That is the general trend. But one has to distinguish between individual ethics, i.e., a person's basic attitude, and institutional ethics, i.e., the ethos of the institution of which he or she is a part. The only real global markets are the financial and capital markets. Un-regulated capital flows have altered the balance of power. Today they exert enormous pressure on the management of the companies in which they hold sizeable stock to make shareholder value the top priority.
Governments trip over themselves to attract investment by offering favorable conditions.
If a country's economic policy is not aimed at maximizing shareholder value, the capital markets threaten to impose severe penalties in the form of massive capital flight. These of course influence corporate be-havior, so managers are the victims of the shareholder value dogma, not the culprits. Simply recognizing that fact could free them to the extent to which they are willing to pursue this one-sided goal in their tough and demanding jobs. The transformation began with the rise of Thatcherism and Reagan-omics. But the radical shift in values was pushed to ideological ex-tremes.