Value & Ethics UNIT 1
Value & Ethics UNIT 1
Value & Ethics UNIT 1
Importance
• Meaning:
• They are the beliefs that guide an individual’s actions.
They represent a person’s belief about what is right or
wrong.
• Values lay standards against which behaviour is judged.
They determine the overall personality of an individual
and the organization he is working for.
• Values remain embedded in our minds since childhood.
• Value system is a combination of all values that an
individual or an organization should have.
• Organizations express their values through their work
culture.
Values: Meaning, Characteristics,
Types, Importance
• According to M. Haralambos (2000), “a value is a belief that
something is good and desirable”.
• For R.K. Mukherjee (1949) , “values are socially approved
desires and goals that are internalised through the process
of conditioning, learning or socialisation and that become
subjective preferences, standards and aspirations”. A value
is a shared idea about how something is ranked in terms of
desirability, worth or goodness.
• According to Milton Rokeach, “Values are beliefs that guide
actions and judgements across a variety of situations”.
• Familiar examples of values are wealth, loyalty,
independence, equality, justice, fraternity and friendliness.
Characteristics of Values
• Values are inherent in all cultures and societies.
• Values guide people to take specific positions on
societal issues.
• Values provide standards of morality.
• Values are comprehensive standards that direct
conduct in a variety of ways.
• Values are manifested in thoughts, speech and
actions of people.
• Values are relatively stable as these are passed
from one generation to another.
Types of Values:
• The five core human values are: (1) Right conduct, (2)
Peace, (3) Truth, (4) Love, and (5) Nonviolence.
• 1. Values related to RIGHT CONDUCT are: (a) SELF-HELP
SKILLS: Care of possessions, diet, hygiene, modesty,
posture, self reliance, and tidy appearance (b) SOCIAL
SKILLS: Good behaviour, good manners, good relationships,
helpfulness, No wastage, and good environment, and (c)
ETHICAL SKILLS: Code of conduct, courage, duty.
• 2. Values related to PEACE are: Attention, calmness,
concentration, dignity, discipline, equality, faithfulness,
focus, happiness, harmony, inner silence, optimism,
patience, reflection, satisfaction, self-acceptance, self-
confidence, self-control, self-discipline, self-esteem, self-
respect, sense control, tolerance, and understanding
Types of Values:
• 3. Values related to TRUTH are: Accuracy, curiosity, fairness, fearlessness,
honesty, integrity, intuition, justice, optimism, purity, quest for knowledge,
reason, self-analysis, sincerity, sprit of enquiry, trust, truthfulness, and
determination.
• 4. Values related to LOVE are: Acceptance, affection, care, compassion,
consideration, dedication, devotion, empathy, forgiveness, friendship,
generosity, gentleness, humanness, interdependence, kindness, patience,
patriotism, sacrifice, selflessness, service, sharing, sympathy,
thoughtfulness, tolerance and trust.
• 5. Values related to NON-VIOLENCE are:
• (a) PSYCHOLOGICAL: compassion, concern for others, consideration,
forgiveness, manners, happiness, loyalty, morality, and universal love
• (b) SOCIAL: Appreciation of other cultures and religions, brotherhood, care
of environment, citizenship, equality, harmlessness, national awareness,
perseverance, respect for property, and social justice.
Types of Values by Milton Rokeach
• He developed 2 sets of Values:
• 1. Terminal Values: A terminal value is an
ultimate goal/aim of a person. It might include
comfortable life, family security, sense of
accomplishment, self respect, freedom, social
recognition etc.
• 2. Instrumental Values: It relates to the means
for achieving the desired outcome/end. In other
words it is a tool to acquire a terminal value.
Types of Values by Milton Rokeach
Instrumental Values Terminal Values
These relate to the means in achieving These represent the ultimate goals of life
the terminal values. of a person.
These are core values and comprise These are those that one thinks are most
personal characteristics and character important and most desirable.
traits.
These refer to preferable modes of These refer to desirable state of existence.
behaviour and include values like honesty, They include things like happiness, self
sincerity, obedience, independence, respect, family security, recognition,
competitiveness etc. freedom, comfortable life etc.
These could be changed. These are not changeable.
Formation of Values
• 1. Culture is the principal source of values.
• 2. In Indian culture, peace, co-operation,
harmony, equity, democracy are considered
desirable.
• 3. Such values are not fixed but they change
very slowly.
Following types of factors influence
the formation of values of people:
• 1. Family factors: Family puts a direct impact on the value system of an individual. Some
values are inculcated in the individual from the childhood and remain throughout his life.
Family is the most influential factor in the individual’s learning of social behavior, values
and norms.
• 2. Social factors: School plays the most important role in developing the value system of
an individual. The child learns the basic discipline from the school after interacting with
teachers, classmates and other people in the school. Other social factors which may affect
values are religious, economic and political institutions in the society.
• 3. Cultural Factors: These factors include everything that is learned & passed on from
generation to generation. Culture includes certain beliefs and other patterns of behavior.
Whether a person is co-operative, friendly depends upon the culture he belongs to.
• 4. Personal factors: The se include attributes like intelligence, ability, appearance and
educational level of the person determines his development of values. For ex: one’s higher
intelligence may result in faster understanding of values.
• 5. Organizational Factors: Every organization has its own culture. The organization. In
which an individual works for a long period, develops and shapes his value system. In the
process of interacting with peers, boss and subordinates, a person develops certain attitudes
and beliefs.
Values and Behaviour
• Values affect the behavior of individuals in organizations. Every
manager should have a proper understanding of the values of his
subordinates. The role of values in understanding behavior is as
follows:
• 1. Values lay the foundation of understanding the attitudes,
perceptions and motives which shape the behavior of individuals.
• 2. A system of shared values of the organizational members help in
developing the organizational culture.
• 3. Organizational values which promote ethics and are in the
interest of the society enhance the image of the organization.
• 4. Value influences the way, in which an individual looks at other
individuals, i.e., interpersonal relationship.
• 5. Individuals judge organisational success as well as its
achievement on the basis of their value system.
Values of Indian Managers
• According to SK Chakarborty the important values which are deep
rooted in the Indian social-cultural ethos are:
• 1. The individual must be respected.
• 2. There should be an atmosphere of cooperation and trust.
• 3. Jealousy is harmful for mental health.
• 4. Delivering of top quality product/service to the consumers and
society which is a primary function of quality of mind.
• 5. Work is worship.
• 6. Ethico-moral soundness.
• 7. Self-discipline
• 8. Customer satisfaction
• 9. Creativity
• 10. The inspiration to give.
Meaning of Business Ethics:
• ‘It is related to social responsiveness of a firm. It is “the
discipline dealing with what is good and bad, or right
and wrong, or with moral duty and obligation. It is a
standard of behaviour that guides individual managers
in their works”.
• Business ethics refer to the moral principles which
should govern business activities.
• Business ethics is application of ethical principles to
business relationships and activities. When managers
assume social responsibility, it is believed they will do it
ethically, that is, they know what is right and wrong.
A few examples of ethics are:
• 1. To charge fair prices from customers.
• 2. To use fair weights for measurement of
commodities.
• 3. To pay taxes to the gov. honestly.
• 4. To earn reasonable profits.
• 5. To give fair treatment to the workers.
Ethical Decision-making