Ethical and Unethical Behaviour (Cont.

) • Subjectively ethical (or unethical): person believes he or she

acted ethically according to his or her ethical philosophy (or not) • Objectively ethical (or unethical):
person acted according to a rule or law (or not) • Example: manager pays bribes because of belief it is
ethical in a particular country but violates employer's policies Ethics: The Study of

Ethics: The Study of Moral Philosophy • Ethics, or moral philosophy, seeks logical, systematic principles
that define ethical behavior • Describes the behavior a person ought to choose as the right course of
action • Ethical absolutism: ethical system applies to everyone, everywhere • Ethical relativism: ethical
system is based on local values

Ethical values of societies • Exist in all societies • Unwritten or written • Act as “recipes of action” to
reduce conflict when people’s interests differ • Change over time as the society’s needs change • Cross-
cultural effects: another source of change Ethical values of individuals • Develop from societal level
values • Learn from family, religious training, peers, education, life experiences • Develop more complex
thinking patterns with maturity. Includes ethical values. • Individual differences within a society E

Ethical Values of Societies and Individuals ✓ Ethic of justice: applies moral rules to decide the fairness of
an act ✓ Believed primarily characteristic of men ✓ Stages of moral development • Preconventional
(individual view) • Conventional (societal view) • Principled (universal view) ✓ Ethic of care: moral
judgments based on empathy for others and the person’s relationship with them ✓ Primarily
characteristic of women ✓ Stages of moral development • Focus on self (concerned with survival) •
Focus on others (self-sacrificing) • Reflective understanding of caring for others