Seminar Report

On

Ethical Issues in Society

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of

MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

(2014-2016)

Submitted to:

Submitted by:

Dr. B.B. Singla

Jashan Jeet Singh

MBA II (Sec-B)
Roll No.: 140423351

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

P U N J A B I U N I V E R S I T Y P ATI A L A

Contents
Introduction

Use of Ethics

Ethics In Business

Characteristics Of Business Ethics

Importance Of Ethics

Ethics and People

Sources of Ethics

Are there universal moral rules?

11

Ethical Issues in Society

12

Corruption

12

Ecological Concerns

18

Discrimination

20

Introduction
The word ethics comes from the Greek word ethikos, meaning character. Ethics is a set
of standards, or a code, or value system, worked out from human reason and experience, by
which free human actions are determined as ultimately right or wrong, good or evil. If acting
agrees with these standards, it is ethical, otherwise unethical. As a branch of philosophy, ethics
investigates the questions "What is the best way for people to live?" and "What actions are right
or wrong in particular circumstances?" In practice, ethics seeks to resolve questions of human
morality, by defining concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice
and crime.
At its simplest, ethics is a system of moral principles. They affect how people make
decisions and lead their lives. Ethics is concerned with what is good for individuals and society
and is also described as moral philosophy.
Business ethics refers to the application of ethics to business. To be more specific,
business ethics is the study of good and evil, right and wrong and just and unjust actions of a
businessman.
Ethics covers the following dilemmas:

how to live a good life

our rights and responsibilities
the language of right and wrong
moral decisions - what is good and bad?

Our concepts of ethics have been derived from religions, philosophies and cultures. They
infuse debates on topics like abortion, human rights and professional conduct.

Use of Ethics
If ethical theories are to be useful in practice, they need to affect the way human beings
behave. Some philosophers think that ethics does do this. They argue that if a person realizes that
it would be morally good to do something then it would be irrational for that person not to do it.
But human beings often behave irrationally, they follow their 'gut instinct' even when their head
suggests a different course of action. However, ethics does provide good tools for thinking about
moral issues.
1) Ethics can provide a moral map
Most moral issues get us pretty worked up - think of abortion and euthanasia for starters.
Because these are such emotional issues we often let our hearts do the arguing while our brains
just go with the flow. But there's another way of tackling these issues, and that's where

philosophers can come in, they offer us ethical rules and principles that enable us to take a
holistic view of moral problems. So ethics provides us with a moral map, a framework, that we
can use to find our way through difficult issues.
2) Ethics can pinpoint a disagreement
Using the framework of ethics, two people who are arguing a moral issue can often find
that what they disagree about is just one particular part of the issue, and that they broadly agree
on everything else. That can take a lot of heat out of the argument, and sometimes even hint at a
way for them to resolve their problem. But sometimes ethics doesn't provide people with the sort
of help that they really want.
3) Ethics can give several answers
Many people want there to be a single right answer to ethical questions. They find moral
ambiguity hard to live with because they genuinely want to do the 'right' thing, and even if they
can't work out what that right thing is, they like the idea that 'somewhere' there is one right
answer. But often there isn't one right answer - there may be several right answers, or just some
least worst answers - and the individual must choose between them. For others moral ambiguity
is difficult because it forces them to take responsibility for their own choices and actions, rather
than falling back on convenient rules and customs.

Ethics In Business

In business activities, most ethical questions could be of two types - overt and covert.
Overt ethical problems like bribery, theft, sabotage etc are clear for everyone to see and
are generally considered reprehensible. Covert ethical problems are more complex, types
of problems occur in corporate acquisitions, marketing and personnel policies, capital
investment, market war etc. They are difficult to locate, to eliminate and are consequently
much more dangerous and threatening to business.

For a decision to be ethical, it should possess the following characteristics. It should be:
(a) RIGHT- that which is morally correct and due;
(b) EQUITABLE-that which is just and equal;
(c) GOOD-that which brings in the highest good for all concerned;
(d) PROPER-that which is appropriate and acceptable;
(e) FAIR-that which is honest and due;
(f) JUST-that justice is not only done; but is also seen to have been done.

Ethics is unstructured, i.e., it does not have a structured format or framework. It is

abstract in concept. Hence it does not have universal acceptance, mainly because:
(a) Ethics depends upon our moral standards;
(b) Moral standards depend upon our value system;
(c) The value system of people depends upon their background & childhood
experience;
(d) The background & experience of people are vastly different. Hence the ethical
practices of people are also different.

Ethical decisions should express some obligations to others. The very concept of being
ethical means that it results in some well for the larger society and not just for oneself.

