Fidelis Ethics Review by Vicente Arancon

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Contents

Adversity By Juan Antonio Torres

Via degli Aldobrandeschi 190, Rome, 00165, Italy Tel. ++39 06 6654 3707 www.fidelisinstitute.org

Moral Questions concerning genetically modified organisms

Business Gets Personal By Reuben Nuxoll

Editorial Committee

Vicente Arancón Editor in Chief Michael Ryan President

By Michael Augros

Marcelo Benítez Managing Director Ricardo Sánchez Executive Director Research Staff:

Senior Analysts Christopher Oleson Maciej Bazela Rafael García Pavón Michael Augros José Ángel Agejas Junior Analysts Israel Camarillo César Garduño Rubén Sánchez Violaine Ricard FIDELIS ETHICS REVIEW is a quarterly publication of Fidelis International Institute, distributed directly by this organization with the address: Ave. Lomas Anáhuac S/N 7º piso, Col. Lomas Anáhuac, Huixquilucan, Estado de Mexico, Mexico. Phone ++52 55 5950 0160, ext. 2061

Ethics in Global Businesses and Ideology By Rafael García Pavón By Maciej Bazela

Measuring Excellence: Quantification and Prudence in professional decision making. Part 1

E-mail: vicente.arancon@fidelisinstitute.org Webpage: www.fidelisinstitute.org Publisher: Vicente Arancón

Business Ethics at Davos 2011 (Part 1)

Ethics and Profitability Research Project

Fidelis Interviews Dr. Bedi, Executive Director Chandigarh Group of Colleges

By Christopher Oleson

Certificado de Reserva de Derechos al Uso Exclusivo del Título: En trámite. Número de Certificado de Licitud de Título: En trámite. Número de Certificado de Licitud de Contenido: En trámite. Printed by Grupo Infagon, Alcaiceria No 8, Col Zona Norte Central de Abastos, Iztapalapa , México D.F, C.P. 09040, Phone: (55) 56 40 92 65 Ext 115. The articles represent the personal views of their authors, which does not necessarily match , those of the publisher. The liability is limited to the amount the acquirer paid for the magazine. This journal is published with the support of its sponsors.

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Editorial Dear Reader of Fidelis Ethics Review, The publication you have in your hands is an invitation to reflect upon ethics and its importance for the business world. Many people believe that the financial crisis that has devastated the world during the last few years is finally coming to an end. Be that as it may, the world is still struggling with the consequences of that crisis, and is not entirely rid of its root causes. The major economies of the world are still confronted with high unemployment levels and stagnant growth rates. Although we are already seeing positive signs of recovery in many sectors and in many nations, we cannot ignore the negative impact that the crisis has had for millions of people all over the globe. In particular, what made this crisis especially different from others is the widely accepted belief that at the root of it was a disconnection between ethical principles and business-practices. Greed, reckless speculation, and an extreme obsession for short-term profitability are widely recognized to have been the principal causes for this enormous destruction of value. We believe that this crisis should not be considered as a mere bump in the road, but that it should represent a wake-up call to create a better world of business —one founded on principles apt to promote long-term, stable, and wide-spread economic growth, principles arising, therefore, not from greed, but from an ethic conducive to mutual trust. We at Fidelis believe that ethics should occupy a central place in every corporation and that this can be achieved in conjunction with robust profit growth. Moreover, we believe that by implementing sound ethical principles, a corporation can indeed be more profitable and more competitive long term. We conceive ethics as a practical, applicable, down-to-earth discipline that can and should be put in action within every organization. At Fidelis we do not think ethics should remain a theoretical, unrealistic and idealistic set of concepts disconnected from the exigencies of the business world. Rather, our approach is practical in the sense that it promotes action and develops concrete, tangible solutions that can be put into practice by business leaders. . The Fidelis Ethics Review is devoted to exploring the nature of ethically-informed business. The review is a call to reflect on the ways we create wealth, generate profits, open new markets and deal with new business opportunities. It explores the proper means of doing business on a global scale in keeping with the decent treatment of human beings. We hope you find this first issue useful and enriching, and look forward to your future readership.

Ricardo Sanchez-Serrano Executive Director www.fidelisinstitute.org

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Moral Questions Concerning genetically modified organisms By Michael Augros Michael Augros has a Ph.D. in Philosophy and is a senior analyst for Fidelis since 2007.

Many products found at the grocery store now feature labels that boast “no GMOs.” Plainly there has been enough concern about GMOs that many companies take pains to distance themselves from them. On the other hand, GMOs are useful for developing pharmaceuticals (genetically modified bacteria are used to produce large amounts of human proteins for use in medicine—insulin being the best known example), and for increasing the yield of food-crops by increasing crop resistance to wide-spectrum insecticides and herbicides. www.fidelisinstitute.org

But are GMOs safe? The principal concerns regarding GMOs can be brought under the following headings: (1) There is a concern that tampering with genetic materials in our food-crops could produce new viruses harmful to human, animal, and plant health. (2) The production of new allergens is another concern. (3) There is fear that the resistance conferred upon food-crops will somehow be transferred to diseasecausing bacteria.

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(4) Transgenic DNA (DNA resulting from the combination of genetic material from different species) is believed by some to be capable of entering human cells and triggering cancer. (5) The possibility of adverse ecological effects due to introduction of plants with new properties is still another concern.

their involvement or non-involvement with GMOs. As to (8) The unnaturalness of GMOs, there seems to be some oversimplified reasoning behind this concern. The world is filled with quite “natural” things which are entirely deadly to us—such as arsenic, or the poisons in various plants, or patho-

(6) Some are alarmed by the impossibility of controlling cross-contamination between GMO crops and non-GMO crops. (7) The use of dangerous pesticides and herbicides, made possible by the resistance-properties of GMO crops, is another potential problem. (8) The “unnaturalness” of GMOs causes many people to regard them with suspicion. (9) The character of those who produce GMOs, namely large corporations with controlling interests in food crops, is a cause of concern and distrust. Given this list, should GMOs simply be banned? That is not so clear. As to the first five items, most sources report no widely-accepted findings of any such adverse effects of consuming or using GMOs or GMO-based products. These therefore appear to be, at least for the moment, purely concerns, possibly reasonable ones, but so far without hard evidence that any such fears are being realized. Still, these things must be carefully monitored by scientists – and not only those in the payroll of the corporations producing GMOs. As to (6) Contamination, there can be no doubt that this has taken place, but to what extent it is uncontrollable is unclear. Also, the evil of contamination is predicated on the dangers of GMOs themselves. If the GMOs in production and use are not dangerous, then their “contamination” of other crops would seem to be little different from any other varietal grown in the world which can “contaminate” other crops. As to (7), The use of dangerous pesticides and herbicides, this is a separate issue. Steps should be taken to prevent corporate use of unacceptably dangerous pesticides and herbicides, regardless of

genic bacteria that were never modified by human manipulation, but which simply evolved by “natural” processes. Conversely, there are many things which are artificial or not natural, such as artificially conditioned and purified air or water, which are not dangerous simply for being not natural. www.fidelisinstitute.org

