Is business ethics an oxymoron? - Editorial - Cover Story

Business Horizons, Sept-Oct, 1994 by John W. Collins

An Ethics Primer

Renowned psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg concluded that most people base their ethical behavior on self-interest or on group or social norms. Take, for instance, the following classical ethics problem (adapted from Rest 1986):

In an economically undeveloped country, a woman named Wilma lies near death. She suffers from a rare disease that strikes natives of her country but is virtually unknown elsewhere in the world. There is one drug that doctors believe may save her. It has been developed by a chemist who lives in her country. The chemist wants $2,000 for a dose of the drug, although it only cost him $200 to produce that dose. The doctors believe that if the drug works, a single dose will be sufficient.

The sick woman is married to a man named Heinz. He has done everything he can think of to raise the necessary money, but has only managed to get $1,000. When it became clear he would not be able to raise the $2,000, Heinz approached the chemist. He told him that his wife was dying and begged him to sell the drug cheaper or let him pay later. The chemist refused and said, "No, I developed the drug and I'm going to make money from it."

After visiting the chemist Heinz began to think about stealing the drug. Should Heinz steal it? Why or why not?

A discussion of this problem generally brings forth such statements as:

* "If he would be devastated by his spouse's death, he certainly should steal the drug."

* "He shouldn't do it if it would mean a long stint in prison if he were caught."

* "My religious beliefs tell me he shouldn't steal the drug."

* "He shouldn't do it because it's against the law."

* "He should steal it. I think most people would."

All these reactions reflect standards based on self-interest and group and social norms--what might be called ethics with a small "e"--and most people's analysis of this problem will generally be limited to those standards. When pushed, people will conclude that the highest ethical standards are social norms and that, if the norms of two societies conflict on a particular issue, there's no basis for choosing between them. Simply stated, ethical relativism runs rampant.

Ethics with a Capital "E"

It usually comes as a surprise to people who view ethics from the perspectives of self-interest and group and social norms that one could take a philosophy course entitled "Ethics" without ever encountering any of those perspectives. For the most part, the academic field of ethics rejects those perspectives on the grounds that they are too subjective, too dominated by individual or group bias.

Instead, philosophers seek to approach ethics objectively--without bias--through the use of reason. For instance, in the above case, an ethicist would not look at the problem from Heinz's perspective, or for that matter from the perspective of Heinz's family or friends, Wilma, or the chemist. The ethicist asks how, if we don't know which character in the story we are, we should go about determining what the ethical course of action is for Heinz. This objective approach can be called "Ethics with a capital E."