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The Necessity Of Ethics In Business Ours is a business-centered society. “No group in America is more influential than businessmen” (Baumhart xv). Their influence, for good or evil, enters every life and every home many times each day. If this influence is good, the nation is strengthened; if it is evil, the nation is weakened. Obviously, the myriad decisions of businessmen will significantly determine our national health; ethical, as well as economic. “Business ethics are discussed not only in board rooms, but at dinner tables, in university faculty rooms and on the floor of Congress” (Garrett 1). Many, especially the impressionable young, imitate the mores and manners of successful businessmen. How important are business ethics? In what ways are business ethics defined? The ethical standards of businesses shape America and are key to a business’ functioning. Ethics are the backbone of American industry, well, they should be. Whether an organization has good or bad ethical standards, ethics is an issue for all people. “Ethical problems arise not only from the difficulties experienced in making a valid moral judgment, but also from practical obstacles to the execution of even a correct decision” (Pastin 1). Often, it is harder to go through with a morally correct decision even though you know it is the right thing to do. More often than not, the temptation to take the easy way out is overwhelming. There are many definitions of ethics, but, according to author Herbert Johnston, ethics is concerned with two things: human conduct and what ought to be done (Johnston 1-2). It also involves people’s perceptions about what “should” be done. People have duties to do what is right and to not hurt other people. More or less, ethics involve obligations. Johnston also defines ethics as “ a practical, philosophical science by which we may reach conclusions concerning the rightness or wrongness of voluntary acts as related to our last end” (Johnston 25). Johnston is saying that ethics are judgments based on society’s set moral standards that result in good outcomes or bad outcomes, depending on the goodness or badness of the judgment. More specifically, business ethics are an attempt to develop and apply basic principles in the area of human economic relations (McLennen 5). With the definition of ethics now clarified, the reasons for being ethical arise. Why do/should businessmen act ethically? Based on Ray Baumhart’s 1998survey of 1,031 businessmen, the most influential incentive for being ethical was a man’s personal code of behavior. Most people are ethical because of what they believe to be right. Most people want to take the credit for doing the right thing when they will be recognized or even rewarded. The true test is seeing what people do when no one is looking. The following list are the other top 5 choices in descending order of importance to the surveyed businessmen: 2. formal company policy, 3. the behavior of a man’s superiors, 4. the ethical climate of the industry, and 5. the behavior of a man’s equals in the company (Weaver 97). From these rankings, it appears that when a businessman acts ethically, he attributes it to his own ability to resist pressure and temptation, with some credit due to his superiors and the company policy. People want the reputation of being ethical. They feel like they are a good person if they are known as being ethically good. On the other hand, the human reluctance to blame oneself for ethical failings helps to explain why our respondents [to the survey] rank personal financial needs as least important of the five factors influencing unethical behavior (Baumhart 46). (See chart on page 10) In some instances, people believe “good business is good ethics” (Lewis 48). Of those Baumhart surveyed, 98% believed that “sound ethics is good business in the long run.” However, after being questioned further, and when defining “good business” as maximized profit, then most disagreed that “good business is good ethics.” They stated that good ethics are not going to bring in maximized profit. Others argued that “you can catch more bees with honey than with vinegar.” This study leads one to conclude that businessmen are only ethical to make themselves look good and “all is fair” when it comes to making a dollar. The popular image of today’s American businessmen includes the notion that they are relatively unethical. The standard consensus seems to think that “most businessmen will do anything, honest or not, for a buck” (Wong 17). An overwhelming 77% regarded business as a “dog-eat-dog proposition.” The sources of this popular image of businessmen are, of course, personal experience, but also, the stereotype is produced by communications media (television, radio, daily newspapers, and weekly magazines), plays, movies, and political speeches. Unfortunately for businessmen, their wrongdoings and shortcomings are what most often make the news. This negative press gives the overall impression that businessmen are unethical. Are they really unethical, or are they just getting the bad end of the deal due to negative press? According to Sal Marino’s study, the results are bittersweet. Although the majority of those interviewed said they had never been propositioned to do anything unethical at work, a relatively high percent of those who had been propositioned had indeed done the dirty deed that they were asked to do. Marino made the following comment on the results of his study: The good news is that seventy-six per cent of the respondents said that they had never been asked (or ordered) to do anything they considered unethical pertaining to work. The bad news is that twenty-four per cent confessed that they have been asked (or ordered) to do something that they considered unethical. And the really bad news is that forty-one of those asked eventually did the dastardly deed that was requested of them without objecting” (Marino 22). The ever-prodding Marino then asked the respondents what they would do if they discovered that their employer was asking them to do something unethical, dishonest, or unlawful. An alarmingly low five per cent said they would quit on the spot, another nine per cent would look the other way, and an overwhelming majority, seventy-eight per cent, would try to talk to their bosses or try to resolve the problem in some way that would not cause them to lose their job. The remaining eight per cent were uncertain about what they would do -- or they refused to ‘fess up.’ Today, “Americans, workers and nonworkers, have developed an alarming tolerance for intolerance” (Trudel 69). People are not bothered as much by dishonesty, crookedness, or lack of respect. They have come to think of it as normal. People just do not expect anything more than a crooked businessman these days. In an interview with Marino, Alvin Toffler, a futurist, replied that, “the sophistication of deception is increasing at a greater rate than the technology for verification. That means the end of truth. Many of our leaders are liars, skilled at deception. Lying has become tolerable, if not acceptable”(Trudel 68). (Bill Clinton: Are you listening?) Accountability has slipped. “Lawyer lies,” those technically true but misleading statements are prevalent. Why is this happening? Two reasons: Greed and poor ethics. Present day Americans are not ethical. They are selfish, deceitful, egomaniacs only looking out for themselves. “Today, if the economy is good, it is tolerable to be bad. Today, if you merely apologize for a heinous crime, it is tolerable to be forgiven. Today, if you misrepresent the goods, it is tolerable if you are selling yourself. Today, if you work for a cheater, it is tolerable as long as you benefit from it” (Marino 23).
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