B102.8 - Business Ethics |
Business Ethics. For some of us, this feels like a straight forward topic that makes for good conversation. For others, it is an oxymoron. The true spectrum of people and opinions as they relate to Business Ethics might shock most, as most have a limited view of themselves as separate from others. Most view others as some varying shade of themselves when in fact the true spectrum from light to dark is massive compared to that which is a varying shade of our own vibration.
Many were once more idealistic and naive, but not angels by any means. Part of the process of awakening is a loss of idealism and naivete. A strange thought indeed. And while the transition from one feeling to another isn't always enjoyable, it is in fact liberating in many ways.
Many were once more idealistic and naive, but not angels by any means. Part of the process of awakening is a loss of idealism and naivete. A strange thought indeed. And while the transition from one feeling to another isn't always enjoyable, it is in fact liberating in many ways.
Below is an outline for this page:
Section 99 is a summary for this topic.
- Formal Definitions
- Formal Curriculum
- Important Questions for Understanding
- Discussion -- Ethics History
- Discussion -- Grad School Ethics Quiz
- Discussion -- A surgeon's Dilemma...
Section 99 is a summary for this topic.
1) Formal Definition
Business Ethics
- Business ethics (also corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations.
- Business ethics refers to contemporary standards or sets of values that govern the actions and behavior of an individual in the business organization.
ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_ethics
2) Formal Curriculum
As indicated in the Business Law Section, ethics is often times bundled with business law with an implication that ethics is a lower level of behavioral decision making than illegal activity.
Below is the list of subtopics in the Ethics Section of a Business Law class...
Below is the list of subtopics in the Ethics Section of a Business Law class...
- General Business Ethics
- Meta-ethical Theories
- Ethical Theories
- Practical Exercises in Business Ethics
- Corporate Social Responsibility
ref: https://learn.saylor.org/course/view.php?id=89§ionid=918
3) Important Questions for Understanding
Ethics History
- Do you know who first spoke about ethics and the history of ethics and/or ethical theory?
Your Beliefs on Ethics
- Do you believe a businessman should be ethical?
- Do you realize many folks view trickery and chicanery as a natural part of business?
- Do you realize how someone dresses or looks has zero relevance with regards to their personal ethical compass?
- At what level will "bad ethics" affect your business? Do you care?
4) Discussion -- Ethics History
During a side trip into Banking hell, one person started to wonder about ethics and how it tied to our criminal and civil system and karmic law. He did a little research into the history of ethics and quickly realized it dated back to the likes of Socrates and Plato (which many may have known but he did not).
Wikipedia is not to be trusted across the board, for sure. There some real ethics issue there under a few topics. But for some things, their publishing tends to be pretty good (and that's how they get you to believe or trust them on that which they tend to steer in a biased manner).
Wikipedia is not to be trusted across the board, for sure. There some real ethics issue there under a few topics. But for some things, their publishing tends to be pretty good (and that's how they get you to believe or trust them on that which they tend to steer in a biased manner).
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ethics
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates
5) Discussion -- Grad School Ethics Quiz
One day several decades ago there was a quiz in an MBA program ethics class.
The teacher would state a situation and ask us to pick from 3 different actions we would take in the situation. As it turned out, each answer had a point total associated with it. The less ethical the chosen behavior (according to whoever made up the test and decided what was more or less ethical), the higher the point total.
When the quiz was over, the teacher read off scores to associate with each answer, and she asked us to total our scores.
Professor: "How many got 5-15 points?" -- let's say 10% of the class raised their hand.
Professor: "How many got 16-25 points?" -- About 25% of the class raised their hands...
Professor: "How many got 26-40 points? -- I think about 35% raise their hands...
And that left the final third of the class.
From the perspective of someone in the first or second group, do you know self-centered one would have had to be to land in that final third?
A few in those lower groups had a hard time looking some folks in the face in the upper groups after that exercise, for the remainder of the program. It was that startling.
BUT it was an exceptional lesson about perspective and self preservation that was outside of the spectrum of vision of those more ethically oriented, that is for sure.
Interestingly enough, those who scored high saw nothing wrong with their decision making. Zero. Zip. Nada. Nothing. Their view of the world was normalized with their behavior. From their perspective, they couldn't imagine how those who scored lower wouldn't care for our own self interest a little more. They also viewed the lower scoring folks as weak, erroneously or otherwise.
It was a fascinating study in human nature. It also was one event that foreshadowed experiences with some folks in Big Company Corporate America. Those experiences combined with others proved pointers for life.
In fairness to those who chose to Compete in Corporate America and for those who have never thought that much about it.
Corporate America is a Pyramid Scheme. There are a lot of people at the bottom and a few people at the top and people get knocked out of the game at every level. At the bottom, many people view themselves as part of the same team, but as they move up the pyramid that slowly shifts to division.
In that sense, it's no different than Survivor or some of those other Reality TV shows. To be clear, the Corporate game is not about "performance" or "smarts". It is about ones ability to use all available resources and behavior to save ones self. It's an interesting game for some, and to do well you'd generally need to score very high on the ethics quiz (as in high point total) to do well long term.
It is difficult to be true to one's self while playing such a game, even though that is exactly what one who is playing the game thinks they are doing.
The personal fulfillment of that game pales in comparison to that of pursuing small business with a slightly lower threshold for self-service (which turns out to be a higher threshold for self-service for many who figure out the trick), BUT that is for some to figure out by experience, and we're not all here to have the same experience.
Whatever you do, do it well and if exploring the corporate world is that which you have chosen to do, do what it takes to do it well. You will only know if it was worth it after you've done it.
