BUSINESS ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Lesson 4: Belief Systems and Ethics

Ethics cannot be separated from religion and belief. The world’s eight major religions are
Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Shintoism. Each of
them has also prescribed ethical standards on certain aspects of business.

Ethics cannot be separated from religion and belief. The world’s eight major religions are
Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Shintoism. Each of
them has founded a set of beliefs, rituals, and system of worship. Each has also prescribed
ethical standards on certain aspects of business.

Religion is deeply embedded in the culture of every society. It influences people’s way of life
such as the Jewish and Christian beliefs in the West, Islam with the Arabs, Hinduism in India,
and Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism in East Asia.

To act ethically is a two-way process. First, an individual has to find out what should be done,
given a particular situation. Second is the actual act of doing it. In the first, there is an ethical
theory needed to determine what should be done. In the second, the act of doing requires
moral character.

Religion comes in the actual act of doing the ethical act, which is really hard to do. For some, it
takes moral courage to do what they have to do in a particular situation. They act based on
faith and for many, religion is a source of moral strength.

Judaism
- There are about 12 to 17 million Jews in the United States and in Israel.
Jews are divided into three groups:
 Middle Eastern or Oriental Jews
 Sephardic Jews from Spain and Portugal
 Ashkenazi Jews from Europe
The eleven core Jewish values form the basis of ethics in Judaism.
1. Honesty. The Jews are taught to be always truthful.
2. Integrity. It is the consistency in words and actions.
3. Brit. It means always keeping one’s word.
4. Loyalty. It is developing a trusting relationship with God, parents, friends, and tradition.
5. Tzedakah. It means refraining from being judgmental and doing acts of charity to the poor.
6. Chesed. It means being kind and merciful to others.
7. Respect for human dignity. It is respect for human life since all of us are created in the image
and likeness of God.
8. Respect for Law. It is the practice of good citizenship by abiding by the laws of the
community.
9. Accountability. It means each individual is held accountable for his/her actions and is
therefore answerable to God and to others.
10. Taking responsibility. Ethical people take responsibility for their decisions and set example
for others.
11. Tikkun Olam. We can contribute something to make the world a better place by fighting
oppression, corruption and exploitation.

Judaism has its contributions to human behaviour at work:

- One of the guiding principles is to have high regard for work.
- A person should be concerned with the welfare of others.
- The Jews believe that to acquire wealth through profit in business is wrong because it
leads to envy or greed.
- A person should have the things needed for survival and happiness.
Certain rules to follow in business organization:
- Employers and employees follow different set of rules because they have different
positions.
- Employers should be aware of the extent of their employees’ capacity and are not allowed
to insult or embarrass them. They are also not permitted to withhold salaries because of debt.
 - Jewish employees should be allowed to go home before the sun sets during Sabbath and
holidays.
- Employees should always be productive.
- Employers are required to pay employees fairly and on time. And workers should be given
privileges such as work breaks and the freedom to organize themselves.

Christianity
- Has around two billion followers with many branches and churches.
Three main branches of Christianity:
• Catholic
• Orthodox
• Protestant
- The Christian Bible is the main guide to determine what is ethical and moral. All of the 72
books in the Bible are believed to be inspired by God, thus, it has become the source of
knowledge on what is right and wrong.
Ethics in Christianity is three-fold:
1. The values propagated in Christian belief are based on the Christian Scriptures.
2. Behaviour is related to the behaviour of Christian prophets.
3. Ethics is based on the standards of behaviour taught by Jesus.
-Christians believe in loving God who created the universe. To do good or evil is a
choice. God has given us free will and if one chooses to obey God’s commandments, he will be
morally upright and will eventually have a meaningful life. If Christians succumb to suffering,
they can always turn to a God who loves them and helps them carry their burdens. Ultimately,
God wants each one of us to love one another as we love ourselves.
- Jesus Christ is the central figure in all of Christian teachings. Jesus spoke through the
parables to warn businessmen against greed and excessive love for materials things such as
money. Christianity also emphasizes justice in the form of honouring contracts or agreements
and working for a common good.

