Professional Ethics Introduction

THE MEANING OF ETHICS

• Ethics have been generally defined as the principles of morally acceptable conduct of individuals.

• Ethics can generally be defined as an individual’s personal belief about right and wrong behaviour.

• Merriam Webster defines ethics as “ the embodiment of those values that the person or organization feels are important….., and spell our proper conduct and appropriate action. ..”

• The importance of ethics is that for the well-being of the individual officers and directors, as well as the employees.

THE MEANING OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

• Professional ethics designates the moral value that a group trained people develop to control their performance of a task or their resources.

• People internalize the rule and values of their professional culture just as they do those of their society.

• The reflexivity adhere professional rules and values when deciding how to behave.

• Some organization have many groups of professional employees – nurses, lawyers, researches, doctors and accountants – whose behaviour is governed by professional ethics.

• Professional ethics helps shape the organization’s culture and determine the values its members use in their dealings with other stakeholders.

• Most professional groups are allowed to enforce the ethical standards of their profession.