Right Makes Might by Dorothea Gaulden

Right Makes Might
Reviving Ethics to Improve Your Business
By Dorothea E. Gaulden, PhD.
ISBN10:  1933538864
ISBN13:  9781933538860
Format:  Hardcover
Pub. Date: August 1, 2007
Publisher: Bridgeway Books

The application of strong ethical practices will make a business more successful in many different ways, writes Dorothea E. Gaulden in her provocative book Right Makes Might: Reviving Ethics to Improve Your Business. She describes the importance of becoming an ethical company for the benefit of shareholders, employees, customers, and society in general. The author also sets out a solution to the dilemma of how to become a business that practices ethics as a way of life.

Dorothea Gaulden begins her book with a discussion of the decline of ethical values in all areas of modern life. Whether it's students cheating in university courses, or executives in huge corporations engaging in illegal and unethical practices to improve a short term quarterly report, ethical behaviour is lacking in modern society. While painting a gloomy portrait of today's society, Dorothea demonstrates clearly that dishonesty provides at best a short term gain. As we see from the current financial headlines, illegal and unethical corporate activities are unraveling at an alarming rate.



Dorothea E. Gaulden (photo left) makes a powerful case for establishing strong ethical practices as core company values. To achieve this goal, business leaders must move far beyond the lip service paid to their alleged codes of conduct. All too often, the ethical words are derailed by tacit or even overt rewards for employees stepping outside those best practice guidelines. Instead of active support of unethical behaviour, good ethics must start at the top, by example. If leadership involves facilitating change in company practices, then the establishment of impeccable ethics is a good place to start.

With so many industry leading companies in the financial and housing communities, teetering on the edge of financial ruin, there is no better example of the failure of unethical practices. They simply don't work over the long term. When unscrupulous business techniques are uncovered, the resulting loss of confidence in the company results in its often very rapid demise. Regardless of the size of the organization, the establishment and adherence to strong ethical principle would have prevented disaster. At the same time, ethical companies gain customers and clients because of their cleaner image.

For me, the power of the book is the development of a program for successful implementation of total ethical behaviour within a company. The author's unflinching dedication to moral and ethical actions is vindicated by current events within society in general, and the economy in particular. Being ethical in business is demonstrated clearly as being good business. People prefer to business with other people whom they know and trust. A strong sense of ethics is essential to creating and nurturing that trust. As we have seen in the business news, unethical companies are failing at an alarming rate. On the other hand, being ethical in your business pays.

I highly recommend Right Makes Might: Reviving Ethics to Improve Your Business by Dorothea E. Gaulden for any business person who is serious about incorporating ethics into their company culture. Ethics must become a way of life for successful organizations in the future. This book helps guide your business on that important high road to improved company culture.

Read Right Makes Might: Reviving Ethics to Improve Your Business by Dorothea E. Gaulden, and feel good about how you conduct your business, and how you live your life.

Learn more at the author's website: http://www.sensiblesolutionshome.com
~ by Wayne Hurlbert

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Wayne Hurlbert is the author of Blog Business World, and the host of Blog Talk Radio, where he chats with his guest experts about business blogging, search engine optimization SEO, marketing, public relations, and entrepreneurship topics that will help your business grow.

Wayne had previously guest posted for Joyful Jubilant Learning's A Love Affair with Books 2007, reviewing Leaders’ Playbook, How to Apply Emotional Intelligence: Keys to Great Leadership by Reldan S. Nadler, Psy.D.

Comments

[David Zinger]

Wayne,

Always nice to read something from another Winnipeger on this site. I appreciate your focus on ethics. I always liked the line, "there is no right way to do a wrong thing." I find that is a good ethical mantra for myself.

David

[Dean Boyer]

Wayne,

You have touched on a very critical subject related to today's educational environment. "Authoritative numbers are hard to come by, but according to a 2002 confidential survey of 12,000 high school students, 74 percent admitted cheating on an examination at least once in the past year." This is from ABC News study entitled A Cheating Crisis in America (http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132376). I don't think it is optional for educators and employers to cultivate a culture of ethics. Thanks for this review!

Dean

[Steve Sherlock]

Thanks, Wayne. Getting back to basics in one of the key concepts and ethics is one of the central tenets that we need to focus on (if not already).

[dave]

Hi Wayne. Aside from the obvious, why do you think Dorothea wrote the book? Was she the victim of an injustice?

Thanks for telling us what moved you about the book too!

[Wayne Hurlbert]

Dorothea wrote the book after her discovery of the widespread cheating and dishonesty she noticed during her academic career. She saw that the same students, as they became leaders in business and government, took that same lack of ethics and moral centre with them into their employment or entrepreneurial ventures.

Her research was based on what effect bad ethical behaviour has on the overall economy, and whether good ethical practices are really better business principles in the long run.

As we are seeing from the current economic downturn, and the housing market collapse, she was so very right about the importance of good ethical principles. A lack of an ethical moral compass is costing everyone dearly.

I conducted an indepth one hour interview with Dorothea. You can listen to the podcast of our discussion of ethics in business here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/WayneHurlbert/2007/11/16/Dorothea-Gaulden-Right-Makes-Might-Reviving-Ethics-To-Improve-Your-Business