Why Ethics Matter

Why Ethics Matters

There are many situations in which ethical perspectives are in contrast to another person's opinion on the same subject matter. Every person has found themselves looking over his shoulder asking himself "am I doing the right thing?" Ethics is what a person does when no one is watching. Whether it is a corporation or a government entity, they all expect their employees to behave ethically.

What are ethics? Webster defines ethics as "a set of moral principles" or "a theory or system of moral values". A person's ethics can depend on how he grew up, his education, his religious preference and his life experiences. Life experiences more than anything else can define a person's ethical nature. A bad experience can leave a person jaded and more apt to lead a more unethical lifestyle while another person with positive ethical experiences is likely to have a positive influence within his life. As a person moves into different stages of life his personal (and professional) ethics may clash with others depending on his viewpoint. Personal philosophies (and ethics) can (and do) help in the decision making processes. While this is often the case, it is important that people take a moment to recognize the decisions that other people make. Just because ethical decisions are different, doesn't necessarily make them wrong. An example of this is abortion. In many places abortion is illegal because people feel that abortion is murder and have managed to pass a law that makes abortion illegal. In places where abortion is legal you will often find demonstrators on site of legal abortion clinics with picket signs and trying to prevent abortion from happening.

Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, used ethics to describe a standard of behavior. He also used ethics as an area of study in exploring the nature of morality. He asked questions to define what is right and what is wrong. Aristotle's strongly believed that a person's life experiences molds a person into who he becomes.

In any philosophy class today, students learn to question everything and ethics are what they perceive them to be. Immanuel Kant is thought of as one the most brilliant scholars of all time. He felt strongly perceptual input must be recognized, and processed through the brain. Kant philosophized that a person's experiences can shape his perception of reality. If a person wore blue glasses, he would see everything with a blue tint. While this would not be the same for every person (because not everyone wears blue glasses), it would be true for this man and his perception. Perception has everything to do with making ethical decisions because how a person perceives a situation will dictate the ethical (or unethical) decision that is made.

Health Care Services Corporation is a corporation that has very high ethical standards. Working in the health care industry, it is important that HCSC has high ethical standard due to the sensitive nature of information that flows through its company everyday. In such a competitive business, high ethical standards have become the standard and a good reputation is a must. HCSC stays grounded with its four core values. Integrity and honesty are of the utmost importance. Responsibility holds HCSC accountable for all consequences of their behavior. The third core value, mutual respect, creates a work environment based on teamwork, trust and communication among all employees. The final core value is corporate citizenship. This mandates how HCSC is operated (as a business) in respect to laws, government regulations and encourages employees to participate in improving the quality of life in its surroundings communities.

Employees of Health Care Services Corporation are privy to private information on every member that has this health insurance. This information includes social security numbers and medical histories. The entire company is trained to do the "right thing when no one is watching" via DRIVE training, annual compliance training and HIPAA training. Every individual within the corporation must attend each of these trainings. Each training program is devoted to good ethical behavior, promotes ethical behavior or builds upon other ethical training programs. When an employee completes these programs there are no doubts about what is right or wrong. HCSC has long followed their chosen motto "Chose the right path."

The United States Government relies heavily on compliance to keep America running smoothly. There are many programs set up to keep different businesses in line and regulated. For the safety of the American community, everything that is imported from other countries is subject to some kind of regulation. These regulations prevent unethical behavior such as theft, fraud, embezzlement, bribery, misappropriation or conversion of property, false statements to the government, discriminatory employment practices and violations of environmental or workplace safety laws.

In a cast study of a negative ethical experience, an unethical decision cost a Supervisor