Today, we talked about ethics and moral standards, and how they affect one’s personal and business decisions. I would like to tackle about the company’s ripple effect – when the company makes a decision, there is an impact not only on the primary stakeholders but also on society.
The backbone of business
Moving on to the arguments of business ethics…I concur with what my professor said, that business would not prosper without ethics. For me, ethics is the backbone of the entire business structure and operating system. A business operates based on what it believes to be right, and that the only way to practice ethics is to be ethical.
For instance, one of the things I consider before applying for a job is the company’s principles. Do I agree with its values? What I really like most about Metrobank is how the company gives a lot opportunities for its employees to grow their career. The very reason I moved to this bank was they offered me a Management Training program. After one year of being with the bank, I clearly observed how Metrobank values its employees in both monetary and non-monetary terms. Compensation and benefits package are sufficient enough for employees to stay until retirement. No wonder, most people I work with have been with the bank for more than 10 years, because of that rewarding experience they get. This makes me really motivated to work better, because it’s true that we only reap what we sow.
Also, the company values work-life balance, as employees are encouraged to not stay too late at work. It observes both Chinese and Filipino traditions (i.e. dragon dance, Catholic masses, chapel in the office, employees discouraged to weak all black in the office, etc.)
Born naturally good
On a personal perspective, I believe people are born naturally good human beings, since we are all God’s wonderful creations. It just depends on the environment we grew up in, the people we’re with, the government we have and the society we live in that our moral standards are molded, if not challenged.
For instance, abortion is legal in other countries but not here in the Philippines because the Church plays a big part in our society. Polygamy is accepted in Islam but not for Catholics. Same-sex marriage is legally accepted in other countries such as the United States, but not in our country. Looking at both perspectives, we cannot say one act is immoral simply because we do not agree to it, and vice versa. At the end of the day, it all boils down to different cultures, different environment, and mutual respect.
Not about the money
At the end of today’s session, we discussed a very interesting case: The Ford Pinto. My take on this case is that it is not morally right. One can never make an act at the expense of other people’s lives. Going back to the previous argument, a business will not prosper without ethics.
Also, not everything is about the money. Like what Ms. Suze Orman said, truth creates money; lies destroy it. Had Mr. Lee Iacocca been truthful from the very beginning that extensive R&D should have been considered before venturing out to producing small cars, instead of putting profits on top of the priority to keep up with the competition, it would have resulted to lesser damages.
Learning about the Ford Pinto case, I remember a quite similar story about business ethics. There was a certain news I read four years ago about SM Malls and the pine trees in Baguio, where SM had to ‘uproot’ lots of pine trees to make room for more parking space in SM Baguio. One would say that there should be nothing wrong with it because it’s SM’s property and they can literally do anything they want to do with it.
But what about the nature and the environment? Shouldn’t we be also wary about the effects of this to the whole city of Baguio during heavy rains and typhoons that might result in a landslide? SM’s counterargument is that they would ‘uproot’ the tree and plant it somewhere else. However, how many years would it take to grow trees? For me, it does not have to be always about money. After all, we are not called stewards of God’s creation for nothing. Quoting what my professor said, “We are not the true owners of the Earth, the future is.”
The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. This essay is part of a journal she keeps in fulfillment of the requirements of the course, Lasallian Business Leadership with Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics. Visit her blog at https://mincanites.wordpress.com/.
The views expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.