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How to Write an Ethics Paper: Guide & Ethical Essay Examples

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An ethics essay is a type of academic writing that explores ethical issues and dilemmas. Students should evaluates them in terms of moral principles and values. The purpose of an ethics essay is to examine the moral implications of a particular issue, and provide a reasoned argument in support of an ethical perspective.

Writing an essay about ethics is a tough task for most students. The process involves creating an outline to guide your arguments about a topic and planning your ideas to convince the reader of your feelings about a difficult issue. If you still need assistance putting together your thoughts in composing a good paper, you have come to the right place. We have provided a series of steps and tips to show how you can achieve success in writing. This guide will tell you how to write an ethics paper using ethical essay examples to understand every step it takes to be proficient. In case you don’t have time for writing, get in touch with our professional essay writers for hire . Our experts work hard to supply students with excellent essays.

What Is an Ethics Essay?

An ethics essay uses moral theories to build arguments on an issue. You describe a controversial problem and examine it to determine how it affects individuals or society. Ethics papers analyze arguments on both sides of a possible dilemma, focusing on right and wrong. The analysis gained can be used to solve real-life cases. Before embarking on writing an ethical essay, keep in mind that most individuals follow moral principles. From a social context perspective, these rules define how a human behaves or acts towards another. Therefore, your theme essay on ethics needs to demonstrate how a person feels about these moral principles. More specifically, your task is to show how significant that issue is and discuss if you value or discredit it.

Purpose of an Essay on Ethics

The primary purpose of an ethics essay is to initiate an argument on a moral issue using reasoning and critical evidence. Instead of providing general information about a problem, you present solid arguments about how you view the moral concern and how it affects you or society. When writing an ethical paper, you demonstrate philosophical competence, using appropriate moral perspectives and principles.

Things to Write an Essay About Ethics On

Before you start to write ethics essays, consider a topic you can easily address. In most cases, an ethical issues essay analyzes right and wrong. This includes discussing ethics and morals and how they contribute to the right behaviors. You can also talk about work ethic, code of conduct, and how employees promote or disregard the need for change. However, you can explore other areas by asking yourself what ethics mean to you. Think about how a recent game you watched with friends started a controversial argument. Or maybe a newspaper that highlighted a story you felt was misunderstood or blown out of proportion. This way, you can come up with an excellent topic that resonates with your personal ethics and beliefs.

Ethics Paper Outline

Sometimes, you will be asked to submit an outline before writing an ethics paper. Creating an outline for an ethics paper is an essential step in creating a good essay. You can use it to arrange your points and supporting evidence before writing. It also helps organize your thoughts, enabling you to fill any gaps in your ideas. The outline for an essay should contain short and numbered sentences to cover the format and outline. Each section is structured to enable you to plan your work and include all sources in writing an ethics paper. An ethics essay outline is as follows:

• Background information
• Thesis statement
• Restate thesis statement
• Summarize key points
• Final thoughts on the topic

Using this outline will improve clarity and focus throughout your writing process.

Ethical Essay Structure

Ethics essays are similar to other essays based on their format, outline, and structure. An ethical essay should have a well-defined introduction, body, and conclusion section as its structure. When planning your ideas, make sure that the introduction and conclusion are around 20 percent of the paper, leaving the rest to the body. We will take a detailed look at what each part entails and give examples that are going to help you understand them better.  Refer to our essay structure examples to find a fitting way of organizing your writing.

Ethics Paper Introduction

An ethics essay introduction gives a synopsis of your main argument. One step on how to write an introduction for an ethics paper is telling about the topic and describing its background information. This paragraph should be brief and straight to the point. It informs readers what your position is on that issue. Start with an essay hook to generate interest from your audience. It can be a question you will address or a misunderstanding that leads up to your main argument. You can also add more perspectives to be discussed; this will inform readers on what to expect in the paper.

Ethics Essay Introduction Example

You can find many ethics essay introduction examples on the internet. In this guide, we have written an excellent extract to demonstrate how it should be structured. As you read, examine how it begins with a hook and then provides background information on an issue. 

Imagine living in a world where people only lie, and honesty is becoming a scarce commodity. Indeed, modern society is facing this reality as truth and deception can no longer be separated. Technology has facilitated a quick transmission of voluminous information, whereas it's hard separating facts from opinions.

In this example, the first sentence of the introduction makes a claim or uses a question to hook the reader.

Ethics Essay Thesis Statement

An ethics paper must contain a thesis statement in the first paragraph. Learning how to write a thesis statement for an ethics paper is necessary as readers often look at it to gauge whether the essay is worth their time.

When you deviate away from the thesis, your whole paper loses meaning. In ethics essays, your thesis statement is a roadmap in writing, stressing your position on the problem and giving reasons for taking that stance. It should focus on a specific element of the issue being discussed. When writing a thesis statement, ensure that you can easily make arguments for or against its stance.

Ethical Paper Thesis Example

Look at this example of an ethics paper thesis statement and examine how well it has been written to state a position and provide reasons for doing so:

The moral implications of dishonesty are far-reaching as they undermine trust, integrity, and other foundations of society, damaging personal and professional relationships. 

The above thesis statement example is clear and concise, indicating that this paper will highlight the effects of dishonesty in society. Moreover, it focuses on aspects of personal and professional relationships.

Ethics Essay Body

The body section is the heart of an ethics paper as it presents the author's main points. In an ethical essay, each body paragraph has several elements that should explain your main idea. These include:

• A topic sentence that is precise and reiterates your stance on the issue.
• Evidence supporting it.
• Examples that illustrate your argument.
• A thorough analysis showing how the evidence and examples relate to that issue.
• A transition sentence that connects one paragraph to another with the help of essay transitions .

When you write an ethics essay, adding relevant examples strengthens your main point and makes it easy for others to understand and comprehend your argument. 

Body Paragraph for Ethics Paper Example

A good body paragraph must have a well-defined topic sentence that makes a claim and includes evidence and examples to support it. Look at part of an example of ethics essay body paragraph below and see how its idea has been developed:

Honesty is an essential component of professional integrity. In many fields, trust and credibility are crucial for professionals to build relationships and success. For example, a doctor who is dishonest about a potential side effect of a medication is not only acting unethically but also putting the health and well-being of their patients at risk. Similarly, a dishonest businessman could achieve short-term benefits but will lose their client’s trust.

Ethics Essay Conclusion

A concluding paragraph shares the summary and overview of the author's main arguments. Many students need clarification on what should be included in the essay conclusion and how best to get a reader's attention. When writing an ethics paper conclusion, consider the following:

• Restate the thesis statement to emphasize your position.
• Summarize its main points and evidence.
• Final thoughts on the issue and any other considerations.

You can also reflect on the topic or acknowledge any possible challenges or questions that have not been answered. A closing statement should present a call to action on the problem based on your position.

Sample Ethics Paper Conclusion

The conclusion paragraph restates the thesis statement and summarizes the arguments presented in that paper. The sample conclusion for an ethical essay example below demonstrates how you should write a concluding statement.  

In conclusion, the implications of dishonesty and the importance of honesty in our lives cannot be overstated. Honesty builds solid relationships, effective communication, and better decision-making. This essay has explored how dishonesty impacts people and that we should value honesty. We hope this essay will help readers assess their behavior and work towards being more honest in their lives.

In the above extract, the writer gives final thoughts on the topic, urging readers to adopt honest behavior.

How to Write an Ethics Paper?

As you learn how to write an ethics essay, it is not advised to immediately choose a topic and begin writing. When you follow this method, you will get stuck or fail to present concrete ideas. A good writer understands the importance of planning. As a fact, you should organize your work and ensure it captures key elements that shed more light on your arguments. Hence, following the essay structure and creating an outline to guide your writing process is the best approach. In the following segment, we have highlighted step-by-step techniques on how to write a good ethics paper.

1. Pick a Topic

Before writing ethical papers, brainstorm to find ideal topics that can be easily debated. For starters, make a list, then select a title that presents a moral issue that may be explained and addressed from opposing sides. Make sure you choose one that interests you. Here are a few ideas to help you search for topics:

• Review current trends affecting people.
• Think about your personal experiences.
• Study different moral theories and principles.
• Examine classical moral dilemmas.

Once you find a suitable topic and are ready, start to write your ethics essay, conduct preliminary research, and ascertain that there are enough sources to support it.

2. Conduct In-Depth Research

Once you choose a topic for your essay, the next step is gathering sufficient information about it. Conducting in-depth research entails looking through scholarly journals to find credible material. Ensure you note down all sources you found helpful to assist you on how to write your ethics paper. Use the following steps to help you conduct your research:

• Clearly state and define a problem you want to discuss.
• This will guide your research process.
• Develop keywords that match the topic.
• Begin searching from a wide perspective. This will allow you to collect more information, then narrow it down by using the identified words above.

3. Develop an Ethics Essay Outline

An outline will ease up your writing process when developing an ethic essay. As you develop a paper on ethics, jot down factual ideas that will build your paragraphs for each section. Include the following steps in your process:

• Review the topic and information gathered to write a thesis statement.
• Identify the main arguments you want to discuss and include their evidence.
• Group them into sections, each presenting a new idea that supports the thesis.
• Write an outline.
• Review and refine it.

Examples can also be included to support your main arguments. The structure should be sequential, coherent, and with a good flow from beginning to end. When you follow all steps, you can create an engaging and organized outline that will help you write a good essay.

4. Write an Ethics Essay

Once you have selected a topic, conducted research, and outlined your main points, you can begin writing an essay . Ensure you adhere to the ethics paper format you have chosen. Start an ethics paper with an overview of your topic to capture the readers' attention. Build upon your paper by avoiding ambiguous arguments and using the outline to help you write your essay on ethics. Finish the introduction paragraph with a thesis statement that explains your main position.  Expand on your thesis statement in all essay paragraphs. Each paragraph should start with a topic sentence and provide evidence plus an example to solidify your argument, strengthen the main point, and let readers see the reasoning behind your stance. Finally, conclude the essay by restating your thesis statement and summarizing all key ideas. Your conclusion should engage the reader, posing questions or urging them to reflect on the issue and how it will impact them.

5. Proofread Your Ethics Essay

Proofreading your essay is the last step as you countercheck any grammatical or structural errors in your essay. When writing your ethic paper, typical mistakes you could encounter include the following:

• Spelling errors: e.g., there, they’re, their.
• Homophone words: such as new vs. knew.
• Inconsistencies: like mixing British and American words, e.g., color vs. color.
• Formatting issues: e.g., double spacing, different font types.

While proofreading your ethical issue essay, read it aloud to detect lexical errors or ambiguous phrases that distort its meaning. Verify your information and ensure it is relevant and up-to-date. You can ask your fellow student to read the essay and give feedback on its structure and quality.

Ethics Essay Examples

Writing an essay is challenging without the right steps. There are so many ethics paper examples on the internet, however, we have provided a list of free ethics essay examples below that are well-structured and have a solid argument to help you write your paper. Click on them and see how each writing step has been integrated. Ethics essay example 1

Ethics essay example 2

Ethics essay example 3

Ethics essay example 4

College ethics essay example 5

Ethics Essay Writing Tips

When writing papers on ethics, here are several tips to help you complete an excellent essay:

• Choose a narrow topic and avoid broad subjects, as it is easy to cover the topic in detail.
• Ensure you have background information. A good understanding of a topic can make it easy to apply all necessary moral theories and principles in writing your paper.
• State your position clearly. It is important to be sure about your stance as it will allow you to draft your arguments accordingly.
• When writing ethics essays, be mindful of your audience. Provide arguments that they can understand.
• Integrate solid examples into your essay. Morality can be hard to understand; therefore, using them will help a reader grasp these concepts.

Bottom Line on Writing an Ethics Paper

Creating this essay is a common exercise in academics that allows students to build critical skills. When you begin writing, state your stance on an issue and provide arguments to support your position. This guide gives information on how to write an ethics essay as well as examples of ethics papers. Remember to follow these points in your writing:

• Create an outline highlighting your main points.
• Write an effective introduction and provide background information on an issue.
• Include a thesis statement.
• Develop concrete arguments and their counterarguments, and use examples.
• Sum up all your key points in your conclusion and restate your thesis statement.

Contact our academic writing platform and have your challenge solved. Here, you can order essays and papers on any topic and enjoy top quality. 

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Essay on Ethics for Students and Children

500+ words essay on ethics.

Essay on Ethics – Ethics refers to the concepts of right and wrong conduct. Furthermore, ethics is basically a branch of philosophy dealing with the issue of morality. Moreover, ethics consist of the rules of behavior. It certainly defines how a person should behave in specific situations. The origin of ethics is old and it started from the Stone Age . Most noteworthy, over the centuries many religions and philosophers have made contributions to ethics.

Branches of Ethics

First of all, comes the descriptive branch of ethics. Descriptive ethics involve what people actually believe to be right or wrong. On the basis of this, the law decides whether certain human actions are acceptable or not. Most noteworthy, the moral principles of society keep changing from time to time. Therefore, descriptive ethics are also known as comparative ethics. This is because; it compares the ethics of past and present as well as ethics of one society and another.

Normative ethics is another important branch of ethics. Moreover, Normative ethics deals with certain norms or set of considerations. Furthermore, these norms or set of considerations dictate how one should act. Therefore, normative ethics sets out the rightness or wrongness of actions or behaviours. Another name for normative ethics is prescriptive ethics. This is because; it has principles which determine whether an action is right or wrong.

Meta-ethics consists of the origin of the ethical concepts themselves. Meta-ethics is not concerned whether an action is good or evil. Rather, meta-ethics questions what morality itself is. Therefore, meta-ethics questions the very essence of goodness or rightness. Most noteworthy, it is a highly abstract way of analyzing ethics.

Applied ethics involves philosophical examination or certain private and public life issues. Furthermore, this examination of issues takes place from a moral standpoint. Moreover, this branch of ethics is very essential for professionals. Also, these professionals belong to different walks of life and include doctors , teachers , administrators, rulers.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Applications of Ethics

Bioethicists deal with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, and philosophy. Furthermore, Bioethics refers to the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine .

Ethics also have a significant application in business. Moreover, business ethics examines ethical principles in relation to a business environment.

Military ethics involve the questions regarding the application of ethos of the soldier. Furthermore, military ethics involves the laws of war. Moreover, it also includes the question of justification of initiating military force.

Public sector ethics deals with a set of principles that guide public officials in their service. Furthermore, the public sector involves the morality of decision making. Most noteworthy, it consists of the question of what best serves the public’s interests.

In conclusion, ethics is certainly one of the most important requirements of humanity. Furthermore, without ethics, the world would have been an evil and chaotic place. Also, the advancement of humanity is not possible without ethics. There must be widespread awareness of ethics among the youth of society.

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1.2: So why study Ethics?

• Last updated
• Save as PDF
• Page ID 8018

• Mark Whitman
• Alfred State College of Technology SUNY via OpenSUNY

The daily life of most citizens within the United States and the world inclusively live by some form of moral guidance, character, values, and integrity. Albeit, not all of which may be conveniently compartmentalized to a one size fits all for every human being. An individual may be impacted by life course events that alter that which was once held sacred, however does not mean that should they move from one ethical approach to another the action does not render them unethical. This premise holds for the most part universally accurate in-spite of one’s vocation. Yet those that pursue a career in the criminal justice system morality, character, and integrity are paramount. At the end of the day when a shift or watch is complete or more so when a career has concluded the only thing we have that is truly ours is integrity and character (McCartney and Parent, 2015).

So why are ethics of such importance in criminal justice? What are ethics? Where had ethics originated? Taking the latter first, the roots of Ethics are woven into the fabric of the American Social Contract Theory that can be traced to the early teachings of Socrates (470-399 B.C.), Plato (428-348 B.C.), and Aristotle (384-322 B.C.). These philosophers are later found in the social contract era within the works of Thomas Hobbes (1651), John Locke (1689), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1762); and more recently in the works of John Rawls (1921–2002), and within the framework of our justice system (Albanese, 2012; & Pollack, 2010).

Second, the former question; why are ethics important? The United States is a country founded on the “Rule of Law” unlike forms of an oligarchy, plutocracy, or dictatorship forms of government that “Rule by Law”. The Social Contract Theory in America in essence provides authority to local, state, and federal government to provide security of its citizenry through citizen consent, to relinquish certain freedoms, such as taking the law into their own hands. America, since its inception has begun the slow process of less citizen involvement of safety and enforcement of the law by permitting military and law enforcement to perform such tasks (Adler, 1991; Pollack, 2010; & Albanese, 2012).

This contract is the creation of man for the purposes of providing social tranquility administered by government; however in return members of American society expect the highest level of integrity and ethical conduct in doing so (Whitman, 2013). To this point, those employed in the CJ system generally conduct them self with limited supervision and have vast amounts of discretionary authority, specifically this is true within policing. Those that are employed in any one of these fields are human and are subject to bias, prejudice, and emotion. Thus ethical conduct is principal to ensure integrity within the system.

Third, what are ethics? The quick, down and dirty overview so far of this material emphasizes a historical perspective of the topic of ethics. Now what are ethics is a more broad discussion fraught with bias and myth. Hence forth it is important to read, research, and learn for yourself. We shall introduce and discuss “Critical Thinking” as a key component to the study of ethics. Critical thinking requires critical listening and readers are required to form an opinion for one-self, thereby there is no AP, nor can you Google your opinion. Later in this discussion we shall examine processes that are often employed to weed out unsatisfactory police officer candidates being considered for hire. First, it is important to define words that will often be used in this writing:

Character : the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual; "running away was not in keeping with her character"

Critical Thinking : Is the ability to evaluate fact-viewpoint and behavior objectively. Critical Thinking requires Critical Listening that is the ability to listen objectively without forming opinions prior to hearing all facts and points of view. The exercise culminates in the ability to compare that which was conveyed with that which is real, true, accurate, and can be substantiated. In research the critical analysis applies pro/con viewpoints and fact to the question to arrive at a valued opinion.Critical Thinking: Is the ability to evaluate fact-viewpoint and behavior objectively. Critical Thinking requires Critical Listening that is the ability to listen objectively without forming opinions prior to hearing all facts and points of view. The exercise culminates in the ability to compare that which was conveyed with that which is real, true, accurate, and can be substantiated. In research the critical analysis applies pro/con viewpoints and fact to the question to arrive at a valued opinion.

