The turn to values

Business has changed dramatically in the past few decades. Advances in technology, increasing globalization, heightened competition, shifting demographics – these have all been documented and written about extensively. Far less notice has been given to another, more subtle, change – one that is just as remarkable as these more visible developments. What I have in mind is the attention being paid to values in many companies today.

When I began doing research and teaching about business ethics in the early 1980s, skepticism about this subject was pervasive. The whole enterprise, said critics, was misguided and based on a naive view of the business world. Back then, accepted wisdom held that “business ethics” was a contradiction in terms. The most generous view was that business ethics had something to do with corporate philanthropy, a topic that might interest executives after their companies became financially successful. But even then, it was only a frill – an indulgence for the wealthy or eccentric.

Today, attitudes are different. Though far from universally embraced – witness the scandals of 2001 and 2002 – ethics is increasingly viewed as an important corporate concern. What is our purpose? What do we believe in? What principles should guide our behavior? What do we owe one another and the people we deal with – our employees, our customers, our investors, our communities? Such questions of ethics are being taken seriously in many companies around the world.