Unit 1. nature of prof ethics 29.10.21 converted (1)

Introduction to Professional Ethics

1. Dr. Ganesh Chandra Chattopadhyay 29.10.21 Page 1 of 10

CHAPTER 1: NATURE OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Syllabus: Introduction, definition, morals & ethics, sources of ethics, relationship between ethics and
management. Nature of professional ethics, importance of ethics in profession, nature and objectives of
ethics, need for ethics.

MORAL: Moral is defined as a principle that governs right and wrong or the lesson of a fable (story).
Moral values are principles, not rules. An example of moral is the commandment "Thou shalt not kill."
Another example of moral is "Slow and steady wins the race" from "The Tortoise and the Hare."

Your morals are your ideas about right and wrong, especially how you should act and treat other people.
Most people would agree that thieves, murderers, and other criminals are lacking morals. A lot of people
would say politicians could use some morals as well. Every person has a slightly different set of morals, and
different cultures have their own morals as well. You probably get your morals from a combination of your
parents, your teachers, your culture, and your religion.

Some examples of morals in society:
*Do not gossip. * Tell the truth. * Do not vandalize property. * Keep your promises.
* Do not cheat. * Treat others as you want to be treated.

VALUES
The regard that something is held to deserve importance, or it is the usefulness of something.
Say "Your support is of great value”.
Some examples of core values are: Dependability; Reliability; Loyalty; Commitment; Consistency etc.
Why values are important in our life? Or why do we need moral values?
Moral values are important in life because if a person has never learned about moral values, then how can
he/she decide between the good and the bad. Moral values reflect an individual's character and spirituality.
They help in building good relationships in personal as well as professional lives. The decisions we make
reflect our values and beliefs, and they are always directed towards a specific purpose.

MEANING OF THE TERM “ETHICS”
• The term 'Ethics' comes from the Greek word 'ethos', which means 'character’. It is manifestation of self
in the form of behaviour. It is a matter of practical concern.
• It is related to the philosophical science that deals with the issues of propriety, rightness, and wrongness
of human character. What is right is ethical and what is wrong is unethical. The words ‘proper’ 'fair' and
'just' are also used in place of 'right’ and 'ethical'.

SOURCES OF VALUES/ETHICS
A significant portion of the values we hold is established in our early years from parents, teachers, friends,
and others. There are so many sources from which we can acquire different values. These are:
1. Family: Family is a great source of values. A child learns his first value from his family.
2. Friends & Peers: Friends and peers play a vital role in achieving values.
3. Community or society: A person learns values from society or different groups of the society.
4. School and Social Institutions: As a learner, school and teachers also play a very important role in
introducing values.
5. Media: Media such as: Print media, Electronic media play the role of increasing values in people’s mind.
6. Relatives: Relative also helps to create values in the minds of people.
7. Organization: Different organizations and institutions also play a vital role in creating value.
8. Works and career;
9. Religion; 10. History; 11. Books; 12. Others

2. Dr. Ganesh Chandra Chattopadhyay 29.10.21 Page 2 of 10

Scope of Ethics
The scope of engineering ethics is twofold:
1) Ethics of the workplace which involves the co-workers and employees in an organization.
2) Ethics related to the product or work which involves the transportation, warehousing, and
use, besides the safety of the end product and the environment outside the factory.

Five fundamental principles of ethics
1. Integrity. 2. Objectivity. 3. Professional Competence and Due Care. 4. Confidentiality.
5. Professional Behavior.

