Ethics

- derived from “ethos” which means “way of living”

- A branch of philosophy concerned with human conduct
- The behaviors of individuals in the society
- Examines the rational justification for moral judgments
- Studies what is morally right or wrong, just or unjust
National Book Store
- Founder: Socorro Ramos and Jose Ramos
- Founded in 1942
- Created with love and hope, faced many hardship during initial years
Business Ownership
- Means legal control over a business
- Gives the owner legal capacity to dictate
Business Organization
- For the purpose of carrying on commercial enterprise
- Describes how businesses are structured and how it helps them to meet their goal

Forms of Business Organization according to ownership

1. Sole Proprietorship
- Business entity owned and operated by a single person
Characteristic:
- Easy to establish
- Limited life
- Small capital
- Ownership of all profit and losses
- Unlimited liability

2. Partnership
- Owned by two or more person
- Partners divide the profits among themselve
Characteristic:
- Easily establish
- Limited life
- Large amount of capital
- Share profit and losses
- Unlimited liability of the partner

3. Corporation
- An enterprise chartered by law with most of the legal rights of a person, includes conduct a business,
to own and sell property, to borrow money, to sue and be sued.
- Has a separate legal personality from its owners
Characteristic:
- Hard to establish
- Life is 50 years, can be extended
- Large amount of capital
- Lack of secrecy
- Lack of personal interest

Ownership
- In stock corporation, it is represented by shares of stock

Major contribution of Forms of Business Organization in Socio-Eco Development

1. Business are considered the engine of the economy
2. Provides job opportunities
 Classical Philosophies and their Implication in Business Practices
1. Musonius Rufus
- On keeping track of one’s ethical progress
- Known as Socrates of Rome
- Another Stoic, philosophy cannot just be theoretical
- Ancient greek word for ethics is habit (The Guardian, 2020)
- Keep track of your progress, to see how you are performing
- You cannot just rely on your intuition, they are often wrong
2. Plutarch
- On being a good role model
- Understood that humans are incredibly social creatures
- Who constantly observe the people around them imitate them
- People often grow up surrounded by bad role model, but we can provide them with better patterns to
imitate
- Also warn that your best young employees will use you as a bar to aim for and exceed
3. Aristotle
- Letting people seek fulfilment
- Based his ethics on a psychological theory of human nature
- We are natural virtuous, rational, social and happiness-seeking
- Governments and organization need to build the best system to let humans fulfill their natural drives
- His philosophy was an influenced on Edward Deci and Richard Ryan’s “Self Determination Theory”
- Humans want to believe in something and to serve it
4. Socrates
- Daring to disagree
- Insisted on our right to think for ourselves
- Human sleepwalk through life, simply going along with the crowd
- He was prepared to die rather than go against his conscience
5. Epicrus
- Aim of life was simply to be happy as possible here on Earth, before we die and dissolve back into the
atomic universe
- Warned that humans are very bad at being happy, and very good at inventing reasons to be miserable
- Philosophy should teach us how to be happy, he suggested

Code of Ethics in Business

1. Fairness
- Involves balancing interests involved in all decision-making
2. Accountability
- The obligation to demonstrate that work has been conducted
3. Transparency
- Defined as being authentic in the way an organization manage themselves externally
4. Stewardship
- Refers to taking responsibility for the business and the effects it has

Business and Ethics are always Interrelated

Ethics guide us we are doing the right thing
In the conduct of our business, we need to follow ethical standards

Ethics
- Derives from greek word “ethikos” which means having to do with character
- The latin word for ethos is “mos” or mores
- We known Ethics as the Moral Science or Moral Philosophy
- Refers to theory of morality of right conduct
Business Ethics
- The study of what is right and wrong on human behavior and conduct business
- Study of perception of people about morality, moral norms, moral rules and ethical principles
Ethical Organization
- Are based on these core principles
Ethical Code or Code of Ethics
- Understanding about the difference between “right” and “wrong”
- A written guidelines issued by and organization to its workers and management
Code of Conduct
- Document designed to influence the behavior of employees
Code of Practice
- Governmental or non-governmental organization to regulate that profession

