During a lecture on ‘Ethics and Business’ at the Palácio da Bolsa, a state advisor discussed various aspects of the topic, asserting that “companies do not all have to have the same value, but they must commit to a culture that signifies respect for ethics.”
A significant portion of companies, Lobo Xavier stated, “claim it is necessary to be transparent, to manage resources with integrity, to have a commitment to sustainability (…) and that these companies’ workers should be ambassadors of these values (..). However, in capitalism, nothing happens without recognizing economic value (…) and in large companies, ethical culture has economic value (…), thus it is very challenging to do something if it is not acknowledged for its economic value and today ethics has economic value.”
He warned: “Certain activities considered unethical from the outset cannot access financing or raise capital.”
In this context, Lobo Xavier argued, ethics is a strategic differentiator in the sense that partners and clients consider ethics before making decisions, meaning ethics is a criterion of choice (…) and that it is impossible to retain talent in an unethical structure.
“The company of the future will have a certain ethical culture as a strategic differentiating criterion,” the manager stated, emphasizing that “it will not be easy to achieve economic success without ethical limits. Ethical challenges are on the horizon as I have never seen in my business life.”
As examples of companies that have faced repercussions for not adhering to ethics, Lobo Xavier cited the case of the sports equipment brand Nike, “which for a long time employed labor in countries without social rights,” and the social network Facebook “for improper management of personal information that could end up serving political interests.”
The QSP Summit will continue until Sunday, with sessions over the weekend at Exponor in Matosinhos.
