MAHATMA GANDHI UNIVERSITY

B.A PHILOSOPHY PROGRAMME

APPLIED ETHICS
MODULE I

General introduction – Normative ethics and Applied ethics – philosophical analysis of issues in public and
private life – case based reasoning – theory to particular case vs focusing on facts of case – Ethical issues in
technological age – the relevance of Applied ethics.

MODULE II

Bio-ethics – Termination of life (a) before birth – abortion – status of fetus – personhood – (b) after birth –
Euthanasia – active and passive – voluntary and involuntary – surrogate motherhood

MODULE III

Business ethics – definition, need – refutation of four myths of business ethics, Objectives – analysis –
evaluation, therapeutic advice, levels of business ethics – the individual, the organizational, the
associational, the societal, the international. Business and the ethics of social responsibility.

MODULE IV

Media ethics – The status of print and electronic media in Indian context – the Fourth estate – the media and
the role based obligation – response to public right to know of events of public importance and interest –
right to privacy, issues in information and gathering of news – completeness, understanding, accuracy,
objectivity, fact truth, avoiding bias and harm.

MODULE I

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Applied ethics is the philosophical search for right and wrong of particular issues in private and public life.
It attempts to use philosophical methods to identify the morally correct course of action in various fields of
human life.

The word ‘ethics’ is etymologically derived from the Greek word ‘ethos’. This Greek term ‘ethos’ means
‘custom’ or ‘conduct’. Therefore, we can etymologically say, the science of custom or conduct is known as
Ethics and the science ethics is coming from customs of humanity. The science of ethics is known as moral
philosophy. The word ‘moral’ comes from the Latin word ‘mores’ which means ‘custom’ or ‘behavior’, so
that, the ethics is also known as moral philosophy. So the science of ethics is coming from that behavior of
man. As a philosophical study, ethics is a philosophical science. Philosophy is defined as the science of
beings in their ultimate reasons, causes and principles, acquired by the help of some reason alone.
Normative sciences do not deal directly with observed facts but which deal, as systematically and
completely as possible, with the standard or rules or criteria by which we judge certain objects.

Normative ethics is not a study of what our moral lives are, but of what they ought to be. Often it considers
what we ought to do and what we ought to desire. So, normative ethics is about ideals, about how we ought
to live, about what we ought to value. It is not an empirical study. Normative ethics makes judgement basing
certain rules what is right and wrong. (Two other normative disciplines are Logic –judgement based on true
or false and valid or invalid, Aesthetics – judgement based on beautiful or ugly).
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Ethics is normative discipline of voluntary actions. Normative ethics is often considered as ethical theory.
What does the ethical theory do? It gives the general guidelines for determining right from wrong or good
from bad. (eg: According to hedonism, their motto is ‘maximum pleasure with minimum pain’- here norm is
an action is good if it produces more pleasure than pain and bad if it results in more pain than pleasure (eg:
charvaka) but J.S Mill and Jeremy Bentham expressed their utilitarian points of view, ‘the greatest happiness
for the greatest number’- here norm is the right act is the act which will actually produce the greatest amount
of happiness, they stressed usefulness rather than pleasure. According Kant’s deontological theory, he
argued that there are some actions that you have a duty to perform and some you have a duty not to perform,
regardless of consequences. This denotes the categorical imperative nature of Kant).

Applied ethics is often distinguished from normative ethics. The project of normative ethics is usually
concerned with what people should believe to be right and wrong. Applied ethics is the study of how to use
these general guidelines to make specific types of moral decisions. (Examples: bio ethics, business ethics,
media ethics, etc.).

Applied ethics is a branch of ethics that deals with practical ethical issues in human life. Most of the areas
that are debated in applied ethics have got their significance as the course of time is on. In this branch of
ethics we are not dealing with some kind of norms or conditions in ethical situations. Rather applied ethics is
interested in ethical dilemmas that are confronted in day to day situations of human life. It means that
applied ethics is closely attached to practical human situations. Applied ethics makes use of reasoning as the
methodology for its academic pursuit. But this reasoning is described as practical reasoning by the eminent
moral philosophers like Peter Singer, Mac Intyre, etc….

The applied ethics is also known as Casuistry. The science of applying the standards of ethics to particular
kinds of cases is properly called casuistry. It might be better to call casuistry as applied ethics than to call it
practical ethics. Knowledge applied in particular circumstance is still the primary aim of ethics.

Some objections, which have been made to casuistry as a science, are the following:

*Moral situations are so complex that they cannot be analyzed.

*It is not scientific to deal with particular cases; science deals with universals.

*They cannot deals with particular moral cases, each of which are unique, and does not repeat itself.

