… as the book ‘Fundamentals of Business Ethics’, 2nd edition unveiled
Juan Elegido, professor of business ethics at Pan-Atlantic University has revealed that most marketplace anarchy, especially in developing countries is fuelled by the quest for money without commensurate mutual product value common among many business organisations.
Elegido disclosed this during a panel discussion and unveiling of the book ‘Fundamentals of Business Ethics: A Developing Country Perspective (second edition) on Thursday, May 23, 2024, inside the IMRC auditorium of Lagos Business School (LBS).
“Quest for money as against providing value fuels anarchy in the marketplace,” he said.
He counseled business organisation to embrace the ideal business ethic of always thinking about the consumer when rolling out products to the marketplace.
“Think the product you’re marketing and to whom you’re marketing it to,” he admonished.
The author said he wrote the book considering the need to practice manners, especially concerning business executives.
“I try to keep in mind the problems in people’s lives, their problems can be very serious, it is not enough to tell people not to give bribes, but they should be told what to do when faced with such a situation.
“I try to give practical orientations on managing those issues,” Elegido said.
Uzo Uchenna, a professor of marketing at LBS described the book as a roadmap to achieving sustainable business and governance success.
“This second edition is a must-read for everyone involved in business because the focus of the book is to aid everyone in learning how to build lasting institutions.
One of the problems we have in Nigeria is that business owners think short term; they want immediate profit and immediate returns. But what this book gives is a guide to building for a long term for sustainable success; quick success doesn’t always last,” he said.
Besides, Uchenna reiterated that the book is ideal for sustainable governance in a developing country such as Nigeria.
“On the governance part, this book will aid a lot of people who are in governance positions to revamp their structures.
A lot of governance mechanisms are not very thorough, people don’t go through the process of getting approvals right, of getting decision making right, and that then ends up creating corrupt practices and the institutions crumble,” he said.
He highlighted the need for entrepreneurs in the country and governance positions to seek to build institutions that will outgrow them.
“Institutions must grow to move beyond the person behind it, to become lasting institutions and the only way to do that is to have the right corporate governance mechanism in place, that is why I think the book is ideal for all,” he said.
Fabian Ajogwu, a professor of corporate governance at LBS, applauded the author for coming out with the second edition of the book which he said highlighted a lot of values in terms of the economic growth strategy (ESG) in emerging markets, particularly the social side of it.
“It talks about fare-pricing, and also issues to do with fare-pay in our environment. It is a principles-based book, that touches on how we can minimise corruption in our world, and build a better society guided by those principles even with changing technology and the financial services landscape.
“It is a masterpiece, I used the first edition in teaching business ethics in school, and I can tell you, it is almost like a template for dealing realistically with issues of professional and business ethics particularly in Nigeria as an emerging market,” he said.
Adaora Onaga, the director of the Humanity Institute at Pan-Atlantic University said the principles highlighted by Elegido in the book are foundational for both individuals and corporate organisations to build on, especially in human relationships.
“I think those principles the way the author put them in the book are foundational, they are the basis on which we can build, besides, he gives practical examples to guide our decision-making in real-life scenarios.
“It is not enough to know the principles but what do you do when faced with that, the whole point is that we develop ourselves as ethical people,” she said.
Chukka Agbu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) speaking about how essential the book is to the legal profession and practitioners, said; “In law, the most professional thing is ethics.”
He commended the author for persistence in promoting business ethics through his writings.
The panel discussion anchored by Nwachukwu Egbuike, head of Pan-Atlantic University Press, upheld that ethics and success align with corporate governance and business sustainability trajectory.
According to the panel of discussants, “The more a company sustains ethics, the more it will be successful.”
