Final Thoughts
I began the book with a quote from Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Life Without Principle.” In it, he says, “if I should sell my forenoons and afternoons to society, as most appear to do, I am sure that for me there would be nothing left worth living for.” This may have sounded like a strange quote to make in a business ethics class and perhaps it still seems strange. After all, isn’t the business world all about making money? Doesn‘t economics encourage us to do precisely this? As you will remember from an earlier lecture, economist Thomas Sowell says no. Economics does not tell us to make as much money as possible. It only allows us to judge the costs and benefits of various actions. To the question of whether there are “non-economic values,” Sowell says that there are. As he pointed out there are only non-economic values. These values are the central point of any business ethics class. And it is for this reason that I quoted Thoreau, to remind us of that fact.
A more recent example of such a mindset is offered by Fox business reporter Neil Cavuto in a book titled More Than Money. In it, he points out that “after all my years of covering Wall Street and the business world in general, I’ve discovered that the tools we use to measure financial success fail miserably when used to define deeper success.” This is the exact sentiment that Thoreau expressed when he pointed out “I wish to suggest that a man may be very industrious, and yet not spend his time well. There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of his life getting his living.”
So, where have we been? How shall we conclude? We’ve looked at quite a lot of material and different perspectives on the questions raised in business ethics. But one thing they all seemed to have in common was a desire for business to be practiced with integrity and honor. Hopefully, if we’ve shown anything at all we’ve shown that this is possible. Yes, we can all cite examples of businesses and individuals who behave very badly and violate central principles of ethics (and also break the law). But, from this, we should not conclude that business cannot be practiced without violating ethics and the law. After all, as economist Walter E. Williams points out, the whole point of business, and the best way to earn money, is to serve your fellow man. Remember the quote from the last lecture?
The concept of service is at the forefront these days in almost every business. Every time I turn on the TV another business is claiming to offer better service. But, is this such a bad thing? I hardly think so. If you think about the trend in business over the last few decades it is one where serving has come to the forefront and we have largely benefited from it. Yes, many people have become fabulously wealthy in the process (like Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com) but we have also benefited immensely. The point I am making is simply that at the heart of our world of commerce is an important ethical concept: service.
As we have covered many issues in the world of business ethics we have, because of the constraints of time, ignored others. This is not because the issues are unimportant. However, in an introductory class we can only do so much, and covering basic principles and theories necessarily came before other issues. These included issues relating to diversity, affirmative action, equal pay, issues relating to marketing and advertising. But while we did not address these issues in detail what we have done is to set forth some ideas which are relevant and may help in working through these issues.
In particular, we’ve addressed the concepts of justice, property rights, the responsibilities of corporate leaders, employee rights, and the role of profit in business. Each of which provides a conceptual foundation for other more “practical” issues in the business world. The idea behind ethics is to allow us to formulate a set of principles and the means to apply them in specific situations. Given that each situation and issue is different the best we can do is to cultivate (for lack of a better word) a proper attitude towards business ethics in general. The attitude will inform the decisions we make.
It is to remind us of the importance of attitude that explains why I began with another quote that might have seemed strange. This one from the Stoic philosopher Seneca: “He that is not content in poverty, would not be so neither in plenty; for the fault is not the thing, but in the mind.” As was pointed out in the art of happiness at work lecture, the key to happiness, both in life and work, is his attitude. Money in and of itself does not make one happy. Lack of wealth does not make one unhappy. Happiness comes from the proper attitude and as Aristotle would have said this proper attitude is, in part, one inspired by living according to the virtues. In other words, happiness comes from acting ethically.
The key to success in the business world is perhaps best summed up by George W. Merck Business in general, strangely enough, “is not for the profits. The profits follow, and if we have remembered that, they have never failed to appear.” Here he can be seen as arguing for a general business and life strategy. Pursue what you’re passionate about and strive to help others. The rewards will follow. But, not without persistence. As Calvin Coolidge once said: “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race"..."If I had permitted my failures, or what seemed to me at the time a lack of success to discourage me, I cannot see any way in which I ever would have made progress.”
A more recent example of such a mindset is offered by Fox business reporter Neil Cavuto in a book titled More Than Money. In it, he points out that “after all my years of covering Wall Street and the business world in general, I’ve discovered that the tools we use to measure financial success fail miserably when used to define deeper success.” This is the exact sentiment that Thoreau expressed when he pointed out “I wish to suggest that a man may be very industrious, and yet not spend his time well. There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of his life getting his living.”
So, where have we been? How shall we conclude? We’ve looked at quite a lot of material and different perspectives on the questions raised in business ethics. But one thing they all seemed to have in common was a desire for business to be practiced with integrity and honor. Hopefully, if we’ve shown anything at all we’ve shown that this is possible. Yes, we can all cite examples of businesses and individuals who behave very badly and violate central principles of ethics (and also break the law). But, from this, we should not conclude that business cannot be practiced without violating ethics and the law. After all, as economist Walter E. Williams points out, the whole point of business, and the best way to earn money, is to serve your fellow man. Remember the quote from the last lecture?
The concept of service is at the forefront these days in almost every business. Every time I turn on the TV another business is claiming to offer better service. But, is this such a bad thing? I hardly think so. If you think about the trend in business over the last few decades it is one where serving has come to the forefront and we have largely benefited from it. Yes, many people have become fabulously wealthy in the process (like Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com) but we have also benefited immensely. The point I am making is simply that at the heart of our world of commerce is an important ethical concept: service.
As we have covered many issues in the world of business ethics we have, because of the constraints of time, ignored others. This is not because the issues are unimportant. However, in an introductory class we can only do so much, and covering basic principles and theories necessarily came before other issues. These included issues relating to diversity, affirmative action, equal pay, issues relating to marketing and advertising. But while we did not address these issues in detail what we have done is to set forth some ideas which are relevant and may help in working through these issues.
In particular, we’ve addressed the concepts of justice, property rights, the responsibilities of corporate leaders, employee rights, and the role of profit in business. Each of which provides a conceptual foundation for other more “practical” issues in the business world. The idea behind ethics is to allow us to formulate a set of principles and the means to apply them in specific situations. Given that each situation and issue is different the best we can do is to cultivate (for lack of a better word) a proper attitude towards business ethics in general. The attitude will inform the decisions we make.
It is to remind us of the importance of attitude that explains why I began with another quote that might have seemed strange. This one from the Stoic philosopher Seneca: “He that is not content in poverty, would not be so neither in plenty; for the fault is not the thing, but in the mind.” As was pointed out in the art of happiness at work lecture, the key to happiness, both in life and work, is his attitude. Money in and of itself does not make one happy. Lack of wealth does not make one unhappy. Happiness comes from the proper attitude and as Aristotle would have said this proper attitude is, in part, one inspired by living according to the virtues. In other words, happiness comes from acting ethically.
The key to success in the business world is perhaps best summed up by George W. Merck Business in general, strangely enough, “is not for the profits. The profits follow, and if we have remembered that, they have never failed to appear.” Here he can be seen as arguing for a general business and life strategy. Pursue what you’re passionate about and strive to help others. The rewards will follow. But, not without persistence. As Calvin Coolidge once said: “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race"..."If I had permitted my failures, or what seemed to me at the time a lack of success to discourage me, I cannot see any way in which I ever would have made progress.”