Compare and Contrast Morals and Ethics

1.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST MORALS AND ETHICS#
While both ethics and morals deal with distinguishing right from wrong,
ethics are usually associated with a practical set of rules that are to be followed in a
professional setting, such as a code of ethics in medicine, law, and business, whereas morals
refer to an individual’s personal principles.
Ethics are the rules you abide by in order to remain within a community or profession.
Morals are your personal values that run to the core of your very being. Depending on your
profession, it’s possible for your morals regarding a certain matter to be stricter than the code
of ethics for the same issue.
While having morals is generally viewed as a means to be and do good (and sometimes, to
hold the “moral high ground”), if your morals fall below those of generally agreed-upon
ethics, your behavior may be seen as falling out of line with what is seen as appropriate in
your community or profession, and you may suffer consequences as a result.
i) Morals are the social, cultural and religious beliefs or values of an individual or
group which tells us what is right or wrong. They are the rules and standards made
by the society or culture which is to be followed by us while deciding what is
right. Some moral principles are:
 Do not cheat
 Be loyal
 Be patient
 Always tell the truth
 Be generous
Morals refer to the beliefs what is not objectively right, but what is considered right for any
situation, so it can be said that what is morally correct may not be objectively correct.
ii) Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the principles of conduct of an
individual or group. It works as a guiding principle as to decide what is good or bad.
They are the standards which govern the life of a person. Ethics is also known as
moral philosophy. Some ethical principles are:
 Truthfulness
 Honesty
 Loyalty
 Respect
 Fairness
 Integrity
Ethics are the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or
a particular group or culture, whereas morals are Principles or habits with respect to right or
wrong conduct. While morals also prescribe dos and don'ts, morality is ultimately a personal
compass of right and wrong.
The major differences between Morals and Ethics are as under:
1. Morals deal with what is ‘right or wrong’. Ethics deals with what is ‘good or evil’.
2. Morals are general guidelines framed by the society E.g. We should speak truth.
Conversely, ethics are a response to a particular situation, E.g. Is it ethical to state the
truth in a particular situation?
3. The term morals is derived from a Greek word ‘mos’ which refers to custom and the
customs are determined by group of individuals or some authority. On the other hand,
ethics is originated from Greek word ‘ethikos’ which refers to character and character
is an attribute.
4. Morals are dictated by society, culture or religion while Ethics are chosen by the
person himself which governs his life.
5. Morals are concerned with principles of right and wrong. On the contrary, ethics
stresses on right and wrong conduct.
6. As morals are framed and designed by the group, there is no option to think and
choose; the individual can either accept or reject. Conversely, the people are free to
think and choose the principles of his life in ethics.
7. Morals may vary from society to society and culture to culture. As opposed to Ethics,
which remains same regardless of any culture, religion or society.
8. Morals do not have any applicability to business, whereas Ethics is widely applicable
in the business known as business ethics.
9. Morals are expressed in the form of statements, but Ethics are not expressed in the
form of statements.
2. WHAT ARE ETHICAL AND MORAL STANDARDS
A moral standard refers to the norms which we have about the types of actions which we
believe to be morally acceptable and morally unacceptable. Specifically, moral standards deal
with matters which can either seriously harm or seriously benefit human beings. The validity
of moral standards comes from the line of reasoning that was taken to back or support them,
and thus are not able to be formed or changed by particular bodies of authority.
Ethical standards are a set of principles established by the founders of the organization to
communicate its underlying moral values. This code provides a framework that can be used
as a reference for decision making processes.
These standards are an important part of an organization’s culture. They establish the
parameters of behavior that owners and top executives expect from employees and also from
suppliers, at least to the extent of their relationship with the organization. A corporate
governance system will put a lot of effort into communicating and enforcing these principles.
This is mostly done through behavior modeling, which means that top executives should set
the example of how lower-level employees should act.

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COMPARE AND CONTRAST MORALS AND ETHICS#

2. WHAT ARE ETHICAL AND MORAL STANDARDS

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