The circumscribed quadrature of professional ethics aims to show the necessary shift from deontology to professional ethics, from deontological codes to ethical codes. While deontology and the deontological codes that materialise from it set their sights on professionals' responsibilities, professional ethics and the ethical codes that should derive from it would set their sights on the professional act, on its successful performance. In this way, the stress comes to be placed not only (...) on the professional's responsibility, although that too, but also on the necessary orchestration of the responsibilities shared at numerous levels by everyone involved in the performance of the professional act. The author identifies and typifies five elements present in the professional act. Four of them involve direct the protagonism of the professional, the recipient of the professional service, the institution that makes the service possible and from which the professionals' service is offered, and finally the human factor, the people who are behind the aforementioned factors and their nature, the professional, the recipient of the services and institutions. And each of these factors paves the way for a series of diversified protagonisms: inter-professional cooperation, receiver of professional services and their human environment around them, macro and micro institutions, diverse human profiles. However, all of this takes place within the framework of the fifth important element in professional ethics: a given, specific society as a circumscription of the four elements cited above, which sets the moral bar, a set of convictions and desired collective ethics which unquestionably also affect the performance of professional acts. With this reflection, we take note of the necessary co-responsibility in the provision of professional services, a co-responsibility which we could express simply in healthcare terms: it is not enough to merely have sound healthcare professionals if we do not have good patients with favourable affective environments, nor sound healthcare institutions, nor serious people who are socially committed to their work and their role, nor a society that believes in and fosters given identifiers of the personal and professional health to which we aim. The reflections in this proposal embark on a pathway of reflection which, we believe, deserves to be further explored. (shrink)

This paper reports an analysis of the content of the codes of ethics of 15 professional business organizations in the United States, representing the broad range of disciplines found in business. The analysis was conducted to identify common ethical issues faced by business professionals. It was also structured to highlight ethical issues that are either unique to or of particular importance for business professionals. No attempt is made to make value judgments about either the codes of ethics (...) studied or of their content. General ethical values identified include honesty and integrity, general legal compliance, discreditable or harmful acts, and obligations related to social values. More business-specific issues include confidentiality, responsibilities to employers/clients, obligations to the profession, independence and objectivity, and business-specific legal and technical compliance issues. (shrink)

Today''s business students have grown up in a society where distinctions between right and wrong have become blurred and where unethical behavior is observed and even expected in high-profile leaders. Especially troubling is the impression educators have that many students no longer view cheating as morally wrong (Pavela and McCabe, 1993). By contrast, the general public is demanding higher ethics of businesspeople. In this environment, educators are challenged to instill ethical norms in business students, especially when recent research indicates (...) that students intending to enter business fields are more likely than any other group of students to engage in cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty (McCabe and Trevino, 1995). One of the major future roles of accounting students depends on their honesty, however. For audits to have economic value, the auditors must be perceived by the public as acting with independence, integrity, and objectivity. Public accountants have adopted a Code of Professional Conduct in order to protect the integrity of the profession. In an effort to teach accounting students the importance of ethical professional conduct, the author has developed a class project wherein groups of students write proposals for a student honor code at Niagara University. (shrink)

Nursing codes of ethics and conduct are features of professional practice across the world, and in the UK, the regulator has recently consulted on and published a new code. Initially part of a professionalising agenda, nursing codes have recently come to represent a managerialist and disciplinary agenda and nursing can no longer be regarded as a self‐regulating profession. This paper argues that codes of ethics and codes of conduct are significantly different in form and function similar to the difference (...) between ethics and law in everyday life. Some codes successfully integrate these two functions within the same document, while others, principally the UK Code, conflate them resulting in an ambiguous document unable to fulfil its functions effectively. The paper analyses the differences between ethical‐codes and conduct‐codes by discussing titles, authorship, level, scope for disagreement, consequences of transgression, language and finally and possibly most importantly agent‐centeredness. It is argued that conduct‐codes cannot require nurses to be compassionate because compassion involves an emotional response. The concept of kindness provides a plausible alternative for conduct‐codes as it is possible to understand it solely in terms of acts. But if kindness is required in conduct‐codes, investigation and possible censure follows from its absence. Using examples it is argued that there are at last five possible accounts of the absence of kindness. As well as being potentially problematic for disciplinary panels, difficulty in understanding the features of blameworthy absence of kindness may challenge UK nurses who, following a recently introduced revalidation procedure, are required to reflect on their practice in relation to The Code. It is concluded that closer attention to metaethical concerns by code writers will better support the functions of their issuing organisations. (shrink)

