UNIT 4 ETHICS IN INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS

4.1 ETHICAL PROCEEDINGS IN INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS.

In morally pluralistic societies there is no single authoritative voice to determine what is morally appropriate;
Hence, citizens are forced to form their moral judgment through reflection and taking public opinion into
account. That is why it is important that in said public sphere the voices of those who, working in different
areas with rigor and seriousness, are concerned that the work is carried out in them taking into account the
level of civic ethics achieved by that society and the ethics that gives it a rational foundation.

This is one of the tasks that the different applied ethics have carried out and are carrying out.

Applied ethics arise from an attempt to moralize the different spheres of social life. They have been
generated in a republican way, that is, from the joint work of professionals, ethicists, jurists and those
affected by the decisions made in each area. That is why the reflections and information of applied ethics
must be brought to public opinion, so that citizens and political power can form sufficiently informed moral
judgments regarding essential issues.

This is the current task of enlightenment, which should be carried out not only by the wise but by those who
work in these areas, and have or should have better information and are concerned or should be concerned
with respecting and enhancing the civic ethics of that society and the ethics that gives them foundation. In
reality, they are the new references that citizens can count on to form their judgment on moral issues. As I
have explained in detail elsewhere, applied ethics do not adopt the deductive method typical of Casuistry nor
the inductive method typical of Casuistry, but rather have the circular structure typical of a critical
hermeneutics: they do not start from principles with content to that they be applied, because in pluralistic
societies there are no principles with common content; Nor do they only discover middle-range principles
from everyday practice, because in any applied ethics there is a certain pretension of unconditionality that
surpasses all concrete contexts. Rather, they hermeneutically detect in the different areas of social life ethical
principles and values that are modulated differently in each one, precisely the ethical principles and values
that constitute civic ethics, common to all areas.

From this perspective, applied ethics has, at least, a double structure. Each of them constitutes, in principle,
the ethics of a social activity, be it biotechnological research, healthcare, business, engineering or education.
To elucidate what this ethics consists of, the neo-Aristotelian conception of practice is very fruitful, as a
cooperative social activity that takes its meaning from pursuing certain internal goods, which requires the
discovery of certain middle-range principles, the embodiment of various values and the cultivation of certain
virtues by those who participate in it.

What is specific about each applied ethic, what gives it its peculiar idiosyncrasy, are the internal goods that
the corresponding activity pursues, the mid-level principles that morally guide the action, the values that
must be achieved and the virtues that must be cultivated in order to be able to do so. achieve internal goods.
This first moment, the one referring to the dimension of activity that all applied ethics has, is what we could
call "Aristotelian moment."

But, secondly, the fact that this activity is carried out in a society that has reached the conventional level in
the development of moral conscience, forces it to pursue its internal goods respecting a deontological
framework that we could call the Kantian moment. : in principle, the framework of principles and values that
respects that social moral conscience and that are expressed in its civic ethics. In our societies it would be
about values such as freedom, equality, solidarity, dialogue and active respect, and rights such as the human
rights of the first three generations.

4.1.1 Code of ethics in institutions and organizations.

Codes of ethics, as they are known in the business world, are systems of rules established with the general
purpose of guiding the behavior of the members of the organization and those with whom it usually acts:
clients, suppliers and contractors. . (From Michelle, 1999)

A very important part of professional practice refers to the ethics that must be observed, hence the Mexican
Institute of Public Accountants (IMCP), which is the highest body at the national level that is responsible,
among other activities, for establishing codes of conduct regarding the accounting profession, has taken on
the task of developing a Code of Ethics that allows facing new trends and needs, a product of the
development achieved by the accounting profession, as well as harmonizing its content with the international
Code of Ethics developed by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

A hallmark of the accounting profession is its acceptance of its responsibility to serve the public interest.
Therefore, the responsibility of the Public Accountant is not exclusively to satisfy the needs of a specific
client, or of the entity for which he or she works. The Public Accountant must observe and comply with this
Code. If prohibited from complying with certain parts of this Code by any law or regulation, the Public
Accountant must comply with the rest of the content of this Code. (Mexican Institute of Public Accountants,
2012).

