Why Saying “I'm Sorry” Isn't Good Enough: The Ethics of Corporate ...

Ethics Corporate Apologies
be predisposed let go of their fear and rage and to rebuild trust in and with the offending
firm.
Unlike Austin (1962, 14-15), I would not require that the speaker intend to restore trust
with his or her audience. The speaker’s actual intention is not something that can be
easily determined by the audience who rarely has any personal knowledge whatsoever of
the apologizing CEO. xi However, apologizing executives must at least be seen and heard
to be experiencing the correct, relevant emotions and commitments--e.g., some degree of
concern and a soberness of purpose. These things manifest themselves physically in the
face and bearing of the speaker, so the audience naturally wants to see the CEO
apologizing in person. xii Merely sending an apologetic letter or text message will be less
persuasive because these contexts are not sufficiently rich to restore trust. In those cases,
stakeholders may be inclined to infer that a law or public relations firm has drafted the
CEO’s comments and that the CEO and her firm are unwilling to face up directly to the
stakeholders. That unwillingness may make an already angry or fearful audience more
so.
Element #7: Exhibiting Empathy
Engendering trust with a view to remedying injuries and preventing future harm is easier
when the audience perceives the apologizer as exhibiting empathy. (I say “perceived”
because, again, we cannot know for sure what someone’s internal state or intentions
are. xiii ) Rather than minimizing the damage their corporations have done, authentically
apologizing CEOs demonstrate an awareness of the array of stakeholders whom they may
have injured and of the painfulness and extent of the injuries attributed to actions of the
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