The Hindu Business Line : `Ethics in business has to reflect ethics in society'

POINTING out that `ethics' had no connection as such with business or any other entrepreneurial activity, Mr Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Governor of West Bengal, said here today that "ethics in business has to reflect ethics in society". Participating in an interactive session on `Ethics in business', organised by the FICCI Eastern Regional Council, he said "any business house, if it maintains double standards, will not only be recognised as such, but also judged and responded to appropriately". General people recognise ethical standards because they can recognise hypocrisy quickly, he pointed out.

Earlier, delivering the keynote address, Mr S.M. Dutta, Chairman, Castrol India Ltd, and former Chairman of HLL, said ethics was such an inborn concept that all of it cannot be contained in our law. "Nobody teaches us ethics; no formal instructions as such, and we are just left to learn it through experimentation."

Organised society needs to exist through a common code of conduct, and ethics is fundamental to any social organisation, he pointed out.

Expressing his views on `ethics in business', he said, while admitting that the primary task of business was to create wealth by adding economic value to society, the ethical dimension of business has to rest on the three key aspects of "legitimacy, equitability and transparency". Citing all past and current international regulations like the Cadbury Committee recommendations or the latest Sarbanes-Oxley Rules governing business disclosures in the US, Mr Dutta said all these were basically geared towards the above-stated three basic aspects of business.

In his opening remarks, Mr C.K. Dhanuka, Chairman, FICCI-ERC, said that as India was now integrating with the world economy, it was important that companies should demonstrate their trustworthiness and credibility to fully share the benefits of international development and trade.

"Ethics and integrity are now even more critical to the global marketplace."

He said that in a competitive scenario with increasing commercial pressures, companies perceived to be ethical could recruit and retain the best workforce and foster a positive, long-term relationship with their stakeholders.

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