|
business ethics?
well folk who do business ethics for a living in various b-schools would certainly agree with you--but in the world outside b-schools, the relation between business ethics and actual operations is problematic. generally, implementation of ethics policies comes down to three main things: a code of ethics, implmentation of some type of internal monitoring apparatus, and integration of this type of monitoring or auditing with other types of information/auditing. since most tncs do (2) by constructing a separate bureaucratic area, they set up an adverserial relation between everyday operations and those who would audit it. the results of these ethics audits are not generally integrated into other types of reporting--so they tend to float around as public relations tools.
thing is that a notion of the "triple bottom line" would make it much more difficult for pharmaceutical corporations to do what they presently do in terms of pricing because it would force consideration of the social consequences of business decisions---so it is not like business ethics could do nothing, and despite my cynicism about the area, it is better that it exists than it would be if it didnt. internally, the main problem with the triple bottom line is "metrics"--working out ways to integrate "social and environmental footprints" into quantitative form, so that it would occupy a status parallel to that of financial performance. generally speaking the firms that have gone the furthest in trying to work this metrics problem out have been those which have come under the most intense political pressure and so are most concerned about either being or appearing to be proactive. like nike. this is because in almost all cases, the primary driver of change in corporate action is political pressure--the motivations for such changes rarely come from inside the corporations themselves. i think it is this political pressure around the cost of AIDS drugs in particular (with primary reference to africa over the past few years, but with implications that are much wider in fact) explains why big pharma and their proxies in the american govt have not reacted to thailand's actions.
__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear
it make you sick.
-kamau brathwaite
|