Business Ethics: On Getting to the Heart

¶ … Business Ethics: On Getting to the Heart of the Matter," Paul Camenisch proposes a redefinition business ethics by redefining business itself. According to the author, business is commonly described in terms of the provision of goods and services plus the acquisition of profit. In devising a new business ethics, Camenisch shifts attention away from profit and focusing more exclusively on the actual goods and services a business provides.

Camenisch argues that the central role of business is to provide goods and services that "sustain and enhance human existence," and that these goods and services must promote "human flourishing," (271). These concepts seem abstract and nebulous, but Camenisch clarifies his position by defining "human flourishing" in specific terms: for example, businesses promote human flourishing when they do not overuse limited natural resources simply for a quick and easy profit. Central to Camenisch's argument is the concept that business is inextricably intertwined with modern society.

Therefore, business ethics must pay close attention to the overall impact of the "heart" of business, that is, the actual goods and services it provides to the society. Standard business ethics usually neglects to take into account the nature of the actual goods and services provided. Rather, business ethics mainly focuses on the profit sector and basic rules of social responsibility. For example, if a company devotes a certain percentage of its profits to a charitable organization it may be considered to be an ethical operation.

Likewise, if a company hires people with physical disabilities, or if it doesn't set up sweatshops in developing nations, it may be considered an ethical business. However, business ethicists are ignoring a key variable: the nature and impact of the actual goods and services. Camenisch uses an example of a company that manufactures devices for human torture: under his ethical rubric, the business would be ethically questionable even if its hiring practices were completely egalitarian and it devoted a large percentage of its profits to charitable organizations.

Therefore, normative or commonsense ethics are only a rudimentary starting point for business ethics, and are in no way comprehensive. Business ethics cannot simply be an extension of basic human morality because business ethics cannot ignore the nature of the goods and services provided. When a business's goods and services promote what Camenisch calls "human flourishing," then it can be considered ethical. Camenisch links human flourishing primarily to the proper use of natural resources.

One of the essential roles of businesses throughout time has been to process natural resources into items or services that benefit society or individuals in some way. Therefore, businesses should be viewed as custodians of natural resources because they are the primary instruments in transforming natural resources into products people need. Businesses have a distinct ethical responsibility to use natural resources in a way that not only produces profit but which pays attention to sustainability.

If businesses are viewed as the custodians of natural resources, then business ethics would demand a proper use of limited resources, and any exploitation would be considered to be unethical. Human flourishing would also include services of definite benefit, such as education. A private school or university can be considered ethical when it delivers quality course material to its students, for instance. Promoting human flourishing can also include artistic endeavors. For example, a musician runs an ethical business if his or her music pleases other people.

Defining human flourishing is in many ways a matter of opinion, but it can be better understood in terms of actual, not artificially stimulated, need. Camenisch also notes that defining human flourishing cannot be market-based. Because of advertising and other types of demand formation, market trends are an unreliable means to judge the ethical nature of a good or a service. In fact, due to demand formation, many items that detract from human welfare and well-being become highly profitable to make and distribute.

Cigarettes are a good example of a product that produces major profits but which does not promote human flourishing. Camenisch believes that it is justified and important to develop criteria for assessing business in terms of human flourishing for three main reasons. First, the author states, "The knowing use of nonrenewable resources to make products of little or no human value and/or with short useful life solely for the sake of an immediate profit thus becomes a serious disservice to.