UNIT-III(Date:26/3/20)

Notes of Ethical Values

Introduction
A value is a belief, a mission, or a philosophy that is meaningful. Whether we are consciously
aware of them or not, every individual has a core set of personal values. Values can range from
the common place, such as the belief in hard work and punctuality, to the more psychological,
such as self-reliance, concern for others, and harmony of purpose.

When we examine the lives of famous people, we often see how personal values guided them,
propelling them to the top of their fields. For example, one actor was motivated by his
commitment to social justice, which held to important acting roles related to that value that made
him world famous. Likewise, a well-known business CEO was motivated by the personal value
that technology should be easy to use, which caused his company to spawn a technology
revolution. Whatever one’s values, when we take them to heart and implement them in the
smallest details of our lives, great accomplishment and success are sure to follow.

Values are the deep seated ideas and beliefs that manifest (show) themselves as behaviour or
conduct

Values are abstract ideas that shape an individual’s thinking and behaviour. Values are the
assumptions what is right and important or society and business. Ethics are based on society.

ETHICS : It is a branch of philosophy.

It is the study of both moral and immoral behaviour in order to make well founded judgments
and to arrive at adequate recommendations.

Business Values
In management, business value is an informal term that includes all forms of value that
determine the health and well-being of the firm in the long run. Business value expands concept
of value of the firm beyond economic value (also known as economic profit, Economic value
added and shareholder value) to include other forms of value such as employee value, customer
value, supplier value, channel partner value, alliance partner value, managerial value, and
societal value. Many of these forms of value are not directly measured in monetary terms.
 Business value often embraces intangible assets not necessarily attributable to any stakeholder
group. Examples include intellectual capital and a firm’s business model. The Balanced
scorecard methodology is one of the most popular methods for measuring and managing
business values.

Values and ethics are closely related with each other. Ethics is the entire body of moral and
values are the language of ethics. No value is applicable to all individuals or organizations or
societies just as there are no universally accepted standards of ethics. values and ethical norms
change over time. BBA Study Material Short Notes of Ethical Values

A system of shared values and beliefs, which prescribes behavioural norms to judge the activities
of members of an organisation, is called corporate culture. It reflects the organizational culture
within which people consider the same things important. When employees understand and share
the corporate values, their behaviour tends to be uniform and consistent. For example, if every
employee of a company believes in ; customer satisfaction, the company will perform better

Values play a vital role in business affairs in the following ways :

1. Corporate Culture : As stated earlier, an effective value system creates a strong
corporate culture which is necessary for high performance and growth in business. Companies
which have given excellent performance year after year follow high corporate values such as
“Corporate is the king”. People are our biggest assets, etc.
2. Ends Means Chain : Values help to establish proper relationship between business goals
and means. When business adopts well-considered social values, its goals are socially justifiable.
Business values are useful for determining socially worthwhile goals which in turn determine
sound business practices for attaining these goals.
3. Guides to Action : Business values serve as social guides to decisions and actions in
These values provide the right answers to the basic question as to what is good business. Values
are universal in nature and indicate to businessmen the right behaviour.
4. Objective Standards: Business values serves objective standards or norms which the
conduct of businessmen and their performance can be judged.
5. Social Responsibility :   Business has social obligations. Business values help to
persuade businessmen to discharge their social obligations. Business firms follow ethical norms
to fulfill their responsibilities to different sections of society.

A Comprehensive View Of Values

Since the time of Descartes (Smith, 1957) and Locke (1960), the theory of knowledge has got
more importance than the theory of values, which has resulted in the total divorce of philosophy
from life. In fact, the theory of knowledge is just one part of the theory values, called logical
value. Logical values deal with preliminaries relating to knowledge in general. These
preliminaries are either psychological or logical, according to their concern with the nature of
knowledge as a fact of mental life or with its validity as pointing to an object beyond itself.
 Indian philosophy presents a comprehensive understanding of values. M. Hiriyanna, addressing a
gathering of scholars at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune (1937), expressed,
“The subject of value is a very complicated one….I have for long felt that Indian Philosophy is
essentially a philosophy of values. In his book, Indian Conception of values, he gives an idea of
the values of life a conceived in ancient India (M. Hiriyanna, 1975). He describes four types of
values :