Characteristics Of Business Ethics

Ethical decisions differ with the individual perspective of different persons. Each person
views the ethical question in terms of his or her own frame of reference. And this frame
of reference is the persons own unique value system. Hence ethical decisions do not
have unique solutions, but a multitude of alternatives. For example, In case of a Dam
building project, the company loses 2 laky per day, if operations are stopped. One day
during work, it is found that a worker is missing inside the dam. Work will definitely be
stopped to search for the missing man. However, if the man is not found within a day or
two, how long should work be stopped, inspire of the losses to the company, will depend
upon the value system of the manager & what according to him is the ethical thing to do.
Given the same situation, but a different manager, work will be stopped only unto what
that manager thinks is the ethical course of action, or work may not be stopped at all.

Ethical decisions are not limited only to them, but affect a wide range of other situations
as well. Similarly, unethical decisions do not end in themselves, but have widespread
consequences. One ethical action is like a pebble thrown into a pond of water, it produces
endless ripples in the pond, until it disturbs the water in the entire pond. Similarly the
single unethical action is not limited to the individual in the company who commits it, but
spreads within the entire organization and one unethical organization affects the entire
industry.

Most ethical decisions involve a trade-off between costs incurred & benefits received. It
needs to be clearly understood that costs & benefits, profits & responsibilities are two
ends of a single spectrum. Both cannot be mixed simultaneously .If you want some
benefits for your organization or for yourself; you need to incur some costs or make some

sacrifice. Similarly, maximum profits cannot go hand in hand with maximum social
responsibilities or maximum welfare obligations. Maximum concern for task or
productivity cannot go hand in hand with maximum concern for people. There has to be a
trade-off, a compromise. And this compromise, where it is done, how it is done, results in
a decision being ethical or unethical. One cannot get everything for nothing.

The consequence of most ethical decisions is not clear. They are ambiguous in nature.
The only certainty is that somewhere, sometime, somehow, something positive would
result from an ethical decision and something negative from an unethical one. The
consequences of both may not be immediate and may not be clear.

Every person is individually responsible for the ethical or unethical decision & action that
he or she takes. Taking an ethical or unethical decision cannot be an impersonal activity
as it involves the persons individual & unique value system along with his moral
standards. The same is the case with ethical or unethical actions. Every person has to take
decisions, & whether this decisions are ethical or unethical, will depend upon his own
conscience & upon what he is comfortable with. His own value must justify his actions.
For example, In case of parliamentary democracy, during a vote of confidence of a
government, if the prime minister of the country pays bribes to a few independent MPs to
buy their votes in the favor of the government, he is doing so, not for his own sake alone,
but to save the entire government. In other words, the unethical action & decision of
bribery, is taken on behalf of the entire government, & not merely on his own behalf. Yet
he alone is personally & individually responsible for the crime, & not his entire
government.

Ethical decisions are voluntary human actions .A person cannot escape his personal
liability for his crimes by saying that he was forced to pay the bribe in order to get the
job. All human beings have the freedom of choice & of free will. Even under compelling
situations, many men have refused to divert from the ethical way of life. Hence, no one
can excuse himself or herself of his or her actions by citing force of circumstances or
pressure of men for his or her unethical activates. Hence all ethical or unethical actions
are supposed to result from voluntary human actions & not from situations beyond their
control.

Importance Of Ethics

Ethics corresponds to basic human needs. It is a human trait that man desires to be
ethical; not only in his private life but also in his business affairs where, being a manager,
he knows his decisions may affect the lives of thousands of employees. Moreover most
people want to be part of an organization which they can respect & publicly proud of,
because they perceive its purpose & activities to be honest & beneficial to the society.
These basic needs compel the organizations to be ethically oriented.
Values create credibility with the public. A company perceived by the public to be
ethically & socially responsive will be honored & respected even by those who have no
intimate knowledge of its actual working. There will be an instinctive prejudice in favor
of its products, since people believe that the company offers value for money.
Values give management credibility with employees: The management has credibility
with its employees precisely because it has credibility with the public.
Values help better decision making: Ethical attitude helps the management to make better
decisions, i.e, decisions which are in the interest of the public, their employees & the
companys own long term good.
Ethics & profit: Value driven companies are sure to be successful in the long run, through
in the short run, they may lose money.
Law cannot protect society, ethics can. Technology develops faster than the government
can regulate. People in an industry often know the dangers in a particular technology
better than the regulatory agencies. Further, government cannot always regulate all
activities, which are harmful to the society. Where law fails, ethics can succeed .An
ethical oriented management takes measures to prevent pollution & protect workers
health even before being mandated by law.

Ethics and People

1) Ethics is about the 'other'
At the heart of ethics is a concern about something or someone other than us and our own
desires and self-interest. Ethics is concerned with other people's interests, with the interests of
society, with God's interests, with "ultimate goods", and so on. So when a person 'thinks
ethically' they are giving at least some thought to something beyond them.
2) Ethics as source of group strength
One problem with ethics is the way it's often used as a weapon. If a group believes that a
particular activity is "wrong" it can then use morality as the justification for attacking those who
practice that activity. When people do this, they often see those who they regard as immoral as in
some way less human or deserving less respect than themselves; sometimes with tragic
consequences.

