BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY AND
CHRISTIAN ETHICS 2008
 PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS ACCCORDING
TO GHANDI
 7 Deadly Sins
SEVEN DEADLY SINS
 Wealth without work
 Pleasure without conscience
 Knowledge without character
 Science without humanity
 Politics without principle
 Religion without sacrifice
 Commerce(Business) without morality/ethics
A CASE FOR ETHICS
 We are capable of reasoning from cause to effect and
we know that each act has consequences
 We are capable of making choices on basis of human
gifts—Self-awareness, Conscience, Imagination &
Independent Freedom to Choose
 We have finiteness; we need coherence
 Human life is a dynamic phenomenon
CASE FOR ETHICS (CONT’D)
 We can be taught to be good
 Human life and civilization depends on ethically
responsible people
 A SPECIFIC IS TO ASK ABOUT BUSINESS ETHICS
WHY BUSINESS ETHICS
 Business practices exert far-reaching influence on the
lives of people anywhere in the world
 Since business practice affects so many it is imperative
that business be socially responsible
 Business practitioners need help to avoid harming the
general public and all stakeholders connected with
business
 Environment also needs to be protected from
contamination by business enterprise
WHY BUSINESS ETHICS (CONT’D)
 Business firms also need protection from abuse by
unethical employees and unethical competitors (one
third of employees steal from work place; billions of
dollars lost annually)
 Workers and others need protection from dangerous
products and situations (mines)
 Most people want to act in ways that are consistent
with their own sense of right and wrong.
ETHICS DEFINED:
 A careful systematic examination of how the life and
person of Jesus Christ should impinge upon our moral
lives, of who we are and should be and what we should
do in the light of what Jesus reveals to us about God
and the cause of God.
ETHICS A ND HUMAN CONDUCT –
TYPES OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES
 Instinctive—Amoral ( e.g. breathing, heart beat etc)
 Psychological—Normal or not normal
 Moral-- What has to be present:
Human being, Intention, consequences, consciousness,
freedom
EMERGE: When inspired by moral ideal personified or
conditioned; in reference to authority, compelled
internally by conscience, yielding to temptation or
prompted by Spirit
“HOW THEN MUST WE LIVE”?
CULTURAL RELATIVISTS SAY:
 No moral or ethical standards apply to all people, all
places and all times
 Moral practices vary from place to place, from people
to people, and from time to time—Diversity Thesis
 Moral practices depend on cultural context—
Dependency Thesis
HOW THEN DO WE SURVIVE IN A SHRINKING
GLOBAL COMMUNITY?
SITUATIONALISM SAYS:
 Morality cannot be prescribed
 Only one thing is intrinsically good, that is LOVE.
 LOVE is the ruling norm in Christian decision-
making
 Love and justice are the same for justice is love
distributed
 LOVE wills the neighbor’s good whether we like him or
not
SITUATIONALISM (CONT’D)
 Only the end justifies the means, nothing else
 Love’s decision is made situationally and not
prescriptively
Strengths: Recognition of individual uniqueness
Due reaction against rigid legalism
Weaknesses: Subjective, not universally applied;
presupposes accurate evaluation of situation by
human beings; Can be selfish in seeking ends; Never
defines LOVE.
CONSEQUENTIALISM—
Consequences to determine act
 There are TWO major strands for this theory:
 There is the EGOISM strand which states that action is
good if it is to interest of person/agent
 There is UTILITARIANISM strand which states that
action is good if it brings “greatest happiness to the
greatest number.”
OBJECTIONS:
*Egoism is inconsistent—It is impossible to have
harmony if every body pursues his own thing.
OBJECTIONS AGAINST
CON)SEQUENTIALISM (cont’d
 Egoism does not provide terms for settling conflicts
 Egoism creates conflicts and relational problems
 Two good things about Utilitarianism: It is socially
conscious, and provides objective way out of
dilemmas.
 Utilitarianism can be unjust. Needs fairness
 We do not really know what is good
OBJECTIONS TO UTILITARINISM
(Cont’d)
 Utilitarianism assumes that human beings know what
is good and ignores their sinfulness
 Utilitarianism ignores the fact some actions are bad no
matter how good they appear.