WHY DO WE LEARN ETHICS? / IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS
We need to be ethical because it defines who we are individually and as a society. These are norms of
behavior that everyone should follow. However, an ethical person must be willing – at least sometimes – to
place the interests of others ahead of self-interest, because of our responsibility to a civil society.
We can understand its importance from the following points:
➢ It is inescapable. The study of ethics leads to develop skills in articulating (expressing) one’s values, to
provide others with reasons for one’s actions and gives means of questioning the values of others.
➢ It brings clarity in thought and in reasoning.
➢ Helps those people who want to be ethical. They like to keep their conduct good in order to rise in their
own self-esteem and building character.
➢ Helps people in adjusting and adhering to organizational values.
➢ Helps in reducing and avoiding stress.
➢ Helps in facing moral ethical dilemmas with confidence.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ETHICS AND MORAL : The major differences are:
a) Morals are dictated by society, culture or religion while Ethics are chosen by the person himself who
governs his life.
b) Morals are concerned with principles of right and wrong. On the contrary, ethics stresses on right and
wrong conduct.
c) Morals are universal and mostly external whereas ethics is personal and internal.

Ethics are moral values in action. A person whose morality is reflected in his willingness to do the right
thing – even if it is hard or dangerous – is ethical. Whereas ethics is the branch of philosophy concerned with
moral values, the ethics, or morals of an individual or a group are the values according to which they act.
Every people, even the most uncivilized and uncultured, have its own morality or sum of prescriptions which
govern its moral conduct. Nature had so provided that each man establishes for himself a code of moral
concepts and principles, which are applicable to the details of practical life, without the necessity of awaiting
the conclusions of science. Ethics is the scientific or philosophical treatment of morality.

HUMAN VALUES:
Human values are the values of the human beings for the human beings and by the human beings. Values in
interaction with others. Morals and values are the foundation of human values. Just as a building has a
foundation of concreate, the building of human values rests on moral and values.
Basic human values refer to those values which are at the core of being human. The values which are
considered basic inherent values in humans include honesty, integrity, fulfilling commitments, abiding by
agreement in letter and spirit, being open minded and willing to admit errors, caring and compassionate,
respect for human dignity, responsible, pursuit of excellence and being accountable for decision and its
consequences etc. because they bring out the fundamental goodness of human beings and society at large.
Human values can also be defined as values of life.

3. Dr. Ganesh Chandra Chattopadhyay 29.10.21 Page 3 of 10

In a profession, the human values identified and used are called, Key Ethical Principles (KEP).
In nutshell, HUMAN VALUES = MORALS + VALUES + ETHICS .

Examples of some human values and why they are important in practical or professional life:
• Honesty: being truthful and sincere. An honest person speaks truth and accepts full responsibility
for work done. We feel that we have cheated others, in fact, we are cheating ourselves rather than
others. It will bring pain but also happiness of being truthful. Recognition will automatically come
for sincerity.
• Integrity: sticking to your moral and ethical principles and values. It helps other persons to predict
your behaviour and action. This value will help the engineers to gain confidence from management
and help him to move up the ladder.
• Courage: It is the ability to control fear in a situation that may be dangerous or unpleasant. It is
dynamic and motivates one to fight for principles and values. By practicing this value,
entrepreneurial qualities and risk-taking abilities will develop.
• Empathy: it is value of being considerate. You must put yourself in the shoes of other person to
know where the shoe pinches and experience the same feelings and express the same. It helps to
change the attitude.
• Self-confidence: It implies trust in oneself and in one’s ability. It helps to enrich the character. This
will help engineers to deliver performance and achievements.
• Co-operation: It means coming together. In human beings, the result is lot of energy and synergy. It
can achieve much more than and individual. The achievement will be more by co-operation, rather
than confrontation. It will result in peace.
• Commitment: It is a promise or agreement to do something. Here you are prepared to give a lot of
your time and attention to something because you believe it is right or important. This value will get
recognition and attention from the management. It will make you work hard and achieve more.
• Generosity: Willingness to give resources, help or time to others.
• Kindness: being considerate and treating others well.

