Ethics And Values In Business

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PAPER ON ETHICS & VALUES IN BUSINESS

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CONTENTS

Abstract

Introduction

Changing Corporate Landscape

Business Ethics

Approaches to Ethics

Four Views of Ethics

Overview of Issues in Business Ethics

General Business Ethics

Professional Ethics

International Business Ethics

Theoretical Issues in Business Ethics

Ethics in Manufacturing Industry

Ethics in the Education Sector

Ethics in IT Industry

Ethics in Food Industry

Ethics in Media & Advertising Sector

Benefits of Managing Ethics at Workplace

Conclusion

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ABSTRACT

The corporate world – an integral part of our lives, the soul of a country’s economic growth, a

world filled with hustle – bustle 24*7, a world that generates employment for every second

person you meet... But, sadly, it is also the domicile of power games and foul play and this is

the reason why a look at ‘ETHICS AND VALUES IN BUSNIESS’ is critical and relevant.

Business has created wealth that has given an unprecedented number of individuals’ financial control of their lives. It has expanded a person’s horizon infinitely, broken down all

perceivable barriers. In short, business has been a prime mover in making it possible for

millions to pursue their lives in a wealthy, healthy, rational and exciting world.

Yet no other human institution has been so plagued by suspicions of immorality. "Business

ethics," the old joke goes, "Isn't that a contradiction in terms?"

Business ethics is a form of the art of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and

moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. In the increasingly

conscience-focused marketplaces of the 21st century, the demand for more ethical business

processes and actions ~ Ethicism, is increasing. Simultaneously, pressure is applied on industry

to improve business ethics through new public initiatives and laws.

This paper takes a peek into the enterprises that have proved that there is room for ethics

and values in business. See how ethical corporates already are and how their ethics facilitate

them to be leaders in their industry.

SCOPE OF THIS PAPER:

Understanding ethics and the concept of Business Ethics

Impact of ethics in the

Manufacturing Sector

Education Sector IT/ITES & BPO Sector

Food Industry

Media and Advertising

Cases and Examples

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INTRODUCTION

The corporate world – an integral part of our lives, the soul of a country’s economic growth, a

world filled with hustle – bustle 24*7, a world that generates employment for every second

person you meet... But, sadly, it is also the domicile of power games and foul play and this is

the reason why a look at ‘ETHICS AND VALUES IN BUSNIESS’ is critical and relevant.

Of the Institutions that have contributed to the quality of human life, business ranks with

science, art, and education. Business has created the wealth that has given unprecedented

numbers of individuals’ financial control of their lives. It has expanded immeasurably the

range of goods and services available to individuals. It has broken down countless centuries-

old barriers of racial, sexual, religious, and ethnic prejudice. And it has been the vehicle for

countless numbers of individuals to develop their fullest potentials in achieving their dreams.

In short, business has been a prime mover in making it possible for millions to pursue their

lives in a wealthy, healthy, rational and exciting world.

Yet no other human institution has been so plagued by suspicions of immorality. "Business

ethics," the old joke goes, "Isn't that a contradiction in terms?"

The credibility of the term 'Business Ethics' has come into question, in recent times as

'business ethics' is increasingly being considered an oxymoron. It is generally believed that

business and ethics cannot coexist and organizations are said to thrive on unethical practices.

Business ethics, as far from being a contradiction in terms, has become one of the most

important areas of managerial competence and responsibility. The ethics question warrants

exploration on several levels: -

1. At the macro- level: focusing on the ethical rightness of the system.

2. At the corporate-level: focusing the decisions that impact others.

3. At the individual-level: within an entity.

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The major issues in business ethics can be classified into four areas:

The relationship between business and consumers

The relationship between employers and employees

The nature and value of special forms of business organization—most notably, that of

the corporation

The nature and value of financial markets

The issue of the proper scope of government regulation cuts across these four categories.

Miscellaneous issues such as waste disposal ("the environment") and investing in morally

dubious foreign nations (such as Communist China or Iraq) are often debated in the business

ethics literature, but are primarily issues of political theory and so do not fit into the above

business ethics categories.

Changing Corporate Landscape

Increasing number of Corporate Scandals

Concern towards the wealth creation process

It’s Mr.Clean vs. Ms Controversial (12/7/2007)

BJP smells a scam in wheat import contracts (12/7/2007)

Sweet & Sour: Light on calories, light on value? (23/6/2007)

Fresh battle: China plays down food-safety troubles (14/6/2007)

BP CEO quits over scandal (02/05/2007)

Siemens CEO, dogged by bribery affair, quits (26/4/2007)

Nasdaq founder Macklin dead (02/02/2007)

Siemens chief quits as co faces bribery, corruption charges (21/4/2007)

CFOs find it ‘ suffocating’ these days (29/1/2007)

Ex-Cendant chairman gets over 12 years in jail (19/01/2007)

~Source: Economic Times, Mumbai

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According to a specials report in Times of India; It is disgraceful that the poverty ratio

is 28% (according to a recent government estimate) after half a century of

independence. Why so?

It is because, despite spending enormous sums, the government has failed dismally to

provide every village with the basics of growth.

BUSINESS ETHICS

The concept of Business Ethics has come to mean various things to various people, but

generally it's coming to know what it right or wrong in the workplace and doing what's right --

this is in regard to effects of products/services and in relationships with stakeholders.

Caveat emptor: This ancient Latin proverb let the buyer beware, tells us that business ethics

has been a societal concern going back a long ways indeed.

Ethics is not an exact science. People define Ethics in accordance with their own set of values

which differ depending on time, place and culture. Webster's defines Ethics as "the discipline

dealing with what is good and bad or right and wrong or with moral duty and obligation." The

word derives from the Greek word meaning "moral," a Latin word with roots in "mores" or

"customs"—in other words the values held by society.

