Piotr Bołtuć
Business ethics: The Sins that come from not quite knowing how to sin

Building fortunes is hardly a white gloves kind of business. In this context moral absolutism is ill prepared to serve as a background theory for business ethics. In order to satisfy the principle of responsible recommendation (saying that, save for extremely rare instances, businesses may not be required morally, or legally, to engage in practices detrimental to their business) we should rather follow those who propose the Aristotelian model of business ethics. Aristotle says that it is best to navigate between Scylla of too little and Charybdis of too much focus on any particular concern. His theory indicates that this golden mean approach applies also to such laudable political and moral concerns as social equity and avoidance of causing pain and suffering. If presented with moral absolutism as the only acceptable standard young business leaders will, quite understandably, reject business ethics altogether, which frustrates any hopes of enhancing ethical practices in business.

As recent EU directives indicate, there is a shortage of pro-business attitudes on this old continent. Business schools should help create such attitudes, which is the main goal of our course Rationality and Moral Choice organized together by SGH and the University of Illinois at Springfield. In this course the cohorts of 15 students from each school engage in lively online discussions aimed at understanding business rationality and the role that can be carved out for business ethics within this model. Students cover elements of the theory of individual rationality, game theory, goal selection, collective choice, strategy as well as social capital and, last but not least, moral theory and business ethics. The point of the course is to view business ethics as an important variable among those guiding one's business, and also personal, decisions. Civility and ethical practices are good for business, for instance they help decrease transaction costs, but only as long as those concerns find proper fit among the many considerations in a competitive economy.