Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PERSPECTIVE
April-June, 2011
Morals
Ethics Defined
Morals are those edicts of do's and don'ts that are instilled
in a person from childhood onwards by the society.
These get communicated and imbibed via the mother,
the family, the schools and the local norms of behaviour.
The religion to which the family happens to belong
plays a large role in this process of instilling norms of
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Laws
Laws also tell us what to do or not to do. When a society
wants certain moral/ethical tenets to be enforced,
whereby those who violate it can be punished, we term
these edicts or rules as laws. Even primitive societies
have their unwritten laws, and organisations have many
rules to govern the behaviour of employees.
Denoted by
Example
M E L
1. Only Moral
R N N
2. Only Ethical
R A D
3. Only Legal
N N A
ME
A A D
ML
A R D
EL
R A D
RRR
MEL
R= Rejection
worthy
N= Neutral
D= Depends*
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Small
<10%
Medium
11-40%
Large
>40%
Negligible
Small
Divorce is a sin
1
Medium
Large
Practicing untouchability
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of less than billed weight of the items will soon find that
he has to close his business. The same logic holds good
for any business giving less value for its customer's
money. Unethical behaviour with customers is a sure
route to bankruptcy.
Employees-Pay less to employees compared to other
similar occupations, bring in nepotism, be unfair in
promotion practices, be callous in looking after the
hygiene, safety and personal needs of employees and
discover that your business can neither recruit good
persons not retain them.
Business Unethical
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Even as the first decade of the 21st century ends, the habit
of tax evasion formed in the earlier periods has not
reduced to any negligible level; tax evasion continues
to be rampant at the personal as well as the business
levels. The fact that any tax evasion is indeed a theft has
not taken root like the moral tenet "Do not steal". Good,
religious and otherwise law abiding morally upright
individuals do not hesitate to evade tax! Apparently,
no religion has given a commandment like" Thou shalt
pay thy taxes fully to the government". But if the same
government falls short on providing infrastructure or
law and order, both vital to the individual and the
business to survive and to grow, all get morally indignant.
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Bibliography
IMJ
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