It's not how much money we make, but how we make it

Sir Roger Carr, in his opening speech to the CBI conference, said it could be because of bad business behaviour.

Sir Roger, who is chairman of Centrica and a Bank of England director, urged businessmen to demonstrate that ‘we are a generation who are focused not just on how much money we make, but also on how we make money’. He added: ‘We must salvage the reputation of business.’

Obviously he wasn’t specifically referring to Jersey, but what he had to say certainly resonates locally. I wasn’t at the conference, so I don’t know his exact words, but according to his prepared speech on the CBI website, Sir Roger was pretty scathing about some parts of the business community in the UK.

He said: ‘With businesses and individuals, standards have been variable, greed prevalent and fairness forgotten in a number of sectors, with banking and media at the forefront. But others from all walks of life are showing signs of bad behaviour. It has given commentators a licence to tar all with the same brush, and to poison the minds of many as to the values – and value – of business in society.

‘No one should expect forgiveness from those who have lost their homes, their jobs, their reputations, their privacy or their prospects through the misdeeds of the powerful and contemptible few.’

As one of those commentators who try not to tar everyone with the same brush, I must point out that he then went on to say that lessons have been learned and that changes are in hand so that the direction of travel is now positive.

‘Nevertheless, we must stop saying that leaders don’t care when they do, that all energy companies rip you off when they don’t, that all bankers are despicable when they are not, or that big business is bad business when it isn’t,’ the CBI president added.

‘Those making things better should be supported, and those creating wealth should be rewarded, and business – big, medium and small – when doing good business, should be respected. Only then will society and business be at one. Good governance and great performance must go hand in hand.’

SO what has this got to do with Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf’s complaint that after tax a packet of cigarettes in Jersey is still £1.12 more expensive than in the UK? Could this be an example of Sir Roger’s ‘prevalent greed’ and an over-concentration on how much money is being made, not on how it is made?

Is poor business behaviour a reason why profit margins are so high in some Jersey industries?

The Treasury Minister, for one, is far too polite to claim outright that some Island businessmen are ripping off the public. However, it is a fact that greed is often mentioned when talking about Jersey society. That’s because everyone seems to be at it. You hear of greedy landlords, greedy plumbers, greedy lawyers and even greedy States Members.

Greedy importers can claim that they have to pay inflated prices, because they are being ripped off by freight charges, labour costs and, of course, rents. They can therefore justifiably say that their prices are high because the cost of doing business in Jersey is high. That’s because they are being ripped off, in the same way that the public is being ripped off.

Of course they could make a stand and refuse to pass on high prices, but they wouldn’t last long in a community where business is sometimes considered a blood sport.

Perhaps using the word ‘greed’ is unfair, because according to my online dictionary, it simply means ‘a strong desire for more’. But that is what motivates a large part of society in Jersey, as it does just about everywhere else. So it’s not just a question about business; it’s a question about morality, and not just the morality of businessmen.

In his speech, Sir Roger was clear that criticism of the current level of business ethics does not apply to all, but he said there was a lot of work to be done to repair the reputation of business in the UK.

It would be surprising if this didn’t apply to Jersey as well. After all, we have communities here and in the UK that apparently believe that being a good businessman means you have to rudely and regularly tell your colleagues: ‘You’re fired.’

It may make good television, but it’s not going to appeal to the calibre of school-leaver or graduate that business desperately needs to attract.

The bottom line is that having a good reputation is as important for a business in the Island as it is in the UK, although this is rarely discussed. It’s not discussed perhaps because businessmen have considerable clout in a small community like Jersey. It’s very obvious that they create the wealth and the jobs on which we all depend, so we certainly don’t want to upset them unnecessarily.

Ministers quite rightly take a lot of notice of what the business community tells them, although some businessmen would no doubt claim that they don’t take enough notice.

It’s also very difficult running any kind of business in Jersey, and it’s particularly hard at the moment because of global economic problems and the need to adjust to a changing environment. Simply staying in business must therefore be the primary concern of many businessmen at present; considering ethics and morality is not likely to feature highly on their list of priorities.

However, as the CBI president made it clear, good governance should go hand in hand with good performance, and that is what every businessman should strive for. At the end of the day we will all benefit from it, he said.

It might even bring down the price of a packet of cigarettes in Jersey.

Peter Body is editor of Business Brief magazine