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CONVINCING STUDENTS THAT ETHICS MATTERS
Geoffrey P. Lantos 
Professor of Business Administration
lantos@stonehill.edu

Ethics education has been big business for over a dozen years. Today we are having the most lively
ethics discussions since ancient Greece. Yet, the skeptics continue to question whether all this activity is
reducing the rate of ethical infractions in the marketplace. Along with Plato they ask: “Can virtue be
taught?”

The empirical evidence isn't encouraging as the business pages continue to read like The Chronicle of
Corruption . There are a lot of people who passed ethics courses now rotting in prisons.

Conventional wisdom says that, while ethics educators aren't responsible for converting sinners (after
all, college isn't Sunday school), we can and should raise our young scholars' level of moral sensitivity. At
a minimum, an ethics education can help already ethical people to better face the moral dilemmas that
arise in the business world since it assures they have already put some thought into how they would
handle these challenging situations in advance rather than on the spot, where it is too easy to give in to
temptation.

It is well known that many people become involved in white collar crime not out of greed or
malevolence but rather out of weakness; they drift or stumble over the ethical line in the sand rather
than crossing over it purposively.

But, what about the students sitting on the proverbial fence -- the”good guys” who are basically moral in
their personal lives but are convinced that business, as a game, sport, or even war, must be played
outside the realm of individual morality? Too many students believe that to succeed on the business
battlefield you must leave your personal morals at the business' door when you check in each morning.
We hear such pragmatic maxims as: “It's survival of the fittest,” “Might makes rich,” “It's dog eat dog,
and the dog that snaps fastest gets the bone,” “Do whatever you have to do to get the job done,” and
(my personal favorite), “Go ahead and do it, just don't get caught/don't tell me about it.” And what
about the scoundrels? Can knowledge of ethical theories and decision making improve their ethical
batting average, or are they a lost cause?

The bottom line (so to speak) is that we must impart the value of values, converting the moral agnostics
and unbelievers to a saving knowledge of the worth of virtue in the marketplace. This requires more
than just the head knowledge we bestow in the classroom – it also necessitates heart knowledge.
Aristotle said that virtue consists not merely in knowing what is right but in having the will to do what is
right. The apostle Paul lamented, “The good that I wish I do not do; but I practice the very evil I do not
wish.” Former Watergate conspirator and Prison Fellowship founder Chuck Colson has noted that “
reason alone is no match for passion . The fundamental problem with learning how to reason through
ethical solutions is that it doesn't give you a mechanism to override your natural tendency to do what is
wrong.” Knowledge of the good does not guarantee a commitment to the good. Even though some
people know the ethical rules and how to make an ethical decision in a classroom setting, when the
rubber meets the road they experience emotional highjackings.

Our students need not only the intellect but also the will to do the right thing. Short of religious
regeneration, can the solution lie in education? I say “yes” if we succeed in creating a felt need for ethics
in business. The $64,000 question for us to help our students answer is “Why should individual business
people want to be ethical?”

We can create some “talking points” to help tomorrow's captains of industry answer this question. I like
to deliver a lesson which begins with the reasons for ethics in business which are easiest to object to
through those which even the hard-nosed pragmatist finds difficult to dispute.

First, we can appeal to a sense of altruism , that “warm glow” and sense of moral satisfaction that comes
from helping (or, at least, not harming) others. Moral philosophers down through the ages have
emphasized “constrained self interest,” which is bound by what is perceived as right, proper, moral, or
appropriate.

But what of the misanthropes who are only concerned with self? Explain to them that we should be
ethical for the sake of society . Unethical business practices lead to societal costs which are born in part
by everyone who wishes to survive and thrive in that society. Deceptive practices increase transactions
costs, which in turn raise business costs, thereby reducing corporate profits and/or increasing consumer
prices (and we are all consumers). A moral system is mandatory for an orderly society and earning the
public's trust. For instance, many service providers “forget” to report cash payments to the IRS, thereby
increasing everyone's taxes. Commenting on American's ethical standards in the nineteenth century,
French historian and politician Alexis de Tocqueville declared that our nation had become great because
it was good.

