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February 15, 2002/Adar 3 5762, Vol. 54, No. 22
Beyond the bottom lineJudaism provides essential ethical guidelines
VICKI CABOT
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| "If you are not going to be better tomorrow than you were today, then what need have you for tomorrow?" --Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav |
 Irwin Sheinbein, whose Orthodox Jewish family owned a salvage business, says thinking about ethics is part of his everyday life. Photo by Tegwin Winterhalt |
"Our book of ethics is an unchanging book - the Torah," observes Rabbi Gedalia Peterseil of the Greater Phoenix Community Kollel, an Orthodox group dedicated to Torah learning. "It is still the most valid and oldest book in the school, and it should be the one that gets the most use."
A fundamental principle is the aspiration to be holy, to be God-like.
"As human beings we are created in the image of God, so we have lots of good inside us," explains Rabbi Zvi Holland of the Phoenix Community Kollel, which also provides Torah study classes throughout the Valley. "But the Torah awakens us to that, helps us to learn the difference between right and wrong."
It also lays out two classes of obligations, the spiritual ones, those between humanity and God, and the moral ones, those traditionally described as person to person.
Both are essential to our character.
"The idea that there is a dichotomy between ritual behavior and social obligation is foreign to Judaism," explains Holland.
"We should find favor and good judgment in the eyes of God and in the eyes of our fellow man."
How to find favor with both God and man - and how such aspirations may impact our lives - is the first subject of a continuing series of Jewish News stories. Drawing on the knowledge of our rabbinic community, our varied educational resources, and the real life experiences of local men and women who are struggling with moral dilemmas everyday, we hope to convey what it means to be Jewish, to think Jewish, to do Jewish in today's world.
This week, we take a look at ethics in the marketplace.
In the shadow of Enron, what topic could be more appropriate, you might ask.
Indeed.
The combination of greed, power and deception that is fast coming to light in the Enron debacle, causing the downfall of one of the country's largest utility companies and bilking millions of investors, is a classic case study of business sans ethics.
And yet, Enron aside, business ethics is a key element of Jewish thought.
The Talmud teaches us that a person is asked two questions when he or she dies and seeks to enter the heavenly court, recounts Holland.
"Did you set aside time for study of Torah? And, did you conduct your business affairs honestly and fairly?"
The strictures for conducting business honestly and fairly are laid out clearly in Jewish texts.
Key tenets include competition, customer relations, employee relations and legal obligations.
Holland explains that there are very specific rules governing competition that impact promotional and advertising strategies. Giving away promotions to entice shoppers to frequent an establishment (the classic example cited in the text is giving away free nuts to children) is permissible. But engaging in a behavior to discourage a customer from patronizing a competitor is not.
Too, the old bait and switch ploy is unacceptable.
Laws regarding customer relations are predicated on similar precepts of honesty and integrity.
Overcharging and misrepresentation are two areas where the law places the burden firmly on the seller, not the customer.
"The concept of buyer beware is foreign to Jewish law," observes Rabbi Michael Wasserman of Beth El Congregation in Phoenix.
Holland explains that if a customer is overcharged more than one-sixth the price of an item, the sale can be voided. A similar standard holds for misrepresentation.
Irwin Sheinbein, an Orthodox Jew who grew up in his family's salvage business and now is marketing director of Metals Manufacturing, says one of the lessons he learned from his late father, Jack, and his late brother, Mickey, was to treat all customers with respect.
There's a broad spectrum of buyers and sellers in the salvage business, he explains, from individuals pushing carts filled with redeemable aluminum cans to corporate purchasing agents dealing in precious metals.
"You don't want to take advantage of anybody," he says.
Too, the business, by its very nature, could lend itself to deception.
"If one wants to be dishonest, it can be done," assures Sheinbein, who says that the Torah portion that deals with honesty in weights and measures is one that stays with him.
Still, he says, one of the appeals of the business, which traditionally attracted an inordinate number of Jewish business owners, was that deals were predicated on personal assurances.
"The industry was built on one's handshake," Sheinbein says.
David Friedman, vice president of Friedman Recycling Company, says he learned similar values from his late father, Abe, who founded the Phoenix-based company 25 years ago.
"My father used to say he was always more concerned about the relationship than the deal; you have to treat people right," recalls the younger Friedman, whose brother Morris is also a principal in the business. They are members of Young Israel of Phoenix.
"He would forego profits in order to maintain a relationship."
Les Moskowitz, a small business owner whose establishment, The Stockroom, specializes in office products, says he learned from his father and grandfather - both small-business owners - the importance of hard work and the need to treat customers fairly.
"My dad treated everybody like family," recalls Moskowitz. He also learned from him to go the extra mile for his customers and to be honest about his limitations.
"If I can't get an item, I'll tell the customer," says Moskowitz, who prides himself on personal service.
Similar consideration and sensitivity should also be shown one's employees, according to Jewish teachings.
"There's a mutual responsibility," explains Holland. Jewish law deals with such issues as honest pay for honest work and how much time a worker should receive to attend to personal needs during the workday.
Sheinbein, who began working when he was 5 years old sorting colored tabulator cards, says he learned from his father to value employees.
He notes with pride that when the family business closed in 1973, there were many who had been employed by the Sheinbeins for two decades.
The fourth area that Jewish business ethics treats extensively is interface with the government and legal system.
Holland explains that often the law of the land is not enough to assure ethical business practices. Enron is a case in point.
"We have to allow our instincts to get past our ambitions," he says. "Often when a person asks a question (about ethical practice), he or she really knows the answer, knows it is wrong to do."
Placing the conundrum in a larger context, Professor Shari Collins-Chobanian, who teaches philosophy at Arizona State University, states unequivocally, "There are many things you can get away with under the law."
She laments the materialism and greed that characterize the current business climate and marginalize ethical concerns.
"Money is the biggest measure," she observes. "I think Enron is a clear combination of greed and power and deception - and it is rewarded in the system. Look at the political contributions."
Collins-Chobanian, who teaches a required course on business ethics in ASU's School of Management, sees a need to refocus on ethical priorities, on doing the right thing, on minimizing harm.
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"It's the ability to put yourself in the position of the people you are affecting," she says.
Friedman says that his continuing Jewish study with Holland has helped him to become more reflective.
"I take a step back and think about (situations) from a different perspective," says the businessman.
Such thought processes help him to see the bigger picture.
"You look beyond your own self-interest and at the ethical implications of your actions," he says. "Instead of me making a decision about what is going to get me the best quarter, (I am thinking about) the balance sheet in 120 years."
It's not easy, he is quick to add.
"I struggle with these issues," he says. "But it is part of a process to develop my spirituality and try to elevate my personal development."
Moskowitz, a longtime member of Beth El Congregation and an active volunteer, is a student in the Melton Adult Mini-School, sponsored by the Bureau of Jewish Education, a comprehensive Jewish studies program that has a strong Jewish values and ethics focus. Its faculty includes local rabbis and Jewish educators.
"I have the values," says Moskowitz, "but Melton gives me some understanding of where they came from."
Moskowitz worked for Greyhound for 13 years before founding The Stockroom. He says he doesn't miss the competitive pressures of the corporate environment and its tendency to overlook ethical lapses.
Sheinbein agrees.
"Transitioning from a family business to a corporate environment, you see people wanting to do things that are not ethical. There is great pressure for the bottom line."
But, he says, people who are striving to do the right thing understand that they must accept responsibility for their actions.
"Hashem has a master plan," he says, "and somehow it will get back at you."