Ethics

by John Bandler

"Ethics" is a type of rule or a standard of conduct, often a rule we impose on ourselves. Synonyms include morals, character, integrity.

Put simply, ethics means doing the right thing for the right reason, looking after the interests of the right people (the people you have a duty to).

Ethics and good moral character may be the most important trait when selecting a candidate for a position (any position, from janitor to executive to high level government official). That is because if someone is inclined to lie, cheat, or steal, it does not matter how competent, smart, experienced, or capable they are. If they cannot be trusted, it does not matter what they say they will do, what they say they did in the past, or if their stated opinions or positions align with ours.

We all have different perspectives on ethics and moral values. Actions that are acceptable for one person or one family may not be acceptable for another. We need to recognize those differences, which are sometimes entirely reasonable, but sometimes not.

My perspective comes from my training and experience in law, law enforcement, and government. Others will have different perspectives and opinions.

Ethical, criminal, and civil rules in context

A Venn diagram can help put criminal laws, civil laws, and ethics into a rough context.

Criminal laws prohibit the most extreme types of bad conduct, and sets a low bar for acceptable conduct. It is almost always the case that ethical conduct means not violating criminal laws. Stealing and bribe receiving are both crimes and unethical.

Civil laws prohibit many actions also, including those already disallowed by criminal law. It is a higher bar for acceptable conduct compared to criminal law, meaning people may do things which don't constitute a crime or are not worthy of criminal prosecution, but they could still be found civilly liable for it. It is often the case that ethical conduct means not violating civil laws. This is because civil laws protect people's rights as defined by government, and a civil violation means someone interfered with someone's legal rights. An employee who commits a civil tort against their employer is probably acting unethically as well.

Finally, ethics is an even higher standard of conduct encompassing all of the above plus more. Something could be unethical even if it doesn't violate a civil nor criminal law.

Obviously this simplifies things and there are grey areas too. There may be acts that violate criminal law but not civil law, and one could argue in certain circumstances that some acts could be ethical even if they violate a law.

The diagram is not to scale either, it is just to illustrate a concept.

Ethics and morals come from different places

Ethics and morals are a type of rule and standard which we apply to ourselves, other individuals apply to us, and organizations might apply to us.

Consider my "Rules" diagram, and consider that rules come from many places, including:

Rules infographic

  • Parents and family
  • Ourselves
  • Society
  • Organizations
  • Government.

In some countries, cultures, or sub-cultures, there is great respect for government rules (criminal and civil laws), so it is a considered good morals and ethics to abide by that. The theory is that the rule of law is important, abiding by the law is important, and those laws are viewed as generally for the greater good.

In countries where government is perceived to be totally corrupt, it may be more acceptable to violate those laws. With organized crime, it is expected to violate criminal laws.

Our upbringing by parents and family plays a great role in shaping our morals and ethics.

So does religion, which is an important organization in many people's lives, and infuses other sources of rules as well. One's religion may specify what conduct is deemed ethical and proper and what is not.

"Society" is a vague and amorphous term, overlapping with many areas, but clearly is a source of rules and influences what behavior is deemed ethical.

Government, organizations, and religion has played important roles in societal rules to influence behavior and establish codes of conduct.

Our personal rules (ourselves)

Based on our upbringing, experiences, and all other things in our life, we develop personal rules that guide our conduct. Sometimes this is known as one's conscience, ethics, integrity, moral compass, values, or personal honor. Some may follow the "Golden Rule" which is to do unto others only as you would wish done to you.

Our personal rules are heavily influenced by external forces and are not fixed in stone, and like any rule, we don't always follow our personal rules.

Organizational rules for ethics

Organizations create their own rules (what I call "internal rules" since they are created by the organization for within the organization).

Organizations include:

  • Work (the organizations that employ us)
  • School (where we go to school)
  • Religious groups (a little duplication perhaps with the above)
  • Professional groups
  • Other associations we may have.

Organizations may create rules about ethics. The concept is the organization can set standards of conduct, and demand they be higher than merely avoiding commission of criminal offenses or civil torts.