When working for an organization in a dependent manner or receiving a salary in a subordinate manner, it
does not prevent, regardless of the legal form of the relationship with the organization for which one works,
failure to comply with the ethical responsibilities that require the public accountant to develop their work in a
professional manner in terms of confidentiality, professional judgment, honesty, veracity of information, etc.
When the public accountant works in the public or private sector, there should be no personal relationships in
which the confidentiality of the information held by the accountant is compromised.

4.1.2 Specific cases of ethical procedure in institutions and organizations.

The organization acts as a social group in the sense that it is more than the sum of the individuals that make it
up. This means that taken as an actor, it is more than the opinion of its governing bodies. As stated by G.
Enderle (1998) the concept of "moral actor means that the company, in addition to its status as a legal entity,
is capable of moral conduct, can be considered responsible and must be accountable from an ethical
perspective." Moral actor because as a social group it can assume a proactive stance, educate, condition and
guide its components. This fact does not replace the role of its members, that is, it is added to the
responsibilities of the individuals who make decisions personally within their respective spaces of freedom.
But here we are concerned with overall decisions and their relationship with social values.

The idea of organization as a social construction implies that participants relate based on some form of
agreement that sustains the whole. The idea of responsibility in the employment relationship makes sense to
the extent that the rules are not imposed and that they can enter or leave freely. This is referred to in the work
of T. Donaldson (1985), with his approach to the social contract applied to corporations, an agreement that
also includes moral considerations, both explicit and implicit. As an explanation of responsible behavior (as
it should be), this author proposes the model of a contract based on the awareness and consent of the parties
on known values. The parties must respect their rights so that the organization is internally viable and
socially accepted. The social contract approach is contrary to the attempt to subordinate the well-being of
individuals to that of the organization.

In fact, the organization is built from some form of agreement to produce goods and services, such as
providing help, protection, education, health, etc. At the beginning, certain purposes are made explicit that
from then on should guide decisions.
These multiple purposes are the basis of the finalist rationality of the organization and its managers regarding
the administrative task. Production technology and competitiveness also set their conditions for effectiveness
and efficiency. This rationality is constitutive of the organization, but it is not the only foundation that
sustains it or makes it viable. It is a production system but also a moral community, where agents in order to
coexist must assume responsibility for their actions. As highlighted by P. Davis (1998) this is visible in
cooperative models, where the principles of solidarity, voluntary association and democratic control by the
partners are constitutive. Under this latter model, goal-oriented rationality cannot go beyond the conditions
that derive from the principles of cooperative identity.

Both in the field of competitive and collaborative models, rationality coexists with the social and cultural
processes that are vital for organizations. This coexistence establishes a basic question for our analysis: the
requirement of effectiveness versus what should be or what is morally correct. Why should a company worry
about the justice or correctness of its actions if it complies with the laws, produces necessary goods and even
more so when individuals accept the existing norms? In companies there is “the antinomy of action”, that is,
situations where “the bad happens with the good”. For example, such as the states of alienation and
frustration on the human level that are usually associated with new technologies designed to reduce time and
increase production.

4.2 THE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS

 Institutions are mechanisms of social order that seek to normalize the behavior of a group of
individuals. Institutions in this sense transcend individual wills by identifying with the imposition of a
purpose, in theory considered as a social good, that is, normal for that group. Its operating mechanism varies
widely in each case, although the development of numerous rules or norms that are usually not very flexible
stands out.

The term institution is generally applied to norms of conduct and customs considered important to a society,
such as particular formal government and public service organizations. Institutions are also a central subject
of study for law, the formal regime for the creation and implementation of rules. Organizations are social
systems designed to achieve goals and objectives through human and other resources. They are composed of
interrelated subsystems that fulfill specialized functions that form a systematic structure of interaction
relationships. An organization only exists when there are people capable of communicating and who are
willing to act together to achieve a common objective.

