BUSINESS ETHICS

Module I: Introduction
Values: Concept, types and formation of values. Relationship between ethics, values and
behaviour, Values of Indian Managers. Ethics: development of ethics, ethical decision
making and decision-making process, relevance of ethics and values in business.
Management of Ethics: Management process and ethics, managerial performance,
ethical issues, ethos of Vedanta in management, Hierarchism as an organizational
value.Ethical Dilemma in business, whistle blowing

VALUES: CONCEPT

Values are basic and fundamental beliefs that guide or motivate attitudes or actions. They
help us to determine what is important to us. Values describe the personal qualities we
choose to embody to guide our actions; the sort of person we want to be; the manner in
which we treat ourselves and others, and our interaction with the world around us. They
provide the general guidelines for conduct.

Values in a narrow sense is that which is good, desirable, or worthwhile. Values are the
motive behind purposeful action. They are the ends to which we act and come in many forms.
Personal values are personal beliefs about right and wrong and may or may not be
considered moral. Cultural values are values accepted by religions or societies and reflect
what is important in each context.

Values are essential to ethics. Ethics is concerned with human actions, and the choice of
those actions. Ethics evaluates those actions, and the values that underlie them. It
determines which values should be pursued, and which shouldn't. As I discussed in last
week’s blog, courage is one such value. Those who value courage are willing to stand up for
what they believe, even in the face of strong condemnation. Courage is a moral value when it
deals with right and wrong conduct.

Value specifies a relationship between a person and a goal. It is relational in the sense that
what one person values may not be what another person values even in the same situation.
For example, a person who values honesty might blow the whistle on financial
wrongdoing by a superior whereas another person who values loyalty may remain silent.
This is an example of values conflict. The honest person may believe there are limits to
loyalty and keeping quiet about a wrongful act out of loyalty might harm others. The loyal
person may believe in the importance of keeping one’s confidence even if it might harm
others because of the trusting relationship.  

Some values stand up well over the test of time; they are always good or rightful behavior.
Honesty and kindness are two such examples. It is difficult to imagine having a satisfying
relationship without them because they build trust in relationships. There are always
exceptions but they are rare. For example, if a criminal out to do harm to your friend knocks
on the door and asks whether you have seen the friend, you’re probably not going to say yes
and rationalize it out of a sense of honesty. Here, the greater good, so to speak, is to protect
your friend from harm.

Part of preparing students to be self-reliant and successful means helping them find a space
where they “fit in”. The process of finding this space includes helping them discover what is
important to them and what their values are. When students understand their values, they are
driven, focused, and able to live authentic, happy lives.

In the Winning Futures program, we teach students that their values matter. There are three
types of values they explore in order to create a strategy for success. There are three values
we encourage students to explore are:
• Character Values
• Work Values
• Personal Values

Knowing what is important to them will help them find success in their personal and
professional lives.
1. Character Values
Character values are the universal values that you need to exist as a good human being.
They are also the core characteristics that employers look for when hiring. Examples of
character values include: commitment, loyalty, positive attitude, and respect.
2. Work Values
Work values are values that help you find what you want in a job and give you job
satisfaction. It is especially important to understand what your work values are in order to
thrive professionally. Examples of work values are: hands-on, public contact, prestige, and
 stability.
3. Personal Values
Personal values are values that help you define what you want out of life and will assist you
in being happy and fulfilled. They are the guiding principles of your life. Examples of
personal values are: family life, popularity, health, and appearance.

TYPES OF VALUES

The Four Values

Fairness
The terms “fairness”, “justice” and “equity” are often used interchangeably. The TRUST
consortium chose the term “fairness” in the belief that it would be the most widely
understood globally. Philosophers commonly distinguish between four types of fairness
(Pogge 2006) (see Fig. 3.2).

Fig. 3.2

Types of fairness
The most relevant fairness concepts in global research ethics are fairness in exchange and
corrective fairness. In global collaborations, at least two parties are involved in a range of
transactions. Typical fairness issues between partners from high-income countries (HICs)
and those from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are:

 Is the research relevant to local research needs?

 Will benefit sharing take place?
 Are authors from LMICs involved in publications?