VALUE EDUCATION (BASIC GUIDELINES)
Moral sense or conscience is the need of the hour today. The subject that enables us to understand ‘what is
valuable’ for human happiness is called value education. Value education is important to help everyone in
improving the value system that he/she holds and puts it to use. Once, one has understood his/ her values in
life he/she can examine and control the various choices he/she makes in his/ her life. Value education
enables us to understand our needs and visualize our goals correctly and also helps to remove our confusions
and contradictions and bring harmony at all levels. It also helps remove our confusions and contradictions
and enables us to rightly utilize the technological innovations. Values form the basis for all our thoughts,
behaviours and actions. Once we know what is valuable to us, these values become the basis, the anchor for
our actions. Then only we can be assured of a happy and harmonious human society.
Value education needs to encompass the following.
a) Universal- Needs to be applicable to all human beings s irrespective of cast, creed, nationalities,
religion, etc., for all times and regions.
b) Rational- Appeal to human reasoning. It must be amenable to reasoning and not based on dogmas or
blind beliefs.
c) Natural and Verifiable- these values should be acceptable by the nature and needs to be
experientially verifiable, and not based on dogmas, beliefs or assumptions.

4. Dr. Ganesh Chandra Chattopadhyay 29.10.21 Page 4 of 10

d) All encompassing- Value education is aimed at transforming our consciousness and living. Hence, it
needs to cover all the dimensions (thought, behaviour, work and realization) and levels (individual,
family, society, nature and existence) of human life and profession
e) Leading to harmony- helps us to be in harmony and maintain balance in all the relationship.

Need for Value Education - Today’s Scenario:
a) Correct identification of our aspirations: VE enables us to understand our needs and visualize our goals
correctly as it enables us to understand ‘what is valuable’ for human happiness and also indicate the
direction for their fulfilment. It also helps to remove our confusions and contradictions and bring
harmony at all levels.
b) Understanding universal human values to fulfil our aspirations in continuity: Values form the basis for
all our thoughts, behaviours and actions. Once these values become the basis, the anchor for our actions,
we can be assured of a happy and harmonious human society.
c) Complementarity of values and skills: There is an essential complementarity between values and skills
for the success of any human endeavor. For example, we want to lead a healthy life. Only wishing for
good health will not help us keep body fit and healthy and without having understood the meaning of
health, we will not be able to choose things correctly to keep our body fit and healthy.
d) Evaluation of our beliefs: Each one of us believes in certain things and we base our values on these
beliefs, be they false or true which may or may not be true. These believes come to us from what we
read, see, hear, what our parents tells us, our friends talk about etc. Value Education helps us to evaluate
our beliefs and assumed values.

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Professional ethics is defined as the personal and corporate rules that govern behavior within the context of a
particular profession. It refers to the ethical obligations that people in professional occupations have to
follow because of their professional status. An example of professional ethics is the IEEE’s code of ethics
that govern an Engineer’s moral obligations.

The prime objectives of ‘Professional Ethics and Human Values’ are:
(a) To understand the moral values that ought to guide the profession, say, Engineering Profession.
(b) To develop a set of beliefs, attitudes, and habits that a professional should display concerning morality.
(c) To resolve the moral issues in the profession regarding decision making, and
(d) To justify the moral judgment concerning the profession.
However, the prime objective is to increase one’s ability to deal effectively with moral complexity in
engineering practice.
NATURE OF ETHICS

Ethics aims at systematic knowledge. So, ethics is a science. Every science is concerned with a particular
sphere of nature. As a science ethics has its own particular sphere; it deals with certain judgments that we
make about human conduct. It deals with systematic explanation of rightness or wrongness in the light of the
highest Good of man.
Ethics is a normative science. It is concerned with what ought to be done rather than what is the case. It
differs from positive science. A positive science, natural science or descriptive science is concerned with
what is. It deals with judgments of facts and explains them by their causes, but ethics deals with values. That
is why ethics is not a positive science but a normative science. Normative ethics deals with standards or
norms by which we can judge human actions to be right or wrong. For example, logic, aesthetics are also
considered as normative sciences, because logic and aesthetics are concerned with truth and beauty. So,
truth, beauty and value are the three ideals of logic, aesthetics and ethics respectively.

