Business seems to have lost its ethical context. Business decisions are taken according to whether they are within or outside of legal and regulatory frameworks … not whether they are within or outside of prevailing value sets or ethical frameworks.
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If we cannot put ourselves in the shoes of others (and empathise) how can we expect to understand our customers, our suppliers, our stakeholders … and if we can … surely we must have a framework that says we will do nothing that might hurt or offend these groups.
That is what ethics is … an understating of the needs of others and how our actions might impact on those needs.