1. (Mt) – MGT 422 Saudi Electronic University Management Case Study
‫اااااااا‬
‫ة‬ ‫ي‬ ‫رب‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ال‬
‫ة‬ ‫ك‬ ‫ل‬ ‫م‬ ‫م‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ااااااا‬
‫ة‬ ‫وزار‬ ‫ة‬ ‫ودي‬ ‫ع‬ ‫س‬ ‫ال‬
‫ة‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ام‬ ‫ج‬ ‫ال‬
‫ااااااااااا‬ Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education Saudi Electronic University
College of Administrative and Financial Sciences Assignment 2 Business Ethics and
Organization Social Responsibility (MGT 422) Due Date: 11/02/2023 @ 23:59 Course
Name: Business ethics and organization social responsibility Course Code: MGT 422
Student’s Name: Semester: Second CRN:23020 Student’s ID Number: Academic Year:2022-
23-2st For Instructor’s Use only Instructor’s Name: Dr. Noorjahan Sherfudeen Students’
Grade: Marks Obtained/Out of 15 Level of Marks: High/Middle/Low General Instructions –
PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY • The Assignment must be submitted on Blackboard
(WORD format only) via allocated folder. • Assignments submitted through email will not be
accepted. • Students are advised to make their work clear and well presented, marks may
be reduced for poor presentation. This includes filling your information on the cover page. •
Students must mention question number clearly in their answer. • Late submission will
NOT be accepted. • Avoid plagiarism, the work should be in your own words, copying from
students or other resources without proper referencing will result in ZERO marks. No
exceptions. • All answered must be typed using Times New Roman (size 12, double-spaced)
font. No pictures containing text will be accepted and will be considered plagiarism). •
Submissions without this cover page will NOT be accepted. Learning Outcomes: No CLO-4
CLO-6 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) Illustrate the role of social responsibility in the
functional areas and strategic processes of business and a comprehensive framework for
analyzing and resolving ethical issues and dilemmas in an organization. Write coherent
project about a case study or actual research about ethics The content is available for free
download in knowledge resource from the SEU homepage: Read the article entitled “Ethics
and Social Responsibility in Justice Decision Making”, José Poças Rascão, Polytechnic
Institute of Setúbal, Portugal, International Journal of Responsible Leadership and Ethical
Decision-Making Volume 1 • Issue 2 • July-December 2019. Available in SDL and answer the
following questions: 1. Discuss the evolution of the ethical concept (4 Marks). Critically
elaborate the theories of ethics as discussed by the author (7 Marks). (800 words) 2.
Evaluate on how ethics is related with social responsibility with references (4 Marks). (500
words) International Journal of Responsible Leadership and Ethical Decision-Making
Volume 1 • Issue 2 • July-December 2019 Ethics and Social Responsibility in Justice
Decision Making José Poças Rascão, Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, Portugal
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2448-2713 Nuno Gonçalo Poças, University of Lisbon,

2. Portugal ABSTRACT Today, the concern with ethical principles and moral values makes us
reflect on this complex and turbulent society, but with social responsibilities. This concept
has become relevant to globalization of societies, companies, institutions, and all those who
relate to any of these organizations. This concept is the basis of the research that seeks to
identify and analyze the ethical and social responsibilities of legal professionals. The aim of
the work is to contribute to a reflection on the ethical and social responsibility of legal
professionals, based on the aggregation of existing literature. The structure of the article
summarizes the existing academic works, seeking to generate new knowledge. The article
seeks in the first place to identify the issues of ethics and social responsibility of legal
professionals by focusing more in detail on one (s) of them. Keywords Ethics, Information,
Judicial Skills, Knowledge, Social Responsibility INTRODUCTION The complexity of judicial
processes requires responsible and conscientious decision-makers. The sensitive aspect of
this concept is that justice leaders are guided by ethical standards in adverse circumstances
that compel them to make difficult decisions, for example, in the areas of Criminal Law
Sciences and Civil Law Sciences. Velasquez (2006), states that the foundation of an
institution is its values and practices. It goes without saying that when an institution faces
situations that require difficult decisions, adherence to strict ethical codes can facilitate
decision making. Cottone and Tarvydas (2007) recognize that demonstrating coherence,
rigor and constancy in making ethical decisions encourages the confidence of people and
the institution. According to Gena (2000), ethical decision making in an institution is
derived from the application of ethical theories to top-down practical dilemmas and that the
prevailing paradigms of decision making require more than a single ethical theory. Keatings
and Smith (2000) describe ethical theory as a systematic compilation of interrelated
principles and rules that guide moral behavior. LaFollette DOI:
10.4018/IJRLEDM.2019070105 Copyright © 2019, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in
print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. 64
International Journal of Responsible Leadership and Ethical Decision-Making Volume 1 •