3) Good people as well as good actions

Ethics is not only about the morality of particular courses of action, but it's also about the
goodness of individuals and what it means to live a good life. Virtue Ethics is particularly
concerned with the moral character of human beings.
4) Searching for the source of right and wrong
At times in the past some people thought that ethical problems could be solved in one of
two ways:

by discovering what God wanted people to do

by thinking rigorously about moral principles and problems

If a person did this properly they would be led to the right conclusion. But now even
philosophers are less sure that it's possible to devise a satisfactory and complete theory of ethics at least not one that leads to conclusions. Modern thinkers often teach that ethics leads people not
to conclusions but to 'decisions'. In this view, the role of ethics is limited to clarifying 'what's at
stake' in particular ethical problems. Philosophy can help identify the range of ethical methods,
conversations and value systems that can be applied to a particular problem. But after these
things have been made clear, each person must make their own individual decision as to what to
do, and then react appropriately to the consequences.

Sources of Ethics
Philosophers have several answers to this question:

God and religion

Human conscience and intuition
a rational moral cost-benefit analysis of actions and their effects
the example of good human beings
a desire for the best for people in each unique situation
political power

1) God-based ethics - supernaturalism

Supernaturalism makes ethics inseparable from religion. It teaches that the only source of
moral rules is God. So, something is good because God says it is, and the way to lead a good life
is to do what God wants.

2) Intuitionism
Intuitionists think that good and bad are real objective properties that can't be broken
down into component parts. Something is good because it's good; its goodness doesn't need
justifying or proving. Intuitionists think that goodness or badness can be detected by adults - they
say that human beings have an intuitive moral sense that enables them to detect real moral truths.
They think that basic moral truths of what is good and bad are self-evident to a person
who directs their mind towards moral issues. So good things are the things that a sensible person
realizes are good if they spend some time pondering the subject.
3) Consequentialism
This is the ethical theory that most non-religious people think they use every day. It bases
morality on the consequences of human actions and not on the actions themselves.
Consequentialism teaches that people should do whatever produces the greatest amount of good
consequences.
One famous way of putting this is 'the greatest good for the greatest number of people'.
The most common form of consequentialism is that favours actions that produce the greatest
amount of happiness. Despite its obvious common-sense appeal, consequentialism turns out to be
a complicated theory, and doesn't provide a complete solution to all ethical problems.
Two problems with consequentialism are:

it can lead to the conclusion that some quite dreadful acts are good
predicting and evaluating the consequences of actions is often very difficult

4) Virtue ethics
Virtue ethics looks at virtue or moral character, rather than at ethical duties and rules, or
the consequences of actions - indeed some philosophers of this school deny that there can be
such things as universal ethical rules.
Virtue ethics is particularly concerned with the way individuals live their lives, and less
concerned in assessing particular actions. It develops the idea of good actions by looking at the
way virtuous people express their inner goodness in the things that they do.
To put it very simply, virtue ethics teaches that an action is right if and only if it is an
action that a virtuous person would do in the same circumstances, and that a virtuous person is
someone who has a particularly good character.

5) Situation ethics
Situation ethics rejects prescriptive rules and argues that individual ethical decisions
should be made according to the unique situation.
Rather than following rules the decision maker should follow a desire to seek the best for
the people involved. There are no moral rules or rights - each case is unique and deserves a
unique solution.
6) Ethics and ideology
Some philosophers teach that ethics is the codification of political ideology, and that the
function of ethics is to state, enforce and preserve particular political beliefs.
They usually go on to say that ethics is used by the dominant political elite as a tool to
control everyone else. .lu8jMore cynical writers suggest that power elites enforce an ethical code
on other people that helps them control those people, but do not apply this code to their own
behaviour.

Are there universal moral rules?

One of the big questions in moral philosophy is whether or not there are unchanging
moral rules that apply in all cultures and at all times.

Moral absolutism

Some people think there are such universal rules that apply to everyone. This sort of
thinking is called moral absolutism. Moral absolutism argues that there are some moral rules that
are always true, that these rules can be discovered and that these rules apply to everyone.
Immoral acts, acts that break these moral rules - are wrong in themselves, regardless of
the circumstances or the consequences of those acts.
Absolutism takes a universal view of humanity; there is one set of rules for everyone
which enables the drafting of universal rules such as the Declaration of Human Rights. Religious
views of ethics tend to be absolutist.
Why people disagree with moral absolutism:
o Many of us feel that the consequences of an act or the circumstances surrounding
it are relevant to whether that act is good or bad.
o Absolutism doesn't fit with respect for diversity and tradition.

