IX. Business Ethics
Ritenbaugh (2016) believes that the Bible is based on governing over man, self and God. It implies that bible defines the corporate organization as a defiance of the bible since it promotes the good of the self by generating profits while a single individual rules over others. The goal of business operations is considered by Ritenbaugh (2016) to be a sin since encourages other individuals or employees to achieve higher profits for the organization and its owners, which are the shareholders. However, Proverbs 14:23 where “in all labour there is profit” (King, 2016) the bible concurs or encourages the generation of profit since it clearly revealed that there is always a return for an individual’s labour.
The scripture is perceived to be applicable to all for profit organizations since their main goal is the generation of profits not only for their own but also for the corporate shareholders. This means that the scripture encourages the goal of Pentair to become a market leader through the use of mergers and acquisition strategies (Pentair, 2016, p.3). The goal of becoming a market leader is ascertained in Act 4:34 where it states that only a handful do not lack with regards to material things as seen in the excess of lands and houses (King, 2016). Pentair does not lack an excess of lands and houses since it currently holds around $942.8 million worth (Pentair, 2016, p.63) which was further increased in 2015 through an acquisition of $1,913.9 million and capital expenditures of $134.3 million (Pentair, 2016, p.64).
This acquisition strategy was concurred by the purchase of Erico Global Company at $1.8 billion (Pentair, 2016, p.4) and thus resulted in an increase of sales by an additional $147 million during 2015 (Pentair, 2016, p.36). This acquisition strategy targets the two scriptures of Proverbs 14:23 and Act 4:34 (King, 2016) where the company acquired additional lands and houses in order to generate profit from its labours. The problem is that the Bible also reveal that the love of money is considered the root of all evil, which is highly coveted by others based on 1 Timothy 6:10 (King, 2016). This means that the generation of money or profits are considered to be a sin since its ending purpose is for the personal gain of each management, employee and shareholder of the company.
The problem with this assumption is that it does not take into consideration that ethical practices are implemented by the business organizations (Emami and Nazari, 2012, p.59). The reason for this is that ethical practices are not regularly practiced in the organizations as seen in the WorldCom and Enron scandals that resulted in an uncertain relationship between companies, employees, and its shareholders (Emerson and McKinney, 2010, p.1). The reason for some companies to ignore the ethical practices is that it is believed to hamper profit generation resulting to lower profits (McMurrian and Matulich, 2006, p.11). This was countered by the fact that implementing ethical standards based on religious influences (Emerson and McKinney, 2010, p.11) can improve the company’s profitability (McMurrian and Matulich, 2006, p.11). The reason for which is that the use of ethical business practices can be considered as a competitive advantage especially with regards to their marketplace image (McMurrian and Matulich, 2006, p.11).
However, the annual report only details the process and generation of profits and does not discuss the social responsibility activities implemented by Pentair. The reason for this is that ethical programs are considered to be only socially rewarding due to the additional expense on the corporation (McMurrian and Matulich, 2006, p.11). But the corporate implementation of a social responsibility program is believed to be based on Acts 20:35 where it revealed that giving to others is perceived as a blessing (King, 2016). The reasoning behind this is that the strong is suggested to support the weak since global corporations can improve the lives of not only their employees but also their outlying communities.
This is done through the Win Eight Values where the Pentair Foundation has donated not only monetary funds but also the time of its management and employees for philanthropic causes (Pentair, 2016a). Its main focus is the improvement in food development, water safety and conservation, and community education (Pentair, 2016a). Despite the fact that a majority of the social responsibility activities are employee-led efforts, the management also contributes their time and talent by serving on non-profit company boards (Pentair, 2016a).
The examination of the various scriptures, theological journals, and the company activities revealed that the corporation is initially perceived to counter the teachings of the bible. But a close examination revealed that the corporation can be considered as ethically responsible when its management considers the corporate sustainability, shareholders, employees, and other communities in the goal of generating profits.
References
Emami, M. and Nazari, K. (2012). Entrepreneurship, religion, and business ethics. Australian Journal of Business and Management Research, 1(11), 59-69. Retrieved from http://www.ajbmr.com/articlepdf/ENTREPRENEURSHIP_7.pdf
Emerson, T. D. N. and McKinney, J. A. (2010). Importance of religious beliefs to ethical attitudes in business. Journal of Religion and Business Ethics, 1(2), 1-16.
King James Bible. (2016). Bible verses about profit. King James Bible Online. Retrieved from http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Bible-Verses-About-Profit/
McMurrian, R. C. and Matulich, E. (2006). Building customer value and profitability with business ethics. Journal of Business & Economics Research, 4(11), 11-18. Retrieved from http://www.cluteinstitute.com/ojs/index.php/JBER/article/viewFile/2710/2756
Ritenbaugh, J. (2016). Bible verses about scripture, profitability of. Bible Tools. Retrieved from http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/3869/Scripture-Profitability-of.htm
Pentair. (2016). 2015 annual report. Pentair. Retrieved from http://www.pentair.com/en/investors/annual-and-other-reports
Pentair. (2016a). Corporate social responsibility. Pentair. Retrieved from https://pentair.com/en/about-us/corporate-social-responsibility/team-pentair
Wheelen, T. L., and Hunger, J. D. (2012). Strategic management and business policy toward global sustainability (13th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
