VALUES AND ETHICS

Unit-V
Unit-V
 Human Values –Natural acceptance - Ethics – Definition- Virtues –
Challenges in the work place
 Ethics of Legal profession - Scope - Moral issues and judgment -
Moral development theories
 Codes of ethics - Industrial standards
 Global Issues: Environmental ethics- Computer ethics - Ethics and
codes of business conduct in MNC.
Human Values
 Human values are the virtues that guide us to take into account
the human element when we interact with other human beings. 
 Human values are, for example, respect, acceptance, consideration,
appreciation, listening, openness, affection, empathy and love
towards other human beings.
Natural acceptance
 Natural acceptance implies unconditional and total acceptance of
the self, people and environment. It also refers to the absence of any
exception from others.
 Once we fully and truly commit ourself on the basis of natural
acceptance, we feel a holistic sense of inner harmony, tranquillity
and fulfilment.
Ethics
 The word “ethics” is derived from the Greek word “ethos”, which refers to
character.

 Webster defines ‘ethics’ as “The discipline dealing with that which is good and
bad with moral duty and obligations”.
BUSINESS ETHICS
 “Business Ethics” deals with morality in the business environment.
 It involves moral judgments, based on the understanding of the
norms of society.
 Ethics extends beyond the legal question and involves goodness or
badness of an act.
ETHICS IN WORK PLACE
 Workplace ethics are, by definition, the moral principles that guide
a person's actions in the workplace.
12 Ethical Principles in workplace / Business

1. Honesty
2. Integrity
3. Keeping Your Promises
4. Loyalty
5. Fair
6. Caring
7. Respect
8. Obeying the law
9. Excellence
10. Being a Leader
11. Morale
12. Accountable
FORMULATION OF ETHICS
 Ethics are formulated through the operation of five forces in the
individual’s environment:-
1. Influences: the formulation of ethics begins when the individual is
a small child parents demonstrate high ethical standards.
2. Peer Influence: As the child develops contacts outside the home
through school, play and work, peer exert considerable influence on
the individuals ethical beliefs
3. Experience: As a person matures and develops as a human being,
he or she will be exposed to many critical experiences that will
affect his or her ethical standards.
4. Values and Morals: People who have high value on money and
material possessions may have strong ethical standards. People who
value the quality of life enjoyed by all living creatures will have
strong ethics.
5. Situational Fact us: People often change their ethics in response to
unforeseen situational fact us.
MANAGERIAL ETHICS
 Managerial ethics is a set of principles and rules dictated by top
level management that define what is right and what is wrong in an
organization.
Three models of managerial ethics
Challenges in the work place
 Decreased performance levels
 Being understaffed
 Lack of communication
 Poor teamwork
 Pressure to perform
 Absence of structure
 Time management
 Inadequate support
 Skepticism
 Difficult employees
 Transition from coworker to manager
 Weak workplace culture
Ethics and Law
Ethics of Legal profession
Professional Judgement
 A lawyer should exercise independent professional judgment on

behalf of a client.
 A lawyer cannot accept employment from a client when there is a

conflict of interest.
 Furthermore, a lawyer is to refrain from acquiring a financial

interest (other than legal fees) in the cases.

 Additionally, a lawyer should generally refrain from entering into

business agreements with a client if those business interests differ.

Confidentiality
 A lawyer should preserve the confidences of a client.
 This means that the lawyer can never use a client’s confidence or
secret to his personal advantage or for personal gain. Typically, a
lawyer can only divulge a client’s confidence with the client’s
consent and only after the lawyer gives full disclosure as to the legal
consequences of that disclosure.
 In limited some instances, a lawyer can reveal confidences if such
confidence is a client’s intent is a crime that may cause death or
serious injury.
Competence
 A lawyer must represent a client competently.
 If a lawyer is not competent to handle a legal matter, that lawyer is
generally required to become competent, either by consulting with
another lawyer or conducting adequate research.
 Furthermore, a lawyer should not handle a legal matter without
adequate preparation under the circumstances.
 Finally, a lawyer is not allowed to neglect a case that has been
entrusted to him.
Zealous Representation
 A lawyer should represent a client zealously within the bounds of the law.
 However, in cases where a client’s conduct could arguably be illegal, a lawyer may refuse aid or participate
in such conduct.
 Furthermore, a lawyer may not assert a position, file a suit, delay trial, or take actions on behalf of a client,
particularly when such actions are undertaken merely to harass or maliciously injure another individual.
 A lawyer cannot knowingly use perjured testimony or false evidence.
 A lawyer cannot knowingly assert false statements of law or fact.
 A lawyer cannot preserve or create evidence which the lawyer knows is false.
 A lawyer cannot assist his client in conduct the lawyer knows to be illegal or fraudulent.
 Furthermore, if a lawyer receives information that a client has conducted fraud on a person or tribunal, the
lawyer must ask the client to rectify the fraud. If the client is unable and unwilling, the lawyer must reveal..
 Zealous representation includes upholding a fiduciary duty, when applicable and necessary.[16]
Scope of ethics
 Business ethics
 Workplace Ethics
 Employee Management Ethics
 Performance Ethics
 Sexual Ethics
 Diversity Ethics
 Environmental Ethics
Moral issues
 Moral issues are those actions which have the potential to help or
harm others or ourselves.

 Very few human decisions or actions are not of

some moral concern since very few, if any, decisions have no
consequences helping or harming ourselves or others.
Moral judgment
 Moral judgments refer to judgments that have moral content; they are used
to evaluate situations, courses of action, persons, behavior, etc. The basis
of moral judgments is a topic of some philosophical dispute. Some hold
that moral judgments are based in intuition or feeling, often in connection
with the emotions.

 People articulate a moral judgment, for example, when they say that an

action is right or wrong, that a person is good or bad, or that a situation is just
or unjust. Athletes frequently make moral judgments about moral issues that
arise in sports, and such judgments have been investigated by sport
psychologists.
Moral development
 Moral development focuses on the emergence, change, and
understanding of morality from infancy through adulthood. 
 Morality develops across a lifetime and is influenced by an
individual's experiences and their behavior when faced
with moral issues through different periods' physical and
cognitive development.
Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development
Piagets three stages of moral development
Industry standards
 Industry standards are a set of criteria within an industry relating
to the standard functioning and carrying out of operations in their
respective fields of production.

 In other words it is the generally accepted requirements followed

by the members of an industry.
Environmental ethics
 Environmental ethics is a branch of ethics that studies the relation of
human beings and the environment and how ethics play a role in this. 
 Environmental ethics believe that humans are a part of society as well
as other living creatures, which includes plants and animals.
 Environmental ethics helps define
man's moral and ethical obligations toward the environment.
 Water and air pollution, the depletion of natural resources, loss of
biodiversity, destruction of ecosystems, and global climate change are
all part of the environmental ethics debate.
Computer ethics
The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics
 Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.
 Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work.
 Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's computer files.
 Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.
 Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.
 Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid (without permission).
 Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without authorization or proper
compensation.
 Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output.
 Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you are writing or the system you
are designing.
 Thou shalt always use a computer in ways that ensure consideration and respect for other humans. [8]
Ethics and codes of business conduct in
MNC.
 A multinational corporation (MNC) has facilities and other assets
in at least one country other than its home country. A multinational
company generally has offices and/or factories in different countries
and a centralized head office where they coordinate global
management.
CODES OF ETHICS
 A code of ethics is a set of guidelines which are designed to set out
acceptable behaviors for members of a particular group, association,
or profession.

 Many organizations govern themselves with a code of ethics,

especially when they handle sensitive issues like investments, health
care, or interactions with other cultures.