Rules and its Importance

Rules refer to a set of guidelines which have been put in place in different countries and
communities and have been accepted by all. Rules are useful tools in guiding and monitoring the
interactions of humans in the society. A rule is a prescribed guide for conduct or action. Rules help guide
actions toward desired results.

Ethics is concerned with other people's interests, with the interests of society, with god's internets,
with "ultimate goods", and so on.

Why Do We Have Rules?

Rules help people in many aspects of life. They enable people to organize all the processes
correctly, starting from house chores and ending with more complicated issues as the functioning of as
whole country. Rules are specific modes of behavior that secure a regulated flow of all processes.

Importance of Rules

Rules are important because they tend to protect the weaker class in the society as they might be
in a disadvantageous position if rules are broken. When rules are used in the right way.

They provide a stable environment and human co-existence in a society which leads to peace and
development. The process of setting rules aims to craft rules in line with some desired results.

ETHICS

Ethics, or Moral philosophy, may be defined in a provisional way, as the scientific study of moral
judgements.

The Subject of Ethics consist of the fundamental issues of practical decision making, and its major
concerns include the nature of ultimate value and the standards by which human actions can be judged
right or wrong.

The term is derived from the greek word ethos which can mean custom, habit, character or
disposition. Our concepts of ethics have been derived from religions, philosophies and cultures. They
infuse debates on topics like abortion, human rights and professional conduct.

BRANCHES OF ETHICS

First is Normative, in which actions are judged by their merits, allowing societies to develop codes
of conduct for behavior.

Descriptive ethics ask what do people think is moral? This branch of ethics does not actually claim
that things are right or wrong, but simply studies how individuals or societies define their morals.

Why Study Ethics?

 His understanding of moral problems will be widened, as he becomes acquainted with the thoughts
of other men upon problems of good and evil, justice and injustice, virtue and vice, the rights and duties
of the individual and of society.

His critical faculties will be trained. He will know the reasons for his moral convictions, and also the
reasons for the moral convictions of others.

The study of ethics will enable a person to understand better what his conscience is how he
acquired it, how far he is likely to be able to trust to its deliverances with safety, and how he can
improve it and make it more intelligent.

THE MORAL AGENT

MORALITY

Morality can be defined as the standards that an individual or a group has about what is right and
wrong, or good and evil. Morality is not imposed from outside, but innate and can even be unconscious.

Morality is an informal public system applying to all rational persons, governing behavior that
affects others, and has the lessening of evil or harm as its goal.

Morality is a complex of concepts and philosophical beliefs by which an individual determines

whether his or her actions are right or wrong.

Key Features of Morality

To understand morality in its true sense, let us identify the six(6) features:

1. People experience a sense of moral obligation and accountability- One cannot doubt successfully a
phenomenon of his own existence-namely, his moral experience. Even secularists like Kai Nielsen
recommend that one "ought to" act or follow some rules, policies, practices, or principles (Nielsen,1973)

Even atheist Richard Dawkins Declares that there are "moral instructions on how we ought to
behave". (Dawkins, 2006).

2. Moral values and moral absolutes exist- It's hard to deny the objective reality of moral values-actions
like rape, torture, and child abuse are not just socially unacceptable behavior but are moral
abominations. (Craig, 1994).

3. Moral Law does exist- When we accept the existence of goodness, we must affirm a moral law on the
basis of which to differentiate between good and evil.

4. Moral Law is known to humans- Moral law is also called law of nature because early philosophers
thought that generally speaking, everybody knows it by nature.

