What are Ethics?

Ethics are the set of moral principles that guide a person’s behavior. These morals are shaped by
social norms, cultural practices, and religious influences. Ethics reflect beliefs about what is
right, what is wrong, what is just, what is unjust, what is good, and what is bad in terms of
human behavior. They serve as a compass to direct how people should behave toward each other,
understand and fulfill their obligations to society, and live their lives.
While ethical beliefs are held by individuals, they can also be reflected in the values, practices,
and policies that shape the choices made by decision makers on behalf of their organizations.
The phrases business ethics and corporate ethics are often used to describe the application of
ethical values to business activities. Ethics applies to all aspects of conduct and is relevant to the
actions of individuals, groups, and organizations. In addition to individual ethics and corporate
ethics there are professional ethics. Professionals such as managers, lawyers, and accountants are
individuals who exercise specialized knowledge and skills when providing services to customers
or to the public. By virtue of their profession, they have obligations to those they serve.
For example, lawyers must hold client conversations confidential and accountants must display
the highest levels of honest and integrity in their record keeping and financial analysis.
Professional organizations, such as the American Medical Association, and licensing authorities,
such as state governments, set and enforce ethical standards. Ethics is relevant to you in your
everyday life as at some point in your professional or personal life you will have to deal with an
ethical question or problem, e.g. what is your level of responsibility towards protecting another
person from threat, or whether or not you should tell the truth in a particular situation?
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and
recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. 

What use is ethics?

If ethical theories are to be useful in practice, they need to affect the way human beings behave.
Some philosophers think that ethics does do this. They argue that if a person realizes that it
would be morally good to do something then it would be irrational for that person not to do it.
But human beings often behave irrationally - they follow their 'gut instinct' even when their head
suggests a different course of action. However, ethics does provide good tools for thinking about
moral issues.

Business Ethics Around the Globe

Social norms aren’t identical in different countries, and ethical standards can vary as well. A
business may operate in a country that permits actions that would be considered unethical under
that business’s ethical code. How will employees working in that country handle that situation,
especially if something that could be considered unethical in one place is actually thought to be
important to business success in the other? For instance, in some cultures it is customary for
business partners and customers to be invited to weddings, with the expectation that guests will
give a cash gift to the bride and groom. A company might consider the gift an unethical bribe in
exchange for a customer’s business, yet it may be essential to enter a new market. Adhering to
ethical standards in such instances can be difficult.
Personal Ethics
Personal ethics is any system that has been chosen in some way as a moral guide in the particular
life style.

Social Ethics
Standards that govern how members of a society are to deal with each other on issues such as
fairness, justice, poverty and the rights of the individual. The rightness of an action is based on
the customs and norms of a particular society or community (e.g., the usual way things are done
around here).

Religious Ethics
Most religions have an ethical component, often derived from purported supernatural revelation
or guidance. According to Simon Blackburn, "For many people, ethics is not only tied up with
religion, but is completely settled by it. Such people do not need to think too much about ethics,
because there is an authoritative code of instructions, a handbook of how to live.“

Religious Ethics:
Ethics, which is a major branch of philosophy, encompasses right conduct and good life. It is
significantly broader than the common conception of analyzing right and wrong. A central aspect
of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply satisfying, which is held by
many philosophers to be more important than traditional moral conduct. Some assert that religion
is necessary to live ethically. Blackburn states that, there are those who "would say that we can
only flourish under the umbrella of a strong social order, cemented by common adherence to a
particular religious tradition”.

Business Ethics
Business ethics is the study of good and evil, right and wrong, and just and unjust actions in
business. Although all managers face difficult ethical conflicts, applying clear guidelines
resolves the vast majority of them. Ethical traditions that apply to business support truth telling,
honesty, protection of life, respect for rights, fairness, and obedience to law. Eliminating
unethical behavior may be difficult, but knowing the
rightness or wrongness of actions is usually easy.
Organizations can manage ethics in their workplaces by
establishing an ethics management program. Brian
Schrag, Executive Secretary of the Association for
Practical and Professional Ethics, clarifies. "Typically,
ethics programs convey corporate values, often using
codes and policies to guide decisions and behavior, and
can include extensive training and evaluating, depending
on the organization. They provide guidance in ethical
dilemmas." Rarely are two programs alike.