Ruby Mae Lusuegro

Ruel Olfindo

Francis Eric Matienzo

BSCE 5-B (Group 7)

ETHICAL STANDARDS IN THE WORKPLACE

THE NATURE OF ETHICAL STANDARDS (in a workplace)

-largely unwritten rules of conduct of the workplace concern behaviors generally perceived to
be adherence to customary practices.

-sometimes, the observance of these rules of behavior is considered while violations of the same
are regarded as unethical.

-resisting a wrongful order is a matter of duty and not performing this duty is, therefore,
perfectly ethical.

COMPARING ETHICAL AND LEGAL STANDARDS

-both pertains rules of conduct or how a person ought to behave himself in relation to others.

Ethical Standard

-set of standards of what are ethical and unethical

-unwritten set of rules (Code of Ethics)

Legal Standard

-set of standards of what are legal and illegal

-usually written set of rules

TYPES OF ETHICAL STANDARDS

A.) Ethical Standards Based on Utility

B.) Ethical Standards Based on Moral Rights
C.) Ethical Standards Based on Justice
D.) Other Ethical Standards

A.) Ethical Standards Based on Utility

- Evaluates policies, institutions and behaviors in terms of net social benefits and cost.
- Principle of Utility, which states that an act is good if it promotes the greatest amount of
happiness to the greatest number of people
- Thus, policies or acts that promote the most good or the greatest amount of social benefit
for the greatest number of people are ethical, while those that do not are unethical.

3 Simple Steps to Guide Us in Making Choices

1.) Determine all alternative actions available to us on that occasion. This requires
effort to look for and consider all possible courses of action.
2.) For each alternative action, estimate the direct and indirect benefits and costs that
the action would produce for each and every person. This step requires a complete,
honest assessment and calculation of the most likely consequences of all alternative
 actions. The number of persons who may benefit or be harmed by action must be
noted fully.
3.) The alternative that will produce the greatest sum total of benefits must be chosen
as the most ethically appropriate course of action.

B.) Ethical Standards Based on Moral Rights

- Evaluate institutions, policies, acts of behavior in terms of the protection they provide for
the rights and freedom of individual
- What is Right? Right are entitlements to something

Types of Rights
1.) Positive Rights and Negative Rights
Positive Rights - duties of others to provide the person who holds such rights
whatever the person needs to freely pursue his/her activities
Negative Rights - duties of others not to interfere in certain activities of the
person who holds such rights.
2.) Legal Rights and Moral Rights
Legal Rights - rights which are limited to the particular jurisdiction of legal
system from which rights are derived.
Moral Rights - rights possessed by all human beings by virtue of their being
human. (aka Human Rights)

Classes of Rights
1.) Moral-Natural Rights
- rights of all human beings by virtue of their being human.
- rights not conferred by the State, afforded by GOD to man as human beings.
- greatest manifestation of world’s desire to uphold rights & dignity of man by
passing the United Nations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ratified
in 1948
Some basic and interrelated postulates:
a.) Moral rights are universal
b.) Comparable rights of others limit moral rights
c.) Moral rights imply moral duties
d.) Moral rights impose limitation to the overwhelming power of the
State
2.) Constitutional Rights
- rights which are conferred and protected by the constitution, the fundamental
law of land
- derived from legislation directly from the people
Constitutional Rights include, among others:
a.) The right to property
b.) The right to just compensation
c.) The right to freedom of speech
d.) The rights to self- expression
e.) The right to self-association
f.) The right to worship and religious expression
3.) Statutory Rights
- rights that are derived from legislation from the people’s representatives
- the law-giving body of the State confers statutory rights
Statutory Rights include, among others:
a.) The right to a minimum wage and to additional compensation for
additional work
 Rights and Duties
Principle of Reciprocity
- our right to be treated in a particular way by others implies our
duty to treat others in the same way
- A maxim that our Lord Jesus Christ himself given us: Do unto
others what you want others do unto you.
- a citizen has the moral right to be protected and respected by his
State, then he has the moral duty to protect and respect his State.

Right to Life as Most Fundamental Moral Right

- the right to life is man’s highest right. Without it, he cannot enjoy the others
rights
- The right to life means the right to a material existence worthy of human
dignity.
- also implies the duty to maintain a healthy way of life, the duty to keep our
lives well.

Rights and Workplace Reality

- right to be treated with dignity is an essential aspect of ethical standard, it
measures moral goodness of an act based on how it values human dignity
regardless of whether the act promotes the greatest happiness or not.
- it is unfortunate that rights are, in reality, more violated than observed and
ignored more than recognized.

C.) Ethical Standard Based on Justice

- Justice roughly means giving what is due a person, or giving what a person deserves.

Kinds of Justice
1.) Retributive Justice
- refers to the just imposition of punishment
- principle of retributive justice is called lex talionis, states that there must equality
between punishment and crime.
2.) Distributive Justice
- concerns the fair distribution of society’s benefits and burdens among its
members.

3 Major Theories of Distributive Justice

1.) Egalitarian Theory of Justice
- claims that everyone should be given equal share of society’s benefits and
burdens regardless of social status
-economic equality and political equality
2.) The Capitalist Theory of Justice
- claims that any benefits should be distributed according to the contribution
each individual makes to achieve the aims of his/her group
- the mores a person contributes to his society’s pool of economic goods, the
more that person entitled to take from that pool
3.) Socialist Theory of Justice
- claims that work burdens should be distributed according to people’s abilities,
while benefits should be distributed according to people’s needs.
 -largely based on Karl Marx, Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital

D.) Other Ethical Standards

1.) Situation Ethics

- rest in a contemporary theory of morality
2.) Ethical Standards Based on Religion or Religious Doctrines
- acts in accordance to faith

Problems Concerning Ethical Standards.

1.) Ethical standard is not laid down by authoritative bodies and is not imposed through the
use of force.
2.) Ethical standard rests on ethical theory, but no fixed, common or universal theory could
provide basis for fixed, common or universal ethical standard.
3.) People tend to use ethical standards as tools to justify their actions in pursuing their
various interest.

HIERARCHY OF ETHICAL STANDARDS

In cases of ethical standards conflict, follow:
First: Standard based on rights
Second: Standard based on justice
Third: Standard based on utility