Ethics : The study of Morality (Ortmeier and Meese, 2010).

Factual Judgments : Describe something.

Integrity : the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.

Integrity-Ethics : This involves maintaining high standards of personal conduct. It consists of attributes such as honesty, impartiality, trustworthiness, and abiding by laws, regulations and procedures. It includes not abusing the system nor using the position of authority for personal gain; not bending rules or otherwise trying to beat the system by tampering with evidence, slanting reports, providing inaccurate testimony, etc.; not engaging in assaultive or violent conduct; and not engaging in illegal or immoral activities – either on or off duty. This involves avoiding that conduct which brings discredit to oneself and the police agency (NYS DCJS, 2009).

Morals/Morality : Good conduct, or that which focuses on universal rules of society, how one ought to behave Ortmeier and Meese, 2010).

Values : a person's principles or standards of behavior; one's judgment of what is important in life (Webster’s Dictionary). That which provides guidance.

Value Judgements : a person's principles or standards of behavior; one's judgment of what is important in life; characterize a situation or event by making an evaluative statement. (Ortmeier and Meese, 2010)

What is Ethics?

• Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
• Ethics Resources
• Ethical Decision Making

Ethics is based on well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues.

Some years ago, sociologist Raymond Baumhart asked business people, "What does ethics mean to you?" Among their replies were the following:

"Ethics has to do with what my feelings tell me is right or wrong." "Ethics has to do with my religious beliefs." "Being ethical is doing what the law requires." "Ethics consists of the standards of behavior our society accepts." "I don't know what the word means."

These replies might be typical of our own. The meaning of "ethics" is hard to pin down, and the views many people have about ethics are shaky.

Like Baumhart's first respondent, many people tend to equate ethics with their feelings. But being ethical is clearly not a matter of following one's feelings. A person following his or her feelings may recoil from doing what is right. In fact, feelings frequently deviate from what is ethical.

Nor should one identify ethics with religion. Most religions, of course, advocate high ethical standards. Yet if ethics were confined to religion, then ethics would apply only to religious people. But ethics applies as much to the behavior of the atheist as to that of the devout religious person. Religion can set high ethical standards and can provide intense motivations for ethical behavior. Ethics, however, cannot be confined to religion nor is it the same as religion.

Being ethical is also not the same as following the law. The law often incorporates ethical standards to which most citizens subscribe. But laws, like feelings, can deviate from what is ethical. Our own pre-Civil War slavery laws and the old apartheid laws of present-day South Africa are grotesquely obvious examples of laws that deviate from what is ethical.

Finally, being ethical is not the same as doing "whatever society accepts." In any society, most people accept standards that are, in fact, ethical. But standards of behavior in society can deviate from what is ethical. An entire society can become ethically corrupt. Nazi Germany is a good example of a morally corrupt society.

Moreover, if being ethical were doing "whatever society accepts," then to find out what is ethical, one would have to find out what society accepts. To decide what I should think about abortion, for example, I would have to take a survey of American society and then conform my beliefs to whatever society accepts. But no one ever tries to decide an ethical issue by doing a survey. Further, the lack of social consensus on many issues makes it impossible to equate ethics with whatever society accepts. Some people accept abortion but many others do not. If being ethical were doing whatever society accepts, one would have to find an agreement on issues which does not, in fact, exist.

What, then, is ethics? Ethics is two things. First, ethics refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues. Ethics, for example, refers to those standards that impose the reasonable obligations to refrain from rape, stealing, murder, assault, slander, and fraud. Ethical standards also include those that enjoin virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty. And, ethical standards include standards relating to rights, such as the right to life, the right to freedom from injury, and the right to privacy. Such standards are adequate standards of ethics because they are supported by consistent and well-founded reasons.

Secondly, ethics refers to the study and development of one's ethical standards. As mentioned above, feelings, laws, and social norms can deviate from what is ethical. So it is necessary to constantly examine one's standards to ensure that they are reasonable and well-founded. Ethics also means, then, the continuous effort of studying our own moral beliefs and our moral conduct, and striving to ensure that we, and the institutions we help to shape, live up to standards that are reasonable and solidly-based.

This article appeared originally in  Issues in Ethics  IIE V1 N1 (Fall 1987). Revised in 2010.

What is ethics and why is it important?

 Question: Does acting ethically mean the same thing as being a good person?

Share this video with others you feel are good people and see how they respond to the situations presented. What would you do?

[BrainCraft]. (2015, August 14).  Can You Solve This Dilemma? [Video] . YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xHKxrc0PHg&t=1s

Did you ever wonder why we live as we do? Why do we have school? Taxes? Health insurance? Elected officials? Countries and boarders? Cars? Smartphones?

Did you ever wonder why bad things happen in our world? Like why do we have wars? Slavery? Pollution? Poverty? Crime? Violence?

All of these things did not happen by chance. They are the result of ethical decision making . All things happen because of the decisions of individuals and groups of people who either create change or remain silent as change happens.

As the trolley problem shows, decisions can be complex. How do you make the right decision? How do you behave as a good person? Do you save the most people? Do nothing at all? Do you find out why those people were tied to those tracks in the first place?

To become proficient in making ethical decisions, it helps to understand ethical concepts. For example, are all these words synonyms for the word '  ethical  '?

Make a list of these words and define them in your own words:

Would everyone you know define these in the same way?

What about your values? Where did you get your values? Do you consider them carefully and change them as you learn?

Here is a list of some values:

• Being accepted

When making a decision, which of these values take priority? Is it the same for all of your friends, family and leaders? This is what makes ethics complex. Ethics emerges when values come into conflict. But how does a person or group of people address different values to make the most ethical decision? Can you see why it may be difficult to find clear right answers when making ethical decisions?

Here are some questions that may help you decide whether ethics in important!

If a company develops a vaccine that everyone needs, should everyone get access to it? Including those who cannot afford it? If so, who should pay for that?

Should everyone have access to good food and water? Including those who cannot afford it? If so, who should pay for that?

If having a smartphone or second car means communities will have polluted water and a lower quality of life, should you purchase them?

Should people in power like company executives have salaries hundreds of times higher than the cost of living where their employees make less than the cost of living?

Should a person be excluded from having certain jobs or living in certain places because of where they were born or how they look?

If you feel these are important questions, then you are interested in ethics! Ethics and ethical decision making processes provide the means of addressing these complex issues.

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Part 3: Ethical Duties

31 Why study ethics?

Studying ethics may seem like a superfluous activity. After all, don’t we each have a sense of personal ethics which has guided us throughout our lives? If we each have a kind of ethical “sixth-sense”, why make this a subject of study?

First , studying ethics may help you appreciate ethical problems and ways to reach solutions which can help train that “sixth sense.” For example, ethics may be a bit like art. Many people have different taste in art, much like many people have a different ethical framework that guides their actions. Yet,  studying art–its history, components, movements, influences, famous works, and famous figures–can help you appreciate the art you already enjoy and look critically at art generally. Similarly, studying ethics–its history, components, famous figures, and famous dilemmas–can help you appreciate where your own sense of ethics comes from and help you appreciate ethical problems generally.

Second , studying ethics may help businesses be ethical, which may be crucial for long-term success. Few subjects are more contentious or important as the role of business in society, particularly, whether corporations have social responsibilities that are distinct from maximizing shareholder value. While the phrase “business ethics” is not oxymoronic (i.e., a contradiction in terms), there is plenty of evidence that businesspeople and firms seek to look out primarily for themselves. However, business organizations ignore the ethical and social expectations of consumers, employees, the media, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), government officials, and socially responsible investors at their peril. Legal compliance alone no longer serves the long-term interests of many companies, who find that sustainable profitability requires thinking about people and the planet as well as profits.

In short, good ethics is good business. In the long run, businesses that pay attention to ethics as well as law do better; they are viewed more favorably by customers. But this is a difficult claim to measure scientifically, because “the long run” is an indistinct period of time and because there are as yet no generally accepted criteria by which ethical excellence can be measured. In addition, life is still lived in the short run, and there are many occasions when something short of perfect conduct is a lot more profitable.

Some years ago, Royal Dutch/Shell (one of the world’s largest companies) found that it was in deep trouble with the public for its apparent carelessness with the environment and human rights. Consumers were boycotting and investors were getting frightened, so the company took a long, hard look at its ethic of short-term profit maximization. Since then, changes have been made. The CEO told one group of business ethicists that the uproar had taken them by surprise; they thought they had done everything right, but it seemed there was a “ghost in the machine.” That ghost was consumers, NGOs, and the media, all of whom objected to the company’s seeming lack of moral sensitivity. The market does respond to unethical behavior, even if it is often an imperfect response.

Third , as we studied in Part 1, there is a difference between legal compliance and moral excellence. Few would choose a professional service, health care or otherwise, because the provider had a record of perfect legal compliance, or always following the letter of the law. There are many professional ethics codes, primarily because people realize that law prescribes only a minimum of morality and does not provide purpose or goals that can mean excellent service to customers, clients, or patients.

Business ethicists have talked for years about the intersection of law and ethics. Simply put, what is legal is not necessarily ethical. Conversely, what is ethical is not necessarily legal. There are lots of legal maneuvers that are not all that ethical; the well-used phrase “legal loophole” suggests as much.

Here are two propositions about business and ethics. Consider whether they strike you as true or whether you would need to know more in order to make a judgment.

• Individuals and organizations have reputations. (For an individual, moral reputation is most often tied to others’ perceptions of his or her character: is the individual honest, diligent, reliable, fair, and caring? The reputation of an organization is built on the goodwill that suppliers, customers, the community, and employees feel toward it. Although an organization is not a person in the usual sense, the goodwill that people feel about the organization is based on their perception of its better qualities by a variety of stakeholders: customers or clients, suppliers, investors, employees, government officials).
• The goodwill of an organization is to a great extent based on the actions it takes and on whether the actions are favorably viewed. (This goodwill is usually specifically counted in the sale of a business as an asset that the buyer pays for. While it is difficult to place a monetary value on goodwill, a firm’s good reputation will generally call for a higher evaluation in the final accounting before the sale. Legal troubles or a reputation for having legal troubles will only lessen the price for a business and will even lessen the value of the company’s stock as bad legal news comes to the public’s attention.)

Another reason to think about ethics in connection with law is that the laws themselves are meant to express some moral view. If there are legal prohibitions against cheating the Medicare program, it is because people (legislators or their agents) have collectively decided that cheating Medicare is wrong. If there are legal prohibitions against assisting someone to commit suicide, it is because there has been a group decision that doing so is immoral. Thus the law provides some important cues as to what society regards as right or wrong.

Finally, important policy issues that face society are often resolved through law, but it is important to understand the moral perspectives that underlie public debate—as, for example, in the continuing controversies over stem-cell research, medical use of marijuana, and abortion. Some ethical perspectives focus on rights, some on social utility, some on virtue or character, and some on social justice. People consciously (or, more often, unconsciously) adopt one or more of these perspectives, and even if they completely agree on the facts with an opponent, they will not change their views. Fundamentally, the difference comes down to incompatible moral perspectives, a clash of basic values. These are hot-button issues because society is divided, not so much over facts, but over basic values. Understanding the varied moral perspectives and values in public policy debates is a clarifying benefit in following or participating in these important discussions.

Throughout our discussion on ethics, we will provide links to further reading from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, a powerful resource with many additional readings and case studies.

• Visit the Markkula Center (linked above). The Center posts a number of essays on challenging ethical topics. Read one of these essays, and comment on whether it helped inform your views on the topic.

Business Ethics: 100 Questions Copyright © by Jeff Lingwall is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

627 Ethics Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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People make ethical choices every day, even when they do not realize it. Ethics is a debatable topic that covers many aspects of our daily life.

Ethics essays can help students to understand ethical dilemmas and problems better. Although writing an ethics essay can be challenging, we are always here to help!

Start with choosing an issue you want to discuss in the paper. Some good ethics essay topics and examples we can suggest are:

• The aspects of utilitarianism as an ethical theory
• Ethical dilemmas in the field of healthcare
• Theories that explain human behavior
• The significance of the personal code of ethics
• Should euthanasia/abortion/personal use of drugs be legal?
• Is morality related to society or culture?
• Are there moral obligations all individuals should follow?

Remember that you can discuss other ethics essay questions and topics too. Choose one of the titles that seem most relevant to you. Now you are ready to start working on your paper. Here are ten tips that will help you to write an outstanding essay:

• Research the issue you have selected thoroughly. You should gain an excellent understanding of its aspects, causes, and consequences. Try to rely on credible sources (such as peer-reviewed articles) only.
• If you are not sure that the selected problem is relevant, find an ethics essay example online. This step can also help you to analyze your ethics essay structure and see whether you should make some changes.
• Develop a good outline for your essay. Include an introductory section, several body paragraphs (at least three, if possible), and a summary or a conclusion. Note that an argumentative essay should include a refutation section too.
• Introduce your thesis statement clearly. Your reader should understand the main argument of your essay.
• Discuss all significant aspects related to ethics. Provide a definition of this term and examples of ethical dilemmas that may arise. It can make your paper more engaging to your audience.
• Avoid overly complex sentences. Your essay should look professional but be easy-to-read. Remember that in general, sentences should not be longer than 35 words.
• Discuss your perspectives on ethical issues you are presenting. State your opinion and include the recommendations you would provide. If you have relevant experiences or know people who have faced ethical dilemmas, discuss them in your paper.
• Remember that the last paragraph of the essay is important. You need to present your thesis statement once again, along with the main arguments of your work. Discuss the findings of your study and make a conclusion.
• Support your claims with evidence. Include in-text citations whenever you are referring to someone else’s work. At the same time, your paper should not include information from outside sources only. Add comments to each of the facts you are presenting.
• Check the paper several times before sending it to your professor. You need to make sure that there are no grammatical mistakes. Pay attention to the sentence structure too. An important tip would be to put your essay away for several days and revise your ideas later with “fresh” eyes. Do not hesitate to ask your peers for help in revising your essay too.

Remember to check out essay samples on our website. They are free!