Conversely to the United States, lobbying consulting in France is a relatively recent activity and is perceived negatively by a majority of the population. Influencing public decision-making is certainly a sensitive occupation at both managerial and societal levels. This is why ethics applied to business can play a central role while establishing the practice of lobbying in France. This paper examines the issues and the practices of ethics in lobbying consulting. The field for this exploratory study is a lobbying consultancy (...) firm based in France. Our research is developed through a 3-month participant observation and complemented with secondary data on the lobbying profession in France. The results of this research are developed along two lines: The practice of ethics in lobbying consultancy firms reveals its limits as well as a framework worth developing. The players and the represented client topics are potential dangers for ethical lobbying firms. This intervention research has nevertheless allowed us to observe the emergence of an effective regulation approach: the ethics of exemplarity as potentially illustrated by a representative actor of the French lobbying consulting profession. The stakes of ethics are both internal and external to lobbying consulting professionals in France. Internally, ethics act as a structuring element enabling this profession to establish itself with practices and deontological codes; externally, it clarifies the relationship between lobbying consultants and their major stakeholders including customers, government, and the civil society. (shrink)

The medical profession contains five “spheres of morality”: clinical care, clinical research, scientific knowledge, population health, and the market. These distinct sets of normative commitments require physicians to act in different ways depending on the ends of the activity in question. For example, a physician-scientist emphasizes patients’ well-being in clinic, prioritizes the scientific method in lab, and seeks to maximize shareholder returns as a board member of a pharmaceutical firm. Physicians increasingly occupy multiple roles in healthcare and move between them (...) frequently, creating the possibility of conflict between the ethical obligations of their various roles. This paper examines the entire moral landscape of medicine through the lens of role morality. It develops a novel framework that helps physicians recognize how their moral commitments depend on the nature and context of the situation, clarifies ethical conflicts that physicians face, and concludes with ideas for resolving these conflicts. (shrink)

Public relations practitioners are uniquely positioned to promote ethical communication and practice. As Kruckeberg (2000) explained, “public relations practitioners-if they prove worthy of the task—will be called upon to be corporate—that is organizational—interpreters and ethicists and social policy-makers, charged with guiding organizational behavior as well as influencing and reconciling public perceptions within a global context (p. 37).” Public relations practitioners, however, may never take an ethics course as a student, receive on-the-job ethical training, or use the many (...) class='Hi'>professional codes of ethics available to them. This lack begs the question: How are they tackling the various ethical decisions they face? This study examines how public relations professionals engage in ethical decision making and make meaning of deontological ethical models. Such inquiry regarding ethical decision making may assist public relations practitioners and scholars to better understand themselves, serve society, and advance the communication profession. (shrink)

Media ethics codes concerning privacy must be updated considering the ease with which information now can be gathered from social networks and disseminated widely. Existing codes allow for deception and privacy invasion in cases of overriding public need when no alternate means are available but do not adequately define what constitutes need or alternate means, or weigh in the harm such acts do to the public trust and the profession. Building on the ethics theories of Sissela Bok and Helen Nissenbaum, (...) balancing tests can be developed under a mixed-rule deontology that confines online misrepresentation and exposing the private information of private people only to cases where good most clearly is served. (shrink)

This article is a first assessment of the Italian Code of deontology for nurses (revised in 1999) on the basis of data collected from focus groups with nurses taking part in the Ethical Codes in Nursing (ECN) project. We illustrate the professional context in which the Code was introduced and explain why the 1999 revision was necessary in the light of changes affecting the Italian nursing profession. The most remarkable findings concern professional autonomy and responsibility, and how (...) the Code is thought of as a set of guidelines for nursing practice. We discuss these issues, underlining that the 1999 Code represents a valuable instrument for ethical reflection and examination, a stimulus for putting the moral sense of the nursing profession into action, and that it represents a new era for professional nursing practice in Italy. The results of the analysis also deserve further qualitative study and future consideration. (shrink)

The profession of psychology is one of many entities affected by the current economic recession. The question of what to do when clients cannot pay agreed-upon charges will need to be answered. Ethical issues related to setting the fee for psychotherapy, insurance coverage, abandonment, pro bono psychotherapy, and lack of resources are addressed in light of the 2002 American Psychological Association's Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct and other relevant literature. The impact of the Mental Health (...) Parity Act on the financial complexities that professionals in psychology now face is also discussed. Several recommendations are made for psychologists, calling them to be proactive in their communities, to be advocates for their clients, and to critically evaluate their financial practices. (shrink)

