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Religious aphorisms relevant to business ethics

langedon — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 11:46:39 -0800

I’m looking for aphorisms, from a variety of religious traditions, relevant to business ethics. Do you have any suggestions that meet both of these criteria?
1) An individual could easily draw inspiration from the aphorism for his/her ethical behavior (in the context of business)
2) The aphorism is found in a sacred text (or text central to the religious tradition).

Here are two examples that epitomize what I am looking for (I’m especially--but, not exclusively--interested in examples from non-Jewish, non-Christian traditions):

Christian: “What will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?” Matthew 16: 26 (Oxford RSV)

Jewish: “You shall not… put a stumbling block before the blind…” Leviticus 19:14 (Oxford RSV)

Examples needed of ethical situations at work

langedon — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 09:26:43 -0800

Looking for *your* real-life example of an ethical situation, problem, or dilemma at work. I’m teaching a class on business ethics and I can make use of additional real-world examples. Have you, in your occupational life, observed or been involved in a situation with ethical implications? Any level of analysis potentially is helpful; for example, interpersonal, group, organization, or industry level. (Btw, I did find a couple of old AskMe questions that possibly are useful examples.) Thank you!

What is required for "ethics consulting"?

ontic — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 12:49:05 -0800

I hear that sometimes businesses and other institutions hire "ethics consultants". Does anyone know anything about getting into ethics consulting or the actual day-to-day activities in ethics consulting? If not, has anyone seen an ethics consultant in action at a company? I'm a philosopher/ethicist who teaches courses and does research on issues in theortetical and applied (practical ethics). I'm not planning on quitting my day job as an academic (I like it way too much) but my school allows me to spend a certain percentage of my time consulting.

My experience learning about and teaching business ethics makes me comfortable enough with business, business plans, business practices, and "talking business" that I wouldn't be the typical idealistic academic flailing in the real world. But even given all this, I'm not sure what ethics consulting requires to get started and what most companies would want from such a consultant. Is not having a background in law a major liability, for instance? Do businesses ever want anything more than typical CYA-type policy suggestions?