The determination of what is right rather than what is wrong has been generally codified in the form of law, although not all situations have been, and can be, covered by any such codification. Laws are rationalized for the welfare of society; thus, any behavior considered ethical should also be legal in a just and fair society. This does not mean, however, that simply because an action is not illegal it is necessarily ethical. In other words, just living up to the “letter of the law” is not sufficient to guarantee that one’s actions can be or should be considered ethical (Schermerhorn, 1989). The following examples of ethical questions can be considered in this context: Is it ethical to take longer than necessary to do a task?
Is it ethical to do personal business on the employer’s time?
Is it ethical to call in sick to take a day off to catch up on chores at home?
Is it ethical to fail to report rule violations by a co-worker?
None of these examples is illegal. But many individuals would consider one or more of them to be unethical.
The values held by an individual, group, or society are the basic components of an ethical system. Yet uncertainty is a fact of complex dynamic organizational life. The interests and values of another individual, group, or society and laws regarding both are unclear. Ethical standards, therefore, are not universally accepted, but rather they are the end product of discretionary decision-making behavior affecting the lives and well-being of others (Pearce & Robinson, 1989, pp. 148-49).
Ethics in the information professions is concerned with the application of moral standards to the conduct of librarians and other individuals involved in information dissemination. It is a type of applied ethics concerned with clarifying the obligations and dilemmas of librarians and other information professionals who make decisions regarding the acquisition, processing, and dissemination of information to individuals, groups, and society at large.