*Common sense is as likely to be right as a casuistry argument in discovering the right or wrong of action in
a particular situation.

*The casuists require knowing the details of ethical principles, but also the details of the sphere of life in
which action takes place.

*The casuists take a legal view of morality and tend to ignore the freedom and the creativeness, which
characterize the higher forms of morality.

PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS OF ISSUES IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE – CASE BASED

REASONING – THEORY TO PARTICULAR CASE VS FOCUSING ON FACTS OF CASE – ETHICAL
ISSUES IN TECHNOLOGICAL AGE – THE RELEVANCE OF APPLED ETHICS

The general introduction to applied ethics leads to key points above mentioned, on the basis of that points
and different areas of applied ethics; bio – ethics, business ethics and media ethics shows the relevance
applied ethics.
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Key points

*Through the various branches of applied ethics, we can analysis of issues in public and private life.

*Here we used inductive method of reasoning for attaining general or universal level of conclusion.

*In our three different branches of applied ethics; bio, business and media we analyze particular cases
related to that area.

*Here we used case based reasoning: this is the effective methodology for attaining facts of case, in the
different area of applied ethics we examine certain kinds of cases for proving the need and role of ethics in
that particular area.

*The importance of philosophical questions begins with the theory of particular cases, then focusing on
‘what is the fact of that particular case. Finally, we ask foundational questions on the basis of earlier factual
questions.

Eg: in the area of bio- ethics we deal the issues of abortion and euthanasia. Here we analyze certain kinds of
issues or cases related to abortion and euthanasia. On the basis of our analysis of that particular case we
point out the facts of that case, here we consider that particular case to a universal issue or case. Finally that
idea of facts shifts to ask the foundational question of that case or issue. In the case of bio- ethics, the
foundational question is ‘who is the authority over human life?’

*Ethical issues in technological age ask ‘what are the moral issues in our technological age faced in our day
to day life?’

*In this postmodern era, we live in a great technological world.

*Developments and different types of technologies are needed to society. As a philosophy student we
analyze what are the ethical issues created by this technology and developments.

Example: the development of computer and internet technology creates cybercrimes. But this same
technology helps to create lot of advantages to our social community.

*Our objective is that avoiding ethical issues from our society.

*the message of applied ethics is used these technologies for good purpose.

All these points show the relevance of applied ethics in our day today life.

MODULE II

BIO ETHICS

Bio-ethics deals with the moral status of life. It involves both, pre-natal and born human life. Generally
speaking bio-ethics consists of three areas related to human life. They are;

*Abortion

*Euthanasia (mercy killing)

*Surrogacy (surrogate motherhood)

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All these areas ask an important question regarding humanlife; ‘who is the authority over human life?

TERMINATION OF LIFE BEFORE BIRTH

(ABORTION-STATUS OF FETUS- PERSONHOOD)

Abortion is the act of termination of life human fetus in the pre-natal status. Abortion can be of two types;
deliberate or non-deliberate (natural). Abortion becomes a moral issue only when a deliberate attempt is
made to terminate the life of a fetus.

With reference to abortion as a moral issue two important positions are adopted by moral theoreticians in
general. One is known as liberal position and the other the conservative position. Those who are upholding
the liberal position argue that, the early stage of fetus cannot be ascribed the status of life. By supporting this
position medical experiments are permitted by most of the countries, they take a position that there is
nothing wrong in conducting medical experiments on fetus for the betterment of human life. But the
problem involved in this position states that the failed experiments brutally terminate the life of a fetus. In
this position we can see a double standpoint about life. They simultaneously support the life of fetus and the
destruct of it in the name of medical experiments.

Conservative position states that at any stage of the life of a fetus it should not be destroyed. They argue that
from the very inception of zygote the life is given to it. For this reason, the life of a fetus is to be protected
(father’s23 chromosomes + mother’s 23 chromosomes = baby have 46 chromosomes.) It is scientifically
approved by Geneva Conference of Human Rights, World Conference of Doctors and United Nations
Charter on Children. This position points out that ‘in the earlier stage of fetus there is a life as our own.’

TWO ARGUMENTS

*The central argument of supporters of abortion, put as formal argument, would go something like this:

First premise : It is wrong to kill an innocent human being.

Second premise: A human fetus is not an innocent human

Being.

Conclusion : Therefore it is not wrong to kill a human fetus.

*The central argument of against abortion, put as a formal argument, would go something like this:

First premise : It is wrong to kill an innocent human being.

Second premise : A human fetus is an innocent human being.

Conclusion : Therefore it is wrong to kill a human fetus.