These are questions about fairness in exchange. For instance, LMIC research participants
contribute to the progress of science, but this is only fair if the research is relevant to their
own community or if other benefits are received where this is not possible. For instance, to
carry the burden of a clinical study is only worthwhile for a community if the disease under
investigation occurs locally and the end product will become available locally.

Corrective fairness, which presupposes the availability of legal instruments and access to
mechanisms to right a wrong (e.g. a complaints procedure , a court, an ethics committee) is
also important in global research collaborations. For instance, if no host country research
ethics structure exists, corrective fairness is limited to the research ethics structure in the
HIC, which may not have the capacity to make culturally sensitive decisions.

The broader question of what HICs owe LMICs falls under distributive fairness. One can
illustrate the difference between fairness in exchange and distributive fairness using the
example of post-study access to successfully tested drugs. In the first case (fairness in
exchange) one could argue that research participants have contributed to the marketing of a
particular drug and are therefore owed post-study access to it (should they need the drug to
promote their health and wellbeing, and should they not otherwise have access to it). In the
second case (distributive fairness) one could provide a range of arguments, for instance
being a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN 1948) , to maintain
that all human beings who need the drug should have access to it, and not just the research
participants. These wider fairness issues cannot be resolved by researchers and are
therefore not directly included in the GCC. Likewise, retributive fairness is less relevant as
few ethics violations fall under the punitive and criminal law, and if they do, it is indeed
criminal law that should be used to deal with a fairness violation.
Respect
The term “respect” is used in many ethics frameworks. For instance, the Declaration of
Helsinki (WMA 2013) notes in article 7:

Medical research is subject to ethical standards that promote and ensure respect for

all human subjects and protect their health and rights. (emphasis added)

Its ubiquitous use does not, however, mean that “respect” is a clear term. In everyday life, it
is used in the sense of deep admiration. For instance, somebody could say, “I respect the
achievements of Nelson Mandela”. However, that is not what is meant by respect in
research ethics. The statement from the Declaration of Helsinki does not mean that research
participants must be admired. To be respected in research ethics is almost the opposite. It
means that one must accept a decision or a way of approaching a matter, even if one
disagrees strongly. A case in point would be respecting the decision of a competent adult
Jehovah’s Witness to refuse a blood transfusion for reasons of religious belief, even if this
means certain death.

Respect is therefore a difficult value, as there will be cases where one cannot accept

another’s decision. For instance, if a researcher learns about female genital mutilation being
used as a “cure” for diarrhoea in female babies (Luc and Altare 2018), respecting this
approach to health care is likely to be the wrong decision – particularly as the practice is
probably illegal. But the fact that respect may be difficult to operationalize in global
research collaborations does not mean that it is a value one can dispense with.

There are many possible ways of showing respect that do not create conflicts of conscience.
For instance, illiterate San community members should not be enrolled in research studies
unless San leaders have been contacted first, in accordance with community systems. And
researchers from HICs should not insist that LMIC ethics committees accept the format of
the researchers’ preferred ethics approval submission; instead the HIC researchers should
submit the study for approval in the format required by the LMIC committee. This shows
respect in international collaborative research.

While it may be difficult to imagine a situation where an HIC researcher is accused of

being too fair, too honest or too caring, it is possible to be accused of being “too
respectful” – for instance, if one tolerates major violations of human rights. It is indeed
sometimes difficult to strike a balance between dogmatically imposing one’s own approach
and carelessly accepting human rights violations, but that is the balance researchers should
strive for.

Care

Sometimes one word describes different concepts. This is the case with “care”. The
statement, “I care for my grandfather,” can mean two diametrically opposed things. First, it
could mean that the person is very attached to her grandfather even though she hardly ever
sees him. Second, it could mean that she is the person who injects her grandfather with
insulin, cooks his meals, and makes sure that his needs are taken care of every day, even if
there is antipathy between them.

The meaning of the value of care in the context of global research ethics links more to the
second use of the term; to look after or take care of somebody or something. As a main
priority, one should take care of the interests of those enrolled in research studies to the
extent that one always prioritizes their welfare over any other goals – for example,
accepting the decisions of those who choose to withdraw from an ongoing study, even if
this impairs the project’s results. In line with article 8 of the Declaration of Helsinki
(WMA 2013) that means:

While the primary purpose of medical research is to generate new knowledge, this
goal can never take precedence over the rights and interests of individual research
subjects.