Issue 2 • July-December 2019 (1991) and Rachels (2003) confirm that a single theory or set
of rules based on a theory is adequate to guide ethical actions in general, especially the
practice of decision. This article is concerned with the integration of theoretical ethics with
the practice of decisionmaking in justice. First, it discusses the historical thoughts that
shape the concept of ethics. Then, the study addresses several contemporary theories of
ethical decision-making, such as the Ethics of Virtue, the Cultural and Ethical Relativism, the
Ethics of Justice and the Kantian Ethics. Finally, it compares the theories of Ethics of Virtue,
Ethics of Care and Ethics of Justice, in terms of their applicability in relation to global
conditions. Social responsibility quite evident in the printed and electronic media, in
academic discussions, in society in general, has not received the same attention among legal
professionals. There is an ethical concern, but the issue of the responsibility of these
professionals in how to become more participatory, in society, about their performance is
not yet part of the discussions. However, it is not enough to just discuss ethics and / or
social responsibility, concrete actions must be taken on legal professionals in line with the
information and knowledge society, with these decision-makers being responsible for
themselves, the institution and society in general. This concern with ethical principles,

3. moral and social values, makes us reflect on the construction of a society with social
responsibilities. This concept occupies a place in societies, in companies and leading
everyone who relates to any of these organizations to reflect, comment or discuss on the
subject. FOCUS AND APPROACH METHODOLOGY As for its nature, the research is
qualitative, since it does not claim to quantify events, nor does it privilege statistical study.
Its focus is on obtaining descriptive data, that is, the incidence of topics of interest in two
fields, Information Sciences and Legal Sciences. Consequently, with regard to the ends, the
research is of a reflexive nature and of a descriptive character, insofar as the technique
used, is categorized, consensually, as a study of direct documentation, which provides for
consultation with sources related to the study in different media, print or electronic.
FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS Data, Information and Knowledge Information is not the same
as data, although the two words are often confused, so it is understood that the subtle
distinction between these concepts is essential. The data do not convey sense or meaning of
the facts, images or sounds, since they lack relational elements essential to the
establishment of a complete meaning, lacking an internal relational structure for a cognitive
purpose. This structure is one of the attributes of the information. Data is transformed into
information when its creator adds meaning to it, Davenport and Prusak, (1998). Wiliam G.
Zikmund (2000, p.19) defines knowledge as “the mixture of information, experience and
understanding that provide a structure that can be applied in the evaluation of new
information or new situations”. Information “feeds” knowledge. Knowledge can thus be
defined as a person’s ability to relate complex information structures to a new context. New
contexts imply change, action and dynamism. Knowledge cannot be shared, although the
technique and components of information can be shared. When a person internalizes
information to the point that he can use it, we call it knowledge, Zikmund, (2000). This is a
fluid mix of experiences, values, contextual information and expert judgment, structured
that provide a framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and
information. Organizations are found not only in documents and reports, but also in
organization routines, processes, practices and standards. Knowledge has its origin and is
applied in the minds of connoisseurs Davenport and Prusak, (1998), William Zikmund,
(2000). Knowledge is information as valid and accepted, integrating data, 65 International
Journal of Responsible Leadership and Ethical Decision-Making Volume 1 • Issue 2 • July-
December 2019 acts, information and sometimes hypotheses. Knowledge needs someone to
filter, combine and interpret information. Information can be considered as a “substance”
that can be acquired, stored and owned by a person or group and transmitted from person
to person or from group to group. Information has a certain stability and it may be better
viewed as existing at the level of society Davenport and Prusak, (1998). Although we can
store it using various physical supports, the information itself is not physical, but rather
abstract and neither purely mental. Knowledge is stored in people’s memory, but
information is out there in the world. Whatever it is, there is somewhere between the
physical world around people and the mental of human thought: Knowledge = Internalized
Information + Ability to Use it in New Situations Knowledge is found fundamentally and
intrinsically within people. These are more complex and unpredictable at the individual
level than an entire society, so it is not surprising that knowledge is much more difficult to

4. obtain than information. Knowledge exists mainly within people; it is an integral part of
human complexity and unpredictability. Knowledge has a fundamental duality: it is
something storable (at least sometimes we intend to do it) and something that flows
(something that communicates from person to person). It is possibly the duality of