Business Ethics is a form of the art of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and

moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. In the increasingly

conscience-focused marketplaces of the 21st century, the demand for more ethical business

processes and actions ~ Ethicism, is increasing. Simultaneously, pressure is applied on industry

to improve business ethics through new public initiatives and laws.

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The simplest definition of ethics and moral values would be to not distinguish between the

two and say that they describe what is right and what is wrong in human behavior and what

ought to be. Business ethics are the desired norms of behavior exclusively dealing with

commercial transactions. Moral values are deep seated ideas and feelings that manifest

themselves as behavior or conduct. If we know the consequences of our actions we can

convert values into rules of behavior that can then be described as ethics, i.e, Values +

Knowledge = Ethics

In the business world, ethics often are displaced by greed when there is a periodic frenzy of

rising stock market prices. Inevitably, a steep downturn then inflicts losses on investors and

on businesses with a concomitant reduction in the work force. An excessive competitive spirit

tends to induce unethical business practices so the business world becomes a battlefield

where the normal rules are flouted, skirted or simply disregarded. The ensuing instability is

bad for the economy and for the government.

TWO BROAD AREAS OF BUSINESS ETHICS

1. Managerial mischief. Madsen and Shafritz, in their book "Essentials of Business Ethics"

explain that "managerial mischief" includes "illegal, unethical, or questionable

practices of individual managers or organizations, as well as the causes of such

behaviours and remedies to eradicate them." There has been a great deal written

about managerial mischief, leading many to believe that business ethics is merely a

matter of preaching the basics of what is right and wrong. More often, though, business

ethics is a matter of dealing with dilemmas that have no clear indication of what is

right or wrong.

2. Moral mazes. The other broad area of business ethics is "moral mazes of management"

and includes the numerous ethical problems that managers must deal with on a daily

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basis, such as potential conflicts of interest, wrongful use of resources,

mismanagement of contracts and agreements, etc.

THREE APPROACHES TO ETHICS

The field of ethics, also called moral philosophy, involves systematizing, defending, and

recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. Philosophers today usually divide ethical

theories into three general subject areas or three main approaches to ethics - Normative

Ethics, Descriptive Ethics and Meta-Ethics.

NORMATIVE ETHICS:

This was the prevalent form of ethics in philosophy until the end of the 19th century.

What things are good and bad and what kind of actions / behavior are right and wrong.

It involves how people ought to act on the principles, how they make moral choices,

and how rules apply to individual lives. It includes a consideration of the importance of

human freedom, and a discussion of the limits of a human's responsibility for moral

decisions and for the consequences of actions. Consideration for the role of conscience

in moral decision making is also a part of Normative ethics. This may come from an

established group of culture, such as the Christian tradition, or it may be based on

some other way of thinking. This is the traditional way of doing Ethics.

DESCRIPTIVE ETHICS:

It is the study of ways in which different people and different societies have answered

moral questions. It can be described as moral sociology or moral anthropology, a

description of the moral code prevailing in different societies. It involves different

approaches inside one society to the resolution of ethical problems.

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META-ETHICS:

This is sometimes called moral philosophy or philosophical ethics. This group attracts

most interest today. It seeks to understand the meaning and function moral language,

of ethical terms like good and bad. It looks at the logic used in arriving at the

conclusion of an argument that justifies a moral choice. Posing an ethical question

illustrates the different ways the two positions respond to it. If you asked the question

"Is pre-marital sex right," a Normative Ethical answer would be more concerned with

the reasons why it might be right or wrong, how they relate to certain teachings, or

traditions of, say the Christian Church, or some other group. A meta-Ethical response

would be more interested in what you mean by right, and what it means by a right

sexual action as opposed to a wrong one. Meta Ethics has produced a number of

different schools, which we will look at over the coming few weeks:

Ethical Naturalism (Definism)

Ethical Non-naturalism (Intuitionism)

Ethical Non-cognitivism (Emotivism)

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FOUR VIEWS OF ETHICS

Recent corporate scandals including Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, and ImClone may cause many to

conclude that corporate has no ethics. The term ethics refers to rules and principles that

define right and wrong conduct.

FOUR VIEWS OF ETHICS

1. UTILITARIAN VIEW of ethics says that:

Ethical decisions are made solely on the basis of their outcomes or consequences.

Greatest good is provided for the greatest number

Encourages efficiency and productivity and is consistent with the goal of profit

maximization

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2. RIGHTS VIEW of ethics is concerned with respecting and protecting individual liberties

and privileges such as the rights to privacy, free speech, and due process.

Respecting and protecting individual liberties and privileges

Seeks to protect individual rights of conscience, free speech, life and safety, and

due process

To make ethical decisions, managers need to avoid interfering with the

fundamental rights of others

3. Theory of Justice View of ethics is where managers impose and enforce rules fairly

and impartially and do so by following all legal rules and regulations.

Organizational rules are enforced fairly and impartially and follow all legal rules

and regulations

Protects the interests of underrepresented stakeholders and the rights of

employees

4. INTEGRATIVE SOCIAL CONTRACTS theory proposes that ethical decisions be based on

existing ethical norms in industries and communities in determining what constitutes

right and wrong.

Acts are moral when they promote the individual’s best long-term interests,

which ultimately leads to the greater good

Individualism is believed to lead to honesty and integrity because that works

best in the long run

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OVERVIEW OF ISSUES IN BUSINESS ETHICS

GENERAL BUSINESS ETHICS

This part of business ethics overlaps with the philosophy of business, one of the aims of

which is to determine the fundamental purposes of a company. If a company's main

purpose is to maximize the returns to its shareholders, then it could be seen as

unethical for a company to consider the interests and rights of anyone else.

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Corporate social responsibility or CSR: an umbrella term under which the ethical rights

and duties existing between companies and society is debated.

Issues regarding the moral rights and duties between a company and its shareholders:

fiduciary responsibility, stakeholder concept v. shareholder concept.

