An Introduction To Business Ethics

If a thing is right or wrong, then being a businessperson does not remove the obligation to or not partake in that thing, just as being a soldier or scientist does not remove an existing moral obligation.  In the business world, a host of complex scenarios could arise that challenge those in the workplace, and people need to consider beforehand how they should react.  Of course, knowing ethical obligations requires that one be familiar with certain philosophical and theological concepts, as a human cannot know moral truths through intuition, emotion, or consensus [1].  Business experience cannot actually tell us if moral rights and obligations exist or what they are.  Christian businesspeople in particular need to be concerned with working in a way that is morally upright.

An act or attitude is not right or wrong depending on its results.  If something is wrong, it is wrong by its very nature, because it should not be done simply because of what it is.  For instance, if slave trading is wrong, it doesn't matter if the dissolution of the institution will destroy the economic growth of a city--the slave trade is still evil and people should not engage in it (Exodus 21:16).  Likewise, if torturing a person in a certain way is wrong, it doesn't matter if torturing someone in that way will deter crime--that kind of torture is still evil, and like the slave trade in the previous example, people should not engage in it (Deuteronomy 25:1-3).  In the same way, if, say, falsifying accounting records is wrong, then it doesn't matter if doing so helps a company keep a relationship with a profitable client, as the falsification of records is still wrong (Leviticus 19:11).  Utilitarianism, the idea that the outcome of a situation determines if a preceding act was right or wrong, is logically untrue, and Biblically untrue as well.

But just because something is inflexibly right or wrong by its very nature does not mean that right conduct never brings about pragmatic business benefits.  Ethical business behavior can foster a relationship of trust between a company and its external stakeholders, including the consumers that keep it going.  Without consumer support, a company could not continue to operate or make a profit.  Doing the right thing, or at least attempting to, could be very appreciated by both internal stakeholders, like employees, and external stakeholders, like investors and customers.  But a course of action or an intention is not right or wrong because of such results or the lack of them.

Yet this does not mean, of course, that every business that has an official code of ethical expectations fulfills or encourages these expectations out of benevolence or concern for moral obligations themselves.  Perhaps a company's leadership merely wants to have a good reputation, and thus avoids dishonesty, illicit discrimination, exploitation of employees, or bribery on those grounds.  An ordinary civilian can certainly do something morally good with selfish intentions, and an organization's managers can do the same.  A company leader might, given the chance if no one would know, sell harmful products, overwork employees, or gratuitously destroy a part of the environment in order to make a profit.  Thus people need to remember that mere ethical behavior alone does not indicate ethical motivations.

Christian businesses should set the example in the business world, with at a minimum there being no sexism, racism, sexual harassment, or dishonesty tolerated within a Christian firm or a firm run by a Christian.  Such businesses should be among the absolute best representations of what it means for businesses to treat their employees in a consistent and just way and to serve customers honestly.  Other businesses have the same obligations, as moral obligations are binding whether or not someone wants or is aware of them.  But Christians need to consistently apply their worldview to all areas of life, and that includes the business sphere.

[1].  https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-nature-of-conscience.html