Results tagged “greed” from Marilyn Sewell

Students in the current graduating class of M.B.A. students at Harvard are being asked to sign on the dotted line--no, not for a fancy job that will bring in six figures--they are being asked by their peers to sign the "M.B.A. Oath," a pledge to act responsibly and ethically and to refrain from advancing their "own narrow ambitions" at the expense of other people.  Seems simple enough.  Doctors have to sign a pledge saying that they will try to heal people.  Judges have to pledge that they will uphold the Constitution.  Ministers promise a variety of things, often including the exceedingly difficult one, "to speak the truth to power."  But only a scant 20% of the Harvard M.B.A. class was willing to sign. 

The headline in the NY Times (5/30, p. B4) reads "A Promise to Be Ethical in an Era of Immorality," and the writer seems to be impressed that all these young business people are signing such a vow.  I'm wondering about the other 80%--are they not planning to act responsibly and ethically?  Are they planning to advance their own narrow ambitions, in spite of who gets hurt?  If so, could we have the names of the non-signers?  They'll probably be investing our retirement funds in a few short years.

When I read this article, I was reminded of a graduating law student, a member of First Unitarian Church, who told me some years ago that he had asked his fellow graduates to sign a pledge reading: "Before I take any job, I will ask myself whether or not this job contributes to the greater good."  Note that the pledge doesn't ask anyone to refuse a job that doesn't contribute to the good, but merely to "ask myself" the question.  As I remember, seven law students agreed to sign.

So what's going on?  Change is rearing its difficult head, and it's going to take a while before ethical behavior becomes the norm in business, if it ever does.  But this is a new leaning in the right direction.  The norm can shift.  People will become ashamed of shoddy behavior  when enough of their compatriots clearly disapprove of such behavior instead of admiring it, if it makes a buck.

This is not to say that all business people are unethical and money-hungry--not at all.  And when I see a business like Neil Kelly or New Seasons and watch the values they operate by, I take hope for the future.  It's just that they seem to be the exception and not the rule. 

Bruce Kogut, director of the Sanford C. Bernstein & Company Center for Leadership and Ethics, says that students are beginning to think about how they earn their income, not just how much.  (What a concept!)  He says,"They see inequities and the role of business of address them."  I ask you, how could business students at a school this sophisticated not understand the role of business in addressing economic inequities?  Adam Smith understood something about the relationship of capitalism to community and the larger good--don't Harvard M.B.A. students read Smith, like in the first semester of B school?

The fact is, though, it doesn't matter what you read, or what your teachers say, if the cultural ethic is all about greed.  People will do what other people do, almost always.  Those who don't, surprise us with their integrity. Change will come with leadership and education around these issues, and when the norm becomes service, these grads will want to serve.

Sleazy business practice will then become like smoking--you'll have to leave the group and sneak around out back to do it.  I can hardly wait.

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I don't know anyone who is not fearful about this nation's economic plight these days.  Since pension plans have mostly gone by the board, workers have invested their money in the stock market, thinking that they would retire, and they now wonder if and when they will.  Those who are working wonder if their jobs will hold.  Retailers and small businesses of all kinds face lean times, and many of them will close.  Those who provide services of various kinds, from massage to house cleaning to car washes, will find that their customers cannot afford to come so often, or perhaps not at all.  Restaurants will see empty tables more often.  Recreational facilities, from state parks to ski resorts, will experience fewer visitors. 

Yes, everyone is worried.  But there are some among us who will be receiving the brunt of this economic crash, and they would be the 20% or so at the bottom of the economic scale--the ones who were working part-time because they could not find full-time jobs, and now the part-time job has been cut; the ones who are among the 30% of young people who drop out of high school; the workers who live so far out that they can't commute to their low-paying jobs in the city; the families who were depending upon help from another family member who is now unable to provide it; the families who were healthy previously but could not afford health insurance and now have had a major illness or accident.  These folks will be wondering how they will pay the rent and buy food, knowing that they can do one, but not the other.

So how to be thankful?  Well, I would say that those of us who don't have to worry about losing our home or where our next meal is coming from or how we're going to pay the electric bill, I would say we have a lot to be thankful for, right there.  If our basic needs are met, let us then understand that all the rest is really icing on the cake.

My family and I have decided not to give one another Christmas gifts this year, and to instead give that money where it might be better used.  Personally, I'm giving my gift money to the Food Bank, because I know that that agency is desperate to meet the increasing demand, and I am distressed that families, including young children, might be hungry--at any time, but especially during the holiday season.  Our Alternative Gift Mart at the church also suggests many other worthy alternatives. 

I'm afraid greed has won the day, and the house of cards that has become our economic system is falling to the ground.  With the wise leadership of our new President, I believe we will begin to build an economy that is responsive to all the people, not just the 1% at the top. But this building of a new economic system will take time and patience.  Many will suffer, both in our country and in the rest of the world.  Let us be mindful of those on the fringes, who will suffer the most.  Let us understand that Love asks us to share the bounty of our lives, such as it is. 

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