• Ethical Issues of Targeting Uninformed Consumers The rationale behind this statement is that uninformed consumers do not have psychological maturity, meaning that target marketing can force them to make unreasonable decisions and purchases.
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• An Ethical Dilemma Faced by Nestle: Case Analysis International staffing and development help Nestle to organize human resources in accordance with the needs of the company and its strategic goals.
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• Chernobyl Disaster: Ethical Aspects and Effects The cause of the disaster was a faulty design that caused a nuclear reactor to overheat and explode. The constructors of the plant violated the construction technology and there were plenty of design deviations.
• Ethical Issues Surrounding Intellectual Property Rights The owner of the copyright in spite of the absence of necessity to provide the copyright notice on the work is the only person who can determine the ways of possible usage of the work.
• Ethical Subjectivism and Emotivism in Society The challenge is that they are unable to account for the use of moral reason as a driver behind an emotive statement.
• Anthropocentric and Non-Anthropocentric Environmental Ethics In the current reality, non-anthropocentric environmental ethics are impractical in fields of international development, and poverty reduction as the primary focus is on improvements for the human population.
• PepsiCo Ethical Issues & Achievements The firm has established a global code of conduct that generally identifies the main objective of conducting business in the right way as a part of its corporate mechanism aimed at ensuring that customers of […]
• The Link Between Professionalism and Ethics In a sum up professionalism is the equality of being honest and faithful to the profession. Successful engineers are as a result of the moral behaviors and work ethics they endorse in their day to […]
• Ethics and Morality Relationship Ethics is a term used to refer to the body of doctrines that guide individuals to behave in a way that is ideologically right, fine, and appropriate.
• Ethical Dilemma: Example, Problem, and Solution | Essay Example Secondly, I was supposed to show other employees that no one is above the policies of this company and if anyone commits a mistake the individual must be punished.
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• Relationship Between Ethics and Religion Essay While a believer will pose that the two function as a couple, a non-believer, on the other hand will hold that morality is independent of religion.
• Ethical Dilemma as Witnessed in the Cassavetes’ Film “My Sister’s Keeper” Organ transplants require the voluntary participation of donors and the society at large in donating the vital organs from living or deceased members of the society.
• Adelphia Communications Scandal and Ethical Issues This is because of the huge sums of money involved, and the suspicious arrangement the Rigas family made with the company that required the company and the Rigas family to be guarantors of each other.
• Key Ethical Issues in Retailing and Distribution As Barnett et al.observed empirically, there are several self-evident dimensions to ethical consumerism which players in retail and distribution function should comprehensively be aware of, for these dimensions may act in an organized and collective […]
• My Sister’s Keeper: Ethical and Legal Issues When Sara is informed by Campbell that her daughter had the right to reject the kidney donation surgery, Sara argues that Anna was too young to decide for herself and that she was going to […]
• Psychological Testing: Ethical and Legal Issues Two of the cases that have had a major impact on the institution of psychological testing are ‘Larry P.v Riles and Crawford v.
• Business Ethics Is an Oxymoron: Essay Example Business and ethics are incompatible and that is why business ethics is an oxymoron. Business ethics is an oxymoron because business and ethics are incompatible.
• Samsung Company’s Quality Issue and Kantian Ethics Focusing on the distribution of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, it can be stated that the company wanted to sell its product and to obtain profit, failing to ensure that its phone had already been […]
• Ethics of Divorce: Deontology and Utilitarianism Before analyzing the ethics of divorce, the paper first introduces the subject of ethics followed by the theme of divorce in the contemporary societal settings.
• Ethical Issues at the Radiology Department Since the radiographer was not concerned with the fact that the patient could not speak English properly, the former broke the principles of radiography ethics by conducting a procedure that could harm the patient in […]
• Workplace Ethical Issues Essay Harassment of the co-workers or clients is one of the major workplace ethical issues that involve violation of the employers’ workplace ethics policy.
• The Mechanical Engineering Ethics Understanding Ethics refers to a set of values and principles that guide the conduct of members of a profession. Shared responsibility is a quality that enables one to work in a manner that promotes cooperation.
• Ethics by Linda Pasten This discussion looks at the poem’ Ethics’ by Linda Pasten and seeks to try and gain an in-depth understanding of the reason behind Linda Pasten writing of this poem as well as some of the […]
• Ethics in Social Research: Peculiarities of the Genie Case and the Milgram Experiment The main idea of the experiment consists in the physical and even moral injury of the object. The consent of the experiment was not informed.
• Max Weber – The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Max Weber in his book the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism sought to explain the emergence of the modern capitalism and the origin of the modern secular and industrial society.
• Ethical and Legal Considerations in Quantitative Research The proposed research question is appropriate to be used in the study the aim of which is to find out how the students’ interest in playing computer and video games can predict their achievement at […]
• The Philosophical Approaches to Ethics The main point of the argument is that philosophical approaches to business ethics provide guidelines for making ethical business decisions, but some of these approaches are controversial and have no support from most moral scholars.
• Family Therapy: Ethical Dilemmas One of the ethical dilemmas in the case is that of deciding whether or not to disclose the information about Breen’s relationship with her boyfriend to her parents.
• Musk and Tesla: A Strong Code of Corporate Ethics? These guidelines consider the ideas, norms, laws, and business regulations that govern how individuals act within the institution and how the firm operates in the community.
• Death Penalty and Ethics The arguments for the capital punishment as explained earlier are also extremely weak and the practice of death penalty is morally wrong.
• The Ethical Issues of the Mattel Toy Scandal The reasons for the considerable recalls of products were that the toys manufactured on the facilities based in China were dangerous for children’s health due to the lead paint discovered in the toys and the […]
• Laws and ethics Since the law must be obeyed, it becomes enforceable and that is why institutions such as the police and the judiciary have a duty of enforcing the law.
• Ethical Dilemma of Child Abuse In the above example, a nurse has to apply rational judgment to analyze the extent and threats when making decisions in the best interest of the victim of child abuse.
• Apple Corporation Social and Ethical Responsibility The paper will further discuss the methods Apple can utilize to make sure its standards on wage and benefits are adhered to, determine the impacts of increased prices of goods on customer purchasing behavior, and […]
• Legal-Ethical Issues Affecting Patient Rights for the Elderly The kind of relationship that healthcare professionals can have with their elderly clients can have legal and moral implications in relation to patient rights for the elderly.
• Samsung’s Ethical Dilemma of Child Labor The paper will critically analyze the ethical dimensions of the dilemma from the perspective of the utilitarian ethical theory. It will be argued that according to the fundamental principles of the theory, the company’s behavior […]
• Essay on Media Ethics and Principles of Media Companies The ethics of the media becomes necessary in order to address the above issues. The issue of “media ethics” seeks to promote the best standards in the industry.
• Comparison of Codes of Ethics: The American Counseling Association and the American Psychological Association Both the Psychologist and the counselor abide to the same codes of conduct with regard to terminating their services to a client.
• Ethical Dilemmas Facing Teachers The proponents of this system claim that it is authentic and offers a first hand experience to the learners. The needs in this system include having a strong foundation in the areas that the knowledge […]
• Indigenous Australians and Engineering Ethics An analysis of the history of these people shows that they are skeptical of any government involvement in their business, specifically because the legal policies and foundation as stipulated by the federal and state governments […]
• Corporate Social Responsibility at the Tesco PLC Most of them look at the poor and superior activities that the company is engaged in.the impact of both their produce is scrutinized in terms of the value it brings to the society.
• Ethical Leadership: Martin Luther King All individuals were expected to consider his actions and embrace the idea of morality. Through the use of a positive community culture and empowerment tactics, King managed to model such desirable behaviors.
• Business & Legal Issues: Ford Pinto To be more precise, the Ford Pinto case will be evaluated from the legal point of view to establish which laws were violated in the process of corporate decision-making that led to the production of […]
• Volkswagen Company’s Emissions Fraud: Ethical Issues The scandal, otherwise known as the VW emissions fraud, occurred when the EPA carried out a series of tests on VW vehicles and discovered that the cars were not in compliance with emission regulations established […]
• Ethical Relativism: Advantages and Disadvantages It is necessary to acknowledge this difference to understand that the world is diverse and unequal. The most significant weakness refers to the fact that it is possible to rely on ethical relativism to justify […]
• Ethical Issues With the Stanford Prison Experiment – Essay Nowadays, modern psychologists are expected to adhere to a strict and rigid code of ethical principles in order to ensure the validity of their practices and the safety of the patients and participants.
• What is the Importance of Ethics When it Comes to Governance? This form of governance depends on curtailing the freedom of the ruled in order to maximize the power of the rulers.
• Dealing With Ethical Issues in the Workplace In the second case, the initial perception of the manager as to the applicant’s personality is that of a qualified, mature and sociable person.
• The Ford Pinto Case and Ethical Dilemma Lee Iacocca, the Ford company’s president, was accused of disregarding the need to improve the safety of Pinto cars due to the increased cost.
• Ethical Theories and Nepotism Relationships Relating to the ethical theory of ethics of justice to nepotism, it should be mentioned that justice is considered to be fair on the basis of various human considerations.
• Business Ethics: Is It Profitable? Business ethics is a set of professional ethics that tries to inspect ethical problem or the principles of ethics that can emerge in a business organization. Implementation of ethics in a business organization increases costs […]
• Apple’s Ethical Challenges Regarding Labor Practices Despite the fact that this aspect violates Apple’s principles of ethical supply chains, which prohibit the use of child labor, the company continued to cooperate with the supplier for another three years.
• Quebec Bridge Collapse and Ethical Issues Since the commission of inquiry did find out that the change of design was one of the factors that led to the collapse of the bridge, many engineers perceive that Theodore Cooper changed the design […]
• Teleological vs. Deontological Ethics They are meta-ethics, deontological ethics, hedonism, normative ethics, teleological ethics, and many others The present paper is aimed at describing teleological and deontological ethics as well as the differences between them.
• Code of Ethics in the Hospitality Industry The culture of hotel employees’ behavior includes all the aspects of personal external and internal culture, namely, the rules of behavior and the ability to express oneself correctly and to observe speech etiquette.
• Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing Informatics One of the basic underpinnings is the fact that confidentiality violations can result in various issues for the patient whose well-being can be threatened, which is unacceptable for the nurse whose job is to ensure […]
• Microsoft Corporation’s Ethical Perspectives A global organization like Microsoft has both ethical and social responsibility issues it has to deal with in the course of its operations. According to Microsoft, employee diversity is a good indication of the company’s […]
• Ethical Dilemmas in Counselling and Treatment Methods The case of Brett has become an ethical issue based on the following; questions are revolving around what information can be released to the parents and parents request to review the diagnosis since no procedure […]
• Ethics and Safety in Nursing Informatics It is suggested that, first of all, nurses need to inform patients about the type of the accumulated data that may be disclosed and with whom it can be shared prior the beginning of the […]
• Ethical Issues in Interior Design Lastly, is the issue of honesty and an interior designer should always be honest as this principle forms the core of customer relations in any business.
• The Concept of Environmental Ethics Environmental ethics is concerned with the ethical relationship of human beings with the environment. Human beings must relate ethically with all other living organisms.
• Early Childhood Education Center’s Ethical Dilemma Therefore, it is necessary to involve different people in the discussion of this case because there are several ethical responsibilities applied to a new child, the children of the class, the staff, parents, and the […]
• Criminal Justice Ethics Definition Criminal justice ethics involves all the codes as well as standards that apply to all the concerned parties in the criminal justice system for example attorneys, prosecutors, and the other entire professionals in the criminal […]
• Analysis of the Differences Between Laws and Ethics Ethics tells people what they ought to do and in what ways. In conclusion, law and ethics are similar because they aim to promote order and cohesion in society.
• Richard Angelo: A Serial Killer and His Ethical Dilemma The convicted claimed he made the injections to cause crises to be able to revive patients and become a hero in front of his colleagues.
• Pornography and Ethics This paper is going to assess the extent to what extent is the definition of pornography qualified to be used, and if pornography is ethical in modern society.
• Wall Street (1987): Ethics Analysis As anticipated, Gekko takes Bud in and offers him a big opportunity to make good money; however, Bud has to play the game according to rules.
• Google and Ethics The purpose is to show that a company like Google must behave ethically and all the decisions made by managers and other superiors should be guided by the highest morale and respect to the surrounding […]
• Pornography: Breaching Ethical Standards However, before delving into the details surrounding this argument, it is important to understand the ethical issues and breaches of pornography.
• The Volkswagen Scandal: Ethical & Unethical Choices Indeed, seeing that Volkswagen has jeopardized both the safety and the health of the global community by allowing the production and purchase of air-polluting cars, it is expected that the levels of trust between the […]
• Ethical Manager It therefore falls on company regulations and carefully formulated codes of ethics to ensure that the ethical manager can be able to restore proper business conduct in the organization.
• Immanuel Kant Ethics Kant argues that, “a person is good or bad depending on the motivation of their actions and not on the goodness of the consequences of those actions”.
• Ethical Issues Associated With Psychological Testing The second case along the line of psychological testing includes the case of Brown V. Reason The above case was used to examine the validity of psychological testing.
• Ethical Issues, Distractions, and Alarm Fatigue With that in mind, the minimization of unnecessary distractions and the optimization of alerting systems to prevent alert fatigue are essential for safe and patient-centered healthcare.
• Kant’s Ethics: Objection to Lying And as lying is a form of communication, and people know this fact, the only way out in order not to be defrauded is stop communicating.
• Ethical Issues in the “Unthinkable” Film However, the crescendo of the interrogation is reached when the nuclear explosions are about to occur, and the interrogator threatens the victim’s family in a bid to stop the explosion by locating the bombs; the […]
• Act Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics: Pros and Cons Therefore, act utilitarianism is better than virtue ethics since it is clear, concise, and focuses on the majority. Virtue ethics’ strengths can be utilized to enhance the act-utilitarianism theory.
• Ethics in the Business Research It is, therefore, extremely essential for the researcher to assess the weight of every research issue in order to determine how best to approach the whole research process without causing harm to any one.
• Application of ethical theory This means that there are four stakeholders; James; the owner of the company, the employees, the council and the residents of the council.
• Business Ethics of the H&M Company Additionally, all employees should have a written contract in their local language provided to them by H&M, and they should be aware of the terms and conditions.
• Starbucks’ Ethical Accusations Diversity in the contemporary business world is one of the key factors that contribute to the success of many industry participants.
• Food Ethics Pojman notes that the government has enough resources and manpower to monitor operations of various food processors and determine the health conditions of the food they present to the public.
• Wal-Mart’s Ethical Issues This paper forms an analysis of the ethical issues raised against or for Wal-Mart Corporation and the potential outcomes of some of the negative or conflicting views about the firm.
• Ethical Analysis of the Movie “Liar, Liar” The story described in the movie is one of egoism and a self centered person who will resort to anything just to win the case.
• Jaguar Land Rover Business Strategy and Ethics This study evaluates the internal and external environments using different tools and techniques, including the PEST and four corners models to study the impact of CSR in line with the Jaguar Land Rover business strategy.
• Lockheed Corporation’s Ethical Decision-Making During the same period, Lockheed recorded numerous losses due to the changes experienced in the market. The leaders in the firm also continued to pay bribes to different government officials.
• The Ethical Issues in Financial Management A reputation of integrity enables a financial manager to attract other employees to believe in the company’s vision and work towards implementing the company’s objectives.
• Ethical Dilemma: Counselors Engaging in Relations with Clients They should keep a boundary in the way they relate to the clients to ensure that their relationship with the client does no harm or pose potential harm to the clients.
• Ethical Analysis of the Sermon on the Mount – Matthew Chapters 5-7 The Sermon on the Mount refers to a portion of the Bible that contains some of the things that Jesus said and the lessons that He taught to his disciples.
• Ethics and Civics of the Patriots in the 18th Century The statement mentioned in the Declaration of Independence about the necessity for people to dissolve their political bands and be equal within the frames of the Laws of Nature proved the grievance of the patriots.
• Tesco Company Business Ethics: Deontology and Teleology However, it is the policy of the company to consider the effect that the product will have on the people or customers rather than considering the financial gain that the company will derive from such […]
• Dante’s Ethical System in His Divine Comedy Dante uses the perception of God on sin to depict his personal perception of punishment and the structures he envisions hell to have.
• NSPE Code of Ethics vs. Other Engineering Codes Essay Similarities between NSPE code of ethics and AiChE Engineers should use their skills to ensure health, welfare and safety of the public as provided by the first principle. The goal is to enhance health and […]
• Ethics and Human Resource Management The staff at the human resource department should always show the importance of ethics in the organization. Therefore, the HRM should know that reward and appraisal systems can be harnessed to promote ethical behavior in […]
• The Concept of Ethics in Groups Understanding group dynamics plays a crucial role in increasing the level of success in a group. Second, group members should conduct themselves in a manner that promotes the values and interests of their group.
• Ethics of Digital Manipulation Secondly, the print media went on to use digital technologies to manipulate and alter actual images in order to display fashion, lifestyles and other desired outcomes with the aim of using them for advertisement.
• Ethical Issue: Whistleblowing The aim of reporting is to ensure that the good of the public and other stakeholders is considered in future engagements.
• Abortion and Virtue Ethics Those who support the right of a woman to an abortion even after the final trimester makes the assertion that the Constitution does not provide any legal rights for a child that is still within […]
• Ethical Issues With Performance Enhancing Drugs in Professional Sports The spirit of sports emphasizes on the biological potential, fairness, and justice to the competitors; nevertheless, the use of performance enhancing-drugs undermines the same.
• Ford Motor Company Ethical Strategies and Policies The leaders of Ford Motor Company pay much attention to respecting the needs and interests of employees and customers and to preventing the ethical problems.
• Nestlé Ethics and Social Responsibility The research in the sphere of Nestle’s ethics shows that the company has lots of low-rated ethical criteria to be accused of.
• Nestlé’s Ethical Issues in Developing Countries In this case, the ethical elements of the operations pose questions about the motives of such corporations, which results in displeasure to the greatest majority.
• Ethics in Group Counseling According to Crespi, it is important for the counselor and learners to learn the legal principles that guide the process of counseling by governing the standards to be observed by the counselor and the client.
• Pros, Cons and Ethics of “Stop and Frisk” Law Although one of the mandates of the NYPD includes preventing crime from occurring by deploying legal means, this paper questions the legal and ethical foundation of the ‘stop and frisk’ law applied by the NYPD. […]
• Role of Ethics in Advertising When proper ethics are applied in advertising, there is a certainty that public morality and the progress socially will not be gravely endangered in any way through the misuse of the media services.
• Business Ethics: Reflective Essay Various decision-making procedures right from the time of recruitment of employees, defining the goals and objectives of the organization, designing the appropriate organizational structure, developing the organizational strategies, and integration of the strategies in the […]
• Ethics as a Theme in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley From the novel, it is evident that humans drove the monster into a state of madness when they subjected it to hatred and rejection, and thus the monster’s madness emerged due to the treatment it […]
• H. B. Fuller and His Resistol Products Ethical Case Fuller is not responsible for the overall addiction of street children to glue sniffing, but the company is responsible for neglecting its own contribution to the dissemination of substance abuse.H.B.
• Enron Management Practices’ Ethical Principles According to Hendrikse & Hendrikse, code of ethics refers to “the business constitution that governs relationships and behaviour among the company, its directors, management and employees, and the inter-relationship among the company, shareholders, and business […]
• Ethical Issues in Apple Inc. Steve Jobs worked as the president of the company during its early years and left the management of the company after conflicts arose from the board of directors.
• The Implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethical Behavior of Qantas Airways The fact that the Group has been featuring in the index is a clear indication of its sustainability levels. The group has been acknowledged and recognized in the area of sustainability performance and disclosure.
• Ethics and Artificial Intelligence The various AI systems utilize patients’ data without their consent and expose their private information. Many AI systems in the healthcare environment utilize patients’ data and information without their full consent.
• Coke and Pepsi in India: Issues, Ethics, and Management Stakeholder Management: Key stakeholders for the companies are the customers, the respective governments, the opinion builders, the equity holders, the media, NGOs, the strategic partners, the employees and of course the environment.
• Zodiac Movie: Crime, Media Reporting and Ethics The development of the events and the rise of the killer’s popularity began as soon as the reporters of the San Francisco Chronicle received and discovered the letter with threats to American society.
• Ethical Theories and Ethical Business Practices Among the most common theories of ethics that corporate governance has examined are the utilitarianism theory, the virtue theory, the theory of the common good, the justice theory, and the Kantian theory of ethics.
• Kant’s Ethical Theory of Deontology in Nursing Kant advanced two approaches of categorical imperative; first, the maxim of an individual’s action should be universal; and second, a person should treat another with dignity, not as means to reach personal objectives. Also, section […]
• Egoism and Altruism as Ethical Theories While ethical egoism holds that individuals act in a way aimed at pursuing and fulfilling their own interests, altruism emphasizes on the need for others to act in the interest of other people as well […]
• Ethical Dilemma in Nursing: Case Study Today, being a nurse is associated with a number of complexities due to the need to comply with diverse obligations in social, political, and healthcare segments.
• Engineering Ethics of Chernobyl and the Three Mile Island Despite the significant efforts of the responders to the Chernobyl accident, its consequences included the creation of the exclusion zone, people’s deaths, and worsening of the population’s health.
• Ethical Issues in the Novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley The paper looks at the ethical issues that the author highlights in her paper, such as the promotion of artificial life to help in the development of the discussions of this paper. Victor Frankenstein is […]
• Ethical and Social responsibility issues in IHRM Despite the fact that different scholars hold different opinions about ethics and corporate social responsibility, there is need for a multinational firm to include the two in its operations so as to create a good […]
• “The Devil Wears Prada”: Morality and Ethics Andy on the other hand chooses clothes that she deems to be smart, comfortable, and good enough for the first day on the job, which in reality is utterly unfashionable.
• Ethics and corporate governance Likewise, corporate governance is the process in which corporate boards administer the operation of an organization by its managers, and the way the board members are held answerable to the organization and shareholders.
• Kitsch – under the Title of Taste and Ethics The purpose of the essay will be to discuss the concept of kitsch by looking at Binkley’s and Calinescu’s contrasting theories on the aspect of kitsch.
• Ethical Issues in Terri Schiavo Case The central issue in the case of terminating the treatment of Terri is not the feelings and desire of the family members or the treatment the family would like to extend to the loved one […]
• Ethics Types, Differences, Applications To be more particular about the two types above of ethics, virtue ethics can be defined as the type of ethics that “focuses on the character traits and nonobligatory ideas that facilitate the development of […]
• McDonald’s Ethical and Moral Dilemma Despite his dwelling on the concept of bureaucratic power, Weber says that power is the most important aspect of leadership and the followers should be the only people who grant it to the leaders.
• Ethics of Data Misuse in Urban Planning Every member of the AICP is responsible to the people who give their data and are the actual consumers of the projects that the planners initiate.
• Zoom Technology and Its Ethical Issues According to Zoom operators, the organization promised end-to-end encoding, but the commission alleges the end-to-end encryption provided was being stored on its server.
• Ethics of Politics of Social Research This is followed by describing the political aspects focusing on the possible deviations in the procedure of the research due to the influence of personal and political beliefs of the researcher.
• Ethics and Professional Behavior in Criminal Justice One of the most important components of the criminal justice system is a code of ethics, which governs the behavior and conduct of professionals working within the system.
• Surrogacy and Its Ethical Implications on Nursing In simpler terms, it is the carrying of a pregnancy by a woman who is not the biological mother of the child.
• Code of Ethics in Education As the students spend much of their time in school teachers have the right to play a major role in the better development of students, and for that, the teachers need to understand every student.
• ANA Code of Ethics and Care Management and Coordination in Nursing According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, care coordination is a process of organizing patient care and sharing information with involved parties to achieve a higher quality of care and better patient outcomes.
• “Virtue Ethics and Adultery” by Raja Halwani In my opinion, that in the context of marriage and adultery, there is a connection between love and sex. According to Halwani, adultery is permissible in situations where the partner does not demonstrate fidelity, including […]
• Indian Metals Corporation’s Operations Ethics Therefore, changes could follow the list of a long list of priorities according to the staff and population safety and other requirements.
• Nursing Code of Ethics The nurses in all the aforementioned positions and context, performs with respect and compassion for the innate distinctness, worth, and dignity of each person, without any regard for his or her social or financial status, […]
• British Airways Ethical System In light of the resent standoff between the company and its employees there is need to modify the code of ethics especially regarding employees relations.
• Violation of Basic Ethical Principles in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study This principle was also violated during the Tuskegee Study as the subjects were not treated as autonomous agents capable of and entitled to make their own decisions concerning their treatment and participation in the study.
• Walmart Company’s Global Ethics and Compliance Challenges According to the theory, it may be viewed as a set of guidelines that help to determine the level of appropriateness of corporate norms, policies, and activities.
• Role and Importance of Personal Ethics in Psychology The role of personal ethics in psychology in relation to the American psychological association is intended to guide psychologists and standard professionals to guide them in their decision making and conduct at work.
• Ethics and Abortion In weighing the options concerning whether to perform an abortion and how to care for the patient, a healthcare entity must consider the legal implications, the patient’s and provider’s beliefs as well as the health […]
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• Are Some Bribes More Harmful Than Others?
• Are There Gender Differences in Ethics in Public?
• Does the Ethics Committee Indian Scenario Adequately safeguard Trial Participants?
• Can Technologies Determine Modern Social Customs and Ethics?
• Can Technology Affect Ethics and Culture?
• Did Thomas Jefferson Abandon His Ethics for the Lousiana?
• Does Business Ethics Make Economic Sense?
• Does Business Ethics Matter?
• Does Collectivism Affect Environmental Ethics?
• Does East Meet West in Business Ethics?
• Does Ethics Improve Stock Market Resilience in Times of Instability?
• Does Ethics Training Neutralize the Incentives of the Prisoner’s Dilemma?
• Does Studying Ethics Affect Moral Views?
• Does the United States Government Have Environmental Ethics?
• Does Virtue Ethics Give Adequate Action Guidance?
• Does Virtue Ethics Make a Significant Contribution to Moral Theory?
• How Are Diversity and Ethics Interrelated?
• How Are Ethics and Politics Related to Aristotle’s Philosophy?
• How Are Ethics Different From Moral?
• How Are Knowledge and Doubt Linked in Mathematics and Ethics?
• How Are Personal Ethics Developed?
• How Did Aristotle Understands the Human Being Through Virtue Ethics?
• How Does Attitude Affect Work Ethics?
• How Can Business Ethics Help Companies?
• How Can Ethics Help to Achieve Happiness?
• Why Death and Ethics Are Inextricably Linked?
• Why Are Environmental Ethics Important in the Preservation of the Natural Environment?
• Why Ethics and Virtue Are Important in Leadership?
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• Chicago (N-B)

