MEMORIES OF SHERATON: Echoes of vanishing bags and broken ethics by Remmy Nweke - WeekendDigits@ITREALMS

It is often said that lightning does not strike the same spot twice. But when it comes to the loss of personal property within the seemingly secure, high-class ambiance of top-tier event venues in Lagos, history has a painful way of repeating itself; leaving behind not just lost items, but a lingering ache over the steady erosion of professional ethics and basic human decency.

My first encounter with this quiet epidemic occurred years ago during a high-profile media event at the Sheraton Hotel Ikeja-Lagos.

Bokku Mart Ad scandal: Ethics, stereotypes, and price of digital influence - Editorial@ITREALMS

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The recent Bokku Mart advertisement scandal is yet another reminder of how easily the digital space can amplify insensitivity when ethics take the backseat to engagement. 

What began as a seemingly harmless promotional video quickly spiraled into a national debate on ethnic stereotyping, brand responsibility, and the moral limits of influencer marketing in Nigeria’s digital age.

Bode George urges online publishers to tackle fake news and uphold journalism ethics - ITREALMS

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A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has charged members of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) to take the lead in clearing the obstacles facing journalism, particularly the menace of fake news and unprofessional conduct among impostors in the industry.

Chief George gave this charge during the 9th Annual Conference of GOCOP, held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, with the theme: “Reconciling Campaign Promises with Governance Realities: Challenges and Prospects.”

Nigeria media adopts new co-regulation, code of ethics - ITREALMS

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The Nigerian media industry has adopted the new co-regulation and code of ethics to address ethical and professional concerns in the industry.

The decision was reached at the end of a media roundtable organised on Monday, November 14 by the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) in conjunction with the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP).

Media chiefs and operators at the roundtable also noted that the success of the co-regulation would be achieved via a workable enforcement mechanism.

NCC celebrates dedication, outstanding ethics as Jerry Ugwu retires - ITREALMS

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It was a commendation galore as the Deputy Director, Legal and Regulatory Services Department of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Mr. Jerry Ugwu retires after attaining the age of 60, reports ITREALMS.

Leading the commendations was the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta and other staff of the Commission, have commended the dedication, hard work and outstanding work ethics demonstrated by Jerry Ugwu, a Deputy Director, who recently retired from the service of the Commission.

Fair pay ethics: Age a defining factor - PwC

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The latest report on ‘The ethics of pay in a fair society: what do executives think’ has shown that age has a lot to do around with fair pay in a society, reports ITRealms.

According to PwC’s latest survey and report, there is a significant inter-generational difference of opinion when it comes to fair pay and what constitutes ethical behaviour around pay, with the younger population wanting stronger protection for the less well-off, compared to the older generation who are more likely to put faith in the effectiveness of market outcomes to create a fairer society.

The analysis, ITRealms gathered was completed in partnership with the London School of Economics, included a survey of 1,123 executives around the world, which showed that the data is remarkably consistent across a range of demographic factors such as gender, territory and earnings level.

In addition, the study says, age was one significant differentiator, with those under 40 who were surveyed far more likely to believe that distribution of wealth should lead to moral outcomes, with all members of society receiving an income that is sufficient for them to lead a dignified life.

By contrast, the over 50s believe talented people deserve to receive income in line with their contribution and that market efficiency is important in determining how income should be allocated.

For Advisory leader, PwC Nigeria, Dr Bert Odiaka, “Fairness is a morally and politically loaded term and means different things to different people. But questions about fairness, and the role companies have to play in this, are not going away any time soon.

Demographic factors generally do not predict attitudes to fairness. But the major exception to this is age, with our survey revealing almost 50% of over-65s identified themselves most strongly with pro-market principles, while less than a third of under 35s did the same.

Also, he said, the findings demonstrated that there is no single catch-all principle.

“Views of distributive justice are multidimensional and complex. There is much more to fairness than equality. Companies must therefore develop a much fuller narrative on what they mean by fairness and how they are delivering on that for employees, or risk the debate being hijacked by a one-dimensional view of fairness based on pay ratios,” Odiaka said.

Those surveyed, he pointed out, also did not subscribe to the view that the role of companies is to make money and of the state to redistribute it.

Instead, they thought that companies have a broadly equal responsibility in providing a fair pay structure among their employees. Companies are seen not to live outside of, but to be very much a part of, society and are expected to act justly.

But companies, as well as societies, are not always living up to people’s hopes of them. Typically a quarter to a third of people surveyed feel that companies are not delivering principles of fairness that they deem to be important.

For example, the principle around equal opportunity, where market competition is seen as fair game, so long as there is a level playing field, was the principle where there was the biggest gap between aspiration and reality. 40 per cent of respondents consider equal opportunity to be important but they did not consider the principle to be implemented in their society.

The Associate Director and Head People & Organisation PwC Nigeria, Olusola Adewole, said of the study that “There is a tricky balance to strike. Markets matter and companies that ignore the pay rates set by the market risk becoming uncompetitive in terms of cost or quality of talent. But at the same time, how companies operate across the developed world is being challenged, and will become more so as automation takes its course.

“Fair pay and the ethics behind it, is an important part of rebuilding trust in business. But there is also an opportunity to create a more engaged workforce with benefits for long-term value and productivity. Companies should therefore consider their perspectives on this debate and look to figure out exactly what fairness means for them.”

Nonye Dom/GEE

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