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Running Head: ETHICAL BEHAVIORAL CONDUCT Student Name: Institution Affiliation: Professor: Course Title: Date of Submission: 1 Running Head: ETHICAL BEHAVIORAL CONDUCT 2 Ethics is generally defined as those principles which morally govern the behavior of a group or individual persons in a society. It may be defined as a body of knowledge that deals with moral principles. It is a social fabric of values, virtues, moral code of conduct, wrongs and rights in society, principles, ideals and standard of behavior that dictate human conscience in society, (Bersoff, 2008). They basic concepts that influence and direct fundamental principles of decent human conduct in any social setting. It involves the universal set of values and natural rights that are unalienable to all human beings. Ethical code of conduct is therefore of paramount importance because it directs what is considered to be acceptable and unacceptable code of conduct. Ethics are derived from a people’s culture and form the part and parcel of the culture, (Bersoff, 2008). Ethics are very important in all sphere of life such as business, healthcare and government because they dictate the nature of the decisions made by individuals or the groups for the sake of the whole organization. The culture of a company will shape and determine what is considered as morally right or wrong. Ethics also ensure there is consistency and coherence in decisions made by human beings in all spheres of life. They enable organizations and individual human beings to make decisions and decide between what is right and what is morally wrong. Without ethical guideline, there would be no achievement of goals in society because it would be difficulty to choose any course of action that generally promotes the greatest common good of the society. A well-organized system of rational and ethical standards that are entirely acceptable in society are very important in helping individuals, groups and organizations in society to streamline their actions and goals and accomplish their most important social values and objectives. Any shortcoming in the ethical coding of any society is likely to limit the amount of success that can Running Head: ETHICAL BEHAVIORAL CONDUCT 3 be achieved by individuals, groups and organizations in society. Acceptable ethical conduct in any society is founded on a universal standard moral values and virtues upon which all the actions and goals can be compared from universally. Happiness in society is the ultimate purpose in life which all human beings pursue. What constitutes happiness is founded on what is socially acceptable and regarded as the ethical code of conduct in society. An inclusive system of ethics must comprise of day to day decisions that human beings in society make as well as any emergency situations, (Thompson, 2009). The system of values must lay a framework that governs how people in the society interrelate, promote their physical survival in the society as well as their happiness and their well-being as a people. Ethics may also be looked at from a contextual point of view in that the judgement as to what constitutes good and bad, right and wrong differs significantly from one society to another. Actions and decisions that are judged and approved of as being ethical behaviors may perhaps be considered amoral or even unethical in other societies across the globe. This is because there is diversity of culture across the different social settings in the world, (Francis, 2009). For instance, although from a universal Christian point of view the institution of marriage should happen between two people of the opposite sex, there is a contextual judgement disapproving this social moral standard. In recent times, the issue of same sex marriages has become a critical issue and although it is still considered ethically wrong in most of the societies across the world, it is still considered ethically right and moral by many other societies in other different cultures and ways of life, (Ladd, 2007). This therefore makes the definition of ethics to be relaxed from a contextual point of view. Ethics as a social framework dictating what is generally right and acceptable in a given society should be promoting the greatest common good of all the people in Running Head: ETHICAL BEHAVIORAL CONDUCT 4 that society. Ethical behavior and conduct promotes the greatest happiness and well-being of people in the society. In many instances, the truth-value of whether people behaviorally conduct themselves and make rational and generally acceptable decisions in their judgements is grounded on the specific contexts in which such judgmental decisions are made. The truth-value and hence the acceptability of a judgement made by an individual or group of people in society is greatly dependent on what such group of people consider to be the morally acceptable and permissible social behavior and code of conduct as well as the context on which the judgement is made and grasped by the people living in that society. For this case, outsiders coming from other social settings with a different version of judging and looking at the same social behavior may experience cultural shock and ethical dilemma in trying to get assimilated into the new behavioral code of conduct in the new society. Ethical behavior and moral code of conduct of also contextually looked at differently in different religious social orientations. Religions such as Christianity, Islam, paganism and atheism do not necessarily have a common perspective of making social judgments into human social behavior and interactions. What is ethically right and acceptable by the people of a given religious group may strictly depend on the contextual principles and values that the people hold strongly as their social fabric of maintaining social order and concord. Ethical code of behavior and conduct in the society may also be determined by what constitutes common sense within the people of the given society. Common sense may not be