Business Ethics, Part 4 of 5

The next three of Mr. Byron’s “Ten Classic Ethical Principles” …

As you read this excerpt please consider a few questions.

Are these principles part of what I consider important?
Do they currently influence my actions and choices?
How might they in the future?


Excerpt from The Power of Principles

“I’ve identified ten classic ethical principles and invite the reader to come up with his or her own understanding of each one. You are the world’s leading expert on your own opinion. It is important that you articulate your own opinion on these matters so that you can assess how widely shared, in your present or future workplace, are your values and the understandings you have of these classic principles. Remember, a culture is a set of shared meanings and values. How widely shared are your meanings and values relative to these ten points?

….

Seventh, the Principle of Social Responsibility. This points to an obligation to look to the interests of the broader com­munity and to treat the community as a stakeholder in what the corporation or organization does.

Eighth, the Principle of the Common Good. This operates as an antidote to individualism; it aligns one’s personal inter­ests with the community’s well-being. This may indeed be the most difficult of all these principles around which to form an organizational consensus relating to the common good of the corporation and then relating that understanding to an un­derstanding of the broader common good outside the organi­zation.

Ninth, the Principle of Subsidiary. This might best be un­derstood in terms of delegation and decentralization, keeping decision making close to the ground. (I’ll call it the principle of delegation when I give it fuller treatment in Chapter 11, simply because “subsidiary” is an unfamiliar term to most American readers.) It means that no decision should be taken at a higher level that can be made as effectively and efficiently at a lower level in the organization. This could be viewed as a “principle of respect for proper autonomy.” It could also be understood in terms of Saul Alinsky’s “Iron Rule” for his In­dustrial Areas Foundation: “Never, never do for others what they can do for themselves.””

Byron, S.J., William J., The Power of Principles: Ethics for the New Corporate Culture, Orbis Books, 2006. Chapter One, Old Ethical Principles, p 5-6.