 The end does not justify the means. The process is as
important as the intent
POLITICAL NATURALISM SAYS:
 “Might makes right!” What is of interest to the
powerful is right
 Power is the rule of life—Thrasymachus
 Justice is nothing but interest of the stronger
 Rulers are shepherds who fatten their sheep for the kill
 The cleverest is one who is able to impose his will upon
all others.
Machiavelli (1469 – 1527) revived Naturalism in his book:
THE PRINCE
IN THE PRINCE, MACHIAVELLI
ASSERTS:
 “The ruler who abandons what is done for what ought
to be done will rather learn to bring about his own ruin
than his preservation.”
 Two natures in a person—human and beast: the
successful ruler is a human lion and a fox, keeping
faith when it is for his interest, breaking faith when
new conditions arise (against his interest)
 Even in time of peace ruler prepares for war, bribes
allies of rival states and disorders enemy
MACHIAVELLI (Cont’d)
 Ruler does ANYTHING gain favor of subjects
 Ruler can use any means to strengthen his position—
fraud, deception, killings and other bad things for his
interest
 The Prince (ruler) is above restrictions of religion and
ethics
 Christianity is detestable because it negates strong
military virtues of the ruler and condemns his
exaltation to honour
Philosophy that is behind totalitarianism that
POWER “ETHICS”
 Machiavelli’s totalitarianism repudiated human
rights, suffocated religion, liquidated individuals or
anything that stood in the way of the ruler.
 Friedrich Nietszche (1844 – 1900) attacked reason,
morality and Christianity
 Nietszche advocated the SUPERMAN who is not
subject to morality
 “Christian morality is the most malignant form of
falsehood…It is decadent and weakening.
POWER “ETHICS” (Cont’d)
 Nietszche asserted. “Christianity produces
nincompoops, not men.”
 The struggle for power is primary. Whatever hightens
the feeling of power and desire for it is good, whatever
weakens it is bad”
 Courage is highest virtue: intellect, energy, virility,
self-assertion and self-determination are means to
power.
 Humility, meekness, obedience, compassion,
forgiveness etc. are evidence of weakness.
POWER “ETHICS” (Cont’d)
 Christians are not free from this WILL TO POWER
 “If Christians want us to believe in their Redeemer, let
them appear more redeemed.”
 God has died and the SUPERMAN of the future has
come. Marriage laws have to be revised to eliminate
the unfit races
Social Darwinism and Nietszche philosophy brought
about Faschism, Nazism, Communism and other
forms of evil “-isms”
KARL MARX IMPACT (1818-1883)
 A new social order that is rooted in evolutionary
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materialistic world-view
Communist Manifesto written with Engels
Political naturalism with international force
Convinced many that malady of human race is
economic. Masses need economic power
Religion deludes the worker with visions of imaginary
satisfaction to compensate for actual deprivations.”
Hence, religion is an “instrument of social passivity” to
be eliminated as the “opiate of the people.”
MARX AND ENGELS PROGRAM OF
REFORM
 Abolition of private property
 Abolition of individual freedom to buy and sell
services as well as goods,
 Abolition of family in its present traditional sense
 Abolitions of prevailing bourgeois culture centred on
free enterprise
 Abolition of religion, the opium of the people.
ATTRACTIONS OF MARXISM
 Promised swift and easy material gain
 Appeals to humanitarian instincts of man by forcing
economic redistribution of wealth to achieve
maximum good for the working classes
 Asserts historical inevitability of the outcome and
scientific basis in the economic determinism of nature
and history.
WEAKNESSES OF MARXISM
 Unrealistic on ending class distinctions
 Problem of promoting absolute allegiance to the
military leadership that is surrounded by
propagandists who are in service of the party line, who
exercise absolute control in the name of the state
 It negates what it promotes by denying some people
their dignity and worth as individuals
 It destroys individual incentives, motivations and
stifles initiative and creativity
WEAKNESSES OF MARXISM
(Cont’d)
 Marxism kills the goose that lays the egg by taking
from productive ones to benefit the unproductive.
