Th Ethics of Giving Criticism

Originally submitted by: Praise Sandwiches are for Picnics

The capstone speaker at the Eastern Michigan College of Business Ethos Week was Dr. Bruce Weinstein aka "The Ethics Guy." Dr. Weinstein offered some gems and memorable lines at his talk last Friday. Part of his professional persona is based on his giving advice about ethical quandaries to business and working people through his column on BusinessWeek.com. Yet, I need some advice...on his advice. The Ethics Guy gave some tips on the common problem of issuing criticism to colleagues and subordinates. He suggested using what he called, "The Praise Sandwich." The "Praise Sandwich" involves three actions: 1. The critic should offer a compliment first. This compliment must be sincere. 2. The critic phrases the criticism through deflection and should not be accusatory. Specifically, the critic uses the word "I" rather than "You." So, for example, the critic should say something like, "I have been looking at your work and find that it is not as thorough or well-researched as the task requires..." Rather than the more direct, "You do not do very thorough and well-researched work..." (Note this is my example and not The Ethics Guy's; it is also not an ethics example, and purposefully so, as you will see below.) 3. The critic must make sure the colleague or subordinate clearly understands the particular criticism is meant to be useful and helpful to him or her. First, I admit that this approach to criticism is not all that useful or helpful to me. The main issue is that it seems as if there is no distinction between criticizing a quality lapse that may not have ethical dimensions and an actual ethical lapse. Second, I may just be confused, because in the talk, The Ethics Guy seemed to imply that this "praise sandwich" approach to criticizing a colleague or subordinate (though that wasn't clear either), can be used for any manner and type of lapse. For example, in the talk, the "praise sandwich" approach seemed to be successful in clearing up a confidentiality breach, which truly is an ethical lapse. It seems to me, however, that ethical lapses require a different kind of critique. It is not the kind of lapse that can be covered with honey first. People see through this quickly, because the critic does seem insincere, no matter what the praise is. In my experience, uncovering ethical lapses and then criticizing a colleague or subordinate for them lead to anger and shielding behaviors. Finally, the "praise sandwich" approach doesn't address the question of how to criticize a boss, especially when the boss has committed an ethical lapse. Do you have any other ideas to offer about dealing with an ethical lapse you have discovered by a colleague or subordinate? Do you have any ideas about how to go about meaningfully criticizing a boss who has engaged in an ethical lapse in your working environment?