how lo can u go?

todays wsj had a small article on an executive from eton park fund moving back to morgan stanley( he was once employed there). Considering the roller coaster hedge funds have been on, its quite a strategic move for the said above executive. eton's ceo said, in a nutshell, that he came he fixed and now hes gone. very tactful. that being said, i wonder how important is loyalty when it comes to business. how important is ethics. when one goes back or shifts to another firm, one brings with them ( depending on the position) a wealth of knowledge about the previous firms, the details of projects and investments they are involved in, but you also bring with you the relationships cultivated (i.e the clients aka moolah).

back in dubai, pple would pay a truckload of money to the relationship manager, not because of their intelligence or perhaps how quantitative they are or even how quick they are but more coz of the relationships they will bring with them. some pple refuse to be persuaded by the lure of the money and some not. im not saying either of the positions are to be judged. but its the norm and needless to say ure popularity is ure salary determinant.

so how important is ethics. after an interview today bunch of pple asked me so how was it? some even hinting the standard" behavioral or technical "but some more ambitious types "hint" even more :"so like what question did they ask u." mostly pple who rarely talk to me ask me the second. so is telling the person unethical (not to mention detrimental for your own chances). is asking the person unethical? or is it really no big deal. everyone does it. so why not u. u after all dont want to be left behind. and is the its not what you answer but the way you answer it actually true. and then another classmate mentioning how she absolutely hated the culture and people at the previous firm, is it ethical to tell that to an interviewer? and given that a person has a bad experience with a firm does it not make them prone to "spilling the beans". even the choice of words wsj uses: morg stan 'snags' former executive. 'snags' doesnt really give a good warm fuzzy feeling.

so is it really that big of a deal. is having the highest amount of ethics detrimental to you. where do u draw the line. or is there no such thing as being "ethical" and simply as my dad says its all about the survival of the fittest.