 By rejecting family it removes that institution which is
basic in the formation of a person
 By rejecting religion it removes that which is basic in
the formation of the moral life of a person to lead to
responsible living.
CAPITALISM—Adam Smith
 Wrote THE WEALTH OF NATIONS AND THEORY
OF MORAL SENTIMENTS
 The rich are to invest to enable others to better their
conditions
 Promoted private ownership even of means of
production
 Has influenced business with profit motive of “selfinterest” and “enlightened self-interest.”
PROBLEMS OF CAPITALISM
 It’s incompatible with justice
 Uses sinfulness of humanity to promote productivity
 Promotes human greed and selfishness leading to
unjustifiable injustices we see today
 May contaminate environment and exploit resources
without compensation—e.g. Union Carbide Disaster
in Bophal and the Ozone layer challenges
 Takes advantage of less informed—Nestle Corporation
CAPITALISM AND CONSUMERISM
 Currently, more than 67% of world’s population is
poor
 33% are in varying degrees well-off
 7% use 50% of the world’s money and use 40% of the
world’s energy
 7% has ten times more doctors than 93%
The gap between the rich and the poor continues to
widen at a very disturbing rate and ratio
It could even be worse now because the statistics are old.
CAPITALISM IN FORMER
APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA
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35 million blacks were dominated by 5 million whites
5million whites owned 87% of the land
35 million were entitled to 13%
Income gap between the blacks and whites was so
huge that even many corporations decided to disinvest
as a way of protesting against the naked injustice
Such set ups lead to oppression and exploitation of
groups by other groups. Hence, this is not sustainable
ethically.
THE AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY OF
UBUNTU
 Ubuntu essence of being human. The term is not
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translatable.
It embraces hospitality, caring about others, being
willing to go the extra mile for the sake of others
“A person is a person through other persons..”
My humanity is caught up and bound up in yours
“I am because we are…we are because I am..”
We share resources to meet community needs
Ownership is not individual but collective (Nyumba)
UBUNTU (Cont’d)
 Extended family system is real family
 Elders are respected
 Taboos are central in upholding community values
 Grievous violations like murder, robbery, disrespect for
elders, failure to care for them, incest, neglect of
widows and orphans are among the areas that call for
taboos
 A sense of community regulates behaviour.
CONSEQUENCES OF LOSS OF
UBUNTU
 Weakened instruments of moral education
 A vacuum that has led to dangerous explosions
 Uncared for widows, orphans and street children
 Influx of refugees all over Africa today
 Rampant promiscuity and HIV/AIDs scourge
 Increased criminal behaviour
 The problem of abandoning the old traditional ways
without fully accepting the new or replacing with the
better.
PILLARS OF CONSCIOUSNESSBASED EDUCATIONAL MODEL (CBE)
 Learning to Know—Stresses the cognitive and
academic dimension of learning
 Learning to do –Highlights professional training and
technical know how
 Learning to live together-- “The heart and soul of the
African UBUNTU” and it concerns learning to live
together by developing and understanding of social
roles and appreciation for other people and for
interdependence.
PILLARS (Cont’d)
 Learning to be-- Highlights character development,
with specific ethical values
 Without this you may have businessmen and lawyers
who lend their expertise to gain illegal profits or skirt
the law
 Our world is now corrupt and people are willing to do
terrible things for money. For 10million people say:
23% willing to be in prostitution for a week, 16% willing
to abandon spouse, 7% willing to kill an unknown
human being……
THE GREATEST NEED OF THE
WORLD
 “The greatest want of the world is the want of men
(and women) who will not be bought or sold… who in
their inmost souls are true and honest,…who do not
fear to call sin by its right name,…whose conscience is
as true to duty as the needle to the pole,… who will
stand for the right though the heavens fall.” White, E.
G. EDUCATION, p.57.
BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS
 Creation Story carries key concepts like: Image of God
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which signify dignity and value of human beings
Responsibilities given to human beings signify
stewardship of power, resources, time and life itself
Covenant is basis of relationship between God and
chosen human beings
Law (torah) of God’ revealed instructions is spoken of
as transcript of God’s character
Law of God is eternal principle of action—self-evident,
timeless and universal.