Professions have adopted ethical codes and codes of conduct. Physicians, lawyers, engineers, and other professionals have moral responsibilities. They know to whom they are responsible. Professionals in the data processing field, too, need to know that they have moral responsibilities and to whom they are responsible. This paper compares and evaluates the ethical codes of four major organizations of computer professionals in America. The analysis is done along the following obligations that every professional has: to society, to (...) the employer, to clients, to colleagues, to the professional organization, and to the profession.Professionals in the information technology field have no single, agreed upon code of conduct. In the US alone there are four organizations promoting four different codes. While some of the behavioral precepts are similar, others are not. People who are members of more than one organization may wonder how they should act in certain circumstances. Furthermore, computer professionals are not provided with any guidance for cases of ethical conflicts. (shrink)

In June 1995, the Italian code of medical ethics was revised in order that its principles should reflect the ever-changing relationship between the medical profession and society and between physicians and patients. The updated code is also a response to new ethical problems created by scientific progress; the discussion of such problems often shows up a need for better understanding on the part of the medical profession itself. Medical deontology is defined as the discipline for the study of norms (...) of conduct for the health care professions, including moral and legal norms as well as those pertaining more strictly to professional performance. The aim of deontology is therefore, the in-depth investigation and revision of the code of medical ethics. It is in the light of this conceptual definition that one should interpret a review of the different codes which have attempted, throughout the various periods of Italy's recent history, to adapt ethical norms to particular social and health care climates. (shrink)

We thank our commentators for their thoughtful responses to our paper1 covering among other issues the relationships of ethics law and professional codes, the tensions between ethical universalism and cultural relativism and the phenomenon of moral judgement required when ethical norms conflict, including the norms of patient care versus obligations to others both now and in the future. Although the comments deserve more extensive discussion, in what follows we respond briefly to specific aspects of each commentary and (...) remind readers that professional codes of ethics are necessarily brief and that the International Code of Medical Ethics (ICoME) explicitly refers to the World Medical Association’s (WMA) mutually concordant and far more extensive ‘body of policies’.2 Sarela raises a fundamental and, as stated in the commentary, unresolved debate: ‘should ethics shape law or is it the converse’?3 We understand the ‘global medical ethos’ represented in the WMA’s revised ICoME to be firmly embedded in the assumption that ethics should shape law and that only where laws are so shaped do people governed by them have an ethical obligation to obey them. For the medical profession, laws permitting participation in torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading practices and punishments are categorically unethical, and therefore, doctors must not facilitate or participate in them—difficult as it may be for some doctors in some regions or environments to act accordingly. Schantz and Mansoori claim that ‘if a code of ethics is an act of professional self-regulation and professional self-regulation is community-dependent, then a code of ethics cannot be …. (shrink)

Worldwide, there is a growing expectation that teachers will act in a ?professional? manner. Professionalism, in this regard, includes identification of a unique body of occupational knowledge, adherence to desirable standards of behaviour, processes to hold members to account and commitment to what the profession regards as morally right or good. In other words, as ethical conduct. Teaching ethically involves making reasoned decisions about what to do in order to achieve the most good for learners. Often, this involves (...) a complex interplay between current context, past experience and personal beliefs and values. However, teacher education and accountability frameworks typically give priority to the ?practical rationality? of planning, delivery and assessment of the official curriculum, not the ?value rationality? involved in exploring the ethics of teaching in difficult practical circumstances. An aspirational code of ethics for teachers was recently developed by the New Zealand Teachers Council. The authors were part of a group commissioned to design and deliver a single professional development workshop for teachers to raise awareness about the code. This article focuses on the challenges of developing a workshop that both informs and educates teachers about ethics. (shrink)

Archaeologists employed in governmental positions often deal with issues that produce conflicts between their professional duties to their employer, their ethical responsibilities to the resource, and their obligations as established by legislation. The paper examines some of the conflicts imposed on governmental archaeologists by each of these systems but focuses on the conflicts imposed by federal legislation and regulations on governmental archaeologists, using “Kennewick Man” as an example.

