Ethics

Definitions of ethics

1. Moral principles.
2. Principles which govern the conduct of any individual or corporate member of a professional organisation.

Characteristics of ethical issues

The Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) identifies the following characteristics, to help you identify whether a business issue is an ethical issue. If one or more of these characteristics is present, it is likely to be an ethical issue:

1. It raises moral questions
2. It is not covered by law
3. It compromises your own or your organisation's values
4. It is against any code of ethics or code of practice
5. It involves your duties and responsibilities
6. Your 'right' decision may not be the same as someone else's 'right' decision
7. It provokes the responses 'should I?' or 'ought I?'

See also

• ACT Competency Framework
• ACT Ethical Code
• Code of practice
• Corporate governance
• Corporate social responsibility
• Agency risk

Other links

Does ethics matter? The Treasurer 2010