The question of life is also related to experiments on fetus. Just like the question of abortion, the medical
experiment on fetus also is debated by moral philosophers. By the development of the technology of IVF (In
Vitro Fertilization) the question of life of fetus has come to the force of discussion Louis Brown as the first

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child from IVF technology has opened heated debate on the issue. Most of the countries agree with the IVF
technology by applying stringent rules and regulations.

In India, abortion in the medical field is permitted only with strict rules and regulations. By applying these
rules Indian Pinal Code (IPC) and other medical regulations instruct the situations were abortion may be
done.

Pro-life: this position argues that a human fetus is a human being with a right to live making abortion
morally the same as murder.

Pro-choice: this position argues that a woman has certain reproductive rights especially the choice whether
or not to carry a pregnancy to term.

Opponents of abortion choice argue that because human fetuses are human, alive and innocent, and because
abortion ends innocent human life, abortion is immoral. We may call this ‘human life argument’. Supporters
of abortion choice argue that because human fetuses are not yet persons, abortion is morally permissible. We
may call this ‘personhood argument’.

Both of these arguments are based on an understanding of why killing is wrong. Personhood argument holds
that fetuses are not fully human or that fetuses are potential, but not actual life. Because they exhibit growth
and metabolism they are actually alive. Thus when the argument is conducted within the human life
framework, those opposing abortion choice easily win the argument. Another discussion is whether or not
fetuses are persons. In the sense of ‘person’ normally defined, no fetus is a person. Thus when the discussion
is conducted within the personhood framework, those in favor of abortion choice easily win.

What do we mean by human life or human being? These terms figure prominently in debates about abortion.
We can use it as equivalent to ‘member of the species, Homosapiens’. In this sense from the first moment of
its existence an embryo conceived from human sperm and eggs is a human being. Another view goes
beyond this biological view and implies certain qualities to be called human. These two positions give
entirely different answers to the question “Is fetus a human being?”

The term ‘person’ is used in the second sense. There could be members of our species who are not persons.
Person is defined quite often as a rational and self-conscious being. Doctrine of sanctity could mean that
there is special value in the life of a member of one species and also that there is special value in the life of a
person. To Immanuel Kant respect for autonomy is a basic moral principle. By autonomy is meant the
capacity to choose, to make and act on one’s own decisions. Killing a person who does not choose to die is
the greatest possible violation of that person’s autonomy.

Sex-selective abortion: Developments in technology has led to sex-selective abortion. The selective
termination of a female fetus is most common in countries like India.

ETHICAL ISSUES IN SURROGATE MOTHERHOOD

Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a child for another couple or person.
The surrogate may be the child’s genetic mother (called traditional surrogacy), or she may be genetically
unrelated to the child (called gestational surrogacy).

The intended parent or parents, sometimes called the social parents, may arrange a surrogate pregnancy
because of female infertility, other medical issues which make pregnancy or delivery impossible, risky or
otherwise undesirable, or because the intended parent or parents are male. The sperm and eggs may be
provided by the ‘commissioning parents’, but donor’s sperm, eggs and embryos may also be used. Monetary
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compensation may or may not be involved in surrogacy arrangements. If the surrogate receives
compensation beyond the reimbursement of medical and other reasonable expenses, the arrangement is
called commercial surrogacy; otherwise, it is often referred to as altruistic surrogacy.

Types of surrogacy

*Traditional surrogacy

This involves artificially inseminating a surrogate mother with intended father’s sperm via IUI, IVF or home
insemination. With this method, the child is genetically related to its father and the surrogate mother.

*Traditional surrogacy and donor sperm

A surrogate mother is artificially inseminated with donor sperm via IUI, IVF or home insemination. The
child is genetically related to the sperm donor and the surrogate mother.

*Gestational surrogacy

When the intended mother is not able to carry a baby to term due to hysterectomy, diabetes, cancer, etc.., her
egg and the intended father’s sperm are used to create an embryo via IVF that is transferred into and carried
by the surrogate mother. The resulting child genetically related to its parents while the surrogate mother has
no genetic relation.

*Gestational surrogacy and egg donation

If there is no intended mother or the intended mother is unable to produce eggs, the surrogate mother carries
the embryo developed from a donor egg that has been fertilized by sperm from the intended father. With this
method, the child born is genetically related to the intended father and the surrogate mother has no genetic
relation.

*Gestational surrogacy and donor sperm

If there is no intended father or the intended father is unable to produce sperm, the surrogate mother carries
an embryo developed from the intended mother’s egg (who is unable to carry a pregnancy herself) and
donor sperm. With this method, the child born is genetically related to the intended mother and the surrogate
mother has no genetic relation.

*Gestational surrogacy and donor embryo

When the intended parents are unable to produce sperm, egg or embryo, the surrogate mother can carry a
donated embryo (often from other couples who have completed IVF that have leftover embryos). The child
born is genetically related neither to the intended parents nor the surrogate mother.