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While it is true that GMOs are novelties, and hence their properties are not well known, this is a reason to study them and regulate them and use them with caution, but not a reason simply to outlaw them. Human life cannot be risk-free; we cannot restrict ourselves to the use of things we know through and through—we know nothing through and through. And some risks must be taken. Indeed, many of our race face death, disease, or starvation if we do not make use of our God-given reason in order to harness the powers of nature in new ways. It is possible, nevertheless, to produce, by human interference, varieties and breeds with undesirable qualities, and to do so through ignorance or negligence—“killer bees” are an example. But it does not follow simply from the human interference or manipulation that the result is undesirable or unnatural; the art of medicine is an “interference” or a human manipulation, but one that helps nature toward the desirable result which nature cannot attain unaided. The art of agriculture is similar; if we left it entirely to nature to produce our food, the human race would be much smaller, sicklier, and less happy. As to (9) The character of the corporate interests behind GMOs, one must confess that such corpo-

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rations are not fitting objects of implicit trust. It is desirable that they be regulated by law (to a greater extent than smaller entities are), and held responsible for any adverse effects of their research or production or sales. So it appears that the development, production, sale, and use of GMOs is not yet known to be an evil in itself. But if certain GMOs were to be conclusively linked to undesirable effects on human health or on the environment, the particular GMOs responsible should be banned, and the oversights involved in their production should be studied in order to avoid repeating the same mistake in the future. Production and use of GMOs should be regulated by law, and subject to approval by some credible institution above the suspicion of being in the pay of the corporations whose GMOs are to be regulated. Certainly if there were any GMOs used in some product, the label should say so. While they might well be a boon, they could also be a threat, and people have the right to know what sort of thing they are eating.

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Ethics in global businesses and ideology By Rafael García Pavón Rafael García Pavón has a Ph.D. in Philosophy and is a professor of Applied Ethics. He is a senior analyst at Fidelis since 2007.

Businesses and global corporations fully express nowadays the dream of the modern paradigm, with its ideals, foundations and desires. As Descartes and Francis Bacon stated back in the 16th century, this dream consists in “creating a paradise on earth” where everything conforms to our wishes through scientific knowledge and technological operations on nature. Our way of living is in large part empowered or limited for our good by the services and policies that big corporations generate— from running water, which is a common good, to the most sophisticated necessities and possibilities that have been created so as to communicate across distances and times. Little by little the world is turning into one in which business is increasingly involved.

This reveals an ethical problem that must be considered when we belong to, design or relate with the corporate world, which becomes ever more “our world.” It is an ethical problem because it has to do with the decisions and actions of creations of human freedom, with their relationships, ties and meaning, which before corporations, after them, and beyond them makes us human, that is, our personal dignity and its inherent ends. When we mediate through corporations our capacity and way of reasoning to what “good for human life” means, we are on the verge of exchanging this fundamental good for an interest, legitimate or not. The ethical problem of the corporate world today, as I see it, is that it can confuse and convert what is ethically good into legitimate interests. The difference is rooted in the fact that interests are valid in a particular form and in consonance with a system of reasons that justify them, outside of which these interests no longer seem valid. And what is good in no way depends on a system of reasons, but rather what makes up the very reality of nature, in particular of becoming a specific person or persons, that is, an ontological and metaphysical determination. Global business ethics makes decisions on the frontier of the following dilemmas: interest vs. good, subject vs. person, instrumentation vs. teleology of www.fidelisinstitute.org

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the good, artificial or positive law vs. natural law, ideology vs. ethics. And each extreme struggles to be what is natural, that is, what is necessary and fundamental. While each of these “corporate worlds” seeks at least to do something good and perfect for the good of human life, the problem comes when their own rational system based on their interests seeks to become absolute, to transcend history, uprooting tradition, culture, and attachment to a community of persons that feeds it and benefits from it. The basic ethical problem is when these good intentions with universal rules set themselves up beyond time as the ultimate foundation of reality, as the very nature of reality: man and his dignity. Therefore we must avoid falling into either theoretical extremism or pragmatic impotence, but rather think how interest can be tied to the good, subject to person, and how ideology can be replaced with ethics. The so-called “ethical decisions” of global businesses have focused merely on choosing what the power that conforms them grants, that is, they are choices that attempt to usurp reality and truth. What they don’t take into account is that before any power, instrument or interest, they are tied to a culture, a tradition, a community of persons. So, to choose would really have to be to receive what they have been given regarding what they are www.fidelisinstitute.org

called to be. In other words, to choose is to receive themselves in various narratives. For example, Coca-Cola’s choices don’t only bear on the ideology their product suggests, but each decision is to receive again the time of life of the people that made it possible. Every corporation was born in some way or other rooted in its own community of persons, or better, the corporation is a community of persons. But what happens now is that some of them consider global positioning mechanisms as justified ways of detachment. That is to say, ways in which people are no longer tied to intimacy, heredity and influence in the corporation’s style, climate, and culture. Rather, ideologies are suggested which constrain the spirit by ignoring it, annihilating it, or reducing it to a functional system. If global business ethics is to stop being merely an ideology or a self-justification tool, businesses must always keep at the center of their reflection the involvement of the people they work with and on behalf of whom they work— that they are persons and not “masses”. This means that corporations must make a fundamental option for the dignity and good of people in their specific condition of suffering. They should not use the system or their legitimate interest to justify

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The true ethical attitudes mean to practice love to one’s neighbor: such as listening and being humble to the narrative and testimony of the existence of the other. How different the world would be if instead of imposing functional standards to our neighbors, we guide ourselves by listening their narratives, because these are ways of molding the universal and objective good in a particular time and space; ultimately this ways are love incarnated in the dignity of the person as person.

themselves, but work based on their true origin, which is a community of persons. This origin means choices, it means ties in which each person receives in relationship with ones’ common goods, such as culture, and which form the good of that particular person. They should not narrow their mission and vision to their own conceptions, but always take into account the transcendence of each person and his dignity. They should recognize that their mission is not the basis of the world and life, but rather a path to perfection and fulfillment and at least an opportunity to follow one’s calling. Global business ethics should include a perspective of love as the creation of a creature. The path and call to love, as the basis of ethicality, is not a mere utopia – often the source of ideologies and fanaticisms – but the way to see and act in accord with reality, which is personal and intimate. This is why, when an ethical standard known by reason is severed from its roots in the person and suffering, it becomes an ideology that rules despotically and claims to free people from evil, it becomes a nightmare as the thinker E.M. Cioran said: “in the prometheic megalomania of a race that bursts with the ideal, which shatters under its convictions (…) since there is no intolerance, ideological intransigence that do not reveal the bestial bottom of enthusiasm (…) creating simulations of gods.”

