Understanding

Ethics

MS. PREETI BHASKAR

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
ICFAI BUSINESS SCHOOL
 Content
• Ethics, Moral & value
• Ethical absolutism, relativism, subjectivism, Meta Ethics, Applied Ethics
• Normative Ethics( Teleological Ethics, deontological ethics & Ethics by
virtue)
• Traditional Ethical Theories : Consequential & Non Consequential
• Ethics of Rights : Moral Right, Legal right, Positive Right, Negative right,
Kantian Right & Categorical Imperative
• Ethics of Justice : Distributive Justice, Retributive justice & Compensatory
justice,
• Ethics of care - Law and morality:
• Kohlberg Model
• Gilligan Model
ETHICAL DILEMMA

You are applying for the job of sales associate. You have just found out that you
will be given a personality assessment as part of the application process. You
feel that this job requires someone who is very high in extraversion, and
someone who can handle stress well. You are relatively sociable and can cope
with some stress but honestly you are not very high in either trait. The job pays
well and it is a great stepping-stone to better jobs.

Discussion Questions
◉ How are you going to respond when completing the personality questions?
◉ What are the advantages and disadvantages of completing the questions honestly?
◉ Are you going to make an effort to represent yourself as how you truly are?
◉ What are the advantages and disadvantages of completing the questions in a way
you think the company is looking for?
BUSINESS ETHICS
What does an ethic mean to you?
Some years ago, one sociologist asked business people,
"What does an ethic mean to you?" Among their replies
were the following:

◉ "Ethics has to do with what my feelings tell me is right or

wrong.“
◉ "Ethics has to do with my religious beliefs."
◉ "Being ethical is doing what the law requires."
◉ "Ethics consists of the standards of behavior our society
accepts.”
◉ "I don't know what the word means."
Business ethics

Business ethics refers to contemporary organizational standards,

principles, sets of values and norms that govern the actions and
behavior of an individual in the business organization.

"Managing ethical behavior is one of the most

pervasive and complex problems facing business
organizations today"
 Researchers at the Institute of Leadership and
Management in the UK asked 1600 managers what
they think is unethical behavior in a workplace.
Here's the complete list:

◉ Taking shortcuts / shoddy work: 72%

◉ Lying to hide mistakes: 72%
◉ Badmouthing colleagues: 68%
◉ Passing the buck 67%
◉ Slacking off when no one is watching: 64%
◉ Lying to hide your colleagues' mistakes: 63%
◉ Taking credit for other colleagues' work: 57%
◉ Lying about skills and experience: 54%
◉ Taking low value items: 52%
 Kinds of Unethical Behavior in
Business
Theft
Lying to employees
Violating company internet policies
Vendor Relationships
Bending the Rules
Environmental damage
Wages and Working Conditions
Misusing company time
Mistreating Employees
Misrepresentation
Financial Misconduct
Abusive behavior
Importance of Ethics

Improve
Stop Business Survival of Safeguarding
Customers'
Malpractices Business Consumers' Rights
Confidence
Protecting
Develops Good Creates Good Smooth
Employees and
Relations Image Functioning
Shareholders

Consumer Consumer Importance of Healthy

Movement Satisfaction Labour/ employees Competition
 Ethics vs. Morals

Origin Greek word "ethos" meaning“ Latin word "mos" meaning

character” "custom”
What are they? The rules of conduct recognized in Principles or habits with respect to
respect to a particular class of human right or wrong conduct. While
actions or a particular group or morals also prescribe dos and
culture. don'ts, morality is ultimately a
personal compass of right and
wrong.
Where do they Social system - External Individual - Internal
come from?
Why we do it? Because society says it is the right Because we believe in something
thing to do. being right or wrong.
Flexibility Ethics are dependent on others for Usually consistent, although can
definition. They tend to be consistent change if an individual’s beliefs
within a certain context, but can vary change.
between contexts.

Acceptability Ethics are governed by professional Morality transcends cultural norms

and legal guidelines within a
particular time and place
 Morals

Morals are the social, cultural and religious beliefs or values of

an individual or group which tells us what is right or wrong.
They are the rules and standards made by the society or culture
which is to be followed by us while deciding what is right. Some
moral principles are:

Do not cheat

Be loyal
Be patient
Always tell the truth
Be generous

Morals refer to the beliefs what is not objectively right, but

what is considered right for any situation, so it can be said that
what is morally correct may not be objectively correct.
 Value

Organisations often have a set of values or principles which reflect the way
they do business or to which they aspire to observe in carrying out their
business. As well as business values such as innovation, customer service and
reliability, they will usually include ethical values which guide the way
business is done - what is acceptable, desirable and responsible behaviour,
above and beyond compliance with laws and regulations.

The most common ethical values found in corporate literature include:

integrity, fairness, honesty, trustworthiness, respect, openness. They are
commonly expressed through an ethics policy and a code of ethics.
Ethical Performance

◉ Ethical business performance means adhering to society’s

basic rules that define right and wrong behavior

◉ Major Social challenges faced by business is to balance

ethics and economics.

