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Laurel Hubber University of Bristol Graduate School of International Business MBA in International Business March 3, 1997 Henri-Claude de Bettignies
Date: Professor:
"People who think they will be true to their ethics have probably never examined their ethics".
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Badaracco, J. & Webb, A., Business Ethics: A View from the Trenches, California Management Review, Vol 37, No.2 Winter 1995, p 21
How do you differentiate between "Doing what is right" and "Doing the right thing"?
"If all of your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?" Children often find themselves faced with this question after having been caught doing something that, at the time, seemed right to them; probably because "everyone" else i.e., their peers, was doing it. And, much to their chagrin, children know that the answer to the above question is "no". Even at an early age, they are expected to have the ability to separate their own values from those of their friends. Without defining or analyzing, they are expected to know the difference between "doing the right thing": according to the values of those around them and "doing what is right": according to their own set of values. How does a child know when something is right or wrong? What guidelines does he or she use; especially as she becomes an adult and the rules become less clear? She will have an enormous list of examples to follow; those set out by political leaders, by her favourite celebrities, by her teachers, by an inspirational speaker, by her parents, siblings, close friends or even a religious leader. But, in the end, her decisions will be based on only one person's values. Hers. How will she know if she's made the correct decision? How will she know if she's done what is right, as opposed to having done the right thing? She'll be able to take the sleeping test, the newspaper test 2 or the "Golden Rule" test; but these will simply be tools pushing her towards one thing. Self awareness. This awareness of herself will prove invaluable when she finds herself in unfamiliar situations or ethical dilemmas. 3 Thus, if "doing what is right" is decided by you, and "doing the right thing" is determined by those around you, then it follows that the less you have to depend on the opinions around you, the higher the possibility that you'll "do what is right" more often. But why is it necessary to even consider this differentiation? The importance of this question becomes evident when considered within the context of the next question.
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de Bettignies, H.C., class notes, MBA University of Bristol de Bettignies, H.C., From Vision to Action: Business Schools and the Development of Responsible Leaders, INSEAD, January 11, 1995, p.12
"We must, therefore, consider the right way of performing actions, for it is acts, as we have said, that determine the character of the resulting moral states ... "4 (Aristotle)
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REFERENCES
1. Shaw, W., Classical Theories, Social and Personal Ethics, 1993. 2. de Bettignies, H.C., class notes, MBA University of Bristol 3. de Bettignies, H.C., From Vision to Action: Business Schools and the Development of Responsible Leaders, INSEAD, January 11, 1995. 4. Badaracco, J. & Webb, A., Business Ethics: A View from the Trenches, California Management Review, Vol 37, No.2 Winter 1995. 5. Chryssides, G. & Kaler, J., Essentials of Business Ethics, McGraw-Hill, (HF5387.C488), 1996.