Law vs. Ethics
Source: kullabs.com
The Connection between Law and Ethics
Law and ethics are two terms which relate to the rules by which an employee must follow in order to be compliant with government regulations and asserts their approach to moral judgement. Ethics refers to the branch of philosophy that considers nature, criteria, sources, logic and the validity of moral judgement. Laws represent rules that mandate or prohibit certain behavior and are enforced by the state. The application of both terms within an organization causes employees to meet their responsibilities in an effective manner.
How are law and ethics different?
Although the two terms are connected, they are also different. Ethics is based on cultural mores, or the fixed moral attitudes or customs of a particular group. Employees develop ethics throughout their entire lives, and they bring particular customs to the organization in which they work. This could be a beneficial or detrimental process, depending on the specific values in which employees bring into the workplace. Sometimes information security experts or other management staff may need to address the kinds of cultural mores that would be appropriate for the workplace. Laws, on the other hand, always provide parameters that describe how employees should accomplish their work responsibilities through adhering to constitutional, statutory, regulatory or administrative, and common law.
An example of a cultural more would be the desire for an employee to practice a religious prayer ritual during working hours, which may need approval from upper management before being put in practice. An example of a law, on the other hand, would be the need for all technical and non-technical employees to adhere to HIPPA law in order to protect customer’s health information.