This care applies across disciplines, not only in medical research, and it is not restricted to
human research participants. Article 21 of the Declaration of Helsinki (WMA 2013)
extends the care for research subjects’ welfare to research animals. Likewise, care for
environmental protection is increasingly included in research ethics processes and
frameworks for responsible research. For instance, the European Commission’s Horizon
2020 ethics review process addresses potentially negative impacts on the environment
(Directorate General for Research 2019: section 7). Richard Owen et al. (2013) define
responsible research and innovation as “a collective commitment of care for the future
through responsive stewardship of science and innovation in the present”, a statement that
has clear relevance to environmental protection.
Researchers who take care to avoid negative impacts in their work will not “helicopter” in
and out of a research area they are not familiar with, but will use systems of due
diligence to ensure that risks are assessed and mitigated. For instance, an HIC research
team that strips a local area of all doctors and nurses by attracting them into their high-tech
research facility is not acting carefully and ethically.

Ideally, researchers who take good care will combine the two concepts mentioned above:
they care about research participants, in the sense that the participants are important to
them, and they feel responsible for the welfare and interests of those who contribute to their
research, or might suffer as a result of it (including animals and the environment).

Honesty
Honesty is a value that does not need complicated explanations or definitions. In all
cultures and nations, “Do not lie” is a basic prerequisite for ethical human interaction. It is
so basic a value that its synonyms are often broad ethics terms. For instance, according to
Google (2018), synonyms for “honesty” are:

moral correctness, uprightness, honourableness, honour, integrity, morals, morality,

ethics, principle, (high) principles, nobility, righteousness, rectitude, right-
mindedness, upstandingness

What does need explaining, however, is the scope of the value of honesty in the context of
global research ethics. Telling lies is only one possible wrongdoing in the context of a
broad understanding of honesty. For instance, in research ethics it is equally unacceptable
to leave out salient features from an informed consent process. While this might, strictly
speaking, not involve a lie, concealing important information that might make a difference
to someone’s consent violates the value of honesty as much as lying. For this reason,
research ethicists often use the terms “transparency” and “open communication ” to ensure
that all relevant information is provided so that research participants can make an informed
choice about whether to participate or not.

In addition to lying and withholding information, there are other ways of being dishonest,
in the sense of not communicating openly and transparently. For instance, in a vulnerable
population with high levels of illiteracy, it can be predicted that a printed information sheet
about research will not achieve informed consent . The same can be said for a conscious
failure to overcome language barriers in a meaningful way: leaving highly technical
English terms untranslated in information sheets can easily lead to misunderstandings.

Honesty is also related to research conduct other than interaction with research participants.
Most prominently, the duties of honesty are described in research integrity frameworks: do
not manipulate your data, do not put your name onto publications to which you have not
contributed, do not waste research funds, to give only three examples. However, while the
latter prescriptions for conduct with integrity in research are important, they a

FORMATION OF VALUES

Value formation is the confluence of our personal experiences and particular culture we
are entwined in. Values are imposed from our family in childhood and reinforced through
culture and life experiences. The value of, for example, kindness was imposed on me from
my parents, and reinforced throughout early childhood. Then I applied that value on the
school playground and experienced how it helped me create greater social bonds with my
school mates. My personal experiences growing up reinforced the value of kindness as I
experienced the adaptive effects of showing kindness and the maladaptive effects when
choosing malice over kindness. All through my upbringing, both my personal experiences
and cultural surroundings both reinforced the value of kindness.

Having been born and raised in Dallas, Texas, the values of rugged individualism, church,
and God was ingrained in my psyche from birth. Each of those three values, as I grew older,
eventually formed the foundation of my worldview and politics. In a sense, our values,
imposed upon us early in childhood, become the spectacles in which we view and judge the
world.

