Business ethics refers to implementing appropriate business policies and practices with regard to arguably controversial subjects. Some issues that come up in a discussion of ethics include corporate governance, insider trading, bribery, discrimination, social responsibility, and fiduciary responsibilities.

1. Business Ethics : Understanding
the Implication
The Air Plane story
Is the CEO unethical(?)
The Merck & Company and river blindness
Does the Action of CEO scarifying profit of the company justified ?
Business Ethics : Oxymoron ?

2. Ponder …….
• Society has collective wisdom …….. ????
• What is moral reasoning ….
• Moral reasoning - from a given principle to specific
action of human being ( deductive logic )
• From a particular to General ( inductive logic )
• Does Morality means blind obedience ?

3. Ponder
• Ethics are morality are used as synonymous……..
But ……
• Etymologically
• Morality in derived from Latin moralis means customs
• Ethics has Greek Roots – ethike means social environment
or milieu . It is much more than what is allowed or
forbidden by customs o
• Crime is moral failure where as committee that
probe the behaviour is called ethical committee

4. Ponder
• Moral behaviour refers to a concrete
behaviour – like respect to elder
• Ethics is a systematic study of moral behaviour

5. Business ethics and Pursuit of profit
• Does , Sacrificing share holders money on
ethical concerns justified?
• Does Ethical practices pay in Business ?
• Does Ethical behvaiour give competitive
advantage ?

6. Ethics and Morality
• Ethics : principles of conduct governing
individual and group or the study of morality
• Morality : Set of norms or standards – to
classify action good and bad.
• Moral standards are product of the
environment and are subject to revision

7. The Moral standards
• 1. Moral standards deal with matter that we think can seriously injure or
benefit human : Murder, theft, child labour, and so on .
• 2. Moral standards are not subject to the decision of authority :
Reasoning
• 3. Obligations : it is not bad to pursue self interest but not at the cost of
morality or moral obligation
• 4.Interest of everybody are impartially counted as equal (not of a
particular group or person but balancing is required say giving some
concession to weak )
• 5. Associated with special emotions ( feel guilty , ashamed or
remorseful)

8. Descriptive and Normative
• Ethics is the discipline that examines one’s
moral standards or moral standards of the
society /business.
• Descriptive and normative ethics
What Indian feels about giving bribes to
get their work done ? Provide descriptive
characteristics of peoples belief
Is giving bribe justified ? Developing
reasonable normative claims or theories.

9. Morality Rationalize
morality
To produce
Ethical Theory
Theory can be Applied to a
Situation
Potential Solution to a ethical problems

10. Need to create values
• Business is sub system of social system
• Produce to satisfy the wants of the society
• Distribution of the production
• Corporation are large and getting larger :
1.Shareholders – limited liability
• 2. Director or mangers : enormous
powers
• 3.Workers – The foot soldiers
• 4. People – trust /depend on corporation .

11. Law and Ethics
• Law is essentially an institutionalization or
codification of ethics in to specific rules ,
regulation or proscription .
• Law minimum acceptable standards of or
behaviour : Divorce / drive or walk on the right
side of road.
• Business Ethics starts, where law ends or values
are involved
• Grey Areas : testing on animals , persuasive sale
techniques , child labour

12. The Relationship between law and
Ethics

13. The Key Goal of Business Decision :
Sustainability
• The Rio- Earth Summit 1992
Pollution ,
waste disposal,
Devastating consequences to communities
Erosion of local culture
• Sustainability key to Business Decision
Meets the need of present without compromising the ability of future generation
to meet their needs
Inter-generational Equity : Equality between one generation and other
ICI, NOIKA, Shell and many other companies publish sustainability report
.

14. The Triple Bottom Line(TBL)
The Broad Base of Sustainability
• Business has triple goals , economic , social and
environment
• There is tradeoff between environment ,
economic and social concerns. There are
detrimental effects and also benefits .
• No one has the right to mortgage future but to
live and live happily is also a right of present
generation
• World Commission on Environment and
Development’s primary espoused aim is to
eradicate poverty and equality.

15. The Economic Context
• Carrying capacity of earth
• The responsibility of management to
economic performance of the product : Long
run economic performance of corporation Vs
short term explosions
• Impact on the economic fabric in which it
operates.

16. Social Context
• Social Justice
• 80 percent of the world’s GDP belongs to 1
billion ( about 16 percent population )
• The Chasm between skilled and unskilled
worker, formal and informal economies,
growing disparities in access to health,
education, and social and political
participation .
• How Business can respond to these challenges

17. The Social Context
Millennium Development Goals 2015
• Eradicate Extreme poverty and hunger
• Achieve Universal primary Education
• Gender Equity and empowerment of women
• Reduce Infant mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIS, malaria and other diseases.
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for development

18. Globalization & Business Ethics
• Globalization is progressive eroding of the
relevance of territorial bases for social ,
economic and political activities , process and
relations
• Cultural Issues : contradictory ethical standard.
• Close connection between local culture and
moral values
• Legal issues – Global financial transactions are
beyond the control of any national government ,
cyber crimes.

19. Globalization & Business Ethics
• Issue of Accountability : The decisions of
MNCs affect countries across countries but
they are accountable to all national
governments ( and to bring them in books is
a tedious task – Union Carbide )
The TBL is less about accountability and more
about revolutionizing the way companies think .

20. Business Ethics
A quest for Bliss
Better life for me and for others