knowledge (something that flows and storage process) that makes its treatment and
management difficult. According to Dahlberg (2006), knowledge is organized into units of
knowledge (concepts) according to its characteristics (objects/subjects). The organization
of knowledge is related to a process of conceptual analysis of a domain of knowledge and
from there, it is structured / architected generating a representation of knowledge about
that domain that will be used for the organization of information about that domain of
knowledge. Ethic According to Du Mont (1991), ethics aims to establish principles of human
behavior that help people choose alternative forms of action. These considerations lead to
definitions of ethics and morals, prompting us to refer to deontology as the study of the
codes or ethics of the professions. Targino (2006, p. 135) states that the definitions of ethics
originate from the “Greek term ethos, as etymology suggests, it is the part of philosophy that
deals with the reflection on customs, encompassing guidelines”. While the moral “Latin
term mores refers to acts and customs per se, that is, to the set of objective norms of
conduct, changeable in time and space”. According to Sá (2007), the word ethics is
sometimes associated with the sense of morals, but not always in an appropriate way. It has
also been understood as the science of human conduct in relation to the being and its
fellowmen, to study the action of men and their considerations of value. In this research, we
emphasize its importance for legal professionals, highlighting the ethical performance in the
context of today’s society and, mainly, with regard to their social responsibility. With a view
to the theoretical foundation of the study, we approach the theme of professional ethics
linked to the code of ethics, studied by deontology which, according to Targino (2006,
p.135) “comes from the Greek deontos, duty; logos, discourse or treatise, etymologically
equivalent to treatise or science of duty ”. Social Responsibility For Du Mont (1991), social
responsibility is an ethical concept that involves notions of change, of how human needs
must be met. In addition, the author emphasizes the interest in the social dimensions of the
information service, which has to do with improving the quality of life. Organizations
around the world have considered themselves socially responsible for several decades.
Social responsibility has gained more prominence since the 1990s, with a greater influence
of society, in the media and NGOs, that is, in the organizational world. 66 International
Journal of Responsible Leadership and Ethical Decision-Making Volume 1 • Issue 2 • July-
December 2019 Apparently, there was a need to give a positive corporate image, in order to
make up for lost time. Despite the debates and the concept being widely used, social
responsibility is still confused with assistance, which assumes a personal character
represented by donations or the creation of philanthropic foundations, as Cajazeiras (2006,
p. 13) sees, “another conception of social responsibility very linked to the idea of donation –
the philanthropic phase ”. Social responsibility surpasses the paradigm of assistance, which
in a way limits the performance, repercussion and monitoring by society. This change is due
to industrial advances, globalization and the intense flow of information and technologies,
causing the degradation of quality of life, the intensification of environmental problems and

5. the precariousness of labor relations. As a result, society began to develop attitudes to solve
its problems and the high echelons to adhere to social responsibility, often under pressure
from the consumer code. Thus, the social responsibility of judicial institutions is directed to
act in an ethical and transparent manner, with attitudes that revert to improving the quality
of life of the citizens in which they are inserted, even mitigating environmental problems
(Veloso, 2006). Acting with social responsibility is not just acting in the institution’s
marketing. It is going beyond interests that aim at personal or group interests, because any
institution that considers itself responsible, must have the capacity to attend the interests of
the different parties – state, collaborators, service providers, citizens, community,
government, institutions and environment. Judicial Skills Information and knowledge have
become an integral factor of legal professionals. Other values come into play: to innovate
and deal with irregularities, autonomy and responsibility are required, in addition to a
knowledge of the laws. Information and knowledge have always been part of the work of
legal professionals, but now there is visibility, and its importance is recognized. As
knowledge can only be mobilized by legal professionals, by the human person, the logic is
reversed. Work ceases to be a factor that is something external to legal professionals and is
something that is intrinsic to those who do it. The changes that have taken place in the
world of legal professionals have placed human beings at the center of justice. Then we start
talking about skills, and no longer qualification for a job or a specific job. It is the person,
with his most complete characteristics that matters. For a peasant or an artisan, working
meant employing and developing his knowledge, based on rules transmitted by more
experienced pairs (masters) and acquired by the individual through a series of tests,
measures of direct and practical intelligence. It was the invention of work as a separate
