Guest Lecture on Business Ethics by Mr. Folker Mittag

Today we had a guest lecture on business ethics by Mr. Folker Mittag, who is associated with the Caux Initiatives for Business. The guest lecture was organized as a discussion and there were ideas exchanged between the students and the guest, Mr. Folker Mittag. I will try to highlight the important points from this discussion in this blog post.

To do ethical business, we have to listen to our conscience, and identify the actions which are right by our conscience. A person who does not follow ethics in professional life will not be able to do so in their personal life as well. There are no short cuts in business and businesses that take short cuts close down sooner or later.

In order to inculcate a culture of ethical behavior, the top management has to set the role model for the employees of the organization.  If the top management is corrupt, you cannot expect the employees to follow ethical behavior in their business dealings. The values of the organization have to guide the behavior of the employees of the company. The mission statement for Toyota states - "Do that which is good for the community, do that which is good for the employees and do that which is good for the company. The profits have to be re-invested for future growth." A primary profit motive with efforts and funds dedicated for corporate social responsibility and a values driven organization could also be acceptable ethically. 

Whistle blowers have a first duty onto themselves to take necessary steps to curb unethical practices within the organization. They need to notify the top management and all stakeholders concerned within the organization and take all possible measures to stop the unethical practices before they go public with their disclosure of business malpractices.

Customers too should choose companies that deal ethically. They should not deal with companies known for malfeasance. Costs should not be reduced if that means doing unethical business. Even in ethical business, sometimes it may be right to charge a customer higher if they do not understand the true effort and time that goes into the product and make unreasonable demands from the producer. Cutting corners to deliver the product or service is termed unethical.