here - Institute of Business Ethics

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It is highly likely that the world in 2036 will be very “The
different from what it is today. Many of our familiar
assumptions (inevitable globalisation, increased
consumption, cheap capital, readily available natural
resources, technology being seen as a source of
progress, etc.) are already seriously challenged.
The very model of private, lowly regulated
enterprise is being called into question by the success
of the currently state-controlled economies of China,
India and Brazil and the present financial crisis.
With challenge comes opportunity and the role
of ethics in business will grow if it is able to help
companies address the dilemmas which will arise in
this new landscape.
This will mean that the field of business ethics will
need to expand, from dealing with predominantly
individual integrity issues and reactive compliance to
proactive strategic business planning.
Business ethics will also draw more on the two sides
of the brain, both rational and emotional.
In the short term, it will be interesting to see how
business ethics will develop in emerging markets.
The recent developments in Korea, the Philippines,
Emmanuel Lulin
Group Director of Ethics, L’Oréal
India and China appear promising but how business
ethics will fare over the longer term and how it will
develop in Latin America and Africa remains largely
unpredictable.
With the newly and hard-earned legitimacy of
economic success, emerged economies will invite
themselves to the business ethics table to challenge
established paradigms and ‘timeless’ references.
In any case, it will be a fascinating journey for our
generation and it will no doubt attract many young
talents to a new profession.
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way we work will undergo a huge
transformation, fuelled by the explosion in
communications technology, globalisation, shifting
demographics, and changing social attitudes. As
work becomes more individualised, and the location
of work less important, businesses will be judged on
their ability to create and sustain work communities
with common values. The ability to build trust
between people who collaborate but rarely see each
other will be a crucial test for managers. As more
work goes to arms-length contractors, will businesses
be responsible for their ethical behaviour, or will
they turn a blind eye?
The shift in economic power towards the East and
South will raise questions about whether companies
in advanced economies continue to impose their
business culture on emerging markets or adapt
to alternative ways of doing business. The ease of
outsourcing services online will mean that employers
can cut costs by using low-paid agents rather than
regular employees. But exploitation will also be more
quickly exposed through social media and rapid
connectivity.
Socio-economic and digital divides may widen.
Ethical businesses will be those that design work
to integrate the marginalised as well as the highly
skilled. This applies, too, to the way businesses
respond to the ageing labour force, adopting more
flexible career models that fit the extension of
working lives.
Alison Maitland
Journalist and co-author of Future Work
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