Moral relativism

Moral relativists say that if you look at different cultures or different periods in history
you'll find that they have different moral rules. Therefore it makes sense to say that "good" refers
to the things that a particular group of people approve of.
Moral relativists think that that's just fine, and dispute the idea that there are some
objective and discoverable 'super-rules' that all cultures ought to obey. They believe that
relativism respects the diversity of human societies and responds to the different circumstances
surrounding human acts.
Why people disagree with moral relativism:
o Many of us feel that moral rules have more to them than the general agreement of
a group of people - that morality is more than a super-charged form of etiquette
o Many of us think we can be good without conforming to all the rules of society
o Moral relativism has a problem with arguing against the majority view: if most
people in a society agree with particular rules, that's the end of the matter. Many
of the improvements in the world have come about because people opposed the
prevailing ethical view - moral relativists are forced to regard such people as
behaving "badly"
o Any choice of social grouping as the foundation of ethics is bound to be arbitrary
o Moral relativism doesn't provide any way to deal with moral differences between
societies.

Ethical Issues in Society

Some of the most common ethics issues have to do with abortion, euthanasia, human
cloning, torture, animal rights, the environment and corporate fraud. Ethical issues may arise in a
variety of circumstances, and what one person sees as an issue isnt necessarily problematic for
others.
The most common ethics issues, the issues about which there is the most debate and the
most tension, tend to arise from various sources:

when a code of ethics is ambiguous about a particular situation;

when there's a clash between two codes over a particular ethical dilemma;
when a code doesn't address a scenario whatsoever.

The ethical codes that help address these ethics issues can come from a variety of
sources. Some are rooted in corporate dealings, medicine, law, or politics. While religions
typically provide values and moral standards, some provide ethical codes, too.

Corruption

The simplest form, Corruption is the misuse of public power (by elected
politician or appointed civil servant) for private gain.
In order to ensure that not only public corruption but also private
corruption between individuals and businesses could be covered by the same
simple definition:
Corruption is the misuse of entrusted power (by heritage, education,
marriage, election, appointment or whatever else) for private gain.
This broader definition covers not only the politician and the public
servant, but also the CEO and CFO of a company, the notary public, the team
leader at a workplace, the administrator or admissions-officer to a private
school or hospital, the coach of a soccer team etc.
A scientific definition for the concept corruption was developed by Professor Dr. Petrus
van Duyne.
Corruption is an improbity or decay in the decision-making process in which a decisionmaker consents to deviate or demands deviation from the criterion which should rule his or her
decision-making, in exchange for a reward or for the promise or expectation of a reward, while
these motives influencing his or her decision-making cannot be part of the justification of the
decision.
Major corruption comes close whenever major events involving large sums of money,
multiple players, or huge quantities of products (think of food and pharmaceuticals) often in
disaster situations, are at stake. Preferably, corruption flourishes in situations involving high
technology (no one understands the real quality and value of products), or in situations that are
chaotic. Think of civil war, who is responsible and who is the rebel? Natural disasters like
earthquakes, floods, droughts. The global community reacts quickly but local government might
be disorganized and disoriented. Who maintains law and order? Or maybe the purchase of a
technologically far advanced aircraft, while only a few can understand the technologies implied
in development and production of such a plane. Mostly, the sums of money involved are huge, a
relatively small amount of corrupt payment is difficult to attract attention. Or the number of
actions is very large, for instance in betting stations for results of Olympic Games or
international soccer-tournaments which can easily be manipulated.
Fighting corruption takes place in many theaters:

political reforms, including the financing of political parties and elections;

economic reforms, regulating markets and the financial sector;
financial controls: budget, bookkeeping, reporting;

Public supervision: media, parliament, local administrators and councils,

registration;
free access to information and data;
maintaining law and order;
improving and strengthening of the judicial system;
institutional reforms: Tax systems, customs, public administration in general;
whistleblowers and civil society organizations (NGOs).

Characteristics of Corruption
Discussion of corruption is extremely difficult as it is a hidden phenomenon in our
societies. Both parties in exchange of power for privileges want to keep their transaction secret.
That makes it so difficult to establish how wide and deep corruption penetrated our economy and
social life. What in one place can be friendliness is unacceptable elsewhere. Normal behaviour at
a particular hour of the day may be unacceptable at another hour.
Let us have a look into some of the characteristics:

a) Recipients and payers.

b) Extortion.
c) Lubricant of society.
d) An ethical problem.
e) Poverty reduction.
f) Small is beautiful.
g) Culture.
h) Kindness among friends.
a) Recipients and payers
Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power and elected authority for private profit.
Worldwide complaints are heard about politicians and public officials who accept bribes
and enrich themselves privately at the expense of the common citizen. This may be at the
expense of the employee and the employer; consumer and producer; renter and tenant; the one
applying for a permit to do something, or asking exemption from an obligation to pay or to
deliver a product or a service. All those cases may be considered to be abuse of power and
authority for ones own benefit.

