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GD Prep Topic 8: Business and Ethics don’t go hand in hand
Rules of the discussions:
1. The topic will be available till 1 am on the day next to the day it is first posted.
2. I / The IMM team will personally try to judge and evaluate all the points made after 1 am and reply back to all of them.
3. The discussion will remain open for any other clarifications/points.
4. Points will be awarded for each reply. And all participants will be ranked.
5. You will be allowed to change your stance.
Look forward to a healthy debate !
Ethics refers to rules regarding what is right and wrong. Business is an economic activity undertaken with the aim of making profit. Considering the current scams and unscrupulous activities one might think that business and ethics dont go hand in hand but it is the other way round. Illegal ways gives more profit but its short lived and as its black money it cant be ploughed back in business for expansion which is necessary. In addition an organisation with good ethics makes profit and achieve huge success. One of biggest example is Infosys with ethics way shown by mr. Narayana murthy. As a business earns from society and also gets resources from them it is duty of business to repay back and ethics help in deciding actions. hence business ethics is essential part of business rather than being different.
One of the common misconceptions that prevails even today is “Business and ethics don’t go hand in hand”. I vehemently oppose this notion. To begin with the foundation of any business lies in customer trust and satisfaction. No matter how inexpensive or how unique the offerings (product/service) of a business maybe, it wouldn’t make any connect unless the user can trust it. Looking at an example from our own country, the Tata Group, epitomises values like trust and ethics. The treatment and benefits provided to each of the employees and the quality of its offerings to its customers go on to show that ethical businesses can go a long way as profit-making ventures
I do not agree with the statement ” Business and ethics do not go hand in hand ” . Ethics cannot be limiting factor, not only in business but in any sphere of life. Any compromise with ethics is wrong. The profits earned unethically will be transient. Unethical practices ultimately result in a negative brand name for the persons involved. Customers will not trust the brand. Truth and ethics always prevail in the end. The employees of a value-based organization perform without fear. So, transparency and ethical practices should be the buzzword of any organization that wants to survive long term. Thus, ethics is a freedom and not a constraint in business.
Great Insights from Everyone!
@Nikhil Bahrani: You had a very structured beginning to the discussion.
“Considering the current scams and unscrupulous activities one might think that business and ethics don’t go hand in hand but it is the other way round.” While making this point you could have elaborated more on some examples like Satyam case and Chennai Super Kings controversy.The assumption that black money cannot be ploughed back into business operations does not stands as there are many organizations who are doing so and escape the legal tussles as well.
You cited an excellent example by mentioning Mr. Narayana Murthy but you could have substantiated it more by giving further elaboration.
The conclusion was appropriate.
Hence, overall your participation can be rated good in terms of structure and presentation but content was lacking somewhere.@Akshita:Thanks for your points. It was a well structured participation with substantial example.
@Kumar Mayank: Thanks for your views. The content was superb but examples were lacking.
Just to add on to the discussion, if you take out ethics from business, it is no different from a bank robbery. In both instances, objective is to make money, it is ethics that makes all the difference. A prime example that one should cite here is that of Rajat Gupta. Despite all of his qualities, at the end of the day, he was unethical and paid the price for it. :good:
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