Ethical Questions

The following are some of the ethical issues connected with surrogacy, or women’s reproductive labor.

To what extent should we concerned about exploitation, commodification, and/or coercion when women are
paid to be pregnant and deliver babies?

To what extent is it right for society to permit women to make contracts about the use of their bodies? To
what extent is it a woman’s human right to make contracts regarding the use of her body? Is contracting for
surrogacy more like contracting for employment/labor, or more like contracting for sex work?
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What does motherhood mean? What is the relationship between genetic motherhood, and social
motherhood?

Should a child born via surrogacy have the right to know the identity of any/ all of the people involved in
that child’s conception and delivery?

Good women, dignified women, also do not sell their sexual or reproductive services (eg: by becoming sex
workers or contract pregnant women), even if doing so could get them out of poverty or serious debt. For
women, being ‘for money’ has often meant being against love or dignity.

In the current age of technological reproduction, the dilemma of dignity or money resurfaces, presents itself
to women in new ways. In some legal jurisdictions, women can now sell forms of reproductive labour, like
in contract pregnancy. That is, they are performing it not for their own direct reproductive benefit, but for
the reproductive benefit of others.

While women who sell such labor may get big sums of money in return, they also may sacrifice their dignity
as women.

At issue here is the moral permissibility of commodifying women’s reproductive labour; the questions are:

*Should women treat their own reproductive labour as a commodity?

*Is that something that can be traded for a price?

What do women trade away, in case of contract pregnancy? The most obvious answer is, a baby. But women
also give away a lot of their own sweat and tears when they perform reproductive labour for others. They
have to undergo a series of tests, including psychological tests. Contract pregnancy includes weeks of
hormone injections and sometimes painful procedure of embryo transfer.

Surrogate- Temporary substitute or stand in acting on behalf of another. Surrogate mother may have children
by the husband of an infertile wife and hand over the baby at birth for them to bring up as their own.

TERMINATION OF LIFE AFTER BIRTH

EUTHANASIA AND KINDS OF EUTHANASIA

(VOLUNTARY, INVOLUNTARY, NON- VOLUNTARY,

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE)

The term ‘euthanasia’ derives from the Greek term for an easy, painless death, good death. (‘Eu’ means
‘good’ and ‘Thantos’ means ‘death’). There are different euthanasia laws in each country. In the
Netherlands, euthanasia is understood as “termination of life by a doctor at the request of a patient”. In U.S
states voluntary euthanasia is legal. Involuntary euthanasia is usually considered murder. Euthanasia is the
most active area of research in contemporary bioethics.

The word “euthanasia” was first used in a medical context by Francis Bacon in the 17 th century, to refer to
an easy, painless and happy death.

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KINDS OF EUTHANASIA

*Voluntary Euthanasia: Euthanasia conducted with the consent of the patient is termed voluntary euthanasia.
It is voluntary because the person asked that this be done. It must increase personal autonomy, in that it
gives people some control over their life end. When the patient brings about his or her own death with the
assistance of a physician, the term assisted suicide is often used instead. This is legal in Netherlands and the
U.S states.

*Non- Voluntary Euthanasia: Euthanasia conducted of the patient is unavailable is termed non- voluntary
euthanasia. The distinguishing characteristic of non- voluntary euthanasia is that it is euthanasia on some-
one who did not express a desire on the matter. Example: - child euthanasia, which is illegal worldwide,
turning off life support machine from unconscious patient.(coma stage)

*Involuntary Euthanasia: Euthanasia conducted against the will of the patient is termed involuntary
euthanasia. This type euthanasia occurs when euthanasia is performed on a person who is able to provide
informed consent, but does not, either because they do not choose to die, or because they were not asked. It
is typically, but not always murder. For example; a soldier has their stomach blown open by shell burst. He
is in great pain and screaming in agony. He begs the army doctor to save his life. The doctor knows that they
will die in ten minutes whatever happens. As he has no painkilling drug with him he decides to spare the
soldier further pain and shoots them dead.

In voluntary euthanasia the person wished to die and is able to make this wish known, in involuntary
euthanasia the person wished not to die and is able to convey this wish, in non-voluntary euthanasia the wish
of the person is not known. To be euthanasia, it must be done for the good of the person killed. People are
not always in the best position to know what is best for them. There is a conflict between what a person
wants and what is in the person’s best interest. We may be mistaken while taking decision on any kind of
euthanasia. Again, this is something for which there cannot be general rules: it is to the particular
circumstances that we must turn in order to decide whether a case of euthanasia is morally justified.

*Active euthanasia: Euthanasia entails the use of lethal substances or forces, such as administering a lethal
injection. It involves actively killing someone out of a concern for that person’s own well.