Ethics requires consideration to whom the duty is owed

A simple and effective principle for ethics and ethical behavior is considering to whom the duty is owed, and what the considerations should be. Usually that duty is owed to someone other than one's self.

Ethics is about not just the result and a final decision, but also the process and factors considered or disregarded.

For example, a government official is elected or appointed to serve in the government role, to serve the people. If that individual uses their position, knowledge, or resources to benefit themselves personally then they are misusing their government position.

An organization employee, manager, or executive is employed to serve the best interests of the organization. If they use their position to benefit personally, they are misusing their position and that could be deemed unethical.

Ethics is usually hard

Good ethics can be a harder path to take because it is often against self-interest. It might mean missing out on a financial opportunity or doing something unpopular. Since good ethics is hard, there is no shortage of people who often act mostly in their own self-interest.

Ethics is about considering who is owed the duty, often that is someone other than one's self. When one considers that duty, and what is proper, sometimes the final decision and action along the moral course is against self-interest.

We can make the argument that taking the ethical and moral course is ultimately in one's own self-interest, but that requires a long-term look and the optimistic hope that others will recognize and reward ethical behavior.

Clearly many people act in their own immediate self interest, to the detriment of whoever was owed the duty.

Government ethics

Government has created rules for ethical behavior of government employees.

That doesn't mean everyone follows them, nor that the rules are where they should be, but rules exist.

Written ethics rules aside, we elect, appoint, and hire government officials so that they can serve. Meaning serve citizens and serve the country, state, city, or other governmental unit. Not so that they can serve themselves and help themselves. Their duty is to serve the interests of others, not their self interest, nor the interests of friends, family, and business partners.

So hopefully voters select the candidate with the highest degree of ethics.

For pessimists, they can simply look for the least degree of untrustworthiness and corruption. Candidates are never exactly equal, there is always one choice that is better (or worse) than the other.

Remember that an unethical, untrustworthy person will lie to suit their own personal interests. They will feel no duty towards truth nor to those who voted for them.

Attorney ethics

Attorney ethics is a very large area, because it essentially encompasses everything that attorneys do.

If an attorney fails to meet the standards of competence, diligence, confidentiality, and fiduciary duty, they may have violated their ethical responsibilities.

I speak on cybersecurity for attorneys, and often that can fall within the "ethics" continuing legal education (CLE) category because it deals with the professional duties of confidentiality, competence, and more.

Further, attorneys can find themselves in complex ethical situations requiring solid ethical analysis. Attorneys learn a lot of confidential information, and are in the midst of different people and clients, with tricky conflicts and a multitude of rules to protect clients. This creates unusual situations. It requires analysis of the things we discussed above, especially (1) who is the client, which indicates who is owed the duty, (2) giving proper legal advice to the client, (3) complying with laws and the multitude of rules for attorneys.

There is no shortage of attorneys who were suspended or disbarred for violating these many ethical rules.

Whatever your opinion of the legal profession and attorneys, there are many excellent and ethical attorneys, and they navigate many complex ethical issues as a regular matter.

Fairness of the rule and fairness of enforcement

Rules, including ethical rules, can be fair, unfair, or somewhere in between, and there will usually be room for reasonable people to debate that. Then the next issue is how those rules are enforced, and whether that is fair or not. Again, reasonable people will debate this as well. The goal is fair and reasonable rules, interpreted and enforced reasonably.

One thing to consider is that unethical people will be quick to falsely accuse others of violations.

Conclusion

Ethics is an important concept for us personally, for organizations, and for government.

It is a highly subjective area, but reasonable people can agree on some reasonable principles.

This short article is not tailored to your circumstances and is not legal or consulting advice.

If your organization needs help with improving its internal documentation and compliance with laws and regulations, including regarding cybersecurity and protecting from cybercrime, let me know.

Additional reading

This article is hosted at https://johnbandler.com/ethics, copyright John Bandler, all rights reserved.

Originally posted 7/8/2024, updated 8/18/2025.