5. Dr. Ganesh Chandra Chattopadhyay 29.10.21 Page 5 of 10

Ethics is not a practical science. Practical science deals with means for the realization of an end or ideal. It
teaches us to know how to do. As for instance, medical science is a practical science. It concerns with the
means in order to remove the causes of ailments or diseases. But ethics is not concerned with means in order
to achieve moral ideal that is rightness or goodness. It does not teach us how to live a moral life. So, ethics
cannot be regarded as a practical science.
Ethics is not an art. Art especially deals with acquisition of skill to produce objects. So, ethics is different
from art because it consists of goodness which is really intrinsic end. In case of an art the possession of skill
is more important than the actual activity. Ethics does not teach us an art as to how to lead a moral life.
Rather it helps us to justify rightness or goodness which can lead to the supreme goal of human life that is to
realize the summonbonum (a Latin expression meaning "the highest good") of human life. So, it is neither a
practical science nor an art.
[Ethical quality is based upon action. The artist creates an object; an ethical person is ethical due to his good
volition (choice, decision, desire etc.). It is expected that in a work of art an artist's own beliefs, values, and
ideology may contrast with societal values whereas consideration of ethics may be established by
the artist but without hindrance of free expression. Morality depends upon strength of character while art
depends upon skill. The difference of being taught- Art can be taught, ethics cannot.]
Generally, ethics is defined as the normative science of conduct of human beings. There is another name of
ethics that is moral philosophy. The terms “moral” and “ethical” are often used as equivalent to “right” or
“good” and as opposed to “immoral” and "unethical”. Both these terms are related to a word meaning
disposition or custom. One difference between the two terms is that the word “moral” derived from the Latin
word “mores” means custom, and it gives importance on customary ways of judging human conduct. And
the word “ethics” derived from Greek word “ethos” means custom, but it gives importance on individual
character. Now we treat ethics as a branch of philosophy, it is moral philosophy or philosophical thinking
about morality, moral problems and moral judgment.
However, there is no clear-cut boundary between science and philosophy, between descriptive science and
normative science and between ethics and philosophy. A norm is more than a description. While
philosophies have become more scientific and sciences have become more philosophical, the distinction
between science and philosophy and between value-science like ethics and general ‘philosophy is a matter of
degree. That way ethics is both scientific and philosophical, both descriptive and normative science and both
pure and applied, pure ethics and meta ethics. Ethics is an art as it sets guidelines for practical conduct and
also for understanding the meaning of what it is to act in an ethical manner. Ethics is concerned with
Goodness as an ultimate value while some other normative sciences like Aesthetics and Logic are oriented to
the ideals of Beauty and Truth, respectively.
To remember:
• Normative science deals with judgments of value and positive science deals with judgments of facts.
• Normative science deals with what ought to be. While Positive science is concerned with what is.
• Ethics is a normative science. Its principal concern is with human conduct in respect of its relation to
the conception of what is good and what is right. Ethics is the study of human conduct with respect
to its rightness or wrongness in the light of a supreme standard.

ETHICS IN MANAGEMENT
Meaning of Management Ethics: ‘Management Ethics’ is related to social responsiveness of a firm. It is
“the discipline dealing with what is good and bad, or right and wrong, or with moral duty and obligation. It is
a standard of behaviour that guides individual managers in their works”. “It is the set of moral principles that
governs the actions of an individual or a group.” It is application of ethical principles to business

