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Part IV: Business and Society
that a “good man” who steadfastly tries to be ethical is bound to
overtake his immoral or amoral counterpart in the long run. A
plausible explanation of this view on ethical behaviour is that when
individuals operate with a sense of confi dence regarding the ethical
soundness of their position, their mind and energies are freed for
maximum productivity and creativity. On the other hand, when
practising unethical behaviour, persons fi nd it necessary to engage
in exhausting subterfuge, resulting in diminished effectiveness and
reduced success.
We can be quite sure that well-endowed business professionals
like Kenneth Lay, Martha Stewart, Dennis Kozlowski or Bernard
Ebbers, the CEO of WorldCom who paid themselves ...