universally common among all the people in the world. What is regarded as common sense may only make sense within a small interdenominational group of people and fail to make sense to another group of the people. This normally culminates in there being contextual definition of what is ethically right and wrong, or Running Head: ETHICAL BEHAVIORAL CONDUCT 5 even acceptable in the society. The truth-values of a given decision in this case therefore depend on subjective social standards of decision making as opposed to universal standards of making judgments and decisions as to what is universally ethically acceptable. The divergence in the contextual analysis ad definition of ethics is the strictly universal lexical definition that looks at those values, virtues, ideals and principles that are universally agreed upon as a final authority in the process of trying to unravel any social and ethical dilemma. The lexical definition of ethics and ethical behavioral conduct in society is stringent and it looks the entire world as one global village and community governed by same ideals, principles, values and virtues as to what constitutes right and wrong. The lexical definition of ethics and ethical code of behavior in the society is greatly based on the premise that the global community is homogenous in nature as opposed to being heterogeneous. The implication of a homogeneous global community is that there are same generally acceptable values, virtues, principles, ideals and laws that determine and guide the process of decision making and judgements that are taken to have a common and acceptable truth-value. People living in a homogeneous global society are therefore guided by common universal rules, principles, regulations, value systems, virtues and ideals. Any deviance to what is commonly and universally acceptable code of conduct and behavior is met with severe punishment with the aim of correcting future instances of unethical behavior. People are expected to have a universal sense of right and wrong and that their conscience leads them doing what is good and that which promotes the greatest good to the greatest number of people in the society in a utilitarianism manner, (Canter, 2008). These values and principles of conduct promotes the greatest happiness to the people living in the society. These values also lead people Running Head: ETHICAL BEHAVIORAL CONDUCT 6 to making very critical and important decisions when faced with ethical dilemma in those scenarios when an individual has to make a decision between two competing issues which are essentially not ethically wrong or amoral. There is interface between ethics, morals, values and virtues in any society. Ethics is a moral philosophical discipline that has significant effect on the decision making process by people on how to lead good quality lives. This philosophical body deals with what is good for specific individuals and the entire society in general. It deals with moral beliefs on what is right and wrong in any social interaction. Ethics stem from the dispositions, customs, traditions, characters and habits that people recognize as acceptable in their social interactions. They are an integral part of an individual’s conscience as to what is ethically right and wrong and what punitive sanctions should be prescribed for a given behavior which is generally considered to be unacceptable in the society. Ethics and morality in society therefore are used to help unravel a number of dilemmas such as how to lead a good life, responsibilities and rights of different people in society, and the question on what constitutes right and wrong moral decisions in a judgmental process of establishing the truth-values that are acceptable by the people in the society. The system of ethics and morals that people subscribe to in the society instills values and virtues into the people, (Ladd, 2007). These values and virtues come to be integral parts of the characters and personalities of these people. The values and virtues are passed down from one generation to another through induction and assimilation. These values and virtues which are derived from the ethical and moral system in the society constitute the consciousness of the people to issues like care and concern for the well-being of other people, the sense to prevent inflicting hardships and suffering to other people in the community, treating people with fairness Running Head: ETHICAL BEHAVIORAL CONDUCT 7 and in a just manner, promoting the happiness of the disadvantaged and the less fortunate people in the society, sense of integrity, according equal rights to all people, courage in fighting for social vices, crimes and injustice in the society, honesty and truth as well as loving one another as one people in the community. A system of ethical and moral values and virtues that are generally acceptable in the society provide critical insights into the key features of human flourishing and excellence in the society. They form the part of the law and etiquette of the society and hence play a critical role in shaping human social behavior as either permissible, prohibited or even obligatory. There is much interface and overlap between ethics, law and etiquette in any one particular society. The law of the society borrows heavily from the principles of ethics that are generally acceptable in the society. Issues that are tackled by the law are ethical issues such as rights of the citizens of a country to participate in a political process, right to own property as well as the right to life. These rights are fundamental and inalienable rights that are accorded to every member of the society. The question regarding on what circumstances a person’s right to life, for instance, be infringed now becomes an ethical issue that depends on the value the people in the society attach to life. The point of some members of the society violating the provisions of the written law now becomes unethical issue that needs to be addressed through punitive sanctions on the individuals who break the law. Breaching