Our culture plays a huge role in our value formation. Culture gives us a community and
shared reality so that we can cooperate in activities and customs that give meaning,
purpose, and significance to our existence. Culture gives us prescriptions for appropriate
conduct so that we can learn best how to get along with others. All you have to do is
travel to another country to see how values ebb and flow with culture. You can travel to
China and see how they elevate the group and family over the individual in contrast to most
Americans; you can see how South Americans elevate hospitality and care for their elderly
unlike most Americans; and how Hawaiians elevate relaxation and balance unlike most urban
metropolitan cities in the U.S. (I am obviously speaking in general terms rather than
absolutely)

If you live in the hills of West Virginia and coal mining is your life, and it’s what feeds your
family, then you are less likely to support environmental policy that does away with coal
mining. If, like I was, you are brought up with the value that every life is sacred, then pro-life
values become your spectacles in which you view the the sanctity of a fetus. Likewise, if you
lived in Ohio through the 1990’s and you witnessed jobs supplanted overseas, then the
Republican platform doesn’t look so bad. But if your personal experiences were lived in,
say, San Francisco, California, then it will contrast greatly with West Virginians as liberal
values of tolerance, preserving the earth, and multi-culturalism is elevated to supreme
importance.

It’s not that West Virginian’s, pro-lifers, and Ohioan’s are dumb or ‘deplorable’, they simply
elevate certain values over others. Keep in mind, with the examples I provided, each value is
seen as a noble virtue. Sanctity of life, even for an unborn fetus, is based on the pursuit of
establishing what is noble and virtuous. Coal miners and Ohioans value loyalty to one’s
country, which involve the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. Let’s be honest, I think
most of us want our government to be loyal to hard working Americans, rather than betray us
in order to profit from setting up jobs abroad.

My greater point is this: whether it’s West Virginia or San Francisco, these are virtuous goals
that have their aim at virtuous ends. By and large, children in Red States are raised by
parents who impose on them values that seek the good. I should know, I am a product of
Texas and a stereotypical Texan ideology. Where things get muddy is when you have
competing values that compete for supremacy. I mean, if all values seek the good, can we say
that some are wrong?

Right/Wrong or Better/Worse

When judging values, we should not speak in terms of right or wrong, rather we should look
at competing values in terms of better and worse. When talking about values, thinking in
terms of right and wrong will result in completely invalidating the other side of the
discussion.
Your values are your baby, so to speak. You hold them dear, because they speak to your life
experiences and cultural upbringing. When someone says that your values are wrong, the
conversation is off to a bad start from the beginning. Invalidating someone’s values shifts the
conversation to a defensive mode. Instead, you can validate someone’s values, and then
become ‘Socratic’ by asking questions back-and-forth as you hash out which values actually
advance progress, human rights, justice, etc. Common ground is good foundation to have, and
this begins by understanding that the other side is truly trying to come from a place of virtue.

When talking about values, thinking in terms of better and worse will recognize the virtuous
aims of both sides, while also recognizing that some values ought to be elevated over others.
Moreover, better or worse dialogue frames the dialogue in a way that doesn’t get personal,
rather, you can simply discuss the effects of values in the public sphere. Given that values
are noble and based on virtue, it’s their externalities that need to be discussed. By
externalities, I mean the side effects, blow-back, and consequences of the value when it is
fully cashed out in everyday life. For example, early missionaries would visit foreign tribes
and not only try and convert them, but also provide food and supplies to help them flourish.
From this standpoint, the missionaries can be seen as virtuous. But some missionaries also
brought over (unintentionally) diseases that devastated the villages. Thus, we can assess the
externalities or consequences and conclude that this was probably not the best idea given the
negative side effects it brought upon innocent villagers. It’s not that the missionaries
immoral, per se, it’s just that there are better ways to advance the value of generosity and
compassion.

In addition to a better or worse thinking rather a right or wrong way, there is another
clarifying point I’d like to make. There is a common tendency to confuse value judgements
with moralistic judgements. Value judgements reflect our beliefs of how best life can be
served. We make moralistic judgements of people and behaviors that fail to support our
values judgments; for example, “Anyone who votes for Trump is off their rocker.” In this
example, the claim is trying to classify and judge a huge swath of people on moralistic
grounds, with a tacit jab that labels Trumpians crazy. This tactic is similar to the one used by
Ronald Reagan when calling the U.S.S.R. an “evil empire.” The Germans also resorted to
this by classifying the Jews with negative connotations like “cockroaches.”. Going back to
the Trump claim, a more compassionate and enlightened way to articulate this sentiment
would be, “I am worried about many of Trump’s policies; I value policies that unite the
country and help the poor economically.” Now, this is a value judgment that doesn’t classify
or analyze on moral grounds every single Trump voter, rather, it gives voice to your values
and nee

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ETHICS, VALUES AND BEHAVIOUR

Ethics is based on well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans
ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific
virtues.

