Ethics

Ethics is a branch of philosophy which

seeks to address questions about morality;
that is, about concepts like good and bad,
right and wrong, justice, virtue, etc.

Morality - concern with the distinction

between good and evil or right and wrong;
right or good conduct
Values
 Values are the rules by which we make
decisions about right and wrong, should and
shouldn't, good and bad. They also tell us
which are more or less important, which is
useful when we have to trade off meeting one
value over another.
Ethical Behavior

 Ethical Behavior - acting in ways consistent

with one’s personal values and the commonly
held values of the organization and society.
 
 
Sources of Ethical Norms

Fellow Fellow Regions of

Workers Workers Country

Family Profession
The Individual
Conscience
Friends Employer

The Law Religious Society at

Beliefs Large
Four Important Ethical Questions
 What is?
 What ought to be?
 How do we get from what is to what ought to

be?
 What is our motivation for acting ethically?
BUSINESS ETHICS
• Business Ethics : standards of conduct governing an
individual or group that indicate how one should
behave based upon the principles, norms, and
standards of business practice that have been agreed
upon by society.

• Business ethics is the application of general ethical

rules to business behavior.
IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS ETHICS

 Public expects business to exhibit high

levels of ethical performance and social
responsibility.
 Encouraging business firms and their

employees to behave ethically is to

prevent harm to society.
 Promoting ethical behavior is to protect

business from abuse by unethical

employees or unethical competitors.
 High ethical performance also protects

the individuals who work in business.

REASONS FOR ETHICAL PROBLEMS

 Personal gain
 Dubious character
 Individual values in conflict with organizational

goals
 Managers’ attitudes and values
 Competitive pressures
 Cross-cultural contradictions
Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

What Role Should Ethics Play in Business?

Business ethics are based on society’s ethics and
those of the people who work for and buy from
them.

A Code of Ethics
Some companies write a code of ethics, a document
that explains specifically how employees should
respond in certain situations.
.

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Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

What Happens When People Do Not Behave

Ethically?
When an individual acts unethically, his or her
behavior will most likely harm others. The
individual could also be sent to jail for his or
her actions. Major ethical issues include fraud,
accounting scandals, and insider trading.
MANAGEMENT AND ETHICS
 Purity in business can be obtained by
performing ethically
 Nishkam Karma reflects loyalty to stake

holders
 Short term goals should be replaced by long

term goals
 No business is big or small
 Business is creation of society. Managers

must value social system

Ethics Vs Values
 Values / Ethics : these terms are not
interchangeable.

 Ethics is concerned with how a person

actually behaves. It is about conduct.

 Values relate to how a person should behave.

MODEL OF MANAGEMENT IN THE CURRENT
SOCIO-POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
MODEL SHOULD BE BASED ON SPIRITUALITY
 SPIRIT CENTRED-THE INDIAN MODEL BASED

ON PURUSHARATHAS by S.K Chakraborthy

 SPIRTUALITY IN MANAGEMENT
PURUSHARTHAS
 ARTHA
 DHARMA
 KAMA
 MOKSHA
The Purusarthas(a balanced and
integrated view of life).
 Artha (wealth) becomes evil only when it is misused
on account of lack of wisdom. The Upanishads
repeatedly point out that everything that is desired
is desired for the sake of the self sufficiency

 The concept of duty or Dharma

in the Upanishads does not command us to give up

or renounce the world, but rather to engage in the
worldly strife, always aiming at the spiritual goal
and subordinating all other desires to the strongest
desire, or love for God.
 The Upanishad notion of Kama(desire)
Natural desires and inclinations are the
spring board of all human actions.

Moksha is total liberisation

 To sum up, we may say that Artha, Kama,
Dharma and Moksha are at the same time
essential methods for leading a meaningful
life.
Features of Spirit centered model
 It focuses on purity of mind
 It focuses on NISHKAM KARMA
 Activities should result in Moksha
 No work is inferior or superior
 The world is creation of supreme creator
What is Spirituality?
 Something concerning with the intellect or
what is often thought of as the better or
higher part of mind.
 Or is it the moral aspect of life?
 Spirituality is one's  character or quality that

makes one transcend the barriers of

worldliness, caste, creed and sensuality; and
realize one's connection with the Truth.
CURRENT THINKING ON SPIRITUALITY IN
ORGANISATION
 MOVING SPIRITUALITY INTO MAINSTREAM
MANAGEMENT

 KEY ELEMENTS OF THE SPIRITUALITY IN ORG

 VISION AND VALUES
 SERVICE AND LOVE FOR OTHERS
 EMPOWERING OTHERS
 LOVE AND SPIRITUALITY IN MANAGEMENT
 Why we need Spirituality?

