Good Governance & Soc. Resp. / TTh 8:30-10:00 / 14005 Professor Eden Alberto

1. Domingo, Dennimar O.
2nd year - BSBA Marketing Management
Good Governance & Soc. Resp. / TTh 8:30-10:00 / 14005
Professor Eden Alberto
November 28, 2013
 How should we live?
 How should I live as an individual?
 How should we live in a community?
 What kind of person I am choosing to be?
 What kind of society ought we to create?
We live in a rapidly changing society, in the age of globalization and the
information and communication revolution. We must accept the reality of the dramatic changes
that are affecting our lifestyles, our ways of thinking, feeling and acting. As students, we live in
different communities that we are living or we are going to. We adjust ourselves in different
places so that the misunderstandings that will happen will be prevented.
There are many forms of community, from small family communities, to school
communities to the larger community of the societies we live in. Each community has its own
codes and ways of being and interacting. Each community has its own unwritten (and sometimes
written) guidelines on how to ensure cohabitation flows smoothly. What goes with this is the
assumption that people will choose to agree to these guidelines and act accordingly. I think many
of us can agree that when you look around you in your day to day interactions, there are many
people who are either consciously or unconsciously ignoring these guidelines.
Many of us people, we live with the rules. Why do we have rules? We ask for
rules because we are seeking for some improvements in our lives and also to set the world to
rights. Rules are fixed. Compared to our lives, Life is constantly changing, endlessly subtle and
complex. Rules limit us from choosing a decision that we will make.
The people around us can limit the choices we have. People that are close to us,
such as our parents and friends, often limit the choice we have in our life. For instance, parents
can limit our education options by pressuring us to study the subjects they want, and friends can
affect our decisions through peer pressuring. Moreover, if we insist on not following their
actions, we may be discriminated and isolated by them. Therefore, parents and friends are among
the people that will affect our decisions.
In a community, it is okay to consider the opinions of other people, especially
your parents and relatives. But in some reason, it is not okay to let them decide for your future.
Others may say bad things from your decision, others will support you but you are the one who
will make a decision on what are you choosing. You are the one who will experience it, not
them.
We must not depend ourselves on what other people say. We must live freely and
let other people say anything on you. They didn’t have an authority to judge a person, only God

2. does. We must also do what moral and ethical in the eyes of the Lord, our God. Some works are
moral in the eyes of the Lord but in the eyes of the court, it is not. We must face the
consequences on what are we doing. We also must have to think twice before we do it.
Be the community that we want to live in. Although it may seem we are on our
own, we are actually living in an ever expanding community. It won’t be able to take form
successfully without your contribution. We must make an action that tend to enlighten and open
the eyes of some of our neighbors to make them realize that they important in an expending
community.
 Can a good business be an unethical?
Almost every day, we are faced by situations in which we have to make a decision
and choose between something ethical and another that is less than ethical, with the latter, almost
always, appearing as the more rewarding. Being hung on profit and the urge to succeed most
people sadly choose the latter, in order to realize their immediate goals.
Good business ethics can and should be part of a successful business. Unethical
businesses can be profitable on the short run, but can never be truly successful. A business
without ethics is a business without integrity. Such a business might realize immediate
profitability but it will definitely face long term failure. This rule applies to every aspect of our
life. This is true, not only because clients like to deal with value-based companies, but also
because an unprincipled business is like a rotted house that will eventually collapse at the hands
of its own in-grown termites. It simply does not have a solid foundation on which it can stand in
the face of the many storms it will face in its lifetime.
I do believe that to be successful one must be ethical. Yes, we see a lot of
cutthroat business people out there who have made a lot of money, but are success defined as
making a lot of money? My personal belief is that a clear heart, kindness and compassion,
combined with intelligence and hard work, will ultimately lead to financial success. If only
Filipinos are passionate and loyal on their work, I am surely believed that our economy will
boost and also we, Filipinos, would benefit on that situation.
Unethical behavior in a company may lead to lead to a drop in stock price.
Investors will be unwilling to buy shares from companies known to transact business
dishonestly. Investing in dishonest firms will result in poor returns. Also, it can harm sales of
goods, as customers may boycott goods produced by a company known for unethical behavior.
 How would you answer someone who asked, “Why should I study Ethics if I am not to be an
accountant?”?
There are several reasons why students have to study ethics. All of us use ethics
on a daily basis. “Ethics” is rules of behavior based on ideas about what is morally good and bad.
Many individuals do not know what ethical behavior is. In studying Ethics it doesn’t aimed at

3. any one group or agency; anyone who lives or works on the reservation could benefit from this.
No matter what your past experiences or educational level, you are never too old
to learn. We have all heard the old sayings, you can’t teach an old dog new trick, and a leopard
doesn’t change his spots. It is true that important changes never come easily, but
change is possible.
Studying ethics is one way of recapturing our heritage. Why teach ethics? This
question would have confused our ancestors. Ethics were an inherent part of their daily lives.
Today, however, we live in a different time, a time when ethical behavior appears to have
diminished in our culture. As a result, ethics is valuable and useful.