Aerial view of a river delta, clouds, and land for Trust, Legitimacy & the Ethical Foundations of the Market Economy by The Ethics Centre.

Trust, Legitimacy & the Ethical Foundations of the Market Economy

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Trust, Legitimacy & the Ethical Foundations of the Market Economy

TYPE:THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

CATEGORY: CORPORATE TRUST 

PUBLISHED: AUG 2018

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Trust, Legitimacy & the Ethical Foundations of the Market Economy

At The Ethics Centre, we spend a lot of time talking to regulators, directors and business leaders.

We know that fundamental questions are being asked: What went wrong? Who’s responsible? How do we restore trust? Our research suggests the concept of trust may be less relevant than that of ‘legitimacy’. Where trust is the belief that people/organisations will meet their obligations, legitimacy is the right to claim a status, role or function. Legitimacy, in other words, grants business the social license to operate.

This whitepaper offers insights on the current issues of trust and loss of limited liability, and a framework to participate in the current market economy. Discover the four fundamental values and principles you need to minimise the risk of corporate failure and the potential for unlimited liability. Learn how your purpose, values and principles can be used to guide behaviour and work through the most difficult decisions within an organisation.

"The privileges of incorporation and limited liability were justified by a broad appeal to the common good. If those privileges are to be preserved, then it may be time to establish a new, core ethical foundation for corporations. An alternative and complementary approach to more compliance is to establish a values and principles framework that guides rather than dictates decision-makers."

DR SIMON LONGSTAFF

OVERVIEW

53%
POPULATION DON'T BELIEVE PRESENT SYSTEM WORKS
65%
CEOS CONCERNED BY LACK OF TRUST IN BUSINESS**
89%
OVER-REGULATION IS A TOP THREAT TO GROWTH***

*Source: Edelman Trust Barometer 2017

**Source: AICD-KPMG Maintaining the social licence to operate: 2018 Trust Survey

***Source: PWC, 21st  Annual Global CEO Survey

WHATS INSIDE?

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An examination of trust’s decline
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What is legitimacy?
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The costs of losing legitimacy
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Ethical foundations of the market
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Reimagining corporate law
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Four fundamental values and principles
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Enabling legitimacy in corporations
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The value of ethical frameworks

AUTHORS

Authors

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Dr Simon Longstaff

Dr Simon Longstaff has been Executive Director of The Ethics Centre for over 25 years, working across business, government and society. He has a PhD in philosophy from Cambridge University, is a Fellow of CPA Australia and of the Royal Society of NSW, and in June 2016 was appointed an Honorary Professor at ANU – based at the National Centre for Indigenous Studies. Simon co-founded the Festival of Dangerous Ideas and played a pivotal role in establishing both the industry-led Banking and Finance Oath and ethics classes in primary schools. He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2013.

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Victoria Whitaker

Victoria Whitaker has worked across business, civil society, academia and government in the areas of sustainability education, research, policy and advocacy, strategy and evaluation. She previously headed up the Global Reporting Initiative in Australia for five years, before joining The Ethics Centre to manage their consulting and education offering. In January 2019, Victoria joined Deloitte’s risk team.

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Ethical by Design: Person wearing a VR headset. Principles for good technology in virtual reality. The Ethics Centre.

Ethical by Design: Principles for Good Technology

VR headset on a person, tech companies and responsibility concept. Virtual reality experience. Metaverse technology.

Ethical by Design: Principles for Good Technology

TYPE:THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

CATEGORY: TECHNOLOGY & DESIGN

PUBLISHED: SEP 2018

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Ethical By Design: Principles for Good Technology

Learn the principles you need to consider when designing ethical technology, how to balance the intentions of design and use, and the rules of thumb to prevent ethical missteps. Understand how to break down some of the biggest challenges and explore a new way of thinking for creating purpose-based design.

You’re responsible for what you design – make sure you build something good. Whether you are editing a genome, building a driverless car or writing a social media algorithm, this report offers the knowledge and tools to do so ethically. From Facebook to a brand new start-up, the responsibility begins with you. In this guide we offer key principles to help guide ethical technology creation and management.

"Technology seems to be at the heart of more and more ethical crises. So many of the ethical scandals we’re seeing in the technology sector are happening because people aren’t well-equipped to take a holistic view of the ethical landscape."

DR MATTHEW BEARD

WHATS INSIDE?

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What is ethics + ethical theories
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Techno-ethical myths
White sun cross symbol on a gray background. Wheel cross or solar cross, an ancient religious symbol.
The value of ethical frameworks
Concentric circles design. White circles on a gray-blue background create a target-like pattern. Minimalist graphic with geometric shapes.
Rules of thumb to embed ethics in design
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Case studies + ethical breakdowns
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Core ethical design principles
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Design challenges + solutions
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The future of ethical technology

Whats inside the guide?

PREVIEW THE GUIDE

AUTHORS

Authors

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Dr Matt Beard

is a moral philosopher with an academic background in applied and military ethics. He has taught philosophy and ethics at university for several years, during which time he has been published widely in academic journals, book chapters and spoken at national and international conferences. Matt’s has advised the Australian Army on military ethics including technology design. In 2016, Matt won the Australasian Association of Philosophy prize for media engagement, recognising his “prolific contribution to public philosophy”. He regularly appears on television, radio, online and in print.

Media: Headshot of a man with glasses, wearing a white shirt and dark jacket against a black background. He has short grey hair and a serious expression.

Dr Simon Longstaff

has been Executive Director of The Ethics Centre for over 25 years, working across business, government and society. He has a PhD in philosophy from Cambridge University, is a Fellow of CPA Australia and of the Royal Society of NSW, and in June 2016 was appointed an Honorary Professor at ANU – based at the National Centre for Indigenous Studies. Simon co-founded the Festival of Dangerous Ideas and played a pivotal role in establishing both the industry-led Banking and Finance Oath and ethics classes in primary schools. He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2013.

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Tech companies' responsibility: Person wearing VR headset and headphones, looking up. Ethical design principles for good technology.

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by The Ethics Centre