The Hindu Business Line : No more `chalta hai'

Welcome to The Co-operative Bank, UK (www.co-operativebank.co.uk), an institution that traces its origins back to 1872. "In 1992 The Co-operative Bank became the world's first bank to introduce a customer-led Ethical Policy."

The `policy' page opens with a dash of green, and begins thus: "Business does not operate in a vacuum. Activities inevitably lead to a series of ecological and social impacts. Some industries, by their very nature, have a huge and obvious impact on the environment and society, whilst the impact of others, such as the financial services industry, is not always so immediately apparent."

Despite that, the bank strives to follow a code of ethics that guides it through mazes such as human rights, arms trade, corporate responsibility and global trade, genetic modification, social enterprise, ecological impact and animal welfare.

For instance, the statement under genetic modification reads: "We will not invest in businesses involved in the development of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), where, in particular, the following issues are evident: Uncontrolled release of GMOs into the environment; any negative impacts on developing countries, in particular, the imposition of `Terminator' technologies; patenting, in particular, of indigenous knowledge; cloning, in particular, of animals for non-medical purposes."

There is overwhelming support from customers to the policy. By 2001, support grew to 97 per cent! But the policy has not come without costs. The latest press release on the site, dated May 30, informs that the value of the business lost to the Bank due to ethical and ecological reasons was worth £9.9 million at the end of 2005, compared with £8.7 million the previous year.

The bank is undeterred, however. It proudly informs: "Earlier this month, the Bank topped the Business in The Community Corporate Responsibility Index, which is recognised as the leading public benchmark of ethical and environmental performance, scoring an outstanding 99.5 per cent."

Ethical conduct is not a fashionable subject to sermonise upon, but "a serious subject to admire, adapt, implement and practise with sincerity," writes Rajiv K. Mishra in Business Ethics from Rupa. The author debunks many myths of business ethics, such as: Ethics and business can't run together; public sector doesn't need ethics; anything that's legal is ethical; ethics are for the rich; choosing the lesser evil is ethical; ethics are a one-time charity; and ethical practices delay business operation.

In ethics management, there are four words to watch out for, says Mishra. These are greed, speed, laziness and haziness. Meaning, the desire for more, the wrong notion that faster is better, the pursuit of the easy way, and the haze caused by not thinking one's actions through.

Important read is `model code.' `There are no short cuts,' is the first diktat. "Don't confuse cutting corners with efficiency." Recognise the efforts of your juniors, advises Mishra. "It is not only the team spirit which is lost if we do not give due recognition to the working-level executives but also their faith and trust in the organisation." Another commandment is, `Share your knowledge.' Go the extra mile, exhorts yet another. And, "No more `chalta hai'!" is one of the many forceful messages from the author, on why it doesn't pay to be complacent.

Potent argument.

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