Ethics

Ethics is the discipline that examines

your moral standards or the moral
standards of a society.
It asks how these standards apply to
your life and whether these standards
are reasonable or unreasonable. i.e.;
whether they are supported by good
reasons or poor ones
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You start to do ethics when you take the moral
standards from family, religious institutions and friends
and ask yourself
• Do these standards really make sense?
• What are the reasons for or against these standards
• Why should I continue to believe in them?
• Are they really reasonable to hold?
• Are their implications in this or that particular
situation reasonable
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Now lets try to have answer of such

questions???????????????
Ethics is not the only way of
Study

Social scientist takes the study of

ethics in other ways as well.
Ethics is a normative study of
morality but the social science
engage in a descriptive study of
morality
 Normative Study

A normative study is an investigation

that tries to reach normative
conclusions. Conclusions about what
things are good or bad or about what
actions are right or wrong.
In short normative study aims to
discover what ought to be
 Descriptive Study
It does not try to reach any conclusions
about what things are truly good or bad
or right or wrong.
It tries to develop accurate descriptions
of the moral standards of particular
culture and explain how they came to
hold those standards
 Example
The Sociologist asks The Ethicist asks is
Do Americans believe bribery wrong.
that bribery is wrong

Provides descriptive Developing reasonable

characterization of normative claims and
people beliefs theories
 Business Ethics
Business ethics is a specialized study of moral
right and wrong that focuses on business
institutions, organizations and activities.

It is study of moral standards and how these

apply to the social systems and organizations
through which modern societies produce and
distribute goods and services and to the
activities of the people who work within the
organizations
Three kinds of Issue in Business
Ethics
1. Systematic Issues
2. Corporate Issues
3. Individual Issues
 Systematic issues
Systematic issues in business ethics
are ethical questions raised about the
economic, political, legal and other
institutions within which business
operate. It raises the questions of
morality
 Corporate Issues
Corporate issues in business ethics
are ethical questions raised about
particular organization. These include
questions about the morality of the
activities, policies, practices, or
organizational structure of an
individual company as whole
 Individual Issues
Individual issues in business ethics are
ethical questions raised about particular
individuals within a company and their
behaviors and decisions. These include
questions about the morality of the
decisions, actions or charter of an
individual