*Passive euthanasia: Euthanasia entails the withholding of common treatments, such as antibiotics,
necessary for the continuance of life. It involves passing up opportunities to prevent the death of someone
out of concern for that person’s own good. Example: not putting someone on to a life- support machine.

An important distinction is that between negative and positive duties. The duty not to go around hurting
people is a negative duty, whereas the duty to help a friend in need is a positive duty. The distinction is
important if only because our negative duties can be much more extensive than our positive duties.

The distinction between active and passive euthanasia cuts across the distinction between voluntary, non-
voluntary and involuntary euthanasia. In other words, either with my consent, or without knowing what my
wishes are or were, or against my wishes, you might kill me. Likewise, either with my consent, or without
knowing what my wishes are or were, or against my wishes, you might up an opportunity to keep me from
dying. Thus we have;

*Active voluntary euthanasia

*Active non-voluntary euthanasia

*Active involuntary euthanasia

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*Passive voluntary euthanasia

*Passive non-voluntary euthanasia

*Passive involuntary euthanasia

Proponents of euthanasia have presented four main arguments:

a) That people have a right to self-determination, and thus should be allowed to choose their own fate;

b) Assisting a person to die might be a better choice than requiring that continues to suffer;

c) The distinction between passive euthanasia, which is often permitted, and active euthanasia is
unreasonable;

d) Permitting euthanasia will not necessarily lead to consequences.

Pro- euthanasia activists often point to countries like the Netherlands and Belgium where euthanasia has
been legalized, to argue that it is not a big issue.

(Key points: the value of life, life is sacred, autonomy and quality of life, palliative care etc…)

There is a philosophical argument that ‘’all killing of innocent persons (whether consensual or not) is wrong.
According to Immanuel Kant, persons, autonomous agents have a special worth or dignity. Respect for
persons means never using persons merely as means to our ends, but always treating them as ends in
themselves. For this, we must take seriously, their ends- their interests, goals, etc… and not just our own.

MODULE III

BUSINESS ETHICS

DEFINITION

“Business ethics is the art and discipline of applying ethical principles to examine and solve complex and
moral dilemmas related to transaction of goods and services between human beings”.

Business ethics ask, ‘what is right and wrong, good and bad in business transactions’. Business ethics
assumes that logical and ethical reasoning is required to understand and think through complex moral
problems in business situation.

Business is a transaction of good between people, the term business comprises of consumer goods relation
between the producer and consumer, notions of production and consumption, economic idea and politics of
government.

*Production of the goods and services, the members of society want or need.

*Distribution of these goods and services to the various members of society.

Business ethics, in other words, is a form of applied ethics. It includes not only the analysis of moral norms
and moral values, but also attempts to apply the conclusions of this analysis to that assortment of
institutions, technologies, transactions, activities, and pursuits that we call business.

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NEED- REFUTATION OF FOUR MYTHS OF BUSINESS ETHICS

Here are four important myths about business ethics. There are surely many myths about business ethics, but
these 4 in particular cause trouble, and pose significant challenges for anyone trying to have a productive
discussion about right and wrong in the world of business.

Myth 1: “Business ethics is an Oxymoron”.

It is the belief that there is contradiction in applying ethics to business activity. The idea that ‘business
ethics’ is somehow a contradiction in terms is based on a serious misunderstanding of what ethics is and
what the world of commerce is like. Indeed, it’s much closer to the truth to say that the term “business
ethics” expresses a redundancy, since commerce is quite literally impossible without ethics. Every single
commercial transaction requires some level of trust, and without a shared commitment to some level ethical
behavior, you simply do not get trust. Indeed, economists are more than ready to point out the huge range of
ethical norms that underpin the modern economy and make it run more effectively.

Myth 2: “Business is survival of fittest and it’s a jungle out there”.

The idea is that life in business is competitive and it is not always fair. It is true that business must be
competitive but it is not true that it is that ‘one does whatever it takes to survive’. Business always rests on a
foundation of shared interests and mutually agreed- upon rules of conduct. The competition, here takes place
not in a jungle but in a community which it presumably both serves and depends upon. Business life is
fundamentally co- operative. It is only with in the mutually shared concerns that competition is possible.
Here competition is identified with ‘war metaphor’ or ‘game metaphor’. Here we can see the misunderstood
nature of competition. Business always involves large co-operative and mutually trusting groups, not only
corporations themselves but also networks of suppliers, service people, customer and investors.

Myth 3: “There’s no such thing as ‘business ethics’, because ethics should be the same everywhere”.

There are two main reasons why ethics, while essential to business, isn’t just exactly the same in business as
it is in other domains of life.