As the Danish thinker Kierkegaard says, evil and falseness in our times is when what rules is the ideology of the crowd, or in many cases some global corporations, where to become human is merely to “belong as a specimen to a race endowed with understanding. Then the race, the species, is higher than the individual or then there are only specimens, not individuals.” To be a crowd is not something quantitative but qualitative, it is to stop being narrated in attachment and choice to what you are, or in your condition as creature, and to become something merely numerical. That is, it is to be indifferent to your own human condition, your conscience, your fundamental option, the love you hold. Global business ethics as an ideology can make us “gladly” impersonal; global business ethics as true ethics makes us personal in a heartfelt and loving way. This is the ethical challenge of our times: to make our actions ways to personally love our neighbor. And this is not mere philanthropy, but a true means by which each person can face his/her existence and his decisions personally. Here is where the virtues and prudence become important, and as Kierkegaard says our hope is: “however much confusion and evil and contemptibleness there can be in human beings as soon as they become the irresponsible and unrepentant ‘public’, ‘crowd’, etc. there is just as much truth and goodness and lovableness in them when one can get them as single individuals.” BIBLIOGRAPHy Cfr. Cioran, E.M. Breviario de Podredumbre. Punto de Lectura. Madrid, España.2001. Pp. 30-31. Kierkegaard, Søren. My point of Vview. “For that single individual”.Princeton University Press. NJ, USA. P. 107.

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Measuring Excellence: Quantification and Prudence in professional decision making (Part 1) By Christopher Oleson Christopher Oleson Ph. D. is the coordinator of the research and screening team for Fidelis International.

When it comes to assessing success in business, measuring performance is critical. If one cannot determine what is working well as opposed to what is dysfunctional in one’s company, then one will never know how, and in what way, one’s business is performing. By the same token, if one cannot determine just how much better or worse one’s enterprise is performing in relation to competition or past performance, then one cannot objectively assess progress over time or across industry, thereby rendering professional decision-making totally blind. In such a situation, a business leader faced with daily pressing choices becomes either reckless or paralyzed. It is accordingly not only appropriate, but imperative in professional life for business leaders to find objective criteria whereby efficiency, productivity, and return on investment can be clearly measured. One should expect nothing less from competent and responsible professionals. However, as important as this need is, one ought also to be thoughtful www.fidelisinstitute.org

about the broader consequences that this emphasis has had upon professional decision-making, for it might be the case that this necessary aspect of business begins to assume a distorted and inordinate significance, thereby eclipsing other aspects that make up good professional activity. For instance, as a result of the crucial need to measure performance over time, there has emerged within contemporary corporate culture an almost universal tendency to seek to measure every aspect of corporate life, performance, and success in quantifiable terms, and of seeing competent professional decision-making only in the light of such calculations. In other words, the only data that counts, the only information that is deemed professional, “hard,” and therefore relevant, is that which can be measured in some quantifiable-calculative way. Any other consideration is considered soft, subjective, and extraneous to serious business deliberations.

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This tendency is one of the dangerous temptations of modern professional life, for not every principle of good decision-making is quantifiable. Ethical judgments, to take the most important instance, are not susceptible of numerically calculable measurements. Justice and courage, for example, are objective realities of human existence and, accordingly, true judgments about what is just or courageous, and what is more just or more courageous, are capable of being made. Nevertheless, such judgments are not measured in quantifiable terms. A man cannot be “3 units” more courageous than another, or a particular just action cannot be “4 units” more ethical than a particular courageous action, even though certain acts of justice are more morally noble than certain acts of courage, and vice versa.

a company might weigh the cost of recalling a dangerous product, on the one hand, with the cost of paying out the likely damages arising from consequent litigation, on the other. In this scenario, “the good” is reduced to a measurable quantity, namely, what will cost the company the least amount of money, and “ethics” is either thrown out the window altogether or given the shallow and incoherent formulation as managing the different cost-benefit analyses of the relevant interested parties (stock-holders, management, labor, customers, the surrounding community, etc).

More importantly, there is no necessary and quantifiably precise measure of the effects of ethical action upon other aspects of life. It is not as though there is no such impact, or that it is not generally favorable. Nevertheless, it is not invariably so (e.g. if your boss asks you to do something unjust and you refuse, doing the right thing could cost you your job), and it is not objectively calculable in terms of dollars or rate of productivity. Any particular just or honest decision of a company cannot be seen to yield “x” amount of increased productivity. Perhaps one can rightly judge that company morale is higher than it used to be before a particular ethical change in corporate policy, or that workplace absenteeism has gone down, but it is impossible to establish a necessary and quantifiable link between such things. Yet the temptation to adopt this mentality can easily take hold in today’s corporate culture, with its legitimate concerns for measuring profitability and success. At its most extreme and distorted, the desire to quantify and calculate has sometimes led business leaders in the corporate world to look at moral decision making in terms of a “cost-benefit” analysis, where a company, for example, weighs the cost and benefits of “acting ethically” against the cost and benefits of not doing so. To take an easy example,

This not uncommon approach to moral decisionmaking in the corporate sphere is not only contrary to a right understanding of ethics, it is also self-contradictory. While many think that it is logically possible to ignore or minimize the non-quantifiable criteria inherent professional decision making (i.e. presuming that a pure business logic, limited solely to calculations of cost-benefit productivity or to the weighing and managing of contending cost-benefit analyses), is a conceptually coherent position), this is, in fact, not possible. www.fidelisinstitute.org