Ethics in Public Institutions

A public institution is an organization that generally depends on the government or the state which provides
its services to the general public. That is to say, every day a large number of people come into contact with
these organizations seeking their services.

Ethics in public institutions refers to a series of positions and norms adopted by a public institution. The
importance of these ethical positions adopted by public institutions lies in the fact that they affect and
influence in one way or another the people who come into contact with these institutions every day. This
means that some of the ethical positions adopted by public institutions will be reflected in our society and
daily life.

This is why public institutions, when determining what positions they will adopt, must be extremely careful
and take responsibility since they will affect a large number of people. A clear example of this issue would
be in a public educational institution. In this case a primary school, since it is known in advance that children
tend to imitate the behavior of adults. In this case, the ethical position that the teaching staff of said
institution must adopt must be one that promotes the comprehensive, academic and social development of the
students. Said personnel must behave in a manner consistent with the adopted ethics and in this way they will
be eradicating by example. Consequently, the students who will be influenced by said ethical position will
develop with an ethic similar to that adopted by the public institution that directly affects society as a whole.

There are some ethical positions that all public institutions must have, such as:

Equity: This refers to the fact that public institutions must give the same treatment to all people regardless of
their gender, skin color, religion, etc.
Respect: It refers to the fact that public institutions must take into account, appreciate and value the rights
and qualities of people.

Honesty: Refers to the fact that public institutions must treat people who come into contact with the public
institution fairly without abusing them.

Responsibility: Refers to the fact that public institutions must commit to ensuring that their services are
adequate.

Ethics in Private Institutions

In public and private institutions. Ethics is frequently proclaimed by institutions and governments, but not
applied in concrete facts that citizens demand and that, in my opinion, request morality from politicians,
policies and politics, translated into requests for transparency, equity and justice and future and social
insertion, respectively. And this demand is due, among other causes, to the vagueness that exists in our
society regarding the problem of moral autonomy, the basis of a participatory democracy.

Do ethics exist within private institutions? If so, how is it different from the ethics of public institutions?

Answer Wherever human beings are in relationship with their fellow human beings, there is the need for an
ethical attitude, whether in a public institution or a private institution. There is, therefore, an ethic for the
private businessman and another for the civil servant, just as there is an ethic common to all human beings
that results in what we call a good person.

As human beings expand the sphere of their relationships, new dimensions of their duty to be appear, that is,
of their ethics. The basis is given by your duty to be as a person; Family life requires a refinement of your
ethical sensitivity, as does professional or work practice, school activity or university. Each of these activities
has its own requirements. The condition of citizen gives rise to public citizen ethics that are different from
the ethics of the official.

This is distinguished from the others because it is focused on the service of the public, in the same way that
the ethics of the doctor revolves around the defense of life and that of judges commits them to justice, as that
of journalists has its axis in the commitment to the truth.

" Compliance with ethics must be the same in private institutions as in public institutions"

Ethics in organizations

That an organization must take responsibility for its actions is not new. In all developed countries there is
detailed legislation, civil, criminal, labor, administrative, commercial, that specifies what responsibilities
people and corporations have. In developed countries there are also sufficiently reliable judicial systems that
try to impose legal responsibilities when necessary. What is new is the social awareness that this corporate
responsibility exists, and that it must be made effective even when the law fails to impose it. For example,
when it concerns events carried out outside the borders of the country of nationality of the corporation, when
no law protects the affected property or when the judicial reparation procedure is so slow that it is useless. In
these cases, and in many others, external and internal agents directly pressure the organization, to the extent
they can, to take responsibility for their actions, regardless of whether or not they have a legal obligation to
do so.