Ethical issues concerning relations between different companies: e.g. hostile

takeovers, industrial espionage.

Leadership issues: corporate governance.

Political contributions made by corporations.

Law reform, such as the ethical debate over introducing a crime of corporate

manslaughter.

The misuse of corporate ethics policies as marketing instruments.

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

Professional ethics covers the myriad practical ethical problems and phenomena which arise out of specific functional areas of companies or in relation to recognized business professions.

ETHICS OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION

Creative accounting, earnings management, misleading financial analysis.

Insider trading, securities fraud, bucket shop, forex scams: concerns (criminal)

manipulation of the financial markets.

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Executive compensation: concerns excessive payments made to corporate CEO's.

Bribery, kickbacks, and facilitation payments: while these may be in the (short-term)

interests of the company and its shareholders, these practices may be anti-competitive

or offend against the values of society.

ETHICS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

The ethics of human resource management (HRM) covers those ethical issues arising around

the employer-employee relationship, such as the rights and duties owed between employer

and employee.

Discrimination issues include discrimination on the bases of age (ageism), gender, race,

religion, disabilities, weight and attractiveness. See also: affirmative action, sexual

harassment.

Issues surrounding the representation of employees and the democratization of the

workplace: union busting, strike breaking.

Issues affecting the privacy of the employee: workplace surveillance, drug testing.

Issues affecting the privacy of the employer: whistle-blowing.

Issues relating to the fairness of the employment contract and the balance of power

between employer and employee: slavery, indentured servitude, employment law.

Occupational safety and health.

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ETHICS OF SALES AND MARKETING

Marketing which goes beyond the mere provision of information about (and access to) a

product may seek to manipulate our values and behavior. To some extent society regards this

as acceptable, but where is the ethical line to be drawn? Marketing ethics overlaps strongly

with media ethics, because marketing makes heavy use of media. However, media ethics is a

much larger topic and extends outside business ethics.

Pricing: price fixing, price discrimination, price skimming.

Anti-competitive practices: these include but go beyond pricing tactics to cover issues

such as manipulation of loyalty and supply chains. See: anti-competitive practices,

antitrust law.

Specific marketing strategies: greenwash, bait and switch, shill, viral marketing, spam

(electronic), pyramid scheme, planned obsolescence.

Content of advertisements: attack ads, subliminal messages, sex in advertising,

products regarded as immoral or harmful

Children and marketing: marketing in schools.

ETHICS OF PRODUCTION

This area of business ethics deals with the duties of a company to ensure that products and

production processes do not cause harm. Some of the more acute dilemmas in this area arise

out of the fact that there is usually a degree of danger in any product or production process

and it is difficult to define a degree of permissibility, or the degree of permissibility may

depend on the changing state of preventative technologies or changing social perceptions of

acceptable risk.

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Defective, addictive and inherently dangerous products and services (e.g. tobacco,

alcohol, weapons, motor vehicles, chemical manufacturing, bungee jumping).

Ethical relations between the company and the environment: pollution, environmental

ethics, carbon emissions trading.

Ethical problems arising out of new technologies: genetically modified food, mobile

phone radiation and health.

Product testing ethics: animal rights and animal testing, use of economically

disadvantaged groups (such as students) as test objects.

ETHICS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

Knowledge and skills are valuable but not easily "ownable" objects. Nor is it obvious who has

the greater rights to an idea: the company who trained the employee or the employee

themselves? The country in which the plant grew, or the company which discovered and

developed the plant's medicinal potential? As a result, attempts to assert ownership and

ethical disputes over ownership arise.

Patent infringement, copyright infringement, trademark infringement.

Misuse of the intellectual property systems to stifle competition: patent misuse,

copyright misuse, patent troll, submarine patent.

Even the notion of intellectual property itself has been criticised on ethical grounds:

see intellectual property.

Employee raiding: the practice of attracting key employees away from a competitor to

take unfair advantage of the knowledge or skills they may possess.

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The practice of employing all the most talented people in a specific field, regardless of

need, in order to prevent any competitors employing them.

Bioprospecting (ethical) and biopiracy (unethical).

Business intelligence and industrial espionage.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ETHICS AND ETHICS OF ECONOMIC SYSTEMS

The issues here are grouped together because they involve a much wider, global view on

business ethical matters.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ETHICS

While business ethics emerged as a field in the 1970s, international business ethics did not

emerge until the late 1990s, looking back on the international developments of that decade.

Many new practical issues arose out of the international context of business. Theoretical

issues such as cultural relativity of ethical values receive more emphasis in this field. Other,

older issues can be grouped here as well. Issues and subfields include:

The search for universal values as a basis for international commercial behavior.

Comparison of business ethical traditions in different countries.

Comparison of business ethical traditions from various religious perspectives.

Ethical issues arising out of international business transactions; e.g. bioprospecting and

biopiracy in the pharmaceutical industry; the fair trade movement; transfer pricing.

Issues such as globalization and cultural imperialism.

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Varying global standards - e.g. the use of child labour.

The way in which multinationals take advantage of international differences, such as

outsourcing production (e.g. clothes) and services (e.g. call centre’s) to low-wage

countries.

The permissibility of international commerce with pariah states.

THEORETICAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS ETHICS

CONFLICTING INTERESTS

Business ethics can be examined from various perspectives, including the perspective of the

employee, the commercial enterprise, and society as a whole. Very often, situations arise in

which there is conflict between one or more of the parties, such that serving the interest of

one party is a detriment to the other(s). For example, a particular outcome might be good for

the employee, whereas, it would be bad for the company, society, or vice versa. Some

ethicists (e.g., Henry Sidgwick) see the principal role of ethics as the harmonization and

reconciliation of conflicting interests.

