An AIG Ethics Lesson

It might turn out that the AIG bonuses are legal. But even so, that does little to assuage public sentiment about the executive payouts. The reason is because people largely recognize the different between "Legal" and "Ethical," says the author, marketing professor at the Mendoza College of Business and co-director of the Institute for Ethical Business Worldwide. "In ethics classes, we talk about law being the floor. Some things are legal, but not ethical," the author says. "But I think that is what the outrage, or at least part of the outrage is about now."