Complainers forget that necessarily there should also be payers who benefit from that
abuse of power and authority. The other side of the coin shows payers assuming that their gift
to a politician or a public official, may in return deliver profitable preferential treatment or
delivery.
Please note that repeatedly is stressed the behaviour by public officials and politicians.
Often the last ones are forgotten. Anyone who wants to fight corruption and safeguard integrity
in governance should not only prevent politicians and public officials from unlawfully accepting
gifts, but should also fight the high and mighty that abuse their power and authority to give
privileges such as land rights, permits, diplomas, allowances, money, against a reward.
All over the world we see, generally speaking, that accepting bribes is publicly
denounced. The parliamentarian accepting bribes for using his influence and legislative power to
endorse proposals profitable to some, is condemned in public by everyone. However, in private,
those who gain from those profitable proposals praise his approach as realistic. For them he is
the perfect representative who recognizes that there is no escaping from corruption, if you dont
want to lose the competitive struggle.
b) Extortion
Many among us go one step further. They do not only blame politicians and public
officials for willingly accepting bribes. They also often allege that those having authority in our
society ask to be bribed or give us the opportunity to bribe. This means that the question who is
to blame, shifts from the person who pays to the person who extorts and receives. Again on the
ground of the allegation: Theres no escaping from it, for if you dont pay, you are bound to fall
behind.
In every society it is known, either publicly or furtively, which public official is open to
transactions with gifts being made reciprocally. The gift on the part of the official may then
imply considering an application with priority, or assigning a contract, scholarship or
employment. The potential payer will look for his prey; he will look for the politician/public
official of whom everybody knows that he can be bought, that he is prepared to break the rules
in exchange for a gift. Therefore, the reputation that a public official or politician enjoys, is of
great significance. Some will never be approached with a proposition, as the potential
extortionists or bribers do know that they (those public officials or politicians) are not open to
such practices. Equally, as regards some business enterprises, it is a known fact that they do not
keep any cash for bribes. They run less risk of falling victims to extortion.
c) Lubricant of society
Many think that paying bribes is required to ensure smoother operation of society. They
think that without an occasional gift (for example, around Christmas and New Year), or
incidentally (a gift on the occasion of a marriage or when a child is born) for instance upon
entering into a contract for the supply of a product or a service, such contracts might be lost to
them and might be assigned to others.
For their own enterprises that would then amount to a loss, implying loss of sales
potential, which is not what any enterprise or entrepreneur works for. For entrepreneurs who
want to secure sales, those gifts are a cost item which they account for in advance in their prices.

As a consequence products and services cost unnecessarily more than is needed from a
commercial point of view, for as a matter of fact these gifts have already been budgeted.
If corruption is judged purely on the basis of business economics, macro-economically it
costs money to society which should be considered as a loss. From the micro-economic point of
view, for the bribing entrepreneur, it is profitable. The payer of a bribe secures a desired
transaction which if evaluated on purely commercial grounds strictly speaking, should have
been assigned to someone else. That will harm individual entrepreneurs and transactions; it will
harm the national economy and the world economy. Naturally, those additional payments will
end up in the economy anyway and are, therefore, a burden from a macro-economic point of
view, either for the taxpayer or for the consumer.
d) An ethical problem
The mere fact that both the payer and the recipient of bribes want to keep their behaviour
secret (and often succeed in doing so as well) shows that such behaviour is generally considered
to be improper. Many consider corruption to be an ethical problem, a behavioural problem. And
refer to it as being sinful, a wrongdoing. It is a problem to be solved by means of personal
reform.
Those who took the initiative to establish Transparency International (TI), the global
coalition against corruption, in the last decade of the past century, began calling corruption bad
business practices, which is a moral judgment, not an economical. On the contrary, some in the
business community consider corruption to be good business practices, as they make more
money using corruption as a business tool!
Still there is also an ethical problem. Corruption is not only an economical phenomenon
in any society or economy. It is not sufficient to call it an economical phenomenon; this ignores
the more general importance of a corruption-free society for all aspects of life and for all
population groups, poor and rich alike. It also ignores that bribery takes always place within a
certain social context. It is a structural problem in companies where the course of actions is not
transparent, where the law is not observed, and observance is not monitored.
Emphasizing the sinfulness of corruption, aims at improving especially individual and
personal behaviour. Poor entrepreneurship (in a moral sense) should then be improved on a
personal basis. Our focusing on the conditions and the implications of corrupt behaviour aims
rather on the entire structure of society and economy, and on the conditions that exist within that
structure to prevent and fight corrupt behaviour and safeguard integrity. Good entrepreneurship
is judged with regard to its quality in all three aspects: People, Planet and Profit. The
qualification poor is not a sign of sinfulness, but a quality that signifies an adverse effect on all
three aspects, not only on the economics. Corruption is an economic phenomenon with an ethical
aura.

