Ethical Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ethical Behavior - Essay Example All these factors work together in determining the ethical behavior of individuals and groups in organizations (Research(ICMR)). There is a great deal of controversy regarding the nature of ethical behavior. Even though some persons may consider their behavior ethical, their peers in the organization and people from other places of the world i.e. their counterparts may disagree. An employee may consider the use of office stationery like pens, envelops etc. for personal use as unethical, whereas his colleagues may feel that since these things are not very costly, using them for personal reasons is not wrong. The meaning of ethical behavior differs from individual to individual and from group to group. A research study in which business executives and business faculty members were asked to give their opinion on the unauthorized copying of microcomputer software revealed that while executives considered this behavior unethical, faculty members did not. Ethics, in philosophy, is the study and evaluation of human conduct in the light of moral principles. Moral principles may be viewed either as the standard of conduct that individuals have constructed for themselves or as the body of obligations and duties that a particular society requires of its members ((ICMR)). Ethics has developed as people have reflected on the intenti... Intuitionists, moral-sense theorists, and sentimentalists postulated an innate moral sense, which serves as the ground of ethical decision. Empiricists deny any such innate principle and consider conscience a power of discrimination acquired by experience. In the one case conscience is the originator of moral behavior, and in the other it is the result of moralizing. Between these extremes there have been many compromises. The Nature of the Good Another major difference in the approach to ethical problems revolves around the question of absolute good as opposed to relative good. Throughout the history of philosophy thinkers have sought an absolute criterion of ethics. Frequently moral codes have been based on religious absolutes. All varying methods of building an ethical system pose the question of the degree to which morality is authoritative (i.e., imposed by a power outside the individual). If the criterion of morality is the welfare of the state, the state is supreme arbiter (Arckatty). If the authority is a religion, then that religion is the ethical teacher. Professional Ethics What is Professional Ethics Professional Ethics concerns one's conduct of behavior and practice when carrying out professional work. Such work may include consulting, researching, teaching and writing (Research(ICMR)). The institutionalization of Codes of Conduct and Codes of Practice is common with many professional bodies for their members to observe. Any code may be considered to be a formalization of experience into a set of rules. A code is adopted by a community because its members accept the adherence to these rules, including the restrictions that apply. Good ethics and good business Why should a company consider ethics in directing