This is certainly a time when ethics occupy significant space on the front pages of the business sections. As I have previously comments, it is surprising to me, although not to others, that despite trying to put a major emphasis on ethics over the last 10 years, so little has been accomplished. So I started reading books on ethics.
In “Doing the Right Thing at Work,” James L. Nolan looks at ethics from a Catholic perspective. The subtitle is “A Catholic’s Guide to Faith, Business and Ethics.” The book is based on the Woodstock Business Conferences and includes case studies from that conference. There is not a lot of ethical guidance in the book. More than providing ethical guidance, the book shows Catholic business people how they can find the right answers on their own through faith and prayer. Depending upon your viewpoint, his approach could be seen as a positive or a negative.
Although the book reads as a series of spiritual exercises, I did find two comments made by Nolan to be intriguing. The first is that the real tough ethical issues involve where there is no good solution, only a series of bad solutions, but one must be chosen. The second is his 5 pillars, or 5 point program, which includes:
- Self awareness
- Expanding your horizon
- Engagement in work and the world
- Community
- Prayer
The book makes for a quick read or can be used as the basis of setting up a spiritual program. It does not so much tell you what the right thing is, or even how to identify the right thing, as much as it attempts to provide guideposts for finding the right answer on your own.
