Ethics as a Field of Study - Admission/Application Essay Example

Ethics Competence Project Ethics as a field of study is a philosophical investigation of human conduct which aims at recommending the right human conduct. Ethics therefore involves articulation, systemizing, defending and recommending the right human conduct. Ethics offers criteria of differentiating the morally right and morally wrong ethical behaviour or conduct. Ethics therefore acts as a moral compass in guiding people in making the right moral decisions when they are faced with moral dilemma. Ethical decision is the decision that is in line with the established moral principle. In ethics, there are a number of theories that offers the moral principles upon which moral decisions should be based. These theories include the Utilitarian theory of ethics, the deontological theory of ethics and the virtue ethics. Each of these three theories of ethics offers the criterion and the moral principle upon which moral decisions should be based. For this reason, the ethical theory that one subscribes to determines the ethical principle upon which they will base their moral decisions. Ethical decision making therefore is the making of moral decisions based on the established theories or principles of ethics. I personally believe that ethics is quite important in life. This is because as rational beings, human beings should be guided by the right reason in making moral decisions. Without the use of right reason in their actions and their decisions in life, human beings are likely to live in an irrational way, just like other brutes that are not endowed with reason. For this reason, human beings should use the right reason in their moral decisions. Ethics is the branch of knowledge that guides human beings in making the rational and the right decisions in life. Ethics therefore ensures that there is justice in the society, and hence order in the society. Without ethics, people are bound to live in a state of perpetual conflicts and war, due to the natural conflict for survival among human beings. I also believe that ethics is quite important in my carrier. This is because, without using the rational and the right conduct in my professional undertakings, I am bound to violate my professional code of behaviour, which in turn will jeopardize my career. Besides, acting ethically in my career will create a good relation between me and my employers, my colleagues, and even my customers/clients. This in turn will enhance my possibility of promotion in my career. Again, as a person who loves justice and treating other human beings fairly and justly, I draw a lot of fulfilment from relating with other people in an ethically right manner. This fulfilment in turn motivates me to be more productive in my work. This again can enhance the possibility of promotion in my career. In nutshell therefore, I find ethics quite important in my career. I believe that ethics is quite important to the society. This is because without ethics, human societies are likely to disintegrate as the result of lack of order and harmony. Ethics actually is the basis upon which the society is founded. The governance systems and structures that we find in our societies are meant to ensure that people relate with each other in an ethically right way, so as to ensure that all the members of the society live in peace and harmony. Although, of course, ethics and law differs in some instances, the law, however, is meant to ensure that the right of individual are well protected by the society; the law is meant to ensure that people relate with each other in rationally right way; this in essence means that the law is meant to ensure that the people act in an ethically right manner in the society. Ethics therefore ensures that there is harmony and order in the society. And for this reason, ethics is quite important in the society. Ethics also is quite important to the corporate or the business world. As applied to the field of the business or the corporate world, the applied ethics is known as business ethics. Business Ethics offers guidelines on the right conducts in the business ventures; business ethics is meant to ensure that all the stake-holders in a business organisation relate with one another in a fair and just manner. Besides giving guidelines on the right conduct in the business activity, business ethics is meant to ensure that the business people do not engage in unscrupulous and unethical behaviour that can lead to the exploitation of their clients/customer. Business ethics therefore is quite important in the corporate world for it ensures that the stake-holders of a business organisation or corporation relate with one another in a fair and just manner. This in turn ensures that the business organisation or the corporation runs its activities smoothly, without much conflict among the stake-holders of the business organisation. Strict adherence to business ethics by the business people therefore can help a great deal in avoiding conflicts among the stake-holders of a business organisation. Business ethics also helps in bolstering the performance of a corporation or any other business organisation. This is because adherence to the business or the corporation code of ethics ensures that the interests of the employees of the business organisation and the customers/clients of the business organisation will be met by the business organisation, thus leading to higher performance in the business organisation; when the employees of a business corporation feel treated fairly and justly by their employers, the workers will work harder because they will feel motivated by their employers. Also, when a business organisation gives high quality goods/services to their customers/clients, without exploiting them, the customers/clients