Ethics in Business
Posted on Sat, 12th November 2005 at 11:12 under Life, Job SeekingA person for whom I have great respect once told me that there are no ethics in business. I disagreed at the time and I still disagree. It is possible to be in business and have ethics - they just don’t do you much good.
A topical example. Last Wednesday, an agent called me with an urgent requirement for a C# programmer in Sheffield at a decent rate starting on the Thursday. Excellent - I took it. The procedure was a little odd; multiple people represented the agency and I was not interviewed by the client. No matter. The agency and I arranged that the first two days would be probationary.
All excited, I attended the client on Thursday. A nice office full of nice, friendly people. I am given the specification for the project I am to work on. Over Thursday, I reviewed and analysed the project specification. Something was not quite right. I slept on it.
On Friday, I attended the client and reported to them that the project had significant technical and non-technical problems (or, in technical language, the project was “fubar”). I informed the client that in my professional opinion, they had no need for a C# programmer because the project was infeasible. They asked me to write a report detailing my reasons which I proceeded to do. On receiving and reading my report, the client decided to shelve the project.
I may still be unemployed but I have never felt so proud of my professional behaviour. Doing the right thing may not be profitable but it is ethical. If business is only about making profit - integrity be damned, honesty be damned - then count me out. I’ll survive some other way.
Ali said: November 12th, 2005 at 21:38
Hey Paul,
While I am proud of the principled stance you took, I need to point out that neither the business nor the agent displayed any ethics, (although on this occasion ehtics were not required by the business) only you.
There are no ethics when it comes to making money in a business. It`s dog eat dog and screw the other guy without getting screwed yourself. Screw the customer, screw the Inland Revenue, screw your suppliers and anyone else that comes between you and making a profit.
Having run my own business and failed partly because of being too nice and ethical and watching the way some of my customers worked and made plenty of money I cannot help but wonder about teh cost of having ethics……………..
ReplyLibertus said: November 13th, 2005 at 00:36
Ali,
Although I agree that taking an ethical stance is costly, my recently experience has taught me that ethics are also rewarding, if not financially.
I’m sure that if enough intelligent people put their minds together, they could devise a means of doing business that is profitable, ethical and fun. Worth a try, anyway.
ReplyAli said: November 14th, 2005 at 19:31
It`s very costly. It cost me my business, my house and almost my sanity. While I agree that running an ethical business is the best possible thing to do, the rest of the business world does not agree. All the management training horseshit regarding win-win is mosly bollocks. The only win most businesses are interested in is the there own and no one elses.
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