Understanding ethics

CHAPTER ONE
Ethics: Meaning, Definition and Scope

What is the word in your mother tongue for the English

term ETHICS?
Is there an equivalent word in your mother tongue for
MORALS?

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UNDERSTANDING ETHICS

EXAMPLE ONE

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 BORN TO BE SOCIAL
Bring six children aged between 4 and
7 in a large empty room for 20
minutes.
Observe what happens.
Record their behaviour.

What is your analysis?

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 What are you looking for
Are they quiet?
Have they got together to play a game
they already know?
Or have they invented one?
What kind of rules they have made?
What happens when the rules are broken?
Do they quarrel?
Have they settled their quarrel?
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 Queries from Example One
Are we born as social animals?
What is the difference between other
social animals elephants, apes, jackals
and humans?
Do rules have reasons?
How do you reason?
Can you apply these procedures to
business management?
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Understanding Ethics

EXAMPLE TWO

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 Dialogue
X: I do not need to study ethics; my
parents have taught me enough.
Y: Your parents have taught you enough?
X: Well, they are not perfect; they quarrel,
they fight
Y: They are not perfect?
X: I am not perfect either.
Y: You are not perfect?
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 Dialogue (contd)
X: You are irritating me?
Y: I am irritating?
X: Well, I am irritated, you know.
Y: You know?
X: Yes, with myself.
Y: About yourself?
X: Yes, I think knowing myself may be the
first thing about ethics?
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 What are you looking for
What does it take to know oneself?
Are others important ,too?
Why do I hate others telling me what to
do?
Why parents are such an ethical safety
valve?

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 Queries from Example Two
Why society is formed with persons like
me?
Why society is important to me?
Why it is important to my profession?
Can I do business without bothering about
the society?
If I am the only person in the world, what
business would I do?
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UNDERSTANDING ETHICS

EXAMPLE THREE

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 Dilemma
Arjuna: How can I go to war against my
own brothers and kill them?
Krishna: It is your duty.
Arjuna: What is my duty?
Krishna: The Dharmayudha (duty of war)
Arjuna: But this is not Dharmayudha, it is
Dharmasankata (duty of trouble): I must
fight because it is my duty to fight.
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 Dilemma (contd)
But if I fight, I am going to kill my own
brothers. If I fight I am wrong; if I do not
fight I am wrong.
Krishna: Do your duty. Do not worry about
the consequences.
Arjuna: For me consequences are
important.
Krishna: For me Dharma is important.
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 What are you looking for
I do not want so much fuss about to be or
not to be; I want some clear answers.
I do not like uncertainty; I like someone to
tell me: This is ok and this is not ok.
Why people make things so complicated?
I want to run a business and make money;
what is wrong with that?

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 What are you looking for
(contd)
Some people get cheated, just as they get
killed in war.
Consequences, after all are not important!

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Queries from Example Three
I am a businessman and I hate to be
cheated by my employees, suppliers and
distributers why should they cheat me; I
have been so good to them?
My staff let me down before the CEO; is it
not just to avenge my predicament ?
Who is going to tell me what is right and
what is wrong?
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 Definition
How do I define myself?
How do I define society?
How do I define ethics?
How do I define business?
How do I define business ethics?

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 Thank You

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