Often, it's not what you do. It's how you do it.

Ethics is a tough subject to discuss, because it is so subjective. What is ethical to one person may seem unethical to another. To further complicate things, ethics in one culture may be viewed very differently by a neighboring culture.

In business, ethics is often overshadowed by the relentless focus to build market share and increase profitability. Companies and governments sometimes look the other way when it comes to business ethics. But for those who design and manufacture printed circuit boards, that may be about to change.

I believe 2006 may be THE year for ethics, especially for our industry. Events are coming together that will result in a company's ethics having a profound impact on its success - or ultimate demise - in the global economy. The three most significant events include:

1. Differentiating where a design or product is made vs. where you say/imply it is made. A few short years ago many customers would draw a line in the sand, stating, "I only want domestic product" or "I don't care where the design or product is made." Today, some customers have legal documentation specifying which country can - or cannot - produce design work or product. Other customers will say simply, "Get me the best for the lowest cost regardless of location of origin." Still others will say nothing to their suppliers but in fact may have restrictions/guidelines they need to conform to.

This opens up a big ethics question: What do you tell your customers about the origin of your work? There have been rumors for years of companies telling customers that a product brokered from a foreign source was made in the U.S. It is also rumored that some companies won't even tell their customers where they design or produce product. As the acceptance of a global supply base becomes commonplace, the ethics of disclosing a product's origin becomes more important than ever.

I believe companies that are completely up-front about how they do business will earn respect and reap the sales benefit from many customers. By being up-front, the field sales people need to explain where product is made and under what circumstances before asking for a quotation. Inside staff who quote jobs need to know if the specific customer has any specifications that require or prevent domestic or offshore manufacturing. Suppliers must be proactive to insure that their customers are quoted honestly.

2. Knowing the end-user of a design or product. This is possibly the most unsung ethics issue. Your customer says he is building something that will eventually be used for a military or national security application. Because it's in prototype stage the customer does not specify MIL certification or other requirements, but you believe that the final revision will end up in the type of sensitive application that typically is MIL-certified. Plus, the customer might even say that the board will never need MIL certification, even in production. Do you just quote the job using your regular offshore source or do you ask the customer?

Some fabricators will not quote such jobs if they cannot produce the job in the U.S., because they take national security seriously. Equally, many companies will quote such a job regardless because they want the order. For foreign companies the challenge is even greater, as they may not know the identity of - much less understand the needs of - the end-user. What is in their best interest may be at ethical odds with what is in the end-customer's best interest.

The ethical solution is full disclosure and, if you have any concern, written authorization to take the job offshore. More specifically, if you cannot get a customer to authorize offshore work, then maybe you have an ethical obligation to pass on the assignment.

3. RoHS. Regardless of what you think of the politics or science behind the legislation, you have to applaud its intent - improving the environment. The problem is that science (or lack thereof) has created many alternative scenarios that in many cases do not work well. For designers and OEMs it is easy to push compliance off on the supplier, whether that be an assembler or fabricator, by simply adding a line to the purchase order that says "All orders must be RoHS-compliant." The same is true between assembler and fabricator. It is easy to point the finger at the other guy and ask or demand that the job in question comply. However, it takes the entire supply chain working in concert to insure true compliance.

We all need to think about communicating honestly with customers about what can and cannot be done and, if there is a material selection or design issue, have the customer make the ultimate decision as to how to proceed. This is especially important when you're tempted to quote or accept an application when you are not really comfortable that you can comply. Likewise if the customer has let you make a key decision when you have no idea where or how the board will be used and/or assembled.

Yes, 2006 promises to be a big year - one that will push our technical limits, stress our ability to control costs while providing value and challenge our commitment to business ethics. This year, how we do our jobs may be more important than what we do. PCD&M

Peter Bigelow is president and CEO of IMI (www.imipcb.com). He can be reached at pbigelow@imipcb.com.