Business Ethics Gone Bad
So what happens when poor choices are made, when business gets dirty, when profits come first at a cost to the environment, when business disregards the best interests of the general population? Dennis Moberg gives us examples of what happens when business ethics go bad in his article When Good People Do Bad Things at Work. Moberg writes that officials at the Lincoln Savings and Loan bilked thousands out of their customers' retirement nest eggs, that Brown and Williamson Tobacco executives lied about the addictive nature of cigarettes and the company's subsequent campaign to destroy whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigant, and that top managers at Time Warner looked the other way rather than forgo millions from the sale of rap music with lyrics that advocated violence directed at women and the police.Business Ethics Done Right
James Fieser, author of Business Ethics suggests we take a look at the mission statement of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, which includes the following statement:Social Mission - To operate the company in a way that actively recognizes the central role that business plays in the structure of society by initiating innovative ways to improve the quality of life of a broad community - local, national, and international.Most individuals and companies have a basic sense of business ethics and don't break the law while conducting business, avoid doing anything that might start a civil lawsuit against them, and avoid doing anything that could create bad public relations or a bad public image. One could argue that profit rather than ethics motivates individuals and companies to do the actions mentioned above.
James Fieser discusses principles of business ethics that go above and beyond the basics. He suggests the following principles should be part of superior business ethics:
- businesses should avoid causing unwarranted harm
- business should be fair in all of their practices
- businesses should respect human rights
- businesses should not infringe on the rationally reflective choices of people
- businesses should not be deceptive in their practices
Ethics & Inventing
Many inventors when asked what was it that attracted them to invent in the first place, replied that they wanted to make a difference in the world. Inventing by nature involves making improvements to existing products, fulfilling the needs of people, finding solutions to problems, and/or bringing more novelty, greater convenience, and increased commerce into our lives.I personally find inventors to be enthusiastic and well-intentioned people by nature. So how do business ethics effect inventors in particular? And should there be set principles that inventors should invent by?
Everybody would probably agree that inventions should be designed with the public's health and safety taken into consideration. However, inventors can't always control what people do with their inventions. Franci Rogers, author of Ethics of Invention discusses Alfred Nobel's invention of the construction explosive dynamite. Rodgers writes the following:
As a result of an accident in his lab, he [Alfred Nobel] discovered a way to make nitroglycerin safer and less volatile to handle and it could be easily detonated. He envisioned canals being built faster. He knew that blasting rock, drilling tunnels, building railroads and many other forms of heavy labor would become easier. He patented dynamite, as well as 354 other inventions, and became a very wealthy man.But Nobel was also a pacifist. His views on peace and social justice were considered radical in his era. When his dynamite began to be used in warfare, Nobel was overcome with guilt. The idea of his invention being used to kill drove him to start a trust fund to promote the peaceful use of science. Upon his death, the bulk of his fortune created the Nobel Prize.
Inventor's Oath
As inventors we can not control the misuse of our inventions by the public. But I am proposing that we do invent with principles and superior business ethics, and that we take an oath of good conduct, an Inventor's Oath.To that end I suggest that you and I write the Inventor's Oath together.