GOD’S LAW—BONDAGE OR
FREEDOM?
 Eternal, and universal principles of relationship
 First 4 deal with vertical dimension—God and human
beings
 Last 6 deal with horizontal dimension– Human beings
and human beings and the rest of creation
 To be considered in terms of marriage relationship
 They are commands that cannot be violated. One who
attempts to violate is himself/herself violated
BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS (Cont’d)
 Prophets of Israel called for living in faithfulness to the
Covenant
 National survival and prosperity were linked to
adherence to Covenant provisions
 Moral rectitude was key to prosperity
 Jeremiah predicted a new Covenant to be written on
the heart
ETHICS AND JESUS CHRIST
 Sermon on the Mount carries ethics of the Kingdom
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He came to establish
Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-12) carry principles with farreaching implications for ethical living
Jesus calls for radical righteousness that exceed that of
the Pharisees and Scribes
The righteousness that calls for is internalized and
comes from a clean heart
The story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19) is an illustration of a
converted business person
THE NEW COVENANT
RELATIONSHP
 The Law of God is written in the heart –Jeremiah 31:31f;
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Hebrews 10:16f
It’s a relational law of lovers
Deficit Motivation has no room in the New Covenant
Expression Motivation is mode of the new covenant
relationship
The highest stage in Lawrence Kholberg’s Construct
MORAL REASONING
 Jean Piaget’s 3 levels are Pre-Operational (Pre-
Conventional), Operational (Conventional) and PostConventional (Post-Conventional)
 Lawrence Kholberg expanded these and came up with
6 levels as follows:
MORAL REASONING—KHOLBERG’S
STAGES
 Punishment Obedience Orientation—Good and bad,
right and wrong are only in terms of physical
consequences
 Instrumental Relativistic Orientation—Right Action
consists of that which instrumentally satisfies one’s
needs and occasionally the needs of others– “Scratch
my back and I’ll scratch yours.”
 The Interpersonal Good Boy/Nice Girl Orientation—
Good behavior is one that pleases others and is
approved by them.
KHOLBERG’S STAGES –(Cont’d)
 The Law and Order Orientation– Orientation to
authority, rules and maintenance of the social order
 Social Contract Legalistic Orientation– Right action is
defined in terms of general individual rights and
standards which have been critically examined and
agreed upon by the whole society
 Universal Ethical Principle Orientation– Right is
defined by the decision of conscience in accord with
self-chosen ethical principles appealing to logical
comprehensiveness, universality and consistency.
ETHICS IN NEW TESTAMENT
 Apostles taught radical righteousness that draws from
the New Covenant relationship with God after the
Christ event.
 John emphasizes LOVE as the principle of living
 James emphasizes concern for the less fortunate—the
poor, the widows and the orphans
 Paul has a lot to say on principles of conduct
PAULINE PRINCIPLES OF CONDUCT
 Glorifying God in whatever is done
 Not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers *
 Not to be a stumbling block to the weak
 Not to defile one’s CONSCIENCE*
 To be free to act from expression motivation and not
from deficit motivation *
 To be thermostats and not thermometers (Rom. 12:2)
PROBLEMS FACED BY BUSINESS
PEOPLE
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Honesty versus Prosperity—May test truth-telling
Corruption—There is always this possibility
Competition—May replace excellence
Divided loyalties—Stakeholders, stock holders and
government
 Security Questions—Business people may be used as
spy agents
 Career mobility—Families may be affected as
fathers(parents move around a lot; environment is
family unfriendly
ENRICHING YOUR MARRIAGE AND
FAMILY
 No success in any business compensates for failure in
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marriage and family relationship.
Life’s ledger will reflect imbalance, if not debt (Covey)
Relationships tend toward ENTROPY
Hence, need for SYNTROPY
Investment in building relationships is not a waste
Marriage and family need investments that those who
are involved need to make.
