Is it unethical for a business to break a promise?

Question to Ask the Prof:

Q: Iberdrola, the company who bought RG&E wants to raise the rates to the customers by 16%. They also promised when they bought the company they wouldn?t raise the rates, is it right that they can do this now.

A (Professor Barbato):

Because the company is regulated, they won?t be able to raise the rates unless they convince a regulatory agency that such an increase is justifiable.? The ethics of raising the rates has little to do with a promise they made not to raise rates.? They shouldn?t have made such an impossible promise and people shouldn?t have believed them.? A promise is simply an emphatic way of indicating your intentions.? However, those intentions may have to change for a very good reason, and in that case you would have to break your promise.? You would also have to break a promise if keeping your promise meant that you would be doing something unethical. ?A promise should never be binding for all circumstances and everyone should understand that.

Because the company is regulated, they won?t be able to raise the rates unless they convince a regulatory agency that such an increase is justifiable.? The ethics of raising the rates has little to do with a promise they made not to raise rates.? They shouldn?t have made such an impossible promise and people shouldn?t have believed them.? A promise is simply an emphatic way of indicating your intentions.? However, those intentions may have to change for a very good reason, and in that case you would have to break your promise.? You would also have to break a promise if keeping your promise meant that you would be doing something unethical. ?A promise should never be binding for all circumstances and everyone should understand that.

Source: http://centers.scb.rit.edu/ethics/2011/06/977/

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