of ethical values would make the most of such situations. This is because those companies would be better placed to use their well-defined corporate ethical values to evaluate how the values of the other company aligns with their own, and to find a starting point to tackle any ethical differences if need be. On the contrary, the organisation without such systematic ethical framework would most probably find itself lost in the landfill of several ethical issues that organizational marriages bring about. (j) Ethics is a form of insurance. An organisation with a robust ethics Programme indirectly indemnifies itself from the failures that the absence of ethics may bring, 114 which has led to the perpetual demise of notable global brands in recent times. From the foregoing, it is safe to argue that adherence to ethical principles would positively impact profitability and general success of the firm involved; those in the banking sector 115 inclusive. 114 Kidder, Ethics and the Bottom Line, 1-17. 115 Kidder, Ethics and the Bottom Line, 1-17. 41 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh C. F. Green appears to be saying essentially the same thing in the following comment: The perceived ethics of a company affect its reputation. Good reputations ensure long term success. With them you get better people, better sales and a better bottom line. Of course, business success can be attributed to good strategy and prudent management. But equally, no business will survive for very long on a record of cheating, swindling and exploitation. Nor can a company live on its wits by 116 perpetually exploiting legal loopholes. The points made by Kidder as well as Green, as enumerated above, echoes those advanced by Andre Petersen, who outlines the importance of values to every organization, as follows: (a) Ethics is the cornerstone of corporate governance. (b) Ethics ensures the sustainability of a business. (c) Good corporate reputation is built on a solid foundation of ethical culture. (d) A culture of trust must be built on a corporate framework of ethical principles which are transparency or openness, competence, integrity, and benevolence. (e) Ethics play a major role in the prevention of fraud. Fraud prevention becomes a 117 shared responsibility among the members of the organisation. Nilsson and Westerberg contribute to the idea that ethics and business are inseparable bedfellows by contending that ‘to do business without concern to ethics is the surest way to 118 fail’. Anton Jamnik even goes further in the article “The Challenges of Business Ethics – Management and the Question of Ethics,” by advancing two main justifications as to why ethics is thought to be at the core of business survival. 116 C. F. Green, “Business Ethics in Banking,” presented at the First European Business Ethics Conference, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 8, no. 8 (1989): 631-634. 117 Petersen, “Governance and Business Ethics,” 1-19. 118 A. Nilsson, and M. Westerberg, “Business Ethics and Systems Thinking,” Journal of Systems Practice Vol. 10, no.4 (1997): 25. 42 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh These justifications are: 1. Society and stakeholders expect managers to do what is right, fair and just. 2. 119It is in organizations' and managers' best interests to be ethical. In a reflection of the first of Jamnik’s points above, a research conducted by Lou Harris and cited by the Business Week reveals that 95 percent of 1,000 adults surveyed in the USA were of the opinion that firms owe their workers and the communities an obligation. This constitutes a reminder to businesses that society expects them to be fair and ethical in all their dealings. Secondly, organizations themselves turn out to be the ultimate beneficiaries if they adhere to ethical standards. Likewise, they usually learn through bitter experiences that they have done themselves in when they choose to ignore ethics. If for nothing at all, adherence to ethical principles keep managers and other actors out of trouble, and staves off possible 120 governmental intervention as well as avoidable legal challenges. In retelling the story of how ethical breakdown caused a costly crisis at the Prudential Insurance firm in the USA, D. Jones cites a real-life example of how the abandonment of 121 ethical principles may obliterate the fortunes of a previously successful company. Furthermore, empirical studies published in the World Development Report of 2002 found that a sound financial system helps to mitigate risks, create confidence, attract savings and create opportunities for investment; and that the negative consequences of an unethical 122 banking system can cost the poor three times more than the rich. 119 Anton Jamnik, “The Challenges of Business Ethics – Management and the Question of Ethics,” Tourism and Hospitality Management, vol. 17, no. 1 (2011): 141-152. 120 Business Week, Lou Harris & Associates Survey. March 11 (1996): 65. 121 D. Jones, Doing the WRONG thing: 48% of workers admit to unethical or illegal acts, USA Today, April (1997): 4-6. 122 Dogarawa Ahmad Bello, “An Examination of Ethical Dilemmas in Nigerian Banking Sector,” Ahmad Bello Dogarawa, Department of Accounting, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (2004):1-12.http://mpra.ub.uni- muenchen.de/23162/MPRA Paper No. 23162, posted 9. June 2010. 43 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Thus, the cost of not embracing ethical behaviour can be very expensive. Nevertheless, the exigency of infusing sound ethical practices into business is catching on in recent times, as companies are beginning to embrace the idea that noble ethical commitments helps, rather 123 than hurts, the bottom-line. 2.9 All Work is Service to God In the book entitled Oracles of God for Good Success in Business and Work, Kwabia Boateng categorized work into three main kinds, namely, (a) the business of the house of God, (b) the business of society, and (c) the business of earning a living. For Boateng, the business of the house of God is ‘any activity directly related to the organisation and administration of the 124 Kingdom of God on earth’. In other words, the business of the house of God relates to any work done for the advancement of the worship of God, such as priestly duties, leading worship services, and church administration. Those in this category during Old Testament times were mainly the Levites, whose duty was to “carry the ark of the covenant, to stand before God to minister, 125 and to pronounce blessings in His name”. People who work in social and political positions, specifically in roles related to the organisation and administration of society for the purpose of maintaining order, peace and justice and to cater for social and material needs of the public, fall into the group labeled by Boateng, as the business of society. This include ministers of state, members of parliament, the judiciary, state security services, volunteers, 123 A. Brickley, M. John, and S. Paul, “Business Ethics,” The Ethics Resource Centre (2002), at www.ethics.org 124 Kwabia Boateng, Oracles of God for Good Success in Business and Work (Ethiopia: BenchMac Services, 2010), 18-19. 125 Boateng, Success in Business, 18-19. 44 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh civil society campaigners, who may not necessary receive direct economic reward for their 126 efforts. Work that is aimed towards the attainment of economic or material gain constitutes what Boateng calls the business of earning a living. Boateng actually holds the view that the business of earning a living is what is referred to in the Old Testament as “regular work” (Num. 28:18), and is also the same as what Paul simply calls ‘work’ (2 Tim. 3:10). If Boateng’s classification is anything to go by, then whether one is working in the administration of religion (i.e. the business of the house of God), rendering free service to society (i.e. the business of society), or performing a paid job (i.e. the business of earning a living), the aim should be to definitely “serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people” (Ephesians 6:7). Similarly, Ecclesiastes 9:10 admonishes that: ‘Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom’. Thus the Christian work ethics is based on the foundation that all work, except those that are inconsistent with the principles of the Bible, is done in honour of God, hence the need to work in diligence and honesty. Again, Kwabia Boateng extends the idea of all work being God’s work by advancing a selection of Bible-based arguments as to why members of the human race ought to engage in meaningful work. Some of those arguments are condensed below: 1. Man ought to work because he was created in the image of God; and working is part of God’s nature. 126 Boateng, Success in Business, 21-22. 45 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2. It entails work to implement God’s instruction for man to subdue the earth and have dominion over all creation. 3. Work is necessary so man would not be lacking in anything (James 1:4) or end up being dependent on others (2 Thess. 3:8). 4. Productive work saves us from dishonest living (Ehp. 4:28a). 5. Members of the human race must engage in productive work in order to earn income 127 to be able to assist the less fortunate ones in society (Ehp. 4:28b). 2.10 Biblical Perspective on Work The Bible is replete with direct and indirect instructions that could be assembled into a body of principles to be christened as ‘Christian work ethics.’ Some people do argue that work is a curse from God given after the fall of man, but this is definitely erroneous thinking. Daniel J. Lewis draws attention to the fact that the creator God is a working God and therefore created man to continue in this direction. Right from the pre-historic era, work was ordained as a human creative activity fashioned in the likeness of God’s own creative labour (Gen. 1: 1, 28; 2: 2-3, 15, 18), rather than the result of God’s curse on the human race (Psalm 104: 19-24; 128 Isaiah 28: 23-29). Much as work predates any act of curse or punishment on man, human rebellion against God did produce very tragic results. As punishment for sin, work was emptied of the joy that originally accompanied it. H. Wolff observes that punishment for sin was not that humans 129 had to work, but that their work became fraught with trials and vexations. 127 Boateng, Success in Business, 21-22. 128 W. Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament, trans. J. Baker (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1967), 127-128. 129 H. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, trans. M. Kohl (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1974), 129. 46 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Old Testament’s wisdom literature, namely the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, highly extols positive attitude to work and condemns laziness as a sure path to poverty and deprivation. In his work The Christian and Social Ethics: Studies in Ethical Decision-Making, Daniel J. Lewis attempts to sum up directives on work ethics from the so-called wisdom literature and the Psalms: The Bible speaks against excessive sleep (Prov. 19:15; 26:14), slothfulness (Prov. 26:16) and procrastination (Prov. 20:4). A lazy person is much like a destructive person (Prov. 18:9). However, it exalts industry which is seen as a mark of wisdom (Prov. 10:50). Work is the gift of God for humans to enjoy (Eccl. 3: 22; 5:18-19). It also leads to self-fulfillment (Prov. 13:4) and profit (Prov. 14:23), and it should be performed with diligence (Prov. 24:27). Still, the Lord himself is to be credited with a person’s increase (Prov. 10:22), and work that does not glorify God is futile (Psalm 127:1-2; Prov. 15:16). Peace, charity and integrity are more valuable than sheer 130 wealth (Prov. 15:17; 17:1; 19:1). Lewis again observes that the early church’s approach to work, business, money and power was largely rooted in the Old Testament ethics as mediated by Jesus’ interpretations. Thus, industry and hard work, as prescribed by Old Testament work ethics, became the guiding principles for New Testament work ethics (1 Thes. 4:11; Eph. 4:28a; 1 Cor. 4:12; 2 Cor. 131 6:5). It is upon these principles that the Apostle Paul modelled most of his teachings on Christian work ethics. He exemplified those teachings by working so hard to provide for his own needs through his tent-making vocation (Acts 18:3; 20:34; 1 Cor. 9:6; 1 Thess. 2:9) instead of becoming a financial burden on his converts (1 Cor. 9:12; 2 Thess. 3:8-9). When some otherwise able-bodied persons in the early church decided to take advantage of the generosity of the church to avoid having to work, Paul took serious exception and instructed them to earn their own bread. 130 Lewis, Christian and Social Ethics, 78. 131 Lewis, Christian and Social Ethics, 78. 47 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh A quote from 2 Thess. 3: 6-12 (NIV) illustrates Paul’s instructions: In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. 7. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8. nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. 10. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." 11. We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle 132 down and earn the bread they eat. The Christian work ethic is also reflected in various exhortations offered to both slaves (employees) and their masters (employers) in the New Testament. Christian employers were advised to care for, rather than to exploit, their employees (1 Tim. 6:1, (Ephes. 6:5-8; Col. 3: 22-24). In the same way, Christian employees were also not to take advantage of their masters but rather to work hard as unto the Lord (Col. 3:22-24, 1 Tim. 6:2, Philemon 16). Paul also admonished that the quality of a Christian’s work has a potential to make the message of the gospel appealing to non-believers (Tit. 2:9-10; 1 Tim. 6:1). 2.11 The Banking Sector and its Historical Antecedents Before moving the discussion to touch on ethical issues within the banking sector, it is expedient to explore the nature and purpose of banks, particularly commercial banks. K. A. Goyal and Vijay Joshi points out that from the historical perspective, a bank is one of the most common institutions among humans, and that everyone relates to banks either directly or indirectly. 132 The NIV Study Bible, New International Version edited by Kenneth Barker (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1985), 1830. 2 Thess. 3: 6-12. 48 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In this context, the perspective of Goyal and Joshi on what constitutes a bank is that it may be an individual, private organization, or a government entity that renders some form of 133 financial services to customers. The word ‘bank’ is said to have originated from the French word ‘banque’, which in turn was derived from the Old Italian word ‘banca,’ meaning ‘table’; also taking its roots from 134 ‘banc,’ an old German rendition of ‘bench’ or ‘counter.’ According to K. Ratna Manikyam, a bank is generally understood as an institution which provides financial services, the most fundamental of these services being the receipt of 135 deposits and the provision of loans.” Furthermore, Manikyam says the business of banking is to provide security to the savings of customers, to control the supply of money and credit, to encourage public confidence in the working of the financial system, increase savings speedily and efficiently, and to avoid the situation whereby financial powers are concentrated in the hands of a few individuals and institutions. Since the focus of this research is the commercial banking sector, it may be apt to explain a point or two on this banking sub-sector as well. Daniel Ayozie Ogechukwu defines commercial banks as ‘joint stock establishments structured to conduct banking business; that includes the business of receiving deposits on current account, savings account or other similar accounts paying or collecting cheque, or other business as the governor of the Central 136 Bank may include as the functions of commercial banks’. 133 K. A. Goyal and Vijay Joshi, “A Study of Social and Ethical Issues in Banking Industry,” in Int., J. Eco. Res., 2 (5) (2011): 49-57. 134 Goyal and Joshi, “Social and Ethical Issues,” 40-57. 135 K. Ratna Manikyam, “Indian Banking Sector–Challenges and Opportunities,” in Journal of Business and Management, Vol. 16, no. 2 (2014): 52-61. 136 Daniel Ayozie Ogechukwu, “The Current Ethical Challenges in the Nigerian Commercial Banking Sector,” Global Journal of Management and Business Research Vol. 13, no. 10 (2013): Online ISSN: 2249-4588 & Print ISSN: 0975-5853. 49 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The banking industry is said to be one of the oldest industries of the world. The earliest records of the business of banking could be traced way back to 2000 BC when the merchants of Assyria and Babylonia made loans to farmers and traders. Much later in ancient Greek and Roman empires, money lenders operated from temples in the business of making loans, 137 accepting deposits, and the provision of money-changing services. It is obvious that some semblance of banking services used to take place in Biblical times also, although there is no evidence to suggest the existence of a complex financial structure akin to modern day banking. As indicated by Daniel J. Lewis, ancient Israel had an intricate set of regulations on how loans should be arranged, demanded, and written off. For instance, in order to avoid the borrower being exploited, loans were to be made generously without the charge of interest (Ex. 22:25; Lv. 25:35-37; Dt. 23:19). However, the provision for interest waiver applied only to Israelite citizens; meaning foreigners may be charged interest (Dt. 138 23:20; 28:12). Unlike what pertains in today’s commercial banking environment, poverty alleviation was the main rationale for the loan arrangements explained above. That is why any loans outstanding to fellow Israelites were simply to be written off after seven years, in order to avoid the situation of financially over-burdening the borrower. Also, collateral was arranged in such a way that it will not give the lender the undue right to encroach on the borrower’s property (Dt. 24:10-11); nor would it deprive the borrower of basic necessities such as warm clothing or means of livelihood (Ex. 22:26-27; Dt. 24:6, 12- 13). Furthermore, the disadvantaged were exempted from providing collateral (Dt. 24:17- 139 18). 137 Goyal and Joshi, “Social and Ethical Issues,” 49-57. 138 P. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy [NICOT] (Grand Rapids: Eerdinans, 1976), 302. 139 Lewis, Christian and Social Ethics, 80. 50 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.12 Relevance of Ethics in the Banking Sector Economies around the world lose so much money through unethical practices within the banking sector. Hongming Cheng Ling Ma laments that although it is difficult to predict the extent of bank fraud with any degree of precision, nobody would deny the prevalence of the 140 problem and its negative effect on economic and social life. Because banks thrive on trust, Matthew Hollow cautions them as follows: Given the fact that so much money passes daily through their accounts, it is imperative that banks do all that they can to protect against the risk of internal financial fraud. In addition, because they essentially act as guardians for other people’s money, it is also hugely important that they remain vigilant against internal 141 corruption so as to maintain a public appearance of integrity and trustworthiness. Indeed, Ikpefan O. Ailemen and Ayeni Oluwatobi in their work the Impact of Ethics and Professionalism in the Nigerian Banking Industry asserts that the banking sector has experienced insider abuse, fraud, greed, poor internal controls, and the like in recent times. They also concluded that these aberrations resulted from unethical behaviour on the part of 142 employees and management alike. Accordingly, Woode asserts that the banking industry has seen some of the worst aspects of human nature, and that bank inspection reports have revealed cases of managers and clerks indulging in the manipulation of savings accounts, salary credits of customers and farmer’s loans. Woode further commented that financial transactions—as revealed by the Azu Crabbe Commission—have been smeared by impropriety, insider trading and downright fraudulence. 140 Hongming Cheng Ling Ma, “White Collar Crime and the Criminal Justice System,” Journal of Financial Crime, Vol. 16 no. 2 (2009): 168. 141 Matthew Hollow, “Money, Morals and Motives,” Journal of Financial Crime, Vol. 21, no. 2 (2014):174-190. 142 Ailemen, and Oluwatobi, “Ethics and Professionalism,” 1-33. 51 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh He even was categorical that the distress in which some banks have found themselves may 143 have been caused by dishonesty and impropriety on the part of some officials. P. Sikka was even more daring in his conclusion that ‘fraudulent financial practices seem to be part of ‘enterprise culture’ that persuades many [practitioners in the banking industry] to 144 believe that ‘bending the rules’ for personal gain is evidence of business acumen’. As unethical behaviour spreads within the baking sector and an increasing number of financial institutions are becoming distressed, there seems to be an increased desire to introduce Code of Ethics and Professionalism in the sector to stop the detracting menace, sanitize the banking system, and hopefully to prevent whatever little trust that might have 145 been left from getting eroded any further. What is it that has gone wrong with bankers, as well as with society in general, for ethical values to deteriorate to such low ebbs? It is the opinion of Ronald F. Duska (Charles Lamont Post Chair of Ethics and the Professions at the American College) that there are five reasons why unethical deeds may happen. These he lists as (a) self-interest and greed, (b) stunted moral development, (c) equating moral behaviour with legal behaviour, (d) conflict between the demands of professional duty and those of the organisation, and (e) defeat of individual 146 responsibility by clients’ demands. In order to prevent or minimize these moral aberrations, banks have to find a way of formally incorporating ethical principles into their scheme of things. Smith et al make the assertion that the reason for ethics in business is to lead business people to abide by the codes of 143 Samuel N. Woode, Business and Public Administration, 18. 144 P. Sikka, “Enterprise Culture and Accountancy Firms: The New Master of Universe,” in Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Vol. 21, no 2 (2008): 270. 145 Ailemen, and Oluwatobi, “Ethics and Professionalism,” 1-33. 146 Anne Federwisch, “Ethical Issues in the Financial Services Industry,” Retrieved January 12, 2013, from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University, 8-19. http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/business/financial-services.html. 52 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh behaviour that would help them secure public confidence in the services and products they 147 offer to stakeholders” . According to Hajase et al, to establish an ethical culture within a company, usually it must begin by creating a code of conduct, or a set of rules and 148 regulations that is in harmony with the beliefs and best interest of the organisation. 2.13 Characteristics of Code of ethics While taking a pragmatic approach—rather than a philosophical one—at scrutinizing ethics, Murphy came out with what he believes should be the characteristics of a well-defined organizational code of ethics, as listed below: Specific: Code of ethics have to be specific so employees would not find them ambiguous as to what they mean exactly. For example, if a code of ethics document prescribes that employees can only give or receive nominal gifts; it should indicate what “nominal” means. Maybe, a specific ceiling amount or indicative range would have to be specified, beyond which the gift becomes a bribe. Public Document: Murphy also posits that a company’s code of ethics should be a public document, in the sense that if a code is worth developing, then it is worth sharing with customers, suppliers, other stockholders, so everyone would know what to expect or not to expect. Handling Violations: In addition Murphy’s third point is that corporate code of ethics should be blunt and realistic about violations; since that will contribute greatly to how much risk employees may be willing to take towards possible breaches. Sanctions may come in the form of termination, suspension, or demotion in rank, depending on the situation and the 147 M. L. Smith, K. T. Smith and E. V. Mulig, “Application and assessment of an ethics-Presentation for accounting and business classes,” Journal of Business Ethics, 61 (2005): 153-164. 148 Hejase, et al “Business Ethics and Religion,” 79. 53 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh organisation involved. Another aspect of violations, according to Murphy, has to do with what an employee should do when tempted by their superior to do something that would count as a breach. Periodic Revision: Lastly, Murphy advises corporate people to make their codes of conduct 149 become living documents by regularly updating them to reflect changing ethical issues. Codes of conduct are formalized rules and standards that describe what a company expects of its employees. Such codes are intended to regulate the behaviour of all staff whose misconduct could cause significant harm to the firm or its customers. Expressed differently, the code of ethics or code of conduct is a regulatory instrument made up of rules that aim to define standards and principles that ought to guide the behaviour of the worker in a particular way. According to Murphy, corporate code of ethics has long been the predominant vehicle for 150 institutionalizing ethical principles in organizations. In other words, the codes of ethics promulgated by firms or professional organizations are meant to move theories of ethics from the philosophical realms into a set of simple guidelines 151 that personnel and directors can relate to in their day-to-day activities. Schwartz points out that organization do establish this code of ethics in order to provide consistent normative standards for employees, forestall undesirable legal consequences, and 152 to promote their public image. 149 P. E. Murphy, “Implementing Business Ethics,” Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 7, no. 12 (1988): 907–915. 150 Murphy, “Implementing Business Ethics,” 907-915. 151 P. J. Dean, “Making Code of ethics ‘Real’,” Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 11, no. 4 (1992): 285–290. 152 M. S. Schwartz, “A Code of Ethics for Corporate Code of Ethics,” Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 41, no. (1/2), (2002): 27–43. 54 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Whereas the merits of corporate codes of conduct are well known and accepted, this did not prevent some researchers from drawing attention to the fact that those codes usually are too general, contains too many clichés, appears to have been crafted to help avoid legal and 153 financial problems, and could be deployed merely as public relations gimmick. 2.14 Conclusion Among other issues, this Chapter reviewed the meaning and historical background of business ethics and also touched on some ancient codes of ethics such as the Hammurabi Code and the Torah. The discussion also delved into inherent benefits to be derived from adhering to ethical principles; asserted that organisations actually do themselves a favour by being ethical; and some suggested procedures for considering and deciding on matters of ethics. The Biblical perspective on the subject of work ethics encapsulates issues such as the thought that work is a divine injunction rather than a punishment on humanity; and that Old Testament principles on work ethics as is mediated by interpretations offered by Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, and other teachers constitutes the foundations of modern Christian work ethics, especially the instruction that whether one is engaged in religious, social, or purely economic vocations, one ought to do it all as unto the Lord. Lastly, the roots of the banking industry and how the sector seems to be reeling under numerous ethical challenges was highlighted, before finally ending with an enumeration of a range of reasons why people in the industry often behave ethically. The next chapter is essentially on GCB Limited and Its Ethical Codes and it also reviews ethics from the corporate organisation’s perspective. 153 Murphy, “Implementing Business Ethics,” 907–915. 55 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER THREE THE GCB BANK LIMITED AND ITS ETHICAL CODES 3.1 Introduction Having done a general review of the extant literature on Christian work ethics in the previous chapter, the current chapter discourses on how ethical theories are institutionalized in organizations by distilling them into corporate code of ethics, among others. It also captures a brief history, vision, mission, and brand values of the GCB Bank, before discussing a framework for corporate code of ethics based on a set of ‘universal’ values for institutionalizing desired ethical principles into the mind-set of organizations. The chapter additionally reviews GCB’s own values and ethical codes against the said ‘universal’ values; and as well, touches on the relevance and challenges of instilling ethics. 3.2 Brief History and Rebranding of GCB Bank Limited GCB Bank Limited, formerly known as Ghana Commercial Bank Limited was founded in 1953 as ‘Bank of the Gold Coast.’ Its main purpose was to serve local businesses, traders, farmers and those who could not obtain financing from expatriate banks. In the year 1957 when the nation attained independence from Britain, the name ‘Gold Coast’ was changed to ‘Ghana.’ Thereafter, the bank was split into two parts, namely, the ‘Bank of Ghana’ operating as the country’s central bank, and the ‘Ghana Commercial Bank’ (GCB), concentrating on commercial activities. The GCB later became a limited liability company, and hence the erstwhile name ‘Ghana Commercial Bank Limited.’ In a major rebranding Programme in 2014, the name was evolved again into GCB Bank Limited. 56 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Over the years, the GCB Bank has expanded by increasing its branch network across the country, which has also increased its corporate visibility and customer base of SMEs, traders, businesses and private individuals. As one of the most accessible and visible banks in the country, GCB Bank became known to many as “our bank” or “the peoples’ preferred bank,” but increasing competition over the years, combined with limited investment in infrastructure, exposed the bank to some challenges. GCB Bank now operates in a highly competitive environment and although it has made strides in many areas in terms of accessibility, technology, improved operations, faithful staff and good services, the image hasn’t kept up that much. In view of this, the bank itself holds the opinion that the rebranding Programme has to a large extent helped it to refresh and 154 reinvigorate not only the visual identity, but also its service philosophy. In 2014, Simon Dornoo, the bank’s managing director at the time, gave this message to customers assuring them of the changes in GCB Bank Limited: GCB Bank Ltd is currently going through a period of significant change. Having celebrated our 60th anniversary last year and now launching a new image for our bank to help drive us forward for the next 60 years, I can say with total conviction that I have never been so confident and excited about our future as I am today. I believe that we have consistently grown and demonstrated our commitment to Ghana over the last six decades. We will continue to strive to do so in the achievements we 155 make and in the positive difference we bring to people’s lives. Dornoo further asserted that in a world where nothing stands still, GCB now inhabits an environment with more intense competition and higher consumer expectation than ever before. 154 www.gcbbank.com.gh//gcb_stakeholder_guide 155 www.gcbbank.com.gh//gcb_stakeholder_guide/message given by Simon Dornoo, the managing director of GCB Bank Limited. 57 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh GCB has said that the restructuring initiative represents an internal change management Programme that has been firmly embedded in the bank’s business plans, staff training, branches and their services. The exercise is said to have resulted in a new evolved logo, a stronger on-the-street presence, dedication to higher standards which is witnessing the introduction of new banking products and services. Regarding the said restructuring efforts, Dornoo asserts that: We are refurbishing our branch network to international standards; updating our systems and technology and focusing on increased customer satisfaction right across our business channels. This is a long-term Programme, but you will see progress over the coming months. Our goal as a bank has always been to be the leading financial services provider in Ghana through a commitment to superior service and best 156 practice. GCB Bank Limited believes it has a commitment towards Ghana and its economy and as a result of that the organisation is embarking on actions and policies that would engender growth. The underlying business principles, fundamental values and brand systems, they believe, will help propel GCB to greater heights, and the economy of Ghana with it. Simon Dornoo again says ‘through these assets, and with the commitment and support of the shareholders and partners, GCB Bank Limited will enjoy growth and prosperity for all their 157 stakeholders and, of course, their customers.’ 3.3 Vision and Mission Statements of GCB Bank Limited A vision statement is said to encapsulate a possible and desirable future state of an organization, while a mission statement is defined as an official statement of the aims of a 158 company or an organization. 156 www.gcbbank.com.gh//gcb_stakeholder_guide/message given by Simon Dornoo, managing director of GCB Bank Limited. 157 www.gcbbank.com.gh//gcb_stakeholder_guide 158 th Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 8 edition, Oxford University Press, 2010. 58 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The GCB Bank states its vision thus, ‘we aspire to become Ghana’s favourite bank and one of the most recognised and preferred financial service brands in Africa and beyond.’ The bank’s mission, on the other hand, reads: ‘Our mission is to provide friendly, helpful and accessible banking services, combined with expert financial solutions that help people and businesses realise their goals.’ The bank expands on the mission and vision by outlining the following areas of attention: Customers: We aim to delight our customers through welcoming, attentive service and expert solutions that meet their needs. Employees: We endeavour to be a preferred employer, providing opportunity for all our staff to progress and succeed. Community: We support, collaborate and contribute to our local communities to enable them to prosper and flourish. Shareholders: We strive to deliver consistent results and excellent value for our shareholders, and to build long-term confidence. Governance: We set our standards high, operating to international standards of corporate governance to ensure integrity and trust. 3.4 Corporate Values of GCB Bank Limited Having studied the construct within which to create code of ethics for any kind of organisation, it is only expedient that the values and ethical codes of the organisation being studied in this research (i.e. GCB Bank Limited) be examined to see how they match with or diverge from the ‘universal’ standard code of ethics. Whereas we begin here with GCB’s values, a selection of the bank’s ethical codes is reviewed in the subsequent section. 59 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh As part of its 60 years anniversary commemorations, the GCB Bank evolved its image by changing its name (from Ghana Commercial Bank Limited to GCB Bank Limited) and corporate logo, and by embarking on a major rebranding exercise, having admitted that the 159 bank’s image has not kept up with the competition. Alongside other rebranding efforts, the GCB Bank overhauled its core values and reportedly became dedicated to higher ethical standards. One of the cardinal issues in the bank’s rebranding efforts is the adoption of a new values system it christened by the acronym STARS (i.e. service, trust, action, relationships, and smiles). This is further explained below with a view to matching them with the six ‘universal’ values espoused by Schwartz as discussed in the previous section: Service: (welcoming, attentive and efficient)-GCB aims to provide great customer service at all times through personal attention, welcoming environments, helpful staff and market- leading technological solutions; all in a bid to make banking easier and more enjoyable. Trust: (honest, responsible and reliable)- The bank is said to be working hard towards gaining trust by being accountable and responsible for the things they say and do. Also, the bank wants to be known for providing honest advice and only the best, most appropriate products. GCB also vows to treat everyone the way they would like to be treated. Action: (hard-working, energetic and motivated) - The GCB Bank says it wants to work above and beyond the expected to get things done and deliver on their promises. As a bank, they are open to new ideas and not afraid to challenge the status quo to make things better. When mistakes are committed, it is recognized and resolved as fast as possible. 159 GCB Bank Ltd., Towards the next 60 Years: A Partner Guide to your new GCB (2014): 1-16. 60 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Relationships: (committed, supportive and encouraging) - GCB Bank seeks to develop rewarding, long-term relationships with all their stakeholders, and deep ties with communities based on commitment and respect. As a financial partner, the bank provides expert advice, encouragement and support whenever they can. Smiles: (positive, confident and courteous) - The bank believes that nurturing a positive attitude and working environment helps build confidence, relationships and results. The bank takes a ‘can-do’ attitude with respect to service delivery, so as to make customers virtually ‘smile’ whenever they have an encounter with the bank. This researcher has personally observed during a visit to the Ashaiman Branch of GCB, that 160 there is such a welcoming environment and personal attention from the tellers. A comparison of Schwartz six-point so-called universal ethical codes with those of GCB’s STARS values framework reveals some similarities. For example, GCB’s value of trust—which enjoins all staff to be honest, responsible, and reliable in their dealings with consumers and the public—is in congruence with Schwartz’s ‘universal’ ethical code of trustworthiness. In the opinion of Schwartz, trustworthiness implies that organisations should be honest to stakeholders, stick to values even if that would 161 lead to financial loss, fulfill commitments and should also avoid conflicts of interest. Similarly, GCB’s value termed ‘action’, which is meant to instill in workers such attitudes as hard-work, being energetic, and self-motivation does correspond with the principle of responsibility under the so-called universal ethical values. The notion of responsibility, according to Schwartz, means that organisations must take responsibility for their actions whether good or bad. 160 Observation, Emmanuel Kofi Awortwe, GCB Bank Limited in Ashaiman Branch, January 2016. 161 Schwartz, “Corporate Code of Ethics,” 27-43. 61 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The virtue of care or ‘caring’ (i.e. customer care) as defined by the ‘universal values’ framework resonates with the first and last virtues of GCB’s STARS values system, namely, service and smiles. In the same way, whereas GCB wants to have its workers cultivate rewarding relationships through commitment and respect among others, the ‘universal’ ethical codes speak of the need for members of an organisation to respect the rights of others. Again, the GCB’s relationships virtue includes the idea that everyone be treated equitably, which is the same as the pillar of fairness as spelt out in Schwartz’s ‘universal’ ethical values. This research takes the opinion that there is nothing in GCB Bank’s STARS ethical values that directly ties in with citizenship as a ‘universal’ corporate value, which has to do with 162 notions of obeying laws and protecting the environment. This does not necessarily suggest that GCB has discarded the idea of being a good corporate citizen, though. 3.5 The Relevance of Ethics in GCB Bank Limited It is very important to note that business relationship is at the core of every organisation. Because customers are the survivors of every institution, there must be a good business relationship between banks and their clients if the former are to survive in the marketplace. The behaviour of business persons toward customers, suppliers and others at the workplace may also generate ethical concern. Bank staff of all cadres must strictly adhere to the code of conduct set by the central banks regulations. Such will maintain the integrity and brand image of the bank. Constant training and reminders on the ethical issues must periodically be given to all workers (senior, middle 162 Schwartz, “Corporate Code of Ethics,” 27-43. 62 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and lower level workers). Workers ought to know that their actions in and outside the organisation could make or mar the image of the banking institution. In summary, the relevance of ethics in GCB Bank is that ethical codes have helped to provide a guide to the actions of workers. It also builds trust among the workers and even among customers, and it boosts public confidence in the bank. Customers and shareholders are all concerned about values and ethical banking. It also helps to avoid or minimize theft, embezzlement and fraud in the bank. The institutionalization of ethics also helps to build good business relationship between workers and customers, since customers are regarded as the life-blood of every organization, GCB Bank included. Good ethical behaviour in the banks promotes business sustainability. And above all ethics in the bank helps to improve turnover, and profits for that matter. It is believed that the having in place sound ethical standards, among others, would help to sustain the vision and mission of the GCB Bank to become the leading financial services provider in 163 Africa through superior service and best practice. 3.6 Some Specific Ethical Codes at GCB Bank Limited As has become the norm across the world, GCB Bank Ltd have developed its own codes of conduct to regulate staff members and executive directors, bearing in mind that adherence to 164 values and standards has contributed in many ways to bring the bank to its current position. The GCB Bank’s codes of conduct outline basic principles of professional ethics expected from workers of the bank, and are intended to provide guidance to bank personnel to avoid situations of real or apparent conflict of interest. The document containing the codes does not 163 GCB Bank Ltd., Towards the next 60 Years: A Partner Guide to your new GCB (2014): 1-16. www.gcbbank.com.gh//gcb_stakeholders_guide. 164 GCB Bank Ltd., Towards the next 60 Years: A Partner Guide to your new GCB (2014): 1-16. 