Affluenza and Business Ethics

Over the course of the last three decades, social and cultural discourse in the United States has changed markedly. While these changes have been due in part to the process of globalization-i.e. many individuals now realize that Americans are part of a larger global community-this change has also been spurred by the proliferation of technology and mass media. The development of technology and mass media has had a profound impact on how individuals in society view themselves, their values and their overall worth.

In an effort to better understand how technology and mass media have impacted the development of society in recent years, researches have begun to study how the individual pursuit of the American dream has turned into a moral and ethical crisis for society. Affluenza, which is defined as the cycle of stress, overwork and indebtedness that fosters a human drive toward materialism, has been widely examined by researchers in recent years (Harmon, 2001). Affluenza, which is a modern ideology, has been identified as a central problem for the ethical and moral development of society.

With the realization the affluenza has been noted to be such a considerable boon to ethical and moral social development, there is a clear impetus to take a closer look at this issue. To this end, this brief investigation considers the issue of affluenza from the standpoint of the modern organization. By nothing the overall problems associated with the process of affluenza, it will be possible to demonstrate that not only is affluenza having a negative impact on society, it is this issue that may be responsible for decreasing standards of ethics in the context of business. In short, the drive toward materialism in society has grown so extensive that individuals now believe that they must undertake whatever means necessary to ensure their personal material wealth.

Affluenza-An Overview

As noted above, the process of affluenza describes the perpetual state of development which shapes the individual's drive toward materialism. As noted by Harmon (2001) mass media has produced a culture in which Americans now believe that everyone in society has achieved the American dream. Thus, in an effort to capture the spirit of the American dream, as it is portrayed in the mass media, many individuals find themselves succumbing to long work schedules and indebtedness as a means to carve out their own American dream. Affluenza describes the complex interplay that has developed as a result of mass media's impact on the average citizen. Overall, affluenza argues that mass media has pushed the average citizen toward materialism as a central means for social development.

When examined in these basic terms, it does not appear as of affluenza is a negative social force overall. Rather, it would seem that affluenza has created a culture in which many Americans are willing to work hard to make their dreams come true. While this may indeed be true in many cases, researchers examining the impact of affluenza on individuals have noted that this drive toward materialism can have a negative impact on psychological well being (Sheridan, 2001). For instance, as noted by Sheridan (2001) the drive toward personal materialism is one that does not offer any release for the individual. The goals of affluence are to keep up with the "Joneses." However, even when this state is achieved, Sheridan argues that the individual will never experience a positive release from this process. This is because even though one may have been able to been the Joneses, it will not be long before the Smiths or the Browns introduce a higher standard of living that challenges what has already been accomplished.

In its simplest form, affluenza appears to be the individual's desire to achieve and attain affluence (Hutcheson, 2001). This phenomenon has been exacerbated in recent years because of the manner in which mass media portrays society as a whole. Overall, people are beautiful and young, cars are new and homes are extravagant. As a direct result of these images, individuals have come to believe that all of society lives an affluent existence. Further, many individuals have come to believe that this affluent style is to be prized above all others. Thus, it is not surprising to find that many individuals will take what ever steps are necessary to ensure the idealized version of modern life is captured (Hutcheson, 2001).

Affluenza and Ethics

While researchers have not studied the direct links between affluenza and ethics, investigations into the impact of affluence on ethical development has clearly been noted. For example Dobson (1999) has noted the challenges that face businesses in their efforts to maximize profits overall. According to this author, affluence for the organization becomes such a critical issue for development that organizations must weigh the decisions that they make with the ethical realities produced by these decisions. In particular, Dobson notes that organizations could chose to use sweatshop labor as a means to reduce production costs. While this will ultimately mean higher profits for the organization, it will also mean engaging in activities that are considered to be highly unethical.

When the issues of affluence and affluence in the organization are expanded, it becomes evident that affluenza could be directly linked to recent corporate scandals at Enron, WorldCom and Tyco. Individuals in these organizations had become so overwhelmed with the desire for affluence that they felt they had no other choice but to engage in unethical behavior as a means to achieve the wealth that they desired. The desire for affluence pushed these individuals beyond their limits, making it impossible for them to ignore the potential for generating excessive amounts of wealth. The lure of wealth was so strong that these organizations bankrupted their organizations and cost employees and investors millions of dollars in lost savings.

Unfortunately, what this demonstrates is that the proliferation of affluenza in society will eventually have a negative impact on both the ethics of the organization and the ethics of individual employees. As the desire for wealth and affluence increases and individual employees find that they are not able to achieve notable wealth from hard work and long hours, the stress of affluenza may eventually give rise to unethical practices that temporarily alleviate the stress caused by this condition. While it is evident that unethical behavior will not lead to long-term satisfaction-in fact, in most cases it may lead to more stress because of the guilt involved-those caught up in this cycle of affluenza may not be able to understand the ramifications of their actions, until they are arrested for their acts.

Conclusion

Overall, affluenza has the potential to have a negative impact, not only on the individual but also on business as a whole. As the drive toward materialism pushes individuals to seek alternative methods for alleviating the stress associated with long hours and little gain, the ethical behavior of many individuals will decline. In the case of recent corporate scandals, the ethical behavior of the most affluent in the company was affected. With this in mind, it is reasonable to understand how average, everyday employees will eventually become trapped in the cycle of affluenza. For the organization this could mean more problems when it comes to the ethical behavior of employees. Thus, managers and leaders need to be aware of the epidemic of affluenza that is sweeping the United States. Like most communicable diseases, the best way to improve outcomes is to find proactive preventative solutions that prevent the development and spread of the disease.

References

Dobson, J. (1999). Is shareholder wealth maximization immoral. Financial Analysts Journal, 55(5), 67-75.

Harmon, M.D. (2001). Affluenza: Television use and the cultivation of materialism. Mass Communication & Society, 4(4), 405-418.

Hutcheson, J.O. (2001). Family business flu. Financial Planning, 31(4), 159-161.

Sheridan, R. (2001, October). The psychopathology of affluence. International Money Marketing, 40.