Ethics as an option?
Dr Simon Longstaff of The Ethics Centre (formerly the St James Ethics Centre) was quoted this week as saying he felt he'd been trying to sell umbrella's in a drought for the past 30 years, but that maybe it is now starting to drizzle.
Hedge Clippings presumes he means that organisations are starting to understand that ethics are important, and as such his wisdom and advice is now being appreciated - in some quarters - at least more than it was.
It is unfortunate of course that this has probably only come about as a result of some failures and the resulting embarrassment in the banking sector in particular, with the media having a field day with the CBA's money laundering, and various examples of market manipulation and rate rigging amongst the other banks. Suffice to say that if the rules on market manipulation in those markets were the same as insider trading in equities, there'd be some significant "holidays" being handed out by the courts, rather than hefty fines being paid by long suffering shareholders.
It is however a sad reflection on the real world of business that the good Doctor Longstaff and The Ethics Centre even exist. Most intelligent and reasonably educated business people - banker or otherwise - know the difference between right and wrong. The problem is they just don't feel the normal ethical rules apply to them, or that the reward is such that they couldn't care anyway.
We long remember the term "Commercially Naïve" being applied to anyone who put ethics ahead of profitability - and it was not meant as a compliment. That Dr Longstaff is now managing to offload a few of his stock of umbrellas is encouraging, but disconcerting that it is only to avoid the recipient getting wet, rather than not needing one in the first place.