the acceptable and recognized code of etiquette in the society is normally regarded as immoral especially if the violation is intentional and aimed at causing offence to the other person. The system of ethics and morals does not only regulate behavior on the social interactions only, it also touches on professional codes of conduct at the place of work both in the private and Running Head: ETHICAL BEHAVIORAL CONDUCT 8 in the public sectors of the economy. The place of work is governed with etiquette and moral values that are unique for those people in the industry. Issues like lying, professional dishonesty, untrustworthy character and lack of motivation at place of work are regarded as unethical and are punishable by laid down structure. There are number of factors that determine ethical conduct any given society. The norms and customs that are recognized by the society are a key factor in deciding on how people interact, socialize and conduct themselves in the society in their day to day activities. The norms and customs are informal forms of social capital, social networks and the basic social fabric that holds the society together. They are therefore very important in determining and influencing behavior in the society. The legal framework in the society is also very crucial in determining and shaping social conduct in the society. A good legal framework postulates on what is considered to be the dos and the don’ts in the society. It therefore helps in streamlining the social code of conduct for the people in a given acceptable way. The legislation in any country should ensure that the enacted law reflects the aspirations, values, customs and norms of the people in the society. The system of religious beliefs that are accepted and adopted by the people in the society also play a key role in ensuring that people in the society behave and conduct themselves in a given manner. The Christian doctrines and teachings, for example, impart values and virtues to the people and help them behave in a given manner that is considered acceptable from a Christian point of view. All religious affiliations instill and impart values and virtues to people and individuals and they are therefore very key and crucial in ensuring that the people interact and conduct themselves in a given manner, (Canter, 2008). Running Head: ETHICAL BEHAVIORAL CONDUCT 9 Institutional framework in the country is also another key factor that influences how people interact with one another in the society. It guides the professional code of conduct that people adopt in the society. It guides the manner in which people in different professional careers conduct themselves at the place of work and when interacting with their customers. The personal attributes and attitudes are also another very important aspect in looking at the factors that guide and inform code of conduct in the society. The personality and character that individuals adapt to as they grow up from their parents also plays a key role in ensuring that people interact and conduct themselves in a given way and manner that is considered acceptable in the society. Personal attitudes and attributes such as charisma, honesty, integrity, diligence and trustworthiness which are learned and adopted from parents are very crucial in ensuring that people conduct themselves in an ethical manner in the society. Parents who have a duty and responsibility of bringing their children up in a moral and ethical manner should endeavor to ensure that they attend to their children in timely manner to ensure that they grow up all round people. Behavior may be defined as the manner in which an individual or group of people conduct themselves in their interactions with other people. It may be looked at as the manner in which people react towards a given external stimuli. Ethical behavior may be defined as social and professional conduct that is in agreement and consistent with what people in the society recognize as good values. Ethical behavior is also exemplified in the corporate and business world in that it involves illustrating moral values such as fairness, honesty, dignity, equality, individual rights and diversity. For any social behavior to be regarded as ethical, there must be a well laid down framework of social norms, customs and beliefs upon which it must conform and Running Head: ETHICAL BEHAVIORAL CONDUCT 10 be recognized as acceptable behavior. People in the society are inducted and assimilated in a manner that they are able to behave as it is expected of them by the norms, customs and beliefs of the society. Behavior that conforms to the code of conduct that is generally acceptable in the society promotes unity among the people, peace, harmony and togetherness among all the people. People who do what is expected and required of them are always happy people and they work hard towards achievement of greater social and individual success in their lives. When people conduct themselves in the manner that is expected and required of them in the society avoid instances of civil vice and strife. Social vices such as crime and civil strife are avoided from occurring in the society when people willingly conform to the expected code of conduct in the society in which they live. Any behavior that is not in conformity with the social expectations is generally regarded as unethical behavior and it is discouraged from happening. They are human action actions that are generally considered to be morally wrong. They are morally wrong for a person, industry or even for a profession. These unethical behaviors in the society include crime, civil strife, corruption and professional dishonesty. Unethical behaviors in the society bring about disharmony, social conflict and in severe cases loss of lives. These unethical behaviors should therefore be discouraged through punitive sanctions such as prosecution before a court of law. The wholesomeness and success of the society is based on strict adherence to social ethics. Ethical behavior has unique features that make it