Business ethics .. it sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it?
Once upon a time in AUB we were talking about it in class. At one point during the discussion, the teacher said raise your hand if you think it's a good idea for AUB to start giving a course on the subject. Pretty much everyone did. Then she said who thinks it's not a good idea. Maybe three or four people raised their hands. All guys. I was one of them. She asked me why I felt that way. I said because it only sounds good on paper, you go you learn all the right things to do, but you won't actually apply them, you will continue to lie and cheat, so it's just a waste of time. A girl named Anna turned to me and said why do you have to lie and cheat? I said because that's how it is in today's world. She made this face at me like I don't think so. I told her I'm not saying it's right it's just the way things are. She still wasn't convinced though. Poor innocent Anna. You have so much to learn :)
I still think it's a joke. Let's face it, ethics have no place in the cutthroat world of business. It's hard enough for people to be ethical in their day-to-day lives, can we really expect them to be ethical when it comes to business? They teach you in economics that the goal of the firm is to maximize profit. They don't tell you if the firm has to be ethical or not. The only reason they are doing that now is because of the Enrons of the world. And even when they do teach you about business ethics, they tell you that they are not so much rules as they are guidelines i.e. feel free to find a loophole.
Once upon a time in AUB we were talking about it in class. At one point during the discussion, the teacher said raise your hand if you think it's a good idea for AUB to start giving a course on the subject. Pretty much everyone did. Then she said who thinks it's not a good idea. Maybe three or four people raised their hands. All guys. I was one of them. She asked me why I felt that way. I said because it only sounds good on paper, you go you learn all the right things to do, but you won't actually apply them, you will continue to lie and cheat, so it's just a waste of time. A girl named Anna turned to me and said why do you have to lie and cheat? I said because that's how it is in today's world. She made this face at me like I don't think so. I told her I'm not saying it's right it's just the way things are. She still wasn't convinced though. Poor innocent Anna. You have so much to learn :)
I still think it's a joke. Let's face it, ethics have no place in the cutthroat world of business. It's hard enough for people to be ethical in their day-to-day lives, can we really expect them to be ethical when it comes to business? They teach you in economics that the goal of the firm is to maximize profit. They don't tell you if the firm has to be ethical or not. The only reason they are doing that now is because of the Enrons of the world. And even when they do teach you about business ethics, they tell you that they are not so much rules as they are guidelines i.e. feel free to find a loophole.
It reminds me of how the mafia had a code of honor.
So what do you think .. business ethics .. waste of time or worth a try?
Further Reading
So what do you think .. business ethics .. waste of time or worth a try?
Further Reading
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