Compulsive Shopping: How to Combat Holiday Excess
What’s the most effective way to cut consumption in society? Start burning money. So says Chris MacDonald on The Business Ethics Blog, who takes aim at the annual post-Thanksgiving event known as Buy Nothing Day (the anti-Black Friday), which takes a stand against excessive consumption. MacDonald’s point is that every dollar earned will be spent — whether it’s donated, given as a gift or used for a personal purchase. So what’s a more realistic alternative, he says? Think about how a product was made and who benefits from the sale before heading to checkout. Read more at The Business Ethics Blog.
Financial Execs: Our Careers Come First, Ethics Later
No matter how many laws get passed or crackdowns happen, financial chicanery seems entrenched on Wall Street. Here’s the latest sobering theory behind the duplicity in financial services: more than half of financial services execs believe advancing their careers would be hard without having flexible ethical standards, according to a recent study commissioned by the Chartered Financial Analysts Institute enforced that even more. Translation: many execs are willing to compromise doing ethical business to climb up the hierarchy ladder at their firm. Read more at Gulf Business.
Blaming the Engineers: Time for a Code of Ethics?
Critics of the U.S. government’s post-9/11 surveillance programs often blame government bigwigs for unethical — even illegal — breaches of basic rights. But what about the behind-the-scenes engineers who built the technology that allows governments to spy on ordinary citizens? They’re accountable too, suggests Abbas El-Zein, a professor of engineering at the University of Sydney, on The Guardian. Apply El-Zein’s argument to the world of business and it’s clear that engineers, not just CEOs or product development chiefs, should be consulted on the ethical implications of any invention. Read more at The Guardian.
The Minimum Wage: Is There Another Way to Raise Standards of Living?
Amid the debate over minimum wages and working conditions in countries that make products sold by U.S. companies, Stirling Smith at Ethical Trading Initiative resurrects the idea of boosting standards of living through worker co-operatives. In a co-operative, workers own 100 percent of the company, decisions are made democratically and workers buy goods and services at affordable rates. Another benefit, argues Smith? Productivity rises. True, co-operatives are often derided as socialistic and problem-plagued, but they might be one way to address poor working conditions overseas. Read more at Ethical Trading Initiative.
Image via Can Stock Photo
The post Weekly Roundup: The Antidote to Holiday Gluttony, Behind Wall St. Corruption, a Code of Ethics for Engineers appeared first on The Company Ethicist.