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Ethics and Morality

Morality, Ethics, Evil, Greed

Reviewed by Psychology Today Staff

To put it simply, ethics represents the moral code that guides a person’s choices and behaviors throughout their life. The idea of a moral code extends beyond the individual to include what is determined to be right, and wrong, for a community or society at large.

Ethics is concerned with rights, responsibilities, use of language, what it means to live an ethical life, and how people make moral decisions. We may think of moralizing as an intellectual exercise, but more frequently it's an attempt to make sense of our gut instincts and reactions. It's a subjective concept, and many people have strong and stubborn beliefs about what's right and wrong that can place them in direct contrast to the moral beliefs of others. Yet even though morals may vary from person to person, religion to religion, and culture to culture, many have been found to be universal, stemming from basic human emotions.

• The Science of Being Virtuous
• Understanding Amorality
• The Stages of Moral Development

Those who are considered morally good are said to be virtuous, holding themselves to high ethical standards, while those viewed as morally bad are thought of as wicked, sinful, or even criminal. Morality was a key concern of Aristotle, who first studied questions such as “What is moral responsibility?” and “What does it take for a human being to be virtuous?”

We used to think that people are born with a blank slate, but research has shown that people have an innate sense of morality . Of course, parents and the greater society can certainly nurture and develop morality and ethics in children.

Humans are ethical and moral regardless of religion and God. People are not fundamentally good nor are they fundamentally evil. However, a Pew study found that atheists are much less likely than theists to believe that there are "absolute standards of right and wrong." In effect, atheism does not undermine morality, but the atheist’s conception of morality may depart from that of the traditional theist.

Animals are like humans—and humans are animals, after all. Many studies have been conducted across animal species, and more than 90 percent of their behavior is what can be identified as “prosocial” or positive. Plus, you won’t find mass warfare in animals as you do in humans. Hence, in a way, you can say that animals are more moral than humans.

The examination of moral psychology involves the study of moral philosophy but the field is more concerned with how a person comes to make a right or wrong decision, rather than what sort of decisions he or she should have made. Character, reasoning, responsibility, and altruism , among other areas, also come into play, as does the development of morality.

The seven deadly sins were first enumerated in the sixth century by Pope Gregory I, and represent the sweep of immoral behavior. Also known as the cardinal sins or seven deadly vices, they are vanity, jealousy , anger , laziness, greed, gluttony, and lust. People who demonstrate these immoral behaviors are often said to be flawed in character. Some modern thinkers suggest that virtue often disguises a hidden vice; it just depends on where we tip the scale .

An amoral person has no sense of, or care for, what is right or wrong. There is no regard for either morality or immorality. Conversely, an immoral person knows the difference, yet he does the wrong thing, regardless. The amoral politician, for example, has no conscience and makes choices based on his own personal needs; he is oblivious to whether his actions are right or wrong.

One could argue that the actions of Wells Fargo, for example, were amoral if the bank had no sense of right or wrong. In the 2016 fraud scandal, the bank created fraudulent savings and checking accounts for millions of clients, unbeknownst to them. Of course, if the bank knew what it was doing all along, then the scandal would be labeled immoral.

Everyone tells white lies to a degree, and often the lie is done for the greater good. But the idea that a small percentage of people tell the lion’s share of lies is the Pareto principle, the law of the vital few. It is 20 percent of the population that accounts for 80 percent of a behavior.

We do know what is right from wrong . If you harm and injure another person, that is wrong. However, what is right for one person, may well be wrong for another. A good example of this dichotomy is the religious conservative who thinks that a woman’s right to her body is morally wrong. In this case, one’s ethics are based on one’s values; and the moral divide between values can be vast.

Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg established his stages of moral development in 1958. This framework has led to current research into moral psychology. Kohlberg's work addresses the process of how we think of right and wrong and is based on Jean Piaget's theory of moral judgment for children. His stages include pre-conventional, conventional, post-conventional, and what we learn in one stage is integrated into the subsequent stages.

The pre-conventional stage is driven by obedience and punishment . This is a child's view of what is right or wrong. Examples of this thinking: “I hit my brother and I received a time-out.” “How can I avoid punishment?” “What's in it for me?” 

The conventional stage is when we accept societal views on rights and wrongs. In this stage people follow rules with a  good boy  and nice girl  orientation. An example of this thinking: “Do it for me.” This stage also includes law-and-order morality: “Do your duty.”

The post-conventional stage is more abstract: “Your right and wrong is not my right and wrong.” This stage goes beyond social norms and an individual develops his own moral compass, sticking to personal principles of what is ethical or not.

Most people want honest public officials. For those who are not, behavioral economists have uncovered tactics that can reduce lying by up to 50%.

Is karma a firm basis for morality?

A new study suggests that scientists tend to inflate their own research ethics. One important implication is that this overconfidence may lead to ethical blindspots.

Today we celebrate the 300th birthday of Immanuel Kant. Embrace face-to-face encounters to live up to his motto Dare to Know!

Two award-winning movies about the Holocaust raise questions about whether they contribute to ethical behavior. Some critics say no.

For beauty, we paint our faces, starve ourselves to the bone, feel the burn, suck out our fat, freeze our faces, cut into our skin, and place foreign bodies into our skin.

A popular management philosophy views employees primarily as costs to be minimized.

Do you believe there is a decline in morality in the United States? The reasons you feel that way may surprise you.

Unlike a bystander, who passively watches events unfold without intervening, an upstander takes action to support fairness and respect. Sometimes that means breaking the rules.

Prosecution for war crimes is not only about deterring future crimes, also about preventing anger that continues across the generations.

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The significance of ethics and ethics education in daily life.

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SOC101: Introduction to Sociology (2020.A.01)

What is ethics in research and why is it important.

Read the article on the importance of ethics in research.

The ideas and opinions expressed in this essay are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of the NIH, NIEHS, or US government.

When most people think of ethics (or morals), they think of rules for distinguishing between right and wrong, such as the Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"), a code of professional conduct like the Hippocratic Oath ("First of all, do no harm"), a religious creed like the Ten Commandments ("Thou Shalt not kill..."), or a wise aphorisms like the sayings of Confucius. This is the most common way of defining "ethics": norms for conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Most people learn ethical norms at home, at school, in church, or in other social settings. Although most people acquire their sense of right and wrong during childhood, moral development occurs throughout life and human beings pass through different stages of growth as they mature. Ethical norms are so ubiquitous that one might be tempted to regard them as simple commonsense. On the other hand, if morality were nothing more than commonsense, then why are there so many ethical disputes and issues in our society? One plausible explanation of these disagreements is that all people recognize some common ethical norms but interpret, apply, and balance them in different ways in light of their own values and life experiences. For example, two people could agree that murder is wrong but disagree about the morality of abortion because they have different understandings of what it means to be a human being. Most societies also have legal rules that govern behavior, but ethical norms tend to be broader and more informal than laws. Although most societies use laws to enforce widely accepted moral standards and ethical and legal rules use similar concepts, ethics and law are not the same. An action may be legal but unethical or illegal but ethical. We can also use ethical concepts and principles to criticize, evaluate, propose, or interpret laws. Indeed, in the last century, many social reformers have urged citizens to disobey laws they regarded as immoral or unjust laws. Peaceful civil disobedience is an ethical way of protesting laws or expressing political viewpoints. Another way of defining 'ethics' focuses on the disciplines that study standards of conduct, such as philosophy, theology, law, psychology, or sociology. For example, a "medical ethicist" is someone who studies ethical standards in medicine. One may also define ethics as a method, procedure, or perspective for deciding how to act and for analyzing complex problems and issues. For instance, in considering a complex issue like global warming, one may take an economic, ecological, political, or ethical perspective on the problem. While an economist might examine the cost and benefits of various policies related to global warming, an environmental ethicist could examine the ethical values and principles at stake. Many different disciplines, institutions, and professions have standards for behavior that suit their particular aims and goals. These standards also help members of the discipline to coordinate their actions or activities and to establish the public's trust of the discipline. For instance, ethical standards govern conduct in medicine, law, engineering, and business. Ethical norms also serve the aims or goals of research and apply to people who conduct scientific research or other scholarly or creative activities. There is even a specialized discipline, research ethics, which studies these norms. See Glossary of Commonly Used Terms in Research Ethics. There are several reasons why it is important to adhere to ethical norms in research. First, norms promote the aims of research, such as knowledge, truth, and avoidance of error. For example, prohibitions against fabricating, falsifying, or misrepresenting research data promote the truth and minimize error. Second, since research often involves a great deal of cooperation and coordination among many different people in different disciplines and institutions, ethical standards promote the values that are essential to collaborative work , such as trust, accountability, mutual respect, and fairness. For example, many ethical norms in research, such as guidelines for authorship, copyright and patenting policies, data sharing policies, and confidentiality rules in peer review, are designed to protect intellectual property interests while encouraging collaboration. Most researchers want to receive credit for their contributions and do not want to have their ideas stolen or disclosed prematurely. Third, many of the ethical norms help to ensure that researchers can be held accountable to the public . For instance, federal policies on research misconduct, conflicts of interest, the human subjects protections, and animal care and use are necessary in order to make sure that researchers who are funded by public money can be held accountable to the public. Fourth, ethical norms in research also help to build public support for research. People are more likely to fund a research project if they can trust the quality and integrity of research. Finally, many of the norms of research promote a variety of other important moral and social values , such as social responsibility, human rights, animal welfare, compliance with the law, and public health and safety. Ethical lapses in research can significantly harm human and animal subjects, students, and the public. For example, a researcher who fabricates data in a clinical trial may harm or even kill patients, and a researcher who fails to abide by regulations and guidelines relating to radiation or biological safety may jeopardize his health and safety or the health and safety of staff and students.

Codes and Policies for Research Ethics

Given the importance of ethics for the conduct of research, it should come as no surprise that many different professional associations, government agencies, and universities have adopted specific codes, rules, and policies relating to research ethics. Many government agencies have ethics rules for funded researchers.

• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• National Science Foundation (NSF)
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• Singapore Statement on Research Integrity
• American Chemical Society, The Chemist Professional's Code of Conduct
• Code of Ethics (American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science)
• American Psychological Association, Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct
• Statement on Professional Ethics (American Association of University Professors)
• Nuremberg Code
• World Medical Association's Declaration of Helsinki

Ethical Principles

The following is a rough and general summary of some ethical principles that various codes address*:

Strive for honesty in all scientific communications. Honestly report data, results, methods and procedures, and publication status. Do not fabricate, falsify, or misrepresent data. Do not deceive colleagues, research sponsors, or the public.

Objectivity

Strive to avoid bias in experimental design, data analysis, data interpretation, peer review, personnel decisions, grant writing, expert testimony, and other aspects of research where objectivity is expected or required. Avoid or minimize bias or self-deception. Disclose personal or financial interests that may affect research.

Keep your promises and agreements; act with sincerity; strive for consistency of thought and action.

Carefulness

Avoid careless errors and negligence; carefully and critically examine your own work and the work of your peers. Keep good records of research activities, such as data collection, research design, and correspondence with agencies or journals.

Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Be open to criticism and new ideas.

Transparency

Disclose methods, materials, assumptions, analyses, and other information needed to evaluate your research.

Accountability

Take responsibility for your part in research and be prepared to give an account (i.e. an explanation or justification) of what you did on a research project and why.

Intellectual Property

Honor patents, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property. Do not use unpublished data, methods, or results without permission. Give proper acknowledgement or credit for all contributions to research. Never plagiarize.

Confidentiality

Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants submitted for publication, personnel records, trade or military secrets, and patient records.

Responsible Publication

Publish in order to advance research and scholarship, not to advance just your own career. Avoid wasteful and duplicative publication.

Responsible Mentoring

Help to educate, mentor, and advise students. Promote their welfare and allow them to make their own decisions.

Respect for Colleagues

Respect your colleagues and treat them fairly.

Social Responsibility

Strive to promote social good and prevent or mitigate social harms through research, public education, and advocacy.

Non-Discrimination

Avoid discrimination against colleagues or students on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or other factors not related to scientific competence and integrity.

Maintain and improve your own professional competence and expertise through lifelong education and learning; take steps to promote competence in science as a whole.

Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and governmental policies.

Animal Care

Show proper respect and care for animals when using them in research. Do not conduct unnecessary or poorly designed animal experiments.

Human Subjects protection

When conducting research on human subjects, minimize harms and risks and maximize benefits; respect human dignity, privacy, and autonomy; take special precautions with vulnerable populations; and strive to distribute the benefits and burdens of research fairly.

