Ethics

Ethics refers to a system of moral principles a sense of right and wrong, and goodness and badness of actions and the motives and consequences of these actions. As applied to business firms, ethics is the study of good and evils, right and wrong and just and unjust actions of businessmen. Ethics is a body of principles or standards of human conduct that govern the behavior of individuals and groups. Ethics arise not simply from man's creation but from human nature itself making it a natural body of laws from which man's laws follow. Ethics is a branch of philosophy and is considered a normative science because it is concerned with the norms of human conduct, as distinguished from formal sciences such as mathematics and logic, physical sciences such as chemistry and physics, and empirical sciences such as economics and psychology. Ethics is seen as an individuals own personal attitude and a believe concerning what is right or wrong, good or bad. It is important to note that ethics reside within individuals and that organization doesnt have ethics. People have ethics. Consequently, its definition and understanding varies from person to person. These are not absolute, but are relative. Ethical behaviors are in the eye of beholder. What is right or wrong is a personal individual matter, but is still influenced by socially accepted norms. Right, and proper and fair are the ethical terms . It expresses a judgment about behavior towards people they felt to be just. Ethics are useful tools for sorting out the good and bad components within complex human interactions. Business ethics does not differ from generally accepted norms of good or bad practices. If dishonesty is considers to be unethical and immoral in the society, then any business man who is dishonest his or her employees, customers shareholders, or competitors is unethical and immoral person. Businessmen should not try to evolve their own principles to justify what is right and what is wrong

Formation of ethic:An individuals ethics are formulated through the operation of forces in the individuals environment. These are discussed in the succeeding paragraphs. Family influences The formation of ethics begins when the individual is a child. Thus the family environment has a significant influence in determining what the child learns about good and bad, right and wrong. Peer influences As the child develops contacts outside the home through home, school, play and work, peers exert considerable influence on the individuals ethical beliefs. Experiences As a person matures and develops as a human being, he or she will be exposed to many critical experiences that will be affect his or her ethical standards. Values and morals Ones ethical standards are also greatly influenced by values and morals. People who place high value on money and material possessions may not have strong ethical standard regarding behaviors that facilitate the accumulation of that wealth. Situation Factors People often change their ethics in response to unknown situational factors. An employee, who is threatened with loosing a job that has been held for years, may commit unethical acts in order to save the job. Religion One of the oldest sources of ethical inspiration is religion. More than 1,00,000 different religion exist across the globe .Despite doctrinal differences, the major religion coverage on the believe that ethics is an expression of divine will that reveals the nature of right and wrong in business and others walks of life. The legal system Laws are rules of conduct, approves by legislatures, that guide human behavior in any society .They codify ethical expectations and change as new evils emerge. But law cannot cover all ethical expectation of society. Whenever ethics the law codifies, it is binding on businesses. The society expects businesses to abide by the law. Obeying the law is presumed to be ethical behavior .Law breaking in business is common. Taxes are evaded, hundred of employees die because of

occupational disease, many perish because of industrial accidents, and million others receive disabling injuries on the job. The blame for these death and injuries had to be shared by employees and employers who fail to adhere to occupational health and safety laws. Consumer suffer because of poor quality and high priced products by the supplied by the businessmen .Businesses that degrade the environment by disregarding environment protection laws cause misery to the society.

Importance Of Business Ethics:Ethics is important to business in general and HR in particular, for several reasons as stated below: Ethics corresponds to basic human needs. It is men basic nature that he desires to be ethical, not only in his private life but also in his business affairs where, being a manager he knows that his decisions may affect the life of thousands of employees. Moreover, most people want to be the part of organization which they can respect and be proud of, because they perceive its purpose activities to be honest and beneficial to society. Most HR manager would like to respond to this need of their employees and, they (managers) themselves feel an equal need to be genuinely proud of the company they are directing. These bases ethical needs compel the organizations to be ethical oriented. Values create credibility with the public . A company perceived by the public to be ethical and socially responsive will be honored ands respected even by those who have no intimate knowledge of its actual working. There will be an instinctive prejudice in favour of its products, since people believe that the company offers value for money. Its public issues will attract an immediate response. Valued give the management credibility with its employees. Values are supposed to be a common language to bring the leadership and its people together.Organisational ethics, when perceived by employee as genuine, create common goals, values, and language. The HR management can have credibility with its employees simply because it has credibility with the people. Neither a sound business strategy, nor a generous compensation policy and fringe benefits can win employee credibility, but perceived moral and social uprightness can.

Values help better decision making. Another point of great importance is that an ethical attitude helps the management make better decisions, that is ,decision which are in the interest of the public, their employees, and the companys own long-term good, even though the decision making is slower. This is so because respect for ethics will force a management to take various aspecteconomic, social and ethical-in making decision. Ethics and profit go together. A company which is inspired by ethical conduct is also profitable. Value-driven companies are most likely to be successful in long run, though in the short run, they may lose money. Law cant protect society, ethics can. Ethics is important because, law and lawyer cannot do every thing to protect society. Technology develops faster than the government can regulate. People in an industry know the dangers in the particular technology better than the regulatory agencies.Futher; the government cannot always regulate all activities which are harmful to the society. Where law fails, ethics can succeed. An ethically-oriented management takes measures to prevent pollution and protect workers health even before being mended by law .An ethically sound HR manager, who can reach out to agitated employees, will quell a trouble more effectively than the police.

Business ethics:Companies, led by top management, are increasingly adopting ethical codes of conduct. Modern ethics codes aren't just some simple platitudes set in a break-room plaque. Companies now commit considerable time and money to illustrate their reliance on ethical behavior. Ethical behavior starts at the top. Before a company can expect to be viewed as ethical in the business community, ethical behavior within its own walls-to and by employees-is a must, and top management dictates the mood. Ethical behavior by the leaders of an organization will inevitably set the tone for the rest of the company-values will remain consistent. Further, a well-communicated commitment to ethics sends a powerful message that ethical behavior is considered to be a business imperative.

Companies are also interested in determining whether ethical behavior can be measured, just as efficiency and productivity companies must innovate ways to measure ethical behavior, which in turn motivates ethical behavior. Once training, measurement and a new ethical code have been developed, companies are also hiring full-time ethical compliance officers, and starting ethics hotlines to report possible policy violations. Hiring a full-time ethics officer is another signal to employees that ethical violations will be taken very seriously. However, this person isn't just a watchdog-they will take a proactive approach to identifying possible violations before they develop. Ethics are important not only in business but in all aspects of life because it is an essential part of the foundation on which of a civilized society is build. A business or society that lacks ethical principles is bound to fail sooner or later.

The Major Principles Of Business Ethics:1. No discrimination should be done on the basis of caste ,color , and religion, 2. The polices should be fair and transparent 3. Proper provision of safety should be provided by the company to the employees. 4. There should be proper honesty, loyalty, and integrity in the employees. 5. The companys resources should not be utilized by the employees for their personal usage 6. Company should provide better environment condition 7. Information about employees personal lives, health, and work evaluations should be kept confidential. 8. Regular measurement of employee satisfaction should by company. 9. To neither give nor take any illegal payment, remuneration, gift, donation, or comparable, benefits to obtain business or favors. 10. To comply with all regulations regarding preservation of the environment. 11. Employee should report to management any actual or possible violation of code or an event that could affect the business or reputation of the employees company.