ETHICS- M1

• Ethics


  A set of moral principles or values that govern the actions and decisions of an individual or group
• While personal ethics vary from individual to individual, most people within a society are able to agree about what is considered ethical and unethical behavior
• A society passes laws that define what its citizens consider to be the more extreme forms of unethical behavior
• Characteristics and values associated with ethical behavior

  • Integrity
  • Honesty
  • Trustworthiness and Promise Keeping
  • Loyalty (Fidelity) and Confidentiality
  • Fairness and Openness
  • Caring for Others
  • Respect for Others
  • Responsible Citizenship
  • Pursuit of Excellence
  • Accountability
• Integrity


  Be principled, honorable, upright, courageous and act on convictions; do not be two-faced or unscrupulous, or adopt an end-justifies-the means philosophy that ignores principle
• Honesty


  Be truthful, sincere, forthright, straightforward, frank, candid; do not cheat, steal, lie, deceive or act deviously
• Trustworthiness and Promise Keeping


  Be worthy of trust, keep promises, full commitments, abide by the spirit as well as the letter of an agreement; do not interpret agreements in an unreasonably technical or legalistic manner in order to rationalize noncompliance or create excuses and justification for breaking commitments
• Loyalty (Fidelity) and Confidentiality


  Be faithful and loyal to family, friends, employers, client and country; do not use or disclose information learned in confidence; in a professional context, safeguard the influences and conflicts of interest
• Fairness and Openness


  Be fair and open-minded, be willing to admit error and, where appropriate, change positions and beliefs, demonstrate a commitment to justice, the equal treatment of individuals, and tolerance for acceptance of diversity; do not overreach or take advantage of another's mistakes or diversities
• Caring for Others


  Be caring, kind, and compassionate; share, be giving, be of service to others; help those in need and avoid harming others
• Respect for Others


  Demonstrate respect for human dignity, privacy, and the right to self-determination of all people; be courteous, prompt, and decent; provide others with the information they need to make informed decisions about their own lives; do not patronize, embarrass, or demean
• Responsible Citizenship


  Obey just laws; if all law unjust, openly protest it; exercise all democratic rights and privileged responsibly by participation (voting and expressing informed views), social consciousness, and public service; when in a position of leadership or authority, openly respect and honor democratic processes of decision making, avoid unnecessary secrecy or concealment of information, and assure that others have all the information they need to make intelligent choices and exercise their rights
• Pursuit of Excellence


  Pursue excellence in all matters; in meeting your personal and professional responsibilities, be diligent, reliable, industrious and committed; perform all tasks to the best of your ability, develop and maintain a high degree of competence, be well informed and well prepared; do not be content with mediocrity; do not "win at any cost"
• Accountability


  Be accountable, accept responsibility for decisions, for the foreseeable consequences of actions and inactions, and for setting an example of others. Parents, teachers, employers, many professionals and public officials have a special obligation to lead by example, to safeguard and advance the integrity and reputation of their families, companies, professions and the government itself; an ethically sensitive individual avoids even the appearance of impropriety, and takes whatever actions are necessary to correct or prevent inappropriate conduct of others
• Ethical behavior is necessary for a society to function in an orderly manner. It can be argued that ethics is the glue that holds a society together
• Many commonly held ethical values are incorporated into laws
• A considerable portion of the ethical values of a society cannot be incorporated into laws because of the judgmental nature of certain values
• Business decisions influence employees, customers, suppliers and competitors, while company operations affect communities, governments and the environment
• Reasons why people act unethically

  • The person's ethical standards are different from those of society as a whole
  • The person chooses to act selfishly
• Principles of Personal Ethics

  • Basic justice, fairness
  • Respect for the right of others
  • Concern for the right of others
  • Concern for the well-being on welfare of others
  • Benevolence, trustworthiness, honesty
  • Compliance with the law
• Principles of Professional Ethics

  • Integrity, impartiality, objectivity
  • Professional competence
  • Confidentiality
  • Professional behavior
  • Avoidance of potential or apparent conflict of interest
• Principles of Business Ethics

  • Fair competition
  • Global as well as domestic justice
  • Social responsibility
  • Concern for environment
• The focus of this book is on Business Ethics
• Profession


  Disciplines long accorded professional status such as medicine, law, engineering, architecture, theology, and public accounting
• Characteristics of a Profession

  • A responsibility to serve the public
  • A complex body of knowledge
  • Standards of admission to the profession
  • A need for public confidence
• Careless work or lack of integrity of a professional may lead the public to a negative view toward the entire profession
• All professionals must have public confidence to be successful
• The members of the different professions act in unison by deriving their respective code of conduct
• General Principles of Professional Conduct


  • Service to Others
  • Integrity and Objectivity
  • Professional Competence
  • Solidarity and Teamwork
  • Social and Civic Responsibility
  • Global Competitiveness
  • Equality of All Professions
• Examples of Code of Conduct and Ethics for Professionals are shown in the appendices
• Examples of Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for Private Enterprises are presented in the appendices