◉ Society wants business to be ethical and economically

profitable at the same time

Whereas

Ethics conflicts with profits

Sources of Ethics

Codes of Conduct
Legal System

Philosophical
Systems

Religion

General
Inheritance
Ethical theories

• Meta-ethics
• Normative ethics
– Teleological ethical theory
– Deontological ethical theory
– Virtue ethics
• Applied ethics
 Ethical Theories

Meta-ethics Normative ethics Applied ethics

Teleological / Right / Wrong

Consequential theory Depends on the outcome of decisions

Deontological / Non- Right / Wrong

Consequential theory Based on the action Itself

Virtue ethics
Deontology Teleology
Deontology is an approach to ethics which Teleology is an approach to ethics that adheres
adheres to the theory that an end does not to the theory that the end always justifies the
justify the means means.

Deontology is also known as duty-based Teleology is also known as results-oriented

ethics ethics.
Deontology adheres to the golden rule which It is also referred to as the greatest happiness
is to do unto others what you want them to do principle because it justifies an action if it
unto you produces the greatest happiness and least
amount of pain.

Deontology teaches to be fair and not to use Teleology teaches about doing whatever actions
others for selfish reasons produce a result that is agreeable to a person.
Deontology follows what is morally right Teleology examines past experiences in order to
based on the values that are instilled in each predict the results of a present action
person.
 Deontological
Ethics

◉ The term deontological comes from greek word “deon”

meaning “duty”
◉ This approach is duty based, action based approach, also
called humanitarian approach.
for example, the harming of some individuals in order to
help others. To the deontologist, each person must be
treated with the same level of respect and no one should
be treated as a means to an end.
 Teleological
ethics
◉ The word teleology comes from Greek ‘telos’ which means end or
purpose.
◉ Teleological theories of ethics focus on the consequences caused by an
action and are often referred to as "consequentalist" theories
◉ This is an ethics approach where actions are judged morally based upon
their consequences.
◉ One example of teleological ethics is ‘utilitarianism’. It states those actions
right that produces the greatest number of happiness to the greatest number
of people.
◉ This is an ethics approach where actions are judged morally based upon
their consequences.
◉ One example of teleological ethics is ‘utilitarianism’. It states those actions
right that produces the greatest number of happiness to the greatest number
of people.
 Situational
ethics

◉ In situational ethics right and wrong depend upon the situation.

◉ There are no universal, moral rules or rights. Each case is unique
and deserves a unique solution.
◉ It teaches that ethical decisions should follow flexible guidelines
rather than absolute rules.
◉ Since circumstances alter cases situations holds that in practice
what in sometimes and places call right in other times and places it
can be wrong.
◉ This approach says that actions aren’t considered bad and harmful
until and unless it is performed with a wrong intension.
◉ This ethics says end can justify means.
Moral absolutism

Moral absolutism is an ethical view that particular actions are

intrinsically right or wrong. Stealing, for instance, might be
considered to be always immoral, even if done for the well-being
of others (e.g., stealing food to feed a starving family), and even if
it does in the end promote such a good.

So as Nietzsche says “there are no moral phenomena, only moral

interpretations of phenomena.
•Lying is immoral
•Homosexuality is morally wrong
•Domestic violence is immoral
•Slavery is unjust and immoral
•Killing someone is immoral
Ethical relativism
Ethical relativism is the theory that holds that morality is relative to the norms
of one's culture. That is, whether an action is right or wrong depends on the
moral norms of the society in which it is practiced. The same action may be
morally right in one society but be morally wrong in another. For the ethical
relativist, there are no universal moral standards …. standards that can be
universally applied to all peoples at all times. The only moral standards
against which a society's practices can be judged are its own. If ethical
relativism is correct, there can be no common framework for resolving moral
disputes or for reaching agreement on ethical matters among members of
different societies.
•What’s right for you may not be what’s right for me.
•What’s right for my culture won’t necessarily be what’s right for your culture.
•No moral principles are true for all people at all times and in all places.
• Ethical subjectivism – the morally correct decision often depends
on the circumstances of a person making it. It holds that moral
statements are made true or false by the attitudes and/or
conventions of people, either those of each society, those of each
individual, or those of some particular individual
• Ethics of virtue – it emphasizes the role of individual traits. Virtue
Ethics (or Virtue Theory) is an approach to Ethics that emphasizes
an individual's character as the key element of ethical thinking,
rather than rules about the acts themselves (Deontology) or
their consequences (Consequentialism).
Meta-ethics

• It deals with the range of ethical issues

• It is defined as the study of the origin and meaning of ethical
concepts.
• It questions whether the moral values exist independently of
humans or they are simply human conventions!!!

• Meta-ethics is the branch of ethics that seeks to understand the

nature of ethical properties, statements, attitudes, and judgments.
 Ethics of Rights

Legal rights are rights that people have under some legal system, granted
by a duly authorized legal authority or government. For example, where I
live, kids have a legal right to an education (Kindergarten up to Grade
12). And consumers have a legal right to know the basic ingredients and
nutritional profile of packaged foods.

