Rae & Wong Case Study

Rae & Wong: Ch. 2

Reading: Carr

1. Do you agree with the executive’s statement that “a sudden submission to Christian ethics by businessmen would bring about the greatest economic upheaval in history”? What do you think he means by that statement?

A: The executive’s statements means that if Christian ethics were allowed or forced as standards in business, organizations - particularly unethical but not illegal businesses - would be politically damaged and economically crippled by the constraining morals of Christianity. Thus, the executive asserts that conforming to such an ethic “would bring about the greatest economic upheaval in history” (Carr, 1968, P. 90); since this ethic would require businessmen to ‘play’ under the same ethical codes as everyone else in society.

In other words, “the economy would actually fall apart, since it is structurally dependent on mistrust and deception for its survival” (Rae & Wong, 2012, p. 108). The application of Christian ethics would cripple and erode the unethical elements of modern business, not business itself. The book of Proverbs confirms this viewpoint, “No harm overtakes the righteous, but the wicked have their fill of trouble” (Prov. 12:21, English Standard Version). In other words, a businessmen should only be afraid of complying with Christian ethics if he has violating them in the first place. In fact, businessmen who uphold strong values should welcome Christian ethics into the contemporary business landscape - as an opportunity to level of the ethical playing field.

2. How do you evaluate Carr’s analogy of business to a poker game, with its own distinct set of