Friday, 11 November 2022 12:15 PM
Company Update
MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / November 11, 2022 /Jozef Opdeweegh, an international C-suite executive and author of Fair Value: reflections on good business, shares his thoughts on the ethical decision-making process and why long-term prosperity requires more than the mere pursuit of the bottom line.
Why should a business act ethically? Indeed, what relevance do ethics and social responsibility in business have in the heat of market competition, which by its very nature is ‘red in tooth and claw'? Doesn't a company's duty to maximize profits override high-minded principles that are better left to priests and philosophers?
These are some questions at the root of any debate on the ethical impact in business.
It's fair to say that attitudes toward business ethics today have changed to allow space for a more collaborative culture, where different thinking is welcomed. The Victorian perspective of ethics and commerce having no connection has been replaced with a subtler take, acknowledging that morals matter -and especially so, given the impact that the actions of companies can have today. More to the point, there's a recognition that acting with concerns for fairness, equality, and the wider good, is far from being at odds with the best interests of all stakeholders.
Some would say that even raising the issue is paradoxical. For in asking ‘why should I act morally?' we are effectively posing the question ‘why ought I to do, what I ought to do?' That's an interesting conundrum, but as an answer to the problems of ethical decision-making, it rather misses the practical concerns. The more down-to-earth question that's usually being asked is, ‘Why will acting ethically benefit me or my company, more than pursuing a harder-nosed alternative?'
And it's here that we come to evidence and data.
This overwhelmingly shows that companies with purposes and missions that go beyond mere financial metrics, perform better, and more sustainably so, than those with less expansive ambitions. What's more, those with a culture that's founded on clear values and a shared understanding of ‘how' we work together, are demonstrably better at attracting talent and engaging with their employees and customers. Survey after survey confirms it's not profit, but the purpose and belonging, that drives discretionary effort and builds brand loyalty.
What this means, is that while a concern for the bottom line is always necessary-and justifiably part of ethical considerations too- it is not sufficient to maximize value in the long term. To do this we must also be mindful of our wider ethical impact, giving due regard to others and recognizing that our decisions and behaviors will ultimately define us as individuals and organizations. Perhaps most of all, we must look beyond immediate temptations to consider the risks and regrets of acting in ways that could undermine our reputations and associated goodwill.
In truth, none of this is new or complex to comprehend. Indeed, I'd argue we don't even need the data to come to these conclusions.
The philosopher Emmanuel Kant encapsulated the whole of ethical decision-making in what he called the Categorical Imperative: that we should always act as if our decisions were a law that others would follow. Centuries earlier the Gospels said something much the same: that we should treat others as we would have them treat us. These are not glib statements, rather they are simple guides that have stood the test of time and in similar forms are acknowledged by good people in virtually all societies across the globe.
In concluding these thoughts I'm especially mindful of not wishing to sound puritanical. Rather, I want to emphasize that the ethical decision-making process ought to be a little different from the way we live our everyday lives. None of us warms to selfish individuals or feels good about decisions we've taken (as we all have at some point) that we know were less equitable than they might have been. In contrast, we go out of our way for those who treat us well; we trust those who keep their word; we understand that care and generosity work both ways.
Put this way, the answers to my opening questions - be they about business or life - are as simple as that.
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Andrew Mitchell
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SOURCE: Cambridge Global