Business Ethics Isnt an Oxymoron!

January 3rd, 2012 | Author:

Everyone has to Play by the Same Rules

by Roger Manley

Have you ever been in a group discussion when the term business ethics was mentioned and someone, usually with a smirk on his face, said, Business Ethics isnt that an oxymoron, like Military Intelligence This has happened to me on a number of occasions, usually after somebody discovers that I am a professor, and Business Ethics is one of the courses I teach.

I cannot deny that there are some business persons who misrepresent, cheat, embezzle and act in other reprehensible ways. However, in the same vein, no one could deny that there also are some greedy physicians, untrustworthy attorneys, and licentious clergymen yet no one contends that medical, legal or ministerial ethics are oxymorons.

By the Same Standard

We place ourselves in the care of physicians when we are sick and feeling poorly, we confide our inner thoughts and doubts to our clergy, and we place our most sensitive affairs in the hands of attorneys. We expect that these professionals will treat us well and rely on them to do so.

The same logic applies in business. As customers we expect that the maker of our automobile has exercised due diligence in designing and manufacturing a safe and reliable vehicle. The same assumption applies when purchasing an airline ticket. Without these unnoticed expectations of daily moral behavior, business as we know it would come to a screeching halt.

If we accept all of this as true, then why is it that people find it difficult to take the concept of business ethics seriously Richard DeGeorge, in his acclaimed business ethics text book, terms this view the myth of amoral business, and traces its origin to Adam Smiths Wealth of Nations.

Poker Face

Albert Carr captured the attention of a wide audience when, with tongue-in-cheek, he expressed this view of amorality in his, Is Business Bluffing Ethical article for the Harvard Business Review. While written with a certain note of levity, the article nevertheless seemed to touch an exposed nerve by arguing that bluffing which is immoral in everyday life is acceptable and even expected in business.

Carr observed that on occasions, such as negotiations between seasoned businessmen and women, it is sometimes appropriate for them to be game players because business dealings approximate the conditions found in a game of poker, in which everyone knows and freely accepts the rules of the game.

Seeing where Carrs analogy applies also tells us where it doesnt. This is most clearly evident when business decisions inflict harm on third parties who are not aware that they are involved in anothers business game.

Its Not the Whole Picture

It is also true when the game involves people who cannot be expected to understand its rules or who, for various reasons, are unable to play on an equal footing with others. Many consumers who rely on the truth of advertising claims regarding the value and safety of products are game players in Carrs sense, but not in any objective sense. Neither are managers, employees and other citizens caught up in the turmoil and dislocation of the corporate games of the past two decades.

Therefore, Carrs argument, despite its grain of truth, seriously distorts the reality of ethical responsibility in business. Game ethics are not an acceptable substitute for moral standards when business decisions seriously harm persons not playing the game.

What business ethics advocates is that people apply in the workplace those commonsensical rules and standards learned at home, from the lectern, and from the pulpit. The moral issues are age old, and these are the same issues facing a business only written in large script. As Edward Freeman observed, Ethics is how we treat each other, every day, person to person. If you want to know about a companys ethics, look at how it treats people customers, suppliers, and employees.

We Cant Do Business Without It

In summary, the assertion that business ethics is an oxymoron does not hold up to scrutiny. Business is an important human institution, a basic part of the communal fabric of life. Just as governments come into being out of the human need for order, security, and fulfillment, so too does business. The goal of all business is to make life more secure, more stable, and more equitable for its many stakeholders. Business exists to serve more than just itself.

Therefore, business ethics rather than being an oxymoron, i.e. a contradiction in terms is really a pleonasm, a redundancy in terms.

T. Roger Manley, PhD, is a professor at the Nathan M. Bisk College of Business at Florida Institute of Technology.