Some years ago, sociologist Raymond Baumhart asked business people, "What does ethics
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."

These replies might be typical of our own. The meaning of "ethics" is hard to pin down, and
the views many people have about ethics are shaky.

Values defined in Organizational Behavior as the collective conceptions of what is

considered good, desirable, and proper or bad, undesirable, and improper in a culture.

Some common business values are fairness, innovations and community involvement.

According to M. Haralambos, “A value is a belief that something is good and desirable”.

According to R.K. Mukherjee, “Values are socially approved desires and goals that are
internalized through the process of conditioning, learning or socialization and that become
subjective preferences, standards, and aspirations”.
According to Zaleznik and David, “Values are the ideas in the mind of men compared to
norms in that they specify how people should behave. Values also attach degrees of goodness
to activities and relationships”

Behaviour (or behavior) is what an animal does or how it acts. Behaviours may be
conscious or unconscious. They may be inherited or learnt. The term is also used for systems
and for machines which interact with their environment. The term is not well-defined.[1]

In experiments, behaviour is the observed reaction which occurs when an organism is given a
stimulus. Some organisms are more complicated than others and may be more aware of their
surroundings. If their behaviour is conscious it means that they know what they are doing. If
they are not aware of what they are doing this is unconscious behaviour.

Humans will pull their hand back without thinking if they accidentally touch something hot.
This is done because we (and other animals) inherit nervous system reflexes which cause us
to pull away from the thing that is causing the pain.

Behaviour is linked to the nervous system as well as the endocrine system. The nervous
system reacts, and notices what happens. The hormone system is much slower. It makes some
kinds of behaviour more, or less, likely. A simple example is the change from being a child to
an adult. This involves a whole range of hormones which affect growth and behaviour.

Behaviour is also linked to learning. Organisms which are more complicated can learn better
than those that are simpler. However, even the simplest animals show habituation, which is a
primitive kind of learning. For organisms, learning means that they change their behaviour
because they remember having been in that situation before and know how to react.

People often use the word "behaviour" to mean the way people interact with (behave
towards) one another. Children are taught what is good behaviour and what is bad behaviour.
Good behaviour is about being polite and thoughtful to other people. It is the kind of
behaviour that people in a society expect from others.

PERSONAL BELIEFS, VALUES, ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOUR

The diagram below illustrates the influences on us that result in our behaviour and whether
that resulting behaviour is ethical. The diagram first outlines the sources of our beliefs. It then
shows the relationship between the beliefs and values to our attitudes and our resulting
behaviour.

What is a belief?

A belief is an idea that a person holds as being true.

A person can base a belief upon certainties (e.g. mathematical principles), probabilities or
matters of faith.
A belief can come from different sources, including:

 a person’s own experiences or experiments

 the acceptance of cultural and societal norms (e.g. religion)

 what other people say (e.g.education or mentoring).

A potential belief sits with the person until they accept it as truth, and adopt it as part of their
individual belief system.

Each person evaluates and seeks sound reasons or evidence for these potential beliefs in their
own way.

Once a person accepts a belief as a truth they are willing to defend, it can be said to form part
of their belief system.

What is a personal value?

Values are stable long-lasting beliefs about what is important to a person. They become
standards by which people order their lives and make their choices.

A belief will develop into a value when the person’s commitment to it grows and they see it
as being important.

It is possible to categorise beliefs into different types of values – examples include values that
relate to happiness, wealth, career success or family. 

A person must be able to articulate their values in order to make clear, rational, responsible
and consistent decisions.

What is an attitude?

Attitudes are the mental dispositions people have towards others and the current
circumstances before making decisions that result in behaviour. People primarily form their
attitudes from underlying values and beliefs.
However, factors which may not have been internalised as beliefs and values can still
influence a person’s attitudes at the point of decision-making. Typical influences include the
desire to please, political correctness, convenience, peer pressure, and psychological stressors

The potential for these influences to sway attitudes will be greater if the person has not
clearly thought through their beliefs and values. This process includes considering the
principles by which they might reconcile or prioritise competing values.

