Article October 3, 1994 Issue

All one in Christ

Eugene G. Stone

Several years ago, I began to do business in a country that was largely non-Christian. Although my associates in that country spoke my language, it was soon clear that their morals, ethics, business practices, and general view of life were very different from what I was accustomed to. In fact, shortly after I began doing business in that country I was told by clients of one of my associates that I had to be very careful because unethical behavior in business was a national characteristic.

One day, while browsing in a bookstore in that country, I found a book written by a person who had done business there for twenty-five years. The first paragraph said flatly that the indigenous people had no ethics or morals because they were not Christians. Their "morals" were confined to honoring their parents, teachers, employers, and peer group. Anyone not included in one of these categories was "fair game," to be treated in any way necessary to help them reach their goals.

I became mesmerized by this picture of unprincipled behavior. And so I tried every human way I could think of to compel my associates there to "do the right thing." I wrote precise, detailed policies and procedures and required frequent reporting of the business activity to ensure that procedures were followed. I even made repeated on-site audits and inspections. It was all to no avail.

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