Ethics - Lecture 2

• Ethics also known as Moral Philosophy is a branch of philosophy concerned with conduct and character. Is the systematic study of the principles and methods for distinguishing what is right or wrong, and good or bad.
• Ethics is derived from the Greek “ethos” means custom or habitat.
• Culture is explicitly defined by the British anthropologist Edward B. Tylor. It is the complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by an individual as a member of society.
• Culture is a set of common values, norms, beliefs, and ideas shared by members of the same group. Sum of total human knowledge and the acquired behavior of humans.
• CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE

  1. Culture is shared and transmitted.
  2. Culture is learned and acquired.
  3. Culture is a social phenomenon.
  4. Culture gratifies human needs.
  5. Culture is dynamic.
  6. Culture is integrated.
• • Culture is shared and transmitted.

  - It is shared by and is transmitted to and among members of a social group.
• • Culture is learned and acquired.

  - It is acquired through experiences.
• • Culture is a social phenomenon.

  - Product developed by many persons interacting in a group.
• • Culture gratifies human needs.

  - People tend to habitually use systems that satiate their basic human desire

  in all aspects.
• • Culture is dynamic.

  - It is dynamic, not static.
• • Culture is integrated.

  - The components of culture-attitudes, values, ideas, and moral norms- are integrated into whole system for individuals in the same social environment to share.
• CULTURAL VIEWS

  1. Ethnocentrism
  2. Xenocentrism
• Ethnocentrism - tendency to perceive and judge others according to one’s cultural standards.
• Xenocentrism - tendency to value other cultures more highly than one’s own.
• CULTURE IS A SHARED WAYS OF LIFE OF PEOPLE LIVING TOGETHER IN THE SAME ENVIRONMENT. WITHIN A CULTURE, THERE ARE ALSO EXISTING SUBCULTURES THAT HAVE THEIR OWN BELIEF AND VALUE SYSTEMS.
• HUMAN LIMITATION AND WEAKNESSES CAN CAUSE CULTURES TO PROGRESS OR REGRESS. IT SHOULD NOT BE AN OBSTACLE TO STRIVE FOR CULTURAL OR MORAL PROGRESS. NORMAL NORMS ARE FOUND IN EVERY CULTURE BUT MORAL PERSPECTIVE AND PRACTICES VARY FROM CULTURE TO CULTURE AND FROM INDIVIDUAL TO INDIVIDUAL.
• ORGANIZATION’S CULTURE ALSO REVEAL THE UNWRITTEN ETHICAL STANDARDS THAT GUIDE EMPLOYEES IN THEIR DECISION-MAKING. ETHICAL STANDARDS ARE THE EXPLICIT CODE OF CONDUCT AN ORGANIZATION SETS TO BE FOLLOWED BY ITS MEMBERS.
• ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE REPRESENTS THE INTANGIBLE FORCE THAT CENTERS ON A COMPANY’S VALUES AND BELIEFS. THE CULTURE OF AN ORGANIZATION REFLECTED BY ITS REWARD AND PUNISHMENT SYSTEM SHOULD NOT JUST PURELY PROFIT- OR PERFORMANCE-ORIENTED.
• THE CULTURAL IDEAS, VALUES, AND PRACTICES OF A COUNTRY INFLUENCE THE CULTURE OF AN ORGANIZATION. THE KNOWLEDGE AND VALUES OF THE SOCIETY WHICH THE FOUNDER, LEADERS, AND MEMBERS BELONG, ARE ADAPTED AND BECOME THE HEART AND SOUL OF THE ORGANIZATION.
• WHAT MAKES A HUMAN BEING UNIQUE?

  Charles Darwin realized that human beings belong to the animal kingdom but are far different from other animals.
• WHAT MAKES A HUMAN BEING UNIQUE?

  Humans possess greater individual creativity, talents, and skills unmatched by any other earthly creatures.
• WHAT MAKES A HUMAN BEING UNIQUE?

  Human beings are social beings who have a more complex and sophisticated way of creating formal organizations and alliances.
• ATTRIBUTES OF HUMAN UNIQUENESS

  1. Personhood
  2. Family
  3. Culture
• Personhood - fundamentally anchored on the understanding of the individual self and personhood of others.
• Family - a product of a particular culture.
• Culture - influenced largely by mass media.
• The survival of human beings depends on how well they interact with each other. We cannot live by hating and hurting each other, therefore, harmonious relationships should be established and maintained. It is indeed necessary to have moral guidelines that support and strengthen the values of cooperation and love,
• Most culture hold onto the values that go beyond selfish interest or egocentrism. Means that the benefit of the whole community is highly significant and more important.
• Cultures of Wester, advanced, and liberal nations place high value on individualism and independence. Moral values promoting cooperation and honesty are always influenced by strict or loose laws. Religion, if understood and practiced properly, strengthens more values that promote pro-social behavior. Economic status, could influence the person’s values of cooperation, generosity, and honesty if he or she is overtaken by greed.