Business ethics as an academic discipline usually covers one or more of the following topics: the study of
moral principles applicable to economic and business life; the study and criticism of the effectively dominant
values in the economic field in general and in each of the organizations, the analysis of real cases that
exemplify the responsibility of organizations and their various constituents; the development of voluntary
regulatory bodies or standardized management procedures based on ethical principles and values; the
monitoring and description of the import of these codes and procedures in specific organizations, as well as
the observation of their effects on the organizations themselves and their environment.

Every company and organization must be supported by a code of ethics by which all its personnel are
governed, in addition to its social responsibility to comply with the community where it operates, with its
clients. Business ethics is also frequently concerned with the study of the personal virtues that must be
present in the business world. It is about showing that such virtues are part of the correct understanding of
what a good life is for a manager, for the group of people that make up an organization or for the broader
society in which the organization itself is integrated.

Companies must also protect themselves in order to preserve their ethics, and guarantee it, by relying on
Codes of Ethics, more as has been written about it, than a globalized economy oriented towards consumers
and investors, financial scandals, ecological disasters or the Injustice in trade and labor relations is no longer
just a legal problem. Large corporations learned long ago that the biggest sanctions they can suffer are not
those imposed by governments, but the loss of their reputation and the trust of the markets. In this context,
corporate responsibility management becomes increasingly relevant not only as part of risk management or
an effective public relations policy, but as an integral part of the management and organization of companies.
With ethics that trust, support the operation of the company.

4.2.1. Development of the concept of social responsibility.

The concept of social responsibility adds a determining element to the original concept of
responsibility: it moves people, groups and/or institutions to adopt ethical behaviors characterized by active
and free commitment to achieve the Common Good of society. When we refer to the Common Good of
Society, we understand that it is constituted in political society by four elements:

a) Conducive or favorable environment (Social peace)

b) Abundance of required goods (Sustainable development)

c) Accessibility to goods by all members of society (Equal opportunities)

d) Order established to ensure that all of the above can happen (Social order).

Social Responsibility includes, therefore:

Social actors: because it can be adopted, in civil society, in individual, group or institutional terms.

Certain ethical behaviors: adoption of an ethical position, because it implies a conscious choice for
renewed moral and intellectual principles, values and attitudes in the social sphere.

Active and free commitment: expresses responsibility for a contracted obligation. In our case, it is the
attitude that human beings must have towards society and towards others, to work actively to achieve the
common good of society and its members. It includes the decision to assume that responsibility with
determination and perseverance, with active participation.

Purpose: achieving the Common Good, which involves solving the development problems of society,
because social problems are not resolved with charitable actions, which only pay attention to the symptoms,
but by attacking their true roots, which implies a true social investment in the development that allows the
advancement of the entire society; build it as a sustainable and supportive community, because it involves the
renewal and development of civic culture.

4.2.2. Current context of social responsibility.

With the concept of responsibility, a curious situation arises when it comes to defining its meaning:
what is first understood as a moral obligation, as a demand for justice, causing misgivings, suspicions and
rejections, is later taken up firmly as a resource. strategic, as an instrument at the service of efficiency and
economic benefit. However, along the way it has lost all its critical and innovative force. This situation had
already occurred with other normative concepts, such as participation. The objective of this article is to
present a concept of responsibility capable of being understood as a moral resource, a resource that allows us
to combine justice and effectiveness. Ten years ago, talking about responsibility before a business forum was
almost impossible, it was not interesting. Nobody wanted to talk about a concept that implied, everyone
sensed, the acquisition of commitments beyond economic results. The most surprising thing is that the same
thing happened in the union spheres, due to the fear of the entry of other business actors into the game. The
distribution of power within the company was in danger. Both intuitions were true, but they were wrong in
seeing in them only a danger, a liability or burden for the satisfaction of the interests at stake. The current
meaning of social responsibility responds rather to a change in this understanding of the company.

