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ETHICS CHARACTERISTICS OF MORAL

STANDARDS
Moral Standard – refers to the norms which we 1. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or
have about the types of actions which we believe to significant benefits
be morally. acceptable and morally unacceptable. ➤ moral standards deal with matters which
Specifically, moral standards deal with matters can seriously impact, that is, injure or benefit
which can either seriously harm or seriously benefit human beings. it is not the case with many non-
human beings. moral standards. for instance, following or violating
Non-Moral Standard - refer to rules that are some basketball rules may matter in basketball
unrelated to moral or ethical considerations. Either games but does not necessarily affect one's life or
these standards are not necessarily linked to wellbeing.
morality or by nature lack ethical sense.
Etiquette - refers to the norms of correct conduct in 2. Moral standards ought to be preferred to other
polite society or, more generally, to any special values
code of social behavior or courtesy. The rules of ➤ Moral standards have overriding
etiquette are prescriptions for socially acceptable character or hegemonic authority. If a moral
behavior. standard state that a person has the moral obligation
Statutes – are laws enacted by legislative bodies. to do something, then he/she is supposed to do that
The law that defines and prohibits theft is a statute even if it conflicts with other non-moral standards,
Congress and state legislatures enact statutes. and even with self-interest.
➤ Moral standards are not the only rules or
HOW ARE MORAL STANDARDS FORMED principles in society, but they take precedence over
• There are some moral standards that many of us other considerations, including aesthetic, prudential,
share in our conduct in society. These moral and even legal ones. It may be prudent to lie to save
standards are influenced by a variety of factors such one's dignity, but it probably is morally wrong to do
as the moral principles we accept as part of our so. When a particular law becomes seriously
upbringing, values passed on to us through heritage immoral, it may be people's moral duty to exercise
and legacy, the religious values that we have civil disobedience.
imbibed from childhood. ➤ There is a general moral duty to obey the
law, but there may come a time when the injustice
• The values that were showcased during the period of an evil law is unbearable and thus calls for illegal
of our education, the behavior pattern of those who but moral non-cooperation.
are around us, the explicit and implicit standards of
our culture, our life experiences and more 3. Moral standards are not established by authority
importantly, our critical reflections on these figures
experiences. Moral standards concern behavior ➤ Moral standards are not invented, formed,
which is very closely linked to human well-being. or generated by authoritative bodies or persons such
as nations' legislative bodies. Ideally instead, these
• Most, if not all, people have certain moral values ought to be considered in the process of
principles or a moral code that they explicitly or making laws. In principle therefore, moral standards
implicitly accept. Because the moral principles of cannot be changed nor nullified by the decisions of
different people in the same society overlap, at least particular authoritative body.
in part, we can also talk about the moral code of a
society, meaning the moral standards shared by its
members.
 surprising if he/she starts feeling guilty or being
4. Moral standards have the trait of ashamed of his/her behavior afterwards. On the
universalizability contrary, no much guilt is felt if one goes against
➤ Simply put, it means that everyone should the current fashion trend (Manebog, 2013).
live up to moral standards. To be more accurate,
however, it entails that moral principles must apply MORAL DILEMMAS
to all who are in the relevantly similar situation. If A moral dilemma is a conflict in which you have to
one judges that act A is morally right for a certain choose between two or more actions and have moral
person P, then it is morally right for anybody reasons for choosing each action. What is common
relevantly similar to P. to the two well-known cases is conflict. In each
➤ This characteristic is exemplified in the case, an agent regards herself as having moral
Golden Rule, "Do unto others what you would them reasons to do each of two actions, but doing both
do unto you (if you were in their shoes)" and in the actions is not possible. Ethicists have called
formal Principle of Justice, "it cannot right for A to situations like these moral dilemmas.
treat B in a manner in which it would be wrong for
B to treat A, merely on the ground that they are two The crucial features of a moral dilemma are
different individuals, and without there being any these:
difference between the natures or circumstances of • The agent is required to do each of two or more
the two which can be stated as a reasonable ground actions; the agent can do each of the actions; but the
for difference of treatment." agent cannot do both or all of the actions.
• The agent thus seems condemned to moral
5. Moral standards are based on impartial failure; no matter what she does, she will do
considerations something wrong (or fail to do something that she
➤ Moral standard does not evaluate ought to do). (Lemmons, 1987)
standards on the basis of the interests of a certain
person or group, but one that goes beyond personal A moral dilemma is a situation where:
interests to a universal standpoint in which each 1. You are presented with two or more actions, all
person's interests are impartially counted as equal. of which you have the ability to perform.
