What are Ethics?
Derived from the Greek word “Ethos” which means “way of living”, ethics are an integral part of an individual’s value system. It is how an individual leads his or her life in accordance to what is accepted by society in general. According to J L Mackie, “A moral or ethical statement may assert that some particular action is right or wrong; or that some actions of certain kinds are so; it may offer a distinction between good and bad characters or dispositions; or it may propound some principle from which more detailed judgements of these sorts might be inferred "
In a business world where we are often faced with what is known as an “ethical dilemma”, it becomes important to be able to clearly differentiate between good and bad, effectively and fast. For this very purpose, we have learnt from others experiences, through cases and movies the Ethics of Business which for better understanding have been divided under the following heads:
• Personal Ethical Values
• Role as an Economic Agent
• Responsibilities as an Organisational Leader
• Cooperative Capitalism
I have made an endeavour to summarise my learning in Business Ethics under these very heads. As an example from a real life organisation I have chosen the TATA group as my case example.
Personal Ethical Values
A person’s personal set of values are what build his or her ethics in living. Each and every person has been brought up with a basic sense of right and wrong. This forms the Ethical value system that an individual buys into. This includes all the duties and responsibilities that he or she must fulfil, and all the commitments that must be kept.
The real problem arises when in an organisation; ...