Ethics in an organisation

According to Velasquez et., al (2010), the meaning of ethics is quiet difficult to pen down, and people have different views on what ethics is. What appears to be ethical to one may not be necessarily ethical for another. Velasquez et, al also mentioned that being ethical is not same as following any law. Though law incorporates ethical standards, and people follow them. But ethics are at times related to feelings, and one could be deviated from being ethical due to feelings. Being ethical involves two things; first it refers to set standards of what is right and what is wrong and is prescribed to human beings what they are supposed to do. And second it involves an individual’s ethical standards. Being ethical also refers to what society is ready to accept. So society also sets standards of being ethical (Velasquez et., al, 2010).

As mentioned by (Josephson, 2010), the ethical principles are the code of conducts defining the kind of a manner and behaviors a person is expected to behave or not. Josephson listed some behaviors and principles which are associated with an ethical behavior, which could act as a guide of making decisions and could be judged by others. Josephson also mentioned views of Abraham Lincoln, who described character as a tree and whose shadow is the reputation. In a business both character and reputation is essential. According to Abraham Lincoln, when a person performs his actions guided by the ethical principles, the character of that individual is determined whereas; the reputation is just the function of perception (Josephson, 2010).

Josephson cited list of twelve principles and the way in which the actions of an individual is perceived to be acceptable or not. The list also includes the traits of ethical employees as mentioned by (Schreiner, 2012). The principles are as follows:

1. Honesty: I believe that as mentioned by Josephson, (2010) any ethical manager or executives should be trust worthy, which is most important requirement above all. Any employee is expected to be honest in their actions and communications. I think any manager should not intentionally mislead or cheat the fellow members or others related in the business by his exaggerating statements, misrepresentations, incomplete truths, omissions etc, when they are expected to be trust worthy and should provide relevant information and correct misinterpretation of facts.
2. Integrity: As I investigated from the pre existing reviews on ethics, I found that through person integrity an ethical executive is expected to gain the trust of others. The managers and executives of a firm should exhibit moral courage, in the situation of immense pressure on them and they could perform otherwise but they opt to do what they think is right. Ethical employees are principled, respectable, honest and meticulous. One could find them ready to fight for their beliefs and values and would not be ready to sacrifice principle for pragmatism (Josephson, 2010).
3. Responsibility: (Schreiner, 2012)It was found that the ethical employees are ready to take responsibilities sincerely and perform at their best that they can to complete the job of which they are in charged. The ethical individuals do not avoid responsibilities and duties, but instead they hold the opportunity to take a leading role.
4. Reliability: Schreiner, (2010) mentioned in her report that the ethical team members follow their words thoroughly. They are reliable and can be trusted to undertake projects of great importance.
5. Goal orientation: From the report (Schreiner, 2012), I found that the ethical managers are goal-oriented and are dedicated towards their jobs completely. These individuals often identify the value of working to upgrade their levels and also try to improve the overall success of the company, as they are found willing to work towards attaining challenging goals, potentially.
6. Job focused: From the reviews, I found that the ethical managers are focused and are not distracted from their work. These employees understand the value of their jobs, and are found working on job related tasks during their working hours (Schreiner, 2012).
7. Loyalty: From the report of (Josephson, 2010), I also found that loyalty is also an important trait of an ethical employee. These employees by being loyal to their organization and colleagues are found to justify trust. They use their trait of loyalty not above other ethical principles but they place a high value on protecting and advancing the lawful and legitimate interests of their companies and their colleagues. On shifting of their jobs to other employer, an ethical employee would give prior notice to the company and are expected to respect the trade information of their former employer, and does not indulge in any activities that would take undue advantage of their previous positions.
8. Fairness: The ethical managers are also found to be fair in all dealings and transactions of the company. They are not supposed to utilize their powers arbitrarily. The ethical employee would also never try to take undue advantage of others mistakes. Such employees are open- minded and dare to admit their mistakes (Josephson, 2010).
9. Empathetic: An ethical manager should take care of his colleagues and subordinates. He should be empathetic, and before coming to any decision, he should step in to the others shoes too, to understand the situation and condition of the particular person. An ethical employee would be kind, compassionate and caring of others (Josephson, 2010). 
10. Law abiding: An ethical employee in performing any task would abide by laws, rule and regulations of the firm (Josephson, 2010).
11. Respect for others: They should also respect to their co- employees, seniors and junior, and who so ever is related in the business.
12. Commitment: An ethical employee would always try to commit to the excellence in performing any task. He tries to be well informed and prepared before initiating the job (Josephson, 2010).
13. Leadership
14. Accountability
15. Reputation and Morale

The above traits and characteristics are found justified in an organization; such traits would be encouraged in any firm or organization for the ethical working of the employee. (Amato & Elberle, 2010) They discussed about three models of legal ethics which included autonomy model, socialist model and deontological models. The model explains about the professional ethics and their utilization in few aspects of maintaining attorney and client confidentiality. The model represents the requirement of self serving professional attitude at work. The ethics in profession should be according to the attorney- client requirements. The above mentioned ethical traits are encouraged in an organization when an employee is professional enough in being ethical. An individual would consider being ethical when he follows the code of conducts of the organization. From the study I found that the ethics of an individual should go parallel to the ethics of his organization.