BUSINESS AND MORALITY

Hokitika Guardian, 27 January 1933, Page 8

BUSINESS AND MORALITY

MODERN ETHICS DISCUSSED. ADDRESS BY MR I. SLADEN. CHRISTCHURCH, January 2(3. Under the title of “The Golden Rule in Business,” Mr Irving Sladen gave liis view of business ethics and the fundamentals of commercial morality to members at yesterday’s fortnightly luncheon of the Christchurch Businessmen’s Club at the Frascati. The chairman (31 ft Alan Wills) said that this year the club was looking to its own members to provide the talks, and an interesting programme had been arranged. Mr Sladen *aid that the “golden Aide’* was a fundamental of business and of religion and it must he made to apply to employees as well as competitors. The suspicion and jealousy among commercial and professional ■ men was almost 'unbelievable. Healthy competition was the soul of business; without it trade would stagnate A ■man with a monopoly was lazy and ;i! ?differ;eftit. Before ,the introductions :of buses, the railway?/ were of very I little use; the employees and even the heads were indifferent, and very often [ruder and abusive, regarding the passenger as a nuisance..

THE VALUE OF COMPETITION

■ A competitor should be looked on as ;a good friend, for be provided an inI ”... jccntive to renew effort. Conditions lon the railways had changed tremendously through competition, said Mr jSiaden. Not long ago R prominent railway official bad actually addressed him ■as “Sir!” A man belittled a competitor because of fear. Cut-throat competition w.s not healthy. Tim man who sold his goods at a trifle over cost price was not in business for philanthropic motives. He .was an example of “man’s inhumanity to man” because, directly his smaller rival was put'out of business, up went bis prices again. It was a curious tiling that somoj of the greediest business men were the most devout in church.

THE EMPLOYER’S DUTY. “As to our attitude toward our employees, we cannot a .ll be bosses, and I believe that there, is a certain amount of luck and influence in the process,” said Mr Sladen. “I believe in the principle of giving employees an opportunity to become shareholders and eventually secure a seat o'n tiie directorate. The employer who treats his staff as quite beneath him is responsible for turning out young Socialists. The employer has vested - in him a great responsibility towards his workers and will secure an extra 50 per cent from his staff if he treats them as friends.”, A businessman’s very existence depended upon the feeling between him and his customers, said Mr Sladen. Indeed, in England, some firms had a special department whose duty it was to ascertain a customer’s requirements and his idiosyncrasies. The old tradition of “square-dealing” had made England such a' powerful commercial factor in the world. It was difficult to adhere to high principles .when the man round the corner was indulging in forms of misrepresentation.

EVILS OF MISREPRESENTATION There was a man itt Christchurch who had said that ho did not like to see a customer more than once, as, having taken him down so badly, a second meeting held dangerous possibilities. That man had retired in affluence, yet his business life had been full of misrepresentation. A bad practice, in vogue much more in Australia than New Zealand, was marking goods with high prices and then bringing them down, thus suggesting that the customer had made a fine bargain. “It might! be suggested ' that in these hard times it is. difficult to be successful on the lines 1 have mentioned,” said Air Sladen, “but there are many very honest business men in Christchurch who are more' than holding their own.” Friendliness in business wag an excellent thing. It did not necessarily mean that a man should go about with an asinine grin, but cheerfulness went a very long way. The “livery” man who ventted his spleen on others, deserved no sympathy. “I do not recommend the perpetual grin, but a greater spirit of friendliness, cheer, and mutual trust.” said the speaker.

A GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT. The breaking of a gentleman’s agreement, bo continued, was a grave breach of commercial morality, ihe fact that his word was his bond had placed the average English business man head and shoulders above bis competitors. No ipan with a -shred of intelligence would allow bis signature to be dishonoured and his name dragged through the mire. A signature bringing dishonour on a cheque, was not tlie only breach, for the same 1 applied to subtle misrepresentations in contracts. On the motion of Mr H. Duckworth, Mr Sladen was accorded a vote of the riles 'for his address.