[<< Back]
|
|
Would an Ethical Business have Sustainable Values?
|
|
by Kathryn Alexander
|
|
|
|
| |
Posted by Kathryn Alexander on Fri, Feb 25, 2011 @ 07:47 PM
Are sustainable values inherent in an ethical business? I became incensed when reading a recent article in AARP (yes I AM old enough). Titled "The Time Bomb In Your Nest Egg." The article is about how small investors - mostly seniors - are being duped by structured products. In case you don't know what 'structured products' are, they an investment whole yield depends on the performance of underlying financial instruments such as stocks, stock indexes and unsecured bonds - in essence the very same kind of stuff that caused the 2008 collapse.
Is regulation the answer to greed and hubris?
Many of these 'structured products' are offered by Lehman Brothers who don't seem to be suffering much, even though bankrupt. Lehman claims to have followed all regulatory requirements, well-established sales practices and client dis-closer guidelines, and I'll bet they did.
When making money is seen as a good, it is easy to rationalize behavior.
What's wrong with this picture? First is a confusion of ethical with legal. Second is how much do Lehman's and other such firms now about the products they are selling? If they don't know how dangerous these products are then they shouldn't be in business and if they DO know then they should be in jail. Third, why do you think they seem to be targeting seniors? From the article, "Louis Straney, a securities arbitrator consultant in Santa Fe, New Mexico, believes that structured products are Wall Street at it's irresponsible worst. He said, "In my three decades of Wall Street experience I have not seen any other product as absurdly destructive." " The fourth issue I see is that we want someone else (the government?) to take action instead of holding the perpetrators accountable and acting accordingly in our own behavior.
Some companies believe that if their actions cause problems for others it not their responsibility.
Another Example
On-the-other-hand, we have companies like BP spending millions of dollars to assure folks that they are a wonderful company and environmentally responsible when their money saving tactics were at the core of the oil spill disaster. We've also heard them saying that they have been following the rules and that everything was just an 'accident.' That doesn't explain the 750 issues that resulted in 9 million dollars in fines before the oil spill.
When making money is seen as a good, it is easy to rationalize behavior.
What do these examples have in common? The desire for profit. Now we normally call this greed, but the problems are really systemic. The brokers get more for selling structured products than CD's. BP managers get rewarded for saving money. Both of these structural issues drive behavior. I'm also willing to bet that the cultures in both companies insure that those who don't follow the party line pay for that deviation in some way.
The lesson here is that systems are built on intentions and those systems drive behavior.
Sustainable Values
Sustainable values, based on natural laws, look to create the same situations that nature creates in ecosystems. That means that actions have to be win, win, win or the ecosystem would fall apart. A clear understanding of these values means that there is no confusion between legal and ethical. It means that a caring for the larger system would mitigate behavior that damages that system.
You can tell the values people and companies hold by their actions and actions speak louder than words.
Not all ethical companies have sustainable values and it is just a matter of time before the actions of even well intentioned companies will begin to show signs of wear as we begin to rethink our relationship with the planet.
Check out our webinars to gain more insight.
Why do you think companies act unethically?
Post your comments below.
|
TrackBack URL for this entry: (info)
http://www.ethicalimpact.com/trackback.cfm?ID=14056
|
|
|
|
|
[<< Back]
|
|
| Archives |
|
May, 2013
April, 2013
March, 2013
February, 2013
January, 2013
November, 2012
October, 2012
September, 2012
August, 2012
July, 2012
June, 2012
May, 2012
April, 2012
March, 2012
February, 2012
January, 2012
December, 2011
October, 2011
September, 2011
August, 2011
July, 2011
June, 2011
May, 2011
April, 2011
March, 2011
February, 2011
January, 2011
October, 2010
September, 2010
August, 2010
May, 2007
|
|
|
|
FaceBook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Print
Permalink