WAYS OF ENRICHING MARRIAGE
AND FAMILY
 Retain a long-term perspective through rigors,
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struggles and challenges
Rescript your marriage and family life. This is to be
done by relating and modelling
Reconsider your roles—either producer, manager,
leader
Reset your goals
Realign family systems
Refine 3 vital skills—time management,
communication, problem solving
WAYS OF ENRICHING (Cont’d)
 Regain internal security—Have a sense of personal
worth
 Develop family mission statement
SELECTED KNOTTY PROBLEMS
 Job satisfaction, Security and fair remuneration
 Equality on opportunities for employment and
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promotion, affirmative action programmes
Discrimination and preferential treatment at work
Employer/Employee Contracts
Occupational Safety and health
Working men and women– Implications to the family
culture
ETHICAL CODES AND BUSINESS
CONDUCT--CATEGORIES
 Business Conduct
 Business Dealings and Relationships
 International Business Relationships and Practices
 Management Responsibilities
 Rights and Responsibilities of Employers and
Employees
 Fundamental Honesty
 Protecting Proprietary and Confidential Information
 Internal Communication
CATEGORIES OF CODES—(cont’d)
 Equal Employment and Affirmative Action
 Sexual and Non-sexual Harassment
 Substance Abuse in the Workplace
 Workplace Safety, Consumer Protection, Product
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Quality
Ethics in Marketing and Advertising
Compliance with Antirust laws
Managing Computer-Based Information System
Ethical Duties of Accountants
CATEGORIES OF CODES—(cont’d)
 Expense Accounts, Credit Cards and Entertaining
 Corporate Citizenship and Responsibility to Society
 Protecting the Environment
 Administering the Code, Ensuring Compliance,
Reporting Violations and Issuing Sanctions
 Ethics Training for Employees
WHY ORGANIZATIONS NEED
BUSINESS CODES
 Serve strategic and public relations purposes
 Provide guidelines to managers and employees alike
 Help acquaint new employees with the firm’s values
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and culture
Improve the firm’s public and consumer image as well
as its business reputation
Offer protection in preempting or defending lawsuits
Improve the company’s financial performance
Enhance morale, employee self-image, company pride
WHY CODES (Cont’d)
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Enhance loyalty, and integrity at workplace
Facilitates the recruitment of outstanding employees
May act as catalysts for constructive change
Help stockholders interested in investing with firm
Help integrate or transfer cultures of merged or
acquired firms
 Help discourage managers from requiring
subordinates to perform improper acts
 Help to stop subordinates from trying to get managers
perform improper acts
WHY CODES (Cont’d)
 Promote market efficiency, especially in in areas where
the marketplace and laws are weak or inefficient
 Enable employees to take the responsibility to conduct
themselves ethically as they take on the various
business acts of the organization
 Ensure more consistent ethical behaviour by all
members of the organization
GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING
CODES
 Identify one to approve the code in its final form
 How will the code be drafted?
 What will be the source of the ethical values that the
code will reflect?
 Generally, CEO or chairperson of the board is one to
give final approval
 Others are involved in code development, including
managers, employees, legal counsel, at times outside
consultants
 Can be a participative process across organ chart
GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING
CODES (Cont’d)
 Specific individual or group may be assigned task
 Participants may include CEO or individual/members
of the board of directors, corporate legal department,
finance, human resources, communications,
employees and consultants
 Use existing documents on firm’s code of conduct,
policy memoranda, current laws, consulting and
examining codes developed by others and re-writing,
re-shaping them to apply to specific needs
IMPLEMENTING AND ENFORCING
CODE OF CONDUCT
 Code has to be disseminated clearly
 Code has to be implemented consistently
 Code has to be enforced
CORPORATE SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)
 “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its
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Profits.” –Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize Winner
The statement has evoked a lot controversy in the
business world
How does this fair in the “Free Enterprise” business
milieu?
Is it worth talking about this in business?
Many answers have been given.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (Cont’d)
 “We are not in business to make maximum profit for
our shareholders. We are in business to serve society.
Profits are our reward for doing it well. If business
does not serve society, society will not long tolerate
our profits or even our existence.” –Kenneth Dayton
 Profit maximization ,as the only raison d’etre for
business is rejected by quite a number of authorities
 It is known that well-treated employees are more loyal,
more effective and more productive because they feel
they are part of the greater good.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (Cont’d)
 Communities served well by business establishment
actually become “ambassadors” for the business
establishment.
