Immanuel Kant and ethical singularity in the business world
This post has little to do with web design and such. But I am sure I will find a way to weave it in.
Last weekend, I chanced upon some readings on Immanuel Kant, the 18th century German philosopher. His type gave me major headaches in university. Now, after 17 years, there is a certain clarity.
I like how marketing minds tend to compress multiple variables, and even unknowns, into the singularity called “the positioning”. Applying the same to Kant’s philosophical formulations, I belatedly had my moment of clarity.
For many years, I have had beer-fueled discourses with colleagues and friends on business ethics. The beer helped limit self-examination and redirected inspection at the suspect and gossip-worthy acts of fellow employees, clients and other humans.
Rounds and rounds (of beer) we would go, trying to make sense of right and wrong. Should a person take and keep the company’s copy of Fortune magazine that was just lying around? Is it ok for someone to be a persistent late-comer at work even if he is producing the goods? Is office stationery fair game for all? Should a couple more man-hours be billed to the client to cover for the beer?
Now, as I have to manage my own company at Convertium, ethics become even more important. How does one impart a black and white standard for proper business practices? And how on earth can you communicate and set an effective (and efficient) ethics benchmark with a bunch of twenty-something colleagues?
Then, along came Kant.
Ethics can be very simple and clear, once Kant’s universality principle is applied. If an action cannot be universalised, then it should not be done. For example, if everybody were to bring office stationery home, the company (and office manager) will suffer. Taking office stationery, cannot be universalised and, as such, is unethical.
I love the simplicity of this benchmark. No matter how innocent and trivial a business practice may be, if everybody were to do the same and the result is negative, then the single action should not even take place.
What this means is, if everybody were to perform that same action or behaviour, and the result is dysfunctional and destructive, then the action by the individual cannot be ethical. There is no room for grey areas, cultural variations, and smart alecky rebuttals. And it is simple enough even for a junior staff to understand. People can argue to death about morality, but when it comes to functional, practical outcomes, debates can be really short.
So, this brings me to web design and development. At Convertium, while we are no angels, our collective conscience forces us to constantly consider the diligence and quality of the work we produce for our clients. Application of best practices, web standards, and efficacious solutions – even when they may not be seen by clients and obvious to the public.
We strive to do the right things and now, we have a darn good benchmark for it.