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How so? The very affirmation that all business decisions should be rooted in quantifiably measurable terms is itself a proposition the truth of which was not derived from any quantifiable measurement. In other words, the truth of the principle of quantifiable cost-benefit analysis is not arrived at through costbenefit analysis. It’s place in business life as a foundational affirmation of what determines “good” business practice cannot therefore be justified by means of some quantifiable measurement. This insight should broaden our horizon about the principles of sound decision-making in professional life. It should help us to see that all business activity, like all other human activity, already and from the beginning, presupposes principles of what is good and what is not good, of what is fair and what is not fair. More importantly for the purposes of our present discussion, these principles, while they are objective, are not quantifiable. They are true and knowable, and thus answers to questions about moral acts can be determined, but they are not www.fidelisinstitute.org

measurable in numerical terms. One cannot quantify the ethical, and yet justice and honesty are as objective and as important for making good professional decisions and operating a good business as are the factors measuring the rate of increase of surplus value in a company. All of this should lead us to a greater openness to understanding what makes for a complete understanding of good decision making in professional life. This understanding will have at its foundation what classical moral philosophers called the virtue of “prudence,” which is that habitual ability to judge what ought to be done in a particular situation in light of both an understanding of what is good for man as a whole as well as the complexities of the circumstances of the moment. In the next issue of the Fidelis Ethics Review, we will turn our attention ore fully to the virtue of prudence in order to see what it is and how foundational it is for professional leaders.

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Adversity By Juan Antonio Torres Juan Antonio Torres is Lecturer on Business and Values in Mexico and in Italy.

Every person and organization has to overcome adversity, more or less severe. The difference between success and failure is how one copes with it. This is what determines the rise and decline of people and groups. It is therefore crucial to accept calmly that adversity is part of life and a good opportunity to grow. Here is a concrete example. When Procter & Gamble invaded the paper-based consumer business in the late 1960s, Scott Paper (then the leader) simply resigned itself to second place without a fight and began looking for ways to diversify. “The company had a meeting for analysts in 1971 that was one of the most depressing I’ve ever attended,” said one analyst. “Management essentially threw in the towel and said, ‘We’ve been had.’” The once-proud company began to look at its competition and say, “Here’s how we stack up against the best,” and sigh, “Oh, well . . . at least there are people in the business worse than we are.” Instead of figuring out how to get back on the offensive and win, Scott just tried to protect what it had. Conceding the top end of the market to P&G, Scott hoped that, by hiding away in the B category, it would be left alone by the big monster that had invaded its turf. Kimberly-Clark, on the other hand, viewed competing against Procter & Gamble not as a liability, but as an asset. Darwin Smith and his team felt exhilarated by the idea of going up against the best, seeing it as an opportunity to make Kimberly-Clark better and stronger. They also viewed it as a way to stimulate the competitive juices of Kimberly people at all levels. At one internal gathering, Darwin Smith stood up and started his talk by saying, “Okay, I want everyone to rise in a moment of silence.” Everyone looked around, wondering what Darwin was up to. Did someone die? And so, after a moment of confusion, they all stood up and stared at their shoes in reverent silence. After an appropriate pause, Smith looked out at the group and said in a somber tone, “That was a moment of silence for P&G.” www.fidelisinstitute.org

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The place went bananas. Blair White, a director who witnessed the incident, said, “He had everyone wound up in this thing, all up and down the company, right down to the plant floor. We were taking on Goliath!” (Jim Collins, Good to Great).

ure. Others we cause ourselves. They are lifestyle choices, risky decisions, mistakes, ideals whose defense leads us to persecution or imprisonment. They allow us to step back if we change our choice. Either way, whether they are our fault or not, it is extremely important to create an attitude beforehand of seeing what is good in everything. This is the first step in coping successfully with them. This is not superficial optimism, but a proactive stance based on an objective understanding of reality. What is this proactivity based on? First, nothing is useless. Even the negative things have something worthwhile, if you know how to find it. This is the advice Lance Armstrong’s mother gave him when his father beat and abused him. He applied this lesson to his passion for sports. Despite cancer, he won the Tour de France seven times. Second, man has the ability to turn anything negative into something positive. “Curiously, nature, while it took away something very valuable, my sight, was giving me another, music. With one hand I let go of something as dear as seeing, but with the other I grasped firmly a crutch and priceless companion, music, another kind of ‘seeing’” (Andrea Bocelli, The Music of Silence). A third positive aspect of adversity is that even failures, whatever their nature, foster personal growth. They give us the lesson, sometimes written in blood, of what we must avoid in the future. That is already something positive. Fourth, many determined and constant men have shown that with firm resolve we can overcome any obstacle, as Gustavo Zervino and his companions who survived the Andes demonstrated.

The same adverse situation, but two ways to cope with it. There are several types of adversity. There are those that are not our fault or are out of our control, such as sicknesses, an economic crisis, a defeat, a loss, a disability, an emotional or professional failwww.fidelisinstitute.org

In particular, handicapped people show us that when we lack something, we can enhance other skills, as in the case of Helen Keller, Adriana Macias, Andrea Bocelli, and many others. Ideas like these are very useful for any manager who wants to take his organization to success in the midst of the turmoil that must necessarily arrive.

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Business Gets Personal By Reuben Nuxoll Reuben Nuxoll is the secretary for the directors of Fidelis, he has a master´s in philosophy with an specialization in anthropology and ethics.

This is directly addressed to you, the businessman. It is not philosophy. It is not just ethics. It should not leave you indifferent. It is the people you deal with, your business, your family, your happiness. I hold that business falls into four fields that are plowed by four principles. These four principles point to the only road to goodness and consequently happiness, because they are part of our meaning as human beings. Business is a way to put our talents to the grindstone, enjoy ourselves doing it, and help others in the process. I want to present how to do this effectively.

