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International Conference on Leading beyond the Horizon: Engaging the Future (ICLBH-2011), 28 – 30 July 2011 at Annamalai University, India.

Business Ethics for the Hour

de Run, Ernest Cyril Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

It is inevitable that when we discuss business and ethics, many will say this is an oxymoron statement. Both are contradictory to each other. The perception that a business is never ethical is perpetuated by various stories, in the media and the grapevine, of various unethical dealings by businessmen. The wealth accumulated by businesses can never be really be obtained by an ethical manner, is the implication of such stories. Nevertheless, the issue at hand is not wealth but rather ethics. Then the question arises as to what is ethics? Simply put, it is a branch of philosophy that looks at morality, what is good and what is bad. But what is good and what is bad differs from person to person, ethnic group to other ethnic group, nation to nation. The study of ethics in itself has many branches; meta ethics on theoretical meaning of moral propositions, normative ethics on practical means of morality, applied ethics on how moral outcomes can be achieved, moral psychology on how moral develops and descriptive ethics on what moral values people actually do. The ethics of the Greeks was simple and to the point. Hedonism or the maximization of pleasure, Cyrenaic hedonism or the immediate gratification of pleasure, Epicureanism or the notion that indiscriminate indulgence is not good and Stoicism on the fact that the greatest good was contentment and serenity. Modern ethics include the likes of Consequentialism, Utilitarian, Deontological and Pragmatic ethics. Articles in the press on India seem to suggest that there is an absence of ethics in public space in India (Visvanathan, 2010). Nevertheless India has a strong ethical culture based on its religion. Indians per se have a long and Indian led set of ethics, contained in the Vedas. They are the Rta, the law of good or the Eternal Law, and Satya, truth. God is Ritavaan, the upholder of the Eternal Order, and He is Satya-dhama, the One for whom truth is the law of being. Anyone who acts in accordance with the law of truth and the law of Eternal Order is 'good' (Anonymous, n.d.). Indian business culture places a premium on favors, friendship and clanship. Friendship is highly valued, whether based on multigenerational family friendships, school friendships or personal friendships (Steen, 2007). The question is therefore not what ethics is there but rather how should one act. What ethics is for Indian and Indians has already been there and will always be there. How one should act now refers to normative and professional ethics. Any effective professional codes of ethics to be enforced must meet four criteria. They are: regulated, enforceable, specify behavior and protect. The questions asked here is more on how ought to one act in a certain situation.

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It is here that I wish to propose something different. In most cases, when one faces an ethical situation, the question we ask ourselves is “Can I…?” This type of question allows for only two possible answers, yes or no. Can I stab the back of my colleague in order to gain promotion? The answer is only either a yes or a no. Sometimes, when it is no, we still find ways or opportunities in the future to get a yes answer. Another question, Can I cheat my clients? Again, the answer is either yes or no. When one ask such a question upon facing an ethical dilemma, it opens us to further issues of morality (remember that ethics is basically a question of good versus bad). So instead of asking the question “can,” I would suggest the use of the question “should.” When one ask’s the question should, the answer is never a direct yes or no. It demands a further investigation, more than yes or no. Should I stab the back of my colleague in order to gain promotion? The answer now is not a simple yes or no but it forces us to think further and deeper, allowing for the roots of culture and perhaps religion to work into our consideration set and decision making tools. Another question, Should I cheat my clients will certainly have a different answer now. As an Indian in India, I am sure you have a set of ethics that is set in your history, culture and religion. The pertinent question to businesses on the issue of ethics is not whether they have ethics or not, because they do, but how do businesses see and practice ethics. I strongly suggest the use of “should” rather than “can” and perhaps we will see more ethical decisions in business. Reference Anonymous (n.d). The Ethical Values. Indian History. Retrieved on 07 July 2011 from http://www.indiavisitinformation.com/Indian-History/Ethical-Values-India.shtml Steen, Margaret (2007). Business Ethics in a Global World: India's Changing Ethics. Retrieved on 07 July 2011 from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/business/conference/2007/presentations/sheth.html Visvanathan, Shiv (2010). India’s crisis of ethics. The Asian Age. Retrieved on 7 July 2011 from http://www.asianage.com/columnists/india%E2%80%99s-crisis-ethics-599