Justifying the existence of professional ethics in medicine is usually connected with the traditions of a profession and with a humanistic dimension of these ethics, pointing at the same time to their culture-forming character. With such an attitude, professional ethics is treated as a part of all mankind’s output, and its teaching turns out to be an important element of preparation for taking part in culture. Taking into account the cultural meaning of professional ethics, one should notice (...) that all discussions about the character of relations of medicine and ethics exceed the very health care system. The dilemma outlined in the article deals with the problem whether the existence of medical ethics requires external regulations or is this also a creation of the very representatives of medicine and only they can formulate it. If the latter is to be assumed, ethics in medicine would have to be independent of other detailed ethics and it would not need to be included in any other more general theory. In the first solution, medical ethics is becoming a part of general ethics and, therefore, it would be justified to include it in a more general theory – bioethics. The authors indicate that professional ethics does not limit freedom of the staff but gives a special opportunity to use it. Records constituting its contents are mostly standardized by a professional group which sets criteria of recruitment on its own and general duties resting on their members. (shrink)

The purpose of this article is to outline a systematic answer to the question of collective autonomy, its conceptual nature and lmimits, and apply it by way of example to the case of the engineering profession.In the first section, it is argued that a professional activity involves systematic knowledge and proficiency, a form of continuous improvement of the related bodies of knowledge and proficiency, as well as two levels of understanding: a local one, which is the ability to justify (...) and explain professional acts, and a global one, which involves a conception of the whole profession and its ethical principles.The second section is devoted to a conceptual analysis of professional ethics. It is argued that it consists of a general conception of professionality, a particular conception of the profession under consideration, and a conception of the normative requirements made by the societal envelope of the professional activity, in particular basic norms of democracy.The third section draws conclusions with respect to the nature and limits of professional autonomy. It is shown that such autonomy is much more restricted than its apparent extent. Examples from engineering and other professions are provided. (shrink)

The aim of the paper is to pick out the grounds of the fact, that more and more professional ethics codexes are permanently being formulated. The author high_lights the essence, the menanig and the functions of professional ethics codexes, seeing them as the institutionalized forms of professional ethics, which is a part of applied ethics. She puts stress on the connections between the society, the profession and its ethical codex. The philosophical and ethical grounds of (...) the professional ethics codexes are examined as well. (shrink)

_The Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibilities for Healthcare Ethics Consultants_ instructs clinical ethics consultants to preserve their professional integrity by “not engaging in activities that involve giving an ethical justification or stamp of approval to practices they believe are inconsistent with agreed-upon standards” (ASBH, 2014, p. 2). This instruction reflects a larger model of how to address value uncertainty and moral conflict in healthcare, and it brings up some intriguing and as yet unanswered questions—ones that the (...) drafters of the _Code_, and the profession more broadly, should seek to address in upcoming revisions. The objective of this article is to raise these questions as a way of urging greater clarification of the _Code’s_ overall approach to professional integrity, its meaning, and implications. (shrink)

Nurses, like many other professional and semiprofessional groups, have a code of con duct. This raises important philosophical questions about the point of including nursing ethics in nursing education and about the content and methods of such teaching. This paper identifies seven functions that might be fulfilled by professional codes; it discusses the philosophical issues these raise and the implications for teaching professional ethics. It is argued that, far from codes rendering the teaching of ethics unnecessary, they (...) pro vide additional reasons for its inclusion. An enhanced ability to make moral decisions helps to overcome the shortcomings of the codes, enables a profession to be autonomous in the development of its code, enables individuals to be authentic moral agents, and is essential in matters concerning the disciplinary function of the codes. The role of emo tions, feelings and attitudes in ethics also presents philosophical problems that moral edu cation can help to resolve. (shrink)

Gallup Polls have reported on the perceived ethics of various professions in the US since 1976. Clergymen and pharmacists were consistently identified as two of the most ethical professionals in the 1980''s and 1990''s. Business executives have not fared well in these polls and have not been rated among the top ten most ethical professions in any of the years the poll was taken. Ethical codes have not done much to belay the perception that the US business (...) executive is not very ethical. Whether the Sarbanes-Oxley Act will impact the ethical behavior of business executives remains to be seen. (shrink)

