INTRODUCTION

            Ethics is better perceived in relative term rather than absolute term. This is even more so in the business environment than in the larger society. Ethics is moral rules or principles of behaviour governing a person, group or community. Moral is based on principles of right and wrong and the difference between good and evil.

            Ethics and Business can be said to be linked. Whatever the nature of your business/Vocation, it must be conducted within the confines of certain ethnical values. That is why today, most business outfits that have adopted the planning culture attach paramount importance to ethics. It is this attitude that has compelled such organization to have ethics embodied in their corporate mission statements.

2.         ROTARY’S CONTRIBUTION TO HIGH ETHICAL PRACTICES
            The idea that Rotarians should promote high ethical business conduct stemmed from the days when Paul Harris yearned to do business with trustworthy tradesmen, just like those he had known in the Vermont Village of his boyhood. Paul wrote in 1912: “It is the Rotarian idea that a man’s business is the best and truest expression of the man; if the man’s business life is clean, his social life is likely to be. The character of the membership of Rotary Clubs must be kept high because from the membership of Rotary Clubs come your friends and mine”.

            When Philadelphia’s Glenn Mead succeeded Paul Harris as president of the International Association of Rotary Clubs in 1912, he continued to push the organization in its new direction. He said that Rotary is a solid and substantial bridge from the old order of the business world to the new. He recommended that Rotary should contribute to “the advancement of business morality” by formulating a code of business ethics.

2.1       Object of Rotary
            The second paragraph: - “High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society”.

2.2.      Declarations of Rotarians in Business & Professions
            This is more of “Commandments” or a code of conduct to which all Rotarians must subscribe to before joining the club. They are 8 in all but four of them relating to ethics are: -

            (a)       Be faithful to the letter and to the spirit of the ethical codes of my vocation, to the laws of my country, and to the moral standards of my community

            (b)       Do all in my power to dignify my vocation and promote the highest ethical standards in my chosen vocation.

            (c)        Be fair to my employers, associates, competitors, customers, the public and all those with whom I have a business or professional relationship.

            (d)       Neither seek from nor grant to a fellow Rotarian a privilege or advantage not normally accorded others in a business or professional relationship.

2.3.      The Four Way Test
            This is perhaps the greatest contribution of Rotary towards the promotion of high ethical standards in work places. During the Great Depression of 1930, Rotarians faced the greatest challenge of their lives. There was no better time to test for ethical conduct than during such a dire economic crisis and the scramble to survive just as we have it today.
           
            Herbert J. Taylor, a member of the Rotary Club of Chicago, was asked to take over the near- bankrupt  Club Aluminum Company in 1932. It was a last ditch effort to save the Company, which had no money, low employee morale and ruthless competition from other firms in similar straits.
            Taylor used his Rotary background to draft a 24-word code of conduct that he used to guide all his daily decisions. He found this ethical compass so helpful that he called all the department heads together and asked them to do the same. The code had four points, so Taylor called it The Four-Way Test:
           
            “Of the things we think, say or do:

                       1.          Is it the TRUTH?
                       2.          Is it FAIR to all concerned?
                      3.           Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
                      4.           Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

            Club Aluminum Company applied The Four-Way Test to its dealings with employees, customers, dealers, and suppliers. It deliberately walked away from business that, while profitable, would have failed one or more of its standards.

            The Company’s fortunes turned around; it eliminated its debt, and over the next 15 years paid out $1 million in dividends while building a net worth of $2 million. Herb Taylor credited The Four-Way Test. The RI Board voted to officially adopt The Four-Way Test in 1943; and when Herb Taylor became RI president in 1954. He donated the copyright of the test to the organization. One of the worlds’s most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics is The Four-Way Test. The test has been translated into the languages of more than 100 countries.

            Rotarians recite the object of Rotary and Four-Way Test on weekly basis in all our meetings worldwide while the Declaration of Rotarians in business and professions adopted by the 1989 council of legislation is recited especially during the induction of new members.

2.4.      Celebrating a Century of Vocational Ethics

            More than 1,500 participants from across Japan celebrated Rotary’s successes in promoting vocational ethics during the past 100 years in Tokyo in April 2005.
            RI President 2004/5 Glenn Estess Sr. noted that Rotarians over many years have earned the trust and respect of people throughout the world by practicing business and professional ethics.
            From the earliest days of Rotary, Rotarians have been concerned with promoting high ethical standards in their professional lives and this is what has stood us apart from other service organizations worldwide.              

            Individual Rotarians have also paid dearly for practicing high ethical values. Past RI president, Glenn Estess Sr, in the Rotarian Magazine of October 2005, told the story of Jim Alderson, a hospital administrator in Montana, USA, who was terminated for refusing to keep two sets of books. Determined to get to the root of a multimillion-dollar insurance fraud, the Rotarian filed a whistleblower complaint against the owners of the hospital.

            Alone, unemployed, ostracized in his profession, and fearing for his family’s safety, Alderson was pitted against the financial might of the company. After a 10-year battle, the courts ruled in his favor and the case led to an industry-wide shake-up that saved the U.S government an estimated $11 billion.

3.         The Society

            The National Anthem and the Pledge which we all recite occasionally have raised the issues of ethics.

            The 3rd line of 1st stanza
            “To serve our fatherland with Love and Strength and Faith”. It goes further to state
            “To serve with heart and might”

            The 2nd stanza
            “Help our youth the truth to know in Love and Honesty to Grow.
           
            The pledge reads

“To be faithful, loyal and honest to serve Nigeria with all my strength”. At most functions, these are recited but we still have poor ethical standards in our society.

4.         Conclusion
            One of the main reasons for distress in the economics of many countries including Nigeria is the inability of some decision makers to maintain strict standards of business integrity in the face of mounting temptations to cut ethical corners.

            Ethical behaviour in business, as in all other spheres of human endeavour is enhanced more by examples than by precepts. A strong moral foundation must be built into a business organization as part of its strategy for survival and growth.
            The core of business ethics, as I see it, is to remind everybody involved in business one way or another that business ought to serve human needs, and not the other way round.

            This notwithstanding, a morally-conscious business executive or professional can enhance his ethical performance by constant self-criticism and by genuine efforts to live up to personal and professional codes of conduct.

            It is our duty to uphold these moral demands, even in the competitive world of business and Rotarians should be in the fore front.

            I thank you all for the opportunity of granting me your audience.

            God Bless.

An  Address On ETHICS AND ECONOMIC MELTDOWN By Chief Richard U. Uche, PhD, FCA,  President, The institute of chartered Accountants of Nigeria On a theme “BUILDING AND RETAINING PEOPLE’S CONFIDENCE THROUGH HIGH ETHICAL STANDARDS” held at AGIP RECITAL HALL, MUSON CENTRE, ONIKAN LAGOS.On Wednesday, April 15, 2009.

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