ND focuses on business ethics
Matt Bramanti
News Writer
Notre Dame presented the Hesburgh Award for Ethics in Business Wednesday to William George, former president and CEO of Medtronic, the world's leading maker of high-tech medical devices. The award was given in conjunction with the latest installment of the Cahill Lecture Series, which highlights issues pertaining to business ethics.
Kenneth Goodpaster, a professor of business ethics at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, delivered a lecture entitled "A New World for Ethical Business Leadership After the Fall of 2001." Goodpaster, a Notre Dame alumnus, centered his remarks around what he called the "two falls" of 2001: the terrorist attacks on September 11 and the collapse of Enron and Arthur Andersen.
"Our confidence as a nation and as a community was hammered twice in the fall of 2001," Goodpaster said.
He went on to quote a 2002 Gallup poll that found 90 percent of Americans do not trust executives to seek their employees' interests in business decisions.
Goodpaster identified the source of shock at these crises as something called, "telepathy," or goal sickness.
"An unbalanced pursuit of purpose…can lead to callousness to human suffering," he said.
He drew parallels between the top brass of Enron and the leadership of Al-Qaida, saying they shared excessive devotion to a goal at the expense of others.
Goodpaster went on to caution against knee-jerk "hyper-regulation" reactions to ethical failures in business.
Goodpaster called on executives to "meet insanity with integrity" in responding to these issues.
"They should be architects of a conscience bigger than their own," Goodpaster said.
He used the analogy of Janus, the two-faced Roman god, to illustrate ethical decision making in business. Just as images of Janus were placed on the inside and outside of the gates to Roman cities, executives should have the dual role of maintaining an ethical climate within their organizations and serving as good world citizens.
"CEOs are going to have to be more engaged with the public," he said.
Goodpaster then introduced William George, who received the Hesburgh Award.
In introducing George, who led Medtronic for 12 years, Goodpaster called him "a man whose leadership in the business community worldwide is legend."
George spoke about what he called "the Medtronic model," saying that his company's reason for existence is to serve its customers. Medtronic's mission, according to George, is utilize biomedical engineering to combat illness and improve overall quality of life.
He urged corporate leaders to use human terms in defining business.
George's award, named after Notre Dame president emeritus Father Theodore Hesburgh, was given by the Center for Ethics and Religious Values in Business. In addition to serving as a director of investment bank Goldman Sachs, pharmaceutical maker Novartis and retailing giant Target, George is a professor of leadership and governance at the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland.
All News Stories for Thursday, March 20, 2003