First, business poses special challenges. The enormous productive capacity of corporations and other large
organizations also brings the potential to do substantial harm, both to the lives of stakeholders and to the
natural environment. So we face questions in the world of commerce that we just don’t face in other parts of
our lives.

Second, the special social role of business implies a tailor- made set of ethical principles. One of the
defining characteristics of business is that it is competitive: companies are naturally driven to do better than
others in their field. This kind of behavior is socially beneficial- consumers benefit when companies
compete vigorously to produce a better product, at a better price, than the other guy.

In practice, we can look at business ethics as having two importantly different components.

One component of the rules needed to civilize a tough, competitive game. The part of business ethics
essentially has to do with the norms- and- principles that ought to govern business behavior with regard to
outsiders.

The other component of business ethics is about the ethical rules that ought to be embodied in relationships
within the organization. Here, we do value cooperative behavior; so managers work hard to shape corporate

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culture to enable employees to trust each other and to work together toward shared goals. Business is
morally complex that way.

Myth 4:“Business ethics is just a matter of laws and regulation.”

This is not just false, but dangerous. The tendency to confuse ethics and law is tempting, especially in an age
in which the business section of the newspaper increasingly refers to “ethics laws” and “ethics regulations”.
But we should not be misled by that short- hand way of speaking. Ethics is not just legal laws; it
encompasses much more than mere rules and regulations. The law prescribes only the bare minimum
standard of human conduct within the society. While ethics is concerned not only with ‘legal actions’ but
‘moral actions’. There are plenty of things that are legal but unethical; and there are also behaviors that are
illegal, but arguably ethically OK.

For instance, a doctor following the Hippocratic code is just doing the bare minimum for his patient. His
legal obligations are covered as long as he stays within the Hippocratic code, where as his ethics will dictate
that he should do everything in his power, even at great personal sacrifice, to bring about the welfare of his
patient, to give him a new lease of life and to strengthen his will to live.

These surely aren’t all the myths there are about business ethics. But these strike us as four that are
particularly common, particularly troublesome, and particularly clearly wrong. These refutations of business
ethics shows that ethics is need in business.

OBJECTIVES- ANALYSIS- EVALUATION- THERAPUTIC ADVICE

These four points have a vital role in business ethics. The objectives of business ethics is that applying
ethical principles in the particular area of business. Analysis denotes in business ethics we need certain kind
of analysis for the welfare of the community. The members who are related with that particular business
have a responsibility to analysis of ethical issues in their work. The time to time there is a change in business
transactions. Therefore proper analysis is needed in time to time. That analysis leads to take an evaluation on
the basis of conclusion of that particular case. Therapeutic advice denotes that the members of the business
should get therapeutic advice in their issues related with the business work. If they need any type of advice,
counseling, health care facility, education for their children, justice in distribution of justice, etc……

The following five levels of business ethics try to explain the above four elements are necessary in any type
of business transactions.

LEVELS OF BUSINESS ETHICS

Business ethics functions in the following levels;

1. The Individual level

2. The Organizational level

3. The Associational level

4. The Societal level

5. The International level

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1. The Individual level

It deals with the different nuances of transaction of good between human beings. It explains the role of an
individual in the area of production of goods. The orthodox way of explaining the production of goods
defines it in terms of wealth and money. The traditional economists like Adam Smith and David Ricardo,
support this orthodox way of production of goods. But the ethical principles related to business present the
business transaction of individuals beyond the economic terms. By producing and exchanging goods and
services, individuals take part in the nurturing of the society in large. Each individual has to play a vital role
in the development of the society. This role cannot be explained merely in terms of money. Therefore
business transactions between individual invite the ethical interventions.

2. The Organizational level

Organizational level is a system of practice. As in the case of individual level, in organizational level also
the principles are to be applied. Organization does not mean merely an aggregate of individuals. Rather it is
functioning of individuals for a common good and purpose. In order to attain this good purpose a system has
to maintain certain ethical principles.

3. The Associational level

Associational level is closely related to organizational level. It deals with the grievances of the laboures in a
system. In the organizational level, all the workers in a system function for a common good. Where as in the
associational level, the concentration is on the ethical issues related to health, education, and the well-being
of the workers in a system. This means that certain ethical principles are to be observed in the running of a
system of work. Therefore, business ethics is interested in the area of associational level.

4. The Societal level

In business ethics, society as a bag round to any form of exchange plays a vital role. It is in perspective of
the development of society that production and distribution of goods and services are arranged. Each
industry and business firm is responsible to the society for which it is functioning. This is what is meant by
the societal level in business ethics.

