Similarities and Differences between Laws and Ethics - Essay Example

Laws are dependable sets of directions that are circulated, accepted, and enforced in a region. Usually, laws stipulate ways in which individuals and entities are obligated to coexist with others in society and state the necessity to act in certain ways. In addition, laws are universal as they apply to the whole world with comparable attributes under the same vicinity (Brown, Black & Society of Professional Journalists (U.S.), 2011).

Conversely, ethics involves habits or customs that determine how individuals interact with one another. Alternatively, ethics outline what is moral for individuals and society. Law and rule apply to principles in a variety of ways that include service laws, federal guidelines, ecological laws, and codes of ethics. Companies and other business-oriented institutions work out the right and the wrong ways to act just like people do. For instance, when the law does not specify how a given procedure is performed, managers and plant experts must make informed decisions on achieving the key objectives. Both ethical and unethical measures will have profound impacts on the company as well as on the consumers of the product (Shaw, 2011).

Laws justify the appropriate direction of dealing with an occurrence thus satisfying all the parties involved. On the other hand, ethics entails making a legal decision but not necessarily satisfying all the members involved in a dilemma or a confrontational matter. For instance, stakeholders can be harmed by a company’s ethical behavior, but they could also be left without an option to withdraw at a certain period due to binding contract agreements (Merkel, 2007).

Moreover, differences between ethics and laws can be exemplified in a warranty. Warranties become a constituent of the business pact concerning the depiction that any merchandise is intended to perform. However, most products come with a limited warranty and the manufacturers can manipulate them in any fashion providing they do not infringe the law. Unfortunately, the law does not guarantee a consumer direct claimant of a given product as implied in the warranty. Ethical questions may ascend about the warranties. For instance, company directors might try to determine the point that consumers will have to take in the risks of a flawed product. This phenomenon indicates that though warranties may not be illegal, their description may be confusing. Read More