Business Ethics: Overrated or Underrated?
Business

Business Ethics: Overrated or Underrated?

Ethical behavior, quality character, honesty, moral integrity: how does one view these human attributes in business? I tend to see them as a given with the people I interact with both in the business world and in my personal life. I expect the best from people, but I keep my eyes open for behavior that goes against my expectations.

I am a business broker based in Florida. In the profession of helping buying and selling businesses. In my profession, as in most professions, you have what some consider to be good business brokers, bad business brokers, and good business brokers. Most industries have the good, the bad, and the average. Are ethical practices the ones that help define what is good, bad or right?

I recently experienced a trading activity that made me take special note of the actions of trading clients. Basically, we had a verbal understanding and agreement regarding a business relationship that we would enter into contractually. As I was driving to meet the client to sign the documents outlining our agreement, my client was approached by others.

The client and I did not have any written agreement between us. The client could potentially go in another direction, which could cost me a fair amount of money. I left at 5:00 am to drive 6 hours to meet with the client and about 1/2 hour before we got to our meeting he called me to tell me about this other situation. After hearing what he had in mind, he gave me a little pleasure when he asked me how long before he could get there and sign our papers and represent him with this potential buyer of his business. He told me that he felt that he needed my agent’s help, but that he could have handled the situation much differently. Prior to this exchange, I viewed this potential customer as a good, honest, and straightforward person. His actions reinforced for me the value of dealing with a person of good character.

I have shared this story with several of my friends who are business owners and their response was quite common. They also highly value dealing with a person of good character. But the fact that those around me hold business relationships with people of good character in such high regard makes me realize that the good character of others is a valuable but somewhat limited asset.

A few weeks ago, my teenage son and I were discussing the situation with Tiger Woods regarding his many documented adventures. We are both active golfers and had admired Tiger Woods’ golf skills for the past 10+ years.

Golf is an interesting game and it has been said that one can learn more about a person in one round of golf than in multiple office meetings. I asked my son if Tiger Woods had “cheated” his wife and his family, does he think he could have chewed golf? My son said, “No,” I said, “Why?” He said that he believes that Tiger Woods considers golf so important that he would not cheat at golf. So I asked him the obvious: “So you think he considers cheating in golf to be worse than cheating on your wife and family and that’s where he draws the line?” My teenage son said, “Yes.”

I have been associated with a number of different organizations, associations, and trade groups. It still a little surprises me that many of these groups feel compelled to teach ethics. I am in the profession of being a business broker and work with individuals and companies in the business buying and selling process. I take the fact that I will treat my clients in an honest, ethical, and moral manner as a given, however, when I observe others who “consistently take the right path,” I take special care. I have been a member of the business community for several decades and I recognize that most of us are on a quest to increase financial gain. Where does ethical behavior fit into that mix?

*Do you believe that business ethics can be taught and learned by everyone in the business world?

*Are business ethics very different from the normal ethics used in the everyday game of life?

*Can you teach ethics to a person of 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 years? Or is it ingrained in you before you entered the workforce?

*Is it okay to treat someone unethically and then pass it off as “just business”? To this I say No and I have always felt it. I’ve never really understood “It’s just a business.”

*I never understood “I had to rip you off $X, but it was just business”, “I know I treated you badly, but it was just business”, what does that really mean?

*Does proper ethical behavior really require real thought or is it more of an involuntary response that just happens like breathing and blinking?

* Is it about one person and honest ethical behavior expected that is taken for granted and overlooked to allow “bigger business issues” to be discussed, or is it the important issue around which everything else revolves?

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