A value-based company management from the economical point of view means that only those projects are implemented, that are also giving a good return among profitable market conditions, that make “a positive contribution to the total enterprise value”[1]. It is crucial for the economic success of a company, to generate the expected return to shareholders, which will be read on the bare figures of balances.Resignation is the previous result of the current conflict between profit and principles, sufficient money earnings and balance sheet fraud. Many managers experienced that their stakeholders can not longer be convinced by simple ethical slogans – particularly being caused by the Dot.Com crisis of the late 90s.
Descriptive-empirical case studies of Business Ethics have gained more relevance in recent years. But the pursuit of sustainable normative goals can not be decreed on prescription. But a modern business ethics can create more sensitiveness for ethical problems in companies (assessment), more consciousness in dealing with ethical issues, a better implementation of ethics projects with the management (policies) and more specific proposals solving applied problems of ethics in everyday life.
Subjective values provide guidance and ultimately have a normative, regulatory impact, less in general discourses, “but the fact that they are adopted, internalized and are being lived concretely”[2].
[1] Sattler, Ralf, Unternehmerisch denken lernen, Das Denken in Liquidität, Erfolg und Risiko, München 22003, p. 103.
[2] Plathow, Michael, Das Werte-Thema in kirchlichen Äußerungen und reformatorischer Wirklichkeitsdeutung, Deutsches Pfarrerblatt, 3. Ausgabe, Speyer 2002, p. 107.
Especially in the context of globalization and its far-reaching restructuring processes of change management[1], companies need local caring societies, in which weak can reckon with the support of the fittest. Specific groups of interest are barometers of the cultural consciousness of a society[2] and are documenting individual values in a common social space – property commits[3].
This has also to do something with ethical reasons, arising from our subjective beliefs, serving successful human life. Traditionally in this case, religions have considerable influence, as the view shows in the preamble of the German constitution, or the invocatio dei of the Swiss Constitution. Whether a voluntary commitment to the Lions Club, church board or a political party: It is really important to look for the whole, as companies also belong to “founders of identity and sense”[4] for timeless values – beside religion, family and other institutions.
[1] IBM Business Consulting Services, Expanding the Innovation Horizon. The Global CEO Study 2006, New York 2006, p. 37.
[2] Grabenstein, Andreas, Wachsende Freiheiten oder wachsende Zwänge, Zur kritischen Wahrnehmung der wachsenden Wirtschaft aus theologisch-sozialethischer Sicht, in: St. Galler Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsethik, Bd. 22, Bern 1998, p. 270.
[3] Dass es rechtlich gesehen eine soziale Verantwortung gibt, kann man im Artikel 14 (2) des Deutschen Grundgesetzes lesen: „Eigentum verpflichtet. Sein Gebrauch soll zugleich dem Wohle der Allgemeinheit dienen“.
[4] Jost, Hans Rudolf, Komplexitäts-Fitness. Wandel erfolgreich gestalten, p. 150.
Ethical behaviour is especially favoured by managers if it comes to a better acceptance of their companies in the society. The pressure of competitiveness, the purchasing power of customers and the loyalty of staff are important economical regulations legitimizing a value orientated ethics management. The implementation of the Corporate Governance Codex in Germany, based on voluntary commitment of the DAX companies instead of a too high government forced Social Market Economy[1], is an example for that case.
But the good will alone, intellectual declarations and empty phrases are not sufficient to put the own value chain strategy in commonsensical terms for people in society and workforces. Furthermore disregards by companies against certain core values lead to sanctions. They are deeply rooted in the psychology of market behaviour, especially after shocking reports in the media that are getting around more intense, faster and frequently like the planned closure of the German factory of the mobile phone manufacturer Nokia in Bochum[2].
Furthermore in this case we also have to ask even more for the moral of the mass media. The economy has a considerable influence on the media, because they benefit[3]from the system that bad news are good news, by favouring higher risks and immoral behaviour of managers for the sake of exciting news at the expense of polarising reports[4].
