WHAT IS ETHICS?

Each society forms a set if rules that establishes the boundaries of generally accepted
behavior. These rules are often expressed in statements about how people should behave,
and they fit together to form the moral code by which a society lives. Unfortunately, the
different rules often have contradictions, and you can be uncertain about which rule to
follow. For instance, if you witness a friend copy someone else answers while taking an
exam, you might be caught in conflict between loyalty to your friend and the value if telling the truth. Sometimes, the rules do not seem to cover new situations, and you must
determine how to apply the existing rules or develop new ones. You may strongly support
personal privacy, but in a time when employers track employee e-mail and Internet Usage,
what rules do you think are acceptable to govern the appropriate use of company resources?
The term MORALITY refers to social conventions about right and wrong that are so widely shared that they become the basis for an established consensus. However, one's
view if There is widespread agreement on the immorality of murder, theft, and arson,but other behaviors that are accepted in one culture might be unacceptable in other. For example, in the United States it is their declining years . In most Middle Eastern Countries, however,elderly parents would never be placed in such a facility;they remain at home and are cared for by other family members.
Another example concerns attitudes toward the illegal copying of software(piracy),
which range from strong opposition to acceptance as a standard approach ti business.
In 2003,36 percent of all software in circulation world wide was pirated, at a cost of $29 billion to software vendors. The highest piracy rates were in Vietnam and China, where 92 percent of the software was pirated. In the United States, the piracy rate was 22percent. 4 moral issues such as abortion, the death penalty, and gun control are continuously debated, and both sides feel their arguments are on solid moral ground.

DEFINITION OF ETHICS

Ethics is a set if beliefs about right and wrong behavior. Ethical behavior conforms to
generally accepted social norms, many of which are almost universal. However, although nearly everyone would agree that lying and cheating are unethical, what constitutes ethical behavior on many other issues is a matter of opinion. For example, most people would not steal an umbrella for someone's home, but a person who finds an umbrella in a
theater might be tempted to keep it. A person's opinion of what represents ethical behavior is Strongly influenced by a combination of family influences, life experiences,education,religious beliefs,personal values, and peer influences.
As Children grow, they learn complicated tasks-walking, riding a bike, writing the
alphabet-what they perform out of habit for the rest of their lives. People also develop habits that make it easier to choose between what society considers good or bad.