ETHICAL ISSUES AND APPROACHES

Philosophers and others disagree about the purpose of a business ethic in society. For

example, some suggest that the principal purpose of a business is to maximize returns to its

owners, or in the case of a publicly-traded concern, its shareholders. Thus, under this view,

only those activities that increase profitability and shareholder value should be encouraged.

Some believe that the only companies that are likely to survive in a competitive marketplace

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are those that place profit maximization above everything else. However, some point out that

self interest would still require a business to obey the law and adhere to basic moral rules,

because the consequences of failing to do so could be very costly in fines, loss of licensure, or

company reputation. The economist Milton Friedman was a leading proponent of this view.

Other theorists contend that a business has moral duties that extend well beyond serving the

interests of its owners or stockholders, and that these duties consist of more than simply

obeying the law. They believe a business has moral responsibilities to so-called stakeholders,

people who have an interest in the conduct of the business, which might include employees,

customers, vendors, the local community, or even society as a whole. They would say that

stakeholders have certain rights with regard to how the business operates, and some would

suggest that this includes even rights of governance.

Some theorists have adapted social contract theory to business, whereby companies become

quasi-democratic associations, and employees and other stakeholders are given voice over a

company's operations. This approach has become especially popular subsequent to the revival

of contract theory in political philosophy, which is largely due to John Rawls' A Theory of

Justice, and the advent of the consensus-oriented approach to solving business problems, an

aspect of the "quality movement" that emerged in the 1980s. Professors Thomas Donaldson

and Thomas Dunfee proposed a version of contract theory for business, which they call

Integrative Social Contracts Theory. They posit that conflicting interests are best resolved by

formulating a "fair agreement" between the parties, using a combination of

i) Macro-principles that all rational people would agree upon as universal

principles, and,

ii) Micro-principles formulated by actual agreements among the interested parties.

Critics say the proponents of contract theories miss a central point, namely, that a business is

someone's property and not a mini-state or a means of distributing social justice.

Ethical issues can arise when companies must comply with multiple and sometimes conflicting

legal or cultural standards, as in the case of multinational companies that operate in

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countries with varying practices. The question arises, for example, ought a company to obey

the laws of its home country, or should it follow the less stringent laws of the developing

country in which it does business? To illustrate, United States law forbids companies from

paying bribes either domestically or overseas; however, in other parts of the world, bribery is

a customary, accepted way of doing business. Similar problems can occur with regard to child

labor, employee safety, work hours, wages, discrimination, and environmental protection

laws.

It is sometimes claimed that a Gresham's law of ethics applies in which bad ethical practices

drive out good ethical practices. It is claimed that in a competitive business environment,

those companies that survive are the ones that recognize that their only role is to maximize

profits. On this view, the competitive system fosters a downward ethical spiral.

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ETHICS IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

In the corporate world, business ethics have a major role to play in the manufacturing sector

too. It is the duty of the manufacturer to produce the products and goods according to the

customer’s requirements and satisfaction. He / She has to produce goods which is of good

quality, reasonable price and to top it all it should be safe to use by the customer.

In case if the products produced by a particular company are not up to the customer’s

expectations or requirements then the customer has a right to question the manufacturer and

be compensated for the damage caused to him on using the product. Thus, all companies are

taking great care and paying attention to produce proper and good quality products adhering

to the standards, lest their company’s reputation does not get affected.

Despite all these consumer rights assuming great importance in the society, do all

manufacturing industries follow ethical values and principles in their day to day lives?

“A Business that makes nothing but Money is a Poor kind of Business.”

~ Henry Ford

Whether it is for the sake of beating competition or simply because it makes good business

sense, companies now have started to internalize business ethics and values. Ethics have

become a part and parcel of the entire manufacturing process. Sometime back the bottom

line of an enterprise used to be monetary profits but this bottom line today comprises a whole

gamut of subjects like quality assurance, environmental friendly practices, Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR) and many more.

Gone are the days when companies could act philanthropic and charitable by parting with a

miniscule portion of their profits. There is no recognition for an organization that fails to

recognize ethics and values in its domain area.

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MOTOROLA

Motorola is known around the world for innovation and leadership in wireless and broadband

communications. Inspired by its vision of Seamless Mobility, the people of Motorola are

committed to helping people get and stay connected simply and seamlessly to information,

and entertainment that you want and need. Motorola does this by designing and delivering the

"must have" products, "must do" experiences and powerful networks — along with a full

complement of support services. A Fortune 100 company with global presence and impact,

Motorola had sales of US$35.3 billion in 2005.

KEY BELIEFS - THE WAY MOTOROLA WILL ALWAYS ACT

Motorola's Key Beliefs have been in existence for decades, and Motorola continues to have a

strong culture of corporate ethics and citizenship. Since its original establishment in the

1970s, its Code of Business Conduct has provided Motorola employees guidance for their

business activities, placing a priority on establishing trust with its stakeholders. However, it

is not enough to declare its good values. Motorola is committed to acting on them--through

the potential of its technology and the way they conduct their business. The EthicsLine offers

information, advice and suggestions. Use it to discuss any concern or problem - not just for

emergencies. The EthicsLine strives to make sure that all questions or concerns are handled

fairly, discreetly and thoroughly.

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ETHICAL PRACTICES PRACTICED BY MOTOROLA

Times will change. Our products will change. Our people will change. Our customers will

change. What will not change is our commitment to our key beliefs.

The key beliefs define who they are as individuals and as a company - to each other, its

customers, its shareholders, its suppliers, its competitors and its communities.

Uncompromising integrity means staying true to what they believe. Motorola adheres to

honesty, fairness and doing the right thing without compromise, even when circumstances

make it difficult. Constant respect for people means how Motorola treats everyone with

dignity. Constant respect applies to every individual they interact with around the world.