Se realiza una revisión bibliográfica con el objetivo de analizar los diferentes códigos éticos y deontológicos internacionales, regionales y nacionales de los que se nutre la especialidad de psiquiatría. Se concluye que el comportamiento ético se basa en el sentido de la responsabilidad individual de cada psiquiatra hacia cada paciente y en la capacidad de ambos para determinar cuál es la conducta correcta y más apropiada. Las normas externas y las directrices, tales como los códigos de conducta profesional, las aportaciones (...) de la ética y de las normas legales, no garantizan por sí solas la práctica ética de la medicina, pero constituyen un importante marco referencial. A literature review was performed with the objective of analyzing the various international, regional and national ethical and deontological codes that the psychiatry specialty feeds on. It is concluded that ethical behavior is based on the sense of individual responsibility of each psychiatrist to each patient and the ability of both to determine what the correct and appropriate behavior is. External standards and guidelines, such as professional codes of conduct, the study of ethics and legal standards alone do not guarantee the ethical practice of medicine but are an important framework. (shrink)

The purpose of this article is to propose an ethical framework for software engineers that connects software developers’ ethical responsibilities directly to their professional standards. The implementation of such an ethical framework can overcome the traditional dichotomy between professional skills and ethical skills, which plagues the engineering professions, by proposing an approach to the fundamental tasks of the practitioner, i.e., software development, in which the professional standards are intrinsically connected to the ethical (...) responsibilities. In so doing, the ethical framework improves the practitioner’s professionalism and ethics. We call this approach Ethical-Driven Software Development, as an approach to software development. EDSD manifests the advantages of an ethical framework as an alternative to the all too familiar approach in professional ethics that advocates “stand-alone codes of ethics”. We believe that one outcome of this synergy between professional and ethical skills is simply better engineers. Moreover, since there are often different software solutions, which the engineer can provide to an issue at stake, the ethical framework provides a guiding principle, within the process of software development, that helps the engineer evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different software solutions. It does not and cannot affect the end-product in and of-itself. However, it can and should, make the software engineer more conscious and aware of the ethical ramifications of certain engineering decisions within the process. (shrink)

The World Medical Association (WMA), the global representation of the medical profession, first adopted the International Code of Medical Ethics (ICoME) in 1949 to outline the professional duties of physicians to patients, other physicians and health professionals, themselves and society as a whole. The ICoME recently underwent a major 4-year revision process, culminating in its unanimous adoption by the WMA General Assembly in October 2022 in Berlin. This article describes and discusses the ICoME, its revision process, the controversial and (...) uncontroversial issues, and the broad consensus achieved among WMA constituent members, representing over 10 million physicians worldwide. The authors analyse the ICoME, including its response to contemporary changes and challenges like ethical plurality and globalisation, in light of ethical theories and approaches, reaching the conclusion that the document is a good example of international ethical professional self-regulation. (shrink)

Modern philosophy recognizes two major ethical theories: deontology, which encourages adherence to rules and fulfillment of duties or obligations; and consequentialism, which evaluates morally significant actions strictly on the basis of their actual or anticipated outcomes. Both involve the systematic application of universal abstract principles, reflecting the culturally dominant paradigm of technical rationality. Professional societies promulgate codes of ethics with which engineers are expected to comply, while courts and the public generally assign liability to engineers primarily in accordance (...) with the results of their work, whether intended or unintended. A third option, prominent in ancient philosophy, has reemerged recently: virtue ethics, which recognizes that sensitivity to context and practical judgment are indispensable in particular concrete situations, and therefore rightly focuses on the person who acts, rather than the action itself. Beneficial character traits—i.e., virtues—are identified within a specific social practice in light of the internal goods that are unique to it. This paper proposes a comprehensive framework for implementing virtue ethics within engineering. (shrink)

PurposeCodes of ethics are important instruments in journalism, as they promote transparency and self-regulation of media, in addition to monitoring the quality of information. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the perceptions that Spanish journalists have of the effectiveness of codes of ethics and to evaluate the different personal and professional variables which condition this vision.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology used in the present study is based on quantitative content analysis using the survey technique. This technique makes it possible to (...) obtain empirical data on various key aspects of the profession that are determining factors in ascertaining Spanish journalists’ views of one of the instruments of accountability that is external to the media: general ethical codes.FindingsThe results show that Spanish journalists are largely confident in the effectiveness of ethical codes in their profession. Likewise, it was seen that variables such as age, professional experience or the media with which they work influence the perceptions that professionals have of such instruments.Originality/valueIf understanding journalism as a profession whose mission is to guarantee the citizens their right to information, then it is essential to be familiar with the tools provided by the profession itself to be accountable to the public regarding this professional mission. Hence the importance of instruments of accountability and the perceptions of the professionals themselves regarding their effectiveness. (shrink)