e) Poverty reduction.
Poverty in the world is often brought up to account for the phenomenon of corruption. Is
that satisfactory? Is it correct and is it proven that the poor are more corrupt than the rich? How
come then, that some political leaders, e.g. Suharto in Indonesia, Mobutu in Congo, and Abacha
in Nigeria, but also Kohl in Germany and Mitterrand and Chirac in France, are or were so deeply
implicated in bribery affairs? They can hardly be said to suffer poverty, can they? Neither can

this be said from business leaders, often millionaires, if not billionaires, who are implicated in
corruption affairs with those political leaders.
The explanation that refers to individual poverty reduction is especially given by those
who have a keen eye for corruption among lower operational staff in government service,
notably lower office clerks, police officers, customs officers, the military, teachers, admission
staff in hospitals, bus ticket collectors, car-park attendants, garbage collectors, etc., who on an
operational level often have good opportunities to extract extra income or privileges from
decisions they might take of importance to entrepreneurs and citizens. Consequently, these have
a certain value.
The explanation that is given for their sometimes corrupt behaviour is that they are poorly
paid and that, therefore, they are forced to live on what they can get by way of bribes. Then it fits
into the picture painted by this explanation to say that this problem can become even more
serious if not only their salaries are low, but, on top of that, they are not paid in time.
Investigations into the effect of the level of income enjoyed by a person, however,
provide sufficient proof that this explanation is not correct. Low pay does surely not
automatically imply that, consequently, the person concerned is corrupt. What is of much greater
importance for the prevention of, or fight against, corruption at a lower level in all kinds of
hierarchies, is the clearness and transparency of the rules and of the decision-making process,
and the control exercised on the application of the rules. Timely payment of salaries is an
important pre-condition to prevent corrupt behaviour.
g) Culture
Gifts are inherent to human relations and therefore present in all cultures. You give and
receive gifts on the occasion of birthdays, Santa Claus or Christmas; on the occasion of
memorable events; an appointment or a departure; marriage or a retirement.
Everybody sees what you give or receive. Such openness is of great importance. In many
cultures presenting of gifts is part of the payment traffic. If you make a gift to a village chief in
Africa, make it visible to all the villagers who will all benefit from such a gift.
When you receive a gift from them, it will also be open and visible to everyone. Corrupt
payments are made in hiding, are not made known. A gift made in public will also impose a
certain obligation upon the recipient. Bribes are also gifts, but they are made in secret. Highranking politicians and public officials in many countries accumulate big fortunes thanks to
bribes received.
h) Kindness among friends
It is essential, whether you just want to be thoughtful, or whether your gift is presented
with a certain intention. Is it a sign of thoughtfulness or is it hiding a particular purpose, an
expected return in the future? Whether attention or intention, the difference is of great
importance for the relationship. Is it a friendly turn or is it an investment?
To have friends belongs to culture. However, can you buy a friend? Is real friendship
not to be based on honesty and transparency? To give presents reciprocally is a sign of
friendship. It should not get lost in a misuse of power for private gains.
We know that corruption will not disappear from society. Our efforts are meant to restrict
corruption and to protect as much as possible the poor and weak in our societies. In the end all
corruption costs are paid by the consumer and the tax-payer. They need protection.
The small corruption (peanuts, facilitation payments) does not cost much but are
headache to the public. It is less damaging in total amounts but it makes it difficult to understand

why we fight the grand corruption if we fail to fight the small bakshis. Major corruption thrives
on a broad base of small corruption-payments or bribes.

Ecological Concerns
The field of environmental ethics concerns human beings ethical relationship with the
natural environment. While numerous philosophers have written on this topic throughout history,
environmental ethics only developed into a specific philosophical discipline in the 1970s. This
emergence was no doubt due to the increasing awareness in the 1960s of the effects that
technology, industry, economic expansion and population growth were having on the
environment.
The development of such awareness was aided by the publication of two important books
at this time. Rachel Carsons Silent Spring, first published in 1962, alerted readers to how the
widespread use of chemical pesticides was posing a serious threat to public health and leading to
the destruction of wildlife. Of similar significance was Paul Ehrlichs 1968 book, The Population
Bomb, which warned of the devastating effects the spiraling human population has on the
planets resources.
Of course, pollution and the depletion of natural resources have not been the only
environmental concerns since that time: dwindling plant and animal biodiversity, the loss of
wilderness, the degradation of ecosystems, and climate change are all part of a raft of green
issues that have implanted themselves into both public consciousness and public policy over
subsequent years.
The job of environmental ethics is to outline our moral obligations in the face of such
concerns. In a nutshell, the two fundamental questions that environmental ethics must address
are: what duties do humans have with respect to the environment, and why? The latter question
usually needs to be considered prior to the former. In order to tackle just what our obligations
are, it is usually thought necessary to consider first why we have them. For example, do we have
environmental obligations for the sake of human beings living in the world today, for humans
living in the future, or for the sake of entities within the environment itself, irrespective of any
human benefits? Different philosophers have given quite different answers to this fundamental
question which has led to the emergence of quite different environmental ethics.
Environmental ethics is a branch of ethics that studies the relation of human beings and
the environment and how ethics play a role in this. Environmental ethics believe that humans are
a part of society as well as other living creatures, which includes plants and animals. These items
are a very important part of the world and are considered to be a functional part of human life.
Thus, it is essential that every human being respect and honor this and use morals and ethics
when dealing with these creatures.

