Getting to the Heart of Business Ethics

The so-called “ethics crisis” in the United States and around the globe is so obvious that WorldCom, Enron, Arthur Andersen, and HealthSouth have become household names. Some resolutions to this crisis may be found in recently initiated compliance efforts (such as Sarbanes-Oxley). However, most executives would hasten to add that these expensive compliance efforts will not be enough to stem the tide of ethical violations, because they do not get to the heart of the problem. Perhaps, “heart” is the problem.