 So, doing something to meet the needs of employees
and community members at large enhances
Reputation Quotient of business
 However, business may engage in generous “social”
programmes for its own interests and this may not do
Example: Beer and tobacco companies may have a legal
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILTY (cont’d)
right to operate, their business is not ethically
sustainable. To help people so that they are encourage
to booze and puff more is not to help them at all and
it is not socially responsible
So, the kind of business that is established may be
irresponsible in terms of moral values that are
cherished and espoused by the community.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (cont’d)
 At times animals are involved—Business may mean
extinction of certain animals while serving a
community of human beings. What should be the
priority?
 At times stockholders’ profits may be reduced by
issues of product affordability and increase of workers
in the firm to improve people’s lives
 At times giving to charity reduces revenue to
government. What should be the priority?
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (cont’d)
 Studies show correlation in terms of financial
performance and concern with community’s wellbeing and over all growth
 Companies with code of conduct also perform better
 It pays to do business ethically and with levels of
integrity
 A number of global initiatives have been established to
facilitate compliance with acceptable standards of
doing any business, and they all signal a need for
social responsibility in business.
ORGANIZATIONS ON SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
 Global Reporting Initiative
 Global Sullivan Principles
 Social Accountability 8000
 UN Global Compact
 OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprise
 ILO Conventions
 AA 1000
 ISO 14000
MORAL CAPITAL CALLED FOR
 It is important to talk about profits and financial
capital
 It is important to underline importance of intellectual
and social capital
 Today, it is crucially important to emphasize need for
MORAL CAPITAL in business practices, especially in
Africa. Virtue like “ubuntu”, trustworthiness, honesty,
transparency, accountability, responsibility and such
others are of crucial importance today.
SUPERIORS AND SUBORDINATES
 The Superior has the following powers;
 Executive Power
 Power of Experience
 Power of Expertise
 Power to hire, fire or recommendation to do so
SUPERIORS AND SUBORDINATES
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Relationships enhanced by :
Consistency in communication
Subordinate not treated as means to an end
Loyalty as a two-way street
Choosing the right pattern of relationship among:
Paternalistic style—Superior feels he knows what is good
for the subordinate and makes decision for the subordinate
without input from subordinate. This threatens growth of
subordinate
* Collegiality-- Sharing everything with superior acting as
supervisor. The problem is that the subordinates may be
selfish and fail to see the bigger picture
SUPERIORS AND SUBORDINATES
 Solidarity—Superiors and subordinates share the
means and ends
It is crucially important that the superior be a person of
moral rectitude.
PROFESSIONAL DUTIES
 To be educated—diligent studying formally and
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informally
To grow---Sharpen the Saw
Maintain professional conduct and dignity
Render effective, efficient service delivery
Maintain professional detachment
Avoid professional competition
WHISTLEBLOWING
 Whistleblowing defined:
 Types of Whistleblowing
 Obstacles in Whistleblowing
 Factors to consider in Whistleblowing
KINDS OF WHISTLEBLOWING
 Unbending Resisters—These are strictly committed to
their principles and they will not bend under threats
or punishment. If the system does not allow, they go
public
 Implicated Protesters—Those who speak up when
there are moral inequities, but pull in when cornered
or when there are legal dangers
 Reluctant Collaborators—Those involved in illegal or
immoral practiced which they themselves condemn
but go public only after retirement
OBSTACLES IN WHISTLEBLOWING
 Process of erosion—When you have to blow on one
you respect
 Occupational Harzards of losing promotion, privilege,
job or even life
 You may not have inside information
 It may be used as revenge
WHISTLEBLOWING IS JUSTIFIED
WHEN:
 The company is in a practice or about to release a
product which does serious harm to individuals or
society in general. The more serious the harm, the
more serious the obligation.
 The employee should report his concern or complaint
to his immediate superior
 If no appropriate action is taken, the employee should
take the matter up to managerial line. Before he is
obliged to go public, the resources for remedy within
the company should be exhausted.
