by Elias Moses
The pause, created by the Pandemic in the last four months, has made millions in the business world and in other sectors question the very mode of human existence and the transaction system that has failed to keep it alive. The question that is often asked “Is our transaction system so fragile that a ‘pause button’ on the go (due to Covid-19) has caused the close of thousands of businesses, left millions on streets jobless and above all our livelihood at risk?
What is wrong here? Let us not do a brain-storm here. The answer is simple, loud and clear. We have not built our foundation on strong ethical values, that the edifices that we have built cannot even withstand a minor jerk of an external stimuli.
In a simple sentence, we have not built our business on strong ethical foundations.
What is the point of studying ethics? is the question of current generation. People, until hit by the pandemic, did not even give a damn thought to ethics, as they made decisions in their day-to-day business/life situation.
Many, faced with dire and conflicting situations of business and personal life, felt it ok to make decisions based upon practical criteria. Thus many saw ethics as rather an affectation of a mere personal taste.
It is useful only when it can get you somewhere, isn’t it? Is this correct? Do we act ethically, only when there is a win–win situation, in which we can get what we want and also seem like an honorable, feeling, and caring person?
Three Pillars of a Moral System
These three pillars — rationality, responsibility and Collaboration — form the core in any healthy moral system, and are the core principles of the business world.
Not all individuals in the business world act responsibly, rationally, and collaboratively. If all the individuals in business had acted in a responsible way with a collective socio-consciousness, the world would not be what it is today.
We had asked ourselves some questions
- Is Business today immoral or amoral
- Is Business today self-centric or ego-centric
- Is Business today Profit motived or prosperity motived
Have a relook at the weighed options above. Are they morally based. We have operated either from ‘Nil’ position or ‘Me’ position. That is the equilibrium standard that we have set for mankind and the world. Our ethics have evolved over time? but we have never seen the light of it.
Who could be ultimately responsible for what is happening today? It is WE and WE ALONE
Time has come for us to delineate the axioms of current business ethics and their practises, namely that self-interest and profit motive are not moral, and that a bit of selflessness is required for ethical behaviour.
Our Current Business as amoral
In the current literature in business ethics, business is assumed to be at best an amoral enterprise. it is loud and clear that that we are not immoral in our business endeavours but we are amoral in our actions.
what is so moral about amoral considerations?
This amoral position of business world has caused havocs to humanity on all aspects of life. In a simple sentence, a basic indifference at all levels of life.
Alex Michalos, philosopher and editor‐in‐chief of the Journal of Business Ethics, wrote, “Insofar as one is acting primarily in the interest of increasing profit, it is trivially true that one’s primary interest is not in doing what is morally right.”
Amartya Sen, Harvard philosopher and economist, book on the relation between ethics and economics wrote, “The self‐interest view of rationality involves inter alia a firm rejection of the ‘ethics‐related’ view of motivation.”
The question that we all have to ask today are, what directions do we need to take post covid-19? Are we going to go the way we once went? Are are going to take a path road less travelled by many – a principled path?
The Core of Business Ethics – Justice
Today our concept of business ethics has become more relative, because it is based on few business models that are either amoral or immoral. These business models become absolute centric. And we, to a large extent have forgotten the core and foundation of business ethics which is JUSTICE.
The core of business is moral just as the core of any valid profession is moral: education, science, art and business. The profession of education creates value: the transmission of knowledge from one generation to the next. The profession of science creates value: the discovery of new knowledge. The profession of art creates value: objects that express and evoke important human themes. the profession of business creates value: towards man’s well-being. It is the individuals who make it unethical.
Action forward
“Business depends on transactions/productions
transactions/productions depend on values,
Values depends on knowledge,
Knowledge depends on thinking”
Al Gini, co‐author with leading business ethicist Tom Donaldson wrote, “Doing the right thing because it’s fashionable or in your own best interest doesn’t ethically count—even if the desired results are achieved.”
Therefore, our act has to be collective. The key thing about each of these points is that they are and can be performed only by individuals. The individuals and businesses need to use the three principles— rationality, responsibility, and Collaboration to recreate a balance in the world, post the pandemic.
- Reason helps you to think right and just
- Responsibility helps you to create a socio-economic consciousness – equilibrium
- Collaboration helps to build a bright new society for the future
Business is an ethical transaction – it cannot tilt the ‘equilibrium’ of the society. Thus, the purpose of every transaction is to build and further the equilibrium for the future – A creation of a new society
- How can we practice the three principles of responsibility, rationality and cooperation in our business practices?
- In what ways we can move from amoral ways of business dealings to principled and ethical ways of business dealings?
- How can we move from self-interested focus on business to collective-conscious focus?
Equilibrium based Business ethics, if ever to be relived, we can outlive even a hundred pandemics. We will build edifices based on strong foundations that nothing can break in times to come.
Elias Moses is a Senior Business Strategist, Consultant, Researcher, Corporate and Leadership Trainer, Orator, Columnist and an Entrepreneur. He is also the Founder and Managing Director of a growing reality firm in south India. He is also the founder of Managing Next, an Online portal for knowledge share and Management Consulting.
The author can be contacted@
email: elias@managingnext.in, linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/eliasmoses
One thought on “Reliving the Foundations of Business Ethics Post Covid-19”
Well said that Employees must be alert to the demands of their profession and meet the conflicts. The three pillars of a Moral systems are explained well professionally . Excellent Article.
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