# Way to feel moral working in business



## CoopV (Nov 6, 2011)

I'm having a bit of a dilemma because I'm going into a career in marketing but yet I feel this constant feeling of feeling immoral just because I am working in business. So I was wondering... is there a way to feeling like a moral, just, and good person while still working in business?

I happen to be an INFJ which naturally I know doesn't make me the best type to work in business but I have been able to learn how to play the role. Yet there's still this little judge in me that keeps trying to sabotage everything by telling me "Corporations are evil! Business destroys the planet! You are contributing to evil consumerism! etc." 

So I'm wondering how can I get over this or change perspective because I would like to go to work everyday not feeling so conflicted :dry:


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## Dark Romantic (Dec 27, 2011)

Rationalize, rationalize, rationalize. Or, if that doesn't work, prioritize.


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## Swordsman of Mana (Jan 7, 2011)

eros5th said:


> I'm having a bit of a dilemma because I'm going into a career in marketing but yet I feel this constant feeling of feeling immoral just because I am working in business. So I was wondering... is there a way to feeling like a moral, just, and good person while still working in business?
> 
> I happen to be an INFJ which naturally I know doesn't make me the best type to work in business but I have been able to learn how to play the role. Yet there's still this little judge in me that keeps trying to sabotage everything by telling me "Corporations are evil! Business destroys the planet! You are contributing to evil consumerism! etc."
> 
> So I'm wondering how can I get over this or change perspective because I would like to go to work everyday not feeling so conflicted :dry:


- are you honest with people and not scamming anyone?
- are they choosing to buy from you?
- is your product beneficial to them?

if yes to all of these, then I don't see what's wrong with it. you are producing and creating win/win relationships. you should feel GOOD about yourself not bad


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## CoopV (Nov 6, 2011)

Swordsman of Mana said:


> - are you honest with people and not scamming anyone?
> - are they choosing to buy from you?
> - is your product beneficial to them?
> 
> if yes to all of these, then I don't see what's wrong with it. you are producing and creating win/win relationships. you should feel GOOD about yourself not bad


Hmmm that's a good point. I'll keep all that in mind... I need to stop with this archetype I have in my head of a cutthroat, immoral business person who only tries to make a quick buck. I've spent so long creating that image in my head which has been reinforced even more so lately by what's been going on with the economy. So it's hard for me to create my own image of what business person I want to be like.


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## Swordsman of Mana (Jan 7, 2011)

eros5th said:


> Hmmm that's a good point. I'll keep all that in mind... I need to stop with this archetype I have in my head of a cutthroat, immoral business person who only tries to make a quick buck. I've spent so long creating that image in my head which has been reinforced even more so lately by what's been going on with the economy. So it's hard for me to create my own image of what business person I want to be like.


these things are caused by corporations and politicians (many of whom are psychopaths) not legitimate businessmen. businesses create the economy, they ARE the economy


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## CoopV (Nov 6, 2011)

Swordsman of Mana said:


> these things are caused by corporations and politicians (many of whom are psychopaths) not legitimate businessmen. businesses create the economy, they ARE the economy


Thanks for this. That's a good way to view it. I guess it's just the worst ones that get the most coverage.


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## Tempest09 (Jun 19, 2011)

I wouldn't say that working in the marketing business automatically makes one a bad person. I think it depends what you make of it. Anyone can delve into the dark side of their chosen profession. Doesn't really matter what their specific field is. That's why there are business ethics and accountability. If you feel that marketing is less than respectable, but are still interested in it, then why not make it a guiding principal to improve the field at every opportunity you get? Follow your moral compass, do the right thing and people will notice. I will say, however, if your principals don't jive well with management, you will run the risk of not advancing as far or as quickly as you may hope. You may even risk being run out of your place of employment. There's not much you can do about the bad apples higher up on the tree except to avoid them when possible and to do your best to make their way of doing business outmoded and no longer tolerated by the community as a whole.


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## geekofalltrades (Feb 8, 2012)

Maybe you could dedicate yourself to purifying the field of marketing. If you can find a way to make "truth in advertising" move products, you'd certainly make the world a better place.

EDIT: No pressure. :tongue:


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## bellisaurius (Jan 18, 2012)

This is why we have codes of professionalism. Once you join a profession, the needs of society and people are better served by your acting according those standards. 

For example, a lawyer does things that are probably de facto immoral as an individual (for example, keeping a secret about someones innocence or guilt) , but in the context of either defending or convicting a criminal, lead to a better form of justice. 

In the case of being a marketing person, you are providing a service to public. People need to know what options are out there that will increase the quality of their life. Your job is to make the best case for your product, your rivals make the case for theirs. If you didn't do your job, the other side wins by default, and people aren't able to get the doohickey that they need because they aren't informed.

Besides. No job is innocent. Our mere existence can be seen as a sin to the planet if you stretch the definitions enough, subsistence farming, being a doctor, etc... To think that getting cheated by a corporation is better than getting cheated by a mom and pop is implying that evil matters more based on who is doing it.


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## bellisaurius (Jan 18, 2012)

Dark Romantic said:


> Rationalize, rationalize, rationalize. Or, if that doesn't work, prioritize.


In a way, this is sort of rationalizing about "why I'm wrong" instead of "why I'm right". A bit opposite of the way it's usually done.


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## Stephen (Jan 17, 2011)

eros5th said:


> I'm having a bit of a dilemma because I'm going into a career in marketing but yet I feel this constant feeling of feeling immoral just because I am working in business. So I was wondering... is there a way to feeling like a moral, just, and good person while still working in business?
> 
> I happen to be an INFJ which naturally I know doesn't make me the best type to work in business but I have been able to learn how to play the role. Yet there's still this little judge in me that keeps trying to sabotage everything by telling me "Corporations are evil! Business destroys the planet! You are contributing to evil consumerism! etc."
> 
> So I'm wondering how can I get over this or change perspective because I would like to go to work everyday not feeling so conflicted :dry:


If you feel immoral doing the work, then don't do it. Find something you don't feel bad about doing. Otherwise it's going to bother you, and doing the work will feel like a constant invalidation of your values. An INFJ I dated would not work for corporations, only non profit organizations, even though she could have been making a lot more money working for corporations. She got a lot more out of doing what she felt was more ethical work.


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