Ethical Decision Making in Research

Although codes, policies, and principles are very important and useful, like any set of rules, they do not cover every situation, they often conflict, and they require considerable interpretation. It is therefore important for researchers to learn how to interpret, assess, and apply various research rules and how to make decisions and to act ethically in various situations. The vast majority of decisions involve the straightforward application of ethical rules. For example, consider the following case,

The research protocol for a study of a drug on hypertension requires the administration of the drug at different doses to 50 laboratory mice, with chemical and behavioral tests to determine toxic effects. Tom has almost finished the experiment for Dr. Q. He has only 5 mice left to test. However, he really wants to finish his work in time to go to Florida on spring break with his friends, who are leaving tonight. He has injected the drug in all 50 mice but has not completed all of the tests. He therefore decides to extrapolate from the 45 completed results to produce the 5 additional results. Many different research ethics policies would hold that Tom has acted unethically by fabricating data. If this study were sponsored by a federal agency, such as the NIH, his actions would constitute a form of research misconduct, which the government defines as "fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism" (or FFP). Actions that nearly all researchers classify as unethical are viewed as misconduct. It is important to remember, however, that misconduct occurs only when researchers intend to deceive : honest errors related to sloppiness, poor record keeping, miscalculations, bias, self-deception, and even negligence do not constitute misconduct. Also, reasonable disagreements about research methods, procedures, and interpretations do not constitute research misconduct. Consider the following case:

Dr. T has just discovered a mathematical error in his paper that has been accepted for publication in a journal. The error does not affect the overall results of his research, but it is potentially misleading. The journal has just gone to press, so it is too late to catch the error before it appears in print. In order to avoid embarrassment, Dr. T decides to ignore the error. Dr. T's error is not misconduct nor is his decision to take no action to correct the error. Most researchers, as well as many different policies and codes would say that Dr. T should tell the journal (and any coauthors) about the error and consider publishing a correction or errata. Failing to publish a correction would be unethical because it would violate norms relating to honesty and objectivity in research. There are many other activities that the government does not define as "misconduct" but which are still regarded by most researchers as unethical. These are sometimes referred to as "other deviations" from acceptable research practices and include:

• Publishing the same paper in two different journals without telling the editors
• Submitting the same paper to different journals without telling the editors
• Not informing a collaborator of your intent to file a patent in order to make sure that you are the sole inventor
• Including a colleague as an author on a paper in return for a favor even though the colleague did not make a serious contribution to the paper
• Discussing with your colleagues confidential data from a paper that you are reviewing for a journal
• Using data, ideas, or methods you learn about while reviewing a grant or a papers without permission
• Trimming outliers from a data set without discussing your reasons in paper
• Using an inappropriate statistical technique in order to enhance the significance of your research
• Bypassing the peer review process and announcing your results through a press conference without giving peers adequate information to review your work
• Conducting a review of the literature that fails to acknowledge the contributions of other people in the field or relevant prior work
• Stretching the truth on a grant application in order to convince reviewers that your project will make a significant contribution to the field
• Stretching the truth on a job application or curriculum vita
• Giving the same research project to two graduate students in order to see who can do it the fastest
• Overworking, neglecting, or exploiting graduate or post-doctoral students
• Failing to keep good research records
• Failing to maintain research data for a reasonable period of time
• Making derogatory comments and personal attacks in your review of author's submission
• Promising a student a better grade for sexual favors
• Using a racist epithet in the laboratory
• Making significant deviations from the research protocol approved by your institution's Animal Care and Use Committee or Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects Research without telling the committee or the board
• Not reporting an adverse event in a human research experiment
• Wasting animals in research
• Exposing students and staff to biological risks in violation of your institution's biosafety rules
• Sabotaging someone's work
• Stealing supplies, books, or data
• Rigging an experiment so you know how it will turn out
• Making unauthorized copies of data, papers, or computer programs
• Owning over $10,000 in stock in a company that sponsors your research and not disclosing this financial interest
• Deliberately overestimating the clinical significance of a new drug in order to obtain economic benefits

These actions would be regarded as unethical by most scientists and some might even be illegal in some cases. Most of these would also violate different professional ethics codes or institutional policies. However, they do not fall into the narrow category of actions that the government classifies as research misconduct. Indeed, there has been considerable debate about the definition of "research misconduct" and many researchers and policy makers are not satisfied with the government's narrow definition that focuses on FFP. However, given the huge list of potential offenses that might fall into the category "other serious deviations," and the practical problems with defining and policing these other deviations, it is understandable why government officials have chosen to limit their focus. Finally, situations frequently arise in research in which different people disagree about the proper course of action and there is no broad consensus about what should be done. In these situations, there may be good arguments on both sides of the issue and different ethical principles may conflict. These situations create difficult decisions for research known as ethical or moral dilemmas. Consider the following case:

Dr. Wexford is the principal investigator of a large, epidemiological study on the health of 10,000 agricultural workers. She has an impressive dataset that includes information on demographics, environmental exposures, diet, genetics, and various disease outcomes such as cancer, Parkinson's disease (PD), and ALS. She has just published a paper on the relationship between pesticide exposure and PD in a prestigious journal. She is planning to publish many other papers from her dataset. She receives a request from another research team that wants access to her complete dataset. They are interested in examining the relationship between pesticide exposures and skin cancer. Dr. Wexford was planning to conduct a study on this topic. Dr. Wexford faces a difficult choice. On the one hand, the ethical norm of openness obliges her to share data with the other research team. Her funding agency may also have rules that obligate her to share data. On the other hand, if she shares data with the other team, they may publish results that she was planning to publish, thus depriving her (and her team) of recognition and priority. It seems that there are good arguments on both sides of this issue and Dr. Wexford needs to take some time to think about what she should do. One possible option is to share data, provided that the investigators sign a data use agreement. The agreement could define allowable uses of the data, publication plans, authorship, etc. Another option would be to offer to collaborate with the researchers. The following are some step that researchers, such as Dr. Wexford, can take to deal with ethical dilemmas in research:

What is the problem or issue? It is always important to get a clear statement of the problem. In this case, the issue is whether to share information with the other research team.

What is the relevant information? Many bad decisions are made as a result of poor information. To know what to do, Dr. Wexford needs to have more information concerning such matters as university or funding agency or journal policies that may apply to this situation, the team's intellectual property interests, the possibility of negotiating some kind of agreement with the other team, whether the other team also has some information it is willing to share, the impact of the potential publications, etc.

What are the different options? People may fail to see different options due to a limited imagination, bias, ignorance, or fear. In this case, there may be other choices besides 'share' or 'don't share,' such as 'negotiate an agreement' or 'offer to collaborate with the researchers.' How do ethical codes or policies as well as legal rules apply to these different options? The university or funding agency may have policies on data management that apply to this case. Broader ethical rules, such as openness and respect for credit and intellectual property, may also apply to this case. Laws relating to intellectual property may be relevant.

Are there any people who can offer ethical advice? It may be useful to seek advice from a colleague, a senior researcher, your department chair, an ethics or compliance officer, or anyone else you can trust. In the case, Dr. Wexford might want to talk to her supervisor and research team before making a decision. After considering these questions, a person facing an ethical dilemma may decide to ask more questions, gather more information, explore different options, or consider other ethical rules. However, at some point he or she will have to make a decision and then take action. Ideally, a person who makes a decision in an ethical dilemma should be able to justify his or her decision to himself or herself, as well as colleagues, administrators, and other people who might be affected by the decision. He or she should be able to articulate reasons for his or her conduct and should consider the following questions in order to explain how he or she arrived at his or her decision: .

• Which choice will probably have the best overall consequences for science and society?
• Which choice could stand up to further publicity and scrutiny?
• Which choice could you not live with?
• Think of the wisest person you know. What would he or she do in this situation?
• Which choice would be the most just, fair, or responsible?

After considering all of these questions, one still might find it difficult to decide what to do. If this is the case, then it may be appropriate to consider others ways of making the decision, such as going with a gut feeling or intuition, seeking guidance through prayer or meditation, or even flipping a coin. Endorsing these methods in this context need not imply that ethical decisions are irrational, however. The main point is that human reasoning plays a pivotal role in ethical decision-making but there are limits to its ability to solve all ethical dilemmas in a finite amount of time.

Promoting Ethical Conduct in Science

Most academic institutions in the US require undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate students to have some education in the responsible conduct of research (RCR). The NIH and NSF have both mandated training in research ethics for students and trainees. Many academic institutions outside of the US have also developed educational curricula in research ethics Those of you who are taking or have taken courses in research ethics may be wondering why you are required to have education in research ethics. You may believe that you are highly ethical and know the difference between right and wrong. You would never fabricate or falsify data or plagiarize. Indeed, you also may believe that most of your colleagues are highly ethical and that there is no ethics problem in research.. If you feel this way, relax. No one is accusing you of acting unethically. Indeed, the evidence produced so far shows that misconduct is a very rare occurrence in research, although there is considerable variation among various estimates. The rate of misconduct has been estimated to be as low as 0.01% of researchers per year (based on confirmed cases of misconduct in federally funded research) to as high as 1% of researchers per year (based on self-reports of misconduct on anonymous surveys). 

Clearly, it would be useful to have more data on this topic, but so far there is no evidence that science has become ethically corrupt, despite some highly publicized scandals. Even if misconduct is only a rare occurrence, it can still have a tremendous impact on science and society because it can compromise the integrity of research, erode the public's trust in science, and waste time and resources. Will education in research ethics help reduce the rate of misconduct in science? It is too early to tell. The answer to this question depends, in part, on how one understands the causes of misconduct. There are two main theories about why researchers commit misconduct. According to the "bad apple" theory, most scientists are highly ethical. Only researchers who are morally corrupt, economically desperate, or psychologically disturbed commit misconduct. Moreover, only a fool would commit misconduct because science's peer review system and self-correcting mechanisms will eventually catch those who try to cheat the system. In any case, a course in research ethics will have little impact on "bad apples," one might argue. According to the "stressful" or "imperfect" environment theory, misconduct occurs because various institutional pressures, incentives, and constraints encourage people to commit misconduct, such as pressures to publish or obtain grants or contracts, career ambitions, the pursuit of profit or fame, poor supervision of students and trainees, and poor oversight of researchers. Moreover, defenders of the stressful environment theory point out that science's peer review system is far from perfect and that it is relatively easy to cheat the system. Erroneous or fraudulent research often enters the public record without being detected for years. Misconduct probably results from environmental and individual causes, i.e. when people who are morally weak, ignorant, or insensitive are placed in stressful or imperfect environments. In any case, a course in research ethics can be useful in helping to prevent deviations from norms even if it does not prevent misconduct. Education in research ethics is can help people get a better understanding of ethical standards, policies, and issues and improve ethical judgment and decision making. Many of the deviations that occur in research may occur because researchers simply do not know or have never thought seriously about some of the ethical norms of research. For example, some unethical authorship practices probably reflect traditions and practices that have not been questioned seriously until recently. If the director of a lab is named as an author on every paper that comes from his lab, even if he does not make a significant contribution, what could be wrong with that? That's just the way it's done, one might argue. Another example where there may be some ignorance or mistaken traditions is conflicts of interest in research. A researcher may think that a "normal" or "traditional" financial relationship, such as accepting stock or a consulting fee from a drug company that sponsors her research, raises no serious ethical issues. Or perhaps a university administrator sees no ethical problem in taking a large gift with strings attached from a pharmaceutical company. Maybe a physician thinks that it is perfectly appropriate to receive a $300 finder's fee for referring patients into a clinical trial. If "deviations" from ethical conduct occur in research as a result of ignorance or a failure to reflect critically on problematic traditions, then a course in research ethics may help reduce the rate of serious deviations by improving the researcher's understanding of ethics and by sensitizing him or her to the issues. Finally, education in research ethics should be able to help researchers grapple with the ethical dilemmas they are likely to encounter by introducing them to important concepts, tools, principles, and methods that can be useful in resolving these dilemmas. Scientists must deal with a number of different controversial topics, such as human embryonic stem cell research, cloning, genetic engineering, and research involving animal or human subjects, which require ethical reflection and deliberation.

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What Students Gain From Learning Ethics in School

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When Sophie Huttner was 16 years old, she labored over an ethical dilemma. Her small class at Kent Place School in New Jersey was discussing a case study that concerned a woman who was thinking of leaving her disabled husband; caring for his injuries was devouring the woman’s every moment, and the couple’s affection for each other had fizzled. Was it ethically wrong for her to leave him?

“The case made me realize that the value I placed on individual autonomy would often conflict with other values that I also thought important, like loyalty and integrity,” Huttner said. At the time, she was involved in her first serious relationship, and the case and ensuing discussion touched on the very questions she was mulling in her personal life.

“When you give kids and teenagers the space to explore ethical dilemmas, this can be very powerful for students,” said Jana M. Lone, director of the Center for Philosophy for Children at the University of Washington, which brings introductory philosophy to schoolkids in the Seattle area. Central to ethics education is teaching kids the skills to make sound decisions: to search for and evaluate their assumptions, to excavate the reasons behind those assumptions, to examine without prejudice another’s opinion and to make a thoughtful decision with confidence.

“There’s more hunger for this kind of training now,” Lone said. “The most recent political polarization, the shifting news cycle—which makes us less engaged with people who think differently—has made it more imperative,” she added. Kids, too, sense the ugly divisions in society. “Teenagers and kids recognize that they live in a fractured world, and it’s troubling to them,” Lone said.

Though sought after, ethics classes are largely absent from schools. Also, teachers’ freedom to migrate into wide-ranging conversations that might veer into ethics have been curbed by standardized testing and curriculum requirements. This is despite research that shows teenagers’ ability to make ethical decisions—to see problems from multiple view points, and to consider the potential harm to others that a decision can cause—is underdeveloped. In the most recent survey of teenage ethics done by the Josephson Institute, for example, just 49% percent of the 23,000 teenagers surveyed reported never cheating on a test in school. A 2014 analysis by the Making Caring Common Project at Harvard University found that a majority of teenagers value happiness and personal success more than concern for others.

Teaching ethics to children and teenagers

The Ethics Institute* at Kent Place School is devoted solely to teaching ethics to primary and secondary school students, said Karen Rezach, the institute’s director. “There are so many ethics institutes at the university level, but none at our level,” she said. Like Lone, Rezach thinks kids and teenagers long for ethical guidance. “We’re trying to teach them how to exist in this world,” she said.

Children at Kent Place are introduced to ethics in fifth grade, during what would otherwise be a health and wellness class. Rezach engages the students in simple case studies and invites them to consider the various points of view. She also acquaints them with the concept of right vs. right—the idea that ethical dilemmas often involve a contest between valid but conflicting values. “It’s really, really, really elementary,” she said.

In middle and upper school, the training is more structured and challenging. At the core of this education is a simple framework for ethical decision-making that Rezach underscores with all her classes, and which is captured on a poster board inside school. Paired with this framework is a collection of values that students are encouraged to study and explore. The values and framework for decision-making are the foundation of their ethics training.

Once a month, all middle school students grapple with an ethics case study during advisory that’s been written for their grade. Sixth-graders, for example, wrestled with a case about “Emma”, who wasn’t invited to Jane’s party but who saw pictures of the festivities on Instagram. The students then discussed various questions: How might Emma feel when she sees the Instagram photo? What is Jane’s responsibility in this case? What values influence the way you think about this scenario? Though the case studies reflect real-life problems the kids have encountered, the stories are told in the third person, which frees them to talk openly, Rezach said.

Two elective courses on ethics for seventh- and eighth-graders explore deeper quandaries while pressing students to understand the values reflected in those views. In one case study they discussed, “Allison” enters a coffee shop wearing a T-shirt with a swastika, which clearly offends other customers. What should the manager do? How does one balance the right to freedom of expression with the rights of the community? “In this situation, as in all ethical dilemmas, the students have to weigh the benefit and the harm,” Rezach said. She draws connections to books they’re reading in English class, brings up related news stories, and asks students to think of and share ethical quandaries they’ve encountered.

For homework, students study critical historical documents, like the Constitution and Bible, and identify the values that suffuse the work. In another assignment, they prepare a two-minute oral presentation on a principle that matters deeply to them. Some will read a poem, or sing a song, or produce a video that reflects that value. Once the presentations end, Rezach pairs up students with conflicting ideals—compassion versus justice, for example—and asks them to write a case study together.

High school students interested in ethics have other ways to learn. Fourteen kids meet weekly after school on an ethics bowl team, which competes nationally against other schools. In bioethics class, an elective, students explore a particular ethical problem related to a single theme—such as “Environment and Health,” this year’s subject—then present and defend their position at a spring symposium. The ethics club is launching an Instagram account, @ethicseverywhere , which will pose an idea or dilemma for all student followers to reflect on. And during the summer, students can apply for shorter programs, one on the ethical issues surrounding science and technology and the other on ethics in business.

Impact on students

Research suggests that ethics training improves academic performance. Children in Scotland who had been taught to think about ethical decision-making and the responsibilities of citizenship showed improved reasoning abilities. A study in Australia showed that young students who took part in a class on “dialogue-based ethical inquiry” were better able to evaluate and construct reasoned, ethical arguments. Standardized test scores for children who studied “collaborative philosophical enquiry”—a variant of ethics training— went up in verbal, nonverbal, and quantitative reasoning. And a small study conducted by researchers at Penn State revealed that even preschoolers can engage with and learn from simple ethical instruction.

Academic benefits aside, students at Kent Place involved in ethics training relish the open-ended conversations with peers along with the chance to reflect on what matters to them. “I love discussing these things with other people, and hearing other points of view, especially on controversial topics,” said Alexandra Grushkin, an eighth-grader. The value she selected that’s most dear to her is integrity. “I believe you’re a good person if you have integrity,” she explained. In her class presentation, she shared a quote by author Lynne Namka that reflected this value. Alexandra was matched with a student who chose loyalty, and the two crafted a case study that captured the tension between these principles: What does a student do when she spots her close friend cheating in a school competition?

Encouraged at home to listen to others’ opinions, Alexandra said that she’s better able now to understand the ideals that undergird beliefs and to articulate her own positions. “It has changed the way I approach conflict—and most things, actually,” she said. “With ethics, I’ve learned that there are a lot of different sides to everything.” What Alexandra’s mother, Trisha, welcomes in this training is the open-mindedness it provokes, as well as the instruction it provides in how to converse calmly. “There’s a humility that comes with this ethical framework that will serve them well for the rest of their lives,” she said.

Rezach believes that students benefit from an ethics education in many ways. “For the first time in their lives, they’re allowed to think for themselves—without someone telling them what to think,” she said, adding “It’s like you’ve taken the lid off the top of their minds.” For teenagers who often struggle with confidence and identity, these debates on ethics free them to test their values in an abstract, unthreatening way. Exploring conflicts from different points of view—and striving to understand the value behind an opinion—also makes them more empathetic to others. “I see them grow in their ability to see somebody else’s perspective,” Rezach said. Having to identify and defend their decision is also critical, she added. Ordinarily, students she encounters avoid making decisions because they fear they’ll get it wrong. “Being able to make a decision and articulate why—that’s huge!” she said. “And being respectful to a person who doesn’t agree—that’s huge.”