5. The International level

With reference to business ethics, international considerations are also important. In this globalized era no
business can be conceived without an international concern. As an active member of any international
organization for as an international treaties. A country cannot take independent decisions. In spite of all
these limitations, the responsibility for all the people of all walks of life is to be taken into account. Business
ethics urges that mean profit should not be the motto of business. The ‘haves’ of this world should do justice
to ‘have not’. As far as the international level ensuring the justice to the needy.

OTHER THREE LEVELS OF BUSINESS ETHICS

MICRO, MACRO AND MOLAR LEVELS OF BUSINESS ETHICS

*Micro level of business ethics: It deals with the rules of fair exchange between two individuals. Micro –
ethics in business is very much part and parcel of traditional ethics. It deals with the intentions,
consequences and other implications of individual actions. The peculiar to micro business ethics is the idea
of fair exchange, along with it, the notion of a fair wage, fair treatment. At this level micro ethics works as
Aristotle’s notion of ‘commutative justice’.
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*Macro level of business ethics: it deals with the institutional or cultural rules of commerce for an entire
society, which may be call as the ‘business world’.At this level, applied ethics raises questions like this
‘what is the purpose of the free market?’ May be it is the most efficient way to distribute goods and services
throughout society. Macro ethics, in other words, is an attempt to take in the big picture to understand the
nature of the business world and functions as such.

*Molar level of business ethics: it is an area concerning social practices of the corporation- the basic unit of
commerce today. The definite molar unit of modern business is the corporation. In particular, they are
questions that concern the role of the corporation in society and the role of the individual in the corporation.

BUSINESS AND THE ETHICS OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The social responsibility movement is one aspect of the overall discipline of business ethics. Madsen and
Shafritz refine the definition of business ethics to be;

1. An application of ethics to the corporate community.

2. A way to determine responsibility in business dealings.

3. The identification of important business and social issues.

4. A critique of business.

Items 3 and 4 are often matter of social responsibility. There has been a great deal of public discussion and
writing about items 3 and 4. However, there needs to be more written about items 1 and 2, about how
business ethics can manage.

Writings about social responsibility often do not address practical matters of managing ethics in the
workplace. Examples; developing codes, updating policies and procedures, approaches to resolving ethical
dilemmas, etc.

MODULE IV

MEDIA ETHICS

Media ethics is a branch of applied ethics deals with the problems regarding moral issues connected with
media. It acts as codes of media or canons of journalism. Professional Journalist Association (PJA) and
News Broadcasting Association (NBA) together had put forward canons of journalism. The most important
canons of journalism are supposed to observe sincerity, truthfulness, commitment, accuracy, decency, and
impartiality while gathering news. Media plays an important role in the social as well as political life of
man. Media functions as the sources of getting information regarding events taking place all over the world.
Journalists are considered as ‘watchdogs’ of the public.

THE STATUS OF PRINT AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA IN INDIAN CONTEXT- THE FOURTH
ESTATE- THE MEDIA AND THE ROLE BASED OBLIGATION

In India, ‘Media’ plays a vital role in nurturing values. In order to uphold the motto of democracy, (of the
people, for the people and by the people) media is placed as the ‘Fourth Estate’ among the other three pillars
of democracy (the other three estates are, Assembly or Parliament, Executive and Judiciary).

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The most important aspect of democracy is the freedom to disagree with others. This means that every
citizen in a democracy has got the freedom of expression. This is guaranteed in the constitution of India. The
role of media in democracy is related to this freedom.(Article 19 -22: The Freedom of speech and
Expression)

The responsibilities of media in democracy are to bridge between the government and its people. People
have to know the policies and objectives of government. In the same way the government has to know the
wishes and aspirations of its people.

In the light of this role of media in democracy, we have to analyze the criteria of the good functioning of the
media. The following criteria’s are essential for media in order to be called ‘good media’.

*It should present or print, all important news and provide information, comment and guidance that is most
useful to its readers and viewers.

*It should report fully and explain the meaning of local, national and international events, which are of
major significance to its own community. Its editorial should provide useful opinions on matters related to
its readers.

*By reflecting the total image of its own community in its news coverage and by providing wise counsel in
its editorials a good newspaper becomes a public conscious.

*The staff of the newspaper must possess the professional pride and competence necessary to give the life to
media.

*News and comments of most immediate interest and importance to the local community should have the
priority in media.

*Finally, a good newspaper should be guided in the publication of all material by a concern for truth,
freedom, human dignity and the respect for the accepted standard of the community.(You should have aware
of general concepts and history of Indian and Kerala mass media history)

RESPONSE TO PUBLIC RIGHT TO KNOW OF EVENTS OF PUNLIC IMPOTANCE AND

INTERESRT- RIGHT TO PRIVACY

In a democratic country ‘Right to Information’ plays a major role in the life a citizen. It means that the
important decisions, policies, plans, that have a direct and indirect impact on citizen’s life adopted by a
democratic government should possess transparency. All information about these things should be conveyed
to the people by means of media. It is the right of the people to get right information about the events in the
country. And it is the responsibility of the media to impart the right information to the people.

