The Business of Ethics

by Richard Perry

The news of corporate scandals involving Enron, Citicorp, Martha Stewart Living Omni Media, and a number of other companies has put the topic of ethics in business at the front of our minds.

These scandals necessarily raise questions. Some of those questions may be: is it possible for chief executive officers (CEOs) and businesses to be ethical? Can Christians, formed by the Word of God and the Sacraments, be moral in their business relationships and decisions? What ethical principles are appropriate and sufficient for CEOs and corporations as they seek to assure the profitability of their businesses?

These questions and the difficulty in answering them became clearer in a recent class on ethics. One of the goals of the class was to determine how one goes about making ethical decisions and acting morally. The mid-term exam was an open-ended case study that featured a CEO and whether she should move the company to another country. Students were encouraged to use the course readings and lectures to construct what they thought the CEO should do and why. The student responses, which ranged from being unclear about how and on what basis the CEO would make a decision to elaborate and creative ethical responses, revealed how difficult the struggle can be for CEOs and corporations to carry faith into the public arena.

The difficulty lies in the fact that CEOs have their feet in two worlds and each world has its own internal value system. The business world emphasizes values such as profit, competition, and efficiency. These values may not be intrinsically evil or bad. What makes them evil or bad is when they conflict with the good of society. On the other hand, the religious world emphasizes values such as responsibility, equality, and justice. These values are reinforced through the worship and teaching conducted in the congregation. Invariably, conflict ensues as these two worlds encounter each other. What, then, is the role of the church?

I want to make three suggestions. First, the church, through the congregation—its local expression—can learn about the business world and the pressures a religious CEO encounters in his/her daily life. Conversations between members of the business and the religious community can certainly enhance the mutual tasks of each. CEOs have ethics before they enter the business world.

Secondly, the local congregation could be what it is called to be. That is, the congregation can be a place that forms and nurtures the faith of CEO’s. For Lutherans, this may mean more clearly articulating a theology of vocation or calling. Being a CEO, grounded in the Word of God and the Sacraments of the church, is more than a “job.” It is a vocation or calling that emphasizes responsibility, equality, and justice in the workplace. And, it may encourage CEOs to foster an ethos in their corporation that enhances moral behavior.

Thirdly, the congregation can name evil or bad for what is. There is something inherently evil about a CEO receiving a salary in the millions while employees are barely making minimum wage with very few or no benefits. Thus, one of the roles of the congregation, and subsequently of the church, is its prophetic calling. The public arena needs not only the compassion of congregations and its leaders. It needs also the critical voice, especially when immoral behavior adversely affects employees.

There is no doubt in my mind that there will be a conflict of values between the business and religious world. Congregations, though, can make its contribution by being a place that keeps God’s vision of human relatedness alive through its ritual and symbols.
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Richard Perry is associate professor of church and society and urban ministry at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. On the faculty since 1996, he is also the director of the Seminary's urban ministry program.