Chapter Six: The Invisibility of Corporate Ethics

From time to time, I wonder if “corporate ethics” has reached legendary oxymoron status, or if it’s two innocent words bundled together to create a lot of side-eye. In any event, I hate it when money gets in the way of ethics, which Is almost always. Money makes us do weird things; it makes us shit on people, it causes bad decision-making, and it propels sadness and despair. But it also promulgates generosity, a helping hand, and a feeling of goodwill, whether it be fleeting or sustainable.

Our original thought leaders were behind some of the philosophies and ethics that not only ruled their day, but should rule our day, too. It doesn’t matter if it’s Teleological Ethics, Deontological Ethics, or Aristotle’s Nichomacian Ethics, we owe it to ourselves to be familiar with the tenets of these philosophies so we can all be better corporate citizens and more understanding of why a money grab isn’t any different than a professional wrestler’s Atomic Drop Grab; it has one purpose, it hurts people.

So let’s help the cause, not hurt anything, and begin to make corporate ethics more visible by shedding the light on what’s right. Happy reading.