Ethics, work and globalization

On the subject of ethics, the western manufacturing world seems to be divided between two possible behaviours. One linked to the protestant culture, dominant in the English speaking world, and the other related to Catholicism, featured in Latin societies. However, a universal code of ethics must be identified and implemented that can be shared and understood in societies and organizations that are very heterogeneous in cultural, religious or ethnic terms.

Marco Lisi

In recent years in the business and manufacturing world, we have witnessed a progressive loss of traditional ethical values in line with the increase in global competition. Striking examples of unethical behaviour by companies, recently denounced by the world public opinion, are cases of child labour in the third world by large western multinationals; in our country the curse of illegal work, and the clandestine immigration often associated to it, is unfortunately a phenomenon known to all. On these matters and on the need to respond to them in a way that puts the concept of work, and the ethical issues associated with it, into question, the western world seems to be divided between two possible behaviours.

Work ethics and Protestant culture

In English-speaking countries or, more generally, in countries with a protestant religious tradition, there is a strong need to promote ethical behaviour, for individuals and organizations, in a way that meets the new needs arising from competition in the global village. It is no chance that in these countries, teaching ethics is an integral part of university courses in most public and private universities.
The particular ethical value that work and business in general play in Protestantism was clearly expressed by Max Weber in his book “The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism” (1904-5). Weber’s hypothesis was that the Calvinist doctrine of predestination drives individuals to search for evidence that they are among the chosen ones even during their life on earth. Performing useful work in worldly tasks was therefore accepted by the puritan settlers of New England as the most certain way of demonstrating that they were among the elect. It was this puritan ethic, based on work, the desire to achieve financial success and the habit of not wasting accumulated money on frivolities that left its mark on the genetics of the new American democracy.
Even today, the ethical values of the Pilgrim Fathers continue to influence the world of work and business in the USA, though partly changed in a laic and rational sense. In an increasingly aggressive context marked by globalization, reorganization of societies and new technologies, the average American worker, at whatever level in the company, feels the need to perform his/her role more and more responsibly, achieving higher and higher levels of quality, efficiency and excellence. He/she feels the need for the companies he/she works for to be founded on fundamental and deeply rooted values such as integrity, morality, respect, trust and intellectual honesty, right down to the tiniest details of their organizational processes.
As a result, organizations have developed a growing tendency to implement an internal code of ethical conduct and in some cases, a specific office for internal training and consultancy on ethical issues. It is clear that in this type of corporate culture, the public perceives the ethical behaviour of the companies through their products and services, their reasonably fair pricing policy, their respect for public institutions and the community at large, for the environment and the public’s wellbeing. Ethics has started to be seen as an important element to achieve total quality in the company to the point that ethical behaviour is the new frontier of total quality.

Work ethics and Catholic culture

In Catholic countries, Italy being (and not by chance) a paradigmatic example, the separation between ethics in one’s private life and public life is generally more distinct. Paradoxically, in these countries ethical values are considered very important by most individuals, who admit to applying ethical behaviour to their private life. When moving on to the world of work and business, however, morals become a concept that is almost completely ignored. Ethical behaviour at work is therefore based on intuitive, subjective and personal notions of what is right or wrong, rather than universal and objective criteria.
In addition, corruption in these countries is often one of the most serious obstacles to ethical behaviour in the business world. The reasons, past and present, of the “de facto” moral relativism characterising the behaviour at work in many different countries (Latin America, Spain, Italy, but also Poland and Ireland) require deeper and more precise analysis.

