COLOMBO : Corporate respect cannot be shaped by strength, visibility, scale or financial !success alone. In Managing Director of Macksons Holdings Group , Mizver Makeen’s view, true respect is built through conduct that gives respect to its stakeholders – em-ployees, customers, and communities – by treating all with fairness, consistency and ethical choices.
“Respect cannot be bought, advertised or demanded. It can only be earned – and ethics is the foundation. When your word is your bond, people can rely on what is said. A business must be honest, principled and visible, yet still remain humble,” he asserts.
For Makeen, many demonstrate perfor-mance, but few demonstrate what people truly value – character- i.e. how a company treats its employees when there is no audi-ence, how it handles difficult situations, how it conducts its commercial dealings and whether its stakeholders can be relied upon.
“Ethics
ensures performance;
ethics
means doing what is right even when no one is watching. Credibility and trust are built through consistent, ethical behaviour of small, often unnoticed decisions.
Stake-
holders place their faith in organisations whose actions align with their words and that confidence becomes the foundation of respect,” he explains.
Makeen is equally clear that stakeholder trust is a two-way journey. “For customers, they’re reflected in product quality, fair pricing, timeliness and reliability; for employees, in how people are treated and provided opportunities for growth; and for society, in our take on fairness, compliance and our contribution on time and in good faith.
In today’s transparent world, where customers know more, compare more and have stronger voices, a company will not cut corners on quality or integrity without being persuaded. “When employees see
fairness in how they’re treated and promot-ed, they offer their loyalty and give their best.”
In Sri Lanka’s close-knit business environment, Makeen believes ethical consistency can become a powerful
competitive advantage.
Every promise
kept, every action rooted in good will and every breakthrough achieved while everybody faces challenges, strengthens credibility while every broken promise undermines trust.
“Over time, that consistency administers its loyalty – and credibility is what transforms ordinary business relationships into lasting partnerships,” he averts.
The risks of compromising ethics are far-reaching. Legal and regulatory penalties may be serious but Makeen believes the greater damage is reputational and cultural. Trust takes years to spread quickly, linger in public memory and limit access to talent, partnerships, markets and investors in an increasingly compliant world.
real but only the least of it. The bigger risks are loss of reputation and cultural.
Reputational damage limits growth, weakens talent pipelines and narrows access to capital, markets and consumers for years,” he cautions.
“When employees see leaders cutting corners, they may begin to believe that integrity is optional, weakening culture from within. Makeen warns that “compro-mising ethics trades a temporary gain for permanent damage – it is the most expensive shortcut a business can take.”
Embedding ethical behaviour in decision making requires more than policies and statements. It must be visible in daily conduct and set from the top.
“Ethics must be visible in actions, not framed on walls. Leaders must be willing to walk away from profitable businesses that conflicts with their principles – and do so openly because those are the decisions an organisation remembers,” he
*This commitment must also be reflected in everyday practices – paying suppliers on time, being transparent with customers, enforcing governance standards regardless of seniority and maintaining product quality without compromise.
Equally, employees must feel empowered to question decisions without fear.”
*When a junior employee can challenge a senior manager on a matter of principle and be heard, ethics is no longer a policy; it is the culture,” he declares.
“For Makeen, financial success cannot compensate for ethical shortcomings.
It may attract attention, but respect depends on how that success was achieved.
“Wealth built
on
compromised
principles must be constantly defended; respect built on integrity defends itself.
Profits are what a company garners but respect is what a company is. And while you realise profits, you give back to the community,” he affirms.
An ethical outlook is the foundation that sustains every other measure of success. As Makeen sums up, “Trust is earned through ethical conduct, credibility is built through consistency and respect is the result of both.” ( Courtesy LMD magazine)
