The Internet and Business Ethics
Business ethics is becoming increasingly prominent on our culture as the world is becoming more and more connected which in turn makes businesses more and more transparent. Conducting business in an ethical behavior used to be for only the do-gooders (an unfortunately small percentage) of the business world but today, if you and your business want to stick around, practicing business ethics will keep you in the black for the long run.
The scam is dying.
It used to be that any Joe off the street could start up a shady scam to raise some quick capital. While scams are certainly not dead, they are dying. Today if you come across a company who is promising the pie in the sky its easy to just hop on the internet and look them up. What you find can back up a decision to go forward with the company or to save you from wasting your hard-earned money.
The advent of the internet has made information so cheap and available to nearly everyone that it becomes obvious why businesses need to keep their laces tied tight and not get sloppy. Frustrated customers talk and can drive many sales away. The best thing to do to keep yourself in the black and keep your customers happy to provide quality products at and don’t break the law.
While its true that its possible to make tons of money in the short term by scamming and defrauding people, your cash flow has a ceiling. You can only make so much before you’re discovered. And when you are discovered not only will it tarnish your reputation making it hard to start and run legitimate businesses but it could very easily make you a guest of the state for a long, long time.
Just look at Bernard Madoff. Here was a sharp man with the world at his fingertips. Had he just done business ethically he could still have a VERY comfortable living and never have to worry about the FBI showing up at his door to toss him in prison. He scammed hundreds of thousands of people using a Ponzi scheme like model that he himself said was, “One big lie.” For his offenses he is now serving a term of 150 years. Essentially he has been sentenced for life.
Enron had a similar case. They weren’t running a Ponzi scheme but they were certainly lying about their profits and growth which got more and more people to invest. Tricky accounting can go a long way to deceiving the public.
To avoid scandals like Madoff’s and Enron’s just be honest and straightforward. This is the most certain way to long-term success and financial stability.
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