The Nature of Ethics 1 Ethical dilemma:
The quandary people find themselves in when they have to decide if they should act in a way that might help another person or group even though doing so might go against their own self-interest.
• Example: Sharon is offered a high-paying sales position with a pharmaceutical company; however, she disagrees with the money these companies spend in lobbying and elections.
  McGraw Hill 4
 
The Nature of Ethics 2 Ethics:
• The inner guiding moral principles, values, and beliefs that people use to analyze or interpret a situation and then decide what is the right or appropriate way to behave.
  McGraw Hill 5
 
Ethics and the Law
There are no absolute or indisputable rules or principles that can be developed to decide if an action is ethical or unethical.
Neither laws nor ethics are fixed principles. Ethical beliefs can change over time.
  McGraw Hill 6
 
Changes in Ethics over Time
Changing ethical beliefs influence the law. Examples:
Marijuana use.
Business behavior.
• Sometimes no laws are broken, yet are unethical.