distinct from unethical behavior. It is generally recognized and accepted by all the people in the society as the unique code of conduct. It promotes social cohesion and unity in that if all the people adhere to it strictly they will derive benefits of peace, harmony and tranquility that is very important in ensuring that the people in Running Head: ETHICAL BEHAVIORAL CONDUCT 11 the society achieve unprecedented success in their day to day activities. Ethical behavior does not need to be forcefully enforced to the people. It is naturally recognized and accepted by all the people in the society. It forms the part and parcel of life of the people and any slight deviance is observed and sanctioned by the other members of the society. It does not necessarily need to be prosecuted by a court of law because the general public in the society knows what is right and wrong and they conform to the system if conduct as prescribed by their unwritten ethical system of values and virtues. Unethical behavior has number of features. It is not generally recognized by the people in the society. It is usually in contradiction to the ethical system of values and beliefs in the society. It is a result of deviance and non-compliance of the acceptable code of conduct in the society. The deviant members of the society are generally considered as social misfits because they fail to fit in to what is generally acceptable by the entire society as the ethical code of conduct. Actions that amount to unethical behavior are punished and sanctioned by all the other members of the society. Conformity to ethical code of conduct is normally rewarded with more assimilation into the society. Members are regarded with great respect and are accorded high social status in the society. They are normally looked upon during times of crisis in the society as voices of authority on what direction the society should follow regarding what behavior is morally acceptable. This conformity to these moral values and virtues brings about happiness and success in the society because issues like civil strife and conflict of interest are normally avoided. Running Head: ETHICAL BEHAVIORAL CONDUCT 12 The society should put mechanisms in place to serve as remedies for cases of unethical behavioral conduct among the members in the society. Some of the possible solutions to unethical behavior in society could be creation of rehabilitation centers where those people who deviate from the ethical system of morals and values can be assimilated back to the society. Literature research on what constitutes ethical system of behavioral conduct indicates that most of the social norms, values and virtues are universal and widely accepted as the standard yardstick of behavioral conduct in the society. Values such as honesty, love, hospitality, respect for oneself and others are given greater weight from a universal point of view. Those shared universal ethical values and virtues ensure there is coherent behavioral conduct across the entire globe, (Bersoff, 2008). One case study involving ethical and unethical behavior involves a corporate worker. The worker happens to be a female has not been attending job of late because her mother has been sick and hospitalized. She happens to be the only person who can take care of her mother. Due to her absence, the workload on the other workmates has been piling up every day. She has now just returned to work and there so much pressure on her side because she has a lot of work to do. She is unable to do and complete the work. The other workmates are starting to complain and some of the other workers are uttering words that are abusive. The manager is now facing the dilemma regarding whether to criticize the other workers who have been present at work or be compassionate to the one employee whose mother has been sick and she has just returned to work. If the manager attacks the other workers for being abusive to the employee who has been absent, then they will feel being unrecognized and appreciated. Running Head: ETHICAL BEHAVIORAL CONDUCT 13 One of the key issues in this case study are professional behavior at the place of work, integrity and confidentiality. The other employees need to carry themselves with dignity and diligence knowing that they need not discredit their professional positions that they at the place of work. They also have a duty of confidentiality regarding the worker that has been away so that they do not just attack her for things that are beyond her control. Governments and non-governmental institutions across the world need to come up with policy procedures and frameworks that ensure that ethical systems that inculcate values and virtues among all the members of the society are consistently reviewed and updated for the sole purpose of ensuring that there is strong social fabric holding societies together. There must be both formal and informal policy formulations with the main aim of ensuring that there coherence and concord in society. The government should also ensure that there is policy mainstreaming such that the informal norms, customs and traditions that form the foundation and basis for ethical systems and values are not abolished or eroded. In conclusion, ethical systems of conduct are of paramount importance in any social setting and they need to be adhered to strictly by all members of the society. Any deviance should be punished with sanctions that discourage a repeat of the same behavior in the society. Running Head: ETHICAL BEHAVIORAL CONDUCT References Bersoff, D.(2008). Ethical conflicts in psychology, (4th. . ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Thompson, A.(2009). Critical Reasoning in Ethics. New York: Routledge. Francis, R. (2009). Ethics for Psychologists. Leicester: British Psychological Society. Canter, M.(2008). Standards of Conduct, Performance and ethics. London. Oxford: Routledge Publishing. Ladd, J.(2007). The Quest for a code of Professional Ethics: An Intellectual and Moral Confusion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 14