An expose of bad businesses and their unethical practices

The Prudential Business Ethics Center at Rutgers University has released a report titled Rutgers Ethics Initiative, looking into the causes of corruption involving business and government in New Jersey over the years. The principal investigator and author of the report was Barrie Peterson, a member of the Business Ethics faculty at Rutgers. The report itself makes interesting reading.

The Report identifies issues as diverse as a lack of local electronic media, noncompetitive election races, and the lack of a unified code of ethics as being contributory to the long-lasting problem of corruption at state and local levels in New Jersey. The report recommends campaign finance reform and the banning of “pay to play” practices (trading campaign contribution for access to officials and business) in the state to reduce the problems.

Interestingly, what the reports calls New Jersey’s “lack of identity” is cited as a basis for many of the problems the state has faced. This lack of identity manifests itself in areas like voter apathy, a lack of local investigative reporting, and a low self image. This has formed a culture where Bad Business has been able to thrive.