63 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh set out to define every possible situation that may confront bank personnel, nor is it meant to be all-encompassing. Bank personnel are expected to seek appropriate advice from the Head of Department or the Director of Human Resource Management. In case of any breach occurring, personnel are duty-bound to disclose any prohibited practice to their superiors or management including fraud, corruption, collusion, or coercion that come to their 165 attention. In order to illustrate how corporate code of ethics is implemented in practice, a selection of codes in operation at the GCB Bank is paraphrased and discussed below: GCB has a code of ethics which specifies that a worker of the bank is not permitted to speak to the press on matters of the bank without seeking approval from management. This is intended to protect the image and identity of the bank, and forestall the possibility of improperly packaged information getting into the public domain to create negative publicity 166 for the bank. In return for salary and benefits, the bank expects loyalty. With loyalty comes a sense of pride. All employees are goodwill ambassadors and salespeople for their bank. Thus, employees must keep company ―secrets. Similar to the above is the code on non-disclosure. Seeing things from the Christian perspective, it is refreshing to note that the issue of non-disclosure does not run contrary to principles of the Christian faith. Even though one has a duty not to seek to deceive others, and to make a reasonable effort to prevent others from being misled, there is nothing in the Christian tradition to suggest that one is duty-bound to disclose all the information one is in 165 Operations Manager (GCB Bank Limited-Tema), Awortwe, Interview, February 2016, Tema. 166 Operations Manager, Awortwe, Interview, February 2016, Tema. 64 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh possession of. Take the case where Prophet Samuel, whom God had sent to anoint David as a replacement for King Saul. God instructed him to disclose only part of his mission if anyone enquired: The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me.” The Lord said, “Take a heifer 167 with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ (1Samuel 16: 1-2). In fact, God was not telling Samuel to tell a lie, but rather to disclose only part of the reason for his visit while keeping a discreet silence about the other. Another ethical code at GCB has to do with the instruction that so long as a worker remains in the employment of the bank, they are barred from engaging in any related business, or indeed any private business at all. The rationale here is to forestall conflict of interest situations, where a person must choose between their personal interests or those of their organization. Additionally, a worker in GCB Bank Limited cannot disclose any information about a customer except by law or management approval. This code of ethics is important to build trust and loyalty between the banks and their customers, and also to establish good customer relationship. There is also a GCB code of ethics saying that employees may not have any bank account apart from the one(s) they have at the GCB Bank without obtaining management’s consent to do so. The idea is that if workers have other accounts unknown to management, there may be the possibility of them diverting the bank’s money into those ‘secret’ accounts. 167 The NIV Study Bible, New International Version edited by Kenneth Barker (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1985), 398. 1 Sam. 16: 1-2. 65 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The codes also encourage professionalism and adherence to the laws of the land. At the minimum, business persons are expected to follow all applicable laws and regulations. But beyond obeying the law, they are expected not to harm customers, employees, clients, or competitors knowingly through deception, misrepresentation, coercion, or discrimination. The GCB codes cautions employees that their personal conduct both in and outside the corporation should not bring the bank into disrepute. This code is meant to help workers to be conscious at all times with regards to their actions. Another area of ethical concern in GCB Bank Limited is the dress code of their workers. It enjoins personnel of the bank to endeavor to be ‘corporate’ in their dressing, and should not be too extravagant or give attention for suspicion of any wrongdoing. The banking Industry by nature is a conservative place that has a peculiar but acceptable decent type of dressing for both male and female employees. Workers must be very modest in dressing when going for official assignments, especially for fund mobilisation. Workers are also cautioned not to over- or under-dress. Dresses should not be too revealing, or showing the cleavages of the females so as not to divert the concentration of especially male customers. Perfumes, if worn, must not be too choking or overbearing. Party shoes and clothes must not be worn to work. The banking job is a conservative one, although dynamic, but the dressing must be within the acceptable societal norms, so as to reduce sexual harassment among the vulnerable workers. Dressing and appearance are very important for the image of the banking sector. In an instant, we form opinions about a person based on appearance, smell, cleanliness, and mannerisms. Depending on the career, acceptable appearances will vary. When these dress codes are adhered to it gives the bank good image in the eyes of the public and helps build public confidence in the bank. 66 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.7 Conclusion In summary, this chapter reviews ethical issues from the corporate point of view. Among other things, it discussed corporate code of ethics as the predominant vehicle for crystalizing principles of morality and industry best practice into a set of simple guidelines that personnel and directors can relate to in their day-to-day activities. Among other things, some general information on GCB Bank’s history, mission and vision, and issues from recent rebranding efforts were discussed. The bank’s code of ethics was found to have been built on corporate values system called STARS, an acronym crafted to represent service, trust, action, relationships, and smiles. When evaluated against a six-point ‘universal’ ethical values system (namely, trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, citizenship) proposed by Schwartz, GCB’s values system and ethical principles were found to be largely compliant with global best practice. The chapter finally discussed the relevance of codes of ethics as they apply to GCB’s context, an outline of some specific codes of ethics in operation at the bank. 67 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FOUR DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS ON WORK ETHICS OF THE CHRISTIAN GCB BANKER. 4.1 Introduction As it has been outlined earlier, this research looks at the subject of Christian work ethics from the perspective of bankers, with the workers of the GCB Bank Limited (or simply GCB) being surveyed as a proxy for the entire banking industry. Whereas the three previous chapters respectively set out the research, reviewed literature, and discussed ethics from the corporate perspective of GCB, this chapter presents secondary data about the Tema metropolitan area as well as analyses field data collected from individual employees of GCB branches in and around the Tema metropolitan area. 4.2 Demography of Tema According to the 2010 Population and Housing Census report published by the Ghana Statistical Service, the Tema Metropolis was created from the erstwhile Tema Municipality in 2007 with the promulgation of Legislative Instrument (LI) 1929. There are three Sub- Metropolitan Councils within the Tema Municipality; namely, Tema West, Tema East and 168 Tema Central. 168 2010 Population and Housing Census: District Analytical Report-Tema Metropolitan, Ghana Statistical Service, October, (2014), 1. www.statsghana.gov.gh. 68 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.2.1 Population Size and Distribution The 2010 Population and Housing Census indicate the total population of the Tema 169 metropolitan area to be 292,773 with 47.8% being males and 52.2% females. It reveals that the Municipality is entirely urban, meaning it has more than 5,000 inhabitants. 4.2.2 Religious Affiliation The Ghana Statistical Service Report reveals there are several Christian denominations; namely Catholics, Protestants (Anglicans, Lutherans etc.), Pentecostal/Charismatic and other Christian denominations; making Christianity the dominant religion in the Tema Municipality. The Pentecostal/Charismatic groups constitute the highest and most notable Christian group in the Municipality, with 45.2 percent of the population; within which there are more females (54.3%) than males (45.7%). Protestants form 24.6 percent of the religious groups; and adherents to Islamic religion are 6.8 percent. Also, 3.6 percent of the population claims they do not belong to any religion, of which the highest proportions of 66.7 percent are males and 33.3 percent are females. At 0.3%, traditionalists have the least population, with almost equal proportions among males 170 and females. 4.3 Banks in the Tema Municipality There are over 20 banks in the Tema Municipality such as Ecobank, Fidelity, Standard Chartered Bank, UT Bank, GCB Bank, Barclays Bank, GN Bank, Stanbic Bank, ADB, HFC 169 2010 Population and Housing Census: District Analytical Report-Tema Metropolitan, 19. 170 www.statsghana.gov.gh October, (2014): 34. 69 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Bank, Dangme Rural Bank, Merchant Bank, CAL Bank, United Bank for Africa, GT Bank, First Capital Plus Bank, Universal Merchant Bank, First Atlantic Bank, Access Bank, etc. 4.4 Types of Work and Industry in Tema Defining industry as the type of product produced or service rendered at a respondent’s workplace, the 2010 Population and Housing Census compiled by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) shows about 26.3 percent of the employed population are engaged in wholesale and retail, repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles. This is followed by 18.8 percent in manufacturing, 8.8 percent in the transport and storage industry, and 8.2 percent in the accommodation and food service industry. The lowest proportions are in real estate and mining/quarrying (0.3%), water supply/sewerage waste management/remediation activities (0.4%) and electricity/gas stream/air conditioning supply (0.5%). The specific works and industries in the Municipality include agriculture, forestry and fishing; mining and quarrying; manufacturing; electricity, gas stream and air conditioning supply; water supply; sewerage waste management; and remediation activities. Others are construction, wholesale and retail; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food service activities; information and communication, financial and insurance activities; real estate activities; professional scientific and technical activities; administrative and support service activities; public administration and defense; compulsory social security; education, human health and social work activities; and arts, entertainment recreation, and other service activities. 70 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.5 Types of Occupation in Tema According to the GSS, occupation refers to the type of work a person does, and goes on to give the breakdown of the employed population in Tema as enumerated below: About 31.5 percent are in service and sales occupation; 20.2 percent are into craft and related activities, 10.4 percent are in elementary occupations; and 9.8 percent are professionals. The lowest proportion of the employed population are in skilled agriculture, forestry and fishery occupation (4.2%), topped by clerical support occupation at 4.4%. Among the employed females, the highest proportion are in service and sales occupations (46.2%), 11.7% in elementary occupations, and 4.7% are into clerical support occupations; as compared to the proportions among employed males (15.9%, 9.0%, and 4.2%, respectively). In all the other occupations, the proportions among employed males are higher than those 171 among employed females. 4.6 Sampling Frame This research collected data from six branches of GCB Bank Limited in and around the Tema Municipality, as listed below:  Main Branch  Market Branch  Industrial Area Branch  Fishing Harbour Branch  Tema SafeBond Branch  Ashaiman Branch 171 Ghana Statistical Service, 2010 Population and Housing Census: District Analytical Report-Tema Metropolitan, October, (2014): 35-45. www.statsghana.gov.gh. 71 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Whereas the first five branches on the list are located within the Tema Municipality, the Ashaiman branch lies just on the outskirts of Tema, and indeed had been part of the Tema administrative district until the year 2008 when it was carved out as an autonomous municipality. The 53 respondents drawn out from the six branches consisted of 19 (36%) male and 34 (64%) female, as displayed in Table 4.1 below. Gender Number of Respondents (53) Percentage (100%) Male 19 36% Female 34 64% Table 4.1: Gender Distribution of Respondents Source: Research Survey (February, 2016) 4.6.1 Respondents’ Association with GCB Bank Limited Although 53 GCB workers were surveyed, all the analyses herein are carried out on the 52 respondents who indicated they were Christians. A justification of this approach is provided in the next section. The results show that out of the 52 respondents, 10 (19%) had been working with GCB Bank for a period of 30 years and over, while nine (17%) of them had been with the bank for between 15–20 years. Furthermore, 12 respondents (23%) have been employed at GCB Bank for between 5–10 years whereas 21 (40%) have been working for the bank for 5 years and below. It was also important to find out how long they have been working in their current GCB branches. As would be expected, the time spent at the current branch was considerably shorter as compared to how long each respondent had been working within the GCB bank. 72 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Only one respondent’s longevity at the current branch went as far as to fall within the 15–20 years bracket. Whereas another six respondents (11%) have been working in the current branch for 5–10 years, the majority of 47 respondents (87%) have been at their current branches for periods of 5 years or less. 4.6.2 Religious Affiliations of Respondents The results also show that the respondents were mainly Christians; with 52 out of 53 (representing 98%) indicating their affiliation to Christianity while only one happened to be a Muslim. No respondent claimed affiliation to Buddhism, Hinduism, African tradition and or any other religion. Since the current research is on Christian ethics, a decision was taken to exclude the only non-Christian respondent from the data analyses. It was initially considered that should non- Christian respondents be numerically substantial, a parallel analysis would be carried out on their responses for the purposes of comparing their attitudes with those of the Christians. But be as it may, there was only one non-Christian respondent out of a total of 53, hence the decision to exclude it from the analysis. Thus the data analyses, and inferences thereof, are based on information collected from the 52 respondents who claim affiliation to Christianity. Out of the 52 respondents, 19 (37%) were male while the remaining 33 (63%) were female. These 52 Christians claimed affiliation to the following three denominational groupings: (i) Mainline Churches: Including the Catholic Church, Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Anglican Church, Methodist Church Ghana, E.P. Church. (ii) Classical Pentecostals Churches: Assemblies of God, the Church of Pentecost, Apostolic Church of Ghana, etc. 73 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh (iii) Pentecostal & Charismatic Churches: Action Chapel International, Charismatic Winners Chapel, International Central Gospel Church, Spoken Word, Global Evangelical Church, Lighthouse Chapel International, Good News Chapel International, Royal House Chapel International, and Christian Calvary Charismatic Centre. 