Work ethics in Italy’s history

Focusing on Italy alone, there is no lack of hypotheses, some of which are quite fanciful. For example, an attempt has been made, clearly with political and electoral aims, to spread and accredit the stereotype of a cisalpine Italy, still founded on the Celtic values of hard work and honesty, as opposed to idle, careless southern or “Roman” Italy. It has been equally discouraging to hear historians and political scientists claim, we hope provocatively, to be the ancient Romans who invented "otium", the forefathers, by title and by name, of the Roman meddlers and bureaucrats of today.
The historical reality is rather different: with their taste for excellence, their almost obsessive passion for organization, the development of law as the science of living together in civil society and their almost innate instinct to leave a mark of their civilization with works that have survived the centuries to be admired today with wonder and admiration, ancient Romans would today be considered to combine the best of the German, Japanese and American virtues.
One might actually wonder how such a laic vision of work and human performance has been lost over the centuries. Some would blame the institution of slavery, blown up out of all proportion especially in the middle and late empire; others would associate the decay of secular morals with the spread of Christianity, which, with its highly eschatological component, tended to take human interest away from day-to-day reality and focus it on the afterlife. Our aim here is not to discuss the orthodox content and message of Christianity; however, it has undoubtedly always oscillated, through the centuries, between rejection of the world (“contemptus mundi”) and its matters on one side and the evangelical vocation to participate in the construction of the world with one’s fellow men on the other. Although the very first verses of the Genesis seem to anticipate man’s destiny to contemplate great works of creation: “tulit ergo Dominus Deus hominem – et posuit eum in paradiso voluptatis – ut operaretur et custodiret illum” (Genesis 2, 15), it is also true that, a few verses later, the original sin having been committed, a terrible curse afflicts man’s destiny: “in sudore vultus tui vesceris pane – donec revertaris in terram de qua sumptus es – quia pulvis es et in pulvere reverteris” (Genesis 3, 19).
In Ernesto Galli della Loggia’s essay "L’identità italiana", published by Il Mulino, the lack of a sense of State seems to be the most salient and negative feature of our collective nature, followed by the lack of the spirit of service and social sense. The loss or attenuation of these morals is linked to a series of historical causes and circumstances, such as long centuries of foreign domination and the very peculiar characteristics of our Risorgimento. Omnipresent in our culture and moral traditions is the unfortunate shadow of “the end justifies the means”, in business and politics. Behind this reasoning, rather than Machiavelli (who attributed an important moral value to work), we can find his false followers and pupils and their casuistry that anticipated the moral relativism of today.

The need for a universally acceptable ethical code

One of the biggest obstacles to introducing ethical values to corporate culture and organization is essentially philosophical. Ethics, philosophers would note, is a personal process, in which any form of institutional coding plays only a small part. Experts agree that codes of ethics and ethical behaviour, introduced some time ago in the US, have helped many companies escape permanent ethical relaxation bordering on the scandalous, and have made the work environment healthier and more respectable.
A second and more fundamental objection to the spread of work ethics concerns the possibility to define a reference code of ethics, rationally and laically founded, which can be accepted by everybody. The difficulty arises yet again from the confessional and clerical heritage that afflicts our culture. I am not speaking about absolute and universal rules, linked to a particular theology or Weltanschauung, but rather about ethical and responsible behaviour models that our conscience may assume as points of reference.
Substantially this means considering the most obvious ethical principles of a personal nature, such as courtesy, respecting one’s neighbour, honesty, justice, sincerity, fair play and integrating and combining them with professional ethical principles: impartiality, objectivity, openness to discussion, confidentiality, care and diligence in performing professional responsibilities, fulfilment of commitments and loyalty to the company, positiveness and optimism, punctuality (i.e. “princely qualities”).
Fromview, the more societies and organizations differ culturally, religiously and even ethnically, the stronger the need to lay the foundations of a universally recognised morality, for a rule of ethical conduct understood and accepted by all. A sound base of common and universally accepted ethical principles will help us face the global challenges that await us, control of technology first and foremost.
If any doubt remains as to the suitability of combining ethics with work, just refer to the citation of the unquestioned apostle of economic liberalism, Adam Smith, in his book Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), chronologically preceding the more famous Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), claiming with conviction the need for a moral foundation in both economic and political systems.