object from the worker that served to qualify another type of social relationship, that of
objective work and the skills necessary to perform it. Hence the separation between the
objectivity of work and the subjectivity of the worker. In order to get out of this logic of
objectification, it was necessary for the work to be subjectified again. This meant the
inclination towards the logic of competence, which was called “competence model”. Osty
(2000, p. 9) considers that the notion of competence shows the emergence of a new way of
recognizing the judicial knowledge required by work situations, revealing the extent of the
transformations of work in the last twenty years of the 20th century. According to Zarifian
(2003, p. 37), competence is a new form of qualification, a new way of qualifying. But
qualification is not about “a particular and always dominant historical mode: that of
qualification by job position”, but in a new way: “the construction of qualification”. This
construction of qualification, given the new conditions of judicial work, would replace the
two previous models: the profession model and the job model. The model of the judicial
profession began to be built in urban artisanal corporations. Metier or function, a term used
since the Middle Ages by medieval corporations, presupposed a means of learning and
social relevance. This model began to be the target of attacks in the late eighteenth century
as it seemed to be an obstacle to the transformation and rationalization of working
methods. 67 International Journal of Responsible Leadership and Ethical Decision-Making
Volume 1 • Issue 2 • July-December 2019 Defines skill as “the ability to perform a task or set
of tasks, in accordance with certain standards required by justice”, involving theoretical

6. knowledge and personal skills. The use of the notion of judicial competence started to
appear when organizations needed to recognize people’s competences, regardless of the job
they occupied. The emergence of the judicial jurisdiction model represented a new moment,
whose practical bases are still being developed. For Brandão (1999, p. 22) the meaning of
the word competence has been expanding since the end of the Middle Ages. There was, first,
a legal meaning: “faculty attributed to someone or an institution, to appreciate and judge
certain issues”. Later, an extension of the concept emerged: “social recognition of someone’s
ability to speak out on a specific subject”. Nordhaug (1998, p. 10), classifies competences in:
technical, interpersonal and conceptual. Technical skills are related to methods and
processes, designed to conduct a specific activity and the skills to use tools and operate
equipment related to an activity. Interpersonal skills are human behavior and interpersonal
processes, empathy and social sensitivity, communication skills and the ability to cooperate.
Conceptual skills are analytical skills, creativity, problem solving efficiency and the ability to
recognize potential opportunities or problems. THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ETHICS
AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Evolution of the Ethics Concept The question of ethics begins
in ancient Greece when Greek philosophers sought to understand the fundamentals of
human conduct. For many philosophers the moral principle results from moral conventions.
For Socrates (470-399 B.C.), human virtue consists in the search for knowledge to achieve
happiness. It closely relates the notions of knowledge, virtue and happiness. The knowledge
of the good implies the practice of virtue and the exercise of this of happiness to man.
Knowledge is the supreme value for achieving happiness. Plato (428-347, B.C.) in the
development of his doctrine affirms that man is a political animal. Human virtues must be
coordinated and whose harmony constitutes justice. The harmonization of human activities
and all the virtues that constitute justice. Morality is not just an individual issue, but of
collective relations. The spiritual formation of man is the responsibility of the State, whose
responsibility is not just the organization of power, but an institute of education and of
leading people to practice virtues and make them happy. Aristotle’s theory (384-322, B.C.)
became known as eudemonism (from the Greek eudaimonéu means to succeed, to be
happy), in which all people aspire to some good, among which, the greatest is happiness.
This is not found in pleasures or wealth, but in rational activity, exercise and the evolution
of thought. It can be said that contemporary human civilization equates happiness with the
acquisition of material goods, such as houses, cars, clothes, food, sexuality, etc. However,
according to Epicurus (3rd century BC), the pleasures of the body are the causes of anxiety
and suffering. So that the soul does not suffer disturbances, it is necessary to limit material
pleasures. The middle age, influenced by the Church, resumes this thought and improves
spiritual life through the purification practices of the body, instituting fasting, abstinence
and flogging. The philosopher and theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas (13th century) adapted
Aristotelianism to Christian ideals and recovers eudemonist ethics. Faithful to religious
ideals, he says that the only happiness is the contemplation of God and of which we will
have knowledge only in the future life, after death. The expansion of Christianity marked
Western culture, for the moral tradition of religious values and the belief in life after death.