The Code of Business Conduct is a guide to help Motorolans live up to Motorola's high ethical

standards -- and their own. It summarizes many of the laws that Motorola and all Motorolans

are required to live by. The Code goes beyond the legal minimums, however, by describing

the ethical values we share as Motorolans. The Code is neither a contract nor a

comprehensive manual that covers every situation Motorolans throughout the world might

encounter. It highlights key issues and identifies policies and resources to help Motorolans

reach decisions that will make Motorola proud.

MOTOROLA’s RESPONSIBILITY TO MOTOROLANS

We respect the dignity of each Motorolan.

Motorolans will treat each other with respect and fairness at all times. They will value the

difference of diverse individuals from around the world. Employment decisions will be based

on business reasons, such as qualifications, talents and achievements, and will comply with

local and national employment laws. Abusive, harassing or offensive conduct is unacceptable,

whether verbal, physical or visual. Examples include derogatory comments based on racial or

ethnic characteristics and unwelcome sexual advances. The Motorolans are encouraged to

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speak out if a co-worker's conduct makes them uncomfortable and to report harassment if it

occurs.

They are all responsible for maintaining a safe workplace by following safety and health rules

and practices. They are responsible for immediately reporting accidents, injuries and unsafe

equipment, practices or conditions to a supervisor or other designated person. Motorola is

committed to keeping its workplaces free from hazards. To protect the safety of all

employees, each of them must report to work free from the influence of any substance that

could prevent them from conducting work activities safely and effectively. Threats or acts of

violence or physical intimidation are prohibited.

MOTOROLA’s RESPONSIBILITY TO CUSTOMERS AND CONSUMERS

We earn customer loyalty by delivering on our promises.

Maintaining Motorola's valuable reputation requires complying with its quality processes and

safety requirements. Motorola builds long-term relationships with its customers by

demonstrating honesty and integrity. Its marketing and advertising will be accurate and

truthful. Deliberately misleading messages, omissions of important facts or false claims about

its competitors' offerings are unacceptable. They obtain business legally and ethically. Bribes

or kickbacks are unacceptable. Guidance on customer gifts, travel and entertainment is in the

Conflicts of Interest section of this Code. Motorola protects its customer information that is

sensitive, private or confidential - just as carefully as they protect their own. Only those who

have a need to know, have access to confidential information.

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MOTOROLA’s RESPONSIBILITY TO COMMUNITIES

As a global corporate citizen, Motorola creates products and provides services that benefit

people around the world.

Motorola serves society by providing life-enhancing products and services at a fair price, and

by actively supporting the communities in which they operate. Motorola, the Motorola

Foundation and Motorolans throughout the world provide generous financial and voluntary

support to thousands of worthwhile community programs. Motorolans are free to support

community, charity and political organizations and causes of their choice, as long as they

make it clear that their views and actions are not those of Motorola. Employees' outside

activities must not interfere with job performance. No Motorolan may pressure another

employee to express a view that is contrary to a personal belief, or to contribute to or

support political, religious or charitable causes.

Motorola respects the environment by complying with all applicable environmental laws in all

countries in which they conduct operations. Motorola is committed to protecting the

environment by minimizing the environmental impact of its operations and operating its

businesses in ways that foster sustainable use of the world's natural resources. Motorolans

must comply with Motorola's environmental policies and programs. Notify management if

hazardous materials come into contact with the environment or are improperly handled or

discarded.

Motorola provides fair, accurate, timely and easy to understand information to the public. To

ensure professional and consistent handling, requests from the media are forwarded to the

local communications group or Corporate Communications. Requests from financial analysts

and shareholders are forwarded to Investor Relations.

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ETHICS IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR

Human beings have an innate ethical sense that urges them to make predictable choices.

Although most people believe that their actions are guided by logic and reason, reason often

acts only as a mechanism to justify these choices. Ethics education is about recognizing the

real power of one’s innate ethical sense and how it influences our behavior. In this way we

can free reason to become a tool to truly guide our actions. Without the wisdom that results

from understanding one’s innate ethical self, reason remains a powerful propaganda prop for

unchallenged intrinsic human ethical imperatives.

Educational institutions are microcosms of culture and the society that supports them. As

such, they should be bastions of ethical behavior. These institutions should be the training

ground for students to determine and practice their personal ethics code which will guide

them for the remained of their lives. Each classroom becomes a laboratory of the process of

decision making, and of critically examining choices in the workplace, interpersonal

relationships, and personal lives. Teachers can play an important role in assisting students to

view ethical choices as a vital part of their future lives, both as professionals and in their

daily living.

“The first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity with other

human beings.”

~ Albert Schweitzer, German doctor and Theologian.

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SCHOOL OF ETHICS

Business ethics to students has become a critical issue as the future of any nation lies in

creating not just CEO’s and headers but in creating successful individuals who are ethically

strong. Ethics can be taught in two major ways:

1. THE PHILOSOPHY

The best way to encourage students on this path would be to ask students to think of

actions that they consider morally right and wrong. Responses like “that is what our

society says” should be gently resisted, on the grounds that they do not account for

why certain kinds of actions are favored over others.

Later the exercise is repeated with business situations like deceptive product

representation, the subjection of employees to unsafe or dangerous working conditions

(particularly without their consent), discrimination, padding expense reports and other

self-interested lines, monopolistic practices that exclude competitors from the market,

and so forth.

2. CONVERSATIONAL METHOD OF TEACHING BUSINESS ETHICS

Using conversational learning in business ethics teaching efforts will allow students to

become self-reflective, to learn the value of dialogue and good moral conversation, to

learn about others’ learning experiences and attitudes, and to apply the knowledge

gained to organizational life. The process seems to foster a trusting environment, one

in which students engage in active participation and take personal risks in the

classroom.

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ROLE OF THE STUDENT

Listening to others with the intention of learning with them

Reflecting intentionally to gain more understanding of the complexities of

organizational life.

Being open – minded and accepting that there are multiple legitimate and viable

perspectives and possibilities in any situation.

