Alumni Magazine - Spring 2008 - (Page 67) STEVE SALBU INTERVIEW Questions on Ethics By John Dunn Photography: Gary Meek In the first hour of the first class on business ethics taught by Steve Salbu, dean of the College of Management, Georgia Tech students begin studying the social responsibility of business. It’s a course that allows Salbu to draw from an astonishing array of modern-day incidents in which major businesses and corporations entered an ethical quagmire that embroiled them in scandal and fraud. Economist Milton Friedman says the sole responsibility of a business with shareholders is to increase profits within the rules of the game. A flaw in that proposition, Salbu says, is the assumption that shareholders want to make a profit at any lawful cost. “Profit is important, but it is not the only thing that attracts all investors,” Salbu states. “And of course in the real world, companies can be punished by shareholders, customers and employees for a failure to act ethically.” >>> 67
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.