They are transcendent values, because they result from divine giving. 68 International
Journal of Responsible Leadership and Ethical Decision-Making Volume 1 • Issue 2 • July-

7. December 2019 MODERN AGE: ETHICAL AND MORAL PRINCIPLES DIFFER FROM
RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE It is admitted that a non-believer can also be ethical, because the
values are not found in God, but in the person himself. For the philosopher Hume (17th
century) the recognition of values results from human capacity, through Cartesian
rationalism. The only basis for ideas is belief. It rejects any ethical system that is not based
on facts and observations. He is recognized as the philosopher who broke with the
philosophical tradition of Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The 12th century became known
as the century of lights, due to reason, as the light that serves to interpret and reorganize
the world. To resort to reason meant to refuse the religious imposition of moral values. Kant
was the ultimate exponent of the Enlightenment, moral action is autonomous, since the
human being is the only one capable of determining his own reason. For him, morality is
rational, secular, universalist and emphasizes the importance of freedom and the right to
contest. Hegel at the end of the 19th century disputes Kantian formalist morality and
highlights the subject’s relationship with culture and history, understanding the diversity of
values according to time, culture and place. For Marx, morality is an expression of human
conscience, which in turn is the reflection of social relations established in the world of
work. As the modes of production change, so do not only moral norms, but also social,
political and economic values. Nietzsche guides thought in the recovery of unconscious, vital
and instinctive forces subjugated by reason for many centuries. He distrusts instincts and
encourages group morality that generates guilt and resentment, founded on the acceptance
of suffering, renunciation, piety, typical of the moral of the weak. It defends the
overvaluation of all values, overcoming common morality so that man’s actions are not
guided by the mediocrity of established virtues. He says it was necessary to recover the
feeling of power, the joy of living and the capacity for innovation. At the beginning of the
20th century, reason is suspected of being an effective instrument to guide ethical and
moral principles. Marx denounces ideology and its power to manipulate consciousness and
joins Freud’s (1856-1939) discovery of the unconscious, an internal force that conflicts with
social norms. Sartre (1905-1980) reflects on the theme of freedom, as the expression of the
autonomy of human will and project. The subjectivity of experiences and emotions provide
the elements that characterize the so-called crisis of reason. In the face of globalization, it
can be said that morality is beyond the limits of the house, the neighborhood, the city, the
country and that it involves the world. We live in a rupture of paradigms, without having
outlined new world references of conduct. There are many challenges to building the ethical
and moral life of global society. Some difficulties stem from individualistic society, unable to
practice solidarity and tolerance, in this global village. Global ethics and morals presuppose
the acceptance of the plurality of lifestyles and differences. THEORIES OF ETHICS The Ethics
of Virtue The virtue ethics was born from the concepts of ethics of Socrates and Aristotle
who stated that an ethical person was a virtuous person, that is, he has specific qualities.
They emphasize being instead of doing, that is, virtues make a person virtuous. Examples of
virtue include compassion, generosity, courage, honesty, reliability and charity, among
others. According to Rachels, (2003), a person to be affective and intellectual, has the virtue
of doing the right thing, at the right time and in the right way, consciously. Velasquez (2006)
summarizes the ethical virtue in the light of the following concepts: • According to Aristotle,

8. habits allow a person to live according to reason; 69 International Journal of Responsible
Leadership and Ethical Decision-Making Volume 1 • Issue 2 • July-December 2019 • • For
Aquinas, habits allow an individual to live rationally in this world and then join God in the
next world; According to McIntyre, the provision allows an individual to achieve the good
that human efforts aim to achieve; Virtue, however, not only provides a standard for
evaluating actions, but also offers a standard for evaluating organizational and management
practices. Cultural and Ethical Relativism According to Rachels (2003) he warns man about
the dangers of cultural or racial intolerance and states that man must keep an open mind
and that he must not judge others quickly in terms of the moral and ethical values of other
cultures, because this culture can be different. For the same author, all cultures have values
that may be similar or different. What makes the difference is the practice of these values.