Rezach writes the case studies, teaches the classes and overseas all the extracurricular ethics programs. She has also consulted with about 100 other middle- and high schools that want to bring this discipline back to their communities. “It can’t be a one and done,” Rezach said about how to build an ethical student body. “You have to infuse it into current programs—in classes and after school,” she added.

Now a college freshman, Sophie Huttner said she continues to apply the analytical frameworks she absorbed in her ethics training to her studies at Yale. “My ethics education, above all, has functioned as a mirror, allowing me to reflect on my own values and those held by my community,” she said. “Because I have had the chance to consider at length the ethical concepts most important to me, I have become a better judge of my own actions.”

*Linda Flanagan serves on the  advisory board of the Ethics Institute, for which she receives no financial compensation.  

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The Importance of Ethics in Our Daily Life

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Home » University Of New Hampshire » What Is The Importance Of Ethics As A Student?

What Is The Importance Of Ethics As A Student?

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Ethical discussions not only expose students to contrasting ethical opinions, they also provide an opportunity to understand the reasons behind the differences . As a result, students are able to expand their understanding of ethics, sometimes even altering their own values and ethical decision-making process.

What are the ethics of a student?

Ethical values such as respect for others, honesty, self-discipline, hard work, love of learning, and appreciation of diversity are some of the core values many colleges and universities prize.

What is the importance of ethics?

Ethics is what guides us to tell the truth, keep our promises, or help someone in need . There is a framework of ethics underlying our lives on a daily basis, helping us make decisions that create positive impacts and steering us away from unjust outcomes.

How can you apply ethics in your life as a student?

I limit the principles to five so that you can best incorporate them into your daily lives.

• Make Things Better.
• Treat Others Fairly.
• Consider the Consequences of Your Actions.
• Respect the Rights of Others.
• Act with Integrity.

What is ethics and why is it important essay?

Essay on Ethics – Ethics refers to the concepts of right and wrong conduct . Furthermore, ethics is basically a branch of philosophy dealing with the issue of morality. Moreover, ethics consist of the rules of behavior. It certainly defines how a person should behave in specific situations.

How will the study of ethics be helpful in your future career?

Four Ways Professional Ethics Plays a Role in Your Career Advancement. Building Trust : When you behave in an ethical manner, you earn trust from your colleagues and business associates. This leads to greater support for your ideas and increased leadership opportunities, helping you to climb the corporate ladder.

What are the most important work ethics?

5 most sought-after workplace ethics and behaviour

• Integrity. One of the most important workplace ethics is integrity.
• Honesty. Being an honest individual means you do not deceive others by giving out misleading information.
• Discipline.
• Fair and respect.
• Responsible and accountable.

What is the importance of learning ethics as a person and as a member of society?

Ethics serve as a guide to moral daily living and helps us judge whether our behavior can be justified . Ethics refers to society’s sense of the right way of living our daily lives. It does this by establishing rules, principles, and values on which we can base our conduct.

Are ethics important in life essay?

Ethics are important not only in business but in academics and society as well because it is an essential part of the foundation on which a civilized society is built . Ethical behaviour is what all career people should aim to have. Not just the ethical attribute but exceptional behaviour with this regard.

What is the importance of ethics and morals in our society?

Ethics make a society peaceful, harmonious and a better place to live by guiding the behavior of people . Ethics act as a self-governing system to keep human self-interest and the good of society at equilibrium because the eyes of the law are not always available.

How would ethics help you in achieving your goals?

Having clear and effective work-life ethics helps arrive at better decisions and enriches our lives by making them less stressful . While there are many personal and work-life ethics, significantly crucial ones must be incorporated like honesty, integrity, self-respect, respect for others, empathy, compassion, etc.

What is the importance of work ethics in one’s life?

Not only is a strong work ethic paramount to success in your career, but it is also crucial to everyday life. Implementing these five elements into your personal and professional routines will help you to increase your performance, build quality relationships, stay focused, and ultimately, see results !

What is the importance of work ethics in any field of study?

Workplace ethics ensures positive ambience at the workplace . Workplace ethics leads to happy and satisfied employees who enjoy coming to work rather than treating it as a mere source of burden. Employees also develop a feeling of loyalty and attachment towards the organization.

Why do you need to know the importance of work ethics?

Having a good work ethic is also key to a positive experience in the workplace for both you and your co-workers . When you possess these skills, you likely perform high-quality work, have strong relationships with colleagues and contribute towards achieving important tasks that add value to your team and organisation.

What is ethics in everyday life?

Ethics asks us to consider whether our actions are right or wrong . It also asks us how those character traits that help humans flourish (such as integrity, honesty, faithfulness, and compassion) play out in everyday living.

What do ethics mean to you?

First, ethics refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues .

How Can ethics improve your personality?

We use ethics in our daily lives to improve the quality of our relationships . High quality close relationships contribute to mental and physical well-being. They fulfill our psychological need for intimacy and belongingness. How we deal with others is based on what we value in relationships.

By Cary Hardy

Hi there! I'm Cary Hardy, an education expert and consultant. I've worked with students of all ages and backgrounds, and I love helping them unlock their full potential. I'm also a big believer in lifelong learning- there's always something new to learn!

I got my start in education as a teacher, working with students in grades K-12. After several years of teaching, I transitioned into the world of educational consulting. I've since worked with schools and districts all over the country, helping them improve their curriculums and instruction methods.

I'm passionate about helping people achieve their dreams, and I believe that education is the key to unlocking everyone's potential. Thanks for reading!

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What Are Business Ethics & Why Are They Important?

• 27 Jul 2023

From artificial intelligence to facial recognition technology, organizations face an increasing number of ethical dilemmas. While innovation can aid business growth, it can also create opportunities for potential abuse.

“The long-term impacts of a new technology—both positive and negative—may not become apparent until years after it’s introduced,” says Harvard Business School Professor Nien-hê Hsieh in the online course Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . “For example, the impact of social media on children and teenagers didn’t become evident until we watched it play out over time.”

If you’re a current or prospective leader concerned about navigating difficult situations, here's an overview of business ethics, why they're important, and how to ensure ethical behavior in your organization.

Access your free e-book today.

What Are Business Ethics?

Business ethics are principles that guide decision-making . As a leader, you’ll face many challenges in the workplace because of different interpretations of what's ethical. Situations often require navigating the “gray area,” where it’s unclear what’s right and wrong.

When making decisions, your experiences, opinions, and perspectives can influence what you believe to be ethical, making it vital to:

• Be transparent.
• Invite feedback.
• Consider impacts on employees, stakeholders, and society.
• Reflect on past experiences to learn what you could have done better.

“The way to think about ethics, in my view, is: What are the externalities that your business creates, both positive and negative?” says Harvard Business School Professor Vikram Gandhi in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . “And, therefore, how do you actually increase the positive element of externalities? And how do you decrease the negative?”

Related: Why Managers Should Involve Their Team in the Decision-Making Process

Ethical Responsibilities to Society

Promoting ethical conduct can benefit both your company and society long term.

“I'm a strong believer that a long-term focus is what creates long-term value,” Gandhi says in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . “So you should get shareholders in your company that have that same perspective.”

Prioritizing the triple bottom line is an effective way for your business to fulfill its environmental responsibilities and create long-term value. It focuses on three factors:

• Profit: The financial return your company generates for shareholders
• People: How your company affects customers, employees, and stakeholders
• Planet: Your company’s impact on the planet and environment

Check out the video below to learn more about the triple bottom line, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more explainer content!

Ethical and corporate social responsibility (CSR) considerations can go a long way toward creating value, especially since an increasing number of customers, employees, and investors expect organizations to prioritize CSR. According to the Conscious Consumer Spending Index , 67 percent of customers prefer buying from socially responsible companies.

To prevent costly employee turnover and satisfy customers, strive to fulfill your ethical responsibilities to society.

Ethical Responsibilities to Customers

As a leader, you must ensure you don’t mislead your customers. Doing so can backfire, negatively impacting your organization’s credibility and profits.

Actions to avoid include:

• Greenwashing : Taking advantage of customers’ CSR preferences by claiming your business practices are sustainable when they aren't.
• False advertising : Making unverified or untrue claims in advertisements or promotional material.
• Making false promises : Lying to make a sale.

These unethical practices can result in multi-million dollar lawsuits, as well as highly dissatisfied customers.

Ethical Responsibilities to Employees

You also have ethical responsibilities to your employees—from the beginning to the end of their employment.

One area of business ethics that receives a lot of attention is employee termination. According to Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability , letting an employee go requires an individualized approach that ensures fairness.

Not only can wrongful termination cost your company upwards of $100,000 in legal expenses , it can also negatively impact other employees’ morale and how they perceive your leadership.

Ethical business practices have additional benefits, such as attracting and retaining talented employees willing to take a pay cut to work for a socially responsible company. Approximately 40 percent of millennials say they would switch jobs to work for a company that emphasizes sustainability.

Ultimately, it's critical to do your best to treat employees fairly.

“Fairness is not only an ethical response to power asymmetries in the work environment,” Hsieh says in the course. “Fairness—and having a successful organizational culture–can benefit the organization economically and legally.”

Why Are Business Ethics Important?

Failure to understand and apply business ethics can result in moral disengagement .

“Moral disengagement refers to ways in which we convince ourselves that what we’re doing is not wrong,” Hsieh says in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . “It can upset the balance of judgment—causing us to prioritize our personal commitments over shared beliefs, rules, and principles—or it can skew our logic to make unethical behaviors appear less harmful or not wrong.”

Moral disengagement can also lead to questionable decisions, such as insider trading .

“In the U.S., insider trading is defined in common, federal, and state laws regulating the opportunity for insiders to benefit from material, non-public information, or MNPI,” Hsieh explains.

This type of unethical behavior can carry severe legal consequences and negatively impact your company's bottom line.

“If you create a certain amount of harm to a society, your customers, or employees over a period of time, that’s going to have a negative impact on your economic value,” Gandhi says in the course.

This is reflected in over half of the top 10 largest bankruptcies between 1980 and 2013 that resulted from unethical behavior. As a business leader, strive to make ethical decisions and fulfill your responsibilities to stakeholders.

How to Implement Business Ethics

To become a more ethical leader, it's crucial to have a balanced, long-term focus.

“It's very important to balance the fact that, even if you're focused on the long term, you have to perform in the short term as well and have a very clear, articulated strategy around that,” Gandhi says in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability .

Making ethical decisions requires reflective leadership.

“Reflecting on complex, gray-area decisions is a key part of what it means to be human, as well as an effective leader,” Hsieh says. “You have agency. You must choose how to act. And with that agency comes responsibility.”

Related: Why Are Ethics Important in Engineering?

Hsieh advises asking the following questions:

• Are you using the “greater good” to justify unethical behavior?
• Are you downplaying your actions to feel better?

“Asking these and similar questions at regular intervals can help you notice when you or others may be approaching the line between making a tough but ethical call and justifying problematic actions,” Hsieh says.

Become a More Ethical Leader

Learning from past successes and mistakes can enable you to improve your ethical decision-making.

“As a leader, when trying to determine what to do, it can be helpful to start by simply asking in any given situation, ‘What can we do?’ and ‘What would be wrong to do?’” Hsieh says.

Many times, the answers come from experience.

Gain insights from others’ ethical decisions, too. One way to do so is by taking an online course, such as Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability , which includes case studies that immerse you in real-world business situations, as well as a reflective leadership model to inform your decision-making.

Ready to become a better leader? Enroll in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability —one of our online leadership and management courses —and download our free e-book on how to be a more effective leader.

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What It Means To Be Asian in America

The lived experiences and perspectives of asian americans in their own words.

Asians are the fastest growing racial and ethnic group in the United States. More than 24 million Americans in the U.S. trace their roots to more than 20 countries in East and Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

The majority of Asian Americans are immigrants, coming to understand what they left behind and building their lives in the United States. At the same time, there is a fast growing, U.S.-born generation of Asian Americans who are navigating their own connections to familial heritage and their own experiences growing up in the U.S.

In a new Pew Research Center analysis based on dozens of focus groups, Asian American participants described the challenges of navigating their own identity in a nation where the label “Asian” brings expectations about their origins, behavior and physical self. Read on to see, in their own words, what it means to be Asian in America.

• Introduction

Table of Contents

This is how i view my identity, this is how others see and treat me, this is what it means to be home in america, about this project, methodological note, acknowledgments.

No single experience defines what it means to be Asian in the United States today. Instead, Asian Americans’ lived experiences are in part shaped by where they were born, how connected they are to their family’s ethnic origins, and how others – both Asians and non-Asians – see and engage with them in their daily lives. Yet despite diverse experiences, backgrounds and origins, shared experiences and common themes emerged when we asked: “What does it mean to be Asian in America?”

In the fall of 2021, Pew Research Center undertook the largest focus group study it had ever conducted – 66 focus groups with 264 total participants – to hear Asian Americans talk about their lived experiences in America. The focus groups were organized into 18 distinct Asian ethnic origin groups, fielded in 18 languages and moderated by members of their own ethnic groups. Because of the pandemic, the focus groups were conducted virtually, allowing us to recruit participants from all parts of the United States. This approach allowed us to hear a diverse set of voices – especially from less populous Asian ethnic groups whose views, attitudes and opinions are seldom presented in traditional polling. The approach also allowed us to explore the reasons behind people’s opinions and choices about what it means to belong in America, beyond the preset response options of a traditional survey.

The terms “Asian,” “Asians living in the United States” and “Asian American” are used interchangeably throughout this essay to refer to U.S. adults who self-identify as Asian, either alone or in combination with other races or Hispanic identity.

“The United States” and “the U.S.” are used interchangeably with “America” for variations in the writing.

Multiracial participants are those who indicate they are of two or more racial backgrounds (one of which is Asian). Multiethnic participants are those who indicate they are of two or more ethnicities, including those identified as Asian with Hispanic background.

U.S. born refers to people born in the 50 U.S. states or the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or other U.S. territories.

Immigrant refers to people who were not U.S. citizens at birth – in other words, those born outside the U.S., Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories to parents who were not U.S. citizens. The terms “immigrant,” “first generation” and “foreign born” are used interchangeably in this report.  

Second generation refers to people born in the 50 states or the District of Columbia with at least one first-generation, or immigrant, parent.

The pan-ethnic term “Asian American” describes the population of about 22 million people living in the United States who trace their roots to more than 20 countries in East and Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The term was popularized by U.S. student activists in the 1960s and was eventually adopted by the U.S. Census Bureau. However, the “Asian” label masks the diverse demographics and wide economic disparities across the largest national origin groups (such as Chinese, Indian, Filipino) and the less populous ones (such as Bhutanese, Hmong and Nepalese) living in America. It also hides the varied circumstances of groups immigrated to the U.S. and how they started their lives there. The population’s diversity often presents challenges . Conventional survey methods typically reflect the voices of larger groups without fully capturing the broad range of views, attitudes, life starting points and perspectives experienced by Asian Americans. They can also limit understanding of the shared experiences across this diverse population.

Across all focus groups, some common findings emerged. Participants highlighted how the pan-ethnic “Asian” label used in the U.S. represented only one part of how they think of themselves. For example, recently arrived Asian immigrant participants told us they are drawn more to their ethnic identity than to the more general, U.S.-created pan-ethnic Asian American identity. Meanwhile, U.S.-born Asian participants shared how they identified, at times, as Asian but also, at other times, by their ethnic origin and as Americans.

Another common finding among focus group participants is the disconnect they noted between how they see themselves and how others view them. Sometimes this led to maltreatment of them or their families, especially at heightened moments in American history such as during Japanese incarceration during World War II, the aftermath of 9/11 and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond these specific moments, many in the focus groups offered their own experiences that had revealed other people’s assumptions or misconceptions about their identity.

Another shared finding is the multiple ways in which participants take and express pride in their cultural and ethnic backgrounds while also feeling at home in America, celebrating and blending their unique cultural traditions and practices with those of other Americans.

This focus group project is part of a broader research agenda about Asians living in the United States. The findings presented here offer a small glimpse of what participants told us, in their own words, about how they identify themselves, how others see and treat them, and more generally, what it means to be Asian in America.

Illustrations by Jing Li

Publications from the Being Asian in America project

• Read the data essay: What It Means to Be Asian in America
• Watch the documentary: Being Asian in America
• Explore the interactive: In Their Own Words: The Diverse Perspectives of Being Asian in America
• View expanded interviews: Extended Interviews: Being Asian in America
• About this research project: More on the Being Asian in America project
• Q&A: Why and how Pew Research Center conducted 66 focus groups with Asian Americans

One of the topics covered in each focus group was how participants viewed their own racial or ethnic identity. Moderators asked them how they viewed themselves, and what experiences informed their views about their identity. These discussions not only highlighted differences in how participants thought about their own racial or ethnic background, but they also revealed how different settings can influence how they would choose to identify themselves. Across all focus groups, the general theme emerged that being Asian was only one part of how participants viewed themselves.

The pan-ethnic label ‘Asian’ is often used more in formal settings

“I think when I think of the Asian Americans, I think that we’re all unique and different. We come from different cultures and backgrounds. We come from unique stories, not just as a group, but just as individual humans.” Mali , documentary participant

Many participants described a complicated relationship with the pan-ethnic labels “Asian” or “Asian American.” For some, using the term was less of an active choice and more of an imposed one, with participants discussing the disconnect between how they would like to identify themselves and the available choices often found in formal settings. For example, an immigrant Pakistani woman remarked how she typically sees “Asian American” on forms, but not more specific options. Similarly, an immigrant Burmese woman described her experience of applying for jobs and having to identify as “Asian,” as opposed to identifying by her ethnic background, because no other options were available. These experiences highlight the challenges organizations like government agencies and employers have in developing surveys or forms that ask respondents about their identity. A common sentiment is one like this:

“I guess … I feel like I just kind of check off ‘Asian’ [for] an application or the test forms. That’s the only time I would identify as Asian. But Asian is too broad. Asia is a big continent. Yeah, I feel like it’s just too broad. To specify things, you’re Taiwanese American, that’s exactly where you came from.”