I. Why business ethics? Happiness. We apply ethics because we want to reach happiness, and business is included. We might try to hide from the fact that we can only reach happiness if we follow guidelines. But it’s true, as true as our conscience tells us so. Aristotle did not write his Nicomachean Ethics because he felt like making people suffer. Nor did Thomas Aquinas write the second part of his Summa Theologiae to cause anguish. Rather, they wanted to

provide enough light to decipher the instructions inscribed in our souls and thus discover hope. Business is a community of people at work. Thus business ethics is merely an application of general ethics. It is not about helping us and not our business, but both us and our business. Business without ethics is like driving a race car on a flatland without a steering wheel. You will certainly get far fast, but you won’t end up where you really want to go, and you’ll put yourself and others in danger. It’s just a matter of time. www.fidelisinstitute.org

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At an Acton Institute conference here in Rome, Timothy Busch stated that time shows which businesses are healthy and which are not. Even if there were no rules, only a morally healthy business would remain standing in the end. Why? Because people buy from people1, and when there is a trustworthy person to go to, people choose him. II. What are the ingredients of business ethics? You might have a misunderstanding of ethics in business; many businessmen do, because sometimes ethics is presented in a way that gets in the way. The first step is to clear out your prejudices. 1. Ethics is etched into our human nature. Nature is what we use to act – and we cannot escape it, so we cannot escape ethics. At the same time, God created us free, and we can follow the nature he gave us, or we can go against it. Just as with the race-car, letting go of the steering wheel won’t get us there. Here are some metaphors. Ethics is not a hurdle but a ladder. We don’t try to jump over it or get around it, but climb it. It is not – or should not be – a list of what we shouldn’t do; rather, it is our foothold, our map, the grease-gun that gets the gears working. It will take us up, if we take the steps. 2. These examples show us that ethics is not ideas but action. I may be open to the truth, but am I open to living the truth? This is ethics. In a business world, this is what good and evil and justice refer to. They help us achieve what we are meant to achieve. Not to achieve it should be quite dissatisfying, and motivate me to get back on the road. Peter Kreeft writes that “dissatisfaction is the second best thing there is, because it dissolves the glue that entraps us to false satisfactions, and drives us to God, the only true satisfaction. The road home is the next best thing to home. God is home and dissatisfaction is the road, hunger and thirst for God is the road”2. 3. God has been mentioned. Most families have a hierarchy, and so do all businesses. Our lives have www.fidelisinstitute.org

a moral hierarchy, and God is at the top. He calls the shots when it comes to the last say, just like the CEO in a business. However, unlike in a business, his orders do not come down from above, but from within: free human nature. This begs the question: Do I act according to my own human nature? III. Four Principles We can use four principles to apply our human nature to business. These principles give spiritual meaning to work, a meaning that goes beyond the belly, booze, or the bank. Victor Frankl said that man’s life is fundamentally a search for meaning3. If meaning is lost, why live? If meaning in a business is lost, why keep working? If I’ve lost the steering wheel, where am I going?

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same thing, and they have just as much a right to it as I do. We all have dignity. We can achieve it together, but none of us will achieve it by destroying the others. Not even God will interfere with man and make him a mere tool. A healthy business will seek to promote the human dignity of its workers and its consumers. 3. Marriage and family. Dignity’s first social consequence is marriage, which, lived well, gives birth to a family. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger pointed out more than thirty years ago that “marriage is the form of the mutual relationship between husband and wife that results from the covenant, the fundamental human relationship upon which all human history is based”5. If marriage is the fundamental human relationship, and we must treat one other according to our dignity, it is from this first relationship that we learn the other relationships. It teaches us love, which gives meaning to sacrifice, which raises good men. A good man is shown in a good husband and a good father, because his love seeks their dignity, and that gets reflected in society, including business. «Without good men you cannot have a good society»6. A business that builds the family builds the very social fabric it depends on for its existence.

1. Natural law is our ethical blueprint. It is the law to happiness based on our human nature as mentioned above. If we reject it on a personal level, we hurt ourselves. If we reject it in our business, though, we don’t just hurt ourselves. We hurt our stakeholders too. The upside is that our happiness in following the natural law is also our stakeholders’ happiness. 2. Human dignity. It gives me a reason to uphold the natural law. Why drive with a steering wheel unless I know where I’m headed and I have a dignity to lose? “The law inscribed in our nature is the true guarantee offered to everyone in order to be able to live in freedom and to be respected in their own dignity”4. Dignity is our purpose. Typically, we think: I want my money, I want it my way, and I want it now, so just let me work. Just like everyone else. That’s the spark: Everyone else is looking for the

4. Common good. This principle should be obvious; it’s already present in marriage and family, and businesses start due to a common good. If they lose it, they fall apart. A business that seeks the common good of the society in which it works and from which it receives infrastructure and manpower will make decisions accordingly. When it comes to firing one third of my employees or else losing one percent of my profits, my employees and business community take priority. If not, time will show that saving one percent means losing my business. IV. Four-piece pie Business falls into four fields, beyond the triple bottom line. These four fields are like pieces of pie: There is always just one pie, and there are always four pieces, but you can cut them the size you want. We can use the principles above to make our slices. www.fidelisinstitute.org

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4. Consideration: Not only are my employees human beings. Everyone involved in any way with my company is a human being. They all deserve respect. Do I give my stakeholders consideration? If I slice this piece right, I will be a blessing for the common good. No dubious trafficking in arms. Natural resources from cradle to cradle. No fraud or illegal activities. No legal public activities that imply cooperation with a government injustice. Christian ideals in my investments. I will guard the common good. Conclusion: Happiness is what I will get by living business ethics. Happiness is “man’s supreme perfection,” as Thomas Aquinas wisely understood. Aristotle himself spent an entire book trying to point this out8. By seeking the good of others in our business, we effectively bring both them and ourselves further up the road to happiness. REFEREnCES Cf. H. BECKER, Can I Have 5 Minutes of Your Time?, Oakhill Press, Akron and New York 1993. 2 P. KREEFT, Back to Virtue, Ignatius Press, San Francisco 1992, 163164. 3 Cf. V. FRANKL, Man’s Search for Meaning. An Introduction to Logotherapy, Washington Square Press, New York 1963, translated by I. Lasch. 4 BENEDICT XVI, «Address to International Congress on Natural Law», February 12, 2007. 5 J. RATZINGER, Daughter Zion: Meditations on the Church’s Marian Belief, Ignatius Press, San Francisco 1983, translated by John McDermott, SJ. 6 C.S. LEWIS, Mere Christianity, Macmillan, New York, 19668, 72 7 Cf. S. COVEY, The Speed of Trust. The One Thing That Changes Everything, Free Press, New York 2006. 8 ARISTOTLE, Nicomachean Ethics. 1

