Business and ethics.

The belief that `he who does not work does not eat' does not allow us to reject those that are incapable of living without the help of others, stated the Mayor of Rzeszow opening a conference for businesspeople in the southeast Polish market town in April.

The conference theme was `The application of business values in the West and the new market economies'. Some 60 people attended meetings over two-and-a-half days in Rzeszow's beautiful old town hall.

Many spoke frankly about the ethical dilemmas they faced. Jaroslav Hrybalski from Ukraine is wheelchair-bound and runs a workshop which employs disabled people. He was only able to start his business because of subsidies from Canada and the Netherlands. `Is it ethical to make a profit from such a business in the Ukraine?' he asked.

`Unemployment is so high that even the healthy have big problems finding a job. I find it difficult to charge the disabled for repairs. They would like to be mobile but cannot satisfy their basic needs.'

Some spoke of the importance of honesty in business. Polish businessman Marian Burda faced difficulties because the average salary in Warsaw was almost double that in a small city like Przemysl. To raise the salaries of workers in Przemysl would make their products uncompetitive. And he did not want to make Warsaw workers redundant, or lose them by lowering their wages. He stated that, in order to survive, a company must observe certain ethical rules, and that applied both to employers and employees. He emphasized the importance of honesty in contacts with people.

As one Polish businessman said on local TV, the conference offered a unique experience of openness and respect for people. He would go back to his company and think out how to apply what he had learned--for instance, by relating differently to his employees.