4.7 Attitude towards Work This section of the questionnaire was designed to evaluate respondents’ attitude towards work, and to gauge whether each individual relates to their work as a job, career or a calling. In assessing the work of Amy Wrzesniewski, Clark McCauley, Paul Rozin and Barry Schwartz, in their article, “Jobs, Careers and Callings: People’s Relations to their Work,” argue that there are three distinct relations people can have towards their work, namely, those 172 who perceive their work as job, career, or calling. These are further explained below: Work as a Job: As discussed in Chapter 1 of this work, those who see their work as ‘job’ are those who work primarily to earn enough money to support their life outside of their job. If they were financially secure, they would no longer continue with their current line of work, but would do something else instead. Their works are essentially a necessity of life, a lot like 173 breathing or sleeping. They often wish the time would pass more quickly at work. They also greatly anticipate weekends and vacations. If they had opportunity to live their life all over again, they probably would not go into the same line of work. They would not encourage their friends and children to enter their line of work. Also, they are very eager to retire. 172 Wrzesniewski et al, “Jobs, Careers and Callings,” 21-33. 173 Wrzesniewski et al, “Jobs, Careers and Callings,” 21-33. 74 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Results from the questionnaire indicate that most of the workers in GCB Bank Limited in and around the Tema Municipality find themselves in this category, with about 43% of the respondents seeing their work as a ‘Job’. The 43% indicated above could be described as quite on the lower side given that:  78% of respondents had earlier said they were working primarily for the money.  54% indicated that if they were financially secure, they would no longer continue with their current line of work.  67% anticipated weekends a lot.  63% said if they had opportunity to live their life all over again, they would not go into the same line of work. With regards to these seeming inconsistencies, it is either the respondents were not necessarily being sincere in all their submissions, or the job-career-calling concept itself has been over-generalized. Work as a Career: Those who see their work as a ‘career’ enjoy their work, but do not expect to be in the current job five years into the future. Instead, they plan to move on to a better, higher level job. They have several goals for their future pertaining to the positions they 174 would eventually like to hold. Sometimes their work seems a waste of time, but they know that they must do sufficiently well in their current position in order to move on. People in this category can’t wait to get a promotion. To them, a promotion means recognition of their good work, and is a sign of their 175 success in competition with their coworkers. 174 Wrzesniewski et al, “Jobs, Careers and Callings,” 21-33. 175 Wrzesniewski et al, “Jobs, Careers and Callings,” 21-33. 75 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Outcomes from the questionnaire reveal that respondents who consider their work as a carrier are numerically the least in GCB Bank branches in and around the Tema Municipality, having recorded sixteen percent (16%). Again, there appears to be some inconsistency here because although 16% of respondents tag themselves as perceiving work as a career, the reality is that 94% had earlier indicated that they did not expect to be in their current job five years from now. Similarly, 75% had earlier said they saw their current jobs as a stepping stone to something else. These two realities present a mind-boggling contradiction in the responses. How can someone who regards a certain type of work or profession as their career and still be rearing to move away from it? Again, the apparent contradiction may result from an over- generalization of the job-career-calling theory or the case of respondents trying to give ‘politically-correct’ answers in at least some cases. Work as a Calling: Those who perceive work as a ‘calling’ are those who see their work as the most important part of their lives. They are very pleased and satisfied that they are in this line of work. Because they perceive what they do for a living as a vital part of who they are, it is one of the first things they tell people about themselves. They tend to take their work home with them and on vacations, too. The majority of their friends are from their place of 176 employment, and they belong to several organizations and clubs relating to their work. People in this category feel good about their work because they love it, and because they think it makes the world a better place. They would encourage their friends and children to enter their line of work. They would be pretty upset if they were forced to stop working, and they are not particularly looking forward to retirement. 176 Wrzesniewski et al, “Jobs, Careers and Callings,” 21-33. 76 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Evidence gathered from the survey indicated that forty-one percent (41%) of the respondents in GCB Bank within and around the Tema Municipality consider their work as a calling. Again, this does not quite tally with the respondents own admissions earlier in the questionnaire to the effect that 77% were proud about their job and so would tell people about it; and 15% said they took their work with them on vacations. The rhetorical question to ask at this point is whether this seeming inconsistency is resulting from a faulty theory, or from insincere responses. Maybe, it is the case that although they did not see their work as a calling, once they are into it, they had no choice but to fall in love with it anyway. Firstly, the questionnaire asked whether respondents find their work rewarding and fulfilling, as this will shed some light on which of the above three categories they might fall in. Out of the 52 Christian respondents, 44 (85%) viewed their work as rewarding and fulfilling, while 8 (15%) did not. When respondents were asked as to whether they are eager to resign or change jobs, 23% (12 respondents) answered in the affirmative, while 77% (12 respondents) said ‘no.’ Whereas the 23% might be viewed as leaning towards those who see their particular work as a necessary evil, it is not certain the extent to which their responses are influenced by the general lack of alternative employment avenues prevailing at the time. Next, the questionnaire sought to find out if people are conscious of what day of the work week it is, and if they greatly anticipate weekends. To this question, more than two-thirds (i.e. 35 respondents amounting to 67%) answered ‘yes.’ To probe further on this, respondents were to indicate whether on Fridays they would say ‘Thank God it’s Friday.’ It is interesting that, although 67% indicated they went through the week anticipating the weekend, once it (the weekend) arrives a larger proportion of 79% (41 respondents) welcomes its arrival, either verbally or silently, with the expression: ‘Thank God it’s Friday.’ 77 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Yet another dimension to the idea of work being perceived as a job, carrier or a calling is the extent to which an individual is attached to their work even when they are physically away from the work space. The research sought to know whether respondents would sometimes carry their work with them while on vacation; to which only 15% (8 respondents) answered in the affirmative. The other 85% would preferably have nothing to do with their work once they are on vacation. The rationale behind this question is to gauge respondents’ likelihood to go the extra mile for the sake of their work if it becomes necessary, with the hope that the answers would suggest whether they viewed their work as a higher calling or not. There is also the issue of one’s mindset to a particular vocation in the medium to long term having an influence on the person’s attitude to work in that vocation. So, respondents were asked whether they expect to be in a higher level job in the next 5 years. An overwhelming proportion of 94%, being 49 persons, indicated they hoped to move on to a higher level job within the stated time frame. Respondents were asked to say if they were satisfied with their current work and would like to choose the same work again if they had the opportunity to start all over again. Interestingly, 63% (33 respondents) said ‘yes’ while 37% or 19 respondents answered ‘no.’ The researcher also asked respondents whether they feel they are in control of their work life, to which 40 persons (77%) were positive. The idea here is that if people feel their work life has spiraled out of control, they would most likely be dissatisfied with work, and consequently hold a negative attitude toward it. As it turned out, more than three-quarters of respondents said they felt they were in control. About 77% respondents (i.e. 40 respondents) indicated that they enjoy talking to other people about their work, with the remaining 23% indicating otherwise. The majority of respondents 78 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh saying they were proud of their work may constitute an indication that their commitment and attitude to work should be generally positive. There are implications for a person’s view on whether they perceive work as a job, career or a calling if they also view the same work merely as a means to an end. This thinking led to the inclusion of a question that asked if respondents view their job primarily as a stepping stone to other jobs. And the results have it that as much as 75% (39 respondents) view their current position as a stepping stone to other jobs. A similar number of 40 respondents, constituting 78%, were of the view that their primary reason for working is financial; thus they are working to support their families and to enhance lifestyles. The remaining 22%, by implication, must have been involved in their particular type of work more as an act of self-fulfilment. The issue of work as an act of self-fulfilment may partially be measured by the worker’s commitment to a type of work in the long to medium term; which is the reason why the research sought to find out if respondents expect to be doing the same work in the next five years. On this, 35 respondents (67%) disagreed with the idea of remaining in the same work five years from now; meaning they would want to move on. Would respondents continue with their current line of work if they were financially secured? Just over half (28 respondents; 54%) gave an affirmative answer, indicating they would have loved to move on from the current work if their financial fortunes improved. The other 25 respondents love the current work enough to want to stay in it even if they did not really need the money. Also, in a related question, respondents were asked if they would still continue with their current line of work if they are no longer paid. The majority (36 respondents; 69%) said they 79 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh would not. Observing these statistics in light of the fact that 78% said their primary reason for working is money (see earlier analyses) makes interesting reading. Out of the 52 Christian respondents surveyed, 21 (40%) conceded that when they are not at work, they do not think much about their work, but the remaining 31 (60%) does. The statistics on those who view their work as a calling, though somewhat inconsistent as earlier discussed, are summed up as follows:  85% see work as rewarding & fulfilling  77% are in control of their work life  63% will be in the same line of work again if have opportunity  60% often think about work at home  43% said their work is a calling Also in a summary, Figure 4.1 shows that eight (16%), 22 (43%) and 21 (41%) respondents said they viewed their work as a career, job and a calling respectively: Career, 16% Calling, 41% Job, 43% Figure 4.1: Distribution of respondents’ views on work as a Career, Job or Calling Source: Research Survey (February, 2016) 80 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.8 Work life of the Christian Having explored general issues related to work ethics in the previous section, attention now focuses on an assessment of the Christian perspective on work ethics. It has been established in Chapter 2 of this study that the Christian work ethic is built on the foundation that all work, except those that are inconsistent with the principles of the Bible, is done in honour of God, hence the obligation for Christians to always do their work with wholeheartedness, diligence, and honesty—as if the Lord Jesus himself was their boss (Eph. 177 6:7; Eccl. 9:10). In line with this, respondents were to state if they were aware of Biblical principles on work ethics, and if their answer was positive, to indicate where they learned this from. Whereas 87% of respondents were positive that the Bible actually prescribes principles for everyday work-related issues, 13% said they were yet to hear or learn about this. Majority of the number which said they were aware of the Bible’s prescriptions on work ethics said they learned of this through sermons preached in their churches. There are a few others, though, who learned the concept from books, seminars, or audio recordings. Now, on the understanding and application of Biblical principles on everyday work-related matters, respondents had to indicate how they as Christians viewed their work. The results are shown in the Table 4.2 below: How Should a Christian Profession to Duty to view his/her work? make a Calling of God Employer Total living No. of Respondents 14 14 24 52 Percentage 27% 27% 46% 100% Table 4:2: Distribution of Respondents’ view of Work as a Profession to make a living, Calling of God, or Duty to Employer. Source: Research Survey (February, 2016) 177 Boateng, Success in Business, 18-19. 81 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh As may be observed from Table 4.2 above, of the 52 respondents who indicated they were Christians, 46% viewed their work as being a ‘duty to their employers’ while two equal portions of 27% each said they perceived their work as a ‘profession to make a living’ and as a ‘calling of God’ respectively. It is interesting that when the same respondents were presented with the ‘job-career-calling’ construct of work in Section A above, 41% opted for the description of their work as a calling. However, here only 27% are saying they perceived their work as a calling. The differences may be accounted for by the fact that the contexts differ for the two questions; and the choice options presented for each may have influenced the dynamics of each question differently. Closely related to the issue of seeing one’s work as a divine calling is the extent to which one is dedicated to work. This is the rationale for a question that sought to check respondents’ opinion on whether a Christian should exhibit dedication to work even if the remuneration is incommensurate. More than two-thirds (37 in number; 71%) of respondents agree that dedication should still be high in such circumstances. This exactly reflects the attitude demanded by one of the flagship instructions in the New Testament on work ethics: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24). On how the Christian worker should behave at the workplace, respondents were asked if a worker should comply with their employer’s code of ethics, or if they should instead place a premium on their Christian ethics, especially if the two sets of ethics seem to be in conflict with each other. To this, 69% opted for premium to be placed on company’s ethical codes while 31% wants Christian ethics to mean more to the Christian worker than their respective companies’ code of ethics. 