Saturday, October 15, 2005

A Starter Kit for Business Ethics

A Starter Kit for Business Ethics: "A Starter Kit for Business Ethics

Corporate cheating won't be stopped by regulation or legislation. That's why whistle-blowing is everybody's job."

Pete's Points:

Ms Zuboff has a lot of interesting points to make about the difficulties of the individual trying to prevail against the might of large corporations. She notes and advises about collective action and of course exposing irregularities to the sunlight of discussion and public exposure.

One reality that has always been present in our world however is the measure of the risk to the individual and his or her family arising from such action.

In a few years time, we are told, there will be underemployment as baby boomers reach their old age and leave the work force. At present however there is no underemployment that appears to be visible. Thus the risk is high, equally there are people in other parts of the world where there is also a high level of unemployment and where costs are far lower than in more developed countries. With the advent of modern technology and a developing tradition of outsourcing the risks are higher then ever. On the other hand simply conniving with unethical practices is also likely to lead to a bad outcome.

This is really the moral dilemma of our time.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Pete

Interesting "Business Ethic", I wonder if an organisation like the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) would know how to use them, IF they know about ethics at all?

Anyway I am more interested if the Association has ever heard of mediation?

I do know one thing about the Association, they really know how to bully.

So that brings us back to the beginning, can you really whistle blow? The cost to my family, which is seen as fair game to the AASW, is not worth it.

So good luck for the future, the future of Social Work the profession, not good luck to the AASW.

Garpet said...

I sometimes get a comment out of the blue but this one beats most of them.

How my commentary on Zuboff's article has anything to do with the Australian Association of Social Workers is beyond me.

However, in the true and time honoured tradition of the social work profession, "I hear your pain, anonymous, but have no idea what it is all about. Would you like to talk about it?"