Understanding that there is no right answer or right approach in an ethical situation.

Being proactive in anticipating potential ethical and moral dilemmas and finding

different ways to learn from different perspectives about how one might address such

dilemmas.

ROLE OF THE TEACHER

The conversational methods of teaching business ethics have the following requisites:-

Knowing one’s strengths and shortcomings, being honest with oneself, continuously

striving to increase our ethical (and other) self – awareness, seeking and listening to

feedback from responsible peers and colleagues.

Building an atmosphere of trust and psychological safety and a norm of collective

responsibility in the classroom.

Generating empathy in the students and making them learn from each other’s

experiences.

Reflecting and building on differences in perspectives of different students.

Emphasizing relationships and social interactions and proactively managing the

dynamics of ethical and moral situations, challenges, opportunities and dilemmas.

In the long run meaningful dialogue promotes deeper commitment to the goal, purpose of

mission of teaching business ethics. However, it is important to recognize that the

introduction to talking and learning about values, beliefs, morals and other ethically related

issues often generates in students powerful emotional responses ranging from self doubt and

shame to frustration and confusion.

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ETHICS IN the it sector

Ethics in IT industry and BPO is a form of art of applied ethics that examines ethical rules and

principles within a commercial context, the various moral or ethical problems that can arise

in a setting of any industry and any special duties or obligations that apply to persons who are

engaged. Every IT industry has one or more values, whether they are consciously aware of it

or not. Another way of saying it is that a value is a statement of the company’s intention and

commitment to achieve a high level of performance on a specific Qualitative or Quantitative

factor.

As a part of more comprehensive compliance and ethic programs in IT companies, many

companies have formulated internal policies pertaining to the ethical conduct of employees.

These policies can be simple exhortations in broad, highly generalized language, or they can

be more detailed policies containing specific requirements. They are generally meant to

identify the companies’ expectations of workers and to offer guidance on handling some of

the more common ethical problems that might arise. It is hoped that having such a policy will

lead to:-

Ethical Awareness

Improvements in ethical policies

Consistency in application

Avoidance of ethical disasters

An increasing number of companies also require employees to attend seminars regarding

ethical conduct, which often include discussions of the company’s policies, specific case

studies and legal requirements. Some companies even require their employees to sign

agreements stating that they will abide to the ethical codes and practices.

“Every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity an obligation; every

position a duty.”

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ETHICs – bpo – security

Why must BPO Companies hire “Ethical Hackers”

BPO organizations must secure their IT infrastructure and networks. Just as corporations

employ auditors to routinely examine financial records, so should BPO Service Providers

audit security policy. Without security audits and compliance controls, no real security

exists. This is a big problem. There are plenty of individuals waiting to test and probe

your organization’s security stance. These individuals range from government to

corporate spies, to hackers, crackers, script kiddies, or those who write and release

malicious code into the wild. Their presence in your network is not a good thing!

Who are Ethical Hackers?

An ethical hacker is most similar to a penetration tester. The ethical hacker is an

individual who is employed or contracted to undertake an attempted penetration test.

These individuals use the same methods employed by hackers. In case you were unsure;

hacking is a felony in the United States. Ethical Hackers have written authorization to

probe a network. Only then is this attempted hack legal, as there is a contract between

the ethical hacker and the organization. In 1995, long before today’s stringent guidelines,

one individual received 3 felony counts, 5 years probation, 480 hours of community

service, and a $68,000 legal bill for failing to insure proper authorization.

How is Ethical Hacking Performed?

Primarily, ethical hackers are employed in groups to perform penetration tests. These groups

are commonly referred as “Red Teams”. These individuals are paid by the organization to

poke, prod, and determine the overall level of security. Again, what is important here is that

they have been given written permission to perform this test and have detailed boundaries to

work within. Don’t be lulled into believing that the penalties fro legal penetration are low, it

is a felony!!

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What is the Test about?

The Certified Ethical Hacker Exam consists of 21 domains covered in 50 questions. It has a two

– hour time limit. These questions have multiple choice answer options. During the test, it is

allowed to mark questions for which the answers are not too sure about and then return for

later review. The domains were compiled to evaluate the full range of security testing. One

must also demonstrate how hacker tools work and demonstrate knowledge of professional

security tools, as well as how these tools are utilized. The 21 domains are as follows:

1. Ethics and Legal Issues

2. Footprinting

3. Scanning

4. Enumeration

5. System Hacking

6. Trojans and Backdoors

7. Sniffers

8. Denial of Service

9. Social Engineering

10.Session Hijacking

11.Hacking Web Servers

12.We Application Vulnerabilities

13.Web Based Password Cracking Techniques

14.SQL Injection

15.Hacking Wireless Networks

16.Virus and Worms

17.Hacking Novell

18.Hacking Linux

19.IDS, Firewalls, and Honeypots

20.Buffer Overflows

21.Cryptography

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ETHICS IN the food sector

Whether we eat to live or live to eat, we all would have been out to eat, at some point

in our lives. The above statement is seriously understated since most of us eat out at least

once a week.

Whenever we visit a hotel or buy some packaged food, it indirectly indicates the

trustworthiness of the brand. The underlying factor contributing towards a brand image is the

ethics followed by the company. The food industry shoulders a huge responsibility; the health

of their patrons / consumers. The industry has to adhere to laws, procedures, norms and

several quality standards. Right from the raw materials, the various ingredients, procurement

to the processing and packaging activities have to be meticulously carried out. Now let us see

how the various ethical aspects are dealt with in this industry.

AAVIN

Goodness of milk

The first cooperative diary was set up at Chennai city during the year 1927. The state diary

development department was established in 1958. The first modern diary plant with a

capacity to handle 50,000 litres per day of pasteurized milk was established in the year 1963

at Madhavaram near Chennai with the aid from New Zealand. A diary to handle 50,000 litres

per day was set up at Madurai with the assistance of the UNICEF in 1967. The system

consisted of supervised milking at the village level and the transportation of the raw milk in

aluminum cans through hired transport vehicles to milk chilling plants or directly to the diary.

