Codes of Ethics - Individual, Corporate, The process of examining one's moral

Industry standards and of applying them to concrete

situations and issues is important. This
Individual Codes of Conduct - Individual includes: • A person's ability to use and critically
Codes of Conduct When examining business evaluate his/her moral standard which develops
ethics, it is important to realize that the in the course of a person's life. • Reasoning
corporations, partnerships, and other entities that processes through which these moral standards
make up the business community are a are employed and evaluated.
composite of individuals. Corporations and the
culture of a corporation are greatly influenced by Moral Development
that ethical values individual.
Corporate Ethical Conduct - The sum, total of
individual employees’ ethical: values influences
corporate conduct, especially in a corporation's
early years. • Paying bribes to foreign
government officials • Price fixing • Giving gifts
to customers or accepting gifts from suppliers •
Using insider information • Revealing trade
secrets.
Industry Ethical Codes - These codes are
rather general and contain either affirmative
inspirational guidelines or a list of shall not's. A
"hybrid model" including 'dos' and 'don'ts' Moral reasoning is a more intentional form of
generally addresses itself to subjects such as: • decision making where the actor considers the
Honest and fair dealings with customers • basis for and implications of the decision before
Acceptable level of safety, efficacy or acting.
cleanliness of limen • Nondeceptive advertising
• Maintenance of experienced and trained Stakeholder Model - include all of the groups
personnel, performance of competent services and/or individuals affected by a decision, policy
and furnishing of quality products. or operation of a firm or individual.

Professional Codes of Ethics - Professional is

an overused term referring to everything from
persons to hair stylists to engineers, lawyers and
doctors. When discussing professions or
professionals, the authors mean a group that has
the following characteristics. 1. Prelicensing
mandatory university educational training, as
well as continuing education requirements. 2.
Licensing exam requirements. 3. A set of written
ethical standards that are recognized and
continually enforced by the group. 4. A formal The contractual theory generally supports a
association or group that meets regularly. 5. An stockholder centered conception of the
independent commitment to the public interest. corporation. An alternative is stakeholder theory.
6. Formal recognition by the public as a The central claim of the stakeholder approach is
professional group. that corporations are operated or ought to be
operated for the benefit of all those who have a
Kohlberg's Moral Development Model – stake in the enterprise as shown above in the
Ethics is the study of morality. A person figure.
involves in ethics if he turns to look at the moral
standards.
The Input-Output Model Thus the law serves to educate about the ethical
causes in life. The law should not be treated as a
vehicle for expressing all of society's ethical
preferences.
(v) Codes of Conduct - Following are the three
primary categories: • Company Codes: These
are generally brief; highly generalised.
expressed broad expectations about fit conduct. •
Company Operating Policies: Contains an
ethical dimension. express policies as to gifts.
Thomas Donaldson and Lee E.Preston have customer complaints. hiring and other decisions
distinguished three uses of the stakeholder serve as a guide to conduct and as a shield by
model: which the employee can protect against
• Descriptive (can be used as a description of the unethical advances from those outside the firm. •
corporation to enable us to understand the Code of Ethics: (Professional and Industry
corporation better) Associations have developed code of ethics.
such as Affirmative Ethical Principles of the
• Instrumental (can be used instrumentally as a American Institute of Certified Public
tool for managers. Telling managers to handle Accountants). It is a growing expression of the
stakeholder relations is a more practical action business community's sincere concern about
guide e.g .. Making profit as a goal) ethics.
• Normative (How corporations ought to treat (vi). Cultural Experience - John Steiner refers to
their various stakeholder groups). the rules, customs and standards transmitted
from generation to generation as guidelines for
Sources of Ethics; Six primary sources of ethics appropriate conduct. Individual values are
have been identified in the American business shaped in large measure by the norms of the
area by ethics scholars George and John Stever society.
as under:
(i) Genetic Inheritance - Those qualities of
goodness often associated with ethical conduct
may in some measure be a product of genetic
traits strengthened over time by evolutionary
process.
(il) Religion – Religious morality is clearly a
primary focus in shaping our societal ethics
(through a rule exemplified by the golden rule
and the ten commandments)
(iii) Philosophical Systems - To the Epicureans
the quality of pleasure to be derived from an act
was the essential measure of its goodness. The
stoics like the puritans and many contemporary
Americans advocated a disciplined,
Hardworking, Thrifty life style. These
philosophers like other philosophers. Have been
instrumental in our society's moral development.
(iv). The Legal System Laws represent a rough
approximation of society's ethical standards.