TRAil of A TERRoRisT - Point Park University

Q. Point: Do you believe business ethics have improved overthe last 30 years?A. Mosey: No, business ethics hasn’t improved. What isdifferent in the last 30 years is that large corporations havehad to pay more attention so that they do not get involvedin lawsuits. Until laws are passed and regulations occur thattell us we have to do something differently, we concentrateon the bottom line. Ethics is ethics. It’s not just about whatone aught to do or what’s right and wrong. It’s really moreabout trying to find universal values, principals and virtuesthat contribute to the good life. Philosophers in Westernphilosophy have always contemplated what makes a justsociety. Some students come into the classroom thinkingthat ethics is just their value system. So the first thing Ialways says is ethics has nothing to do with your religion,it has nothing to do with your value system, it has nothingto do with the legal system, it has nothing to do with whatsociety values as right, because that changes. It’s really aquest to discover those universal values and principals thatwill give us the good life and the just society.Q. Point: In your opinion, could our current economic state beattributed to poor judgment, unethical behavior or both?A. Mosey: I think there were a lot of very well intentionedpeople, CEOs, CFOs, who just didn’t know the decisionsthey were making were really poor ones. That’s at the best.But there were many people in business, those with themost to gain, who had unbridled greed. We’ve all heard ofEnron, WorldCom, and Lehman Brothers and all the financialinstitutions we’re bailing out: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.We may have just seen the very tip of the iceberg.Q. Point: In these uncertain times, do you feel that companieswill behave less ethically in their own-self interest? Or couldcompanies react by realigning their ethical standards?A. Mosey: The good thing is, in times of crisis, peoplebecome much more introspective and contemplative. As acorporation is nothing more than a bunch of people, nowis the time to apply what we’ve been thinking about. If wedecide, as consumers, that we will support sustainablebusiness, we will get sustainable businesses.Q. Point: With recent bailouts and layoffs, should executivesbe expected to take a cut in salary?A. Mosey: If they had the slightest bit of humility, it wouldn’tbe expected, it would be the only thing to do. If you’regoing to provide ethical leadership, you have to let go ofthe ego. We need leaders who listen, think and questionand who do not feel vulnerable at being wrong. I believethere are universal principles like integrity, compassion,humility and courage. If you have leaders who can create thatethical culture inside the business, then you do everythingdifferently.Q. Point: When looking at the large number of foreclosuresacross the United States, it could be argued that both thepredatory lenders and consumers share the blame. Arecompanies expected to act more ethically than individuals?A. Mosey: We all share the blame. Capitalism married greedand this is what we’ve got. Companies cannot be expectedto act more ethically than individuals. Companies are nothingmore than a group of individuals to begin with. How could weever expect a company to act more ethically? We can’t.Q. Point: As a result of sub prime mortgages, deflatedstocks and bailouts, do you believe that there will be moreregulation in the future?A. Mosey: Most definitely. And there will be somethingelse: over the last eight years, we’ve lacked enforcementof regulation. There have been a lot of regulatory laws onthe books, yet there hasn’t been any enforcement to makesure companies follow the regulations. But that’s not reallythe point, we have to be more self-regulated and that’s whyethics is so important because that’s where a business canbuild the culture of integrity.Q. Point: In many cases, those found to be acting unethicallyseem to be without remorse. What do you believe causesthese individuals to view the world so differently?A. Mosey: When you think about an ethical leader, you thinkabout one who has self-knowledge. A true leader empowerspeople and that means humility; that you’re able to giveup power. Ethics implies that you don’t have a just societywithout people living together in community and caring forone another. Unethical individuals are totally without selfknowledge,they’re not contemplative and they’re caught upin their ego. As you gain in power, your ego begins to takeover. They begin to feel they’re special and they deservemore. Power is addictive.Q. Point: Have globalization and technological advancesimproved or weakened ethics or both?A. Mosey: Technological advances are coming fast andthey’re huge. We cannot stop it, but we can manage it. If wedecide, as a people, that we want to produce good from ourtechnology, then that will happen. If, however, greed andpower are the winners, it could destroy us. For example,radio-frequency identification or RFID, makes George Orwelllook like he’s not even close. With RFID, every product,every person and every animal could have a chip imbeddedthat could track what you are doing, where you are and whoyou’re around every minute of the day. There are prototypesfor this technology in use today. People don’t realize theamount of harm that can be done with this technology bythose who are unethical. The economic globalization hasembraced capitalism. We have a much tougher problem,to bring us all together because we’re so diverse. But onceagain, ethics is perfectly placed because we’re talking aboutuniversal principles and values. I’m optimistic about this. Wealready have organizations that talk about a global code ofconduct in business and that’s a good thing.Q. Point: Is free trade an ethical issue for our increasinglyglobal economy?A. Mosey: Sure. Capitalism is built on free trade. Whathas been problematic: in order to make sure that we canoffer our customers the lowest price, we’ve outsourcedour manufacturing by going into third world countries tomanufacture and pay the workers peanuts. Then we bringthat product back in and sell it for way more, but still at alow cost. Wal-Mart is a perfect example. Wal-Mart will buyfrom the lowest manufacturing bidder. Wal-Mart is not aparticularly ethical company even though now they’re tryingto say that they care. You have to remember that socialresponsibility is not ethical responsibility. Corporations mustsay that they care. Behind the scenes, those are words,marketing tools.Q. Point: Do you feel sustainability will continue to be a keyword in the future of ethics?A. Mosey: Absolutely. That’s the only way we can go. Asustainable business is like having a three-legged stool.One of the legs is people, another one is planet and thethird is profit. And so a sustainable business says, I have anobligation to the people, my stakeholders, to the planet, andto profit. If you don’t have ethical leaders, you will never havea sustainable business.Professor Mosey can be reached at jmosey@pointpark.edu.www.pointpark.edu 19