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Determinants and Consequences of Ethics in Human Relation

Last Updated : 20 Oct, 2022
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Ethics in human relations is an aspect of the study of ethics that deals with the way people interact or should interact with one another. The importance of the role played by ethics in human relations in an individual’s personal and public life cannot be understated. For example, ethical issues arise in the context of workplace relationships, family relationships, friendships, sexuality, etc. Thus, there are determinants and consequences of ethics in human relations. This essay will discuss both determinants and consequences of ethics in human relations.

Human Relations:

Human relations is the study of interactions between human beings. It can be applied to a variety of disciplines, such as organizational behaviour, sociology, psychology, marketing, and others. In organizations, for example, it refers to the study of how employees interact with each other daily. The field also examines how management interacts with employees and how those interactions affect productivity. Many determinants influence ethics in human relations including personality, culture, values, leadership style and more. Some consequences of ethics include work engagement/satisfaction levels, job satisfaction levels, absenteeism levels etc.

Ethics in Human Relations:

Ethics in Human Relations is the study of moral principles, values, or norms that govern human behaviour in a work environment. Ethical dilemmas often arise when employees are faced with choices between what is right and wrong, or between their own self-interests and those of others. An employee may choose to engage in unethical behaviour to meet their personal needs but could also be pressured by supervisors or coworkers to do so. There are many reasons why someone might commit an act which would be considered unethical. Some people knowingly commit an act which would be considered unethical because they have been taught that it is permissible, or because they believe it benefits themselves more than anyone else. Others might not realize the consequences of their actions until after committing them and come to regret them afterwards.

Determinants of Ethics in Human Relation:

The determinants of ethics in human relations are the degree of morality, the awareness of moral limitations, and beliefs. The degree of morality refers to the level of goodness or badness within a person. It is an attribute that can vary from situation to situation. A person who is very virtuous in one setting may be immoral in another setting. Awareness of moral limitations refers to a person’s understanding that they have limited power over other people’s lives because they cannot always control how others will react or behave. Beliefs are related to the opinion about what constitutes right and wrong behaviour. Generally speaking, there are three types of belief: religious (which relies on sacred texts), rationalistic (which relies on logical reasoning) and ethical relativistic (which focuses on individual perception). There can also be various degrees of commitment towards beliefs such as moderate commitment, strong commitment, total commitment, etc. Commitment is not only a measure of internal factors but also external factors such as being pressured by social pressure or trying to please someone else.

Consequences of Ethics in Human Relations:

The consequences of ethics in Human relations are up for debate. One side argues that ethics has no place in the workplace, while the other argues that ethics is integral to the success of any company. The truth likely lies somewhere in between these two ideas, as there are both positive and negative consequences to consider. A consequence of ethics in human relations would be the impact it has on life satisfaction. Life satisfaction is based on subjective thoughts and feelings concerning whether one’s life meets personal expectations for happiness. If someone thinks their life does not meet their expectations, then their level of satisfaction with life decreases and vice versa if someone thinks their life does meet expectations for happiness. Studies have shown a correlation between work-life balance and high levels of life satisfaction. Employees who can strike a good balance will have higher levels of job satisfaction, which can lead to an increased sense of purpose or meaning in work. These employees may also be more engaged at work and less likely to quit when compared with employees who don’t feel they have a healthy balance. Therefore, some argue that there is an ethical obligation to provide workers with appropriate policies so they can maintain a balanced lifestyle.

Importance of Ethics in Human Relations:

Ethics in human relations are important because they regulate the behaviour of individuals, groups, organizations and society. Ethics in human relations have both determinants and consequences. The ethical norms determine the consequences that can happen if there is a violation. For example, when an organization does not adhere to their moral norms then it could lead to financial instability or even bankruptcy for the organization. This is why ethics in human relations are important because they govern what happens when someone or something violates that norm. What determines whether or not an individual is being ethical? One thing that determines whether or not an individual is being ethical is the theory of moral development which was created by psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg. He developed six levels to demonstrate how people progress through three stages to develop their own sense of morals: Pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional levels. A person starts out as a pre-conventional thinker at level one where all decisions are made with self-interests first. They believe that if it’s wrong for them, then it must be wrong for everyone else as well. Once you get past level one you move on to level two where people start thinking about societal rules but these rules have no personal significance to them. Finally, at level three people think about universal principles and would put these principles before any rule set by a government or other social structure.

Need for Ethics in Human Relations:

There is a need for ethics in human relations for two reasons. The first is that ethics are what make us human. The second is that without ethics, people are likely to violate other people’s rights or exploit them in some way, which creates a society where there is less trust among the members of the society. The determinants and consequences of ethics in human relations are complex because they depend on how much power one person has over another person. For example, if a boss has more power than their employee then the boss can treat their employee poorly by bullying or demanding too much from them. Still, if the employees have more power than their boss then they might demand unfair things from their boss by not showing up to work when it is raining outside just because they think that they don’t have to follow the same rules as everyone else.

Ethics help in resolving issues in Human Relations:

Ethics helps in resolving issues in human relations by guiding the right way to do things. It also helps in defining one’s morals, values and principles. They can also talk to a third party like a counsellor or an HR representative to settle any conflict that may arise between themselves and their coworkers. If they choose not to fight back, then there is more room for discussion without conflict since violence is not the best solution for bullying. The consequence of ethics in human relations is that people can maintain healthy relationships with other people as well as the organizations where they are working.

Issues Related to Human Relations:

The issues in human relations are the formality or informality in the relationship. The consequences are that if you have formal relationships then the people will not like to interact with each other, but if you have informal relationships it will create a more satisfying experience for both parties. Another consequence is that there is more accountability in the workplace when there is a formal relationship and the employees will be careful not to offend their superiors so they can keep their jobs.  When the relationship is informal, workers feel as though they do not need to work hard because they feel entitled which makes them less productive. There also may be favouritism within an organization based on who was able to make connections before entering the company and this can affect how successful one person may become compared to another person in the same position.


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