82 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The survey also sought to find out whether respondents see their profession as the work of God, as well as their understanding of what is considered as the work of God. The results indicate that 31% view religious leaders as the ones engaged in God’s work which is spiritual, and that secular work should not be classified as the work of God. On the other hand, 69% indicated that pastors and other spiritual leaders are not the only people doing the work of God, and that what lay people do at their workplaces is also the work of God, which is spiritual as well. The response choice of the 69% majority—to the effect that religious workers are not the only ones working for God—demonstrates a widespread appreciation of the idea that all work (with the exception of those that conflict with Biblical principles) constitutes ‘God’s work.’ According to Boateng, work may be divided into three general categories as follows: (1) the business of the house of God (i.e. the administration of religion), (2) the business of society (i.e. rendering free service to society), and (3) the business of earning a living (i.e. performing a paid job). He further argued that everyone is working for God irrespective which of the three areas their particular jobs fall into; and hence the need for Christians to go 178 about the tasks of work bearing in mind who it is they are serving with those tasks. In an attempt to find respondents’ position on ethical dilemmas, they were asked about what they would do if their superior asks them to do something which is against their Christian values and principles. While 18% said they should comply, the remaining 82% differs in their opinion. What would most likely motivate a Christian’s ethics compliance? When this question was put to respondents, 34% of them cited the company’s code of ethics as the most likely 178 Kwabia Boateng, Success in Business, 18-19. 83 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh influencing factor, while 21% of the respondents chose ‘personal principles’ and 45% opted for ‘Christian work ethics.’ The next issue presented to respondents was about what informs their moral judgment of right and wrong, asking them to tick one of the following three options: Christian ethics, company code of ethics, or personal principles. The outcome is summarized in Table 4.3 below: What informs your moral Company’s Personal judgment of right and wrong Code of Ethics Principles Christian Ethics Total No. of Respondents 13 1 38 52 Percentage 25% 2% 73% 100% Table 4.3: Motivation for Moral Judgment on Right and Wrong Source: Research Survey (February, 2016) As displayed in Table 4.3, 13% of the respondents indicated that the bank’s code of ethics is the key determinants of their moral judgment of right and wrong at the place of work. However, a majority of 73% attributes these judgments to their Christian ethics while 2% (only one respondent) opted for personal principles as the main force behind their decisions regarding right and wrong within the work environment. Still on the subject of work ethics in practice, respondents were asked about how they feel when they break their company’s code of ethics; to which a 12% minority said they do not feel bad since everyone else is doing it. The majority of 88%, however, indicated that they feel bad and regretful whenever they realize infringed they have on their company’s code of ethics. 84 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Even though only 12% of respondents indirectly indicate above that they had no qualms with infringing on the code of ethics due to the fact that everyone else is doing same, a slightly higher percentage might just be actually willing to conform to what the majority has accepted as a norm, even if it means breaking the code of ethics. This opinion emerges from responses to a question about if respondents believe in the saying ‘when you are in Rome, do what the Romans do.’ As a matter of fact, 20% of the respondents agreed with the statement, with the remaining 80% disagreeing. 4.9 Ethical Behaviour in Practice This section aims to measure what informs one’s judgment of good and bad in the context of the work environment. Touching on the issue of ethical behaviour in real-life situations, the questionnaire sought views on whether a person can be good or bad if they do not follow any religion. Exactly half of the respondents (i.e. 50%) affirmed that a person can indeed be good or bad in the way they behave even if they do not follow any religion, while 31% hold an opposing view. A third category making up the remaining 19% said they were unsure. Beyond the issue of religious affiliation, it was important to measure how a person would handle ethical dilemma in real-life situations. So, within the context of the workplace system, the study asked about what a respondent would base their decision regarding right or wrong upon. Given the answer options listed, respondents made choices as reflected in Figure 4.2 (NB: the answer options on the questionnaire are those listed in the extreme right part of the diagram): 85 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Culture & Upbringing, 8% Society, 12% Regulation Regulation , 40% Religion Wisdom/Experience Religion, 25% Culture & Society Upbringing Wisdom/Experi ence, 15% Figure 4.2: Distribution of respondents’ basis for deciding Right and Wrong at the Workplace Source: Research Survey (February, 2016) The findings have it that 40% of the respondents, which constitutes the majority, said what informs their decision about a given action at the workplace being right or wrong are linked to the bank’s regulations and laws. Another 25% opted for religious values, 15% for wisdom and experience, 12% went for culture and societal habits, and 8% for family upbringing. It is noteworthy that only 8% of respondents base their decision-making during tough ethical dilemmas on family upbringing. This may indirectly point to an erosion of moral family values, much to the vindication of Kudadjie’s advice as reproduced in the first chapter of this work. To recall, Kudadjie suggests a number of solutions for confronting the problem of moral decadence, the first of which is that since much of what the adult man will become in society is determined in the formative years, emphasis should be placed on providing every child with a good home as well as solid parenting to instill good ethical principles in them 179 early enough. Yet another test of practical ethical dilemmas for respondents is a question enquiring if they would inform a customer if the bank should commit an error that negatively affects the latter. 179 Kudadjie, Moral Renewal in Ghana, 4-5. 86 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The views expressed splits the respondents into three roughly equal groups, with the first group which constitutes 32% saying they would inform the customer, whereas 30% said they would not; and the last (38%) said they were uncertain. A question was put to respondents to help gauge how they feel about ethical dilemmas that might crop up due to difference in human values at the religious and professional levels. While more than half (52%; 27 respondents) affirms that a person’s religious values should govern their work ethics even if they are different from those of work values, 39% (20 respondents) disagrees with such notion, and 10% (5 respondents) were uncertain. It is worth noting that in an earlier analysis regarding whether a Christian worker should comply with their employer’s code of ethics or instead place a premium on their Christian ethics, a 31% minority held the opinion that the latter should override the official code of ethics. The questionnaire also sought to find out from respondents whether they agree with the perception that the stricter bank regulations are, the more ethically the employees will behave. While 33% rubbished the said assertion, a little less than half (48%) said they agreed, and 19% indicated that they were uncertain about its veracity. 4.10 Ethical Dilemma and its Challenges In order to simulate how respondents would react to typical ethical dilemma situations, three scenarios were created for them to react to. These are enumerated below: Scenario 1: Assume your bank has purchased a computer software Programme for your banking activities from a software company. A close friend in another bank wants to use it and asked if they could make a copy for business use. Your friend has asserted that making such a copy raises no ethical concern. Do you agree? The results indicate that 20 respondents 87 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh (38%) agree, thus saying that no ethical breach is committed if the copy is made. However, the majority (62%; 32 respondents) disagrees, implying that they believe yielding to such a request amounts to a breach of the firm’s ethical principles. None of the respondents indicated they were uncertain as to what to do in the situation. Scenario 2: Assume you found out that your superior is stealing money from the bank or client and he/she has offered you a part of the stolen money in order to keep quiet. Would you accept the money? Five respondents, representing 10%, indicated their eagerness to accept the stolen money and keep quiet over the matter while 88% (46 respondents) said they would decline such an offer, with only one person (2%) indicating uncertainty. Scenario 3: Assume your family member is your subordinate in a bank, and you found out that he/she was sharing confidential information with a competitor. Would you terminate his/her job? It emerges that 27 (52%) of the 52 respondents said they would go ahead and terminate their subordinate’s (and relative’s) job in such a circumstance. Of the remainder of the respondents, six (12%) said they would shield the offender and 19 persons (37%) indicated they were uncertain of whether or not to mete out such punishment. In all three of the above scenarios, the majority indicated choices that locate them on the right side of ethical decision-making. Yet still, some review of the decisions is presented here, with the accompanying analyses focusing on the minority who chose the unethical options. To begin with, this researcher is of the opinion that the concept of moral management models proposed by Carroll (see Chapter One) applies to these scenarios, and will therefore be used as framework for the foregoing discussion. 88 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In relation to decision-making when it comes to ethical dilemmas, Carroll thinks that whether a person has moral, immoral, or amoral orientation has a lot to indicate which way their decisions would go. Those with moral orientation are interested in performance and profits but would not pursue these at the expense of ethical expectations. Immoral workers, by comparison, see the law and ethical regulations as hindrances and are always on the lookout for opportunities to beat the system. Finally, the amoral person either willfully or mistakenly 180 excludes ethical considerations from their decision-making. For Scenario 1, as much as 38% think there is nothing wrong with sharing their company’s software with a third party. This is not surprising given that people do take copyright prohibitions for granted when it comes to electronic products such as software and music files. These practices have become so prevalent that its unethicalness is lost on almost everyone. Hence, one can conclude that the ethical breach being discussed in this scenario is an unintentional amoral behaviour. Carroll says that unintentional amoral persons are casual and inattentive to the fact that their activities may have ethical dimensions. He adds that unintentional amoral workers are actually well-intentioned and probably think of themselves as ethical persons. The situation in Scenario 2 is a bit more straightforward. Here, 10% of respondents said they wouldn’t mind keeping silent if they discover that their superior is syphoning off the bank’s resources provided that they would be allowed to share in the booty. These 10% may be described as leaning towards immoral behaviour. Carroll explains that people in this category are downright selfish, and that ethics education would hardly cause them to reform their ways. 180 Carroll, “Ethical Challenges for Business,” 33-42. 89 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Scenario 3 presents the respondent with a situation whereby they had to choose to sanction or not to sanction an errant subordinate who also happens to be their family member. About 12% of respondents said they would shield the offender while as much as 37% said they were uncertain how they would deal with such an ethical quandary. Added together, 48% of respondents are either saying they would bend the rules, or that they would at least consider doing so! Bending the rules in this situation amounts to putting up an immoral behaviour, according to Carroll’s construct. However, it is refreshing to note that in all the scenarios, the majority (62%, 88% and 52% for the three scenarios respectively) have opted to exhibit a moral behaviour. They fall into the category of which Carroll says, “they typically regard the law as an ethical minimum and 181 they have a habit of operating well above what the law mandates.” 4.11 The Challenges of Work Ethics in GCB Bank Limited It is one thing distilling ethical values into a written code of ethics, and quite another getting the employees of the organization concerned to actually live by those ethics. Whereas some hold the opinion that codes without the threat of sanctions makes little 182 impact, P. J. Dean observes that the fear of sanctions is not enough to assure ethical 183 decision making on the part of all workers of an organization. That is why Gyekye makes the point that the real reason why one person gets involved in an act of corruption, while the other does not, lies in their moral character, and not in the institutional framework within 181 Carroll, “Ethical Challenges for Business,” 33. 182 M. Schwartz, “The Nature of the Relationship between Corporate Code of ethics and Behaviour,” Journal of Business Ethics Vol. 23, no. 3 (2001): 247-262. 183 P. J. Dean, “Making Code of ethics ‘Real’,” Journal of Business Ethics Vol. 11, no. 4 (1992): 285-290. 