FOREWORD
I feel honoured to write the foreword to the first ever comprehensive text book published on business ethics from an Indian perspective. At the outset I would like to congratulate my dear colleague, Prof. A. C. Fernando, Director of the Loyola Centre for Business Ethics and Corporate Governance, Loyola Institute of Business Administration on his extraordinary efforts to promote business ethics in India. He has also the distinction of writing the first text book on corporate governance from the Indian perspective (published in 2006 by Pearson Education), and I am pleased to learn that the book has been used by many business schools as a prescribed text book on corporate governance.
While we are proud of India emerging as one of the economic superpowers of the world, with multinationals competing to capture the Indian market, we are also embarrassed to behold their impression of our country as the land of corruption and unethical business practices—India ranks 72nd in the corruption index among the 180 countries surveyed by Transparency International in 2007, and it needs to be noted that it has slipped two places from its rank of 70, in 2006. India has also been ranked the most corrupt country in the 2006 Bribe Payers Index (BPI), which is based on the propensity of companies from the world’s 30 leading exporting countries in bribing abroad. It is sad that corruption has been systemic and intricately woven into the economic, political and social fabric of our country
As the competition is getting more intense, compounded by globalized economy, the number of instances of companies alleged to have been involved in illegal and unethical practices is increasing at an alarming rate. An unprecedented number of executives of Fortune 500 companies are either convicted or are under investigation at present. Hence, the most compelling need of the day is to promote a culture of ethics and social responsibility to restore the confidence of stakeholders and the credibility of corporations. The business schools have a vital role to play in achieving this goal, and for this reason business ethics should be made an obligatory course in all business schools in the country.
The role of business school in imparting value-based business education in order to help students make ethical decisions based on sound principles cannot be belittled. Students of business studies should be helped to acquire a clear knowledge of what is right and wrong, to analyze situations from an ethical point of view, and to make bold ethical decisions in vital areas.
While the number of business schools is increasing exponentially in India, there is a great dearth of academically qualified and competent faculty in business ethics. This book is a comprehensive, handy guide for instructors who are not professional ethicists to teach the subject. It is also student-friendly, as it is free of philosophical jargon. Professor Fernando has taken great trouble in providing relevant and contemporary case studies from diverse functional areas of business. I have no doubt that students of business education will immensely benefit from this book.
Fr P. Christie S. J.
Director
Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA)
Loyola College, Chennai