 We need spirituality to create and utilize the

immense wealth of knowledge and the power of
mind, thus in turn benefit mankind by our work and
noble deeds.
 Spirituality gives us the much needed orientation
to serve the society with fullest of our abilities and to
serve God through the service of man.
Spirituality and management
 Leading like Mandela
◦ Leaders have to show respect to every common
man
◦ Inspirational leaders
◦ Create an atmosphere of hope and self
development at work
 Spiritual leadership
WORK ETHOS -Indian Ethos & Values in
Modern Management
 ETHOS is characteristics and beliefs of
community and the way they react to various
problems and situations

 The knowledge which derives its solutions

from the rich and huge Indian system of
ethics (moral philosophy) is known as Indian
Ethos in Management (IEM)
Indian ethos in Management(IEM)
 Is IEM some kind of Hindu concept of
management?
 Certainly not. Management is behavioral

science and it has to be culture specific. IEM

has as its basis, the culture base of India and
as a country whose culture has its roots in
religion - it does draw its lessons from the
religions of the land - be it Hinduism,
Buddhism, or any other.
 FEATURES AND THOUGHTS OF INDIAN
ETHOS
1. Atmano Mokshartham, Jagat hitaya cha: All work is
an opportunity for doing good to the world and thus
gaining materially and spiritually in our lives
2. Archet dana manabhyam: Worship people not only
with material things but also by showing respect to
their enterprising divinity within.
3. Atmana Vindyate Viryam: Strength and inspiration
for excelling in work comes from the Divine, God
within, through prayer, spiritual readings and
unselfish work.
4. Yogah karmashu Kaushalam, Samatvam
yogauchyate: He who works with calm and even min
achieves the most.
Features of Indian ethos
5. Yadishi bhavana yasya siddhi bhavati tadrishi: As we
think, so we succeed, so we become. Attention to means
ensures the end.
6. Parasparam bhavayantah shreyah param bhavapsyathah:
By mutual cooperation, respect and fellow feeling, all of
us enjoy the highest good both material and spiritual.
7. Tesham sukhm tesham shanti shaswati: Infinite
happiness and infinite peace come to them who see the
Divine in all beings.
8. Paraspar Devo Bhav: Regard the other person as a divine
being. All of us have the same consciousness though our
packages and containers are different.
SIX PRINCIPLES OF Indian Ethos for
Management
 THE BASIC PRINCIPLES
TAT AVAM ASI( Everybody can become genius)
AHAM BRAHMASMI( I have immense potential)
 WHY WORK
ATAMANA MOKSHAYA JAGAT HITAAYA
All work is an opportunity for doing good to the world and thus gaining materially and
spiritually in our lives
 Work for personal growth
 For the welfare of the world
 WHAT IS WORK
 YAGNAYACHARATAH KARMA Work has to be done by spirit of team work and
selflessness)
 PARASPARAM BHAVAYANT
Win -win approach
 SEVA+ TYAG
Serve others
 SPIRIT OF WORK
TEACHINGS OF GEETA AND WORK
ETHOS
GITA CAN EMPOWER MANAGEMENT IN
 UTILISATION OF RESOURCES
 ATTITUDE TOWARDS WORK
 NON ATTACHMENT TO WORK RESULTS
 CAUSE AND EFFECT
 NISHKAM KARMA
Indian Heritage in production and
consumption
Our dependence on environment

 􀂒The increase in energy consumption particularly in

the past several decades has raised fears of
exhausting the globe’s reserves of natural resources
in the future
 􀂒Due to industrializations and population growth
our economy and technologies today largely depend
upon natural resources, which are not replaceable
 􀂒Approximately 90% of our energy consumption
comes from fossil fuels
NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES

A nonrenewable resource is a natural

resource that cannot be re-made or re-
grown at a scale comparable to its
consumption.
 RENEWABLE RESOURCES
Renewable resources are natural
resources that can be
replenished in a short period of
time.
● Solar ● Geothermal
● Wind ● Biomass
● Water
Renewable resources
 A natural resource is a renewable resource if
it is replaced by natural processes at a rate
comparable or faster than its rate of
consumption by humans. Solar radiation,
tides, winds and hydroelectricity are
perpetual resources that are in no danger of a
lack of long-term availability
Non-renewable resource
 A non-renewable resource is a
natural resource which cannot be produced,
re-grown, regenerated, or reused on a scale
which can sustain its consumption rate.
These resources often exist in a fixed
amount, or are consumed much faster than
nature can recreate them. Fossil fuel (such as
coal, petroleum and natural gas) and nuclear
power are examples.