As per Nature.com, Environmental ethics is a branch of applied philosophy that studies

the conceptual foundations of environmental values as well as more concrete issues surrounding
societal attitudes, actions, and policies to protect and sustain biodiversity and ecological
systems.
Global warming, global climate change, deforestation, pollution, resource degradation,
threat of extinction are few of the issues from which our planet is suffering. Environmental ethics
are a key feature of environmental studies, which establishes relationship between humans and
the earth. With environmental ethics, you can ensure that you are doing your part to keep the
environment safe and protected. Every time that a tree is cut down to make a home or other
resources are used we are using natural resources that are becoming more and more sparse to
find. It is essential that you do your part to keep the environment protected and free from danger.
It is not as difficult to do as you may think so long as youre willing to make a few simple and
easy changes.
With the rapid increase in worlds population, the consumption of natural resources has
increased several times. This has degraded our planets ability to provide the services we humans
need. The consumption of resources is going at a faster rate than they can naturally replenish.
Environmental ethics builds on scientific understanding by bringing human values, moral
principles, and improved decision making into conversation with science. It was Earth Day in
1970 that helped to develop environmental ethics in the US, and soon thereafter the same ethics
were developed in other countries including Canada and North America. This is important
because the ethics of the environment are of major concern these days.
The major environmental issues include Pollution, Overpopulation, Industrial and
Household Waste, Acid Rain, Climate change, Ozone Layer Depletion, Urban Sprawl, Genetic
Engineering, Deforestation and Global Warming. These environmental issues have taken toll on
our environment and weve already started seeing some disastrous effects in the form of effect of
health on humans, rise in sea level, depletion of non-renewable resources, melting of glaciers,
extinction of species, polluted landfills, toxic dust, decreasing soil fertility, rise in air and water
pollution and many more.
Human beings are considered to be the most intelligent species living on earth. This could
be why it is the only species on earth which has civilized itself over the decades to a large extent.
Today, human beings boast as being superior to all other animals but what is the use of such great
intelligence when environment ethics are not followed?
Cutting down of trees is something that many humans do for their own benefit, without
any concern for the animals which are dependent on trees for survival. Using fossil fuels
erratically, industrialization, pollution, disturbing ecological balance, all these are attributable to
human activities. Just because we are in possession of all of these natural resources does not

mean that we can use those resources in any manner in which we choose without keeping
anything for the future generations.
Both oil and coal are bad, but not only for the environment, but for all living creatures,
including plants and animals. Both are highly toxic in their natural raw state. They pollute the air
and ground and water, and whether or not they are helping to create these natural disasters should
be irrelevant. They are both finite, and will not last forever, and the sooner we rid ourselves of
the need for these two demons, the better. While oil and coal companies continue to promote
their products, and the best yet is clean coal, which is an unethical definition of something that
just isnt possible, their ethics come into question, especially environmental ethics. Most of the
worlds ills are derived from both of these, with oil spills, mining accidents, fires, and now
climate change and global warming.
It is the responsibility of all to ensure that environmental ethics are being met. It is
somewhat difficult to make adjustments that are necessary to ensure that you are following all
environmental ethics.
Ethics plays an important role in our society today, and environmental ethics and business
ethics must be considered. This has become more prevalent in todays society.
Ensure that you are doing your part and following all environmental ethics that are out
there.

Discrimination
Discrimination is treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or
against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing is
perceived to belong to rather than on individual merit. This includes treatment of an individual or
group based on their actual or perceived membership in a certain group or social category, "in a
way that is worse than the way people are usually treated". It involves the group's initial reaction
or interaction going on to influence the individual's actual behavior towards the group leader or
the group, restricting members of one group from opportunities or privileges that are available to
another group, leading to the exclusion of the individual or entities based on logical or irrational
decision making.
Moral philosophers have defined discrimination as disadvantageous treatment or
consideration. This is a comparative definition. An individual need not be actually harmed in

