Nexus of Ethics
Enron was the last time now, I mean it!
No! Krispy Kreme was the last straw! Now they're getting tough and cleaning things up!
No! Refco...
Corporate Governance and ethical management may have once been the butt of jokes for MBA's, but now students, faculty, and administration are keening to the idea that Ethical management is not just a great idea- it's crucial in order to graduate healthy and progressive managers.
There will always be a dilemma facing management. Sometimes, if not often- ethics and strategy have a zero-sum relation. At least- that's how it's perceived, and ethics, quite frankly is seen as an academic past time, as opposed to a scope for decisions. There are variables that have to be addressed when dealing with any decision, and in a utopia, the variables being addressed include ethical implications. However, it seems that many take the approach that the variables to be satisfied do not include ethics. It is my belief, and I am certain I'm not alone in this- that there is room among measures of a effective campaign to include ethics along with shareholder gain, market share, volume processed, cost savings made, efficiency attained, and of course- perhaps most importantly- kudos attained by the decision maker and the implementer.
When it's a key balance between strategy and ethics; ethics versus market share, ethics versus share holder gain, and ethics versus cost savings, etc... scope of ethical values is even more important. It's not a time to expend the need for ethics, quite the opposite, the ethical ends should guide the means. Just as in any of the other elements, where a certain qualitative or quantitative measure differentiates between a success and a failure, ethics should be among those measures. While ethics may seem heuristically antithetical to some, I insist that it is the essence of effective management.
No! Krispy Kreme was the last straw! Now they're getting tough and cleaning things up!
No! Refco...
Corporate Governance and ethical management may have once been the butt of jokes for MBA's, but now students, faculty, and administration are keening to the idea that Ethical management is not just a great idea- it's crucial in order to graduate healthy and progressive managers.
There will always be a dilemma facing management. Sometimes, if not often- ethics and strategy have a zero-sum relation. At least- that's how it's perceived, and ethics, quite frankly is seen as an academic past time, as opposed to a scope for decisions. There are variables that have to be addressed when dealing with any decision, and in a utopia, the variables being addressed include ethical implications. However, it seems that many take the approach that the variables to be satisfied do not include ethics. It is my belief, and I am certain I'm not alone in this- that there is room among measures of a effective campaign to include ethics along with shareholder gain, market share, volume processed, cost savings made, efficiency attained, and of course- perhaps most importantly- kudos attained by the decision maker and the implementer.
When it's a key balance between strategy and ethics; ethics versus market share, ethics versus share holder gain, and ethics versus cost savings, etc... scope of ethical values is even more important. It's not a time to expend the need for ethics, quite the opposite, the ethical ends should guide the means. Just as in any of the other elements, where a certain qualitative or quantitative measure differentiates between a success and a failure, ethics should be among those measures. While ethics may seem heuristically antithetical to some, I insist that it is the essence of effective management.
posted by Mike at 11/11/2005 03:28:00 p.m.
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