As a professor of Management*, I find the theme in this Sunday’s Mass readings very relevant
to the needs of our times. In an unprecedented era where immoral business and management
practices abound, they serve as a call to return to ethical behavior in the practice of business.
In my Business classes, I often define Management in terms of what it does – plan, organize,
lead, and control resources so as to attain organizational goals and objectives efficiently and
effectively. The readings today remind me that Management, in essence, is also about ethical
stewardship.
Managers, and all people in authority for that matter, be it in business companies, government
agencies, non-profit organizations, socio-civic groups, professional societies, religious
institutions, and the like, must always be cognizant of their identity – that they are mere
caretakers of the organizations they serve. They were placed in their respective positions, not
to pursue their selfish interests, but to satisfy the legitimate needs of their stakeholders, which
in the case of a business firm include the owners, employees, customers, supply chain
members, the government, the community, and the larger society. And to a Christian manager
must also come the realization that over and above these stakeholders is the supreme
stakeholder of all − God, himself, who is the real owner of everything (Deuteronomy 10:14).
This, I believe, is the cornerstone that will build a case for ethical business practice.
In the First Reading (Amos 8:4-7), God condemns unscrupulous business management
practices. He said, “Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the
land: ‘When will the new moon be over,’ you ask, ‘that we may sell our grain, and the sabbath,
that we may open the grain-bins? We will diminish the ephah, add to the shekel, and fix our
scales for cheating. We will buy the destitute for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals; even
the worthless grain we will sell.’” To those who do these acts, God warns, “ Never will I forget a
thing they have done.”
Despite this warning, questionable business practices remain widespread until the present
time. We read news about false advertising, hidden provisions in sales contracts, overbilling of
customers, violations on data privacy, unsafe products, manipulation of financial records, tax
evasion, waste dumping, inhumane working conditions, harassment, violation of employee
rights, underpayment of employees, and overpayment of executives, among others. On the
latter two, a study by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) even found that in about 80 percent
of S&P (Standard and Poor’s) 500 companies, it would take 100 years for an average employee
to earn what their CEO makes in a year. Greed has indeed reigned in many companies, and to
their managers or stewards, the words of God remain, “Never will I forget a thing they have
done.”
In the gospel the Lord Jesus teaches us, “The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is
also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also
dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will
trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will
give you what is yours (Luke 16:10-12)?” The Lord challenges us that if dishonest managers can
be prudent in managing their dishonest business affairs, then the more that honest managers
should be conscientious in managing their honest business activities.
In a system marred by immorality and corruption, a manager sometimes begins to wonder if
being good is worth the sacrifice. When this happens, it is good to recall what the Scripture
says, that “Everyone will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). St. Paul writes,
“Make no mistake: God is not mocked, for a person will reap only what he sows, because the
one who sows for his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows for the
spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit. Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time
we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:7-9). Truly, God will repay each one
according to his works (Romans 2:6).
I join the call for a return to ethical business practice.
*Dr. Jaime Cortez is a faculty member at the University of the Philippines Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga
(UPDEPP), Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga.