Ethics has become a topic of heated discussion among business schools across the globe. This article, as the title suggests, does not deal with highly advanced perception of ethics, rather it results from the inquisitiveness of a professional who may not be an authority to talk on ethics, but for whom ethics could be equally important. Hence, the article aims at acting as an eye-opener in certain ethical areas in life that we confront daily. Again, it does not present any solution but merely aims at raising certain issues which definitely deserve some attention.

After the recent acquisition of Corus by Tata Steel, the Chairman, Ratan Tata stated that they may not be able to accommodate all the employees of Corus. This led to a debate on the company's ethical perspective. But before being judgmental, it is imperative to understand the meaning of ethics. Encyclopedia Britannica Concise defines ethics as the "Branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of ultimate value and the standards by which human actions can be judged right or wrong."

Beyond the parameters of an exclusive definition of ethics, a layman's understanding of it is perhaps "the sense and inclination to do the right things". Everyone knows right from wrong. The very subjectivity of the terms `right' and `wrong' makes the entire concept highly debatable. They are relative concepts that depend on a person's upbringing, education, values and perspective towards life. A thing right to one may appear wrong to another and vice versa. Moreover, it is the situation that changes a right into a wrong. From childhood, we have been taught, "lying is wrong" but haven't we seen our elders lying for a perceived humane reason? How does then a lie, which was essentially a wrong, become right? So, are we all unethical? What is it that distinguishes a right from a wrong? Since the confusion has never been sorted out, the topic of business ethics is currently being debated in the media and in office lunchrooms.

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