5. Morality is Objective- Morality is absolute there is a real right and real wrong that is universally and
immutably true, independent of whether anyone believes it or not.
6. Moral judgments must be supported by reasons- Moral judgments are different from mere
expressions of personal preference they require backing by reasons, and in the absence of such reasons,
they are merely arbitrary. (james, 1999)

Aristotle and Moral Responsibility

Aristotle was the first to discuss moral responsibility. He stated that it is "sometimes appropriate to
respond to an agent with praise or blame on the basis of his/her actions and/or dispositional traits of
character". He discusses that "only a certain kind of agent qualifies as a moral agent and is thus properly
subject to ascriptions of responsibility, namely, one who possesses a capacity for decision". from
aristotle's perspective, "a decision is a particular kind of desire resulting from deliberation, one that
expresses the agent's conception of what is good".

Differences Between Moral and Non-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.

The foundations of evolving moral systems rest on a complex cybernetic process, scientific study of
control and communication, that sustains and preserves the human species. This is a dynamic process
that drives the creation of moral and ethical standards. Every human action inspires a corresponding
reaction whether subtle in nature or violent. Some people are more emotionally reactive than
others.Emotions can get out of control if not regulated by laws, customs, moral codes, professional
codes and even the rules of etiquette.

It is important to remember that the moral development of young people depends on the ethical
capacities of the adults who interact with them on a daily basis-especially parents, but also teachers,
members of their extended family and other adults in the community. Every young person needs both a
role model to inspire them and an environment that holds up good values and celebrates them.

Non-moral standards refer to rules that are unrelated to moral or ethical considerations. Either
these standards are not necessarily linked to morality or by nature lack ethical sense. Basic examples of
non-moral standards include rules of etiquette, fashion standards, rules in games, and various house
rules.

Etiquette refers to the norms of correct conduct in polite society or, more generally, to any special
code of social behavior or courtesy. The rules of etiquette are prescriptions for socially acceptable
behavior. if you violate them, you're likely to be considered ill-mannered, impolite, or even uncivilized,
but not necessarily immoral. If you want to fit in, get along with others, and be thought well of by them,
you should observe the common rules of politeness or etiquette.

Statutes are laws enacted by legislative bodies. The law that defines and prohibits theft is a statute.
Congress and state legislatures enact statutes. (Laws enacted by local governing bodies.

How Are Moral Standards Formed?

 There are some moral standards that many of us share in our conduct in society. These moral
standards are influenced by a variety of factors such as the moral principles we accept as part of our
upbringing, values passed on to us through heritage and legacy, the religious values that we have
imbibed from childhood, the values that were showcased during the period of our education, the
behavior pattern of those who are around us, the explicit and implicit standards of our culture, our life
experiences and more importantly, our critical reflections on these experiences. Moral standards
concern behavior which is very closely linked to human well-being.

CHARACTERISTICS OF MORAL STANDARD

1. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benefits- Moral standards deal with matters
which can seriously impact, that is, injure or benefit human beings.

2. Moral standards ought to be preferred to other values- Moral standards have overriding character or
hegemonic authority.

3. Moral standards are not established by authority figures- Moral standards are not invented, formed,
or generated by authoritative bodies or persons such as nations legislative bodies.

4. Moral standards have the trait of universalizability- Simply put, it means that everyone should live
up to moral standards.

5. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations- Moral standard does not evaluate standards
on the basis of the interests of a certain person or group, but one that goes beyond personal interests to
a universal standpoint in which each person's interests are impartially counted as equal.

6. Moral standards are associated with special emotions and vocabulary- Prescriptivity indicates the
practical or action-guiding nature of moral standards.

MORAL DILEMMAS

A Moral Dilemmas is a conflict in which you have to choose between two or more actions and have
moral reasons for choosing each action. What is common to the two well-known cases is conflict.

A Moral Dilemma is a situation where:

1. You are presented with two or more actions, all of which you have the ability to perform.

2. There are moral reasons for you to choose each of the actions.

3. You cannot perform all of the actions and have to choose which action, or actions when there are
three or more choices, to perform.

Moral Dilemmas in the organization

Ethical dilemmas in the workplace are quite common, and they're not always easy to answer. The
concepts are straightforward, but the challenge is in the execution.