1. Profit: What first measures a business is its profit. No profit means no business, so it is not a concern in divvying up the pie. It always gets a good chunk. 2. Product: The direct output of work is its product. Do I cut off enough of my business pie to make sure this product is wholesome and marketed as such? If I do, my product won’t include pornography, which contradicts marriage and the family. It won’t include contraceptives or abortion services or cloning or euthanasia, which destroy the dignity of human life. It will not harm the world it comes from but enhance it for further production and the good of all. My product marketing will avoid the hedonistic use of materials whose excess can be harmful, such as alcohol, tobacco and gambling. 3. Concern: How a business treats its employees. Those who work in a business are not machines, nor cattle, but men. Remember our definition of business? We are a community of people at work. How much of the pie can I portion to respecting their dignity and helping them reach personal happiness? If I portion an ample amount, it means that I am concerned about their ongoing training, their level of life, a just wage, their rights, genuine respect7. www.fidelisinstitute.org

BIBLIOGRAPHy ARISTOTLE, NICOMACHEAN ETHICS BECKER, H., CAN I HAVE 5 MINUTES OF YOUR TIME?, OAKHILL PRESS, AKRON AND NEW YORK 1993. BENEDICT XVI, «ADDRESS TO INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON NATURAL LAW », FEBRUARY 12, 2007. COVEY, S., THE SPEED OF TRUST. THE ONE THING THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING, FREE PRESS, NEW YORK 2006. FRANKL, V., MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEAN- ING. AN INTRODUCTION TO LOGOTHERAPY, WASHINGTON SQUARE PRESS, NEW YORK 1963, TRANSLATED BY I. LASCH. KREEFT, P., BACK TO VIRTUE, IGNATIUS PRESS, SAN FRANCISCO 1992. LEWIS, C.S., MERE CHRISTIANITY, MACMILLAN, NEW YORK 19668 RATZINGER, CARDINAL JOSEPH, DAUGHTER ZION: MEDITATIONS ON THE CHURCH’S MARIAN BELIEF, IGNATIUS PRESS, SAN FRANCISCO 1983, TRANSLATED BY JOHN MCDERMOTT, SJ THOMAS AQUINAS, SUMMA THEOLOGIAE. TOTARO, F., «RAZIONALITà ETICA E RAZIONALITà ECONOMICA» IN AA.VV., ETICA E DEMOCRAZIA CRISTIANA, G. CRE- PALDI E R. PAPINI (ED.), 6677.

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Business Ethics at Davos 2011

(Part 1)

By Maciej Bazela Maciej Bazela holds a Ph.D. in philosophy and a master in bio-ethics. He has been a senior analyst with Fidelis since 2007.

As every year, also this January the Swiss ski resort Davos-Klosters hosted the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. Over 2,500 world leaders, including numerous heads of state, prime ministers, diplomats, and CEOs convened to discuss the most pressing global issues. The subject of this 41st edition of the WEF Summit was “Shared norms for the new reality.” Of the 150 panel sessions, several were pertinent for business ethics. Just to mention a few, the participants debated the role of business in development and the future of capitalism, in particular the birth of state capitalism. They explored new norms for corporations and reflected on mindful leadership and responsible investing. The business ethics related panels offered a wealth of highly relevant material for moral reflection on business. Leaving detailed analysis of the panels for another occasion, I would narrow down for now the list of business ethics takeaways from Davos

2011 to 3 key terms that dominated most of the talks. They are the new reality, shared norms, and sustainable development. The New Reality The 2011 meeting was set against a backdrop of the conundrum of sovereign debts in the Eurozone, global trade imbalances, uneven growth rates, and the spread of political upheaval in northern Africa. In fact, the Forum talked about the rise of a New Reality in the aftermath of the recent economic crisis. This New Reality has three major characteristics: ever-increasing complexity and interconnectedness, attrition of values and principles and mistrust in leadership, and economic growth and political stability. In addition, high market volatility seems to become a new norm. The prices of major commodities, especially oil and gold, are extremely unstable. Food prices are soaring and causing inflationarywww.fidelisinstitute.org

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pressures. The world economy is already divided into 4 dimensions: dynamic emerging economies such as BRIC countries that grow at about 6% per year, US and Germany with growth at 3% per year, then Western Europe, and then others. Finally, the New Reality means a dramatic shift in economic and political power from the West to the East. Shared norms This new post-crisis reality calls for a new set of principles, values and norms – a new social pact. This is why the main objective of this year’s Davos was the generation of shared norms that would enable inclusive growth and political stability. Some truly profound questions and concerns were raised in this regard. First and foremost, it is not clear how to define and www.fidelisinstitute.org

develop shared norms in our increasingly interconnected, multicultural and globalized world. How do you set norms, values and behavior models for over 6 billion people living in such different places as London, Moscow, Lisbon, Delhi, Tokyo, Lagos, Istanbul, Oslo? It is even more problematic to say what the sources of such common norms should be. Despite much talk about more dialogue and collaboration, we do not have a framework for shared norms. Another problem is how to embed principles, norms and values in corporations. There was a broad agreement among the participants that, although the economic crisis undermined prevailing moral values, it has not led to a change of the corporate culture. Values are still equated with success or seen as a luxury for already successful companies. Thus, to come up with a new ethical framework for

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and take into account social and environmental concerns and translate them into corporate behavior. On the subject of shared norms, it was the General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Sharan Burrow, who made one of the most forward statements. She stressed that, “to move beyond the old paradigm of how economic, social and political problems are solved,” leaders need to abandon short-term thinking and to stop being fearful of upsetting the markets or voters. Companies need people with strong convictions and beliefs who are able to go against the grain of corporate orthodoxy. Sustainable development The third big theme at Davos 2011 was sustainable development. It was the political leaders of big emerging economies – in particular Mexico and Indonesia – that stressed eco-friendly growth as the most important challenge for the globalized economy. Felipe Calderon, the President of Mexico, sees in renewable energy an amazing business opportunity that can bring down unemployment, help economic growth, and contribute to the fight against climate change. Similarly, the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, talked about the need for a low-carbon economy and a “sustainable and balanced growth” that would be more inclusive and equitable. the business world would oblige us rethink the free market system, which is based on the maximization of profits and utility. An alternative to this challenge could be to ground business ethics in the inviolable dignity of the human person and the transcendent character of moral norms. Perhaps we would manage to correct some dysfunctions of the market and avoid at least some human, social and environmental exploitation if we accepted the fact that the human person is never a means and that we always ought to do good and avoid evil even if it is not prescribed by the law. Corporations could also try to put themselves in the shoes of other stakeholders to get a new perspective on what can be achieved as a business. In the ever more interconnected world, the “ethical and moral interdependence” obliges you to look around