WHISTLEBLOWING JUSTIFIED:
 The employee should have documentation of the
practice or defect…. Without adequate evidence,
chances of succeeding are slim.
 The employee must have good reasons to believe that
by going public he will be able to bring about the
necessary change
FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN
WHISTLEBLOWING:
 Make sure the situation warrants whistleblowing
 Examine your motives
 Verify and document your information
 Determine the type of wrong doing you are reporting
and to whom it should be reported
 State your allegations in an appropriate manner
 Stick t facts and not fiction
 Decide whether whistleblowing should be internal or
external
FACTORS (Cont’d)
 Decide whether whistleblowing should be open or
anonymous
 Find out how much protection is there for
whistleblowers
 Consult a lawyer
CHRISTIAN VALUES AND
BUSINESS—Samuel O. Oyieke
 Rightly asserts that business activities are relational
 In Concentric Circles of Concern, Thompson asserts:
“relationship is the most important word in the
English language.”
 The world rotates around relationships— God, friends,
family, foes and so on. Business is to be considered in
terms of guarding relationships by understanding the
place TRUST in all relationships
SELECTED VALUES
 Stewardship—A sense of recognition that human
beings and the whole creation belong to God. Human
beings are entrusted with God’s property for
management
 Fairness—A value that should inform pricing, delivery,
remuneration, advertising, promotion, employment
and so on to convey what God is like
 Efficiency—Making the best use of available resources
to maximize goodness in serving God and His people
SELECTED VALUES (Cont’d)
 Equity—Acting fairly and impartially towards others.
Partiality, hatred, jealousy, nepotism, discrimination
and many other social evils mar business enterprises
 Excellence—Moving fully towards our God-given
potential. This could qualify for the main purpose of
living: “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever…”
 Honesty and Integrity—The quality of being truthful,
authentic, credible, honorable and morally upright
(Education pp. 57 and 14)
SELECTED VALUES (Cont’d)
 Perseverance –Continual and steady efforts to achieve
noble goals. Upward mobility and survival of the
fittest syndromes would not infect many business
people if they persevered in pursuing objectives in
God’s way.
 Services—Activities intended to benefit society that
has entrusted corporate world to provide needed
goods and services. This places FIDUCIARY
obligations on the corporate world
 Love—The supreme value that co-ordinates ALL!
AT THE WORK PLACE
 Efficient Service Delivery without fear or favour



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avoiding bribes and all forms of corruption
Avoiding misuse of public facilities like government or
company vehicles, telephones and other facilities
Avoiding tax evasions and “rendering unto Caesar
what is Caesar’s…”
Paying fair and LIVING WAGE to employees
Providing for job satisfaction, job security, job safety
and health
AT THE WORK PLACE (Cont’d)
 Avoiding discrimination, reverse discrimination,
preferential treatment and hiring, passive nondiscrimination. Make affirmative action programmes
that work
 Avoiding Sexual Harassments and “Carpet Interviews”
whereby benefits are denied to a person because
he/she refuses sexual activities as price for due service
or benefit. Power inequities to be considered on issues
of “Sex in the forbidden zones…”
GLOBALIZATION AND BUSINESS
ETHICS
 More international business establishments in
mining, retailing, communication, tourism,
transportation and more
 Increase in markets and cheap labor in developing
countries are among factors that feed globalization
 Benefits of developing countries where investments
are and benefits reaped by Multinationals to be
examined
 Ethical issues have arisen in terms of working
conditions, product quality, environment, initiative…
GLOBALIZATION ISSUES
 Local legislation by government may be favorable or

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
unfavorable
Studies still show that globalization has not done
enough to improve the conditions of people they
sought to help because they repartriate their profits
Are these in for profits or to create local wealth and
alleviate poverty?
