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08
magis
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february 2014
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Spotlight
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C
ombining his
experience
in professional teaching and
research Fr Ozzie Mascar-
enhas S.J. holds a resume of an
extraordinary range. He is not only the first
Jesuit to chair the JRD Tata Business Ethics
Foundation but is also the first Jesuit to
complete Ph.D. in marketing from Wharton
School of Business, Philadelphia, PA. He
has developed and taught several courses
and has a lengthy list of academic publica-
tions to his name. Fr Mascarenhas talks
about the importance of ethical practices in
business dealings and the challenges faced
by India in this field.
Excerpts from the interview
Why is it necessary to adopt ethical
practices in all business dealings?
Ethics is the science of values and moral
principles. And no business can succeed in
the long-run without ethical practices. The
world of business, in general, and the Indian
world of business, in particular, desperately
needs ethical and moral values and princi-
ples that go beyond mere business dealings
of productivity and profitability, growth and
prosperity. Values and moral principles if
adopted and spelt clearly can bring char-
acter and permanency, brand identity and
mission, wisdom and justice to all business
undertakings.
Are ethics and ethical managers
well accepted in the Indian
business scenario?
India, like the rest of the business world,
has to go a long way in understanding,
absorbing and incorporating ethics and
ethical management as part of its goals and
objectives. Despite rampant fraud, cor-
ruption and bribery, money laundering and
racketeering prevalent in India today at the
business and political levels, even aca-
demic and religious circles, yet at its core
India is and wants to be ethical and moral
in all its business dealings. This has been
the Indian spiritual heritage for over three
thousand years since the days of Artha-
shastra and Chanakyas. India will return
to its spiritual, ethical and moral sources
one day in the near future. The ethical and
moral principles of our founder leaders such
as Mahatma Gandhi, Dr BR Ambedkar,
Dr Sarvepalli Radha Krishnan, Dr Rajen-
dra Prasad, and the likes are still relevant
and vibrant among our top management
echelons. We hope they will diffuse and
anoint the masses of business managers and
entrepreneurs today.
What according to you are the ethical
challenges faced by India today?
We are crowded with ambiguous legisla-
tions, ordinances and injunctions that are
constraining businesses, especially since
such laws and mandates are open grounds
for corruption. On the other hand, taxes in
India, on wealth and income, purchases and
sales, production and imports are becoming
too high and numerous, and people trying
to dodge them get into unethical and illegal
business practices. Of course, any country
and its markets need law and taxes, govern-
ment interventions and control. But when
the latter dominate and define businesses,
then problems and challenges emerge that
compromise values, ethics and morals.
Thirdly and more positively, India is a land
of great resources, human and mineral,
JRD Tata Chair
charts a course of
action to establish
moral leadership
Fr Ozzie Mascarenhas S.J.
JRD Tata Chair in Business Ethics