 Logical Values (true value)

 Ethical Values (good value)
 Absolute value (ultimate value),
 Aesthetic value

1. Logical Values: Logic is both a science of proof and a science of discovery. All

knowledge prompts the know to act in accordance with it. In the absence a motive knowledge
will not have any practical outcome, but it does not follow its logical quality is not questioned.
What are the ways of knowing that we accept a valid, i.e., revealing hear that there is ghost in a
tree, should we accept the knowledge as valid?  Hearing rumors cannot be accepted as valid
means of knowledge.

The cognitive value of knowledge is determined by the given object laws of logic, or, in other
words, by the nature of reality and the nature of Knowledge does not derive its validity from its
success as an instrument activity is not constitutive of truth, but is only a consequence of it. BBA
Study Material Short Notes of Ethical Values BBA Study Material Imp Short Notes of Ethical
Values

Six means of knowledge reveal the existence and nature of things hitherto unknown to  be  but
dealing with everyday truth

 (Raju, 1985; Montague, 1925). These sic valid means of knowing are:

 Perception
 Inference
 Comparison
 Postulation
 Non-Cognition
 Word or language

1. Ethical Values: Values can also be considered as desires and obligations. It is the distinction
between ‘I want to’ and ‘l ought to’. In case of conflict between these two values, there is a
question of values as a preference or what is justified morally. Therefore, the first axiom of a
philosophy of values is that things are preferable to or worthier than others.

Ethical values deal with moral truth and dwell upon the importance of virtuous conduct, These
values are based on the concept of obligation. This concept comes from the idea of ones
indebtedness to those that have conferred him existence. The motive shifts from gratification
 desire to fulfillment of duty. No specific good as such is sought through it. It is only in general
that good motivates action here.

Ethical values signify the basis of all order-whether social or moral. Ethical virtues are intelligent
ways of reviving a man’s exhausted energies and fatigued spirit. By living healthy values of a
righteous life, the individual frees himself from his self-made entangle BBA Study Material Imp
Short Notes of Ethical Values

1. Absolute Values:  Logical and ethical values are not considered ultimate values Indian
thought system. What is an ultimate value? An absolute classic value or value in itself. But an
intrinsic value may conceivably serve as an ins value also. A second feature is that it must be all
comprehensive The pleasure of the Palate.

An ultimate value should be all-satisfying. Borrowing the words of Aristotle, we may describe it
as that ‘end which we wish for its own sake  and for the sake of which we wish everything else.
There are three spiritual values-truths, goodness and perfection and they May  be designated as
absolute or ultimate values. The practice of goodness as well as the pursuit of truth is oriented
towards the ultima5e end of life. Knowledge of truth presuppose practice of goodness, and the
practice of goodness presupposes the knowledge of truth to attain either completely, both are
necessary. Truth and goodness is, both are instrumental They are also, at the same time,
interdependent. The ultimate value is represented by the result to which their combined pursuit
leads. BBA Study Material Short Notes of Ethical Values

1. Aesthetic value : These values deal with the appreciation of the intrinsic perfection of
nature. If someone does not enjoy pleasure from watching nature, it is purely due to his or her
limited outlook or lack of right knowledge, and not due to any imperfection in nature.

In realistic view, ugliness is real, so beauty by itself can never be experienced .It is possible for
us to mentality abstract the aspect of beauty from any object or situation and contemplate on it
by itself. But that would not be beauty of nature but a selection with the eye of imagination. If
someone is not able to discern this intrinsic beauty, it is because of distraction by personal and
practical concerns and narrow desires. One has to transcend personal attitude and reach a point of
detachment, though temporarily, before one can apprehend beauty in nature and enjoy it.

