LAWS OF ETHICS “Give them and share them with All you love and cherish” (or our best chance as the alternative elopement to the “Giant Domino” scenario given by Ned Dougherty).

Diagram 1. Hierarchical superiors

Colleagues Suppliers

Consumer/clients

Economic agent

Subordinates

Diagram 2.

Banks Shareholders (5)

Competitive Company board (4)

Suppliers (2)

Direction board

Consumer/client (3)

(1) Subordinates

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“The spiritual mission of Finance is to promote the free flow of money (by A.Brethes). The respect of the Laws of Ethics, guaranties that”.

Introduction The purpose of these pages is to give a tangible and practical definition of the word ETHICS. The best way to define Ethics is through a graphical and visual representation (that will more concise than any literature). From being an abstract and ethereal concept, Ethics is demystified into a structured diagram, taking the shape of a cross (a Christ cross?) with four branches, a core and elements at the edges. This representation enables to define 5 types of relationship. My purpose was to try to find a diagram that could summarize all the cases of commercial litigation. I consulted all the books on bookstore shelves, the 300 page or 1000 page books…and I was extremely surprised that there were no books that had the quality of concision I was looking for. Extremely annoyed to be forced into an intellectual exercise, I started unwillingly to ponder and I eventually elaborated the diagrams. Those diagrams serve to establish a typology of all the litigation/issues that can be encountered in commerce. The diagrams I propose enable to formulate a simple and structured diagnosis of any compromised commercial activity. We can take any example of scandal pertaining to multinationals, and study them through the five defined types of relationship. Doing so, we are establishing what I call « an ethical diagnosis ». From there, it is possible to sanction or to accredit a Corporate. (Indirectly, the ethics diagram serve as “a mirror of truths” where all we can reflect ourselves in and see the “ethical” image of ourselves. With astonishment I realized I was an infraction (4) guilty person. Well that was the case when I was a business men…some long long, long time ago now. In the text of the Preamble, I reveal the mistakes are paid at a very high price…I once was a CEO. And I paid an extremely high price in sufferings. It is a young lad vendor who insulted me by throwing at me “Well anyway you know nothing about commerce”. It was the 3° camcorder I was returning to the shop and I was still not satisfied. And that time I wanted a total refund and not a coupon…He was certainly rightfully pissed. To make myself forgiven, I searched a book summarizing all the cases of commerce litigation just to show to him I “knew” about commerce. I did not find this book because it does not exist. But on the other hand, I purchased a book about the Enron scandal and I offered it to the young lad. As for me, I still needed to “prove” my proficiency in business…I wrote a long letter, which I offered to that person too. In that letter I placed the Laws of Ethics that camcorder incident had triggered me into writing. To give the elopement of my story, yes I did receive a total refund !).

I. Construction of the Diagrams: The diagramm represent the economic actor in his human, relational environment. We can define 5 big groups of relationship (see double arrows), that is 5 types of relationship where can take place prejudices, swindling, ethical breaches.

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In the diagram 1, the vertical plane show the relationship inside the corporate. The economic actor is surrounded by his superiors, competitive colleague and subordinate. He is also placed (horizontal plan) in the classical economic circuit (producer->gross seller->retailer->consumer). In diagram 2, the economic agent is identified to the corporate direction board. The subordinates are still the employees of the company. Above, you find banks and shareholders, the financial constraint. What is going to be equal to the direction board, are going to be the other corporates with whom the competition relationship is perpetuated. Except for that, we still have the same horizontal relationships with suppliers/consumers.

II. Descriptive reading of the diagrams: The 5 relationships represent the five « sins » of capitalism. They are the places of moral, ethical failures in commerce. 1. The failure in relation (1) is the most trivial. It is the exploitation of the workers by the hierarchical superiors, which is the « patronate ». It is the XIX century scheme, perpetuated today in the delocalised plants in third world countries (and also at our doors). 2. In relation (2), are found the pressures, control that companies can exert on suppliers when they go as far as sometimes imposing prices to their suppliers. This is illustrated in the Debt of the Third World (XX century scheme), supplier of raw materials to industrialized nations. 3. Relation (3) represent all the abuses on the consumer. This is confirmed by the development of consumer defense associations, regulations (the pharmaceutical circuit is entirely regulated). The agro-food or pharmaceutical examples illustrate cases where the product is fraudulent, falsified, out of date. The prejudice can pertain to the pricing of the product. An eloquent example is the extrapolated manner computer people charged their services in the golden age of computing 19992001. 4. Relation (4) represent the war competition companies/corporates launch against one another. This is the subject of a best-seller. The most famous and epical example is the Steve Jobs-Bill Gates “dynamics”. 5. Relation (5)concern scandals linked to banks, shareholders (and government). It is the chapter of financial frauds. I don’t develop.

III. Proactive action that can be undertook after reading the Ethics Diagrams: The words ethics (or integrity) are no longer abstract words. My purpose was to demystify and offer a tangible and structured definition of the word « Ethics ». The diagrams offer a structured and simple and broad view of commerce cases. The simplicity will facilitate lawsuits to proliferate… Well I did not write those lines to encourage lawsuit filing… It is legitimate to want to make a lot of money (up to a point…!). I am a talented person. That’s why I have never had to resort to infractions on the branches of the diagram. My purpose had never been to 3

be an “immaculate” person. But I afforded it and I did things in what seemed to me the righteous way. On the other hand I did not prevent my infractions (4). It took a very long curing for me. I’ve got a favorite ethological rat lab experiment: put two CEOs in the same box. And they will fight to death until one is dead and only one is alive. It is a long, long, long way to get rid of these behavioral compulsive, irrepressible, primitive behaviours. Often it is a pathway of sufferings, of extreme pain. But the day comes when peace returns and wisdom speaks to you…in the forms of the Laws of Ethics for example. It is the extense of my experience as a business man and a CEO, and eventually a human person. Have you ever wondered what a miserable CEO could be doing in the filthy darkness of his jail cell? Let’s have a look at how we can make business cleanly. A Corporate must receive accreditation on all the Branches and Core of the “Ethics Cross”. This accreditation work must be taken charge by a supranational organism « the Ethics accreditation commission ». • The accreditation of relation (1) “Work condition of workers in Third World plants” and • relation (2) “relation to third world country suppliers”, is being taken charge by « Commerce Equitable ». This label already exists ; it must be institutionalized and reinforced. •The accreditation of relation (5) “Prevention against financial fraud”, already exists in the USA with the creation of the Oxley-Sarbanes Law consecutive to the scandals Enron, Worldcom. •The accreditation of relation (3) “Relation to consumers”, is naturally taken charge by the Consumer Defense Associations. •Relation (4) is the relation to one’s competitors. There’s a beautiful text that can written. This text can be called « the Code of Honor ». What is Honor ? How do we define Honor ? Honor is the transcending of oneself and the respect of others. Presently, is enforced a limited set consisting of a few anti-trust laws that protect little competitors not to be wiped out by a multinationals in situation of monopoly.

IV. Other readings to see some further application of the Ethics diagramms. 1. Read the Extraordinary Preamble of the European Constitution. It is a powerful application of the Laws of Ethics. These Laws audit Corporates, Individuals (poor us…) and also Constitutions. I started writing that Preamble on the day of May 29th, and it is dated 16.06.2005, the exact median date of the decade we live in. 2. Read the Letter to the French People. This letter is in fact a gift for the whole world. May it give you enlightments about the World we live in (start with this one).

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