It is in the bag round of this broader idea related to media, and citizen, the aspect of the right to information
is evolved. India as the largest democracy in the world had passed the Right to Information Act for its
citizen (12-05-2005). The aim of this act is to assure the transparency of all the public systems of the
country. Right to Information Act and Right to Information are related to media should go hand in hand,
because both are indispensible for a democratic system.

In relation to media ethics, Right to Privacy is an important aspect in a democratic system. Right to Privacy
defines the borders to which media can reach at without interrupt the privacy of a person. As a citizen of a

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democratic system and as a part of public system each person must maintain transparence. This does not
mean that everything should be disclosed to media by a person. He /She have got the right to maintain one’s
own privacy. If a person feels that his/her privacy is marred, he/she have got the right to file the defamation
case against media. Depending upon gravity of the case the responsible persons of media will be punished.
(IPC- Session 500)

ISSUES IN INFORMATION AND GATHERING OF NEWS (COMPLETENESS, UNDERSTANDING,

ACCURACY, OBJECTIVITY, FACT TRUTH, AVOIDING BIAS AND HARM)

NEWS;

N: Novelty and News value

E: Eventful and Emphasis

W: Wanted and worthness

S: Significant and source

*Basic factors of news are 6 questions. They are; where, when, what, who, why, how. This question’s
answer constitutes news. The body of the news is like an inverted pyramid style. (Introduction – express the
different stages of content – conclusion)

CODE OF ETHICS

Principles of journalism deal with how news should be got from various sources and reported. Ethics are the
moral principles involved in news reporting and coverage. A journalist needs to have certain moral
principles to be allowed in his/her profession which could be termed ‘professional ethics’. Ethics could not
be forced on anyone but each professional “Codes of Ethics” or “Codes of Conduct” can be seen each as
rules of practice, or an ethical framework, in respect to a certain category of human actions. Ethical
guidelines are peculiar to each profession and are designed to prevent the abuse or unrestrained use of the
powers and privileges of that profession. Each tends to be codified into a formal system or set of rules which
are explicitly adopted by a group of people. Many newspapers in India have formulated their own code of
ethics for their employees to follow.

Gone are the days when journalism was considered to be an idealistic profession and pen’s mightiness over
sword was well- maintained. Now the journalists as well as the society has accepted that journalism is just
another profession and media organizations are considered to be business ventures who compete with each
other to win the race and be ahead in ratings. The rising popularity of electronic media and their giving
utmost importance to entertainment aspect has paved the way for this sort of unhealthy competition.

Even in such a scenario, some basic ethical considerations need to be kept in mind by the journalists.

*Objectivity: A newspaper or channel might be having affiliation towards a particular political party or a
business group. But, in news reporting, such priorities of the media organizations should not get reflected.
Also, the reporter of a news item should also be careful that his individualistic opinions should not form part
of the report. On the whole, views and news need always to be separated if objectivity has to be maintained
by the journalists.
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*Conflict of interests: When there is a conflict of interests, i.e. when public interest and interest of a
particular media organization may not go hand in hand in certain instances. Still, priority needs to be given
to the public interest and not business interests.

*Crass commercialism: Crass commercialism must be avoided, i.e. indulging in unfair practices like obscene
scenes, pictures and writings must be totally given up. That such portrayal would spoil the mind of the
youngsters and children should be kept in mind by the media.

*Sensationalism: Sensationalizing the events/ happenings needs to be avoided by an ethical journalist.

Especially in times of communal clashes and disasters, there is a rush and anxiety among the people to know
the latest news. Instead of cashing on such expectations, media should see to that the reporting should be in
such a way that it does not aggravate the clashes or create unnecessary fear in minds of the people about a
disaster. The temptation to give the latest news and be ahead in the ratings need to be overcome by the
concern for societal order.

*Privacy: It is true sources are needed for breaking news but at the same time privacy also should be
respected and safeguarded and should not be taken for granted by media.

*Obscenity: Extreme care must be taken by journalists that obscene words and depiction are avoided
especially while reporting crime and involving women and children.

*Bribes/Gifts: Not accepting bribes/gifts, even when voluntarily given, is the norm of an ethical journalist.

Not just the journalists, but each and everybody involved in media business right from advertisers,
marketing department and non-working journalists need to follow ethics if media ethics need to be
safeguarded. (Here you should have aware of 7 points mentioned in the module as issues in information and
gathering of news.)

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