–U.S.-born woman of Taiwanese origin in early 20s

Smaller ethnic groups default to ‘Asian’ since their groups are less recognizable

Other participants shared how their experiences in explaining the geographic location and culture of their origin country led them to prefer “Asian” when talking about themselves with others. This theme was especially prominent among those belonging to smaller origin groups such as Bangladeshis and Bhutanese. A Lao participant remarked she would initially say “Asian American” because people might not be familiar with “Lao.”

“​​[When I fill out] forms, I select ‘Asian American,’ and that’s why I consider myself as an Asian American. [It is difficult to identify as] Nepali American [since] there are no such options in forms. That’s why, Asian American is fine to me.”

–Immigrant woman of Nepalese origin in late 20s

“Coming to a big country like [the United States], when people ask where we are from … there are some people who have no idea about Bhutan, so we end up introducing ourselves as being Asian.”

–Immigrant woman of Bhutanese origin in late 40s

But for many, ‘Asian’ as a label or identity just doesn’t fit

Many participants felt that neither “Asian” nor “Asian American” truly captures how they view themselves and their identity. They argue that these labels are too broad or too ambiguous, as there are so many different groups included within these labels. For example, a U.S.-born Pakistani man remarked on how “Asian” lumps many groups together – that the term is not limited to South Asian groups such as Indian and Pakistani, but also includes East Asian groups. Similarly, an immigrant Nepalese man described how “Asian” often means Chinese for many Americans. A Filipino woman summed it up this way:

“Now I consider myself to be both Filipino and Asian American, but growing up in [Southern California] … I didn’t start to identify as Asian American until college because in [the Los Angeles suburb where I lived], it’s a big mix of everything – Black, Latino, Pacific Islander and Asian … when I would go into spaces where there were a lot of other Asians, especially East Asians, I didn’t feel like I belonged. … In media, right, like people still associate Asian with being East Asian.”

–U.S.-born woman of Filipino origin in mid-20s

Participants also noted they have encountered confusion or the tendency for others to view Asian Americans as people from mostly East Asian countries, such as China, Japan and Korea. For some, this confusion even extends to interactions with other Asian American groups. A Pakistani man remarked on how he rarely finds Pakistani or Indian brands when he visits Asian stores. Instead, he recalled mostly finding Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese items.

Among participants of South Asian descent, some identified with the label “South Asian” more than just “Asian.” There were other nuances, too, when it comes to the labels people choose. Some Indian participants, for example, said people sometimes group them with Native Americans who are also referred to as Indians in the United States. This Indian woman shared her experience at school:

“I love South Asian or ‘Desi’ only because up until recently … it’s fairly new to say South Asian. I’ve always said ‘Desi’ because growing up … I’ve had to say I’m the red dot Indian, not the feather Indian. So annoying, you know? … Always a distinction that I’ve had to make.”

–U.S.-born woman of Indian origin in late 20s

Participants with multiethnic or multiracial backgrounds described their own unique experiences with their identity. Rather than choosing one racial or ethnic group over the other, some participants described identifying with both groups, since this more accurately describes how they see themselves. In some cases, this choice reflected the history of the Asian diaspora. For example, an immigrant Cambodian man described being both Khmer/Cambodian and Chinese, since his grandparents came from China. Some other participants recalled going through an “identity crisis” as they navigated between multiple identities. As one woman explained:

“I would say I went through an identity crisis. … It’s because of being multicultural. … There’s also French in the mix within my family, too. Because I don’t identify, speak or understand the language, I really can’t connect to the French roots … I’m in between like Cambodian and Thai, and then Chinese and then French … I finally lumped it up. I’m just an Asian American and proud of all my roots.”

–U.S.-born woman of Cambodian origin in mid-30s

In other cases, the choice reflected U.S. patterns of intermarriage. Asian newlyweds have the highest intermarriage rate of any racial or ethnic group in the country. One Japanese-origin man with Hispanic roots noted:

“So I would like to see myself as a Hispanic Asian American. I want to say Hispanic first because I have more of my mom’s culture in me than my dad’s culture. In fact, I actually have more American culture than my dad’s culture for what I do normally. So I guess, Hispanic American Asian.”

–U.S.-born man of Hispanic and Japanese origin in early 40s

Other identities beyond race or ethnicity are also important

Focus group participants also talked about their identity beyond the racial or ethnic dimension. For example, one Chinese woman noted that the best term to describe her would be “immigrant.” Faith and religious ties were also important to some. One immigrant participant talked about his love of Pakistani values and how religion is intermingled into Pakistani culture. Another woman explained:

“[Japanese language and culture] are very important to me and ingrained in me because they were always part of my life, and I felt them when I was growing up. Even the word itadakimasu reflects Japanese culture or the tradition. Shinto religion is a part of the culture. They are part of my identity, and they are very important to me.”

–Immigrant woman of Japanese origin in mid-30s

For some, gender is another important aspect of identity. One Korean participant emphasized that being a woman is an important part of her identity. For others, sexual orientation is an essential part of their overall identity. One U.S.-born Filipino participant described herself as “queer Asian American.” Another participant put it this way:

“I belong to the [LGBTQ] community … before, what we only know is gay and lesbian. We don’t know about being queer, nonbinary. [Here], my horizon of knowing what genders and gender roles is also expanded … in the Philippines, if you’ll be with same sex, you’re considered gay or lesbian. But here … what’s happening is so broad, on how you identify yourself.”

–Immigrant woman of Filipino origin in early 20s

Immigrant identity is tied to their ethnic heritage

Participants born outside the United States tended to link their identity with their ethnic heritage. Some felt strongly connected with their ethnic ties due to their citizenship status. For others, the lack of permanent residency or citizenship meant they have stronger ties to their ethnicity and birthplace. And in some cases, participants said they held on to their ethnic identity even after they became U.S. citizens. One woman emphasized that she will always be Taiwanese because she was born there, despite now living in the U.S.

For other participants, family origin played a central role in their identity, regardless of their status in the U.S. According to some of them, this attitude was heavily influenced by their memories and experiences in early childhood when they were still living in their countries of origin. These influences are so profound that even after decades of living in the U.S., some still feel the strong connection to their ethnic roots. And those with U.S.-born children talked about sending their kids to special educational programs in the U.S. to learn about their ethnic heritage.

“Yes, as for me, I hold that I am Khmer because our nationality cannot be deleted, our identity is Khmer as I hold that I am Khmer … so I try, even [with] my children today, I try to learn Khmer through Zoom through the so-called Khmer Parent Association.”

–Immigrant man of Cambodian origin in late 50s

Navigating life in America is an adjustment

Many participants pointed to cultural differences they have noticed between their ethnic culture and U.S. culture. One of the most distinct differences is in food. For some participants, their strong attachment to the unique dishes of their families and their countries of origin helps them maintain strong ties to their ethnic identity. One Sri Lankan participant shared that her roots are still in Sri Lanka, since she still follows Sri Lankan traditions in the U.S. such as preparing kiribath (rice with coconut milk) and celebrating Ramadan.

For other participants, interactions in social settings with those outside their own ethnic group circles highlighted cultural differences. One Bangladeshi woman talked about how Bengalis share personal stories and challenges with each other, while others in the U.S. like to have “small talk” about TV series or clothes.

Many immigrants in the focus groups have found it is easier to socialize when they are around others belonging to their ethnicity. When interacting with others who don’t share the same ethnicity, participants noted they must be more self-aware about cultural differences to avoid making mistakes in social interactions. Here, participants described the importance of learning to “fit in,” to avoid feeling left out or excluded. One Korean woman said:

“Every time I go to a party, I feel unwelcome. … In Korea, when I invite guests to my house and one person sits without talking, I come over and talk and treat them as a host. But in the United States, I have to go and mingle. I hate mingling so much. I have to talk and keep going through unimportant stories. In Korea, I am assigned to a dinner or gathering. I have a party with a sense of security. In America, I have nowhere to sit, and I don’t know where to go and who to talk to.”

–Immigrant woman of Korean origin in mid-40s

And a Bhutanese immigrant explained:

“In my case, I am not an American. I consider myself a Bhutanese. … I am a Bhutanese because I do not know American culture to consider myself as an American. It is very difficult to understand the sense of humor in America. So, we are pure Bhutanese in America.”

–Immigrant man of Bhutanese origin in early 40s

Language was also a key aspect of identity for the participants. Many immigrants in the focus groups said they speak a language other than English at home and in their daily lives. One Vietnamese man considered himself Vietnamese since his Vietnamese is better than his English. Others emphasized their English skills. A Bangladeshi participant felt that she was more accepted in the workplace when she does more “American” things and speaks fluent English, rather than sharing things from Bangladeshi culture. She felt that others in her workplace correlate her English fluency with her ability to do her job. For others born in the U.S., the language they speak at home influences their connection to their ethnic roots.

“Now if I go to my work and do show my Bengali culture and Asian culture, they are not going to take anything out of it. So, basically, I have to show something that they are interested in. I have to show that I am American, [that] I can speak English fluently. I can do whatever you give me as a responsibility. So, in those cases I can’t show anything about my culture.”

–Immigrant woman of Bangladeshi origin in late 20s

“Being bi-ethnic and tri-cultural creates so many unique dynamics, and … one of the dynamics has to do with … what it is to be Americanized. … One of the things that played a role into how I associate the identity is language. Now, my father never spoke Spanish to me … because he wanted me to develop a fluency in English, because for him, he struggled with English. What happened was three out of the four people that raised me were Khmer … they spoke to me in Khmer. We’d eat breakfast, lunch and dinner speaking Khmer. We’d go to the temple in Khmer with the language and we’d also watch videos and movies in Khmer. … Looking into why I strongly identify with the heritage, one of the reasons is [that] speaking that language connects to the home I used to have [as my families have passed away].”

–U.S.-born man of Cambodian origin in early 30s

Balancing between individualistic and collective thinking

For some immigrant participants, the main differences between themselves and others who are seen as “truly American” were less about cultural differences, or how people behave, and more about differences in “mindset,” or how people think . Those who identified strongly with their ethnicity discussed how their way of thinking is different from a “typical American.” To some, the “American mentality” is more individualistic, with less judgment on what one should do or how they should act . One immigrant Japanese man, for example, talked about how other Japanese-origin co-workers in the U.S. would work without taking breaks because it’s culturally inconsiderate to take a break while others continued working. However, he would speak up for himself and other workers when they are not taking any work breaks. He attributed this to his “American” way of thinking, which encourages people to stand up for themselves.

Some U.S.-born participants who grew up in an immigrant family described the cultural clashes that happened between themselves and their immigrant parents. Participants talked about how the second generation (children of immigrant parents) struggles to pursue their own dreams while still living up to the traditional expectations of their immigrant parents.

“I feel like one of the biggest things I’ve seen, just like [my] Asian American friends overall, is the kind of family-individualistic clash … like wanting to do your own thing is like, is kind of instilled in you as an American, like go and … follow your dream. But then you just grow up with such a sense of like also wanting to be there for your family and to live up to those expectations, and I feel like that’s something that’s very pronounced in Asian cultures.”

–U.S.-born man of Indian origin in mid-20s

Discussions also highlighted differences about gender roles between growing up in America compared with elsewhere.

“As a woman or being a girl, because of your gender, you have to keep your mouth shut [and] wait so that they call on you for you to speak up. … I do respect our elders and I do respect hearing their guidance but I also want them to learn to hear from the younger person … because we have things to share that they might not know and that [are] important … so I like to challenge gender roles or traditional roles because it is something that [because] I was born and raised here [in America], I learn that we all have the equal rights to be able to speak and share our thoughts and ideas.”

U.S. born have mixed ties to their family’s heritage

“I think being Hmong is somewhat of being free, but being free of others’ perceptions of you or of others’ attempts to assimilate you or attempts to put pressure on you. I feel like being Hmong is to resist, really.” Pa Houa , documentary participant

How U.S.-born participants identify themselves depends on their familiarity with their own heritage, whom they are talking with, where they are when asked about their identity and what the answer is used for. Some mentioned that they have stronger ethnic ties because they are very familiar with their family’s ethnic heritage. Others talked about how their eating habits and preferred dishes made them feel closer to their ethnic identity. For example, one Korean participant shared his journey of getting closer to his Korean heritage because of Korean food and customs. When some participants shared their reasons for feeling closer to their ethnic identity, they also expressed a strong sense of pride with their unique cultural and ethnic heritage.

“I definitely consider myself Japanese American. I mean I’m Japanese and American. Really, ever since I’ve grown up, I’ve really admired Japanese culture. I grew up watching a lot of anime and Japanese black and white films. Just learning about [it], I would hear about Japanese stuff from my grandparents … myself, and my family having blended Japanese culture and American culture together.”

–U.S.-born man of Japanese origin in late 20s

Meanwhile, participants who were not familiar with their family’s heritage showed less connection with their ethnic ties. One U.S.-born woman said she has a hard time calling herself Cambodian, as she is “not close to the Cambodian community.” Participants with stronger ethnic ties talked about relating to their specific ethnic group more than the broader Asian group. Another woman noted that being Vietnamese is “more specific and unique than just being Asian” and said that she didn’t feel she belonged with other Asians. Some participants also disliked being seen as or called “Asian,” in part because they want to distinguish themselves from other Asian groups. For example, one Taiwanese woman introduces herself as Taiwanese when she can, because she had frequently been seen as Chinese.

Some in the focus groups described how their views of their own identities shifted as they grew older. For example, some U.S.-born and immigrant participants who came to the U.S. at younger ages described how their experiences in high school and the need to “fit in” were important in shaping their own identities. A Chinese woman put it this way:

“So basically, all I know is that I was born in the United States. Again, when I came back, I didn’t feel any barrier with my other friends who are White or Black. … Then I got a little confused in high school when I had trouble self-identifying if I am Asian, Chinese American, like who am I. … Should I completely immerse myself in the American culture? Should I also keep my Chinese identity and stuff like that? So yeah, that was like the middle of that mist. Now, I’m pretty clear about myself. I think I am Chinese American, Asian American, whatever people want.”

–U.S.-born woman of Chinese origin in early 20s

Identity is influenced by birthplace

“I identified myself first and foremost as American. Even on the forms that you fill out that says, you know, ‘Asian’ or ‘Chinese’ or ‘other,’ I would check the ‘other’ box, and I would put ‘American Chinese’ instead of ‘Chinese American.’” Brent , documentary participant

When talking about what it means to be “American,” participants offered their own definitions. For some, “American” is associated with acquiring a distinct identity alongside their ethnic or racial backgrounds, rather than replacing them. One Indian participant put it this way:

“I would also say [that I am] Indian American just because I find myself always bouncing between the two … it’s not even like dual identity, it just is one whole identity for me, like there’s not this separation. … I’m doing [both] Indian things [and] American things. … They use that term like ABCD … ‘American Born Confused Desi’ … I don’t feel that way anymore, although there are those moments … but I would say [that I am] Indian American for sure.”

–U.S.-born woman of Indian origin in early 30s

Meanwhile, some U.S.-born participants view being American as central to their identity while also valuing the culture of their family’s heritage.

Many immigrant participants associated the term “American” with immigration status or citizenship. One Taiwanese woman said she can’t call herself American since she doesn’t have a U.S. passport. Notably, U.S. citizenship is an important milestone for many immigrant participants, giving them a stronger sense of belonging and ultimately calling themselves American. A Bangladeshi participant shared that she hasn’t received U.S. citizenship yet, and she would call herself American after she receives her U.S. passport.

Other participants gave an even narrower definition, saying only those born and raised in the United States are truly American. One Taiwanese woman mentioned that her son would be American since he was born, raised and educated in the U.S. She added that while she has U.S. citizenship, she didn’t consider herself American since she didn’t grow up in the U.S. This narrower definition has implications for belonging. Some immigrants in the groups said they could never become truly American since the way they express themselves is so different from those who were born and raised in the U.S. A Japanese woman pointed out that Japanese people “are still very intimidated by authorities,” while those born and raised in America give their opinions without hesitation.

“As soon as I arrived, I called myself a Burmese immigrant. I had a green card, but I still wasn’t an American citizen. … Now I have become a U.S. citizen, so now I am a Burmese American.”

–Immigrant man of Burmese origin in mid-30s

“Since I was born … and raised here, I kind of always view myself as American first who just happened to be Asian or Chinese. So I actually don’t like the term Chinese American or Asian American. I’m American Asian or American Chinese. I view myself as American first.”

–U.S.-born man of Chinese origin in early 60s

“[I used to think of myself as] Filipino, but recently I started saying ‘Filipino American’ because I got [U.S.] citizenship. And it just sounds weird to say Filipino American, but I’m trying to … I want to accept it. I feel like it’s now marry-able to my identity.”

–Immigrant woman of Filipino origin in early 30s

For others, American identity is about the process of ‘becoming’ culturally American

Immigrant participants also emphasized how their experiences and time living in America inform their views of being an “American.” As a result, some started to see themselves as Americans after spending more than a decade in the U.S. One Taiwanese man considered himself an American since he knows more about the U.S. than Taiwan after living in the U.S. for over 52 years.

But for other immigrant participants, the process of “becoming” American is not about how long they have lived in the U.S., but rather how familiar they are with American culture and their ability to speak English with little to no accent. This is especially true for those whose first language is not English, as learning and speaking it without an accent can be a big challenge for some. One Bangladeshi participant shared that his pronunciation of “hot water” was very different from American English, resulting in confusions in communication. By contrast, those who were more confident in their English skills felt they can better understand American culture and values as a result, leading them to a stronger connection with an American identity.

“[My friends and family tease me for being Americanized when I go back to Japan.] I think I seem a little different to people who live in Japan. I don’t think they mean anything bad, and they [were] just joking, because I already know that I seem a little different to people who live in Japan.”

–Immigrant man of Japanese origin in mid-40s

“I value my Hmong culture, and language, and ethnicity, but I also do acknowledge, again, that I was born here in America and I’m grateful that I was born here, and I was given opportunities that my parents weren’t given opportunities for.”

