Richard Powers lectured on Canadian legal systems, contract law, tort law and finally ethics. It was a thorough overview with some cases that allowed for break-out small group and class discussion.
The conversation on ethics was interesting. Prof. Powers suggested that corporate ethics could be looked at as a continuum with CSR (corporate social responsibility) on one end and legal on the other. I think for many corporations, CSR has less to do with ethics than an elaborate public relations strategy.
Hypernorms or fundamental principals, exist in corporate ethics:
- honesty
- fairness
- compassion
- integrity
- predictable
- responsible
One of the common themes throughout the Rotman MBA Essentials program has been corporate scandal. The hypernorms are an interesting contrast. Is corporate ethics based on fundamental principals of honesty, fairness and compassion attainable when you layer on profits and the need to grow and deliver value to shareholders?