Quality control happens to be the core element of the organization. Especially since AAVIN

deals with perishable products the quality standards and fulfilling them is crucial for the

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sustenance of the organization. It has added to AAVIN’S goodwill through the ages and also

has led to diversification in the long run. The quality control department makes state of the

art machines and techniques for fulfilling their promise to provide high quality and hygienic

products.

Aavin has taken up measures to improve the quality of raw milk procured at the village level

milk co-operative societies and also to enforce clean milk practices at the society level to

enhance the quality of milk at the initial level itself. The clean milk production programme,

includes not only the production of good quality milk, but also improves animal management,

feed and fodder, artificial insemination, training to farmers and society personnel,

installation of bulk coolers, maintaining milk yard free from flies, dirt etc. and usage of SS

vessels to maintain minimum level of bacterial load, according to Aavin sources.

In the diary co-operatives, the milk procurement staff is given training in clean milk

production at NDDB training centres. The milk producers are educated for hygienic

management of animals, milking methods and handling of milk. They are also provided with

SS pails and antiseptic solutions for cleaning the animal udder etc. Massive awareness

campaigns are carried out among the society members.

At present Aavin has three diaries in Chennai, on at Ambattur with a capacity of 4LLPD (Lakh

Litre per Day), at Madhavaram with a capacity of 2 LLPD and the third one at Sholinganallur

with a capacity of 4 LLPD for procuring milk from district unions, process and packaging in

sachets to cater to the needs of consumers in and around Chennai city. All the three diaries

are certified with ISO 9001:2000. Efforts are also being taken to get the HACCP certification

for these three diaries.

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ETHICS IN media & advertising sector

Media Ethics is the subdivision of applied ethics dealing with the particular ethical principles

and standards of media, including broadcast media, film, theatre, the arts, print media and

the internet. This is the general definition of media ethics and as the definition suggests,

there are many dimensions to media.

In today’s world, media is given a lot of importance and is considered to be the voice of the

public. But there are some who take undue advantage of the freedom given to them for the

sake of money, fame or in most cases both. Breach of code of conduct in this industry has

more effect on people as it can be seen and followed explicitly. People trust media to give

them accurate information and are at time deceived by its exaggerated versions.

Media is a double edged sword and it has to be handled very carefully. Its impact is long time

and is very powerful and influencing. A balance has to be struck between the purpose of

media with the code of ethics.

“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

~ Oscar Wilde, Irish Dramatist and Poet

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FACEBOOK - AD PLATFORM

Facebook Ads represent a completely new way of advertising online. For the last hundred

years media has been pushed out to people, but now marketers are going to be a part of the

conversation. And they're going to do this by using the social graph in the same way our users

do."

- Mark Zuckerberg (Zuckerberg), Founder and CEO, Facebook, in 2007.

"The new advertising system will target ads based on personal information shared by users

with their friends... It also reeks of unethical practices since when these users joined

Facebook they were not told or given the chance to opt out and state that their personal

information like interests, relationship status, work history, etc. should not be used."

- Sujatha Ganesan, a Business and Technology Lawyer, in 2007.

This case discusses the ethical and privacy concerns pertaining to Facebook's new ad system.

On November 06, 2007, Mark Zuckerberg (Zuckerberg), the founder and CEO of Facebook

introduced an ad system called Facebook Ads to connect business houses with Facebook users.

As of November 2007, Facebook had 55 million active registered users, and was the second

fastest growing social networking site, with an astounding year-on-year growth rate of 133

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percent. This new system was expected to facilitate offering of better targeted

advertisements to the users. According to Zuckerberg, the new ad platform would provide a

very different way of online advertising as it would give the advertiser a chance to 'be a part

of the conversation' by using the 'social graph' in the same way as the Facebook users did.

Earlier this summer, a Miss America contestant was blackmailed using pictures from her old

Facebook page to try to get her dethroned from her title of Miss New Jersey. Amy Polumbo

had deleted her Facebook page before the state pageant, but that didn’t stop an anonymous

sender who called themselves the “Committee to Save Miss America.”

Polumbo did not give up her crown, and the photos that were sent were not as bad as they

were made out to be. But it teaches us all a lesson, especially business owners, about how

open one should be on social networking sites. Potential risk to using social networking sites

for business related purposes is privacy.

One of the hottest issues is Facebook’s new social ad policy, which allows you to basically

become a free advertisement for any company they share information with. For example,

when you rent a movie from Blockbuster Video, that information is shared with Facebook.

Then all of your friends know what you have rented. This can be embarrassing if your business

colleague see your Facebook page.

The Facebook privacy policy, for example, not only gives them permission to share your

information with a third party, it also states that they may obtain information about you from

other sources, such as newspapers, blogs and the like. So not only are they able to collect

information about you from their site, but they can use information they collect from other

sources.

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Benefits of Managing Ethics in the Workplace

Many people are used to reading or hearing of the moral benefits of attention to business

ethics. However, there are other types of benefits, as well. The following list describes

various types of benefits from managing ethics in the workplace.

Attention to business ethics has substantially improved society.

A matter of decades ago, children in our country worked 16-hour days. Workers’ limbs

were torn off and disabled workers were condemned to poverty and often to

starvation. Trusts controlled some markets to the extent that prices were fixed and

small businesses choked out. Price fixing crippled normal market forces. Employees

were terminated based on personalities. Influence was applied through intimidation

and harassment. Then society reacted and demanded that businesses place high value

on fairness and equal rights. Anti-trust laws were instituted. Government agencies

were established. Unions were organized. Laws and regulations were established.

Ethics programs help maintain a moral course in turbulent times.