6. Dr. Ganesh Chandra Chattopadhyay 29.10.21 Page 6 of 10

relationships and activities. When managers assume social responsibility, it is believed they will do it
ethically, that is, they know what is right and wrong.
Types of Management Ethics:
Three types of management ethics or standards of conduct are identified by Archie B. Carroll:
1) Immoral management: It implies lack of ethical practices followed by managers. Managers want to
maximise profits even if it is at the cost of legal standards or concern for employees.
2) Moral management: According to moral management ethics, managers aim to maximise profits within
the confines of ethical values and principles. They conform to professional and legal standards of
conduct. The guiding principle in moral management ethics is “Is this action, decision, or behaviour fair
to us and all parties involved?”
3) Amoral management: This type of management ethics lies between moral and immoral management
ethics. Managers respond to personal and legal ethics only if they are required to do so; otherwise, there
is lack of ethical perception and awareness. This amoral management is of two types:
(a) Intentional: Managers deliberately avoid ethical practices in business decisions because they think
ethics should be followed in non-business activities.
(b) Unintentional: Managers do not deliberately avoid ethical practices but unintentionally they make
decisions whose moral implications are not taken into consideration.

WHY IS ETHICS IMPORTANT IN MANAGEMENT ?
Business ethics is application of ethical principles to business relationships and activities. It refers to
contemporary organizational standards, principles, sets of values and norms that govern the actions and
behavior of an individual in the business organization. It is the guideline that helps direct a lower manager's
decisions in the scope of his or her job when a conflict of values is presented.
Decisions taken within an organization may be made by individuals or groups, but whoever makes them will
be influenced by the culture of the company. Ethical behavior and corporate social responsibility can bring
significant benefits to a business. When managers assume social responsibility, it is believed they will do it
ethically, that is; they know what is right and wrong. Primarily it is the individual, the consumer, the
employee, or the human social unit of the society who benefits from ethics.

In addition, ethics is important because of the following reasons:
Every employee desire to be such himself and to work for an organization that is fair and ethical in its
practices. They help those businesses maintain a better connection with their stakeholders.

SOME ETHICAL ACTIVITIES AS OBSERVED:
Amongst a host of ethical activities that managers can perform, a study conducted by Barry Posner and
Warren Schmidt highlights the following ethical activities observed by managers:
1. The foremost goal of managers is to make their organizations effective.
2. Profit maximization and stakeholders’ interests were not the central goals of the managers studied.
3. Attending to customers was seen as important.
4. Integrity was the characteristic most highly rated by managers at all levels.
5. Pressure to conform to organizational standards was seen as high.
6. Spouses are important in helping their mates grapple with ethical dilemmas.
7. Most managers seek the advice of others in handling ethical dilemmas.

GUIDELINES FOR ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR:
Though every individual and group have a set of ethical values, the following guidelines are prescribed by
James O’Toole in this regard:
1. Obey the law: Obeying legal practices of the country is conforming to ethical values.

7. Dr. Ganesh Chandra Chattopadhyay 29.10.21 Page 7 of 10

2. Tell the truth: Disclosing fair accounting results to concerned parties and telling the truth is ethical
behaviour of managers.
3. Respect for people: Ethics requires managers to respect people who contact them.
4. The golden rule: The golden business principle is ‘Treat others as you would want to be treated’. This will
always result in ethical behaviour.
5. Above all, do no harm: Even if law does not prohibit use of chemicals in producing certain products,
managers should avoid them if they are environment pollutants.
6. Practice participation – not paternalism: Managers should not decide on their own what is good or bad for
the stakeholders. They should assess their needs, analyze them in the light of business needs and integrate
the two by allowing the stakeholders to participate in the decision-making processes.
7. Act when you have responsibility: Actions which cannot be delegated and have to be taken by managers
only (given their competence and skill) must be responsibly taken by them for the benefit of the organisation
and the stakeholders.

Few more guidelines may be:
1.Stop business malpractices and at the same time welcome healthy competition.
2.Improve customers' confidence by serving quality services/ products.
3. Create good image for the survival of the business.
4. Protect interest of the stakeholders.
5. Develop good relationship between leader and co-workers.
6. Make consumer satisfaction a continuous process.
7.Give proper importance of the human resources.

FEW IMPORTANT RELATIONS BETWEEN ETHICS AND OTHER BRANCHES
RELATION BETWEEN LAW AND ETHICS
The law is described as the set of rules and regulation, created by the government to govern the whole
society. The law is universally accepted, recognized and enforced. It is a body of rules of action prescribed
by a controlling legal authority and having binding legal force. It is created with the purpose of maintaining
social order, peace, justice in the society and to provide protection to the general public and safeguard their
interest. It is made after considering ethical principles and moral values.