4 .3 HUMAN LABOR RIGHTS

CONCEPTS OF HUMAN LABOR RIGHTS

According to the International Labor Organization, Labor Human Rights are those human rights linked to the
world of work that are aimed at enabling minimum working conditions. The defense and promotion of
Human Labor Rights seeks to improve working conditions and wages as well as guarantee the right to
freedom of association, collective bargaining and strikes.

Labor Human Rights are classified into:

1. Stable employment:

It implies the possibility of freely choosing work, obtaining employment without any discrimination,
receiving adequate and timely training to do it; must have a guarantee of stability as long as the work matter
exists, protection against unemployment and compensation for unjustified dismissal and promotion based on
seniority

2. Sufficient salary:

It consists of equitable and satisfactory remuneration that ensures the worker a decent existence,
complemented if necessary by other means of social protection, receiving equal pay for equal work and
guaranteeing workers their subsistence when they retire through a pension system. .

3. Satisfactory working conditions:

They include work hours and sufficient rest to recover lost energy; work environment free of moral and
sexual harassment; safe and healthy working conditions, as well as compensation for occupational risks.

4. Social Security:
Understood, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO), as the protection that society provides
to its members, through a series of public measures, against economic and social deprivation that, otherwise,
would cause the disappearance or a strong reduction of income due to illness, maternity, work accident or
occupational illness, unemployment, disability, old age and death; and also protection in the form of medical
assistance and help for families with children. It is an inalienable right of women and men and therefore there
can be no peace or progress while all of humanity does not find full social security.

5. Gender equality rights:

Based on the principle of equality between men and women, gender equity rights guarantee female workers
access to employment in the same condition as men, to receive equal pay for equal work, in addition to the
recognition and respect of the rights of women. maternity and to enjoy a work environment free of all
harassment, harassment or violence, whether sexual, physical or psychological.

6. Rights of minor workers:

It consists of the prohibition of work for minors under 14 years of age. The State has the obligation to
guarantee effective surveillance and protection so that minors can continue with their studies. The maximum
working day established for minor workers is 6 hours a day.

7. Freedom of association:

It is the possibility of associating or joining to defend the workers' own interests in a union or any other form
of labor organization without intervention by authorities or employers in union life; freedom to elect
representatives; protection against harassment due to (union) membership or leadership and the power to
regulate the internal life of the organization through statutes that guarantee respect for fundamental human
rights.

8. Collective Contracting:

Understood as the possibility of taking into account the will of the workers as well as the real conditions of
the company, for the bilateral determination of working conditions. It implies that workers organized in a
union negotiate with the employer for greater and better benefits than those established by law as the
minimum.

9. Strike:

Understood as the legitimate act of defending the rights of the workers against the company or the employer,
through the strike the workers suspend the work of the workplace to pressure the employer in order to
exercise their right. to collective contracting, achieve a fair and equitable distribution of profits, which allows
workers to do their work with dignity and achieve a better standard of living.

10. Non-waivability of acquired rights:

Non-waivability is a characteristic of human rights and in labor matters it implies that no worker or other
lowering company can renounce the rights recognized by the Law as minimum or that have been acquired
with the bilateral conclusion of the collective labor contract, this despite the fact that There may be a
document signed before a labor authority or with witnesses. This right entails the obligation of the State and
the employer to respect the rights of workers at all times.

11. Labor Justice:

Understood as the guarantee that the State has the obligation to give, through appropriate legal means in the
event of a violation of one or more workers' rights. It implies the possibility that the worker can be heard
publicly and fairly, by an independent and impartial tribunal in order to determine the violation that, in his
case, has been made against his human labor rights and the obligations that derive from the work. carried out,
the State has the obligation to ensure that the court that resolves this type of conflict must be independent and
impartial and its resolutions must be issued promptly, expeditiously and free of charge.

4.3.1 General concepts of labor rights

Labor rights, what is it?

Workers' rights or labor rights are a set of rights that are human rights, which are concerned with labor
relations between employers and employees.

