Watching the proceedings of Rupert Murdoch’s appearance before British MPs this morning, it became clear that a post about the media mogul and News of the World would be imminent.  It was surreal to see the proceedings with the tycoon in general, and then a man attacked the 80-year-old Mr. Murdoch with a pie.  This incident very clearly demonstrates that when business ethics are involved, emotions can run very high on all sides.

Where does accountability begin and end when it comes to business ethics?  During the hearing, Mr. Murdoch stated that he did not accept responsibility for the wrongdoings that took place at the British tabloid.  Instead, he placed the responsibility on those running the newspaper (although he did use the word ‘laxity’ when describing himself).  James Murdoch, Mr. Murdoch’s son and deputy COO of News Corporation, insisted that he wanted to ‘put things right’ when it came to dealing with the scandal and its victims.  Simultaneously, both Murdochs insisted that they had no knowledge of the unethical practices going on at News of the World.

When it comes to business ethics, what does this perspective say about Rupert and James Murdoch and their responsibilities to stakeholders as Chairman and CEO and deputy COO, respectively?  Do they not have a fiduciary role to stakeholders when it comes to the responsible operation of News Corporation and its subsidiaries?  How seriously will NewsCorp tackle business ethics and corporate social responsibility enterprise-wide?  Similarly, with the likes of British PM David Cameron, among other public figures, and the entire FOX Broadcasting Company tied into the NewsCorp web, how seriously will NewsCorp be tackled by the public arena?

A clear lesson for any company, large or small, multinational or local – do not let ethics fall by the wayside when operating a business.  It should permeate operations, not be shunned as a lofty aspiration.