Too, morally upright behavior can help fend off government regulation , something which the sane
business person seeks to minimize in most instances, preferring the “invisible hand” of the free
marketplace to the heavy, visible hand of government intervention in that market. Excessive
government regulations increase compliance costs (bureaucratic red tape, increased business taxes,
higher prices and consequent lower profits) and restrict the American ideal of freedom, which can
prevail only if most citizens believe that economic and social justice prevail, not to the extent that
society is layered with rules and regulations. Ben Franklin said it best: “Only a virtuous people are
capable of freedom.” Overzealous government regulatory agencies breathing down our backs, such as
the Environmental Protection Agency and OSHA, are monsters of our own making.

However, some might think that one person (themselves) acting unethically alone can't “make a
difference.” More convincing might be a reminder that we should act ethically for the sake of our
conscience , that little voice inside our heads that creates a sense of sin which leads to shame and guilt.
Students can be told of the “sleep test”; it is unpleasant to lose sleep at night over abandoning loyalty to
one's own principles. We should want to feel good about ourselves, as should our families and friends.
As they say, “Virtue is its own reward,” and doing right will soothe our conscience.

While this will appeal to those with decent moral character, unfortunately some peoples' conscience is
seared – for them the only definition of “value” worthy of consideration is the economic worth of
commercial products. How do we appeal to the moral eunuchs with “mammon uber alles” tattooed on
their shriveled hearts?

A fourth line of argument is to strike the fear of God into those hearts. They need to be reminded of
those long-forgotten Sunday school lessons that say we are ultimately personally responsible to a God
who will on Judgment Day hold us accountable for how we lived our lives (”payday someday”). A well-
known Bible verse poses an important question: “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world (a
top career and fat salary) and yet lose or forfeit his very soul?” (That's the real bottom line.) The Old
Testament book of Deuteronomy proclaims: “For the Lord your God detests anyone who does these
things, anyone who deals dishonestly.” Ask the class whether worldly wealth and power are worth
having God abhor you.

Unfortunately, some will be willing to make that tradeoff, either because they don't take God seriously
or because they disbelieve in God. For this individual, the only appeal left that might work is Adam
Smith's enlightened self interest , a pragmatic, temporal reason to take the high road. Contrary to
clichés, nice guys finish first in the business race; there is a “return on integrity.”

Why is this? First, ethical behavior can be profitable . Experience, anecdotal evidence, and empirical
evidence reveal that “good ethics is good business.” Doing good and doing well aren't mutually
exclusive; doing good can be good for you and your business; you can make more money while
maintaining your principles. A biblical proverbs say, “Ill-gotten gains do not profit” and “Treasures of
wickedness profit nothing.”

The reason is simply that market forces provide financial incentives for ethical behavior. In the long run,
due to the tendency for the free enterprise system to self regulate, the business person who eyeballs
only the bottom line regardless of morals, while perhaps prospering in the short run, harms himself in
the long run by tarnishing the image of the business world, his industry, his profession, and his firm. In
pursuing today's profits we might be sacrificing tomorrow's business success. While being socially
responsible and ethical often entails short-run pain, it usually ultimately results in long-term gain. The
success of any business rests heavily upon its reputation, and the cream usually rises to the top with the
truth emerging. Simply, moral behavior builds trust, which attracts customers, employees, suppliers, and
distributors, not to mention earning the public's goodwill. Conversely, immoral behavior chases these
various groups away.

Second, ethical actions avoid punishment , which can be monetarily costly in the form of fines and
litigation, reputationally costly in the form of bad publicity for the organization, and personally costly in
the form of imprisonment.

Finally, students need to understand that their personal reputation is at stake. Nobody wants a
reputation as a sleazeball or slimebucket. Students must be admonished to take their reputation
seriously. It will follow them wherever they go, in both their business and personal lives, so they must
nourish it as their most valuable asset. Another biblical proverb instructs, “If you must choose between
a good reputation and great wealth, choose a good reputation.”

Perhaps I'm a bit idealistic, but if we impart these ideas to students today maybe tomorrow's business
headlines will read less like a police blotter.

Geoffrey P. Lantos
Professor of Business Administration
lantos@stonehill.edu