Moral rights are rights accorded under some system of ethics. These
might be grounded in mere humanity — they might be rights that all
people deserve just because they are humans, or because they are rational
beings, or whatever. Examples might be the right to be treated fairly, or
the right to privacy. If I have a right to privacy, then you (and others) are
obligated not to invade my privacy.
Kantian Right- Kant's theory is an example of a deontological moral
theory–according to these theories, the rightness or wrongness of actions
does not depend on their consequences but on whether they fulfill our
duty. Kant believed that there was a supreme principle of morality, and he
referred to it as The Categorical Imperative. Categorical imperative
where the actions that a person does will be the maxim for universal law.

The Golden rule just is treat others as you would want them to treat you.
The difference is that Categorical Imperative implies everyone or being
universal and not just person to person
Positive rights require others to provide you with either a good or service
A negative right, on the other hand, only requires others to abstain from
interfering with your actions.
Positive rights are the rights to something from someone. Somebody
gives you something, you have the right (obligation) to return it.

Negative rights do not require you to act upon to receive the right (like
the bill of rights, right to not be killed etc).
Justice and fairness
Managers who are fair in their dealings are
generally more successful in motivating their
subordinates than those who are not. A reputation
for being unfair or biased is surely going to be a
liability for managerial success. FAIR UNFAIR

. 13–2
 Ethics of justice

Ethics of justice, also known as morality of justice, is the term used

by Carol Gilligan in In a Different Voice* to describe the ethics and
moral reasoning common to men and preferred by Kohlberg's stages of
moral development. The ethics of justice deals with moral choices
through a measure of rights of the people involved and chooses the
solution that seems to damage the least number of people

*In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development is a book on gender studies by
American professor Carol Gilligan, published in 1982, which Harvard University Press calls "the little book that
started a revolution".
 Types of justice

COMPENSATORY JUSTICE: refers to the extent to

which people are fairly compensated for their injuries by
those who have injured them; just compensation is
proportional to the loss inflicted on a person
DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE : is concerned with the
fair allocation of resources among diverse members
of a community.
RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE: is a theory of justice that
holds that the best response to a crime is a
punishment proportional to the offense, inflicted
because the offender deserves the punishment..
13–3
 Ethics of justice

Ethics of justice, also known as morality of justice, is the term used

by Carol Gilligan in In a Different Voice* to describe the ethics and
moral reasoning common to men and preferred by Kohlberg's stages of
moral development. The ethics of justice deals with moral choices
through a measure of rights of the people involved and chooses the
solution that seems to damage the least number of people

*In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development is a book on gender studies by
American professor Carol Gilligan, published in 1982, which Harvard University Press calls "the little book that
started a revolution".
 Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of
moral development
• Six stages of moral development are grouped into three levels of
morality: pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional
morality.

http://kindlycai.blogspot.com/
The levels and stages of Kohlberg's theory can understand better with the use
of Heinz Dilemma:
In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was
one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that
a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive
to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to
make. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the
drug.
The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the
money, but he could only get together about $ 1,000 which is half of what it
cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it
cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said: "No, I discovered the drug
and I'm going to make money from it." So Heinz got desperate and broke into
the man's store to steal the drug-for his wife.

Should the husband have done that?

STAGE 1 (obedience): Heinz should not steal the medicine because he
will be put in jail.
STAGE 2 (self-interest): Heinz should steal the medicine because he
will be much happier if he saves his wife, even if he will have to serve a
prison sentence.
STAGE 3 (conformity): Heinz should steal the medicine because his
wife expects it.
STAGE 4 (law and order): Heinz should not steal the medicine because
the law prohibits stealing.
STAGE 5 (human rights): Heinz should steal the medicine because
everyone has a right to live, regardless of the law.
STAGE 6 (universal human ethics): Heinz should steal the medicine,
because saving a human life is a more fundamental value than the prop.
rights of another person
Ethics of care
• The ethics of care is a normative ethical theory that holds that
moral action centers on interpersonal relationships and care or
kindness as a virtue.

Gilligan’s Theory
Carol Gilligan opines that Kohlberg’s theories are biased upon
the male thinking process. According to Gilligan, Kohlberg seemed to
have studied only privileged men and boys. She believed
that women face a lot of psychological challenges and they are not
moral widgets. The women’s point of view on moral development
involves caring which shows its effect on human relationships.
 Ethics of care
The moral development in Gilligan’s theory are based on pro-social behaviors such
as Altruism, caring and helping and the traits such as honesty, fairness and
respect.
• Pre-conventional Level
A person in this stage cares for oneself to ensure survival.
Though the person’s attitude is selfish, this is the transition phase, where the person
finds the connection between oneself and others.
• Conventional Level
In this stage, the person feels responsible and shows care towards other people.
Carol Gilligan believes that this moral thinking can be identified in the role of a
mother and a wife. This sometimes leads to the ignorance of the self.
• Post-conventional Level
This is the stage, where the principle of care for self as well as others, is accepted.
However, a section of people may never reach this level.
Thanks!