"All our dignity lies in thought. Let us therefore strive to think well: this is the principle of ethics. " Pascal.
Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, 21st ED., 1991, p.924.
Ethics is part of the philosophy that deals with the morality and the obligations of man.
Larousse Dictionary, 1999, p.291.
Ethics is everything related to the principles of morality.
Ethics is also understood as the science that studies the moral behavior of individuals in society.
Background
According to historians the word ethics comes from the intimate relationship with morality so much so that both terms are frequently confused. The terms moral and ethics have the same etymological meaning, with the difference that the first derives from Latin (mos) and the second from Greek (ethos). Ethics (from the Greek ethika, from ethos, 'behavior', 'custom'), principles or guidelines of human behavior, often and improperly called moral (from the Latin mores, 'custom') and by extension, the study of those principles sometimes called moral philosophy.
Ethics, as a branch of philosophy, is considered a normative science, because it deals with the norms of human behavior, and to distinguish itself from the formal sciences, like mathematics and logic, and from the empirical sciences, like chemistry and physics. The empirical social sciences, however, including psychology, collide at some points with the interests of ethics since they both study social behavior. For example, the social sciences often seek to determine the relationship between particular ethical principles and social behavior, and to investigate the cultural conditions that contribute to the formation of those principles.
Instead the Ethics does not prescribe any norm or conduct; It does not directly direct or suggest what we should do or how we should behave. Its main task is to clarify what is moral, how a moral is rationally based and how it must subsequently be applied to the different areas of social life. This constitutes a reflection on the moral fact, looks for the reasons that justify the use of one moral system or another.
Some call them living in human harmony, others call ethics the title of art of living well, which does not seem exact, because if all the rules of good conduct were met, without accompanying them by examination or evaluation, it would form a art, but not a science. (Balmes, «Logic and Ethics).
Ethics studies morality and determines what is good and, from this point of view, how to act. That is, it is the theory or science of moral behavior.
In the following sentence by Mahatma Gandi (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi; Porbandar, 1869 - Delhi, 1948) Thinker and leader of Indian nationalism; It clarifies well the difference between Moral and Ethical: "I have disobeyed the law not for wanting to lack authority, but for obeying the most important law of our life: the voice of conscience." Gandi failed Morality, disobeyed the English Law, but acted in accordance with Ethics. It was Ethics that took care to indicate to him that the origin of the norm was not fair and to be ethical, to be consistent with justice, with his conscience, he had to break the norm of the English.
His study of Ethics goes back to the origins of moral philosophy in Greece and its historical development has been diverse. An ethical doctrine elaborates and verifies certain affirmations or judgments. This ethical sentence, moral judgment or normative statement is an affirmation that will contain terms such as 'bad', 'good', 'correct', 'incorrect', 'obligatory', 'allowed', etc., referring to an action or decision.
"An unethical man is a wild beast released into this world."
When ethical judgments are used, people, situations, things or actions are morally valued. Moral judgments are being established when, for example, it is said: "That politician is corrupt", "That man is unpresentable", "His presence is laudable", etc. In these statements the terms 'corrupt', 'unpresentable' and 'laudable' appear, which imply moral evaluations.
Ethics is one of the main branches of Philosophy, as it requires reflection and argumentation, in this field it is the set of general evaluations of human beings living in society.
Work, Ethics
There has been a lot to talk about in recent years about the role of work ethics, especially when corruption, illicit enrichment, as well as lack of responsibility, commitment, and interest in individual aspects rather than group ones..
A company must be backed by ethics in its social responsibility, pay attention to how it manifests itself in the organization, what are its achievements, scope.
It is said that the work ethic originated from both religious and secular values during the Protestant Reformation, the Calvinists, and later the Puritans of the United States, strongly supported the work ethic.
Due to its religious origins it has been called Protestant ethics, although it is also held by people who belong to different religious creeds.
The religious point of view of work ethic is that it is an act of service to God and neighbor, because it helps create a better society for human beings in order to use them, so heavy work and waste prevention are moral obligations. Studies carried out in various organizations confirm that the collaborators or employees who have this work ethic usually feel a moral obligation regarding ethics, rather than as a rational or business choice.
So it should not surprise us that it is said that Ethics and Social Responsibility are concepts that refer, fundamentally, to the quality of our relationships over time.
Consider that the term ethics has been defined as the study of the way in which our decisions or actions affect others.
Scope
The noun of social responsibility and ethics in organizations has evolved remarkably, currently heading towards the analysis of ethical decisions, as well as the responsibility of managers, executives and theorists about the organization's responsibility to society.