will buy more the goods/services of the business organisation/corporation. This in turn will lead to higher profits by the business organisation/corporation. These facts therefore show that business ethics is quite important in the business or the corporate world. Book Review: Managing Business Ethics, by Linda Trevino and Katherine Nelson This book offers a holistic view of Business Ethics. The book begins by looking at the meaning of Business and the main ethical theories that Business Ethics is based on. On the meaning of Business Ethics, the authors of this book simply define Business ethics as ethics applied in the field of Business. The authors then give the three main theories of Ethics upon which Business Ethics is based. The first theory upon which business ethics is based is the Deontological theory of Ethics. According to the deontological approach in business ethics, the morality of an action in any business dealing is determined by the laid down rules of the business organisation. In other words, deontological theory of ethics is based on the rules and the duty that one has to adhere by the rules of the business organisation. Failure to comply to the business organisation’ rules and regulations is deemed unethical according to this theory of ethics. The utilitarian theory of ethics, on the other hand, bases the determination of the morality of an action on the end of the particular act done. In other words, in making ethical decisions, one should be guided by the consequence of the action that he intends to undertake, if the end result of the particular action leads to the greater happiness of the majority of people, the action is regarded as morally upright and vice versa. According to the virtue ethics, the morality of an action is determined by the doer of the action, i.e. if the person doing the particular action or making the ethical decision has a good moral character, the particular action or decision will be regarded as morally upright and vice verse. A critical look at the three theories of ethics upon which business Ethics is based shows that the best theory of ethics, that can yield the best results when applied to Business, is the deontological theory of ethics. This is because the deontological theory of ethics will guarantee that business organisations will adhere by the governmental and the internal corporate/organizational regulations on business, this in turn will lead to ethical business practices. Having looked at the main theories of ethics upon which business ethics is based, Trevino and Nelson looks at Social responsibility as an important element of Business Ethics. According to the two authors, every business organisation has a moral responsibility to contribute positively to the good of the society. Trevino and Nelson give three main reasons why every business organisations should adhere to the business social responsibility. Firstly, by observing corporate social responsibility, a business organisation will be capable of maintain legitimacy and protecting its reputation in the society where it operates. Secondly, as part of the larger society, every business organisation has the moral responsibility to behave in the ethically right manner and to contribute to the overall good of the whole society in which it operates. Thirdly, by being socially responsible, a business organisation creates shared values with the society in which it operates, and this will lead to good relations between the business organisation and the society. For Trevino and Nelson, therefore, observing the corporate social responsibility is critical in the success of any business organisation; every business organisation should strictly adhere to the corporate social responsibility. On the business code of ethics, Trevino and Nelson argue in chapter eleven of this book that, although, the code of ethics of various business organisations may seem different, the code of ethics of every business organisation, however, are based on the same universal principles. The universal principles are: Fiduciary, Property, Reliability, and Transparency; Dignity, Fairness, Citizenship, and Responsiveness. In this book, Trevino and Nelson also gives a number of case studies on various ethical dilemmas that different companies have faced in course of their activities. For instance in chapter 10, Trevino and Nelson gives a case study on conflict of interest involving two companies, the Little Company and the Big Insurance Company. In chapter 11, Trevino and Nelson give a case study on honesty involving two employees of a Company, Pat, a marketing manager and Joe, a credit manager. These case studies help to bring out clearly the ethical dilemmas that various Companies face in course of their activities. In conclusion, Managing Business Ethics by Trevino and Nelson offers a panoramic view of Business Ethics; the book offers the basis of Business Ethics, the importance of corporate social responsibility to business organisations, and practical cases of business ethical dilemmas that can help the reader to think critically and to apply the different theories of ethics in resolving moral dilemmas in business world. In my view, the materials presented in this book are quite applicable to any business organisation, for instance, the theories of ethics that Trevino and Nelson have presented in this book can help any business manager or business employee in resolving the moral dilemmas that they face in their business organisations. Also, every business organisation can and should adhere to the corporate social responsibility as the author’s of this book argue. The information in this book therefore is applicable to any business organisation. References Trevino, L.K, & Nelson, K. (2011). Managing Business Ethics. USA: John Wiley &Sons. Print. Read More