By ethics, we mean that branch of moral philosophy that guides people about what is good or bad. Ethics are
the code of conduct agreed and adopted by the people. It sets a standard of how a person should live and
interact with other people.
[
Key Differences between Law and Ethics
The major differences between law and ethics are mentioned below:
1) The law is defined as the systematic body of rules that governs the whole society and the actions of
its individual members. Ethics means the science of a standard human conduct.
2) The law consists of a set of rules and regulations, whereas Ethics comprises of guidelines and
principles that inform people about how to live or how to behave in a particular situation.
3) The law is created by the Government, which may be local, regional, national or international. On
the other hand, ethics are governed by an individual, legal or professional norm, i.e., workplace
ethics, environmental ethics and so on.
4) The law is expressed in the constitution in a written form. As opposed to ethics, it cannot be found in
writing form.
5) The breach of law may result in punishment or penalty, or both which is not in the case of breach of
ethics.

8. Dr. Ganesh Chandra Chattopadhyay 29.10.21 Page 8 of 10

6) The objective of the law is to maintain social order and peace within the nation and protection to all
the citizens. Unlike, ethics that are the code of conduct that helps a person to decide what is right or
wrong and how to act.
7) The law is made by the judicial system of the country. Every person in the country is bound to
follow the law. It clearly defines what a person must or must not do. Thus, the law creates a legal
binding, but ethics has no such binding on the people.

Conclusion
Law and ethics are different in a manner that what a person must do and what a person should do. The
former is universally accepted while the latter is ideal human conduct, agreed upon by most of the people.
Although, both the law and ethics are made in alignment so that they do not contradict each other`. Both go
side by side, as they provide how to act in a particular manner. Every person is equal in the eyes of law and
ethics, i.e., nobody is superior or inferior. Further, these two allow a person to think freely and choose.

Ethics has been defined by judges as “knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what
is the right thing to do”. Ethics involve following not only the letter of law hut also its spirit. Ethics are not
codified in books. Thery are that which is moral. Ethics deal not only with conduct but also with motives and
character, ethics constitute a higher standard than that of law. Law dictates the minimum standard of
behaviour required of a person by given society, whereas ethics go beyond what is required.

Moral and ethical statements should also be distinguished from laws. The fact that and action legally
permissible does not establish that it is morally and ethically permissible.
Example: Some actions may be Legal but not ethical- Say no pollution control measures taken by a
factory in the absence of any Act in this regard may be legal but cannot be ethical because of its negative
impact on the society. (e.g., Bhopal gas tragedy)

RELATIONS BETWEEN ETHICS AND RELIGION
The relation between religion and ethics is controversial. The writings in the religious scriptures are accepted
as ethical without any doubt by the strict followers of a religion. For them ethics is born out of religion.
Religion backs up ethics. Of course, not all religions are the same, some are more liberal than others and
some more conservative, but in general, all religious traditions believe that their faith represents a path to
enlightenment and salvation.
By contrast, ethics are universal decision-making tools that may be used by a person of any religious
persuasion, including atheists. Ethics are based on logic and reason rather than tradition or injunction. If
something is bad, ethics tells us we should not do it, if something is good, obviously there is no harm in
doing it.
Thus, the range of opinion is wide. For some, religion destroys ethics. For others, ethic depends upon
religion. For still others religion and ethics are the same. All religion-based actions are not ethical. God
means good. In the name of God, animals are killed and offered as offering. Many consider this highly
unethical. Some claim that religion is unnecessary or irrelevant to ethics. To them, ethics is much more
stable in content than religion.
The tricky part of life, and the reason that we need ethics, is that what is good and bad in life are often
complicated by our personal circumstances, culture, finances, ethnicity, gender, age, time, experience,
personal beliefs, and other variables. Often the path that looks most desirable will have negative
consequences, while the path that looks the most terrifying for an individual or organization will often result
in doing the best for others. Doing what is “right” is a lot harder than doing what is expedient or convenient.