Process of obtaining licences may also be corrupt
because of ethical relativism
Environmental, lakes pollution and poisoning in
Kenya pose serious challenge today
CHALLENGES OF GLOBALIZATION
 Compromises on caring for the work force to maximize
profits with social costs shifted to citizens and workers
 Example: Export Processing Zone in Kenya (EPZ) has
not alleviated poverty according to 2004 assessment
 Structural Adjustment Programmes have failed
because they capitalize on foreign investors gain
 Kenya Human Rights Commission has exposed evils of
exploitation of the young, workers work long hours, no
offs or holiday, withholding salaries for “poor work” etc
CHALLENGE OF GLOBALIZATION
(Cont’d)
 Need to adhere to Principle of Human Welfare, Well



being or Beneficence
Duty on non-maleficence or do no harm
Prevent harm or stewardship
Remedy harm
Do good
MORE UNFAIRNESS IN
GLOBALIZATION
 Economic imbalances perpetuated
 Africa still not equal participant at the Round Table
 Africa still lacks towering leadership of global stature

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(except for Nelson Mandela who is expiring)
Africa still threatened by dark cloud of HIV/AIDS
Intellectual Capital still moves away from Africa—
Brain drain
African dictators still extinguish emerging lights
Regional and Ethnic Conflicts
MORE CHALLENGES IN AFRICA
 More refugees and asylum seekers
 More corruption and misuse of God’s blessings in




Africa
More anthropological poverty—doing evil in order to
survive
Still lack of politics of production, delivery and wealth
creation
Even the affluent of Africa (Sandton) are insecure
Africa still produces raw materials for others
MORE CHALLENGES
 Africa still marginalize in global economy and
contributes only 2% to world trade
 Globalization has accelerated political and economic
decay in Africa with leaders failing to develop policies
that cope with changing world
 Globalization has also weakened sovereignty of
national governments
 Africa has to chart its own course as Asian Tigers have
done
NEED FOR WORLD-CLASS
TECHNIQUES IN AFRICA
 To develop and implement the following: Realigning
Management Objectives, Customer focus, Organizing
the work place, Visible Measurement Systems,
Managing for Quality, Eliminating Waste, Best
Operation Practice(BOP) and Continuous
Improvement, Teamwork, Staff Empowerment and
Involvement, Rewards and Recognition, Purposeful
Communication, Continuous Learning.
 Need for Leaders, Managers and Employees with
shared sense of destiny
ACTING WITH RESPONSIBILITY
 In the world but not of the world– Means higher
identity, loyalty and destiny. It means safe to send
anywhere because of immunity against worldly
influences
 Being intelligent citizens– Up to date with what is
happening and the issues at stake
 Having a sense of history—World has not committed
unpardonable sin. God still in control
 Being drivers and not hitch-hikers—Show direction
ACTING WITH RESPONSIBILITY
 Promoting unity, community and interdependence


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within the human family
Being a producer and not just a consumer
Creator of jobs and not just working at jobs
Standing courageously for what is right
“SO SEND I YOU…” Can God trust you and send you?
TOWARDS AFRICAN RENAISSANCE
 Numerous challenges in Africa to be welcome as
opportunities to change and improve people’s lot
 To build on the good side of African heritage that has
been Christianized.
 Highlighting fundamental values of Christianity and
the best of African traditions of “ubuntu”
 Trustworthy men and women with internalized moral
values need to rise to the occasion and engage in
business practices that instill a sense of dignity and
value of the human person—THE TOPLINE!
NEED FOR ETHICAL LEADERSHIP–
Thos who do not suffer from:
 Ethical Blindness—Either unable or unwilling to see
ethical issues and are morally insensitive.
 Ethical Muteness---Fail to speak when they should.
Like dogs that do not bark!
 Ethical Incoherence—Inability to recognize
inconsistencies in values advocated.
 Ethical Paralysis---Prevented from putting values into
action because of ignorance or fear of consequences
DISEASES IN ETHICAL LEADERSHIP
 Ethical Hypocrisy—Lacking commitment to
articulated ethical values, not “walking the talk”
 Ethical Schizophrenia---Lacking unified set of ethical
values. At work holding to one set but elsewhere
another set.
 Ethical Complacency---Thinking that one cannot do
anything wrong because of who one is. Claiming
immunity against ethical errors. A very dangerous
disease, indeed!
(Check in Christine Wanjiru Gichure, pages 208-209)