According to Lafollette (1990), ethical relativism is associated with the ethical values,
beliefs or judgments of each person or their culture. Lafollette, referring to the civil rights
movement, mentioned that the multiplicity of ethical rules can result in social
transformation. Cultural and ethical relativism is essential to create ongoing working
relationships and respect for everyone. The Ethics of Justice and the Kantian Ethics Kant
defined the concepts of equality, equity, justice and reason. This requires respect for others
and equal treatment. The Ethics of Justice reincarnates an improvement of Kantian ethics
and is sometimes referred to as the ethics of law. Botes (2000) stated that the ethics of
justice typifies reliable and verifiable decision-making, justice, equality, objectivity and
independence or self-sufficiency. From a theoretical point of view, the ethics of justice
addresses the importance of equal rights for all, avoiding the treatment of people as an end,
forming understandable and transparent rules that determine what is right and what is
wrong, and the use of reason in decisions that are ethical. The Ethics of Virtue, and Justice
The concepts of contemporary ethical theories, such as virtue ethics and ethics of justice,
are imperative for organizations, for judicial institutions in making ethical decisions. It is
imperative that judicial decision-makers understand the various cultures, norms, principles
and standards that govern individual behavior across the world. Globalization is nothing
more than the practice of social, cultural, political, economic and technological
incorporation between different countries, Luthans & Doh, (2009). Decisions must be
consistent and governed by ethical and moral rules. Virtue and justice ethics share common
imperative concepts for organizations in this global society. Virtue ethics emphasizes the
meaning of individual characteristics and what is seen as a virtue. Different concepts of
virtue ethics include sympathy (empathy), honesty and compassion. These same concepts
are common to the ethics of justice. The ethics of care focuses on providing care, avoiding
hatred and maintaining relationships. The ethics of justice maintains reliable
decisionmaking, equality and impartiality. In a globalized society, judicial decision-makers
must worry about establishing lasting relationships, Luthans & Doh, (2009). These
relationships must be carefully managed to promote the organization’s effectiveness and
profitability. Care, virtue and justice address the ideals of relationship which imply that
ethical decisions must be concerned with establishing, maintaining and sustaining
relationships. Judicial decision-makers operating in an institution should not try to impose
their culture on other cultures, but rather allow each culture and individual to practice their

9. values and moral principles in a way that is beneficial to all. The ethics of virtue, the ethics
of care and the ethics of justice share 70 International Journal of Responsible Leadership
and Ethical Decision-Making Volume 1 • Issue 2 • July-December 2019 similar ideas that are
imperative in the organizational decision-making processes in justice. However, each theory
shares different concepts that make them unique for application and decision making.
Ethics Versus Virtue, Care and Justice Virtue ethics is concerned with virtue – the evaluation
of moral characters. Care ethics focuses on care. Caring is concerned with the well-being of
those within a specific group. The ethics of justice is concerned with what is just. What is
considered fair for one group can be considered unfair for another group. Normative ethical
approaches are concerned with what people should do, while descriptive ethical
approaches are concerned with what people do. Virtue ethics is concerned with what
people should do, that is, whether they should be moral or not (amoral). The justice and
ethics of care are descriptive because of their focus on the person’s exact actions. In
different cultures, decision-makers have greater difficulties in making ethical decisions
within an ethics of virtue, because this will not allow self-sufficiency. People must be able to
follow specific rules and principles that allow them freedom of choice. While virtue
promotes what should be done, justice and care adhere to the consistent actions of
individuals. These actions should not be taken lightly. Ethical decisions at a global level
represent a major challenge for legal decision-makers. They in the decision-making process
must ensure that their decisions, or the results of them, are not unethical. Although moral
conscience plays a significant role in ethical decisions (virtue ethics), the concepts of justice
(dealing fairly with everyone) and care (caring for the well-being of those who interact
together) are also significant and considerable for decisions, effective and efficient. Moral
Ethics, Law and Justice According to Ulpiano (in: Aurea Pereira, 2001), In the beginning of
human history, man was born free and lived without rules that dictated his behavior,
(absence of norms), which was followed by a period in which uses and customs of
customary law. The fact that man lives in society arose the need for the existence of a
Natural Law that was common to all men and that represented the reconciliation between
Law and Power and to discipline coexistence in society, as recommended by Rousseau, in
your “Social Contract”. Based on Natural Law there was the jus non scriptum that gave rise
to the unnaturalistic doctrine that sees the law as inherent to man himself, not depending
on the State for its recognition. With Aristotle, in his work “Politics” the first codification
emerged. The first Roman codifications divided Law into three classes: Law of the People
(jus gentium), which disciplined relations between the peoples of different Nations; Political
Law, designed to settle issues between the governed and the governed and Civil Law (jus
civil), the so-called private law to discipline relations between citizens (cf. Montesquieu –
L’Esprit des Lois – Book First, Chapter III). With the Declaration of the Rights of Virginia of
1776 and the Declaration des Droits de L’Hommes, emerged – as true conquests of
humanity – the first universal proclamations of the fundamental rights of man (freedom,
equality and right to life), et Citoyens, de 1789, the latter emerged from the French
Revolution. With clear inspiration in such universal declarations, Law, Justice, Morality and
Ethics, were gradually identified as virtues – (in the political sense of the word) –
inseparable. According to Ulpiano (in: Aurea Pereira, 2001), Justice when properly applied

10. is truly a virtue, which translates into a love of the country’s laws. when the Powers were
concentrated in the hands of one person, the mission of doing Justice was conferred on the
Prince, who exercised it as an arm of the Executive Power. In despotic governments that
accumulate the power to legislate. In ancient Rome, the power to judge – depending on the
value and nature of the causes – was exercised by the kings and then by the consuls, the
latter being responsible for appointing the judges who could only decide matters of fact.