–U.S.-born woman of Hmong origin in early 30s

During the focus group discussions about identity, a recurring theme emerged about the difference between how participants saw themselves and how others see them. When asked to elaborate on their experiences and their points of view, some participants shared experiences they had with people misidentifying their race or ethnicity. Others talked about their frustration with being labeled the “model minority.” In all these discussions, participants shed light on the negative impacts that mistaken assumptions and labels had on their lives.

All people see is ‘Asian’

For many, interactions with others (non-Asians and Asians alike) often required explaining their backgrounds, reacting to stereotypes, and for those from smaller origin groups in particular, correcting the misconception that being “Asian” means you come from one of the larger Asian ethnic groups. Several participants remarked that in their own experiences, when others think about Asians, they tend to think of someone who is Chinese. As one immigrant Filipino woman put it, “Interacting with [non-Asians in the U.S.], it’s hard. … Well, first, I look Spanish. I mean, I don’t look Asian, so would you guess – it’s like they have a vision of what an Asian [should] look like.” Similarly, an immigrant Indonesian man remarked how Americans tended to see Asians primarily through their physical features, which not all Asian groups share.

Several participants also described how the tendency to view Asians as a monolithic group can be even more common in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The first [thing people think of me as] is just Chinese. ‘You guys are just Chinese.’ I’m not the only one who felt [this] after the COVID-19 outbreak. ‘Whether you’re Japanese, Korean, or Southeast Asian, you’re just Chinese [to Americans]. I should avoid you.’ I’ve felt this way before, but I think I’ve felt it a bit more after the COVID-19 outbreak.”

–Immigrant woman of Korean origin in early 30s

At the same time, other participants described their own experiences trying to convince others that they are Asian or Asian American. This was a common experience among Southeast Asian participants.

“I have to convince people I’m Asian, not Middle Eastern. … If you type in Asian or you say Asian, most people associate it with Chinese food, Japanese food, karate, and like all these things but then they don’t associate it with you.”

–U.S.-born man of Pakistani origin in early 30s

The model minority myth and its impact

“I’ve never really done the best academically, compared to all my other Asian peers too. I never really excelled. I wasn’t in honors. … Those stereotypes, I think really [have] taken a toll on my self-esteem.” Diane , documentary participant

Across focus groups, immigrant and U.S.-born participants described the challenges of the seemingly positive stereotypes of Asians as intelligent, gifted in technical roles and hardworking. Participants often referred to this as the “model minority myth.”

The label “model minority” was coined in the 1960s and has been used to characterize Asian Americans as financially and educationally successful and hardworking when compared with other groups. However, for many Asians living in the United States, these characterizations do not align with their lived experiences or reflect their socioeconomic backgrounds. Indeed, among Asian origin groups in the U.S., there are wide differences in economic and social experiences. 

Academic research on the model minority myth has pointed to its impact beyond Asian Americans and towards other racial and ethnic groups, especially Black Americans, in the U.S. Some argue that the model minority myth has been used to justify policies that overlook the historical circumstances and impacts of colonialism, slavery, discrimination and segregation on other non-White racial and ethnic groups.

Many participants noted ways in which the model minority myth has been harmful. For some, expectations based on the myth didn’t match their own experiences of coming from impoverished communities. Some also recalled experiences at school when they struggled to meet their teachers’ expectations in math and science.

“As an Asian person, I feel like there’s that stereotype that Asian students are high achievers academically. They’re good at math and science. … I was a pretty mediocre student, and math and science were actually my weakest subjects, so I feel like it’s either way you lose. Teachers expect you to fit a certain stereotype and if you’re not, then you’re a disappointment, but at the same time, even if you are good at math and science, that just means that you’re fitting a stereotype. It’s [actually] your own achievement, but your teachers might think, ‘Oh, it’s because they’re Asian,’ and that diminishes your achievement.”

–U.S.-born woman of Korean origin in late 20s

Some participants felt that even when being Asian worked in their favor in the job market, they encountered stereotypes that “Asians can do quality work with less compensation” or that “Asians would not complain about anything at work.”

“There is a joke from foreigners and even Asian Americans that says, ‘No matter what you do, Asians always do the best.’ You need to get A, not just B-plus. Otherwise, you’ll be a disgrace to the family. … Even Silicon Valley hires Asian because [an] Asian’s wage is cheaper but [they] can work better. When [work] visa overflow happens, they hire Asians like Chinese and Indian to work in IT fields because we are good at this and do not complain about anything.”

–Immigrant man of Thai origin in early 40s

Others expressed frustration that people were placing them in the model minority box. One Indian woman put it this way:

“Indian people and Asian people, like … our parents or grandparents are the ones who immigrated here … against all odds. … A lot of Indian and Asian people have succeeded and have done really well for themselves because they’ve worked themselves to the bone. So now the expectations [of] the newer generations who were born here are incredibly unrealistic and high. And you get that not only from your family and the Indian community, but you’re also getting it from all of the American people around you, expecting you to be … insanely good at math, play an instrument, you know how to do this, you know how to do that, but it’s not true. And it’s just living with those expectations, it’s difficult.”

–U.S.-born woman of Indian origin in early 20s

Whether U.S. born or immigrants, Asians are often seen by others as foreigners

“Being only not quite 10 years old, it was kind of exciting to ride on a bus to go someplace. But when we went to Pomona, the assembly center, we were stuck in one of the stalls they used for the animals.” Tokiko , documentary participant

Across all focus groups, participants highlighted a common question they are asked in America when meeting people for the first time: “Where are you really from?” For participants, this question implied that people think they are “foreigners,” even though they may be longtime residents or citizens of the United States or were born in the country. One man of Vietnamese origin shared his experience with strangers who assumed that he and his friends are North Korean. Perhaps even more hurtful, participants mentioned that this meant people had a preconceived notion of what an “American” is supposed to look like, sound like or act like. One Chinese woman said that White Americans treated people like herself as outsiders based on her skin color and appearance, even though she was raised in the U.S.

Many focus group participants also acknowledged the common stereotype of treating Asians as “forever foreigners.” Some immigrant participants said they felt exhausted from constantly being asked this question by people even when they speak perfect English with no accent. During the discussion, a Korean immigrant man recalled that someone had said to him, “You speak English well, but where are you from?” One Filipino participant shared her experience during the first six months in the U.S.:

“You know, I spoke English fine. But there were certain things that, you know, people constantly questioning you like, oh, where are you from? When did you come here? You know, just asking about your experience to the point where … you become fed up with it after a while.”

–Immigrant woman of Filipino origin in mid-30s

U.S.-born participants also talked about experiences when others asked where they are from. Many shared that they would not talk about their ethnic origin right away when answering such a question because it often led to misunderstandings and assumptions that they are immigrants.

“I always get that question of, you know, ‘Where are you from?’ and I’m like, ‘I’m from America.’ And then they’re like, ‘No. Where are you from-from ?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, my family is from Pakistan,’ so it’s like I always had like that dual identity even though it’s never attached to me because I am like, of Pakistani descent.”

–U.S.-born man of Pakistani origin in early 20s

One Korean woman born in the U.S. said that once people know she is Korean, they ask even more offensive questions such as “Are you from North or South Korea?” or “Do you still eat dogs?”

In a similar situation, this U.S.-born Indian woman shared her responses:

“I find that there’s a, ‘So but where are you from?’ Like even in professional settings when they feel comfortable enough to ask you. ‘So – so where are you from?’ ‘Oh, I was born in [names city], Colorado. Like at [the hospital], down the street.’ ‘No, but like where are you from?’ ‘My mother’s womb?’”

–U.S.-born woman of Indian origin in early 40s

Ignorance and misinformation about Asian identity can lead to contentious encounters

“I have dealt with kids who just gave up on their Sikh identity, cut their hair and groomed their beard and everything. They just wanted to fit in and not have to deal with it, especially [those] who are victim or bullied in any incident.” Surinder , documentary participant

In some cases, ignorance and misinformation about Asians in the U.S. lead to inappropriate comments or questions and uncomfortable or dangerous situations. Participants shared their frustration when others asked about their country of origin, and they then had to explain their identity or correct misunderstandings or stereotypes about their background. At other times, some participants faced ignorant comments about their ethnicity, which sometimes led to more contentious encounters. For example, some Indian or Pakistani participants talked about the attacks or verbal abuse they experienced from others blaming them for the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Others discussed the racial slurs directed toward them since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Some Japanese participants recalled their families losing everything and being incarcerated during World War II and the long-term effect it had on their lives.

“I think like right now with the coronavirus, I think we’re just Chinese, Chinese American, well, just Asian American or Asians in general, you’re just going through the same struggles right now. Like everyone is just blaming whoever looks Asian about the virus. You don’t feel safe.”

–U.S.-born man of Chinese origin in early 30s

“At the beginning of the pandemic, a friend and I went to celebrate her birthday at a club and like these guys just kept calling us COVID.”

–U.S.-born woman of Korean origin in early 20s

“There [were] a lot of instances after 9/11. One day, somebody put a poster about 9/11 [in front of] my business. He was wearing a gun. … On the poster, it was written ‘you Arabs, go back to your country.’ And then someone came inside. He pointed his gun at me and said ‘Go back to your country.’”

–Immigrant man of Pakistani origin in mid-60s

“[My parents went through the] internment camps during World War II. And my dad, he was in high school, so he was – they were building the camps and then he was put into the Santa Anita horse track place, the stables there. And then they were sent – all the Japanese Americans were sent to different camps, right, during World War II and – in California. Yeah, and they lost everything, yeah.”

–U.S.-born woman of Japanese origin in mid-60s

As focus group participants contemplated their identity during the discussions, many talked about their sense of belonging in America. Although some felt frustrated with people misunderstanding their ethnic heritage, they didn’t take a negative view of life in America. Instead, many participants – both immigrant and U.S. born – took pride in their unique cultural and ethnic backgrounds. In these discussions, people gave their own definitions of America as a place with a diverse set of cultures, with their ethnic heritage being a part of it.

Taking pride in their unique cultures

“Being a Pakistani American, I’m proud. … Because I work hard, and I make true my dreams from here.” Shahid , documentary participant

Despite the challenges of adapting to life in America for immigrant participants or of navigating their dual cultural identity for U.S.-born ones, focus group participants called America their home. And while participants talked about their identities in different ways – ethnic identity, racial (Asian) identity, and being American – they take pride in their unique cultures. Many also expressed a strong sense of responsibility to give back or support their community, sharing their cultural heritage with others on their own terms.

“Right now it has been a little difficult. I think it has been for all Asians because of the COVID issue … but I’m glad that we’re all here [in America]. I think we should be proud to be here. I’m glad that our families have traveled here, and we can help make life better for communities, our families and ourselves. I think that’s really a wonderful thing. We can be those role models for a lot of the future, the younger folks. I hope that something I did in the last years will have impacted either my family, friends or students that I taught in other community things that I’ve done. So you hope that it helps someplace along the line.”

“I am very proud of my culture. … There is not a single Bengali at my workplace, but people know the name of my country. Maybe many years [later] – educated people know all about the country. So, I don’t have to explain that there is a small country next to India and Nepal. It’s beyond saying. People after all know Bangladesh. And there are so many Bengali present here as well. So, I am very proud to be a Bangladeshi.”

Where home is

When asked about the definition of home, some immigrant participants said home is where their families are located. Immigrants in the focus groups came to the United States by various paths, whether through work opportunities, reuniting with family or seeking a safe haven as refugees. Along their journey, some received support from family members, their local community or other individuals, while others overcame challenges by themselves. Either way, they take pride in establishing their home in America and can feel hurt when someone tells them to “go back to your country.” In response, one Laotian woman in her mid-40s said, “This is my home. My country. Go away.”

“If you ask me personally, I view my home as my house … then I would say my house is with my family because wherever I go, I cannot marry if I do not have my family so that is how I would answer.”

–Immigrant man of Hmong origin in late 30s

“[If somebody yelled at me ‘go back to your country’] I’d feel angry because this is my country! I live here. America is my country. I grew up here and worked here … I’d say, ‘This is my country! You go back to your country! … I will not go anywhere. This is my home. I will live here.’ That’s what I’d say.”

–Immigrant woman of Laotian origin in early 50s

‘American’ means to blend their unique cultural and ethnic heritage with that in the U.S.

“I want to teach my children two traditions – one American and one Vietnamese – so they can compare and choose for themselves the best route in life.” Helen , documentary participant (translated from Vietnamese)

Both U.S.-born and immigrant participants in the focus groups shared their experiences of navigating a dual cultural environment between their ethnic heritage and American culture. A common thread that emerged was that being Asian in America is a process of blending two or more identities as one.

“Yeah, I want to say that’s how I feel – because like thinking about it, I would call my dad Lao but I would call myself Laotian American because I think I’m a little more integrated in the American society and I’ve also been a little more Americanized, compared to my dad. So that’s how I would see it.”

–U.S.-born man of Laotian origin in late 20s

“I mean, Bangladeshi Americans who are here, we are carrying Bangladeshi culture, religion, food. I am also trying to be Americanized like the Americans. Regarding language, eating habits.”

–Immigrant man of Bangladeshi origin in mid-50s

“Just like there is Chinese American, Mexican American, Japanese American, Italian American, so there is Indian American. I don’t want to give up Indianness. I am American by nationality, but I am Indian by birth. So whenever I talk, I try to show both the flags as well, both Indian and American flags. Just because you make new relatives but don’t forget the old relatives.”

–Immigrant man of Indian origin in late 40s

Pew Research Center designed these focus groups to better understand how members of an ethnically diverse Asian population think about their place in America and life here. By including participants of different languages, immigration or refugee experiences, educational backgrounds, and income levels, this focus group study aimed to capture in people’s own words what it means to be Asian in America. The discussions in these groups may or may not resonate with all Asians living in the United States. Browse excerpts from our focus groups with the interactive quote sorter below, view a video documentary focused on the topics discussed in the focus groups, or tell us your story of belonging in America via social media. The focus group project is part of a broader research project studying the diverse experiences of Asians living in the U.S.

Read sortable quotes from our focus groups

Browse excerpts in the interactive quote sorter from focus group participants in response to the question “What does it mean to be [Vietnamese, Thai, Sri Lankan, Hmong, etc.] like yourself in America?” This interactive allows you to sort quotes from focus group participants by ethnic origin, nativity (U.S. born or born in another country), gender and age.

Video documentary

Videos throughout the data essay illustrate what focus group participants discussed. Those recorded in these videos did not participate in the focus groups but were sampled to have similar demographic characteristics and thematically relevant stories.

Watch the full video documentary and watch additional shorter video clips related to the themes of this data essay.

Share the story of your family and your identity

Did the voices in this data essay resonate? Share your story of what it means to be Asian in America with @pewresearch. Tell us your story by using the hashtag #BeingAsianInAmerica and @pewidentity on Twitter, as well as #BeingAsianInAmerica and @pewresearch on Instagram.

This cross-ethnic, comparative qualitative research project explores the identity, economic mobility, representation, and experiences of immigration and discrimination among the Asian population in the United States. The analysis is based on 66 focus groups we conducted virtually in the fall of 2021 and included 264 participants from across the U.S. More information about the groups and analysis can be found in this appendix .

Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This data essay was funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with generous support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative DAF, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation; the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; the Henry Luce Foundation; The Wallace H. Coulter Foundation; The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation; The Long Family Foundation; Lu-Hebert Fund; Gee Family Foundation; Joseph Cotchett; the Julian Abdey and Sabrina Moyle Charitable Fund; and Nanci Nishimura.

The accompanying video clips and video documentary were made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with generous support from The Sobrato Family Foundation and The Long Family Foundation.

We would also like to thank the Leaders Forum for its thought leadership and valuable assistance in helping make this study possible. This is a collaborative effort based on the input and analysis of a number of individuals and experts at Pew Research Center and outside experts.

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Central Bank Digital Currencies in the Middle East and Central Asia

Author/Editor:

Serpil Bouza ; Bashar Hlayhel ; Thomas Kroen ; Marcello Miccoli ; Borislava Mircheva ; Greta Polo ; Sahra Sakha ; Yang Yang

Publication Date:

April 26, 2024

Electronic Access:

Free Download . Use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this PDF file

Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.

Against the backdrop of a rapidly digitalizing world, there is a growing interest in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) among central banks, including in the Middle East and Central Asia (ME&CA) region. This paper aims to support ME&CA policymakers in examining key questions when considering the adoption of a CBDC while underscoring the importance of country-specific analyses. This paper does not provide recommendations on CBDC issuance. Instead, it frames the discussion around the following key questions: What is a CBDC? What objectives do policymakers aim to achieve with the issuance of a CBDC? Which inefficiencies in payment systems can CBDCs address? What are the implications of CBDC issuance for financial stability and central bank operational risk? How can CBDC design help achieve policy objectives and mitigate these risks? The paper provides preliminary answers to these questions at the regional level. A survey of IMF teams and public statements from ME&CA policymakers confirm that promoting financial inclusion and making payment systems more efficient (domestic and cross-border) are the top priorities in the region. Payment services through CBDCs, if offered at a lower cost than existing alternatives, could spur competition in the payment market and help increase access to bank accounts, improve financial inclusion, and update legacy technology platforms. CBDCs may also help improve the efficiency of cross-border payment services, especially if designed to address frictions arising from a lack of payment system interoperability, complex processing of compliance checks, long transaction chains, and weak competition. At the same time, CBDCs could negatively impact bank profitability while introducing a substantial operational burden for central banks. However, the exact economic and financial impacts of CBDCs need further study and would depend on estimates of CBDC demand, which are uncertain and country- dependent. CBDC issuance and adoption is a long journey that policymakers should approach with care. Policymakers need to analyze carefully whether a CBDC serves their country’s objectives and whether the expected benefits outweigh the potential costs, in addition to risks for the financial system and operational risks for the central bank.

Departmental Paper No 2024/004

Central Bank digital currencies Commercial banks Digital financial services Financial inclusion Financial institutions Financial markets International organization Payment systems Political economy Technology

9798400263798/2616-5333

Please address any questions about this title to [email protected]