Spiritual Values
Spiritual values are the most important source of information. Spiritual values are the important
source of creativity and this plays an important role in improving the quality of life. There are the
following points to express the spiritual values which business professionals must have… BBA
Study Material Imp Short Notes of Ethical Values
1. Managers must have higher consciousness :  The spiritual values for managers focuses
on having higher level of consciousness which means that a manager must be aware of positive
and negatives attached to his action and undertake decisions which his conscious permits.
2. Wisdom and Skill: Any act performed by a person must follow an approach of wisdom
in which there is a spiritual support and it is automatically reflected in the behaviour of a person.
e.g. a manager in the organization who believes in the existence of God utilizes his skills in a
better way.
3. Spiritual values in terms of divine qualities :  There are number of qualities in an
individual which can be termed as spiritual values. e.g. respect for self, respect for God, belief in
giving more than grabbing etc.
4. Spiritual values in terms of inspiration and participation : High level of inspiration
can be achieved through any source of life and participation in terms of spiritual values which
means purification of heart, feeling and expression. Inspiration can be achieved through God or
can be through any living or non living object.

Secular Values
These are the one which are not concerned with the spiritual aspects which means their focus is
not on religious affairs of the world; their focus is more on facts and science. Following are the
points to explain the secular values :

1. Focus on factual realities : Under this all the decisions are to be taken on the basis of facts
and the real situation o the circumstances. There is no other consideration is taken into the mind
instead of reality.
2. To take the person on the basis of actuality : This means secular value focuses on the
facts and the way of life is to behave with the persons on the basis of their response.
3. Secular values focus on practical orientation and independent efforts.
4. Secular values focus on facts and science.
5. Secular values believe in lack of disparity inequality, difference). BBA Study Material
Short Notes of Ethical Values

Value Process
The valuing process, or self-appraisal is effective in achieving self- enhancement. By this
process, we become aware of the experiences which have commonality  se value directions
enhance our development and contribute to the survival of human race. We should choose values
freely from alternatives after considering the effects of the various alternatives. They should be
acted upon consistently and publicity to achieve potential.

When we carry out this self appraisal, we experience  certain value direction in life such as :

1. We move away form facades, we defensiveness and putting up a front.

2. We move away form meeting expectations of others and pleasing others as goals in life.
3. We move towards being ourselves, aware of our real feelings.
4. We discover an increasing pride and confidence in making our own choices, guiding our
own life.

When we follow these value experiences we become sensitive to our own inner reactions and
feelings, the concern and feelings of others, and the realities of the objective and subjective
world. Concern for others and acceptance of others result in lasting relationships.

Indian Value And Changing Value System In India

The religious literature of India includes the ideas and many different separate books. For e.g.
Bhagwat  Gita and various religious practices.

The previous values systems prevailing in India was basically pious (sacred) having the moral
principles of respect, trustworthiness etc.

But with the changing times and the upcoming of the modern times, we as Indians are how were
directed by the Western Culture. All these lead to the erosion of Indian values. BBA Study
Material Imp Short Notes of Ethical Values

The changing scenario of Indian value system can be analysed as under:

1. Earlier, there was a system of lose joint family which developed the value of
togetherness, sharing respect for elders, love and care for the younger ones but with the modern
development today the value system is directed towards the Nuclear value
2. The previous values of promise keeping, trustworthiness, sincerity are not available in
modern times.
3. Earlier, punctuality and hardworking were the core values among the individuals whereas
the values have been eroded in the modern era.
4. Earlier, Indian used to respect each other very much. They treated guests as God, but now
no more people are concerned about others. They no longer respect others. BBA Study Material
Short Notes of Ethical Values

They respect only those with whom they feel it would be beneficial for them with respect to
money matters. Now they respect an individual in his or her front and in actual they hate the
person on his back and don’t even like to talk with that person.

1. Earlier, there was a system of sincerity; an individual has a belief on other, helping nature
among all the individual, hard workers. But today value system has changed. Now, no longer
people are sincere. They do not want to work, they have become work shirkers. They are just
concerned about their salary and wages which they are earning. They want to earn without
performance.
2. Earlier, there was system of simplicity among the people. They used to wear clothes for
covering their body but now the system totally changed. They wear clothes just for fashion.