Introduction to

BUSINESS ETHICS
CHAPTER 5
1. Define Ethics.
2. Enumerate and describe the basic characteristics and
Expected
values associated with ethical behavior
3. Appreciate why ethical behavior in personal,
Learning
professional and business dealings is necessary.
4. Understand the reasons why people act unethically outcomes
5. Give and Explain the categories of ethical principles.
6. Give and describe the ethical principle related to
1. Personal Ethics
2. Professional Ethics
3. Business Ethics
7. Explain why professional ethics is important and why
code of conduct should be adopted.

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ETHICS
- A set of moral principles or values that govern the
actions and decisions of an individual or group.

PERSONAL ETHICS
- Vary from individual to individual at any point
in time.
- A society passes laws that define what its
citizens consider to be the more extreme
forms of unethical behavior.

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 ETHICS
- Each of us has set of values
- Philosophers, religious organizations, and other
groups have defined in various ways ideal sets of
moral principles or values.

- Ethics is a topic that is being given so much

attention throughout society today
- Much of what is considered unethical in a particular
society is not specifically prohibited.

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ETHICS
- So how do know whether we are acting
ethically? Who decides what standards of
conduct are appropriate? Is any type of
behavior “ethical” as long as it does not
violate a law or a rule of one’s profession?

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ETHICS
Even if two people agree on the ethical
principles that determine behavior, it is
unlikely that they will agree on the relative
importance of each principle.

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 Characteristics and values
associated with ethical behavior

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- Integrity - Respect for
- Honesty others
- Trustworthiness - Responsible
and promise citizenship
keeping - Pursuit if
- Loyal and Excellence
Confidentiality - Accountability
- Fairness and
Openness
- Caring for others

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Integrity
- Be principles, honorable, upright, courageous
and act on convictions; do not be two faced or
unscrupulous, or adopt an end – justifies the
means philosophy that ignores principle.

Honesty
- Be truthful, sincere, forthright,
straightforward, frank , candid; do not cheat,
steal, lie, deceive or act deviously.

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Trustworthiness and promise keeping
- Be worthy of trust, keep promises,
full commitments, abide by the spirit
as well as the letter of an agreement;
do not interpret agreements in an
unreasonably technical or legalistic
manner in order to rationalize non
compliance or create excuses and
justification for breaking
commitments.

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Loyal (Fidelity) and Confidentiality
- Be faithful and loyal to family, friends,
employers, and client and country; do not use
or disclose information learned in confidence;
in a professional context, safeguard the
influences and conflicts of interest.

Fairness and Openness

- Be fair and open minded, be willing to admit
error, demonstrate a commitment to justice,
the equal treatment of individuals, and
tolerance for acceptance of diversity; do not
overreach or take advantage of another’s
mistakes or diversities.
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Respect for Others
- Demonstrate respect for human
dignity, privacy, and the right to self
determination of all people; be
courteous, prompt, and decent;
provide others with the information
they need to make informed
decisions about their own lives; do
not patronize, embarrass, or
demean

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Responsible Citizenship
- Obey just laws; if all law unjust, openly protest
it; exercise all democratic rights and privileged
responsibly by participation (voting and
expressing informed views), social
consciousness, and public service; when in a
position of leadership or authority, openly
respect and honor democratic processes of
decision making, avoid unnecessary secrecy or
concealment of information, and assure that
others have all the information they need to
make intelligent choices and exercise their
rights
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Pursuit of Excellence
- Pursue excellence in all matters; in
meeting your personal and professional
responsibilities, be diligent, reliable,
industrious and committed; perform all
tasks to the best of your ability, develop
and maintain a high degree of
competence, be well informed and well
prepared; do not be content with
mediocrity; do not “win at any cost”

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Accountability
Be accountable, accept responsibility for
decisions, for the foreseeable
consequences of actions and inactions,
and for setting an example to others.

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WHY IS ETHICAL BEHAVIOR NECESSARY?
• For a society to function in an orderly manner.
• It is the “glue” that holds the society together.
• It would be almost impossible for effective communication to occur
• Many commonly held ethical values are incorporated into Laws.

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WHY IS ETHICAL BEHAVIOR NECESSARY?
•Considerable portion of ethical values of a society cannot be
incorporated into laws because of judgmental nature of certain values.
•(Eg. Integrity, loyalty and pursuit of excellence)

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WHY DO PEOPLE ACT
UNETHICALLY?
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Most people define unethical
behavior as a conduct that
differs from the way they
believe would have been
appropriate given the
circumstances
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There are two primary reasons why people
act unethically:

1. The persons’ ethical standards are

differentfrom those of society as a
whole, or

2. The person chooses to act selfishly

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Extremes:
• Drug Dealers Persons’
• Bank Robbers
• Larcenists.
Ethical
standards
Less Extreme acts: differ from
• Cheating on tax returns
• Treat other people with hostility General
•
•
Lie on employment applications
Perform below their competence level
society
as employees.
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… The person knows that
the behavior is
inappropriate, but chooses The Person
to do it anyway… chooses to
Act
•Unethical behavior results Selfishly
from selfish behavior

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CATEGORIES OF
ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
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Principles of personal ethics
among others
• Basic Justice, fairness
• Respect for the right of others
• Concern for the well – being on
welfare of others
• Benevolence, trustworthiness,
honesty
• Compliance with the law

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Professional Ethics include
among others
• Integrity, impartiality, objectivity
• Professional competence
• Confidentiality
• Professional Behavior
• Avoidance of potential or
apprarent conflict of interest

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Business Ethics include among
others
•Fair competition
•Global as well as domestic justice
•Social Responsibility
•Concern for environment

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Activity:
1. Choose a partner
2. In a 1 whole sheet of paper..
3. Provide an explanation on each of the
principles under Business Ethics.
4. One paragraph each principle.
5. You may use your mobile phones for browsing
the internet to support your statements.

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ANNOUNCEMENT:
1. ASSIGNMENT (Individual work) Submit on MONDAY Jan 27, 2020
1. Why is there a need for PROFESSIONAL ETHICS?
• Short Bond Paper, Arial 12, with your name, subject and schedule
encoded on the upper portion of the document.

2. Quiz on the discussed topic (Introduction to business ethics)

On MONDAY Jan 27, 2020
• Objective type only (Identification and Enumeration)
• Search for the Code of Good Governance for the Profession
in the Philippines. (With general and specific Principles of
Professional Conduct) – Included in the QUIZ
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