Does Ethics Of Business Students Predict Business Ethics?

How The Ethics Of Undergraduate Students May Reveal Cause Of Growing Corporate Corruption 

I recently wrote on Utilitarian model of decision making and when it was examined in detail what was revealed were serious ethical flaws.  To day's article focuses on the ethical belief that might makes right.

Might Makes Right Ethics Model 

Here is another example of a seriously flawed ethical decision making model. Even its name gives pause “Might Makes Right.”   

It’s the number one strategy of dictators and tyrants everywhere. Now get this! It was the third most preferred choice among the business students surveyed.  

What’s Wrong With The Might Make Ethics? 

First “right” is not an outcome; it is a moral principle. Lying to take advantage of someone, murder, exploiting, are all things people know are wrong no matter what kind of power a person has. Now not all might makes right practices are appalling as the ones listed.   

Here is a sample of what countries; and corporations do because they have the power 

• Sweatshops
  
• Separation of Races
  
• Refusing care to disabled
  
• Controlling the price of fossil fuels
  
• Berate employees in public
  
• Harassing subordinates/peers sexually or otherwise
  
• Pollute
  
• Give or accept bribes

Do those in power go to these practices over night or to the same extreme? No. However, each time one goes to the edges of the envelope it pushes what is marginally acceptable out a bit further where someone will take that step. 

Have You Ever Worked At A Place Like This? 

I worked in a business that had rules employees were expected to follow, but if a person was successful enough (s)he was considered to be exempt from the rules; that is, until their performance faltered then it was used for a reason to dismiss the employee.  

Heck you don’t need a Ph.D. to see that it is might makes right in action. As long as the person was producing (a form of power) that employee was above the rules.  

What kind of culture do you think that fostered? Can you guess if might makes right was the policy for employees how the business viewed clients?  

Let me explain what it was like for the clients. Any sale tactic, (sales is about influence – a type of power) as long as it resulted in a sale was tolerated. Then once they paid for the product customers were hounded for referrals. In short, it was predatory.  

Here is Another Example of Might Makes Right Ethics 

Wall Street and the financial institutions as a whole suffered because of might makes right thinking. Leaders of financial institutions were willing to wink at sometimes outright unethical practices and other times very questionable ethical choices.  

Everyone pretty much knows the outcome of the financial institutions willingness to allow questionable behavior by employees, in fact, reward dubious ethics as long as profits were the results.  

There is story after story I can give you about institutions and businesses allowing questionably ethical behavior. Most of them like, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, I can pull right from the news it does not take much research. 

Here’s the Bottom Line  

Companies, organizations, and leaders that practice it or tolerate might makes right decision making are not doing their job. It is short term thinking, it simply is bad business and the fallout is shown to wreck economies and destroy businesses.   

Alex Dail

http://www.leadershipsuccessnow.com

Guyette, R., & Piotrowski, C. (2010). Preferences For Key Ethical Principles That Guide Business School Students. Education, 131(2), 268-272. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.