6) Discussion -- A surgeon's dilemma
The first thing most growing children see in america on TV is the glorification of Medicine. Soap operas combine with tv dramas and glitzy pharmaceutical commercials to build a vision that is far from the realities of western medicine. We are the only developed country that allows this level of brainwashing to persist on a national level, at the behest of the medical mafia.
At age 18 a child may want to go pre-med without knowing much about commerce. At 22, they get loans for 100,000's to go to medical school and earn that white jacket (a hypnotic induction in and of itself). By 26 they are in their residency and by 29, they are in a fellowship, with eyes on a white picket fence, kids and a big home. They've been working 60 hour weeks for so long, their brain has not been cared for well.
They get married, have kids and the kids get to be high schoolers, and then they learn the truth about the gall bladder. A simple truth about what it is, what it does, how it works, how it can be cleaned and cared for. At that point in time they become truly "educated". What does that doctor do if he or she is a general surgeon who has made a living removing 1000's of those for commercial profit for not real reason other than commercial profit?
A new patient walks in with pain. He knows the patient can likely take some simple nutritional remedies and heal the problem. The problem is that he has a big payment coming up for his first child's college eduation and he only makes money if the knife he's used for life makes an incision. Does he do what he's done his entire career? Does he suggest surgery because it means $1000 for a 1 hour procedure OR does he forgo that suggestion to give the patient an option to hang onto that little organ which has tremendous value, though many have been tricked to thinking otherwise.
This is the type of ethical dilemma more and more surgeons may face in coming times. It will be interesting to see how they respond.
At age 18 a child may want to go pre-med without knowing much about commerce. At 22, they get loans for 100,000's to go to medical school and earn that white jacket (a hypnotic induction in and of itself). By 26 they are in their residency and by 29, they are in a fellowship, with eyes on a white picket fence, kids and a big home. They've been working 60 hour weeks for so long, their brain has not been cared for well.
They get married, have kids and the kids get to be high schoolers, and then they learn the truth about the gall bladder. A simple truth about what it is, what it does, how it works, how it can be cleaned and cared for. At that point in time they become truly "educated". What does that doctor do if he or she is a general surgeon who has made a living removing 1000's of those for commercial profit for not real reason other than commercial profit?
A new patient walks in with pain. He knows the patient can likely take some simple nutritional remedies and heal the problem. The problem is that he has a big payment coming up for his first child's college eduation and he only makes money if the knife he's used for life makes an incision. Does he do what he's done his entire career? Does he suggest surgery because it means $1000 for a 1 hour procedure OR does he forgo that suggestion to give the patient an option to hang onto that little organ which has tremendous value, though many have been tricked to thinking otherwise.
This is the type of ethical dilemma more and more surgeons may face in coming times. It will be interesting to see how they respond.
99) Summary
I enjoy business transactions. Each transaction is like a brief dance with a partner, much like one might find in the partner trade dances in square dancing or two stepping. That type of transaction requires clear, concise communication and good listening skills. It requires me to play the role of a leader or follower, and a completed transaction is satisfaction.
If I do something that is "unethical", it is like stepping on someone's toes or having my own stepped on. I don't like doing it to others and I don't like them doing it to me. How much fibbing is too much? That's personal isn't it...
I prefer small business because I feel the transactions are a little more personal. Unlike larger businesses, where it is more commonly accepted that the customer is always right, in small business, you do have the option to deny service for proper reasons and you do have the option to fire customers. I don't like those experiences, but I like the idea that those opportunities are available to me as a sole proprietor/solopreneur. This day in age one must always remember that just because you felt like you gracefully exited a transaction, the other person may not feel the same way, and you may find yourself defending your actions in some public review forum. If you are truthful to yourself, that isn't such a bad thing, as it gives you an opportunity to reaffirm levels to which you are and are not willing to bend in a business transaction. The only word of caution is to be sure you write your responses from your heart and not your head, and if you were partially at fault, own that part of it. It makes your entire sharing more credible.
Remember 1 thing -- THE INTERNET IS FOREVER. If you misbehave or behave in a manner that you feel is appropriate, but in fact is not viewed that way by the masses and someone decides to call you out for it on the internet, your GREAT GREAT GRAND KIDS will be able to find that some day if they look hard enough ( assuming we don't blow ourselves up before then), so keep that in mind as you navigate ethical issues in our Digital Age.
If I do something that is "unethical", it is like stepping on someone's toes or having my own stepped on. I don't like doing it to others and I don't like them doing it to me. How much fibbing is too much? That's personal isn't it...
I prefer small business because I feel the transactions are a little more personal. Unlike larger businesses, where it is more commonly accepted that the customer is always right, in small business, you do have the option to deny service for proper reasons and you do have the option to fire customers. I don't like those experiences, but I like the idea that those opportunities are available to me as a sole proprietor/solopreneur. This day in age one must always remember that just because you felt like you gracefully exited a transaction, the other person may not feel the same way, and you may find yourself defending your actions in some public review forum. If you are truthful to yourself, that isn't such a bad thing, as it gives you an opportunity to reaffirm levels to which you are and are not willing to bend in a business transaction. The only word of caution is to be sure you write your responses from your heart and not your head, and if you were partially at fault, own that part of it. It makes your entire sharing more credible.
Remember 1 thing -- THE INTERNET IS FOREVER. If you misbehave or behave in a manner that you feel is appropriate, but in fact is not viewed that way by the masses and someone decides to call you out for it on the internet, your GREAT GREAT GRAND KIDS will be able to find that some day if they look hard enough ( assuming we don't blow ourselves up before then), so keep that in mind as you navigate ethical issues in our Digital Age.