The fact that something is legal doesn’t make it ethical. You might think it’s obvious, but it’s not, as evidenced by the fact that a former student recently told me that his Finance professor explicitly told him that if something is legal, it’s ethical…full stop. Of course, the student — my student — knew better, and related the story to me while rolling his eyes. Show So let’s make the case explicitly, and explain why legality doesn’t determine ethics. First, we can proceed by enumerating a few counter-examples:
So, if you want to hold that what is legal is also ethical, you’ve got to bite an awful lot of bullets, and accept as ethical a lot of behaviours that you very likely don’t want to accept. Of course, it could be that the aforementioned Finance professor wasn’t making a general claim about the relationship between ethics and law at all, but was instead making a more subtle point about ethical standards in competitive domains. After all, ethical rules are different in adversarial situations, and it might well be argued that in the highly-regulated world of commerce, businesses should feel justified in helping themselves to whatever strategies aren’t specifically outlawed. But that rationale is, at best, incomplete, and leaves open a different line of argumentation, one that applies even within competitive domains, and one that should truly drive a stake through the heart of the “legal=ethical” nonsense. The ultimate disproof lies in the hidden circularity of the Finance professor’s argument, which we can illuminate by contemplating the process by which something is made illegal. Consider: on what general basis is something made illegal? Let’s set aside cases of unscrupulous legislators passing laws simply to benefit themselves or their friends. In all legitimate cases of lawmaking, the law always has a moral purpose — generally, either to make people’s lives better and safer (e.g., seatbelt laws) or to protect some important right (e.g., food-labelling laws). But if the aforementioned Finance professor were right, there would be no possibility of finding a moral rationale for any new law. After all, according to him, if a behaviour is legal (right now) then it is ethically OK (right now). On what basis could new laws ever be passed? Certainly not on ethical grounds, because per hypothesis if something is currently legal is must be ethically OK. What if some horrible new toxin is discovered, the use of which by industry would pose significant risks to workers or consumers? Should it be banned? According to the Finance professor, it cannot be. After all, using it is legal, so it must be ethical; and if it’s ethical, it cannot be made illegal. Anyone who tells you, or simply implies, that whatever is legal is also ethical is most likely indulging in self-serving rationalizations. When that idea comes up in the private sector, it’s likely that someone is trying to justify some profitable behaviour that is unethical but not-yet illegal. When that same idea comes up in academic circles, it’s more likely the self-interest they are trying to preserve is their own interest in avoiding the hard work of figuring out which business behaviours are unethical, and why. (See also the entry on Law, from the Concise Encyclopedia of Business Ethics.)
Morality- rules of right conduct concerning matters of greater importance. Violations of such can bring disturbance to individual conscience and social sanctions. Law- rules which are enforced by society. Violations may bring a loss of or reduction in freedom and possessions. What is the relation of law to morality? They are not the same. You can not equate the two. Just because something is immoral does not make it illegal and just because something is illegal it does not make it immoral. Not all immoral acts are illegal.
Not all illegal acts are immoral.
You can probable think of many examples to support this view once you think about it. ============================================== Things that are illegal but are thought to be moral (for many)! Drinking under age. Driving over the speed limit. Smoking marijuana. Cheating on a tax return. Splitting a cable signal to send it to more than one television. ================================================= People do not think of themselves or of others as being immoral for breaking these laws. Can you think of other examples?? ================================================= Things that are immoral (for many) but are not illegal. Cheating on your spouse. Breaking a promise to a friend. Using abortion as a birth control measure. People can not be arrested or punished with imprisonment or fines for doing these things. Can you think of other examples?? ================================================= What is the relation of morality to law? Well, when enough people think that something is immoral they will work to have a law that will forbid it and punish those that do it. When enough people think that something is moral, they will work to have a law that forbids it and punishes those that do it repealed. ================================================= Proceed to the next section of the chapter by clicking here>> section. � Copyright Stephen O Sullivan and Philip A. Pecorino 2002. All Rights reserved. What is unethical is not necessarily illegal?'Unethical' defines as something that is morally wrong, whilst something being 'illegal' means it is against the law. In an illegal act, the decision-making factor is the law. For an unethical act, the deciding agent is the man's own conscience. An unethical deed may be against morality but not against the law.
Can a legal decision also be an unethical one?Yes, there may be some unethical actions that can be legal as well. Being unethical does not always mean remaining illegal as well. For example, if a person lies about work or a project from some other person in the workplace, it is considered unethical.
What makes something ethical or unethical?Answer. Unethical behavior can be defined as actions that are against social norms or acts that are considered unacceptable to the public. Ethical behavior is the complete opposite of unethical behavior. Ethical behavior follows the majority of social norms and such actions are acceptable to the public.
Who determines whether a business activity is ethical is unethical conduct always illegal?The acceptability of behavior in business is determined by not only the organization but also stakeholders such as customers, competitors, government regulators, interest groups, and the public as well as each individual's personal principles and values. No, unethical conduct isn't always illegal.
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True or false: a specific behavior that is deemed illegal is not necessarily unethical.
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