Ethics Term Paper Reflection

     Business bluffing has been a subject I've been very fascinated with over the past few years.  I've always believed that lying is wrong.  I still do believe that it's wrong.  It's unethical  But what if you were technically not lying?  What if you were explaining only some of the truth, but not all of it?  Is it still ethical at that point?  It was interesting for me to research this subject and learn what several other people though.  These types of people included journal writers, university professors, former businessmen, etc.

     Some thought that it was okay to bluff.  After all, business is only a game.  Carr is famous for referencing it to a game of poker.  The goal is to bluff your way to winning and fooling everyone else.  I believe this way of thinking is completely unethical.  Business is not a game.  In a game of poker, everybody has to willingly lay down money and compete to fool each other and win it all.  And while there are some people like that in the world of business, not everyone is like that.  In poker, you really only lose money (if you're not foolish about it).  In business, you could lose so much more than money.  You could lose careers and even lifestyles.  Plus, it's truly an awful thing to purposely screw someone over to benefit yourself.  Yes, I understand that you do need to take care of yourself.  But if you're actions are intended to hurt other people, a reconsideration is necessary.  I would much rather be a good person than a rich person. Other people I've researched have shared this sediment too.

     However, as paradoxical as this may initially sound, I don't believe all business bluffing is bad.  Researching this paper actually helped me come to this conclusion.  Before I started writing, I wrote off the notion that all business bluffing is bad.  I've learned that that's not true.  Only when purposely bluffing knowing full well that it'll hurt people is it considered bad.  There may be times when you have to keep the whole truth from someone solely because it will hurt them and you.  Obviously, this is a sticky situation.  You can easily say, "isn't everyone entitled to the whole truth?"  Possibly.  But business is tricky.  I presented a great example given by Jeffrey Seglin in my paper about an instance where business bluffing was probably the smart thing to do.  It would have saved the business and the employees a whole deal of trouble (you can read it in my paper on the next post).

     The general conclusion I came to is that people are generally pretty split on the issue.  But at the end of the day, it's my opinion on the matter that counts to me.  And my opinion is that business bluffing is only ethical depending on how it affects you and others.  If it affects others in a negative way, then the obvious answer to me is not to do it.  But if you are bluffing to save others and yourself, then I think it's acceptable.