order to be discriminated against. They just need to be treated worse than others for some
arbitrary reason. If someone decides to donate to help orphan children, but decides to donate less,
say, to black children out of a racist attitude, then they would be acting in a discriminatory way
even though the people they discriminate against are actually benefitted by having some money
donated to them.
Based on realistic-conflict theory and social-identity theory, Rubin and Hewstone have
highlighted a distinction among three types of discrimination:
Realistic competition is driven by self-interest and is aimed at obtaining material
resources (e.g., food, territory, customers) for the in-group (e.g., favouring an in-group in order
to obtain more resources for its members, including the self).
Social competition is driven by the need for self-esteem and is aimed at achieving a
positive social status for the in-group relative to comparable out-groups (e.g., favouring an ingroup in order to make it better than an out-group).
Consensual discrimination is driven by the need for accuracy and reflects stable and
legitimate intergroup status hierarchies (e.g., favouring a high-status in-group because it is high
status).
The United Nations stance on discrimination includes the statement: "Discriminatory
behaviors take many forms, but they all involve some form of exclusion or rejection."
International bodies United Nations Human Rights Council work towards helping ending
discrimination around the world.

Types of Discrimination
1) Age
Ageism or age discrimination is discrimination and stereotyping based on the grounds of
someone's age. It is a set of beliefs, norms, and values which used to justify discrimination or
subordination based on a person's age. Ageism is most often directed towards old people, or
adolescents and children.
2) Caste
According to UNICEF and Human Rights Watch, caste discrimination affects an estimated 250
million people worldwide. Discrimination based on caste, as perceived by UNICEF, is prevalent
mainly in parts of Asia, (India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, Nepal, Japan), Africa

and others. As of 2011, there were 200 million Dalits or Scheduled Castes (formerly known as
"untouchables") in India.
3) Disability
Discrimination against people with disabilities in favor of people who are not is called ableism or
disablism. Disability discrimination, which treats non-disabled individuals as the standard of
normal living, results in public and private places and services, education, and social work that
are built to serve 'standard' people, thereby excluding those with various disabilities. Studies
have shown, employment is needed to not only provide a living but to sustain mental health and
well-being. Work fulfils a number of basic needs for an individual such as collective purpose,
social contact, status, and activity. A person with a disability is often found to be socially isolated
and work is one way to reduce isolation.
4) Race or ethnicity
Racial discrimination differentiates individuals on the basis of real and perceived racial
differences and has been official government policy in several countries, such as South Africa in
the apartheid era. Discriminatory policies towards ethnic minorities include the race-based
discrimination of ethnic Indians and Chinese in Malaysia. After the Vietnam war, many
Vietnamese refugees moved to the United States, where they face discrimination.
As of 2013, aboriginal people (First Nations, Mtis, and Inuit) comprise 4 percent of Canada's
population, but account for 23.2 percent of the federal prison population. According to the
Australian government's June 2006 publication of prison statistics, Aborigines make up 24% of
the overall prison population in Australia.

5) Religious beliefs
Religious discrimination is valuing or treating a person or group differently because of what they
do or do not believe or because of their feelings towards a given religion. For instance, the
indigenous Christian population of the Balkans, known as "rayah" or "protected flock", was
discriminated under the Ottoman KanuniRayah. The word is sometimes translated as 'cattle'
rather than 'flock' or 'subjects' to emphasize the inferior status to the Muslim rayah.
Restrictions upon Jewish occupations were imposed by Christian authorities. Local rulers and
church officials closed many professions to religious Jews, pushing them into marginal roles
considered socially inferior, such as tax and rent collecting and money lending, occupations only

tolerated as a "necessary evil". The number of Jews permitted to reside in different places was
limited; they were concentrated in ghettos and were not allowed to own land.
6) Sex, gender, and gender identity
Though gender discrimination and sexism refers to beliefs and attitudes in relation to the gender
of a person, such beliefs and attitudes are of a social nature and do not, normally, carry any legal
consequences. Sex discrimination, on the other hand, may have legal consequences. Though
what constitutes sex discrimination varies between countries, the essence is that it is an adverse
action taken by one person against another person that would not have occurred had the person
been of another sex. Discrimination of that nature is considered a form of prejudice and in
certain enumerated circumstances is illegal in many countries.
Sexual discrimination can arise in different contexts. For instance, an employee may be
discriminated against by being asked discriminatory questions during a job interview, or by an
employer not hiring or promoting, unequally paying, or wrongfully terminating, an employee
based on their gender.
Sexual discrimination can also arise when the dominant group holds a bias against the minority
group. One such example is Wikipedia. In the Wikipedian community, around 13 percent of
registered users are women. This creates gender imbalances, and leaves room for systemic bias.
Women are not only more harshly scrutinized, but the representation of women authors is also
overlooked. In an educational setting, there could be claims that a student was excluded from an
educational institution, program, opportunity, loan, student group, or scholarship because of their
gender. In the housing setting, there could be claims that a person was refused negotiations on
seeking a house, contracting/leasing a house or getting a loan based on their gender. Another
setting where there have been claims of gender discrimination is banking; for example if one is
refused credit or is offered unequal loan terms based on ones gender.