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It’s tough to be Santa in a recession
By Lauren | December 21, 2009
The Wall Street Journal published a heart-breaking article last week, reporting that mall Santas are struggling to be jolly this year. Seems the recession has kids asking for things like socks and eyeglasses instead of toys and sugarplums, and often they’re requesting jobs for their parents, too. The only good news reported is that the rate of foreclosures seems to have slowed - fewer kids are asking Santa to keep them in their homes this year.
What can Santa possibly say to a child who asks for a job for Mom or Dad? It’s hard to imagine.
People ask me sometimes why I’ve chosen to focus my practice (and this blog) on business ethics. It’s a pretty dry subject in a lot of ways, and nowhere near as much fun as cooking tips or “The Secret.” But for me, business ethics are all about keeping ordinary people in their jobs and out of trouble. Unethical business practices aren’t just bad in theory - they also create a whole lot of very real, and very preventable, human misery.
So, here’s the good news: the recession will end someday. The folks who are out of work now will find jobs, though maybe not the jobs they would prefer. And when everyone finally gets back to work, we’ll be in a position to reconsider the short-term, profit-at-any-price attitudes that got us into this mess, and do better next time. If American businesses committed themselves to better business ethics, that might be one of the best Christmas gifts we could possibly give to one another.
To read the Wall Street Journal article, go to http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126074986920489905.html#.
Topics: Business Ethics |
December 31st, 2009 at 2:46 pm
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