Generally, these rights are obtained through work and labor law.

Typically, these rights are subject to debate in negotiating workers' benefits or compensation or for a safe
work environment.

When it comes to labor rights, the right to unionize is the most central part.

By joining together and forming a union, they may have advantages for union action and collective
bargaining to increase the wages of union members or insist on safe working conditions and demand
essential changes.

Initially, the labor movement intended this “right to unionize,” however attention later shifted.

Why is the study of labor rights and interests in commercial labor relations essential?

In fact, it is an inevitable alternative to rectify offensive assignment rights in realistic labor relations and
understand the balance of power and labor trade.

One has to take into account the analysis of labor rights by understanding labor problems, such as the concept
of rights, the value of labor rights, the basic situation about labor rights arising, the fundamental structure of
labor rights labor, etc.

We all know that labor rights are fundamental human rights.

It is a developing concept and has emerged due to changes in the social industry.

Due to evolution, transition and increasing nuances in matter of imitating social progress and human
civilization.
Numerous labor rights are established for workers.

It is essential to understand your rights as a worker.

On the other hand, employers must know the rights of employees as well.

This will help them avoid any type of violations and the associated consequences.

Child Labor: The Law strictly limits the work of minor children, especially those under 16 years of age.

Laws include keeping children from working during particular hours and restricting the number of hours that
children under 16 can work.

Anti-discrimination law follows a pattern of not discriminating against an employee in promotions, hiring,
job assignment or service activation for numerous reasons such as sex, race, religion, color, national origin,
disability or age.

The idea of labor rights is a variable and multifaceted process.

The fundamental principle that must be followed to guarantee labor rights is to unite the rights initiative with
social activity.

Labor rights are a relatively new addition to the current mass of human rights.

The current concept of labor rights dates back to the 19th century after the formalization of unions that
emerged after the industrialization processes.

Recently, workers are promoting rights and attention is being paid to the specific role, development and
needs of women workers and the increasingly mobile universal flows of guest, service or casual workers.

• Every individual has the right to work. Everyone is free to choose employment with favorable working
conditions.

• Each person has the right to receive equal pay for equal work, without any prejudice.

• Every person who works has the right to receive remuneration to guarantee the existence of himself and his
family and his human self-esteem.

• Everyone has the right to create and join unions to strengthen their interests.

• Everyone has the right to relaxation and free time, including reasonable restrictions on working hours and
paid intervals.
Fundamental labor standards, what are they?

Recognized by the ILO (International Labor Organization), core labor standards are of great importance.

These standards are of universal application, where applicable laws have been approved, the level of
development of a nation and cultural values increase.

Core labor standards include qualitative and not quantitative standards.

These standards do not establish a specific level of work environment, health or wages and safety standards.

It is essential to understand that these do not propose to weaken the relative advantage that developing
countries may have.

Human rights are important and human rights instruments are widely ratified.

It is essential for all workers to be aware of their rights as a worker.

Every individual has the right to equal treatment, regardless of their sex, appearance and origin, sexual
orientation or religion, it is also a worker's right.

In many protests, discrimination in the workplace is illegal.

4.3.2 Observance of human labor rights.

They are responsible for the administration of justice, eager to improve their ability to effectively deal with
those who break the law as well as citizens who obey the law, they want to train their staff to be vigilant in
the observance of human rights and civil rights. At the same time, public safety problems concern citizens
throughout the Mexican Republic and especially in Mexico City. Outside of a concentrated and very vocal
group that defends human rights, public opinion clamors for action against crime at any cost. Law
enforcement officials are caught between these two trends.
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Adela Curtain. THE PUBLIC DIMENSION OF APPLIED ETHICS . Retrieved on May 27, 2017 at:
file:///C:/Users/pc02/Downloads/rie29a02%20(1).PDF

Etkin Jorge. IDB. INTER-AMERICAN INITIATIVE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL, ETHICS AND

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