The American Medical Association enacted its Code of Ethics in 1847, the first such national codification. In this volume, a distinguished group of experts from the fields of medicine, bioethics, and history of medicine reflect on the development of medical ethics in the United States, using historical analyses as a springboard for discussions of the problems of the present, including what the editors call "a sense of moral crisis precipitated by the shift from a system of fee-for-service medicine to a (...) system of fee-for-system medicine, better known as 'managed care.'" The authors begin with a look at how the medical profession began to consider ethical issues in the 1800s and subsequent developments in the 1900s. They then address the sociological, historical, ethical, and legal aspects of the practice of medicine. Later chapters discuss current and future challenges to medical ethics and professional values. Appendixes display various versions of the AMA's Code of Ethics as it has evolved over time. Contributors: George J. Annas, J.D., M.P.H., Arthur Isak Applbaum, Ph.D., Robert B. Baker, Ph.D., Chester R. Burns, M.D., Ph.D., Arthur L. Caplan, Ph.D., Alexander Morgan Capron, J.D., Christine K. Cassel, M.D., Linda L. Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D., Eliot L. Freidson, Ph.D., Albert R. Jonsen, Ph.D., Stephen R. Latham, J.D., Ph.D., Susan E. Lederer, Ph.D., Florencia Luna, Ph.D., Edmund D. Pellegrino, M.D., Charles E. Rosenberg, Ph.D., Mark Siegler, M.D., Rosemary A. Stevens, Ph.D., Robert M. Tenery, Jr., M.D., Robert M. Veatch, Ph.D., John Harley Warner, Ph.D., Paul Root Wolpe, Ph.D. (shrink)

Drafting a code of ethics for a professional society is a daunting and exhausting task. Whereas the basic components of a professional code of ethics or professional standards are reasonably well understood, the specific details require careful tailoring to meet the needs of a given profession. The difficulty of this process probably explains why such codes are rarely updated. Furthermore, once having produced an updated ethics code, many professional organizations, or perhaps better the associated executive, feel (...) that their work has been completed and that they can now present themselves to their countries and the international community as responsible and even concerned societies. But is their work really over? The answer proposed in this paper is a resounding no. I argue that a professional society must provide active and comprehensive support to its members as they seek to do the right thing. In this regard, the Web pages of the ACM and the IEEE are compared as evidence of each society's commitment to its members. I also argue that professional societies must make this commitment and as importantly, be seen to be making it. (shrink)

Marketing ethics is normally marketed as a sub-specialization of business ethics. In this paper, marketing ethics serves as an umbrella term for advertising, PR and sales ethics and as an example of professional ethics. To structure the paper, four approaches are distinguished, with a focus on typical professional conflicts, codes, roles or climates respectively. Since the moral climate approachis more inclusive than the other approaches, the last part of the paper deals mainly with moral climates, within the above-mentioned (...) marketing sub-professions. (shrink)

In Codes of Ethics and the Professions 12 contributors, including philosophers, historians, lawyers, nurses, psychiatrists, and a journalist seek answers to a range of tough questions. Do we need codes of ethics? How do we go about creating them? Can codes of ethics be misused and abused? How should they be enforced, regulated and revised?

The cause of ethical failure in organisations often can be traced to their organisational culture and the failure on the part of the leadership to actively promote ethical ideals and practices. This is true of all types of organisations, including the professions, which in recent years have experienced ongoing ethical problems. The questions naturally arise: what sort of professional culture promotes ethical behaviour? How can it be implemented by a profession and engendered in the individual (...) professional? The answers to these questions are of interest to business ethicists since the causes of ethical problems in business are often the same and the professions, as ethically challenged organisations, make useful and informative analogues for the measures to be adopted or avoided when the attempt is made to raise the ethical standards of business.Given this focus on the professions, it will be argued that the usual, direct attempts to control unethical behaviour by using codes of ethics, legislation and self-regulatory regimes, are not successful. (shrink)