90 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 184 which they function, or in the differences between their economic situations. This fact may be the fundamental reason why the GCB Bank, like any other bank, faces challenges with ethics in spite of all the efforts it might have invested into institutionalizing ethical principles into its scheme of things. Before delving into the issue of ethical challenges in GCB Bank, it is appropriate to take a broader perspective on how those challenges are playing out in the banking industry in general. Probably in a bid to counter those who might hold the view that achieving the bottom line is all that matters for business survival in the banking sector, Brickley, John and Paul emphasizes that the importance of ethical behaviour in the financial sector is especially 185 important since business depends as much on reputation as on performance. Furthermore, Chiami and Fullenkamp also make a point that being perceived as ethical is 186 crucial for the survival of a bank. Although the virtues of upholding ethical behaviour is widely acclaimed, there is surprisingly widespread discontent that banks are more interested in profits than in doing the right thing. This sentiment was succinctly captured by one practitioner in the banking sector, as reported by Chibuike Uche: Sometimes, it would appear that in spite of the lofty goals contained in their mission statements, banks really have only one mission: that is to make a profit at any cost. The core values of integrity and professionalism are set aside in the pursuit of ever increasing profits. Are we bankers willing to do the right thing ethically and forego the profits? My belief is that many of us pay lip service to ethics but are not willing to 187 take the pain that it entails. Therein lays the ethical challenges that banks face, GCB Bank included: the inability—or rather the unwillingness—to walk the ethics talk. 184 Gyekye, Tradition and Modernity, 99. 185 A. Brickley, M. John, and S. Paul, “Business Ethics,” The Ethics Resource Centre (2002), at www. Ethics.org. 186 R. Chiami, and C. Fullenkamp, “Trust and Efficiency,” Journal of Banking and Finance, 26 (2002): 1785- 1809. 187 Chibuike U. Uche, “Ethics in Nigerian banking,” Journal of Money Laundering Control, Vol. 8: Issue 1 (2005): 66-74. 91 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh It was revealed that Christian workers at GCB Bank were faced with two major challenges of work ethics. Firstly, many employees were working for the money, instead of conceiving of it as higher calling to serve God and humanity; leading to a lack of sense of urgency, and ultimately poor customer satisfaction. Secondly, some were engaged in fraudulent practices, especially ones that involve employees working with external collaborators to steal from the bank. Also, it was observed that because of the bank’s large customer base, queues often build up and customers sometimes are not attended to early enough, leading to frustration and dissatisfaction among clients. For example, on a visit to the Tema Market branch of GCB Bank in connection with this research, about twenty customers from a particular company were in the bank to correct some anomalies in their accounts details. These customers complained of delay and the fact that the bank staffs were not giving urgent attention to their 188 request. Another huge ethical issue for the GCB Bank is fraud. Adeyemo rightly opines that fraud is one of the challenges facing the banking sector; and added that frauds are illegal acts characterized by deceit, concealment or violation of trust, as opposed to acts that involve 189 application or threat of violence. He also said frauds are perpetrated by individuals or organisations with the aim of obtaining money, property or services to avoid payment or loss of services or to secure personal or business advantage. Adeyemo categorizes bank frauds into four areas. Foremost among these is insider non- management fraud, being one perpetrated by bank employees. The second is outsiders/insiders fraud, representing those perpetrated through collaboration between bank 188 Observation, Emmanuel Kofi Awortwe, GCB Bank Limited-Tema Municipality: Market Branch, on February, 2016. 189 K. A Adeyemo, “Frauds in Nigerian Banks, Nature, Deep Seated Causes, Aftermaths and Probable Remedies,” in the Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 3. (2012): 92 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh staff and outsiders. Thirdly, there is outsider fraud, which involves outsiders—whether they are customers or non-customers; and the fourth is management fraud, being those committed by members of the bank’s management team. As already indicated in Chapter 1, GCB Bank has suffered considerable scandals having to do with workers engaging in fraud and other unethical behaviour such as misappropriation of funds. Partially reproduced below is another evidence of fraud at GCB potentially involving insider- outsider collaboration. Although the researcher was neither able to get to the root of the original incident nor the preceding communication from the bank, it was found instructive to reproduce this press statement issued by management of GCB on January 17, 2014 under the heading “GCB Fraud Case: More Arrested:” Further to our response to the media comments on 7th January, 2014 captioned “GCB responds to media publication” we would like to update our numerous customers and the general public that we have made good progress with intelligence gathering. This has led to further arrests of some persons (including customers) suspected to be part of a syndicate. Also some staff are being invited by Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) to assist in the investigations by virtue of their roles/job functions in the Bank. We assure the general public that GCB remains vigilant in its monitoring and controls to enable the early detection of such fraudulent activities as 190 demonstrated in this case. These are just samples of the ethical battles GCB is fighting as far as fraud is concerned. Although the bank has gone to great lengths to institutionalize ethical behaviour within its banking system, some workers in the quest for quick money, greed and selfishness are flouting these ethical principles with careless abandon. Apart from fraud, service speed appears to be another ethical issue for the GCB Bank. For example, an interview conducted with one of the staffs (name withheld) reveals that some 190 http://www.peacefmonline.com/pages/business/finance/201401/186165.php; retrieved July 1, 2016. 93 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh workers’ attitude towards work are appalling in the sense that they have no urgency towards meeting customer needs, no adherence to quality and efficiency and customer satisfaction. The staff (interviewee) who said she had worked in another bank before joining the GCB Bank avers that she witnessed marked differences among the two banks. She gave an instance where a customer requested for a cheque book and was asked to come for it at a specified date, but when the customer came back at the said date the cheque book was not ready. He was asked to buy a cheque leaflet in order to withdraw money although he had paid for the 191 request of his cheque book. Yet another challenge facing GCB Bank Limited is the public perception about the bank. In fact, this is acknowledged by management. While management believes GCB Bank has made many strides in terms of accessibility, technology, improved operations, faithful staff and good services, they admit that the image of the Bank has not kept up that much, even though 192 they have been in operation for over sixty years. 4.12 Conclusion This chapter presented and analysed both secondary and primary data. First to be presented is secondary data having to do with the demography and employment characteristics of the Tema metropolitan area. This was followed by the presentation, analysis and interpretations of primary data collected from workers of six GCB branches in and around the Tema Municipality. The highlights includes the observation that one of the 53 GCB workers surveyed was a non- Christian and so was excluded from further analysis since the research is on Christian work 191 Staff of GCB Bank Limited-Safe Bond Branch, Interview, February 2016, Tema. 192 GCB Bank Limited, Towards the next 60 Years: A Partner Guide to your new GCB (2014): 1-16. 94 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ethics. The questionnaire used for collecting the data was divided into three sections, namely, attitude towards work, work life of the Christian, and ethical behaviour in practice. Although the ideal situation is to have all Christian employees conceiving of their work as a higher calling when the job-career-calling construct is used, results from the survey show only 41% falls into this category. The implication for this is that a higher proportion of employees in GCB Bank may be working for money or career progression rather than for the love of the banking profession. This in turn may likely lead to less than utmost dedication to work. And if the situation amongst GCB workers is anything to go by, then most bankers, and indeed a majority of employees across all industries in Ghana may not be seeing their respective works as a calling as may be ideal within the context of Christian work ethics. It also emerged that if a decision-making situation in the world of work comes in such a way that a dilemma occurs between the company’s code of ethics, personal principles, and the Christian work ethics, most respondents would place a premium on organizational codes first and foremost. Could this not mean that in the absence of stringent enforcement of ethical codes, most of these Christians could not be counted upon to voluntarily be ethical in reverence to the Christian tenets? However, it was observed that in all areas involving ethical choices, the majority have always indicated choices that locate them on the right side of the ethical divide, indicating a widespread appreciation of the ethical responsibilities that workers of GCB, and by extension all other bankers, face. 95 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 5.1 Introduction This chapter summarises salient matters discussed in all the previous chapters and generates major research findings that seek to answer directly to the research findings and objectives; and in the end advances recommendations and suggestions for improving works ethics compliance amongst bankers and workers generally, particularly those of them who profess the Christian faith. 5.2 Summary of Salient Issues This research examined Christian work ethics from the perspective of bankers and the banking industry. It was all born out of an observation that in spite of increasingly ubiquitous signs of Christian religiosity all over Ghana, somehow, there is still soaring levels of laxity towards work ethics compliance, as well as a worsening disregard for the moral expectations intrinsic to the Christian faith. Surveying Christian workers of GCB Bank branches in Tema, the study sought to find out whether the high rate of professing Christians does have any implications for attitudes towards work. The judgment of particular human behaviours as being ethical or otherwise is founded on moral principles. Although some perceive morality as encompassing a broader 96 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 193 sense than ethics, others believe the boundaries between the two are rather blurred. Morality is said to refer to the rightness or wrongness of human acts, with reference to some 194 sort of absolute code for behaviour. Ethics, on the other hand, are the inner guiding moral principles, values, and benefits that people use to analyze and interpret situations and then 195 decide what is right or the appropriate way to behave. To disambiguate, one may say that 196 ‘morality’ refers to the moral system, and ‘ethics’ to the actions relating to morals. Relatedly, work ethics refers to what constitutes good or bad human conduct, including related actions and values, within the context of doing one’s work. Indeed, the typical business environment is a minefield of ethical issues; meaning that people have no choice but to make decisions bordering on ethical values on a daily basis. Thus, the issues of ethics—or work ethics for that matter—and those of ethical dilemma goes hand-in-hand since people are often faced with tough choices in their work life. It has been established that organisations actually do themselves a favour whenever they behave ethically, as summed up in the saying: ‘to do business without concern to ethics is the 197 surest way to fail’. At the personal level, it has been found that practitioners with the moral management orientation are the ones most likely to voluntarily subscribe to high ethical standards, as opposed to those with immoral or amoral perspective on things. Workers with moral orientation are interested in performance and profits but would not pursue these at the expense of ethical expectations. 193 Nel, “Morality and Religion,” 35. 194 Fagothey, Ethics in theory and practice, 112. 195 Jones and George, Contemporary Management, 141. 196 Nel, “Morality and Religion,” 35. 197 A. Nilsson, and M. Westerberg, “Business Ethics and Systems Thinking,” Journal of Systems Practice Vol. 10, no.4 (1997): 25. 97 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Immoral workers, by comparison, see the law and ethical regulations as hindrances and are always on the lookout for opportunities to beat the system. Finally, the amoral person either 198 willfully or mistakenly excludes ethical considerations from their decision-making. The Christian perspective on the subject of work ethics is summed up in the idea that work is a divine injunction rather than a punishment on humanity; and that Old Testament principles on work ethics as is mediated by interpretations offered by Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, and other New Testament teachers constitutes the foundations of the Christian work ethics, especially the instruction that whether one is engaged in religious, social, or purely economic vocations, one ought to do it all as unto the Lord. Although professed Christians are the majority at the helm of affairs in the Ghanaian banking industry, the sector appears to be reeling under numerous ethical challenges. In taking a closer look at how ethical values are implemented in the banking industry, it came to light that corporate code of ethics has long been the predominant vehicle for institutionalizing 199 ethical principles in organizations. The code of ethics or codes of conduct are meant to move ethical theories from the philosophical realms into a set of simple guidelines that 200 personnel and directors can relate to in their day-to-day activities. GCB Bank’s code of ethics was found to have been built on a corporate values system called STARS, an acronym crafted to represent service, trust, action, relationships, and smiles. When these were evaluated against a six-point ‘universal’ ethical values system (namely, trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, citizenship) proposed by Schwartz, they were found to be largely compliant with global best practice. 