The sharpest articulation of the sustainable agenda came however from the President of Finland, Tarja Halonen, for whom a synergy between economic growth, social justice, and environmental sustainability constitutes “a modern trinity” which should inform political and business decisions. Last but not least, the General Secretary of the UN, Ban Ki-Moon, called for a sustainable economic growth, which is a growth that does not ruin the environment and at the same time raises living standards. He also advocated going beyond a dichotomy between “a green agenda” and “a growth agenda” and remembered that we need “smart consumption” that does not contribute to climate change. As far as the corporate world is concerned, the clearest concern regarding sustainable development www.fidelisinstitute.org

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came from the CEO of Wal-Mart, Mike Duke, who observed that there is no conflict between economic growth and environmental protection. Conclusions All in all, the 41st World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, albeit held in a phase of very fragile geopolitical and economic stability, sent a message of cautious confidence. In fact, professor Schwab, the founder of Davos, suggested we address challenges ahead of us with “constructive optimism.” The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, also made a strong case for hopefulness. As stated by Cameron, Europe can become a thriving economy on condition that it adopts bold investments, unleashes enterprise, and moves from an economy based on consumption and debt to an economy based on investment and savings. He pinpoints that businesses are key to re-launching economic

growth across Europe. And yet to allow companies be the engine of growth, politicians need to remove first the overwhelming burden of regulation and stop loading companies with costs (!). That was probably the most cold-shower, shocking statement at Davos 2011. Contrary to the prevailing today opinion that markets need more strictures, Cameron re-launched the classic economic idea that it is not scarce regulation, but the constant meddling in the economy by regulators, that distorts the correct functioning of the market, creating incentives for misbehaviour and paving the way to economic bubbles. Perhaps in order not to add weight to already deep chasms between supporters and opponents of market regulation, it might be said that the art of political economy is similar to the art of cooking with herbs and spices. Either their lack or their excess will ruin even the finest meal.

Ethics and Profitability Research Project As part of our academic initiatives, we at Fidelis are currently designing a research project to quantify the benefits that some corporations are deriving from giving ethics a new dimension inside their organizations. The challenge is to prove quantitatively that thinking and acting ethical does result in a stronger bottom-line in the long run. The aim is to find clear correlation lines between investments made in ethical initiatives and tangible improvements in sales revenues, customer satisfaction, market share, earnings and shareholders’ value. Shall you believe your company has some best-practices in the field of business ethics that have led your organization to improve its results, we would be glad to learn more from you and your courageous team. Please contact our senior researcher Maciej Bazela for further information: maciej.bazela@fidelisinstitute.org Phone: ++39.06.6654.34.76 www.fidelisinstitute.org

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Fidelis interviews

Dr. (Col.) S.P.S. Bedi, Executive Director, Chandigarh Group of Colleges Recently, we had the opportunity to talk to Dr. (Col.) S.P.S. Bedi, head of Chandigarh Business School in India, about different topics related to business ethics and moral values. Ethics in business has become a lively debated subject in the aftermath of the latest financial crisis. How do you define ethics and why do you think we should care about it? To my mind, ethics in business can be defined as the behaviour of a business in its daily dealings with the outside world. ‘Business ethics’ is a diverse term and has different connotations for different types of business. They are applicable not only to the interaction of a business with the outside world, but also to the individual dealings with a customer, employee, supplier and the like. Many businesses have acquired a bad reputation because of their improper dealings. Many people believe that businesses are interested in making money, and that is the only objective. However, there is nothing bad in making money; it is the manner in which some businesses conduct themselves that raises the question about ethical behaviour. Every business should make good business ethics a part and parcel of their being. There are innumerable factors to be kept in mind. If a company has business association with another that is considered unethical, the former may also be painted in the same colour. So, associating with an unethical business may reflect badly upon a company even if it

itself is not involved in any unethical practices. Many multi-national companies, though following stringent laws/rules in some countries, have been found to have flouted/circumvented similar laws/rules in other countries. Many well-known companies have been involved in breaking ethical business laws and it seems that money is the major deciding factor. If some companies do not follow the business ethics and break the laws/rules, at the most some fine is imposed on them. However, such fines are not real deterrents as the amount of fine is insignificant as compared to the profits they make. In the end, it is the money power that wins. What needs to be seen is that even if a business may be a big seller, but does it follow good business ethics? It is a common knowledge that a number of companies with popular brands have been fined on more than one occasion for unethical practices. Eliminating exploitation is also a part of business ethics – ranging from exploitation of under-age children employed in several trades to bonded labour in some countries. In fact, business ethics are relevant to everything from usurping of agricultural land to set up factories to the unsafe dumping/disposal of waste materials. Many companies have now started realizing that if they improve their record on this front, it can be used as tool to improve their image. Some companies are known to pride themselves about their business ethics, but they are very few and far between. www.fidelisinstitute.org

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What are for you the most important moral values that we should always pursue? I have served as an officer in the Indian Army for nearly 3 decades. Indian Army, and for that matter any army in the world, promotes the organizational values like loyalty, duty, service before self and total integrity. At an individual level, we were instilled with values like commitment, competence, candour, and courage. Values are the bedrock of any armed force and, similarly, should be of every business as well. Values are what we judge to be right. Values act as guiding principles for any organization. For an organization to be effective, it must have a written and clearly understood set of values. A value can be understood as a belief, a mission, or a philosophy that is really meaningful to the business. For instance, "Customer Delight" or "Being Ethical and Transparent" can be considered as a representation of values. A company may or may not be consciously aware of it, but every company has one or more values. A value can also be considered as a statement of the company's intention and commitment to achieve a high level of performance on a specific qualitative factor. From business point of view, I think, some of the important values to be pursued are: Accountability, Honesty and Transparency, Adaptability and Initiative, Sustainability and Environmental Responsibility, Drive to Succeed, Innovativeness and Entrepreneurship, Social Responsibility and Corporate Citizenship, Commitment to Shareholders, Teamwork and Trust, Commitment to Employees, Commitment to Customers, Ethical Behaviour and Integrity. Could you tell us a little bit about the state of business ethics today in India and what could be India’s specific contribution to business ethics in general? Until the economic liberalization in the early nineteen hundred nineties, ‘business ethics’ was not a topic of wide discussion at any level. At a macrolevel, the issue of business ethics came into prominence with the stock-exchange scam in the year 1992. After that, various other happenings made the journalistic fraternity bring out the so called www.fidelisinstitute.org

nexus between business, politics and criminals. A common phrase which I first heard when I was very young is “black market”. Perhaps it came into circulation due to illegal sale of controlled and rationed commodities at higher prices. Similarly, during the nineteen hundred sixties, we started hearing about “black money”, the money income and asset wealth not appearing in the books of accounts, thus evading taxes. Bribes are commonly known as “speed money”, “palm greasing” or “oiling the wheels”. The other two commonly heard words are “kickbacks” and “commissions”. For the last about two decades, the two words “scam” and “scandal” have

