Business Ethics Pays: A Modern Approach

Abstract

Published in Oil & Gas Executive, Volume 1, Number 2, 1998, pages 46-51. Ethics is a branch of philosophy dealing with moral behavior. It can be controversial. Philosopher Benedict Spinoza (1632-77), for example, stated that "belief in God motivates people to behave ethically," while philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) argued that "Atheism motivates people to behave ethically" (Ethics, Carol Wekesser, Greenhaven Press, 1995). But despite such divergent views and cultural differences, transcending, universally accepted standards of ethical behavior do exist. The often-quoted statement of Jesus in the New Testament, "…do to others what you would have them do to you…," has similar counterparts intexts of rabbinical Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. The tenet also can be found in ancient Greek and Roman writings. Different views exist on the role of ethics in business. Peter Pratley in The Essence of Business Ethics(Prentice-Hall, 1995) describes three common views of how business relates to the community. The premodern unitarian view is that business is in unity with society and should have social welfare as a prime consideration. The separationist view is that business is entirely separate from the community, with "profit at any price" the motive. The integrationist view is that business and society integrate on matters of mutual interest for mutual benefit. These divergent views are all at work at any one time and, with professional ethics, play major roles in commerce. Community-Oriented Businesses Fig. 1 illustrates the unitarian interaction of business and community. The fragmented spheres of people, business, and institutions in modern society are inside the bounds of community moral standards and accountability. The utilitarian entrepreneurs of some nonprofit service organizations and other groups, such as consumer rights and certain environmental organizations, hold this view. They contend that business and institutions should be held to the same standards of conduct as individuals. Management guru Peter Drucker recognized two nonprofit organizations as models of success at a November 1997national conference on leadership. One of the two, The Samaritan Inst., an interfaith health-care network founded 25 years ago, is an example of an organization operating in unity with the community.