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Q1>WHEN DO CORPORATE ETHICS COME INTO PLAY IN THE CASE OF S ADHU ?

Q2>WHICH CORPORATE ETHICS COMES INTO PLAY ?

For McCoy (1997, p. 64), the lesson of the Sadhu is that without corporate support, the individual islost. Says McCoy, “In a complex corporate situation, the individual requires and deserves the support

of the group.” (p. 64) There is, I believe, a difference between the ad hoc group hiking to the mountain

summit – four disparate groups who happen to be on the mountain at the same time – and a true

group or team, an intentional organization. In McCoy's scenario, there is no leader. There are guides,

professionals who know the mountain, but they are not leaders of the entire group. There are likely 

formal or informal leaders within each national team, but there is no single person recognized as the

overarching leader. And, perhaps understandably, no one steps forward. They are travelers headed in

the same direction, voyagers with the same destination, but their coalition is not a coalition; merely 

coincidently do they travel together that early morning. To judge them against a notion of corporate

responsibility or leadership is heavy handed. Where we dealing with a corporate – as in collective – 

group, the situation would be different.

 We expect groups created intentionally – be it a club, a team, a corporation, an organization, or a

community – to have shared values, to have a shared sense of purpose, and to have formal and

informal leaders. As McCoy (1997) tells us, “It is management's challenge to be sensitive to individual

needs, to shape them, and to direct and focus them for the benefit of the group as a whole.” (p. 64) It

is not our role to change the values of a group, but then it is also not our role to remain a part of a

group whose values are in conflict with our own. McCoy asks “When do we take a stand?” (p. 60) For

him, this is the basic question of the case. Our own values, our own moral principles must align withthe organization's values and moral principles. McCoy writes,

 We cannot quit our jobs over every ethical dilemma, but if we continually ignore our sense of values,

 who do we become? As a journalist asked at a recent conference on ethics, "Which ditch are we willing

to die in?" For each of us, the answer is a bit different. How we act in response to that question defines

 better than anything else who we are, just as, in a collective sense, our acts define our institutions. In

effect, the Sadhu is always there, ready to remind us of the tensions between our own goals and the

claims of strangers. (p. 60)

 When we come upon a ditch we are willing to die in, it is time to dig in and attempt to change the values of the group. The question remains: how can we change the values of a group? Harter,Edwards, McClanahan, Hopson, and Carson-Stern (2004) suggest success in using “feministprinciples of organizing as a backdrop” in changing values of individuals and groups. Barlow, Jordan,and Hendrix (2003) offer a focus on character as key in moral development of individuals within agroup. Campbell and Dardis (2004) would join Barlow, Jordan, and Hendrix in relying on shared values as fundamental within any group. Humphreys, Weyant, and Sprague (2003) suggest leader behavior and follower commitment play a large role in organizational commitment, includingadjusting values which drive choices. In short, there are a multitude of approaches a person can take.One key element in impacting the value structure of a group is the role the individual plays. A leadercan approach a values discussion with more ease then a group member or subordinate. Key in any change attempt, however, is a need for the agent of change to act in alignment with the values. Actionsand behaviors must align with values. When a leader or a group member's actions are not inalignment with stated values, their credibility becomes nil and their impact on positive change falls

dramatically. This is, perhaps, the most important lesson for anyone who wants to take responsibility 

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to change the values of a group: let actions speak as loud as words.

In McCoy's (1997) parable, Stephen acts in alignment with his values, at least so far as he is physically 

able. For him, the ethical purpose, principle, and consequence is clear, and he works not only 

conversationally, but through action, to attempt to bring the group around to his way of thinking.

 When he realizes he will not change the group's value system, he does what he can for the Sadhu and

then heads up the mountain, following his lifeline carried on the backs of Sherpas and porters.

In the “Parable of the Sadhu,” McCoy (1997) offers up a tale which provides a purposely ambiguous

story, allowing for ample discussion about the ethical decisions made and not made by the characters.

(p. 60) Knowing one's greater purpose and role in life, aligning actions to a that purpose and moral

principles, and performing actions which create the best positive consequences, are all important

decision points in the Sadhu story. And, they are important in real life, also, providing a framework for

each of us in our personal and corporate life.