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Over the years, there have been several initiatives – both by the government and the business community -- to bring business ethics into play. As early as 1956, there used to be a ‘Forum of Free Enterprise’ promoted by a group of businessmen. In 1966, the Council of Fair Business Practices (CFBP) was established by several leading private sector industrialists in Western India. It adopted a written code of fair business practices like charging only fair and reasonable prices, not to withhold or suppress stocks of goods with a view to hoarding or profiteering, not to adulterate goods supplied, not to publish misleading advertisements, to maintain accuracy in weights and measures of goods offered for sale, providing after-sales service where necessary or possible, etc. Concerted efforts of CFBP are said to be instrumental in creation of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASOI) and in the promulgation of the Consumer Protection Act. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, an apex industry body, also has a declaration on “Norms of Business Ethics”. You have asked about India’s possible specific contribution to business ethics in general. Indian business practices are unique in several ways and may give rise to ethical behavior that may or may not be compatible with the prevailing Western viewpoint.

become more common. We must think of the nation before we think about our own interests. Corruption needs to be uprooted. Poverty which is the breeding ground for corruption needs to be tackled on priority. The sad part is that the legal system moves at a very slow speed and often the corrupt go scot free or are punished lightly. The general mood of public is one of resignation. Media are very vocal about such matters but it is not in their hands to punish the perpetrators of economic crimes. Unfortunately, the business people themselves, with a few exceptions, give the impression that such practices are normal for them to get the things done.

There is a strong belief in corporate social responsibility in India and philanthropy has been synonymous with big business houses like Birlas, Tatas, Munjals etc. Indian Managers are God fearing and are guided by their religious beliefs that forbid them to do anything which later may bring a shame to self or family. There is an increasing emphasis to Human values at School and University level to make the students aware of the various ethical norms in life and business. Persons of Indian origin are holding top slots in various leading companies of the world and this will surely pass a positive impact on their respective organisations globally. Some people believe that the ongoing economic crisis has shown beyond doubt that Business schools are doing a very poor job preparing future bankers and entrepreneurs? I personally feel that there is a need of grooming the students to be an effective manager and leader www.fidelisinstitute.org

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besides educating them in various subjects pertaining to business administration. Accordingly, a very active interface with the industry and corporate world should be an integral part of B School education. Successful entrepreneurs should come and share with the students their success stories as well as impediments they faced during their journey. The curriculum should be more case study / research based and should encourage active participation by the students. Live projects with industry will help in grooming them better. Counseling of students in helping them overcome their weaknesses will also play a positive role. ‘Yoga and transcendental meditation’ can be of immense help in improving the performance of all and sundry. Students should be encouraged to read religious books of various religions and draw inspiration to be a good human being. Which ethics do you teach in your business school? Do you think there can be one universal ethics that works for all? I am reading out the Mission statement of Chandigarh Business School, which is a constituent of the Chandigarh group of colleges. It reads: To make incessant endeavour to translate our vision into a reality and achieve the following objectives: • To create world class facilities and ambience for advance level of teaching and practical training. • To develop students as global citizens with conscience, commitment and dedication. So, concience, commitment and dedication are the three ethics that are enshrined in our Mission statement. Apart from that, we take care about encouraging students to function in an ethical manner in all spheres of their lives as students and citizens. No, there is no single ‘ethic’ that works for all. There is set of ethics which needs to be followed. www.fidelisinstitute.org

Finally, one of the perennial issues in business ethics is the tension between financial goals (profits) on the one side, and ethical standards on the other. Do you think it is it possible for a company to grow and become always more profitable and successful in the globalized world without sacrificing moral values and integrity? Is business compatible with ethics? You see, ethics are no more in religious texts; they are a part of business law. If somebody thinks that business and ethics are alien to each other, he or she is mistaken. Not only are ethics necessary for respectable business, they are now a part of the law. Some laws in the country have been enacted in pursuance of series of corporate scandals over the years. All company directors annually sign Code of Corporate Ethics. This is part of Corporate Governance Code. Even without a law in place, ethics and business are compatible. Only in an extreme, altruistic sense, business and ethics may seem incompatible. But for that matter even earning profits may also be unethical. Like, in Islamic finance, earning interest is unethical. Some businesses may need violence of some degree; for example, Medical research. So, at times it is difficult to draw the line between business and morality. If we have a subjective approach, then ethics lose their meaning as everyone defines ethics to suit one’s convenience. Therefore, I feel that if there is a rule and an exception to the rule, the idea should be to fit into the rule and not fit into the exception. If short term and longterm interests clash, then long term should prevail. For a self-regulatory organization, any conduct that violates code of ethics is unethical. As it may not be possible to have a sudden change in heart, I think there is nothing wrong in adopting ethics in phases, while the eventual aim should be total ethics. I strongly feel that illgotten money never stays with anyone for long. One loses the same sooner or later along with losing the good reputation. The legitimate profits/earnings on the other hand not only add to your wealth but also to your name and fame. Thank you Dr. Bedi.

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About Fidelis

Fidelis International Institute for Business Ethics was founded in 2005 as a non-profit charter organization aiming to promote ethical practices in the world of Business. We believe that ethics is essential to the world of finance, to the economy, and ultimately, to the wellbeing of society and mankind. We deeply believe ethics should no longer be disconnected from the way business is conducted. We have a vocation of instilling ethics among investors and the business community worldwide. At Fidelis, we aim to be the leader in the generation of knowledge that promotes business-ethics values and their application in companies and individuals. We achieve this leadership through in-depth research investigating the latest ethical issues confronting companies worldwide.

Our identity is based on Judeo-Christian values, although we are open to other approaches and respectful of every ideology and credo. Fidelis International Institute activities are focused on three main fields of action: 1.- Academic Activities – research, and education (courses, conferences, symposia) in the field of business ethics with focus on applied ethics. 2.- Consulting Activities – design and implementation of ethical consulting projects for corporations and institutions worldwide. 3.- Screening Services – ethical advisory for investors interested in achieving financial results while respecting their moral principles; making faith and investing successfully coexist. Our website is: www.fidelisinstitute.org www.fidelisinstitute.org

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