➔ Be honest and trustworthy

➔ Be fair and take action not to discriminate
➔ Honor confidentiality
➔ Perform work only in areas of competence

Core Principle of Good Corporate Governance

- A good corporate governance is a very important order to build trust and confidence
- Builds the integrity of the institution

1. Fairness
- Comes from the old Englisg word “faeger” means “pleasing or attractive”
- The quality of making judgment that are free from discrimination
2. Accountability
- The obligation of an individual or organization to account for its activities, acept responsibility, and
disclose the results in a transparent manner
3. Transparency
- Defines as being authentic in the way an organization message themselves externally
- Lack of hidden agendas or conditions accompanied by the availability of full information
4. Stewardship
- In biblical terms, defined as utilizing and managing all resources God provides

Impact of Belief System in Business Practices

- The unseen force underlying our actions is our belief system
- Human beings accumulate thousands of beliefs on facets of life
Religion
- One of the greatest forces influencing every decision we make
- Affects our lives, personal or not
- World’s major religions; Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism

1. Christianity
- Follows Hebrew Bible by taking a positive view of physical and human creation
- also teaches that in the persona of Jesus of Nazareth
- human dignity and concern for people are crucial
- emphasizes a sense of justice in business
- ought to focus on how business impacts individuals, the workers in particular
- They should be well-paid and they should find their work meaningful and inspiring.
- does not try to win another's products or services for less than it is worth
- He/she must pay the full price that the goods are worth
- should be transparent and honest with their dealings, products, and services

2. Judaism
- believe there is one God
- written law relies on the “Torah”, has greatly influenced marketing and business ideology
- values and ideas, including the modern market, have penetrated many aspects of modern life
- Honesty on the market
- Fair pricing. There should be good value for money.
 - The Talmud (comprehensive written version of oral laws of the Jews) cares much about price control.
- Business relations. Employers are obligated to pay workers on schedule.
- Talmud has this to ask an individual: "Were you honest in your business dealings?"

3. Islam
- Oneness of God
- all things are created by God and that He is all-powerful and all-knowing.
- God has no offspring, sex, class, body, and He is not affected by human life's characteristics.
- the source of rules is the Qur'an
- Under Islamic Law, if a seller sells an item by making false statements, the buyer shall have the right
to cancel the transactions
A. Contracts must be fair to both or all parties.
B. Speculation, such as gambling, is not allowed. If the money comes from the gambling industry, one will not
be allowed to invest in the Islamic Mutual Fund.
C. When a business is in trouble, compassion is required
- business should be conducted in accordance with the rules of nature which God governs.

4. Buddhism
- Founded on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, also known as “Buddha” or “the enlightened one”
- basis of Buddhist practice was meditation and the observance of moral precepts
- Five Fundamental Moral Percepts; refraining from taking property, behaving unchastely, speaking
wrongly, stealing, and drinking intoxicants.
In business, Buddhists are guided by the following principles:
a. The goals should be defined.
b. The principle of cause and effect should be followed.
c. Empathy and compassion for the customers have to be developed
d. Be flexible, innovative, and mindful of impermanence.

- The Buddhist ethics is based on the non-violence principle

- The Buddhist business code and professional ethics are also closely tied to being
environment-friendly

5. Hinduism
- Hindus believe in one true, formless, boundless, all-inclusive and eternal God called Brahman.
- He is not an abstract concept but a real entity that everything in the universe (seen and unseen)
encompasses.
- not an organized religion
- Hindus have a positive attitude towards business and wealth creation, yet wealth is not the ultimate
goal. What is more important are ethics (dharma), and salvation (moksha).
- For business, prices and profits should be fair
- While there are global ethical standards, we must also show respect for each community's different
values.

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Golden Rule