The Hill (January 18, 2017) Business Ethics in the Age of Trump

The Hill (January 18, 2017)

Business Ethics in the Age of Trump

By Susan Rose-Ackerman

at

The campaign against unethical corporate behavior has had a positive impact on the international business community in recent decades. Although corruption and self-dealing remain endemic, slowly but surely, executives have internalized stronger commitments to more ethical behavior.

U.S. multinationals have been central to establishing a global business commitment to responsible behavior. Many try to limit corruption, treat employees well, sell safe products, and limit environmental harms. The law on the books is not the firms’ only guide. Even if a country is riddled with corruption and does little to enforce its laws, such firms, nevertheless, conform to regulatory requirements.

Many businesses have taken real steps to embed corporate social responsibility into their firms’ culture. Progress in corporate social responsibility depends on mutual trust, where firms believe in the moral commitments of other firms to behave responsibly, and not to seek quick, short-term advantage.

But mutual trust can be fragile, and Donald Trump places this progress in danger. As the world’s most visible businessman, his example risks creating a negative dynamic: “If Trump can do it, and get away with it, then why isn’t it OK for me to do the same?”
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/314875-business-ethics-in-the-age-of-trump