[1] Müller-Armack, Alfred, Art. „Soziale Marktwirtschaft“, in: Handwörterbuch der Sozialwissenschaften, Bd. 9, Stuttgart 1956, p. 390f.
[3] IBM Business Consulting Services, Branches in bloom. Will growing investments in branches bear fruit banks? An IBM Institute for Business Value brief, New York 2005, p.22.
[4] Voss, Oliver, Kühl gerechnet. Großer Imageverlust für Nokia, in: Wirtschaftswoche, 28.01.2008, 5. Ausgabe, Düsseldorf 2008, p. 46.
Primary it is the business of managers to be economical successful. Therefore they are measured by the Shareholder-values of their companies. Stakeholders are not less relevant. The ethical values dilemma of managers[1] is seen more or less critically in politics, churches and media.
The maximization of profit as well as sky-scraping management salaries and the general issues of Corporate Citizenship must fit to each other credibly[2], so that the media coverage on action and effect of the companies are not creating a scandal, because this would also be critically assessed by analysts at the Stock exchanges round the world.[3] The core difficulty is to implement prescriptive value codices successful and sustainable, bringing them transparently through the mass media. This has to do something with contingence but also congruence[4] in the several business decision makings.
[2] Avenarius, Horst, Public Relations, Darmstadt 2000, p. 376.
[3] McK Wissen, Das Magazin von McKinsey, 11. Ausgabe, „Wert“, Hamburg 2004, p. 10.
[4] Schulz von Thun, Friedemann, Miteinander Reden, Band 3, Das „innere Team“ und situationsgerechte Kommunikation, Kommunikation, Person, Situation, Hamburg 142005, p. 175.
More and more international companies are well positioned by strategic actions in the areas of compliance, Corporate Governance or Corporate Citizenship, particularly in Europe and the United States. Concerning the media competence of these companies, there is little left to do. Many times, however, there is a lack of support by managers, implementing ethical thoughts in working life. Leadership and exemplary behaviour have to be gradually learned and implemented.
For this worldly wisdom one neither needs to be particularly religious, nor economic or medial special qualified. Even children are tending to ignore the announcements of their parents if they do not apply to their own words. Already Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount[1] said, that it matters that one suitable accounts for his own actions. The biblical commandment of love urges more awareness, dealing with oneself and others.
It is important not only to draft values respectively to discuss new concepts, but engaging an ethical value orientation in private life by head and heart, economic rationality and emotional intelligence[1].
These strategic efforts and a sidelong glance like theology and its interpretations of the Parable of the Merciful Samaritan[2] are worth enough to think about it. “Christian Ethics are not a potpourri of arbitrariness”[3] but are manifested among other cases like the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount and the Work of Jesus in general. The containing messages are not scheduled for disposition every day. Jesus criticized, not as sometimes assumed, the possession and profit per se[4], but he especially critized, as it is written in the Parable of the Rich Young Man, that prosperity might be understood wrong if it is blocking the way of Christian succession. As a believing Jew, Jesus referred to the scriptures of the Torah, sensitizing people for the impact of monetary economics.
According to Christian standards, money – as the first historic mass media – can make values if it is used in an adequate conduct and supports social communities instead of aborting them. Finally it was crucial for Jesus to be in a dynamic relationship with God, his fellows and disciples. “This is no longer a matter of corporate values, but about personal principles”[5]. Also economists can learn from this example. From corporate viewpoint such a model-conscious behaviour is paid out in more loyalty and commitment of co-workers. Also ultimately in higher productivity, added value and return on investment. Therefore the following five short theses on leadership, strategy and marketing of companies might be pragmatic ideas.
[1] Golemann, Daniel, Emotionale Intelligenz, München 1996, p. 190.
[3] Hemel, Ulrich, Wert und Werte. Ethik für Manager – ein Leitfaden für die Praxis, München 22007, p. 51.
[4] Marguerat, Daniel, Gott und Geld – ein Widerspruch? Wie die Bibel Reichtum und Besitz einschätzt, in: Welt und Umwelt der Bibel, 1. Ausgabe, Stuttgart 2008, p.10.
