Within discourse theory, language is seen as constitutive of reality. Furth
ermore, facts and values are viewed as inseparable. This has consequences f
or business ethics. In this paper the relationship between discourse theory
and business ethics is discussed. Both the descriptive and prescriptive as
pects of business ethics are taken into account. Furthermore, an example of
an empirical study is presented. A discourse analysis is conducted to answ
er the questions of how bankers in Holland conceptualize and thus treat the
ir customers and whether there are differences between the largest three ba
nks. The article contains the description of five different discourses on c
ustomers within the banks.