Character & Business Ethics
Dr. Cornwall (The Entrepreneurial Mind) made an excellent post about character a week or so ago that I just came across. I have long felt that strong business ethics form the foundation for everything else in business (be it incorporating corporate social responsibility, green initiatives, etc.) and that you can’t accomplish the ‘down the road’ goals without forming a solid ethics base first. A great CSR program means little if your company is dotted with dodgy back-room ethics.
Dr. Cornwall’s post also touches on the duality of character, acting one way at work and another outside of work. I find it fascinating that many people seem to have two personalities (one for employees, bosses and peers, and another for family) and may never understand why such a dichotomy is so prevalent. I strongly believe in consistency of character and really like the way Dr. Cornwall explains the potential conflicts that may arise from dabbling with questionable ethics:
“The truth is, however, that every act, every decision we make, in some way shapes our character. If we act a certain way once, we are more likely to do it again. This is true for good behaviors as well as bad behaviors. If we lie to customers as part of our everyday business, we are more likely to lie to our employees. And if we lie at work, we are more likely to lie to our families and friends.”
TAGS: This entry was posted on Friday, September 8th, 2006 at 10:20 am and is filed under Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, On Being A Father.... You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.