[5] Hartmann, Michael, Werte aus Sicht der Kirche – ein zeitgemäßer Ansatz?, in: Unger, Stefanie u.a. (Hg.), Was uns wichtig ist. Eine neue Führungsgeneration definiert die Unternehmenswerte von morgen. Ergebnisse aus der Wertekommission, Weinheim 22007, p. 213.
Further efforts by companies are necessary to integrate a value management in business ethics that “does not loose the economical coloration of the value term, on the other hand also avoids a metaphysical overstatement”[1]. Value orientated corporations can reject prescriptive standards in corporate philosophies, if they are developing their individually, subjective values. Only if moral decisions have consequences values have a moral dimension, which is going beyond the own “moral compass”[2] of individual values.
Re-engineering ethical standards, value oriented companies have to come to talk with its stakeholders, which are profiting of the company value. Is it sure that ethical values equally gaining financial value added? Only arguing with those profit hypotheses is not credible enough. Executives need a consistent stance, a clear ethical judgement in order to be successful in the long run. This includes a greater orientation towards an awareness[3] that means a positive understanding of ethic values – in a system where risky behaviour of managers is still greatly rewarded by companies. Values are anything else than an available catalogue of manageable impact.
David Hume pointed out that there is a categorical difference between Being and Doing something[4] that we cannot conclude from purely descriptive models to normative imperatives. Jesus and his disciples never explicitly spoke about values but truth. Plato even did not spoke about values but about the Idea of the Good. Until the mid-19th Century, the concept of the term “value” has been understood economically as a subject of the National Economy, until Herrmann Lotze founded a broader philosophy of values. But values in themselves are initially subjective, not a mission statement on the basis of steady codifying elementary values. Individual values, to which a greater number of people agrees, are creating standards and not vice versa with values that are engaged by managers thinking in top-down patterns.
Economists do not have a philosophical value theory, because they are equating values with prices as an equilibrium[5] for products or services. The value of an object depends on the subjective importance that individual men attribute to it. Economically speaking, prices are “nothing more than aggregate value associations”[6]. In theology on the other hand, values are behaviours such as questioning for truthfulness, loyalty and justice.
In philosophy however the matter is different. Here the value concept is “the result of a hypostatisation of value predicates”[7]. So a glass of water is less valuable for a swimming pool owner than a parching marathon runner, who would already cherish a sip of precious water.[8] If it is about money, the purchaser will only accept those prices, which are under his subjective value senses. In essence economic values diverge from ethical standards.[9] Their scientific conception and resulting recommendations for action are being discussed controversial.
[1] Wieland, Josef, Die Ethik der Governance, in: Wieland, Josef (Hg.), Studien zur Governanceethik, Bd. 1, Marburg 52007, p. 81.
[2] Lennick, Doug u.a., Moral Intelligence. Wie Sie mit Werten und Prinzipien Ihren Geschäftserfolg steigern, Heidelberg 2006, p. 86.
[3] Enderle, Georges, Handlungsorientierte Wirtschaftsethik: Grundlagen und Anwendungen, in: St. Galler Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsethik, Bd. 8, Stuttgart 1993.
[4] Hume, David, A Treatise of Human Nature, Oxford 1978 (orig. 1740).
[5] Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (RGG4), Art. „Wert/Werte“, p. 1468.
[6] McK Wissen, Das Magazin von McKinsey, 11. Ausgabe, „Wert“, Hamburg 2004, p. 22.
[7] Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche (LThK), Art. „Wert“, p. 1108.
[8] Oermann, Nils Ole, Anständig Geld verdienen? Protestantische Wirtschaftsethik unter den Bedingungen globaler Märkte, Gütersloh 2008, p. 209.
[9] Camenish, Paul F., Business Ethics: On Getting to the Heart of the Matter, in: Stackhouse, Max L. u.a. (Hg.), On Moral Business, Classical and Contemporary Ressources for Ethics in Economic Life, Princeton (USA) 1995, p. 587.
