Conflict vs. Compliance vs. Commitment

I recently read a book that talked about conflict, compliance and commitment. It is an interesting spectrum and one that can be useful and relevant to ethics and compliance.

Organizations sometimes see conflict with the standards and values they are required to meet or otherwise set for themselves – essentially when people don’t, won’t or can’t comply with the standards/values for whatever reason. This is the equivalent of a “fail” in a “pass/fail” exam. The expected standards are not being met.

Most organizations aim for compliance with the standards and values they are required to meet or otherwise set for themselves. Compliance is not a bad thing if the standard set is high enough or meeting the standard is considered enough, but often compliance means that the minimum is done to meet or pass the standard. This is the equivalent of a “pass” in a “pass/fail” exam.

Commitment is the ideal level of engagement and organizations should aim to have a culture that is based on a commitment to integrity. When you have a commitment to integrity, people are not motivated to do the minimum but instead pursue integrity as an objective and purpose. This is the equivalent of an “A+” in an exam.

Does your organization prioritize conflict, compliance or a commitment to integrity? Is your Ethics and Integrity program focused only on compliance or pursuing a commitment to integrity?