Business Ethics

I recently got into a debate where a friend of mine argued that business and ethics had an inverse relationship. The optimist in me had to push back against this but he did bring up some good examples where being ethical bogs down a business’ bottom line and reduces profits. I would argue that ethical practices can benefit a business by building trust and credibility with customers, attracting and retaining talented employees, and enhancing reputation and brand value. If a business is not acting ethically most of the time, government regulations and consumer sentiment will eventually bring them down. But it is certainly concerning how many of the world’s most successful companies are known for acting unethically: producing products and services that are bad for people’s health and well-being, doing things cheaply that harm the environment, overworking and underpaying employees, the examples are infinite. I hope a more conscious capitalism emerges in which ethical lapses by major companies is not rewarded.