No shades of gray.

• Author: Smiley, Raymond
• Position: Interview with Eaton Corp. chmn and CEO Stephen Hardis - Interview

Q: * What's your personal definition of * good ethical and moral conduct for businesses and for individuals?

Stephen Hardis, chairman and CEO of Eaton Corp.: The basic elements of ethical and moral behavior - how people conduct themselves, their respect for others, their sense of integrity - are the same in business as in daily life.

In most cases, ethical questions answer themselves when they're discussed aloud. For example, if I were asked if Eaton would facilitate an under-the-table payment in a Third World country, simply saying the question aloud provides the answer: Of course, we wouldn't.

By asking ourselves if we would be willing to do something dishonest, inconsistent with the laws either of our country or the local country with which we do business, or inconsistent with the way we want to be perceived by our customers and competitors, the question goes away. When it comes to integrity, there are no shades of gray. You're either honest or you're not.

Q: Has the public's perception of good ethical values changed?

There's a level of public cynicism that applies to almost every institution - including our elected officials and certainly business. My perception is people are quicker to assume unethical conduct or behavior has become the norm. Business is affected by that cynicism. I don't think it's warranted, but would say the general perception is more cynical than less. I think it has more to do with problems like Watergate, Irangate and campaign finance abuses. Then you hear scandals associated with religious leaders and other prominent people. After a while, the average person thinks everybody, one way or another, is for sale.

It would be too easy to blame it on the media, though. Reporters have had too many stories like Watergate and Irangate to cover. You've got a president who had a 64-percent approval rating who has faced legal actions charging him with sexual harassment and has been investigated for his personal dealings. I don't think you can blame that on the media.

I believe very much in the First Amendment and think, to the extent the media has become a watchdog, it has been effective.

Q: Does technology foster dishonesty?

There's no question, with the widespread use of information technology and movement of funds electronically, if you're inclined to be unethical, you now have tools at your disposal to spy on people, to access their databases, to steal money, to put in false entries. It gives unethical people much more...