2 | Professional Ethics II the data of writers and potential writers ; he transferred al While leaving his present employer, and telephone numbers of more than 2 bag which he took with him. This had the names, addresses, 00 pao who could be considered as potential writers. _ ‘After joining the new firm, he was under pressure to acquire new projects—idently and contact wi for engineering books, Since he was very ambitious and faced the pressure of doing well in his job ay, supporting his family, he used the data from his CD. He contacted many of them and got severa| because of his earlier association with them. He won the appreciation of his new employers for the busin, he was able to get. Ethicus wants your opinion on the following: 1. When you work for a company you are privy to a lot of information that may be crucial in 3 high competitive environment. Was it right of Vipin to take this information with him and use it whey working for a competitor? 2. Do you think that collecting the official data on a CD and using it for personal success was high) unethical act? 3. Suppose Vipin had not made a CD of the database he had. He remembered many people and had ther contact numbers with him, Now if he contacts them for fresh projects, would it be ethical? INTRODUCTION his chapter aims to initiate you into the world of morality, ethies, and values, and hep understand them better. ‘These abstract concepts need to be understood to formulate the objectives of leading a satisfying and blissful life, Ethics is a branch of philosophy: that deah with the study of moral standards and edicts that are intended to govern our behaviour Whie there are norms and standards for ethical behaviour, the bottom line is the individual’ uw perceptions about morality and ethics, ‘This chapter provides an overview of the basic concepis of ethies, which will be detail in later chapters. While, in general, you may be able to distinguish between right and 61% actions based upon your experiences and belief, it is also true re oft based on your individual perceptions. The absoluten is very difficult to specify in many cases. 'The intenti ethies by understanding the diflerent aspects of hum, that your decisions & 1 or write of something being righ ion in this chapter is to enter the 6" an existence, TERMINOLOGY Let us deal with the definitions of some of the common terms used in this book. The ™ i rani are, 6 ine and their meanings are, by themselves, rather ambiguous or abstract They get their subs from what is more commonly accepted by the society 1 Moral and Morality ‘The word moral is defined in the Oxford diction and wrong behaviour’ aind ‘a lesson that can be on the other hand, is defined in the following wa aig abi ary as ‘concerned with the principle derived trom a story or experienee™* ays: * ‘Principles governing right and wrong. and good and bad behaviour.4 Basic Concepts | 5 © “The degree to which something is right or wrung, good, oF bad, and so on.’ au, Hever, lacus ieee oe within a community. In India, the wate a srcct® ol! in Ind Sehaviour, which in cart I gl ae a cei teh wu ea vat has the power (@a ——=_ BasicConcepts | 7 tals. The fit that these codes often go against the certain behavie les amongst individ constitutional edicts is a different issue. Personal ethics and societal dictates are_very much in conflict today, Perwoniad snot sage changing much faster wday. For example, people of the younger generation, ¥ not place muuch value on caste system or even religious exclusion, might opt for intet= rages, though many conservative families and ever communities would not support There have been many examples of honour killings perpetuated by par fee who defied social dictates and decided to get marr suundit who ™ caste such marriages. relatives of young rebellious coupl their caste. partners who were not from Constitutional Edicts Constitutional edicts are provisions granted by th umbrella, which give ns directions for appropriate behaviou aevial edicts and can even contradict them. A typical example prevalent in Rajasthan, ‘The constitution provides the marriage and prohibits marriage belore any of the partners reac h that age are valued more in some cormmumnues of Rajasthan and child marriages are still prevalent The law has been enacted by common consent in the lewislature, taking into account ding physical and mental preparedness of a woman to bear children, In “ire also violated because when a child is married, he/she di hot have individual perceptions about marriage. As the child grows up, he/she develops his/ her own perspectives about his/her life, which may conflict with earlier p ceptions. However. ghts are being violated at times, Legal action in such cases may net only way to prevent such bout the te constitution, and the laws created under its ‘These can be different from the is the practice of child marriage able age for men and women Yet, customs and traditions various factors ine such cases, individual righ Jaws enforcing individual nstances is to educate people prove very ¢ importance of dhe law and its benefits, Universality ‘Are there moral or ethical norms and standards that are app! cultural world, it seems impossible to set norms for everyone. As the definition of morality speaks of behaviour conforming to norms and standards acceptable to a society or comm unity. nel «will vary widely with the community, However, there must be some norms and suas ht are applicable universally. For example, a student cheating in ar eNamination is saps eal No one in their right mind will consider such behaviour ethical, Again telling the truth is a universally expected beh: sli i = | ) ed behaviour from individuals. There is no controvers ole juals, There is no controversy able universally? In a multi- CONTEXTUAL ASPECTS Ethical norms and stand: rds are essentially ; aoe are essentially contextual in the sense that some actions may per in a particular society/community only, As the social context in which an action may be considered approy per varies, it is difficult to stan y Is appropriate: or Vi it is dill ardi i moral standards, ppropriate/ proper varies, it is diflicult to standardize universalooo 8 | Professional Ethics Context "The significance of the context in ethical norms is evident in the following example, In y York, ifa man kisses a woman (not necessarily his wile) an the streets, itis not frowned upon pe avery common happening and not considered immoral or inappropriate in that society, InN, Delhi, on the other hand, if man kisses.a woman on the street, it will be considered abn) behaviour and looked down upon with a frown, Hence, an individual's hehaviouris evaluate in the context in which that action takes place. However, there are many aspects of social code, that have a universal presence. It