Young group undertakes near-impossible task of inculcating ethics in business
A group of young entrepreneurs, community and business leaders has undertaken a near impossible task in Sri Lanka – to inculcate ethics in business. Bizmeet 2016 is the first ever professional networking events in Sri Lanka by the Junior Chamber International Sri Lanka (JCI) aimed at promoting ethical business practices among the country’s future corporate leaders. Isuru Samarage, Bizmeet Founder and National President, JCI Sri Lanka, speaking at the Bizmeet inauguration held last week in Colombo said that their efforts is to empower young leaders to make a positive change in their businesses.
In spite of the government driving ethical practices they have themselves thought the importance of addressing the issue of the responsibilities of businesses through Bizmeet to drive a conscience-based approach towards sustainability, he pointed out. Eran Wickramaratne, Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises Development, speaking on the “Importance of ethical decision making for a sustainable economy” said that he was ‘taken-a-back’ to learn that a group of young Sri Lankan business leaders has recognised ethics in business which is vital today more than any other time, where they some 30 years ago focused only on the product, the services and were concerned abiut marketing, the value and the turnover, the bottom-line, the value for shareholders, etc.
“Today the whole concept of business has changed,” Mr. Wickramaratne remarked and said that it has changed from shareholder interest to that of the consumer, the supplier and the society at large which has become more important than the shareholder in different ways. Even globally things have changed, and he indicated that the UN has resolved that it is the sustainability of the society and that businesses should consider the ‘environment’. Thus, he said “To my mind, what these young people have undertaken is simply commendable.” Mr. Wickramaratne said that the conflict of interest issue is not adequately recognised and pointed out that corruption is profits gained at public expense.
Conflict of interest cannot be defined by law and it would be difficult to take a person to courts and convict on conflict of interest, he asserted and thus in decision-making one should be guided by his own conscience. On the sidelines of the launch, Mr. Samarage told the Business Times that Bizmeet is his ‘brain child’ and is an experiment. He said that their task is not only educating the business community of the grave importance of ‘ethical business’ but it also goes as a warning that if the businesses are not conducted ethically, concerned of the human rights in business, the environment and human dignity, in time to come those businesses would collapse. He said that if the businesses are not transformed they would burst into another ‘Panama Papers’.