Current Issues: Business Ethics

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.Consequences of breakdown of of ethics The breakdown of ethics in the workplace has dire social and personal consequences:Resentment and ill willRuined relationshipsDeep rationalizationsSeared consciencesCycles of oppression, poverty, and retaliationIncidence of crimehopes polMonday follows Sunday; what we claim to believe in church must be translated into action every day of the week.  Judaism unusual for its ethical monotheism:Sabbath broke cycle...... was not just one day for righteous living (Isaiah 58).Provision is made for the poor and the oppressed -- all of those at a disadvantage.Its prophets spoke truth to power, challenging all those corrupted by the self-directed ethics of the world -- including those wielding illegitimate power, be they priests or even kings.Passages to ponderLev 19:33-37Deut 25:13-16; Proverbs 11:1, 16:11; 20:10,23Wisdom of Amenemope 16: "Do not lean on the scales nor falsify the weights."Amos 8:4-6Luke 19:8-9Prevalence of compromiseAbundance of biblical passages suggests there were widespread problems in this area.Since cultures vary widely, it is wiser to offer principles, rather than a list of practicals. (All the same, principles arepractical!)A Dozen PrinciplesPay taxesReject shoddy materials and workmanship (excellence)Insist on transparency ("fine print," deception, honor)Uphold employee contracts (integrity and clear communication)Employee benefits (part of a fair compensation)No threats, e.g. implying you might terminate an employee who won't work extra hours, do favors, and so on (abuse of authority).Disingenuous advertising.Thing theologically about involvement in promoting products that destroy life (e.g. cigarettes).Neither shrink working hours nor stretch breaks.Don't violate your conscience.Treat foreigners (or those otherwise at a disadvantage) with equity.Value people over goods and services.ConclusionWe live in the world -- most of us listening to this lesson are in the working world -- yet we are not to be of the world.Like Moses in the Torah, Jesus in the new covenant demands that we practice what we preach. He dismisses any notion that what we are in private is disconnected from what are do in public.Is it possible you and I have some thinking to do?  Some honest soul-searching, in which we consider whether we are living, and working, ethically?