is important to imbibe and practise such universally acepyed behavioural patterns. Hence, an individual needs 10 balance his/her actions while decding his/her behaviour in the context of universal values and the local socivtal codes. Changing Scenario Absence of morality and ethics is believed to be the prime cause for the ills witnessed in the society. The world is changing fast. ‘Technology revolution in communication has enabled people to come closer. The media has made its presence felt by its ability to present the d to people. This has made an enormous dil erence in the way we happenings across the w live and behave. The positive aspect has been the generation of a deeper understanding ofthe world. However. on the negative side, it has brought about a cultural invasion and has caused subsequent undesirable moral/ethical behaviour. The changing scenario has been viewed by some as an undesirable invasion into their lives ‘The inertia is particularly scen in small communities that have resisted any attemps to change the way they live. Change is inevitable and is the only permanent thing in this world. Wehave to think about the impact of these changes on our moral and ethical standards and accept hose changes that are not harmful. There is a greater need today to educate peaple on morality and ethics instead of holding on to age-old customs and traditions that are no longer relevant today PERSONAL ETHICS oy in thei al Personal ethics refer to those behavioural patterns that apply to individuals in Leonie life. It is very difficult to make a list of all that is important. The following list may be a sample and further expanded: * Refrain from causing harm to others by your actions. Sometimes, the ethi least harm actions, Our attempt must be to ensure that we do not harm the inter by our behaviour. * Be benevolent or do good to athers and the society on the whole. Show concern for the well-being of others. Respect individual freedom and accept that others behaviour, hence, refrain from imposing your will on others Ensure that justice is meted to all. Respect the law willingly and voluntarily, Many ills in the society are © Jack of respeet for the laws of the land, suthful Adopt and practise values such as honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, and g and hindi’ in their have autonomyBasicConcepts | 9 Do not be an opportunist and take unfair advantage ofa situation. Practise non-violence and end discards through peacefal means as violent means only accentuate the divide, » Provide service to the poor, which includes any disadwantaged individual. Sadhu Vaswani, for instance, has emphasized, ‘Service of the poor is the worship of God’, IPROFESSIONAL ETHICS [Depending upon the profession you are in, there are ethical codes related 10 thi IStudy the following list and reflect on + Openness is a desirable virtue in professionals. Transparency in all actions must be the motto, = You should he impartial while dealing with people and in your actions, An impartial judgement is a very desirable attribute in professionals, + Be objective so that you are not influenced by any personal bias while taking decisions. * Maintain confidentiality of the information available to you as « professional lor as decided by the organization) for the sake of organizational growth. * Carry out the work alloted by the organization diligently, which includes care as well as conscientiousness while performing your work. * Make professional judgements impartially, showing your innate sense of responsibility. * Be loyal to your organization and develop a sense of bclongingness with the organization. Many people take pride in being part of their organization and care for the organization above their own well-being * Avoid simations that might lead to contliets, This may notalways be possible as your personal ethical beliefs may sometimes lead to conflicts, SOCIAL ETHICS Social ethics can be defined as a set of rules that is obeyed by the met 8 to maintain good community relations within the social order, (based on customs and traditions) and not mandated by law. [t can thus b moral or ethical principles based on the collective wisdorn of the people. Th Cihical codes to control the behaviour of people. Social ethics evolve aver a period of time and depend upon many factors such as language, ethnicity, gender, and culture. Social ethic varies widely indifferent communities, within’a country, and globally across many co es, Social et e, BH we cha veial ethic norms generally have alife dictated by many factors and change with times. His hecessary t recognize that social ethic norms adupted by a community are what are considered red acceptable by a majority of the community, Tt is created by people t© ensure a harmonious life for everyone. Social et mbers of a community so icial ethic is thus norm considered as the se venerally act as have become important because we live in a global village. People belonging to different cultures travel to other locations, for short of lang du tly, tions oF even perma= 10. | Professional Ethics for work, Understanding the social ethic rules of the local community is thus very ng sometimes very crucial to avoid misunderstanding , Many examples of social ethic actions can be seen in India |. Ifyou are seated, then standing up when you see your elders is a common practic 2. Showing respect to elders by touching their feet is also a norm practised como 3. In some communities, ladies cover their head and face using their saree in front of elders. You can see many examples like this in Indian communities. They also vary widely jy communities, Social ethic norms are based majorly on acceptance and can (should be only when it does not harm others who may not accept it. Social cthic has to be dynamic and must cl ange with time. If it de conflicts can arise, essa ly when going ay, Ciflry rg mo! happen, ETHICAL DILEMMAS Ethical dilemmas are situations where a decision suggested/taken Problem becomes controversial. Many such problems are still being debated hotly an the world. Death penalty to a convict is still being debated upon various grounds, Fut mercy killing). which refers to the killing of a terminally ili person suffering acutely vith hope of survival, is another example. To prevent the agony of such a person, the lisa equipment may be removed or the individual is killed in a painless way. There isa view tat have no right to kill another human being. A second view is that depending on the suai it will be much beter if the life is ended to stop the acute suffering that the patient through. a solution to an ethic) ‘have been living in this house for years. | will not vacate this house. Either we 0 t0 Court or You give me %20 lakhs compensation and | will vacate...” Tenant trouble