It is also necessary to study the rights and obligations of people, the moral rules that people apply when making decisions and the essence of personal relationships, as interpersonal.
Consequences
It is commonly noted that social responsibility and ethics in organizations is generally a matter of controversy. Some observers and philosophers claim that it is healthy, others that it is in decline and others more than that it is dead or that it should be left aside. The research that has been done in this regard indicates that there are great variations between opinions. The proportion of employees or collaborators with work ethic varies remarkably between each group surveyed, depending on factors such as personal background, culture, type of work and its geographical location.
Consider, according to some scholars and leaders, that the dramatic social changes that took place in the last half of the 20th century have also brought about the decline of work ethics. Other social values in competition with work ethics have emerged, such as the rest ethic, the desire to maintain closer interpersonal relationships and the belief of having the right to get rewarded without working. Furthermore, changes in global social policy and tax legislation have sought to reduce incentives for work and have even promoted the prohibition of heavy work. This illustrates the complexity of social relations in action, as well as the ethics of the worker depending on situational factors.
However, in contrast to the above, the basic philosophy of social responsibility proposes that we are all part of a social system and we all share our life on the same planet. We must act in accordance with this reality, take responsibility for our actions, comply with society within an ethical framework and with social responsibility.
Let us be clear that every worker has or should develop an ethic that defines the loyalty that he owes to his work, profession, company and co-workers. The ethics of a profession is a set of norms or guidelines, in terms of which we define as good or bad practices and professional relationships. By virtue of the purpose of their profession, the collaborator or commonly called worker has to fulfill some duties, but is also deserving or creditor of one rights. It is important to know how to distinguish how far he must fulfill his duty and at the same time he must know what his rights are to conduct himself correctly.
Advantage
Ethics assumes that:
Most business decisions have an ethical element, therefore, managers and executives must include ethics to understand organizations.
Many of the companies that are trying to institutionalize ethical policies have created specific organizations to apply these policies.
Ethics in social affairs often give rise to constant debate between competing large institutions.
Ethics represents the study of how our decisions affect others.
The codes of ethics, which were rare in the previous decade, are now more and more frequent in all organizations, whether public or private, medium or large, in our Company ELECTROPERU (Peruvian private law company) is no exception. since it has its Code of Ethics, which seeks not only excellence in business relationships and in its decisions, but also to promote good internal relationships with responsibility, values and transparency. Many companies think that codes of ethics warn employees or collaborators that business decisions must take into account ethical and economic considerations.
High ethical principles produce effective business methods.
For its part, social responsibility in general involves:
- The luckiest members of society must help the less fortunate. Companies are tasked with multiplying the wealth of society. Organizations assume social responsibility for their own benefit, well understood, or at least must have the capacity to respond to social forces Managers try to apply the principles of the social contract in their decision-making processes and in the policies of their companies.
Conclusions
Management must identify more with the role of ethics and make it together with social responsibility in the company, where everyone without exception must be committed to it.
Many critics affirm that in these times "ethics is in crisis." Every day national and international headlines are read that deal with the subject. Controversies over influence peddling, corruption, and malpractice in Italy, Japan, the United States, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela.
Let us remember to keep in mind that the basic terms of the language of ethics are values, rights, obligations, rules and relationships, aspects that Management should not be neglected, on the contrary it should promote them, for this it should contemplate a policy of dissemination and application to everything organization level, hand in hand with the commitment and application of its collaborators.
To avoid to a large extent the problems of an ethical-moral nature that arise in the exercise of a profession or a trade, ethical principles must be put into practice that establish the parameters and rules that describe the behavior that a person may or may not exhibit in Certain moment. It is not difficult to put these principles into practice, but omitting them will be detrimental to yourself and to those with whom you intervene or interact.
"A decision that involves the ethical behavior of a person, will always be framed in one of the principles and values outlined here."
Business is also an art since aesthetics and ethics are mixed in them. Business without ethics is not useful.
So ethics must become a planned process, with full awareness of what we want to achieve in the transformation of our lives.
We must develop to the maximum practical and professional judgment to activate ethical thinking, recognize what is right from wrong and have personal commitment to maintain honor and duty.
After so many years studying ethics, I have come to the conclusion that all of it is summed up in three virtues: courage to live, generosity to live together, and prudence to survive.
Let us not forget a very timely and illustrative maxim; Vices come as passengers, visit us as guests and stay as masters. Confucius.
Source: Ethics in Oriental Thought by Carlos Mora Vanegas
