Ethics,Features of ethical decisions,Sources of ethics ,Principles of ethical behaviour

 

Ethics is the study of the individual and collective moral awareness, judgement, character and conduct.. Our great epics and other works have elaborately defined all the components of personal, professional, and social ethics. In fact, a helping attitude, empathetic, thought process, kindness to fellow beings, selflessness, honesty and integrity are all the key elements of the ethics. 

The broad objective of ethics is to study the human behaviour and make evaluative assessment about them as moral or immoral. It establishes moral standards and norms of behaviour and makes judgement upon human behaviour based on these standards and norms and also prescribes moral behaviour and makes recommendations about hoe to or how not to behave. It also expresses an opinion or attitude about human conduct.

Ethics and morale

The word ethics and morale are used interchangeably and are generally understood to convey the same meaning whereas some philosophers draw a difference between the two. They argue that the morale could be visualised as representing the inner strata of the human conscience and ethics as outer strata. Though ethics and morality seems similar but when we study deeply there is difference between the two. Morality refers both to the standards of behaviour by which individuals are judged and to the standards of behaviour by which people in general are judged in their relationships with others. Ethics encompasses the system of beliefs that supports a particular view of morality.

Features of ethical decisions

Ethics have various characteristics; some of the main characteristics are as follows with regard to the ethical decisions:

 Ethics involves learning what is right and wrong, and then doing just the right thing. 

 Most ethical decisions have extended consequences 

 Most ethical decisions have multiple alternatives 

 Most ethical decisions have mixed outcomes

  Most ethical decisions have uncertain consequences.

 Most ethical decisions have personal implications

Sources of ethics 

The major sources of ethics are as follows: 

 Genetic inheritance: Various traits are inherited from our forefathers and they come to us from the generation to generation. These are courage, sympathy, goodness, generosity and cooperation. 

 Legal system: Legal system is a great regulator of ethical and value based behaviours. Laws reflect the expectations and approvals of the society. 

 Religion: Religion is a very great source of our conduct and behaviour in almost all the societies. Religious books lay down the great ethical norms for the society to follow and observe them.

  Philosophical system: Philosophers are also a great source of values in our society. The different philosophical inputs have strong bearing on business decision making process. 

 Culture: Customs, beliefs and standards are transmitted from generation to generation.

  Code of conduct: These are the codes of set rules and norms that are devised and designed by the companies we work in. we have to adhere to this moral code of conduct.

Principles of ethical behaviour 

Some of the main directive principles in India which promote the ethical behaviour in social and business organisations are as follows: 

 The state shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting as effectively as possible. 

 The state shall strive to minimise the inequalities in income and endeavour to eliminate the inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities. 

 The state shall direct its policies towards securing to the citizens, men and women equally, the right to adequate means of livelihood. The ownership and control of the material resources of the community should be distributed so as to serve the common good.

  That the cooperation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of the wealth and means of production in few hands and to the common loss of people. 

 There should be equal pay for equal work for both men and women