Ethics in Business

Prof. C. Panduranga Bhatta Indian Institute of Management Calcutta

Major Issues

• Crisis of Ethics

• Five Principles of Ethical Power for Organisations

• Mission Statements of Ethical Organisations

• Strategic Pursuit of Human Needs

• Ethics of Yoga and Buddhism

Crisis of Ethics

• Manifestations

• Actors

• Consequences

Manifestations

• Dishonesty

• Greed

• Arrogance

• Selfishness

• Consumerism

Actors

• All sections of the population across the world

• Business

• Government

• Social Services (NGOs)

Consequences

• Social Unrest

• Low productivity

• Poverty and chaos

There neither is a separate ethics

of business, nor is one needed

-Peter Drucker

Business Ethics

Five Principles of Ethical Power for Organisations

1. Purpose

2. Pride

3. Patience

4. Persistence

5. Perspective

1. Purpose

The mission of the organisation is communicated from the top.

The organisation is guided by the values, hopes and a vision that helps to determine what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.

2. Pride

People in the organisation feel proud of themselves and of their organisation. When they feel this way, they can resist temptations to behave unethically.

3. Patience People believe that holding to their

ethical values will lead them to success in the long term.

This involves maintaining a balance between obtaining results and caring how they achieve these

Short term gain long term pain Short term pain long term gain

4. Persistence

People have commitment to live by ethical principles. They are committed to their commitment.

They make sure their actions are consistent with their purpose

5. Perspective Managers and employees take time to

pause and reflect, take stock of where they are, evaluate where they are going and determine how they are going to get there.

-Kenneth Blanchard and Normal Vincent Peale

Mission Statementsof Ethical Business Organisations

Guiding Principles of JRD TATA

• hard work• striving for excellence• fairness and honesty• good human relations• serving the needs/interests of the

country and its people

Tata Steel Vision & Mission

Our Conduct

By providing a safe workplace,

respecting the environment,

caring for our communities and demonstrating high ethical standards

The Seven “Spiritual” Values of the Matsushita Electric Company

1. National Service through Industry2. Fairness3. Harmony and Cooperation4. Struggle for Betterment5. Courtesy and Humility6. Adjustment and Assimilation7. Gratitude

Profit next, Safety first

Disney

Profit next, Safety first

Disney

With utmost respect to Human Values,We promise to serve ourCustomer with Integrity,Through a variety of Innovative,Value for Money, products and services,By Applying Thought, day after day’

Our Promise to Customer

C-LIFE Values

C- Customer Delight

L- Leadership by Example

I- Integrity and Transparency

F- Fairness

E- Pursuit of Excellence

-Leadership @ Infosys, 2010

Ethics of Yoga&

Buddhism

Patanjali’s Yoga

Yama (Inter- Personal Ethics)

Non-Violence (ahimsa)

Truthfulness (satya)

Non-Stealing (asteya)

Celibacy(brahmacharya)

Non-Grabbing (aparigraha)

Patanjali’s Yoga

Niyama (Intra- personal- Discipline)

Physical and Mental Cleanliness (shaucha)

Happiness/Contentment(santosha)

Hard work (tapa)

Self-Study (swadhyaya)

Surrender to Higher Power(ishwara pranidhana)

Practical Morality of Lord Buddha

(The Middle Path- which lies between the two extremes, viz, extreme pleasure-seeking and extreme asceticism)

Harmonious development of the multiple dimensions of the human personality (PQ, IQ, EQ & SQ)

B Schools’ Vision and Mission Statements

• “Educate leaders who make a difference in the World” -Harvard

• “Educate leaders for Business and Society” -Yale

• “Develop innovative, principled, and insightful leaders who change the world” –Stanford

• “Develop innovative, ethical and caring future leaders”-IIMC

Rethinking the MBA,Srikant Datar, David A Garvin, Patrick G Cullen, Harvard Business Press,2010

Knowing, doing and being Being part includes:

Values, attitudes, beliefs that constitute one’s character & worldview, being aware of the line between right & wrong, the preferred treatment of others, the purpose & goals of organisations & the behaviours that exemplify integrity, honesty, & fairness

Thank Youcpbhatta@iimcal.ac.in