General concepts in management ethics
Defining Ethics:
It means character, nature, habit, and religion, so morals are innate!!
Ethics are present in the natural instinct, so a person’s innate morals are complete with the acquired morals that he learns from the heavenly laws.
The reality of morals is within the soul, but practical behavior is a direct expression of that and a consequence of it, and some people may be preoccupied with morals, and this is a temporary character. Al-Hassan Al-Basri says:
“A man does not conceal anything but that it appears on the slips of his tongue and the features of his face.”
Ethics can be defined as a set of values, norms and traditions that are agreed upon or recognized by members of the community.
Values are those rules and standards that enable an individual to distinguish between right and wrong, what is and what ought to be.
From this we conclude that the moral action:
It is a behavior that stems from the core of the human being and himself, and therefore it is one of the manifestations of what lies in the existence of the human being, and it speaks of an inner sense.
If a person undertakes charitable projects as a result of external pressures, this act is not considered a moral act, because it did not stem from the core of himself.
Ethics, technically, means habits acquired by an individual as a result of exposure to the influences of family, school, society, and the environment.
“The righteousness of a person’s actions is based on the righteousness of his morals because the branch is its origin. If the original is correct, the branch is correct, and if the original is corrupt, the branch is corrupted.” Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali
Terms in ethics
Ethics:
The set of principles, standards, and values that govern the behavior of individuals or groups with regard to right or wrong, as well as good or bad in different situations.
Ethical behavior:
It is the right behavior and the right choice that adheres to moral principles, and it is the opposite of immoral behavior.
Ethical problem
A situation that is associated with behavioral choices produces negative consequences that make it difficult to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong.
Administrative Ethics:
Ethics reinforce principles that guide the behavior of an individual in his various choices.
Ethical standards that guide administrators in their work.
Business ethics provide standards or guidelines for management and decision-making for employees and managers alike.
Without a code of ethics, there is usually no consensus on ethical principles.
Ethical action:
The verb that corresponds to the job and duty, and to work according to the conscience.
An optional act and the motive for it is the moral sense, and the goal of it is the other, not the actor himself.
Voluntary activity that has a good or bad effect.
The religious obligation in morals:
William James says: “If moral values are found in a world in which there is no god, they are among the nominal values in which there is hardly any obligation. As for the real obligation and real values, they are only if God is the obligating and determining the values of things.”
Dr. Alexis Karel says: "A person is not enthusiastic about submitting to the rules of behavior based on logic unless he considers the laws of life as orders from the Divine Essence."
Kant concluded his Critique of Practical Reason with his famous saying:
Two things the more we contemplate them, they fill the mind with ever new and ever-increasing wonder and terror, they are the planetary heavens above my head, and the moral law is within me.
The difference between work and profession:
Every profession is work, not every job is a profession
The profession requires proficiency and accurate knowledge
A person may do a job that he does not master, so we cannot call him humiliating him
Ethical advantages:
The presence and influence of the emotional component in the moral building.
Moralizing financial and social relations.
Attending and maximizing the moral goal and its importance in different relationships with diverse goals.
Positive and fluid relations thanks to the presence of the ethical component.
Raising performance efficiency and achieving higher rates of success in light of psychological satisfaction related to morals
The impact of ethics in the profession:
It makes human behavior characterized by stability, homogeneity and harmony...
It happens in a person's commitment and good dealing with others...
Have strong will, determination and persistence...
Commitment and self-respect happen to drive it to effective performance and continuity for the better...
Moral imperative:
Principles that are the basis for the behavior required for members of the profession, and the criteria on which the organization relies in evaluating their performance, positively and negatively.
A stable quality in the soul that has positive or reprehensible effects on behavior.
The moral system is a set of abstract rules and principles to which a person is subject in his actions, and to which he is invoked in evaluating his behavior, and is described as good or ugly.
New Ethical Terms:
Professional rules and etiquette.
Job Ethics.
Business ethics.
Management ethics.
Management Codes of Ethics.
The emergence of ethical standards:
Flexner's study in 1915 is the oldest study in the field of professional ethics:
Each profession has values, principles, ethical standards, scientific knowledge, methods and technical skills that govern the profession's operations and define its controls.
The profession has multiple fields and specific jobs, and the fields of the profession, its job, its scientific material, its skills and its technical methods may overlap with other professions.
That is why computer ethics, the ethics of building robots, the ethics of researchers when conducting experiments on animals, and the ethics of genetics were developed.
Increased interest in management ethics:
In the United States, there are currently more than (500) business ethics courses taught in universities full-time, and (90%) of them provide some kind of training in this field.
There are more than (25) textbooks and three periodicals devoted to the subject. There are no less than (16) Research Centers for Business and Management Ethics in service.
Reasons for increased ethical concern:
Organizations have become less ethical in their dealings with workers and employees
clients and the public.
Improving a clear sanctity of profit and profitability for individuals, groups and organizations...
Gaining employees' loyalty through specific ethical values, which are positively reflected in the customer's trust in this service.
The significant increase in violations and unethical practices and prejudicial to the public interest...
The nature and behavior of individuals: personal gain, selfishness and blackmail.
The emergence of complex cases that are difficult to deal with and judge from a legal point of view, but are considered a problem from an ethical point of view.
There are some correct business practices, but they are harmful to the public good.
Legal Responsibility and Moral Responsibility:
Moral responsibility is a subjective responsibility before God and conscience. As for legal responsibility, it is the responsibility of one person to another.
The scope of moral responsibility is wider than the scope of legal responsibility because the scope of morals is wider than the scope of the law.
It is not required for moral responsibility to cause harm to others, but within the scope of legal responsibility, harm is considered one of the pillars of this responsibility.
The moral responsibility does not change, but the legal responsibility changes according to the applicable law.
Moral responsibility is exercised by an internal force that is the power of the soul, conscience, and conscience, while legal responsibility is carried out by an external authority, such as a court and judges.
Administrative breaches of employees:
The prevalence of bribery and nepotism.
embezzlement of public money.
Job blackmail.
Abuse of power.
Job negligence and neglect.
Failure to maintain the public property.
Wasting time.
Job hypocrisy.
Lack of responsibility and self-commitment.
Heavy consumption of natural resources...
Example of administrative ethical breach Enron:
The company occupied a fictitious financial position by tampering with its financial statements, and not actually disclosing many financial transactions and debts.
Confidential agreements between the company's controller and external certified public accountants and the use of fraudulent accounting methods that rely primarily on fraud.
Obtaining short-term debts in huge amounts and hiding them from shareholders.
Working in the “mediation” system through private transactions for the directors’ relatives and those related to them, and to the internal employees.