The Ethical Standard Is Higher Than The Legal Standard
Ethics creates a sense of right & wrong
Law and ethics are different in a manner that what a person must do and what a person should do.
The former is universally accepted while the latter is ideal human conduct, agreed upon by most people.
Although, both the law and ethics are made in alignment so that they do not contradict each other.
Both go side by side, as they provide how to act in a particular manner.
Every person is equal in the eyes of law and ethics, i.e. nobody is superior or inferior. Further, these two allow a person to think freely and choose.
Legal standards
In simple terms, the law may be understood as the systematic set of universally accepted rules and regulations created by an appropriate authority such as the government, which may be regional, national, international, etc.
It is used to govern the actions and behavior of the members and can be enforced, by imposing penalties.
Ethical standards
Ethical standards govern an individual or organization on conduct, behavior, and fairness.
They rely on societal norms and executives’ expectations in organizations. For example, organizations can set guidelines on how they expect employees to perform tasks, interact with each other, and follow various protocols.
Examples of ethical standards include guidelines set by medical research committees on the ethics of conducting medical research on human study participants.
Types of ethical standards or codes of ethics include the following:
· Compliance-based code of ethics: These codes provide guidelines on following specific procedures, such as hiring and firing employees, handling equipment, and adhering to safety protocols.
· Value-based code of ethics: A company’s core values guide these codes of ethics, including respect, honesty, and responsibility.
· Code of ethics amongst professionals: Professional organizations within specific industries usually develop these codes and expect members to adhere to them.
Differences Between These Standards
This difference is often characterized as the difference between ethical regulations and moral beliefs.
Legal theorists write regularly approximately the need to differentiate between a broken rule and an unattained best.
Most argue that exemplary, supererogatory, or otherwise morally fantastic behaviors must no longer be enforced via law.
Charitable acts and rescues fall into this category, as would possibly manners and dress codes.
Law is typically reserved for the regulations crucial to the preservation of the social material, consisting of protection, contracts, and extensive conceptualizations of the not-unusual proper.
There’s absolute confidence that business owners want and need to make earnings.
Without income, a business can not grow, invest in studies and development, or pay shareholders — if the business enterprise is a public enterprise.
But how much profit is reasonable? When does the quantity of income turn out to be unethical?
Businesses can face the difficulty of moral vs. Criminal when they pay excessive fees for his or her merchandise, particularly when the products are designed to assist humans and are badly wanted.
The latest example is when Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, raised the price of their drug Daraprim from $13.50 per tablet to $750 according to the tablet.
While it wasn’t illegal for the employer to elevate the drug’s charge, many human beings noticed it as a drug company taking unfair advantage, compounded by the truth that the drug has been in use for many years, so Turing had most probably earned returned what it spent on developing Daraprim, first of all.
This argument is an instance of a difference between law and ethics in enterprise. Just the fact a movement is a felony does not mean it’s always moral.
Why is ethics a higher standard than the law?
The first defect of a legal system is its comparative rigidity.
Because of this rigidity law is to be applied without any allowance for special circumstances and without turning to the right hand or the left.
The law is rigid in its application, making no allowance for special circumstances. It causes great hardship and injustice in cases that are not provided for. But, if we are to have a general rule at all, we must be content to pay this price.
Formalism is the tendency to attribute more importance to technical requirements than to substantive rights and wrongs.
The formalism of ancient law is too notorious to require illustration. In modern times registration and attestation are examples of formalities.
Another defect of law is undue and needless complexity. The law becomes more and more complex due to the excessive development of a legal system.
It becomes too difficult for people to understand the law without difficulty. The tendency of the lawyer to draw fine distinctions has made it all the more difficult to understand the actual law.
Our deep respect for the land and its harvest is the legacy of generations of farmers who put food on our tables, preserved our landscape, and inspired us with a powerful work ethic.
~ James H. Douglas, Jr.
On the other hand, to understand why ethical behavior is important, it might be helpful to know how unethical behavior affects a company.
Think about a business that hires only family or one that gives inappropriate incentives, for example.
While these actions might not be illegal, they can have negative effects on the morale and success of a company, especially if their dirty laundry is aired publicly.
A business might express fairness by placing a high importance on having a diverse workplace.
Achieving a diverse workplace means using recruiting practices that give equal opportunity to people from different ethnic, gender, and social groups.
This can add time and effort to the hiring process, but it’s often worthwhile.
Employing a diverse range of people gives the business the benefit of different perspectives.
It also demonstrates that the company is serious about equality and treating all people with respect.
Another ethical behavior is companies adhering to principles of fairness and respect and striving to pay their team members a fair wage for the work they do based on their experience, education, and job duties.
They also regularly review compensation and adjust it to make sure it continues to reflect the positions and experiences of employees.
Businesses often reward outstanding performance with employee bonuses.
These are good incentives for team members to work hard and remain with the company.
They’re also a way for the business to express gratitude for their efforts.
What are examples of ethical behavior?
Ethical behavior includes honesty, integrity, fairness, and a variety of other positive traits.
Those who have others’ interests in mind when they make decisions are displaying ethical behavior. Here are other common examples of ethical behavior:
Respect for others
No matter the relationship between two people and what they agree or disagree upon, people within an organization should always respect each other. This includes managers and subordinates, peers, and clients.
Open communication
All successful businesses communicate effectively.
When the lines of communication are open and employees are willing to have conversations with one another, misunderstandings can be avoided.
Having constant conversations and reminders makes it less likely an employee will break a rule or have a low-quality output.
Responsibility
Mistakes and misunderstandings are bound to happen in any work setting.
But when they do, employees need to take accountability for their actions. They need to take responsibility for what happened and be proactive in fixing it.
When there is a standard of accountability at an organization, its people hold themselves and their peers to a standard of responsibility.
Trustworthiness
A business cultivates trustworthiness with its clients, customers, and employees through honesty, transparency, and reliability.
Team members should feel they can trust their companies to keep to the terms of their employment.
Clients and customers should be able to trust the business with their money, data, contractual obligations, and confidential information.
Corporate responsibility
Businesses have responsibilities to their employees, their clients or customers, and their board of directors.
Some of these may be contractual or legal obligations, others may be promises.
For example, a commitment to conduct business fairly and to treat people with dignity and respect.
Whatever those obligations are, the business has a responsibility to keep them.
To sum up, Amid growing scrutiny of business practices, it’s more important than ever for companies to carry out work the right way. Ethics programs are an exceptional tool for promoting moral conduct. Organizations also need employees dedicated to ethical decision-making.
Thank you for reading.