Montesquieu referred to them as: “la bouche qui prononce les paroles de la loi, des êtres
inanimés qui n’en peuvent modérer ni la force ni la rigueur” (Ob. Cit. Book XI – Chapter 71
International Journal of Responsible Leadership and Ethical Decision-Making Volume 1 •
Issue 2 • July-December 2019 XVIII). The accumulation of Power, over time, proved to be
inconvenient and hateful, hence the idea of Montesquieu and Locke to tripartite it,
conceiving them as autonomous, separate and independent, which was, justified, in the firm
understanding that: “Il n’y a point encore de liberté, if the puissance de juger n’est pas
separée de la puissance legislative et de l’éxecutive”. (L’Esprit des Lois, Book XI, Chapter VI).
With the separation of powers, the strong, independent Judiciary Power, without any
subordination, appeared in relation to the other powers, responsible for the distribution of
Justice, for the guarantee of public freedoms and for the control of the constitutionality of
laws. Justice must be served by the Judge with absolute independence, rectitude,
impartiality, respect for laws, morals and ethics of behavior. The exact application of the
laws must be done, in order to avoid that the judge takes the wrong paths of the creation of
the law (alternative law), in which the magistrate acts as legislator. However, there is still a
certain creative force in the interpretation of the laws made by the Judges of Law, when the
propagation of certain judicial decisions, such as, for example, those pronounced when the
control of the constitutionality of the laws by the Courts. Doing justice presupposes the
correct application of law, in accordance with the principles of morals and ethics. Morals
and ethics are virtues that the Greeks have always referred to. Morality is respect for human
values. Public morality is the political virtue advocated by Montesquieu, which determines
the behavior of a community, according to the rules and principles of the dominant ethical
conscience. Ethics (from the Greek ethike) is the science of morality itself, dictating rules for
a behavior of respect for others with rights and duties, guided by what is honest and
virtuous. The mission of judging demands from the judge, in addition to the duty of fidelity
to the Law, an ethical conduct in accordance with public morals, without any mistakes that
could compromise his toga. Ethics in Justice Professionals According to Du Mont (1991), the
study of the ethics of legal professionals is part of the general study with three forms of use:
1st General pattern (way of life); 2nd Set of rules of conduct (moral code); 3rd Combination
of life form and moral code. Confirmation of what is right or wrong has generally been
determined by law, although not all situations can be included in such codes, as laws are
established for the well-being of society and are mutated over time, in social groups and in
the locations where these groups live. Therefore, the social being establishes ethical or
unethical actions. From his birth, the human being begins to live in social groups, which get
involved and go through a process of exchange of knowledge, habits and customs, enabling
their moral growth. Du Mont (1991) says that the basic components of an ethical system are
the values accumulated by the individual, by the group or by society. It is from this human

11. coexistence that ethical or unethical procedures begin. Ethical questions and discussions,
bring paradigm shifts, make us rethink the actions of our daily lives. People, regardless of
social origins or groups, live according to the ethical aspects disseminated in society. Among
the groups that disseminate these concepts, we mention the family, the school, the church,
the club, the university, the friends, the political party and others. According to Targino,
(2006), living with these institutions is important, because it is through them that
individuals accumulate unique experiences, enriching their knowledge. Ethics in justice
professionals is related to the incorporation of moral standards in the conduct of all
professionals involved in the dissemination of information (laws, norms, rules, procedures,
processes, etc.), aiming to guide the performance of those who exercise them. According to
Camargo (1999, p. 31), “professional ethics is the application of general ethics in the field of
professional activities”, so, the professional incorporates his own principles and values, to
experience them in his professional activities. It is through the profession that the
individual is able to fully realize himself, exercising his capacity, skill, wisdom and
intelligence, proving his personality, raising his morale, being able to be useful to the
community and to rise up and stand out by overcoming 72 International Journal of
Responsible Leadership and Ethical Decision-Making Volume 1 • Issue 2 • July-December
2019 obstacles . Sá (2007, p. 139) reports: “the profession allows the individual to exercise
his function of solidarity with his fellowmen, receiving in return not only dignities, but also
compensations”. Practical Example Some ethical principles are presented as an example: •
Respect for life and all human beings, integrity, truth, honesty, justice, equity, institutional
loyalty, responsibility, zeal, merit, transparency, legality, impersonality, consistency
between discourse and practice are the ethical principles that guide actions. Some
important aspects for the creation of an ethical and socially responsible work environment:
• Define formal mechanisms to monitor ethics; codes of conduct; extensive communication
on ethics and social responsibility; leadership by example; encourage confrontation for
ethical deviations; training programs in ethics and social responsibility. Some guidelines to
assist in the ethical decision-making process: • • • • Define ethical issues clearly; Identify the
relevant values in the situation; Weigh conflicting values and choose an option that balances
them; Implement the decision. CONCLUSION Ethical decision-making is a critical factor for
effective and efficient justice. Ethics and theories of ethics are not a resurrection story, but
thoughts and influences that promote growth and enormous institutional opportunities,
especially in conditions of globalization. Velasquez (2006) stated that decision-makers in
justice need to focus their attention on developing an inclusive theoretical proposal, from
which practical work on moral principles and moral values can remain. Gena (2000) states
that ethical decision-making in courts is derived from the application of ethical theories to
top-down practical dilemmas and requires more than a single ethical theory. Greek
philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle influenced the concepts of primitive, modern,
postmodern and contemporary ethical theories. Socrates, for example, believed that people
have a natural alertness to do good only if they are aware of what is right. Aristotle believed
in the idea of self-realization, an awareness of a person’s nature and talent development.