198 Carroll, “Ethical Challenges for Business, 33-42. 199 Murphy, “Implementing Business Ethics,” 907-915. 200 Dean, “Making Code of ethics ‘Real’,” 285-290. 98 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In addition some specific codes of ethics in operation at GCB were reviewed. Some of these are (1) reporting to work on time and putting in diligent work, (2) ensuring their actions both in and outside the corporation should not bring the bank into disrepute, (3) refraining from speaking to the press on matters of the bank without seeking approval from management, (4) not engaging in any other private business or related businesses, (5) dressing in appropriate and modest ways, and (6) avoiding the disclose of any information about a customer except by law or management approval. Indeed, it is one thing distilling ethical values into a written code of ethics, and quite another getting the employees of the organization concerned to actually live by those ethics. Also, the real reason why one person willfully gets involved in ethical quagmire, while the other does not, lies in their moral character, and not in the differences between their economic situations or the institutional framework within which they operate. No wonder the GCB Bank faces such challenges with work ethics. The challenges include (1) too many employees working for the money, instead of conceiving of it as higher calling to serve God and humanity; leading to a lack of sense of urgency, and ultimately poor customer satisfaction; and (2) fraudulent practices, especially one that involves employees working with external collaborators to steal from the bank. 5.3 Summary of Main Findings A summary of the main findings of this research are organized with the research aim, objectives, and questions in mind, the findings below are outlined. One of the objectives of this study was to find out ways in which Christian bankers are guided by their moral values at the workplace. It was found that, if faced with ethical dilemma, only a quarter (25%) of Christian bankers would base their decisions on Christian 99 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh values. To explain, the results of this research shows that if confronted with ethical dilemma situations, Christian bankers employed in GCB Bank branches in and around the Tema metropolitan area would most likely have founded their decisions upon the bank’s code of ethics (40%) than on the basis of Christian values (25%), wisdom and experience (15%), culture and societal habits (12%), or upon family upbringing (8%). Also essential to this research is the issue of how the conditions of work take precedence over Christian ethics. To this end, the findings revealed that although the Christian work ethic happen to be the main motivating factor for ethics compliance of Christian workers at GCB Bank, more than two-thirds (specifically 69%) nevertheless indicate that if their religious principles should come into conflict with the company code of ethics, they would opt to obey the latter instead of to stick out their neck and get caught on the wrong side of the corporate regulations. Another topical issue has to do with learning about the attitudes of Christians towards work at GCB Bank Limited. Data from the survey conducted had it that whereas 43% conceives of their work at the bank as a job, 41% perceive it as a calling, and 16% think they are into a career. According to the literature reviewed, those who view their work as a higher calling are the most enthusiastic, dedicated, and altruistic about what they do. Unfortunately this category forms less than half (41%) the workers in GCB branches in and around Tema. On the contrary, the highest proportion (43%) says they are into a job; with the implication that they are working mainly for the money. Although only 16% claim they see themselves as being in a career—meaning they are striving to do well in their current roles only because it might open the door to their desired positions up the corporate ladder—an earlier analysis suggest this category may actually constitute a higher proportion of respondents. 100 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The result of a combination of all the above factors, as stated elsewhere in this work, is that too many GCB employees are working for the money and for personal professional development, instead of doing so in service to God and humanity. This attitude has led to a lack of sense of urgency, and ultimately to poor customer satisfaction. There is also the issue of what motivates ethics compliance among Christian bankers. As to what provides the greatest motivation for ethics compliance, 45% of respondents opted for Christian ethics as the most likely motivating factor; while 34% cited the bank’s code of ethics, and 21% opted for personal principles. In view of this, if the Christian worker in GCB is going to behave ethically, they will do so first and foremost because of their Christian beliefs; before they even consider the need to obey bank code of ethics, and then personal principles, in that order. In analyzing the results above, there is conflict between the respondents (45%) who stated that their greatest motivation for ethics compliance are Christian ethics, though this is in conflict with their earlier statement where 40% of the respondents agreed that their ethics compliance is founded on Company’s code of ethics, probably this may have arisen based on the way the two set of questions were asked. However, majority of the respondents posited that when their Christian ethics is in conflict with the Company’s code they will rather obey the company’s code of ethics. Curiously, some discrepant outputs were recorded from parts of the questionnaire that dealt with the job-career-calling construct. There has been a worrying trend from the results of the survey to the effect that inconsistent results were generated from some aspects of the job- career-calling construct. For example, although 16% of respondents tag themselves as perceiving their work as a career, the reality is that 94% indicated elsewhere that they did not expect to be in their current job five years from now. Similarly, 75% had earlier said they saw 101 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh their current jobs as a stepping stone to other jobs. Comparing the 94% (who indicated that they did not expect to be in their current job five years from now) and 75% who are effectively looking elsewhere, against the 16% saying they see their work as a career, suggest that something may have gone amiss. How can someone regard a certain type of work or profession as their career and still be rearing to move away from it? Perhaps, the apparent contradiction may result from an over-generalization of the job-career-calling theory, a case of respondents trying to give ‘politically-correct’ answers in at least some cases. 5.4 Suggestions and Recommendations Finally, this research winds up with recommendations that should hopefully help individual bankers, bank managers, banking institutions, as well as other industries and professionals outside of banking, to straighten their ethical acts and bring about higher ethics compliance; especially for those who profess affiliation to Christianity. 1. Given that loyalty to corporate code of ethics has been found to override the diktats of the Christian work ethics for most Christian bankers, corporate organisations who desire particular aspects of Christian religious principles on work should incorporate those values into their corporate code of ethics. This recommendation is especially valuable since the information gathered indicate a propensity for some workers to venture into any unethical behaviour they believe they could get away with, although these are in the minority. 2. According to Murphy, when describing the characteristic of code of ethics, asserts that a company’s code of ethics should be a public document, in the sense that if a 102 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh code is worth developing, then it is worth sharing with customers, suppliers, other stockholders, so everyone would know what to expect or not to expect. GCB Bank Limited code of ethics cannot be assessed by the public because it includes workers’ conditions of service. It is recommended that the bank’s code of ethics be made available to the public so the public may hold them accountable. 3. Apart from codifying principles of the Christian work ethics into company regulations, it may be helpful to create innovative forums, without sermonizing, for sensitizing staff about the virtues of the said Christian ethical values. This will be very useful to at least those Christians who concede, as proven by this research, that they do not know that the Bible prescribes principles on work ethics. These forums may also include further education on customer care issues since this is an area that seems to be lacking a lot. 4. Organisations need to do more to educate their members on copyright issues in relation to electronic products such as software and electronic files, as this appears to be an area of ethics compliance that most Christian workers appear not to have taken seriously. 5. Further research needs to be conducted in the area of using statistical models to verify and possibly fine-tune the job-career-calling construct of contextualizing work ethics orientation, since its use in this research appears to be producing conflicting results. This situation may have resulted from inaccurate description of the characteristics associated with each dimension, or with respondents trying to sound politically 103 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh correct. Since the exact reason is not yet known, a statistical modelling method such as structural equation modeling may help to explain the discrepancy. 104 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh BIBLIOGRAPHY Adeyemo, K. 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Towards the next 60 Years: A Partner Guide to your new GCB (2014): 1-16. 110 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh APPENDICES The University of Ghana Department for the study of Religions Work Ethics among Christian Workers in GCB Bank Limited in the Tema Municipality Questionnaire Respondents’ information: GCB Branch: ………………………………… Sex: Male □ Female □ How long have you worked in GCB Bank? 0-5 years □ 5-10 years □ 15- 20 years □ 30 years and over □ How long have you worked in your current branch? 0-5 years □ 5-10 years □ 15- 20 years □ 30 years and over □ Religious affiliation: Christian□ Muslim □ Traditionalist□ Hindu □ Buddhist □ Others □ If a Christian, Name of Church: ……………………………………………………………….. Section A. (Work as Carrier, Job, Calling) Please Tick √ the statement applicable to you 1. I find my work rewarding and fulfilling. Yes □ No □ 2. I am eager to resign or change job. Yes □ No □ 3. I am very conscious of what day of the work week it is and I greatly anticipate weekends. Yes □ No □ 4. On Fridays I say, ‘‘Thank God it’s Friday!’’ Yes □ No □ 5. I tend to take my work with me on vacations. Yes □ No □ 6. I expect to be in a higher level job in five years. Yes □ No □ 7. I would choose my current work again if I had the opportunity. Yes □ No □ 8. I feel am in control of my work life. Yes □ No □ 9. I enjoy talking about my work to others. Yes □ No □ 111 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 10. I view my job primarily as a stepping stone to other jobs. Yes □ No □ 11. My primary reason for working is financial—to support my family and to enhance lifestyle. Yes □ No □ 12. I expect to be doing the same work in five years. Yes □ No □ 13. If I were financially secure, I would continue with my current line of work. Yes □ No □ 14. If I were no longer paid, I would still continue with my current line of work. Yes □ No □ 15. When I am not at work, I do not think much about my work. Yes □ No □ Section B. (The Christian and Work Life) Please Tick √ the statement applicable to you 1. Have you heard or learned the application of Biblical principles to everyday work issues? Yes □ No □ If Yes, through which mode? Sermon □ Read a book □ Listened to a tape □ Seminar □ 2. How should the Christian view his or her work? Duty to Employer □ Calling of God □ Profession to make a living □ 3. How should the Christian worker behave at the workplace? Comply with Companies ethical codes □ Give premium to Christian Ethics □ 4. Should the Christian worker enjoy his or her profession even when the salary is not sufficient? Yes □ No □ 5. Do you agree that pastors are doing the work of God which is spiritual and what lay people do at the place of work is not the work of God? Yes □ No □ 6. What will you do when your superior asks you to do something which is against your Christian values and principles? Comply □ Refuse □ 7. What motivates your work ethic compliance? Companies code of Ethics □ Christian Ethics □ Personal Principles □ 8. What informs your moral Judgment of right and wrong? Christian Ethics □ Company’s Code of Ethics □ Others: Specify ……………………………. 9. How do you feel when you break your company’s code of ethics? □Very bad and regretful □Not bad since everyone breaks it □ It is part of life once nobody finds out it is ok 112 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 10. Do you agree with the statement that “When you are in Rome, do what the Romans do.”? Yes □ No □ Section C. (Ethical Behaviour in Practice) Please Tick √ the statement applicable to you 1. A person can be good or bad if he/she doesn’t follow any religion? Agree □ Disagree □ Uncertain □ 2. On what do you base your decision that something at work is right or wrong? Banks regulations and laws □ Culture and Society habits □ Family upbringing □ wisdom and Experience □ religious values □ 3. Will you inform the customer if your company commits an error against his/her favour? Yes □ No □ Uncertain □ 4. A person’s religious values should govern his/her work behaviour even if they are different from those of work values. Agree □ Disagree □ Uncertain □ 5. The stricter the bank regulations are, the more ethically the employees will behave. Agree □ Disagree □ Uncertain □ Section D. (Some Cases) Please Tick √ the statement applicable to you Case One: Assume your bank has purchased a computer software Programme for your banking activities from a software company. A friend in another bank wants to use it and asked if he could make a copy for business use. Making such a copy raises no ethical concern? Agree □ Disagree □ Uncertain □ Case Two: Assume you found out that your superior is stealing money from the bank/ client and he/she has offered you a part of the stolen money in order to keep quiet, would you accept the money? Yes □ No □ Uncertain □ 113 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Case Three: Assume your family member is your subordinate in a bank, and you found out that he was sharing confidential information with a competitor, would you terminate his job? Yes □ No □ Uncertain □ 114