Meaning

Ethics consists of the standards of behavior that our

society accepts.

Ethics is a set of moral principles or values which is concerned with the rightness or wrongness of human behavior and which guides your conduct in relation to others (for individuals and organizations).
Business ethics is a form of applied ethics that

examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment.

Virtue Ethics
Virtue as a character trait that manifests itself in habitual action. Eg: honesty cannot consist in telling the truth once. It is the tract of a person who tells the truth as a general practice. Virtue means excellence and ethics was concerned with excellence of human character.

 Virtue ethics identifies certain character traits, such as courage, compassion, sincerity, and reliability, as being morally virtuous and advantageous for the good life. Virtue ethics focuses on persons and their character traits rather than actions.

Virtue = excellence of human character

ETHICAL DILEMMA
A dilemma is a situation that requires a choice

between equally balances arguments or a predicament that seemingly defines a satisfactory solution. Once you become deeply involved in a particular issue or a situation, you begin to come across actual dilemmas.
Two factors you will be facing are:
A dilemma- the alternatives or options seem equally

balanced.

- An ethical dilemma : the decisions for action when it is made, will have an important impact on the welfare of the people- that is an ethical factor. An Ethical dilemma is a complex situation that will often involve an apparent mental conflict between moral imperatives in which to obey one would result in transgressing another. This is also called an ethical paradox.

Examples of Complex Ethical Dilemmas

1) A customer asked for a product from you today. After telling him your price, he said he could not afford it. you know he could get it cheaper from a competitor. Should you tell him about the competitor -- or let him go without getting what he needs? What is the guideline for us? The societal interest or the personal interest?

Ethical leadership
Leadership is about raising the aspirations of followers and enthusing people with a desire to reach for the stars. For instance, Mahatma Gandhi created a vision for independence in India and raised the aspirations of our people.
Leadership is about making a difference to others.

 Ethical leadership is making a difference to others by drawing on ethical principles and values. Three kinds of leadership:
Amoral, Value-based, Ethical.

Ethical leaders
Ethical leaders speak to us about our identity, what

we are and what we can become, how we live and how we could live better.

Whistle blowing

 The term whistleblower comes from the phrase "blow the

whistle," which refers to a whistle being blown by a policeman or a referee to indicate an activity that is illegal or a foul. A whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities (misconduct) occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company. The alleged misconduct may be classified in many ways; for example, a violation of a law, rule, regulation and/or a direct threat to public interest, such as fraud, health/safety violations, and corruption.

 Most whistleblowers are internal whistleblowers, who

report misconduct on a fellow employee or superior within their company.

External whistleblowers, however, report misconduct on

outside persons or entities. In these cases, depending on the information's severity and nature, whistleblowers may report the misconduct to lawyers, the media, law enforcement or other local, state, or federal agencies. In some cases, external whistle blowing is encouraged by offering monetary reward.

 A "whistleblower" discloses information he or she

reasonably believes evidences: A violation of any law, rule An abuse of authority or regulation A substantial and specific danger Gross mismanagement to public health A gross waste of funds A substantial and specific danger to public safety

 In December 2003, Satyendra Dubey, an engineer in

Bihar, drew the attention of the Prime Ministers Office to corruption in the Golden Quadrilateral Project. His name was leaked by someone in the official establishment and he was killed.

Manjunath Shanmugam, a young manager with Indian Oil

Corporation (IOC) and an IIM graduate, was shot dead on November 19 for drawing attention to irregularities in the quality of fuel being marketed in some petrol pumps. Manjunath had ordered the closure of an IOC petrol pump in Lakhimpur Kheri in UP for selling adulterated fuel. Samples of fuel from the pump indicated adulteration. It appears that the owners of the petrol pump decided to act before more of their illegal activities were exposed. They had him shot dead.

 Legal protection
The government of India has been considering adopting a whistleblower protection law for several years. In 2003, the Law Commission of India recommended the adoption of the Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Informers) Act, 2002. In August 2010, the Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Persons Making the Disclosures Bill, 2010 was introduced into the Parliament of India, Lok Sabha. It was approved by the cabinet in june,2011.

Trade secrets

 A trade secret is a formula, practice, process

design, instrument, pattern, or compilation of information which is not generally known or reasonably ascertainable, by which a business can obtain an economic advantage over competitors or customers.

A trade secret may be a formula for a chemical

compound, a process of manufacturing, treating or preserving materials, a pattern for a machine or other device, or even a list of customers.

 Every nondisclosure agreement defines its trade

secrets, often information."

referred

to

as

"confidential

The subject matter of trade secrets is usually defined

in broad terms and includes sales methods, distribution methods, consumer profiles, advertising strategies, lists of suppliers and clients, and manufacturing processes.

Financial information

Technical & scientific information

TRADE SECRET

Commercial information

Negative information

Examples of trade secrets

* Business methods * Business plans * Business forecasts * Market analyses * Marketing plans * R & D information * Business relationships * Product information * Pricing information * Financial information * Profit margin information

Who Can Know a Trade Secret

Obviously, the proprietor of a business can

know its trade secrets. So can the employees (who have been instructed not to disclose the secret) involved in its use. Other people can know the trade secret if they are pledged to secrecy. Others may also know of a trade secret independently, as, for example, when they have discovered the process or formula by independent invention and are keeping it secret.

Punishment for Stealing Trade Secrets

The unauthorized use of such information by persons other than the owner is regarded as an unfair practice and a violation of the trade secret. Loss of trade secrets can cost companies millions of dollars. However, the nature of a trade secret is an important factor in determining the kind of compensation you could get if you sue someone for damages who has stolen your trade secrets. If the trade secret consists of a device or process which is a novel invention and has patentable , the court would ordinarily prevent the further use of, and require the accounting of any profits derived by someone who acquired the trade secret wrongfully.

Thank you