Ethics has also evolved from the perspectives of hedonism, stoicism, consumerism and
deontology. Contemporary theories of ethical decision-making shape today’s justice

12. decision-making process. Virtue ethics describes the nature of a moral person as a
motivating force for ethical behavior. Virtue refers to the nature of an individual to do the
right thing for the right cause or reason, in an appropriate way. It not only provides a
standard for evaluating actions, but also provides a standard for evaluating institutional
practices. Cultural relativism indicates how morals and ethics have changed over time and
across cultures. Lafollette (1990) describes ethical relativism as a theory or proposal that
ethical standards, beliefs or judgments are subject to an individual or to that individual’s
culture. The ethics of justice incorporates an enhancement of Kantian ethics and is
sometimes referred to as the ethics of law. The ethics of care is described as an ethics that
places emphasis on caring for the real well-being of those who are interconnected with each
other (Velasquez, 2006). Moral responsibilities arise from the relationships between the
individuals involved, preferably between those being cared for and caregivers. 73
International Journal of Responsible Leadership and Ethical Decision-Making Volume 1 •
Issue 2 • July-December 2019 The ethics of virtue, care and justice share common
imperative concepts for organizations in a global environment. They address the idea of
equality and self-reliance and are concerned with establishing and sustaining lasting
relationships. The difference between the ethics of virtue, care and justice theories is based
on their approach – normative versus descriptive. Another difference is the meaning of the
responsibility of decision makers in justice, to make ethical decisions based solely on moral
characters or conscience (Martin, 2007). Although these differences remain true to specific
ethical theories, judicial decision-makers still have a responsibility to make decisions that
are governed by moral principles. Judicial institutions can be successful if decision makers
make an effort to adhere to standards that are moral, ethical and fair. All unethical behavior
must be condemned. CLUES FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION This reflection seeks to briefly
and preliminarily discuss ethics and social responsibility in justice, based on the existing
literature. This approach has come a long way, where analysis has evolved over time, never
ignoring the works and classifications used in previous works. A pertinent question arises
that could be the object of future study: • 74 Are the concepts of ethics and social
responsibility applied by court decision makers? International Journal of Responsible
Leadership and Ethical Decision-Making Volume 1 • Issue 2 • July-December 2019
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Responsible Leadership and Ethical Decision-Making Volume 1 • Issue 2 • July-December
2019 Jose Poças Rascão (PhD, ISCTE / ULI) is a Professor of Management Information
Systems at the Polytechnic Institute of Setubal, Graduate School of Business Sciences,
Portugal. It is research in the Research Unit in the development of enterprise (UNIDE) at the
Lisbon University Institute (ISCTE / ULI). Since 2000 he has published 15 books and over
80 research papers in international scholarly academic journals, about on management
strategy and management of information. Under his supervision, 17 Masters Theses have
been successfully from 2007 to 2018. From 2010 to 2015 was Director of Course
Management of Distribution and Logistics. From 2013 to 2014 was Coordinator of Research
Center, Polytechnic Institute of Setubal, Graduate School of Business Sciences. From 2000-
2004 was Information Systems Management Course Coordinator Polytechnic Institute of
Setubal, Graduate School of Business Sciences. He also works the private Management
Consultant for large and mediumsized enterprises. He worked the Management Consult at
Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand between 1989 and 1995. Graduation in Law. Real
Estate Lawyer. Former advisor to the Assistant Secretary of State of the Minister in the
Cabinet of the Prime Minister. 76