9. Dr. Ganesh Chandra Chattopadhyay 29.10.21 Page 9 of 10

Q: What are the basic differences between how religion makes decisions and ethics makes them?
Q: Are religion and ethics incompatible? Which one should take precedence over the other?
In many cases it may be yes. However, the problem with religious ethics is that it is mostly static. That
means with a changing culture, religious people are behind, because they keep hanging on to outdated ethics
that once made sense but do no longer in a changed society. That is not ethical in any form or fashion.
In that way Ethics should get preference, any day, any time.

ETHICS AND FACTS
The term "fact" refers to a truth about the world, a statement about some aspect of objective reality. The
issue here is whether whatever is factual is ethical. There is no question of hiding a fact. Should a fact be
kept secret or keeping a fact secret is unethical? An organization keeps lots of factual information under the
carpet and asks the employees not to reveal outside the organization. Should the employee abide by this or is
it unethical on his part if he shares that information outside the organisation?

The other point is of factual issue, i.e., an issue having to do with the truth or falsehood of factual claims. It
is important to distinguish different kinds of issues because they are resolved in different ways. A factual
issue is resolved by investigation or empirical research.
A distinction between that which is either true or false and that which can be neither true nor false will help
to resolve the issue.

ETHICS AND RIGHTS
Ethics and human rights are closely related. Wherever, there is violation of human rights, it is considered as
unethical. Rights can be legal in nature or pertain to human rights or moral rights.
The Rights Approach focuses on respect for human dignity. This approach holds that our dignity is based on
our ability to choose freely how we live our lives, and that we have a moral right to respect for our choices as
free, equal, and rational people, and a moral duty to respect others in the same way.

This approach asks us to identify the legitimate rights of ourselves and others, in each situation, as well as
our duties and obligations. Consider how well the moral, legal, and contractual rights of everyone are
respected and /or protected by the action and assess how well those affected are treated. As such, the ethical
action would be the one we have a moral obligation to perform that does not infringe on the rights of others.

When confronted with conflicting or competing interests or rights, we need to decide which interest has
greater merit and give priority to the right that best protects or ensures that interest. For example, in the
United States, the right to freedom of speech is generally protected, but citizens do not have the right to
needlessly scream “Fire!” in a crowded theater or to engage in hate crimes.

The opposite of rights-based ethics are utilitarian ethics. Utilitarian ethics are based on the maximization of
"good outcomes" and minimizations of "bad outcomes" or “maximization of good over evil”.

ETHICS AND ENVIRONMENT
This branch of ethics is known as environment ethics. It involves concern for environment. Ethical principles
are applied to resolve problems and challenges of the relationship of humans with environment. It is possible
to prevent broad damage to the biosphere while accommodating the economic needs of a growing
population? The answer is ‘no’ unless the world adopts a new paradigm for environmental ethics- one based
on common values. Once people agree at a values level, they can begin to communicate and develop
solutions to perhaps the greatest challenge faced by humanity.

Companies should look at the whole manufacturing process to see what can be improved in line with social
and ethical policies. It is good for the company to always look for better ways of doing things. One company

10. Dr. Ganesh Chandra Chattopadhyay 29.10.21 Page 10 of 10

has a concept called ‘design for environment’. For example, they try to make sure that 80 percent of
packaging is reusable. The concept of reverse logistics is also emerging. companies are collecting the
damaged and used packages and recycle them to avoid environmental damages.





















References:
https://in.docworkspace.com/d/sIMD52aNLzLX6igY - human values, professional ethics etc.






Note: For any suggestion and modification of the note to make it more effective please inform your name,
branch and roll number and send the materials/ link with the heading in my email address:
[email protected] or in my WhatsApp no 9560563614.