Page 164 - Just Deserts

Scrubbers

attempts to inoculate us with an out-of-date vaccine. To switch
metaphors, we must consider human nature as a constant factor in
any assessment of institutional ethics. God gave us hands, and also
caused to come into existence cookie jars. In a primitive society,
perhaps, where resources are few and everyone’s possessions are out
in the open, questionable practices might be immediately spotted and
dealt with summarily One or two hands chopped off, and the cookie
jar is safe. In our complex and convoluted world, however, the
diverticula of opportunity are spaced with great frequency along the
procedural channels of finance and litigation.”
He paused, taking the intellectual temperature of the room. Barely
above freezing, he decided; better cut to the cautionary tale in a hurry
before they slip into somnolent hypothermia.
“As managers of great enterprises, we are not tasked to behave
morally per se. That is the business of religion; the religion of
business is pure self-interest, guided by the supposedly blind hand of
market forces and the allegedly disinterested enforcement of
legislated regulation. When we come up against ethically ambiguous
situations, where the determination of right and wrong may
ultimately rest in the hands of a high-powered corporate legal staff,
our primary concern, in very plain terms, must be the establishment
of what we can get away with. This principle will not be found in the
text, nor should it be: it cannot be applied in any mechanical fashion,
and its very utterance can, in some circumstances, be actionable.
Those among you with the wisdom to grasp the meaning of my
words have already heard enough; the rest may listen to the following
story as a good example of how it is not always possible to pass on
the blame to others.”
“Not long ago, one of the largest companies in America was
brought to its knees by the greed and stupidity of its upper
management. I am speaking of Cocker and Philpott, maker of many
of the household products you no doubt grew up with. Their pre-
eminence in the fields of patent medicine, dental hygiene and
cleansers for all parts of the human anatomy and habitat has ceased;
other, newer names seized the baton when Cocker and Philpott
stumbled and fell. These newcomers, it may be hoped, will not repeat
their predecessor’s mistakes. It all began with new regulations
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