Motivating moral corporate behavior

Abstract

Although companies are institutionalizing ethics, ethical infractions continue unceasingly, causing questions as to where ethical emphasis is going awry. Suggests that businesspeople need not only the intellect but also the will to do the right thing in the face of temptation. Proposes several reasons why businesspeople should want to take the moral high road, including the fact that usually ethical behavior proves to be profitable in the long run. However, such a pragmatic consideration is not sufficient to motivate a person of ethical character. The ethical person chooses the moral course of action regardless of personal sacrifice. It is such virtuous people that business leaders should be hiring and cultivating in ethical mentoring and training which instills an absolutist (not relativist) philosophy and reinforces the importance of willpower. Uses an advertising case study to illustrate how common ethical fallacies can be uncovered and dispelled among employees.