Laws, morals, and ethics are different but related concepts. Laws are rules backed by civil and criminal penalties, morals are personal standards of behavior, and ethics are professional standards. Both morals and ethics are open to interpretation. Ethics can be viewed as a framework to distinguish right from wrong. In many cultures, ethics and morality were historically derived from religious or philosophical traditions. There are ongoing debates around the relationship between business and ethics.

2. • Laws: A set of rules for personal or corporate
behavior; civil and/or criminal penalties apply
• Morals: A set of standards for (personal) behavior
• Ethics: A set of standards for (professional) behavior
• Morals and ethics are voluntary in some sense
• Like laws, they are open to many interpretations

3. • A system of moral principles, by which
human actions and proposals may be
judged good or bad or right or wrong
(Macquarie Dictionary) ;
• . . . rules of practice in respect to a
single class of human actions;
as, political or social ethics; medical
ethics (Webster‘s Dictionary)

4. • ―Framework for human conduct that relates
to moral principles and attempt to
distinguish right from wrong‖
(Miesing & Preble 1985)
• Codes of ethics can be ―viewed as an
ethical framework rather than a solution to
a problem‖(Harris et al)

5. • In most cultures, ethics are connected with divine origins:
•Babylonian civilization received laws of
Hammurabi from sun god.
• God gave 10 commandments to Moses
•In Greek civilization, Plato says that god
Zeus gave morality to help mankind
• Manusmriti Samhita incorporates earliest
code of social and legal ethics in India

6. • Indian religion has always been associated with
philosophy
• The Veda's (about 4000 years old) talked about 4 basic
goals of existence:
• Prosperity
• Satisfaction of desires
• Moral duty
• Salvation
• Upanishad's distinguished between law and ethics –
ethics come from inner desire

7. Based on: Smith, Huston (1994). The Illustrated World's Religions. San Francisco: Harper.

9. In a recent Wall Street Journal
article, Psychology professor Steven
Davis says that cheating by high school students
has increased from about 20 percent in the
1940’s to 75 percent today.
“Students say cheating in high school is for
grades, cheating in college is for a career.”

10. • Ethics = doing what‘s right, building better
societies
• Business = playing to win, doing what‘s good
for the firm
• So are we really Professors of Oxymoronity
??!!
(Oxymoron
Def. 1. a combination of contradictory terms, also
considered a paradox.
2. a contradiction in terms)

13. • In an extreme, altruistic sense, business and ethics
may seem incompatible:
• Earning profits may also be a unethical
• In Islamic finance, earning interest is unethical
• All possessions stem from insecurity; insecurity
comes from mistrust:
• Therefore, possession itself may be unethical
in extreme sense
• Lots of businesses may need violence of some
degree:
• E.g., Medical research
• Where do we draw the line between business and
morality:
• If the approach is subjective, then ethics lose
their meaning as everyone defines ethics to suit
one‘s convenience
• Is there a universal, perennial definition of
―ethics‖?

15. Misappropriation of
• Built a
Funds: $13 million golf
course on personal
property.
• Paid for Manhattan
apartments for family
members.
• Covered hundreds of
millions of dollars of the
family's stock losses.

16. State Charges:
• Conspiracy
• Tampering with Physical
Evidence
• Falsifying business records
• Sales Tax Violations

17. Type of misconduct observed Employees
observing it
Lying to employees, customers, vendors, or the public 26%
Withholding needed information from employees, 25%
customers, vendors or public
Abusive or intimidating behaviour towards employees 24%
Misreporting actual time or hours worked 21%
Discrimination on basis of race, gender, etc 17%
Sexual harassment 13%
Stealing, theft, or related fraud 12%
Breaking environmental and safety laws/regulations 12%

19. • Consequentialism and cost-benefit
analysis
• Duty or rights based approaches

20. Ethical
Dilemma Single normative consideration
for solving the ethical dilemma
‗Lens‘ of ethical theory

21. The value of ethical theories in facing
ethical dilemmas in business

22. R
R
W
W

23. • Identifying the opportunities for change and the
‗structures of constraint‘.
• Enhancing moral imagination
• Recognising and understanding different moral
perspectives.
• Explaining and rationalising these
perspectives.
• Developing new ways of considering
responsibilities of business in society.

24. • Acknowledging and understanding the barriers.
• Encouraging moral awareness and literacy –
going beyond the business case.
• Providing the tools for ethical decision-making.
• Fostering creativity and moral imagination.
• Walking the talk.

26. • Written code of ethics
• Employee commitment
• Employee training
• Discipline process
• Full disclosure
• Building expectations
• Resolution process – conflict
management

28. • A formal code of business conduct
and ethics.
• To be signed and adhered to by
employees.
• Action against any employee for
violation thereof.

29. • General standards of conduct.
• Management of conflicts of
interest.
• Prohibition of exploitation of
corporate opportunities.
• Protection of company‘s
confidential information.
• Obligations under securities laws.
• Use of assets.

30. • There are ethics in business … they‘re just not
always visible, and don‘t necessarily lead to the
kinds of behaviour we‘d like.
• Morally motivated behaviour is possible in
business, but is subject to considerable, and
quite rigid structures of constraint.
• There are few right and wrong answers, just
better or worse decisions, or more widely
acceptable behaviours.
• Being ethical in business is a creative
endeavour not just a rational one.

31. • Don‘t trust everyone to do the right thing—
proceed with caution.
• Gather the evidence you need.
• Make sure you‘re right.
• Don‘t exaggerate or overstate your case.
• Wait for the right time to come forward.
• Remain anonymous—the problem is the
issue, not you.

33. Be sure you are
right, then go
ahead.
Davy Crockett
1786-1836

34. When the
situation needs
improvement,
Gandhi offers
guidance: “You
must be the
change you wish
to see in the
world.”

35. Can you make
a difference?