A lack of self-awareness or critical insight, or the presence of ambivalence or uncertainty

about values, can lead to a less rational attitude to choices, and ultimately to undesirable
behaviour.

VALUES OF INDIAN MANAGERS

Are leaders born or made? The jury is out on that one with modern theory suggesting a bit of
both and certainly supporting the notion that any level of innate leadership can be nurtured
and augmented with the right vision, tools and training. While not all people are born movers
and shakers who can influence, motivate and inspire by pure gut instinct, everyone can be
empowered to tap into their natural leadership abilities to succeed in business and in life.
While each leader will have a unique style and roadmap to success, there are some common
traits that the most successful leaders share. Below the career experts at Bayt.com look at
some of these traits.

1. Integrity

Honesty and integrity are the cornerstone of sustainable success. In order for people to want
to follow their leader they must have complete trust in his honesty, his dedication, his
commitment and his unshakeable ethics and high standards and values. Managers who are
open, truthful and consistent in their behaviors are more likely to inspire trust, loyalty and
commitment in their teams.

2. Willingness to take Risk

Leaders are not afraid of taking risks or making mistakes. They take calculated as opposed to
reckless risks and while they weigh their options and alternatives carefully they do not allow
themselves to fall prey to the “analysis paralysis” syndrome. The best leaders learn from their
mistakes and emerge from them resilient and ready to take on the next challenge.

3. Optimism and Enthusiasm

A great manager inspires others with their infectious enthusiasm, their disarmingly genuine
keenness, passion and their zeal for what they do. Rather than dwelling on problems they are
solution-oriented and focus on how to make things work and succeed. They are willing to see
the silver lining in every cloud and have a ‘can-do’ optimistic attitude that leaves no place for
negativity.

4. Commitment to Growth

Leaders recognize that learning is a life-long process and never stop doing what it takes to
grow professionally and personally and maintain a grip with emerging trends and tools and
business realities and technologies. The best leaders realize that to remain at the vanguard of
their particular function or industry requires constant learning, enquiry, exploration and
innovation as well as continuous self-scrutiny and analysis.

5. Vision

Leaders know precisely what they want and make clear detailed and achievable plans to get
there. They are not vague or ambiguous in their goals nor do they leave anything to chance.
Leaders are also able to articulate and communicate their vision clearly and in no uncertain
terms and inspire and win others to their platform with their vision.

6. Pragmatism

While leaders may have lofty visions and ideals, they do not hide their heads in the clouds
and are mindful of the hard facts and figures that surround them. They are very realistic when
it comes to assessing the landscape they operate in and practical about the decisions they
make.

7. Responsibility

Leaders can be depended on to take responsibility for their actions and to live up to their
responsibilities completely. They stand firmly behind the commitments they make and do not
let their teams down; nor do they assign or allocate blame to deflect from their own
responsibilities. They do not have a victim mentality that holds others responsible for their
poor choices and deficiencies but stare challenges in the face and confront them head-on.

8. Hard Work and Conscientiousness

Leaders work hard and accept no short cuts. The best leaders lead by their example
demonstrating a stellar work ethic by being the first in the office, the last out and the most
productive, persistent and dedicated while at work. They have a strong sense of duty and very
high standards of excellence and they apply these rigorous standards to themselves first
always seeking better, smarter, more effective ways of doing things.

9. Self-confidence

Leaders have no shortage of that essential commodity of self-assurance that enables them to
risk giant strides, be bold and tough-minded and ‘fall forward’ in the rare instances when they
do fall/fail. Leaders generally have little need for approval and are motivated by an inner
strength, maturity and drive. Leaders are very cognizant of their inner strengths, weaknesses
and the impact they have on others and knowledgeable of what they can and cannot
realistically do/achieve/influence. They do not wallow in self-pity or guilt over past mistakes
or doubt.

10. Emotional Intelligence

Empathy, self-awareness, decisiveness, self-discipline, intuitiveness and social competence

are all key to successful leadership and all are associated with high levels of emotional
intelligence. Congeniality, the ability to put oneself in another’s shoes and relate with others,
the ability to read between the lines and analyze the pulse of a relationship or situation, the
ability to focus on the positive and refrain from negative and self-defeating attitudes and
behaviors, are all elements of emotional intelligence that contribute to leadership success.

