What is Ethics?
As provided by “Business Management: A Contemporary Compilation” by (Nieuwenhuizen, Drotskie & Oosthuizen 2014), ethics can be defined as moral principles that govern or influence a person’s behaviour.
As provided by “Business Management: A Contemporary Compilation” by (Nieuwenhuizen et al.2014), business ethics can be defined as written or unwritten codes of principles or values that govern decisions and actions within an organisation.
According to Wikipedia.org, ethics are defined as moral principles that govern a person's behaviour or the conducting of an activity.
Therefore from this, we can deduce that ethics play an important role in the workplace as these principles determine the manner in which tasks are conducted by individuals, the moral standing of an individual and how these things affect the way in which an entity will operate.
Types of ethics, namely 3 :
Descriptive ethics: This a description of people’s behaviour and/or the moral standards they claim to follow.
Normative ethics: Creating or evaluating moral standards. It is therefore an attempt to figure out what people should do or whether current moral behaviour is reasonable. (Nieuwenhuizen et al.2014)
Analytical ethics: The study of assumptions people make under normative ethics. (Nieuwenhuizen et al.2014)
The main characteristics of a business’s ethics are:
Ethical decisions will differ with each person as different people will perceive ethical issues differently.
Ethical decisions are not limited to individuals, affecting a wide range of situations
Most ethical issues involve a trade-off between cost a business will incur and benefits it will receive
The results of most ethical/unethical decisions are usually not clear
It is noted that ethical decisions are involuntary human actions
What is our ethics/the ethics of an organisation based on?
Generic Inheritance: Individuals are passed down traditions as they grow older, therefore making an individual’s background a great influence on their ethical behaviour
Religion: What a person believes in has an impact on his/her ethical behaviour
Philosophical systems: The way people perceive things, life and it’s purpose is the core of their philosophical system and whichever system one is exposed to influences one’s ethical behaviour
Cultural experience: The experience a person has when dealing with a different culture in society influences their norms and ethics.
The legal system: laws are the embodiement of a society’s ethical standards and therefore, the types of laws people are exposed to influences their norms and ethics as individuals
Ethics refers to a system of moral standards that guide the decision for human conduct of what is right and wrong based on everyday life situations, usually in terms rights, obligations, benefits, fairness, or virtue. Ethics is used as a formal guideline for conducting business in order to minimize pain to the greater number of people as a whole. The principles of ethics come from the knowledge and understanding of the word of God, the Bible. It tells us how we ought to think and behave toward one another considering first, how we want to be treated. For instance, we have the right to freedom of speech as long as we don’t insult the integrity of others. In addition, God gives us examples for how make right decisions and warns of those to avoid. Knowing this, that if we have love in our hearts first, for our heavenly father then we’ll have compassion for our fellow mankind to behave ethically.
Nelson, K., & Trevino, L. (2004). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley
Ethics is the standard that are set by a person or organizations based from their beliefs, the values they hold, moral rules they have that helps them make the right or wrong decision, how to act when confronted with a moral dilemma. Setting an ethical standard and a set of rules is critical to having healthy employees, customers, and ultimately a healthy organization.
Ethics are the fundamental basis of human behavior. They dictate the nature of human interactions and actions in various spheres of life. Some ethical guides are prescriptive on how people should act while others are based on specific situations. While they generally remain unwritten societal morals and values, people are always exposed to learning their societal ethics that dictate the nature of human actions through socialization in various social places.
Ethics are the set beliefs and values of an individual which they apply to circumstances relating to morality. To act in an ‘ethical’ manner, an individual must display integrity by doing what they believe to be right.
Ethics is a social, religious, or civil code of behavior considered appropriate, especially that of a specific group, profession, or individual. Business ethics is the analyzation of moral and social accountability in reference to procedures and the making of decisions in a company (Merriam, 2015). While every individual has their own value system in regards to ethics, there is a type
As a function, ethics is a philosophical study of the moral value of human conduct, and of the rules and principles it should govern. As a system, ethics are a social, religious, or civil code of behavior considered correct by a particular group, profession, or individual. As an instrument, ethics provide perspective regarding the moral fitness of a decision, course of action, or potential outcomes. Ethical decision-making can include many types, including deontological (duty), consequentialism (including utilitarianism), and virtue ethics. Additionally, subsets of relativism, objectivism, and pluralism seek to understand the impact of moral diversity on a human level. Although distinct differences separate these ethical systems, organizations
By definition, ethics refers to "a set of principles of right conduct." It is also defined as "the rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession," (www.thefreedictionary.com) and in business may be considered the standards governing the conduct of people in the business environment. Business ethics is the behavior that a business adheres to in its daily dealings with the world. It relies on values as a way of guiding behaviour in business.
[1] Ethics is defined as “the code of moral principles and values that governs the behaviour of a person or a group with respect to what is right or wrong” (Samson and Daft, 2005, p.158)
The textbook defines business ethics as “the accepted principles of right or wrong governing the conduct of business people.” Business ethics also govern the members of a profession and the actions of an organization. Many organizations put into place an ethical strategy which is “a course of action that does not violate accepted principles.” These principles are used to guide organizations and employees to make the right decisions.
Ethics is the study of right or wrong and the morality of the choices that individuals make. That basicly means the set of morals or responsibility that a person, group, or field have. Ethics can also be classified as code of morals. In business there are ethics that portray to business. These are called business ethics, business ethics just happen to be the application of ethics, morals, into the business field. Some examples of business ethics are obeying all rules and regulations even when nobody 's looking, which is pretty self explanatory, you shouldn’t be breaking rules. Even if it is as simple as washing your hands after you use the restroom or straight up lying to your customers, they are the ones making you money so if they find out
Ethics is a code of thinking and conduct administered by a combination of personal, moral, legal, and social standards of what is
Ethics are moral principles or values that govern the conduct of an individual or a group.It is not a burden to bear, but a prudent and effective guide which furthers life and success. Ethics are important not only in business but in academics and society as well because it is an essential part of the foundation on which a civilized society is built.
Ethics is a system of moral principles and a branch of philosophy which defines what is acceptable for both individuals and society. It is a philosophy that covers a whole range of things that have an importance in everyday situations. Ethics are vital in everyones lives, it includes human values, and how to have a good life, our rights and responsibilities, moral decisions what is right and wrong, good and bad. Moral principles affect how people make decisions and lead their lives (BBC, 2013). There are many different beliefs about were ethics come from. These consist of; God and Religion, human conscience, the example of good human beings and a huge desire for the best for people in each unique situation, and political power (BBC, 2013).
For a business to be effective and running, ethics and values are important factors. Both of these factors work in correlation with one another and they are central to any organization. We then define ethics as moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour. This can be identified on how stakeholders (consumers, customers and shareholders) behave in the organisational environment. Edward Westermarck (Lee and John 1986 37-38) agrees in saying that ‘ethics are concerned with doing good or the right thing in a given human situation’. In the business context, ethics has to do with the extent to which a person's behaviour measures up to such standards as the law, organizational policies, professional and trade association codes, popular expectations regarding fairness and what is right, plus one's own take on moral standards (Sauser, 2005: internet).