ABSTRACT
Gaps plague even the best organizations. Gaps can run between the organization as it actually is and the face it paints out front for the public, between what it says and what it does, between expense reports and the amount spent (and how it was spent), between the income reported on tax forms and the money actually taken in, between the minutes of a meeting and what in fact happened at the meeting, between the documented reasons for promotions and firings and the real reasons, between heavily promoted policies of transparency and what is kept hidden, between representing products or services as safe and the actual risks, and on and on and on. A second step to strengthen ethics in an organization and the individuals who make up the organization is to look for the gaps so that they can be closed. This step often leads us through conflicting values, standards, needs, goals, influences, and perspectives. This chapter discusses both the research on and the practicalities of noticing and closing gaps.