Attention to business ethics is critical during times of fundamental change -- times

much like those faced now by businesses, both nonprofit and for-profit. During times of

change, there is often no clear moral compass to guide leaders through complex

conflicts about what is right or wrong. Continuing attention to ethics in the workplace

sensitizes leaders and staff to how they want to act -- consistently.

Ethics programs cultivate strong teamwork and productivity.

Ethics programs align employee behaviors with those top priority ethical values

preferred by leaders of the organization. Usually, an organization finds surprising

disparity between its preferred values and the values actually reflected by behaviors in

the workplace. Ongoing attention and dialogue regarding values in the workplace builds

openness, integrity and community -- critical ingredients of strong teams in the

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workplace. Employees feel strong alignment between their values and those of the

organization. They react with strong motivation and performance.

Ethics programs support employee growth and meaning.

Attention to ethics in the workplace helps employees face reality, both good and bad --

in the organization and themselves. Employees feel full confidence they can admit and

deal with whatever comes their way.

Ethics programs are an insurance policy -- they help ensure that policies are legal.

There are an increasing number of lawsuits in regard to personnel matters and to

effects of an organization’s services or products on stakeholders. Ethical principles are

often state-of-the-art legal matters. These principles are often applied to current,

major ethical issues to become legislation. Attention to ethics ensures highly ethical

policies and procedures in the workplace. It’s far better to incur the cost of

mechanisms to ensure ethical practices now than to incur costs of litigation later. A

major intent of well-designed personnel policies is to ensure ethical treatment of

employees, e.g., in matters of hiring, evaluating, disciplining, firing, etc.

Ethics programs help avoid criminal acts “of omission” and can lower fines.

Ethics programs tend to detect ethical issues and violations early on so they can be

reported or addressed. In some cases, when an organization is aware of an actual or

potential violation and does not report it to the appropriate authorities, this can be

considered a criminal act, e.g., in business dealings with certain government agencies,

such as the Defense Department.

Ethics programs help manage values associated with quality management, strategic

planning and diversity management -- this benefit needs far more attention.

Ethics programs identify preferred values and ensuring organizational behaviors are

aligned with those values. This effort includes recording the values, developing policies

and procedures to align behaviors with preferred values, and then training all

personnel about the policies and procedures. This overall effort is very useful for

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several other programs in the workplace that require behaviors to be aligned with

values, including quality management, strategic planning and diversity management.

Total Quality Management includes high priority on certain operating values, e.g., trust

among stakeholders, performance, reliability, measurement, and feedback. Eastman

and Polaroid use ethics tools in their quality programs to ensure integrity in their

relationships with stakeholders. Ethics management techniques are highly useful for

managing strategic values, e.g., expand marketshare, reduce costs, etc.

Ethics programs promote a strong public image.

Attention to ethics is also strong public relations -- admittedly, managing ethics should

not be done primarily for reasons of public relations. The fact that an organization

regularly gives attention to its ethics can portray a strong positive to the public. People

see those organizations as valuing people more than profit, as striving to operate with

the utmost of integrity and honor. Aligning behavior with values is critical to effective

marketing and public relations programs.

Overall benefits of ethics programs:

Managing ethical values in the workplace legitimizes managerial actions, strengthens

the coherence and balance of the organization’s culture, improves trust in relationships

between individuals and groups, supports greater consistency in standards and qualities

of products, and cultivates greater sensitivity to the impact of the enterprise’s values

and messages.

Last - and most -- formal attention to ethics in the workplace is the right thing to

do.

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CONCLUSION

Whenever and wherever there are meaningful discussions to create better socio-economic

conditions in the society or to make the world a better place to live in, the discussions

invariably touch Business and Industry or Trade and Commerce also besides other areas of

human activities. Those who run their business or industry on principles of honesty, integrity

and justice are the ones who raise the prestige of their nation and are inspiring examples unto

others. However, there are people who indulge into unfair, unjust, dishonest or socially

harmful activities and do not believe in fairplay and excellence.

Business has created the wealth that has given unprecedented numbers of individual’s

financial control of their lives. It has expanded immeasurably the range of goods and services

available to individuals. It has broken down countless centuries-old barriers of racial, sexual,

religious, and ethnic prejudice. And it has been the vehicle for countless numbers of

individuals to develop their fullest potentials in achieving their dreams. In short, business has

been a prime mover in making it possible for millions to pursue their lives in a wealthy,

healthy, rational and exciting world.

Because business decisions often require specialized knowledge, ethical issues are often more

complicated than those faced in personal life — and effective decision making requires

consistency. Because each business situation is different, and not all decisions are simple,

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many organizations have embraced ethical codes of conduct and rules of professional ethics

to guide managers and employees. However, sometimes self-regulation proves insufficient to

protect the interest of customers, organizations, or society. At that point, pressures for

regulation and enactment of legislation to protect the interests of all parties in the exchange

process will likely occur.

Maintaining a strong ethical culture is essential for complying with the laws and regulations,

but this alone cannot be the motivation for ethical culture building. Beyond the large impact

an organization’s culture has on the bottom line, the development of programs to foster

ethical conduct must maintain a focus on fairness, encouragement, and communication at all

employee levels. Along these lines, employees must be given the appropriate tools and

models to align their behavior with company culture and engage in ethical decision-making.

The attitudes, choices, and actions of business leaders play a primary role in the creation of

an organization’s ethical culture and climate; expectations for employees’ ethical behavior

can only be set as high as the organization’s leadership is willing to meet. A leader’s ability to

consistently promote ethical conduct in an organization is critical to ensuring that employees

understand how to make “doing what is right” a priority.

Thus it can be concluded that, Ethics are important not only in business but in all aspects of

life because it is an essential part of the foundation on which of a civilized society is build. A

business or society that lacks ethical principles is bound to fail sooner or later.

“Live in such a way that you would not be

Ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.”

~ Will Rogers

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