Introduction to Ethics

What is Ethics
The study of values and customs of a person or group. It covers the analysis and employment of concepts such as right and wrong, good and evil, and responsibility The term comes from the Greek word ethikos, which means "character".

Principles of Personal Ethics

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Concern for the well being of others; Respect for the autonomy of others; Trustworthiness and honesty; Willing compliance to law; Basic justice: being fair; Refusing to take unfair advantage; Benevolence: doing good; Preventing harm to any creature.

Principles of Professional Ethics

Impartiality; Trustworthiness and honesty; Openness: Full Disclosure; Confidentiality: Trust; Due Diligence: Duty of care; Fidelity to professional responsibilities; Avoiding potential or apparent conflict of interest.

What is Business Ethics?

Business ethics is the application of general ethical ideas to business behavior. It is based on the principle of integrity and fairness and concentrates on the benefits to the stakeholders, both internal and external

What is not Business Ethics?

1. Ethics is different from religion. 2. Ethics is not synonymous to law. 3. Ethical standards are different from cultural traits. 4. Ethics is different from feelings. 5. Ethics is not a science in the strictest sense of the term. 6. Ethics is not just a collection of values.

Code of Conduct and Ethics for Managers

Impartiality Responsiveness to public interest Accountability Honesty Transparency Integrity

Importance and Need for Business Ethics

A business organization competes in the global market on its own internal strength, in particular, on the strength of its human resource and on the goodwill of its stakeholders. The value-based management and ethics that an organization uses in its governance enables it to establish productive relationship with its internal customers, and lasting business relationship with its external customers.

Values and Ethics in Business

A value is a view of life and judgment of what is desirable. It is very much part of a persons personality and a groups morale. Business ethics relates to issues of what is right and what is wrong while doing business. What values are to individuals, ethics are to business. Business ethics operates as a system of values, relating business goals and techniques to specific human ends.

Why should Businesses act Ethically?

To protect its own interest, To protect the interests of the business community as a whole so that the public will have trust in it, To keep its commitment to society to act ethically, and To meet stakeholder expectations.

Why should Businesses act Ethically?

To prevent harm to the general public, To build trust with key stakeholder groups, To protect themselves from abuse from unethical employees and competitors, To protect their own reputations, To protect their own employees, and To create an environment in which workers can act in ways consistent with their values.

Ethical Decision-making
Is your decision fair? Is it a win-win situation for all? Is your decision legal? If it is not legal, it is not ethical.

How Corporations Observe Ethics in Their Organizations?

Publish in-house codes of ethics to be strictly followed by all their associates.

Employ people with a reputation for high standards of ethical behaviour at the top levels. Incorporate consideration of ethics into performance reviews. Give rewards for ethical behaviour.

How Corporations Observe Ethics in Their Organizations?

SEBI, CII and such other organizations representing corporations issue codes of best practices and enjoin their members to observe them.

IIMs and highly rated B-schools give extensive and intensive instruction in business ethics, corporate social responsibility and corporate governance as part of their curriculum. Conduct an Ethics Audit.

Corporate Governance Ethics

Corporate governance is a set of rules that governs the administration and management of companies. Its goalposts are transparency, integrity, full disclosure of financial and nonfinancial information, and protection of stakeholders interests.

Benefits from Managing Ethics in Workplace

Attention to business ethics improves society. Ethical practice contributes towards high productivity and strong team work. Changing situations require ethical education. Ethical practices create strong public image. Strong ethical practices act as an insurance.

What is Morality
The behavior of making value Judgment We are faced with ethical decisions every day. - What is right or wrong, good or bad, ethical or not? People make decisions based a set of values established early in life. Values are beliefs, principles, standards, and qualities considered desirable.

Where does morality come from?

Where does morality come from?

Parents Religion Peers Technology

Parents
Parents instill ethics and morals in children. Example: A child yells at their friend calling them a name. How does the parent respond?

Religion
Most religions set guidelines on how to make moral judgments. Example: In the Christian religion the ten commandments serve as guidelines for making ethical and moral judgments.

Peers
Friends effect your moral judgments. Example: A friend or acquaintance might coax you to use drugs. Peer pressure can sometimes cause people to make moral and ethical decisions.

Technology
Technology provides many opportunities to make moral and ethical decisions. Example: Copying computer games and violating copyright laws.

Ethics into three sub-branches

Descriptive ethics Meta ethics Normative ethics

Descriptive ethics
We consider the actual conduct of individuals or personal morality and of groups or social morality Descriptive ethics aims at empirically and precisely mapping existing morality or moralities within communities and is therefore linked to the social sciences.

Meta ethics
Here interest is centered on the analysis and meaning of the terms and language used in ethical discourse and the kind of reasoning used to justify ethical statements

Normative ethics
Which is concerned with the principles by which we ought to live Normative ethics means the methodological reflection upon morality tackling its critique and its rationale.