Understanding what happens between knowing what is right and actually doing it
Most ethics training begins with the assumption that unethical behaviour results from not understanding ethical principles. In practice, people who know the rules can still make poor decisions.
This session explores the less obvious factors that can influence ethical behaviour: pressure, rationalisation, competing priorities, self-interest, loyalty, fear of consequences, gradual compromise and the stories we tell ourselves to make uncomfortable decisions feel acceptable.
For younger professionals, this is an important shift. Instead of teaching ethics as a subject about “bad people doing bad things”, we help trainees recognise that ethical vulnerability is human — and therefore needs to be actively managed.
Real developmental issue
The developmental challenge is ethical self-awareness.
Can the trainee recognise when their own thinking, emotions, interests or circumstances may be pulling them away from their values?
This could arise in something as ordinary as understating time, avoiding disclosure of a mistake, accepting an explanation because challenging it would create more work, or telling a manager what they want to hear.
SAICA specifically links personal ethics to honesty, integrity, accountability and trustworthiness, and gives examples including accurate time recording, accepting responsibility for mistakes and giving truthful feedback when work is not progressing well.
SAICA competency connection
SAICA's ethical-reasoning outcome requires trainees to identify threats, analyse possible courses of action and their consequences, select an appropriate response and escalate where necessary.
This session includes:
Why a Training Officer would choose this session
It helps move ethics from “I know the principle” to “I understand myself well enough to recognise when the principle is becoming difficult to apply.”
