Professional

ethics
By Dr. Ahsen Maqsoom
 • Ethics also known as “Moral philosophy” is a
branch of philosophy that incorporates
systemizing, defending and recommending
concepts of right and wrong behavior.
What are • Ethics can be defined broadly as a set of
ethics? moral principles and values.
• Each of us has a such set of values.
• We may or may not have considered them
explicitly.
 Ethical behavior is necessary
for a society to function in an
orderly manner.

Need for
ethics The need for ethics in a
society is sufficiently
important that many
commonly held ethical values
are incorporated into laws.
 Meta ethics

Types of ethics Normative ethics

Applied ethics
 Meta ethics is the branch of ethics that seek to
understand the nature of ethical properties,
judgements, statements, and attitudes.

What is the meaning of moral term or

judgement?

Meta ethics
What is the nature of moral judgements?

How many moral judgements be defended or

supported?
 • Normative ethics investigates the set of
questions that arise when considering how
one ought to act, morally speaking.
• Normative ethics can be divided into the
Normative sub-disciplines of moral theory and applied
ethics:
ethics o Virtue ethics
o Deontology
o Teleology
Applied ethics
Applied ethics is the philosophical examination, from a moral
standpoint, of particular issues in private and public life that are
matters of moral judgement.
• Professional ethics • Machine ethics
• Business ethics • Military ethics
• Relational ethics • Public service ethics
• Bio ethics
 A profession is a vocation founded upon
specialized high educational training, the
purpose of which is to supply objective
counsel and service to others, for a direct and
definite compensation.

Professional ethics encompass the personal

Professional and corporate standards of behavior expected
of professionals.
ethics
The Centre of Professional Ethics was
established at Case Western Reserve
University, Canada.
 • An ethical dilemma is a situation a person
faces in which a decision must be made
about appropriate behavior.
Ethical Unethical behavior:
• Everybody does it
dilemma • If it is legal, it is ethical
• Likelihood of discovery and consequences
Resolving ethical dilemmas

1 2 3 4 5 6
Obtain the relevant Identify the ethical Determine who is Identify the alternatives Identify the likely Decide the proper
facts issues from the facts affected available to the person consequences of all the action
who must resolve the possible alternatives
dilemma
Relevant facts

A staff person has been informed that he will work hours

without recording them as hours worked

Firm policy prohibits this practice

Another staff person has stated that this is common

practice in the firm
Components/qualities of
ethics
• Honesty
• Integrity
• Transparency
• Accountability
• Confidentiality
• Objectivity
• Respectfulness
• Obedience to law
 Honesty refers to the facets of moral character and
denotes positive, virtuous attributes such as
integrity, truthfulness, and straightforwardness
along with the absence of lying, cheating or theft.

“Honesty is the best policy. If lose mine honor. I

lose myself”
Honesty

William Shakespeare
 Being loyal to a company, producing the results expected
of you and being trustworthy and reliable are all qualities
that characterize someone who has professional integrity.

Integrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values,

methods, measures, principles, expectations, and
outcomes.
Integrity Integrity can be regarded as the opposite of hypocrisy,
that it regards internal consistency as a virtue.

The word integrity is derived from a Latin word integer

meaning wholeness.
 Transparency is an attribute of corporate culture that's
revealed through the behaviors of an organization's leaders,
employees, and stakeholders.

It's how values are embodied and demonstrated on a day-to-

day basis. It shows in the degree of openness of meetings,
events, and interactions within the organization

Transparency It is implemented by a set of policies, practices, and

procedures.

It allows citizens to have accessibility, usability, utility,

understandability, informativeness, and auditability of
information and process held by centers of authority (society
or organizations)
 Accountability is the readiness or preparedness to
give an explanation or justification to
stakeholders for one's judgments, intentions and
actions.

Accountability is often used synonymously with

such concepts as: answerability, blameworthiness,
Accountability liability, and other terms associated with the
expectation of account-giving.

It is the acknowledgement and assumption of

responsibility for action, products, decision and
policies and be responsible for consequences.
 Fields Political accountability

Ethical accountability

Accountability in education and

administration
Accountability
Individual accountability

Constituency relations

Public/private overlap
 Confidentiality is an ethical principle of discretion.

Professional members should not disclose

professional information unless they have specific
permission or a legal or professional duty to do so.
Confidentiality
Professional behavior: Comply with relevant laws
and regulations.

Professional members must also avoid any action

that could negatively affect the reputation of the
profession.
 Confidentiality
regarding: Whose interests

Which interests

Confidentiality Confidential
information of: Worker
Employer
Organization
Client
Competitor
 Professional members should be objective,
independent, and free of conflict of interest.

Objectivity may synonymous with neutrality.

Objectivity imposes the obligation on all members

Objectivity to be fair, impartial and intellectually honest.

Objectivity is essential for any member exercising

professional judgement.

It is as essential for members in employment as for

members in public practice.
 Respect gives a positive feeling of esteem for a
person and conduct representative of that
esteem.
It can also be demanded from another as a mark
of deference to their rank, seniority, experience
or standing in the world.
Respectfulness
Respect can be the actual feeling of regard for
the actual qualities of the one being respected.

The opposite of respect is contempt.

 Law is the set of enforced rules under which a
society is governed.

Law is one of the most basic social institution.

Obedience
to law The law thus establishes the rules that define a
person’s rights and obligations. The law also sets
penalties for people who violate these rules.
In fact, laws are frequently changed to reflect
changes in society’s need and attitudes.
 The law shapes politics, economy, and
society in so many ways and serves as a
social mediator of relations between people.

Obedience to Legal subjects:

law
• International law
• Constitutional and administrative law
• Criminal law
• Contract law
• Property law
• Equity law
 • A whistleblower is a person who tells the
public or someone in authority about
alleged dishonest or illegal activities
occurring in a government department or
private organization.
Whistleblowing • Whistleblower raises concerns about frauds,
corruptions, wrongdoings, and
mismanagement.
• The whistle blowing may not only lose his or
her job but may also experience negative
effect on his career and personal life.
 The misconduct can be classified in several
ways. Such as:
o Violation of laws
Whistleblowing o Posing direct threat to public interest (fraud,
corruption)
o Violation of health or safety norms
o Deceptive practices
Dimensions of ethics
3 R’s of ethics:
o Rules
o Responsibility
o Respect