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The Ethics of Hardball
Barach, Jeffrey A.
27/2  (Winter 1985): 132-139

At a Sunday picnic, an easy game of softball is a safe bet to make sure that nobody gets hurt. If the game switches to hardball, there is less protection, the stakes are higher, the competition intensifies and the likelihood that the players might get hurt increases dramatically. Business has its own brand of hardball and the price of success involves ethical pressures-playing to win may involve hurting someone. Some say that "business ethics" is a contradiction in terms. It is true that sometimes businessmen are pressured to compromise their standards. It clearly depends on the particular company, the climate of the industry and the exigency of the times. A cutthroat industry facing hard times is no place for a frustrated preacher; on the other hand, there are companies which consistently maintain enviable standards of fairness and responsibility. While to some, Sunday School ethics and business ethics are not the same thing, both consist of a set of rules. The rules for the game of business are the ethics of hardball.

 

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