Hinduism
- is primarily centered in South Asia and nearly 85% of Hindus live in India.
- has about a billion followers
- Hindus worship Brahman who is considered the source of ultimate oneness in the form
of gods and goddesses. These representations can be idols, temples, animals, mountains, rivers,
and so on.
- The Hindus’ present life is brought about by whatever actions or behaviors they had in
the past. This is the law of karma. Hindus believe that there is a continuous cycle of
reincarnation.
- Karma is a term for an act or deed, whether good or bad, which may result in either
happiness or misfortune. Acts of charity, kindness, and other good deeds end up with
favourable outcomes and the ends to suffering and misfortune. Karma can also be described as
cause and effect, or “what you sow, you reap.”
- Ancient Hindu scriptures such as Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutra have
been used to develop the Vedanta, the ethics of the Hindus for practical life.
- Hindus have a positive outlook towards different aspects of human life such as work.
How the work is done (performance) is more important than what particular work is done. They
value commitment to work and they are held accountable for results. They are dedicated
workers. They also protect the interest of the organization where they work.

Buddhism
-Nearly 2500 years ago, Siddhartha Gautama separated from Hinduism and became
known as the Budda or “Enlightened One”.
- 350 million Buddhists in China
- 90% of Thailand’s population are Buddhists
- Buddhism is based on the teachings of Buddha. Buddhists do not worship gods or God.
- Buddhists believe in the cycle of rebirths and part of this rebirth is suffering.
- Buddhists do not acknowledge companies which do not give importance to the
environment and animals. They believe that the world has become very materialistic and
therefore, people should be taught not to be attached to worldly possessions. People can
engage in business activities and may become wealthy but money, status, and power should
not conquer them.

Islam
-The history of Islam started with Muhammed. Upon his death, majority of the Arab
countries adopted Islam. At present, Islam has about a billion followers. Muslims believe that
Muhammed is God’s last prophet.
- Quran, the holy book of Muslims provides the basic principle on how to deal with life
including business.
- Muslims believe that Allah is the Almighty God who is the creator of the universe. Allah
is the source of good and evil and whatever happens to humans is His will. Allah is considered
powerful and strict and whoever believes in Allah is his servant. At the end of one’s earthly life,
the person will be judged according to his good deeds and devotion to Allah. Giving one’s life to
Allah is a sure way of entering Paradise.
- Islamic ethics is governed by freedom, responsibility, and honesty. Gambling is
restricted among Muslims. But they are not restricted from engaging in business activities or
making a profit.

Confucianism
- was the religion propagated by Confucius in China in the 5th century BC.
- are found in China and Korea
- is one of the three traditional religions of China and the fundamental belief system of
the Chinese. The other two are Buddhism and Taoism.
- The teachings of Confucius advocate stability by organizing the society and places
more emphasis on the common good and welfare of all through interdependence.
- profit should be acquired with righteousness and a business organization should attend
to the needs of its stakeholders. The most important core value in Chinese business practice is
interpersonal relationships built on trust and reciprocity.

Taoism
- was based on the Tao Te Ching or the Book of the Way and Virtue by Lao Tzu.
- Taoists are found in Taiwan and other Chinese minorities found in Southeast Asian
countries.
- Promotes inner peace within an individual and harmony with the surroundings.
- Tao means the path or the way. The Tao is considered as the cause of everything which
means that if one follows the Tao, there is harmony; if not, there is chaos.

Three basic tenets:

 Tao – the universal laws of nature
 Wu Wei – means letting go
 Yin and Yang – means dualism or interconnecting opposites. The black dot in the white
are represents that there may be opposing aspects of the other within itself and vice
versa. This means that Yin and Yang may be opposites but they are interdependent.

Shintoism
-is the ethnic religion of Japan which started around the 7 th century AD. The emergence
of Shintoism is closely tied to the development of Japan as a nation.
- Shinto comes from the Chinese word Shen or divine being and Tao which means way
of the spirits. Shinto has no god and no commandments. Shintos worship sacred spirits called
kami which are found in nature such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, and other geographic
forms.
- Shinto’s ethical principles however, were inspired by Confucianism. Its ethics is based
on the idea that all human beings are basically good and the world is good as well. Shintoism
leads the Japanese to respect nature since people and kami co-exist unlike the Western
counterparts wherein people control nature for profit.
- Shintoism also encourages group effort which recognizes individuals in a group, such as
treating employees like a family.
Prepared by: Mrs. Marykay Janilette B. Docot
BESR Teacher