We’ve all heard the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
But what about the people who don’t think that way? The ones who are only out to make money for themselves, or the ones who take what they think they deserve without considering the repercussions? Those people aren’t generally the ones I’d want to associate with, but they don’t seem to pose a huge threat to the wellbeing of society. They might burn a few bridges trying to get ahead, but not too many people really get hurt.
But what if those people are the CEOs and CFOs of Fortune’s Top 500? What if that person is the next Bernard Ebbers of WorldCom or Kenneth Lay of Enron?
Bernard Ebbers’ Mugshot
We all saw the extent of corporate greed in the financial scandals of the early 2000s. Global Crossing, Arthur Andersen, Tyco International, you name it, it was corrupt. Interestingly enough, none of these corporations had a chief communications officer at the time of their scandal.
The job of a corporate communication team is to figure out a working balance between epicureanism and utilitarianism. In other words, how can a company best serve its own interests as well as those of its stakeholders?
Opposite Philosophies
Epicurus was a Greek philosopher who founded the Epicurean school of thought. He believed that the purpose of philosophy was to reach a state of pure happiness, free from fear and outside pressures. In his fragmented works, Epicurus stressed the importance of satisfying an individual, namely yourself, before worrying about the needs of others.
Unlike epicureanism, utilitarianism emphasizes a course of action that will bring the greatest good to the largest number of people. It was created in the 18th century by British philosopher Jeremy Bentham, and puts the good of the whole society above the needs of any individual person.
Epicurean v. Utilitarian Tendencies
Which of these two philosophies a CEO or CFO leans toward can drastically affect an organization’s reputation.
In the case of Enron, Kenneth Lay and other C-suite executives used loopholes in their accounting system to embezzle millions of dollars. Those employees demonstrated a distinctly epicurean mindset because they put their own greed above the interests of other employees and all the company’s stakeholders.
The Target Corporation is a good example of a company with a utilitarian mindset. Target has multiple corporate social responsibility programs that are committed to raising money for education and providing food for underprivileged children. Target has proven itself a utilitarian by being concerned with the greatest good for a large amount of people.
Moving Forward
Both of these philosophies have their pros and cons. It is important not to get too lost in the needs of the stakeholders, as an organization might while serving the utilitarian cause. But on the other hand, too much focus on a company’s own needs may harm that organization’s reputation for social responsibility. The key is finding a balance, and that balance is the job of a corporate communication team.
So to all you businesses out there without a Vice President of Communications, be warned! You wouldn’t want to be the next Enron, would you?
Kenneth Lay’s Mugshot
The Practical Philosophy 