Just showed up to post that very article! A great read, and IMO shows one more sad effect of our modern culture of amorality and situational ethics.

My favorite parts:

Edward Younkins of the Acton Institute distills Mr. Novak's philosophy into "Seven Great Responsibilities for Corporations": satisfy customers with good services of real value; make a reasonable return to investors; create new wealth; create new jobs; defeat cynicism and envy by demonstrating internally that talent and hard work will and can be rewarded; promote inventiveness, ingenuity and creativity; diversify the interests of the republic.



As for business leaders, their responsibility is to shape a corporate culture that fosters virtue; to exemplify respect for the rule of law; to act in practical ways to improve society; to communicate often and openly with investors, pensioners, customers and employees; to contribute toward improved civil society; and to protect--lovely phrase coming--"the moral ecology of freedom."



When discussing integrity, I have often used the example of the bank president that you observe in a 7-11 store, pocketing a candy bar when he thinks he is unobserved. Some people would say, it's only a candy bar, and doesn't affect the way he runs the bank. I myself would take my money somewhere else.

I still believe that the businessman who plays it straight will have the greatest success in the long term, despite the short-range goodies that often seem to "reward" the guys who play fast and loose.

I never went to business school, but if they are not teaching values along with business techniques, they are not doing their job.