11. Expertise in Industry

While there are many generalists in leadership positions the best leaders become generalists
not by knowing a little about many fields but my being experts in a multitude of fields. Good
leaders are characterized by a very high level of energy, conscientiousness and drive and
spare no efforts to become experts in their field and harness all the information and
knowledge and competence they need to maintain an edge over their competitors.

12. Ability to Engage Others

A key leadership trait is inspiring, motivating, engaging and bringing out the best in others.
The best leaders encourage leadership in all around them and strive to develop and empower
others to assume roles of leadership and responsibility. They are able to propel others to
elevated levels of performance through their own energy and enthusiasm and insight and can
maximize the strengths and capabilities of their team for the benefit of the whole
organization.

ETHICS: DEVELOPMENT OF ETHICS

At its simplest, ethics is a system of moral principles. They affect how people make decisions
and lead their lives.

Ethics is concerned with what is good for individuals and society and is also described as
moral philosophy.

The term is derived from the Greek word ethos which can mean custom, habit, character or
disposition.

Ethics covers the following dilemmas:

 how to live a good life

 our rights and responsibilities

 the language of right and wrong

 moral decisions - what is good and bad?

Our concepts of ethics have been derived from religions, philosophies and cultures. They
infuse debates on topics like abortion, human rights and professional conduct.

Approaches to ethics
Philosophers nowadays tend to divide ethical theories into three areas: metaethics, normative
ethics and applied ethics.

 Meta-ethics deals with the nature of moral judgement. It looks at the origins and
meaning of ethical principles.

 Normative ethics is concerned with the content of moral judgements and the criteria
for what is right or wrong.

 Applied ethics looks at controversial topics like war, animal rights and capital
punishment

HOW ETHICS GOT DEVELOPMENT

Business ethics refers to the moral principles that guide the operations of a company or
business. Common issues that fall under this umbrella include employer-employee relations,
discrimination, environmental issues, bribery, insider trading, and social responsibility. While
many laws exist to set basic ethical standards within the business community, it is largely
dependent upon the leadership within the business to develop a code of ethics.

While practicing strong ethics keeps business within the parameters of the law, it can also
serve to build goodwill and brand equity. That's because popular social issues often drive
business ethics. When different issues come to the forefront, organizations respond by
bringing their ethical tenets in line with new social norms.

Business Ethics in the '60s

The 1960s brought the first major wave of changes in business ethics. Cultural values were
shifting, with individualism and fierce dedication to social issues such as environmentalism
and world peace coming into vogue.1

While young workers in the 1960s were idealistic and wanted to make the world a better
place, employers found their work ethic, compared to that of previous generations, was
lacking. Drug use was rampant, and the new focus on individualism caused many workers to
look upon their employers with disdain.

Companies responded to the changing times by beefing up human resources departments,

establishing mission statements, and outlining codes of conduct. In response to the changing
desires of their employees, however, businesses also began embracing social responsibility at
a level not previously seen. In fact, the 1960s saw businesses trumpet environmental
friendliness for the first time and companies also looked for new ways to give back to their
communities.2

Major Events in the '70s and '80s

During the 1970s and 1980s, two events shaped changes in business ethics: defense
contractor scandals that became highly publicized during the Vietnam War and a heightened
sense of tension between employers and employees.31 In response, the government
implemented stricter policies governing defense contractors, and companies revamped
contracts with employees to focus less on rigid compliance and more on values. Popular
management philosophy shifted from pure authoritarianism towards more collaboration and
working on equal footing.

The '90s and Environmentalism

The 1990s saw a rebirth of environmentalism, new heights in social responsibility reaching,
and graver legal ramifications for ethical missteps. Tobacco companies and junk food
manufacturers, for example, faced heightened scrutiny, along with several important lawsuits
over the public health ramifications of their products. Oil companies and chemical companies
had to contend with increasing public pressure to answer for environmental damage. Class
action lawsuits rapidly gained in popularity and, in response, businesses were forced to spend
more on legal departments.45

The Online Realm in 2000+

From the year 2000 forward, business ethics have expanded to the online realm. The big
ethical dilemmas of the 21st century have mostly centered on cybercrimes and privacy
issues.1 Crimes such as identity theft, almost unheard of 20 years before, are a threat to
anyone doing business online. As a result, businesses face social and legal pressure to take
every measure possible to protect sensitive customer information. The rise in popularity of
data mining and target marketing has forced businesses to walk a fine line between respecting
consumer privacy and using online activities to glean valuable marketing data.
 ETHICAL DECISION MAKING AND DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

Understanding these models can assist us in developing our self-management skills and
relationship management skills. These models will give you the tools to make good decisions,
which will likely result in better human relations within your organization.