➤ Impartiality it is usually depicted as being 2. There are moral reasons for you to choose each
free of bias or prejudice. Impartiality in morality of the actions.
requires that we give equal and/or adequate 3. You cannot perform all of the actions and have to
consideration to the interests of all concerned choose which action, or actions when there are or
parties. more choices to perform.

6. Moral standards are associated with special Since there are moral reasons for you to choose
emotions and vocabulary each action, and you cannot choose them all, it
➤ Prescriptivity indicates the practical or follows that no matter what choice you make, you
action-guiding nature of moral standards. These will be failing to follow your morals. In other
moral standards are generally put forth as injunction words, someone or something will suffer no matter
or imperatives (such as, 'Do not kill, 'Do no what choice you make. For example, your friend
unnecessary harm, and 'Love your neighbor'). will suffer if you tell the truth, you will be a liar and
➤ These principles are proposed for use, to possibly a lawbreaker, and your friend will get
advise, and to influence to action. Retroactively, arrested for a crime she did not commit.
this feature is used to evaluate behavior, to assign
praise and blame, and to produce feelings of
satisfaction or of guilt.
➤ If a person violates a moral standard by
telling a lie even to fulfill a special purpose, it is not
MORAL DILEMMAS IN ORGANIZATIONS In other cases, the ethical dilemmas organizations
Ethical dilemmas in the workplace are quite face is even more difficult because there is no
common, and they're not always easy to answer- "wrong" answer. The toughest ethical dilemmas in
The concepts are straightforward. But the challenge the workplace occur when two or more competing
is in the execution, Even when organizations have alternatives are present, each having its own set of
great policies and procedures and follow laws and ethical values, the choice of which always offers a
regulations, there's still a high risk of unethical less-than- ideal solution. This happens because we
behavior often are pitting two favorable outcomes against
 For example, some employees may not each other often fairness versus compassion.
know the resources exist to help in decision- "Right" versus "right" is the toughest ethical
making. They may not know who to turn to challenge to navigate.
with questions. Any time an organization is
not fully supporting people, they're THE PHILIPPINE HEALTH CARE
increasing the possibility of high-risk DILEMMA
behavior. • Our geographical location and growing population
are still the top and perennial reasons why
Why do some organizations stumble when it developing the Philippine health care system
comes to ethics? The answer is sometimes remains a challenge, said the Department of Health
simple. In many cases there are mixed messages, (DoH) and several United Kingdom- based
such as inconsistent application of policies or a pharmaceuticals executives in a recent dialogue.
tendency to overlook borderline or even directly • According to the 2008 DoH report "The Philippine
unethical behavior. This is the "it's not my job" Health System at a Glance" available on its website,
mentality. almost all regions have insufficient beds relative to
population. The sufficiency of beds is one indicator
Here are some other common missteps: of a good (or a failing) healthcare system. The
1. Senior leaders fail to "walk the talk" —they are Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao
guilty of modeling inappropriate behavior. (ARMM) has the smallest bed population ratio, said
2. Leaders often have an irrational sense of the data.
entitlement, feeling allowed to do this," or "l • "We still conduct our operation under the trees,"
deserve this." affirmed an audience member from Mindanao. She
3. Individuals may begin cutting corners due to pleaded for assistance from PhilHealth central
misplaced incentive. When an organization begins branch manager Arsenia Torres, who said
rewarding the wrong things, this can lead to cutting PhilHealth would help but it could not enter if there
comers on safety, quality, etc. is no hospital to begin with.
4. Individuals may also feel the need to be obedient • There are four classifications of hospitals. Level
to authority, even when they are being asked to do one is comparable with infirmaries and has a limited
something they is wrong. level of access. Level one hospitals are scattered
5. Individuals also have the need for closure, which around the country, but level four hospitals - which
can lead to conflict avoidance. For example, an have the most advanced technology are
employee may not sure how to approach a possibly concentrated in Metro Manila and Region III only.
unethical situation, so he or she may simply opt to • Choosing more innovative and yet expensive
close it out without having the difficult conversation drugs is more cost-effective than cheap but
about ethics. inefficient drugs. A panel of expert decides on what
6. Defensive "logic" is prevalent. This manifests as drugs should make it to the list based down to five
“everyone is doing it, why not me?" or "why should members only, said Mr. Hartigan-Go. It makes the
I stick my neck out? evaluation faster. on their cost-effectiveness and
safety. Now the number of experts in the panel is
(Philippine Council for Health Research and
Development)