I recently read about a really interesting experiment called the ultimatum game. It goes like this: person A is given 10 one-dollar bills and can offer person B any number of them. B can then either accept or reject A’s offer. If B accepts, A and B get what was offered. If on the other hand B turns the offer down, each person gets nothing.
What makes this experiment so interesting? Well, if human beings really were ‘rationally self-interested invidividuals’- the homines economici of classical economic theory- then the game should go like this: A should only offer B 1 dollar and hang on to the rest. And B should accept A’s offer, since getting 1 dollar is better than nothing.
So is that what actually happens? No, not at all. Practice has shown that most A players offer B close to half the total. And B players who are offered only one or two dollars generally turn the offer down. Amazing, isn’t it? Even in a simple game like the ultimatum game, it seems that people are not primarily motivated by greed and self-interest but rather by values like ‘fairness’. Maybe it’s time at last to say goodbye to the homo economicus model and welcome in homo ethicus.
Are we at Actics right in thinking that the corporate world is becoming more and more aware of the importance of values and social responsibility? Here are some encouraging quotes I came across recently while reading through some books on business ethics:
“What we’ve learned is that the soft stuff and the hard stuff are becoming increasingly intertwined. A company’s values- what it stands for, what its people believe in- are crucial to its competitive success. Indeed, values drive the business.” (Robert D. Haas, former Chairman of Levi Strauss & Co.)
“There is a difference between a good company and a great company. A good company offers excellent products and services. A great company also offers excellent products and services but also strives to make the world a better place.” (William Clay Ford, Jr., Chairman of Ford Motor Company)
“I honestly believe that the winning companies of this century will be those who prove with their actions that they can be profitable and increase social value- companies that both do well and do good… Increasingly, shareowners, customers, partners, and employees are going to vote with their feet- rewarding those companies that fuel social change through business.” (Carly Fiorina, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett-Packard)
Just words or are we really seeing a major change in corporate behaviour? For anyone who wants to check it out and decide for him/herself, here are some links to the values efforts of the companies quoted above: Levi Strauss, Ford, and HP.