Most people use a combination of several models, which might be the best way to be
thorough with ethical decision making. In addition, often we find ethical decisions to be
quick. For example, if a person is given too much change at the grocery store, he may have
only a few seconds to correct the situation.

Models of Ethics

Laura Nash, an ethics researcher, created the Twelve Questions Model as a simple approach
to ethical decision making. Nash, L. (1981). Ethics without the sermon. Howard Business
Review, 59 79–90, accessed, these are –

 Have you defined the problem accurately?

 How would you define the problem if you stood on the other side of the fence?

 How did this situation occur in the first place?

 To whom and what do you give your loyalties as a person and as a member of the
company?

 What is your intention in making this decision?

 How does this intention compare with the likely results?

 Whom could your decision or action injure?

 Can you engage the affected parties in a discussion of the problem before you make
your decision?

 Are you confident that your position will be as valid over a long period of time as it
seems now?

 Could you disclose without qualms your decision or action to your boss, your family,
or society as a whole?
  What is the symbolic potential of your action if understood? If misunderstood?

 Under what conditions would you allow exceptions to your stand

Josephson Institute of Ethics’ Model

Josephson Institute of Ethics uses a model that focuses on six steps to ethical decision
making. The steps consist of stop and think, clarify goals, determine facts, develop options,
consider consequences, choose, and monitor

As mentioned, the first step is to stop and think. When we stop to think, this avoids rash
decisions and allows us to focus on the right decision-making process. It also allows us to
determine if the situation we are facing is legal or ethical. When we clarify our goals, we
allow ourselves to focus on expected and desired outcomes. Next, we need to determine
the facts in the situation. Where are we getting our facts? Is the person who is providing
the facts to us credible? Is there bias in the facts or assumptions that may not be correct?
Next, create a list of options. This can be a brainstormed list with all possible solutions.
In the next step, we can look at the possible consequences of our actions. For example,
who will be helped and who might be hurt? Since all ethical decisions we make may not
always be perfect, considering how you feel and the outcome of your decisions will help you
to make better ethical decisions in the future.

An Example of Josephson’s Model when Dealing with the Ethical Situation of Downloading Music from

Share Websites.
STEPS TO ETHICAL DECISION MAKING

There are many models that provide several steps to the decision-making process. One such
model was created in the late 1990s for the counselling profession but can apply to nearly
every profession from health care to business. Corey, G., Corey, M . S., & Callanan, P.
(1998). Issues and ethics in the helping professions

Step 1: Identify the problem. Sometimes just realizing a particular situation is ethical can be
the important first step. Occasionally in our organizations, we may feel that it’s just the “way
of doing business” and not think to question the ethical nature.

Step 2: Identify the potential issues involved. Who could get hurt? What are the issues that
could negatively impact people and/or the company? What is the worst-case scenario if we
choose to do nothing?

Step 3: Review relevant ethical guidelines. Does the organization have policies and
procedures in place to handle this situation? For example, if a client gives you a gift, there
may be a rule in place as to whether you can accept gifts and if so, the value limit of the gift
you can accept.

Step 4: Know relevant laws and regulations. If the company doesn’t necessarily have a
rule against it, could it be looked at as illegal?
Step 5: Obtain consultation. Seek support from supervisors, co-workers, friends, and
family, and especially seek advice from people who you feel are moral and ethical.

Step 6: Consider possible and probable courses of action. What are all of the possible
solutions for solving the problem? Brainstorm a list of solutions—all solutions are options
during this phase.

Step 7: List the consequences of the probable courses of action. What are both the positive
and negative benefits of each proposed solution? Who can the decision affect?

Step 8: Decide on what appears to be the best course of action. With the facts we have
and the analysis done, choosing the best course of action is the final step. There may not
always be a “perfect” solution, but the best solution is the one that seems to create the most
good and the least harm.