Recruiting Multi-Generational Audiences Via Ethical Business Practices

Gen-Z has demonstrated a desire, and for some, a must, to incorporate purpose and ethical standards into the economic sphere. Long gone are the days of Michael Douglas’s renowned 1987 film Wall Street, in which the rule of the day was that there were no rules. Today’s business professional is graduating from college and pursuing professional paths that prioritise meaning over profit.

The investment banking business and higher education are both in purgatory, attempting to recruit top talent when that alleged skill has every chance to be found in an open marketplace.

Changes in Higher Education

Higher education emphasises the need of ethical modelling in business learning at all levels. Top MBA talent is introduced to ethical business practises through programmes such as the McGowan Fellows Program, a distinguished fellowship founded by the William G. McGowan Charitable Foundation. “As they establish their careers, the Fellows are expected to make ethical leadership and a commitment to social betterment a key aspect of their organization’s ethos,” writes Forbes’ Michael T. Nietzel.

Approved McGowan scholarship recipients get value-based leadership training, alumni mentoring, and a social impact project as part of a year’s tuition paid for by the fellowship. “Fellows emerge with a new perspective on the responsibilities and potential of leadership, as well as a cohort of like-minded professionals and access to a welcoming alumni network of change-makers. They are prepared to advance business and society,” describes the McGowan Fellows Program.

Internationally, activities such as the Globethics Foundation’s Journal of Ethics in Higher Education, situated in Geneva, Switzerland, facilitate communication with the academic community. “The journal is aimed at academic experts in ethics and education, working at the forefront of ethical thinking in global and intercultural perspective, academic integrity, and the philosophy and practice of higher education,” as detailed by the Journal of Ethics in Higher Education.

Ethics on the Ground

Several entrepreneurs nowadays seek Venture Capital (VC) financing to help them build their company. On the plus side, it can give the funds required to kickstart operations, boost advice, and grow. But, when a company takes venture capital funding, it can occasionally lose creative control. Investors may also demand big ownership stakes or a speedy payment in order to promote a sale.

In extreme circumstances, certain investors, such as Michael Douglas’ mythological character Gordon Gekko, try to purchase firms in order to sell off pieces for rapid gains. This approach is known as asset stripping, and it has raised concerns about ethics that show little consideration for the sufferings of impacted people. While asset stripping investment techniques continue to exist, there is a rising trend among certain experts to assist startups with a more collaborative, business-first approach.