Ethical cultures, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and sustainability strategies are increasingly being addressed through formal organisational policies and structures. This is evidenced by codes of ethics, conduct, whistle-blowing reporting lines, anti-bribery and corruption policies, and broader stakeholder and environmental engagement strategies. In the United States, corporate ethics managers are responsible for these functions, supported by specific professional and university-level qualifications. However, this is not the case in Australia and Asia where the role appears delegated to human resource personnel (...) in organisations. Human resource management (HRM) is increasingly advanced as a formal profession, yet whether corporate ethics content features as a significant component of the HRM profession is unclear. Expert knowledge is a foundation of a profession along with the duty to act within the limits of that knowledge and expertise. This paper scopes what constitutes professional expert knowledge. It examines corporate ethics expertise and HRM within this context. Major Australian and Asian organisations are examined to verify that HRM Departments, and thus HRM practitioners, are responsible for managing corporate ethics. Given the seniority and strategic importance of this function, the content of selected Masters in HRM and related fields are examined to identify the extent of ethics content. This is considered in the light of the expertise required to manage corporate ethics, and conclusions are drawn whether the HRM discipline is appropriately qualified to manage this function. Finally, recommendations and further research towards advancing the role and function of corporate ethics managers in general are proposed. (shrink)

From the beginning, a code of ethics for bioethicists has been conceived of as part of a movement to professionalise the field. In advocating for such a code, Baker repeatedly identifies ‘having a code of ethics’ with ‘professionalization’. The American Society of Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) echoes this view in their code of ethics for healthcare ethics consultants (HCECs)1 and the subsequent publication in the American Journal of Bioethics.2 Taking for granted that a code of ethics could be a valuable (...) asset for HCECs, this essay has two aims. First, there are good reasons to doubt that the label ‘profession’ has significant meaning for HCECs. Attempts to accurately conceive of a profession fall into two broad camps: substantive and formal. Substantive conceptions should be rejected. Specifically, substantive conceptions beg the question about what it means to be a profession, which produces devastating problems for practical application. Formal conceptions of profession (eg, Davis’ conception3) avoid begging the question, but do so at the cost of identifying the responsibilities of a profession. Using the term ‘professional responsibilities’, then, requires additional explication and classifying HCECs as professionals requires the identification of their role-specific responsibilities.i Second, this essay will critique the ASBH code of ethics for HCECs as a first articulation of these responsibilities. As written, this code of ethics has limited value for HCECs because most of the responsibilities identified in this code do not identify HCEC-specific responsibilities. In closing, some important strategies to improve upon this initial attempt to define the responsibilities of HCECs are identified. For at least the last decade, Baker has encouraged bioethicists to adopt a code of ethics. Throughout this effort, Baker intertwines having a code of ethics with becoming a profession: ‘Is it time for bioethics to assert its integrity by developing …. (shrink)

The Professional Practice Program, also known as the co-operative education (co-op) program, at the University of Cincinnati (UC) is designed to provide eligible students with the most comprehensive and professional preparation available. Beginning with the Class of 2006, students in UC’s Centennial Co-op Class will be following a new co-op curriculum centered around a set of learning outcomes Regardless of their particular discipline, students will pursue common learning outcomes by participating in the Professional Practice Program, which will (...) cover issues of organizational culture, technology, professional ethics, and the integration of theory and practice. During their third co-op work term, students will complete a learning module on Professional Ethics. To complete the learning module students must familiarize themselves with the code of ethics for their profession, create a hypothetical scenario portraying an ethical dilemma that involves issues covered by the code, resolve the dilemma, and explain why their resolution is the best course of action based upon the code of ethics. A three-party assessment process including students, employers and faculty complete the module. (shrink)

Professional Ethics, viewed as a managerial challenge and opportunity in this study, deals with the often overlooked conceptions, actions and behavior of individuals who see themselves both as members of a profession and as members of an organization. Managers have to deal with this dual loyalty and inherent potential for conflict. This is of particular importance for new types of organizations when wanting to develop and sustain an ethical platform for the ultimate goal - assuring that future business (...) decisions of individuals are in "ethical balance" with the organization's own values and goals. (shrink)

Ethical youth work is ‘good' youth work but how do youth work practitioners collectively determine what is ‘good'? This article presents findings from four-country surveys of youth workers' attitudes and understandings of what constitutes ‘good', that is to say ‘ethical’ practice. The article presents the principles that youth workers say underpin ethical practice in Australia, Estonia, Iceland, and Ireland. The first three countries have well established Codes of Ethics and/or Practice and Professional Associations, while Ireland does (...) not. A survey of youth work practitioners funded by Erasmus Plus, was conducted across the four countries (n = 405). A comparative analysis of data across countries revealed consensus around key characteristics of youth work practice such as the participation, empowerment, and safety of young people. These core principles form the basis of good and ethical action by practitioners. In countries which have codified these principles, these Codes were reported to be useful tools to support practitioners in their work. The survey further suggests that reflective practice is important in the application of ethical codes to concrete practice situations acting as a form of collective accountability and praxis. To conclude, we consider the implications of these findings for professionalism, and professionalisation in youth work nationally and internationally. (shrink)

The Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice, intended as a standard for teaching and practicing software engineering, documents the ethical and professional obligations of software engineers. The code should instruct practitioners about the standards society expects them to meet, about what their peers strive for, and about what to expect of one another. In addition, the code should also inform the public about the responsibilities that are important to the profession. Adopted in 2000 by the (...) IEEE Computer Society and the ACM--two leading international computing societies--the code of ethics is intended as a guide for members of the evolving software engineering profession. The code was developed by a multinational task force with additional input from other professionals from industry, government posts, military installations, and educational professions. (shrink)

The first code of professional ethics must: (1)be a code of ethics; (2) apply to members of a profession; (3) apply to allmembers of that profession; and (4) apply only to members of that profession. The value of these criteria depends on how we define “code”, “ethics”, and “profession”, terms the literature on professions has defined in many ways. This paper applies one set of definitions of “code”, “ethics”, and “profession” to a part of what we now know of (...) the history of professions, there by illustrating how the choice of definition can alter substantially both our answer to the question of which came first and (more importantly) our understanding of professional codes (and the professions that adopt them). Because most who write on codes of professional ethics seem to take for granted that physicians produced the first professional code, whether the Hippocratic Oath, Percival’s Medical Ethics, the 1847 Code of Ethicsof the American Medical Association (AMA), or some other document, I focus my discussion on these codes. (shrink)

Questions of ethics and politics have a long tradition in the classroom as well as the political world. Those who act in the political realm¿including the media, political strategists and consultants, educators, and religious leaders¿are in professions for which a clear code of conduct or an accepted set of ethical norms exists. By contrast, Donald J. Trump, as candidate and as President, has upended the political and ethical context in which he and others operate. This book explores emerging (...) ethical questions that face professionals interacting with a new executive order. Some say the age of Trump is unique and that the norms of ethical professional behavior must be bent to meet this challenge. Others maintain that responding to someone like Trump is precisely why their profession has ethical norms, and that they must put their judgments on hold and respond in what has always been deemed the appropriate professional manner. Each chapter opens with an introduction setting the framework of ethical analysis for a particular profession, is followed by original contributions by notable practitioners, and concludes with a set of questions for students and other readers to ponder and discuss. (shrink)

The study of business ethics has led to the development of various principles that are the foundation of good and ethical business practices. A corresponding study of Information Technology (IT) professionals’ ethics has led to the conclusion that good ethics in the development and uses of information technology correspond to the basic business principle that good ethics is good business. Ergo, good business ethics practiced by IT professionals is good IT ethics and vice versa. IT professionals are professionals in (...) businesses; a difficulty presented to these professionals, however, is the number and diversity of codes of ethics to which they may be held. Considering the existence of several formalized codes of ethics prepared by various IT professionals’ associations, a more harmonized approach seems more reasonable. This paper attempts to present a review of the purpose of codes of ethics, the persons who should be covered by such codes and to organize codes of ethics for business in general and IT professionals in particular and to make the argument that, once again, good ethics is good business practice, regardless of the profession or occupation concerned. (shrink)

In the article I prove the separateness of professional medical ethics in three ways: 1. By showing differences between the normative rank of responsibilities within general and professional ethics. 2. By justifying affiliation of professional medical ethics within the appropriation model which is a type of applied ethics characterized by its unique properties. 3. By justifying historical professionalism as the ethics that is proper for the medical profession; for this kind of ethical internalism the content of (...) professional ethics is the sole work of medical professional organizations as well as individual doctors. In the final part of the article I reconstruct the actual and postulated relations between professional ethics and professionalism as well as between academic bioethics and public bioethics. The aim of this reconstruction is to indicate the optimal from the perspective of ethical education place of professional ethics within the ethics education system for professionalists. (shrink)

The Code of Ethics of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Associations states....hold paramount the welfare of persons served professionally. But how do clinicians balance the financial demands of their service-oriented business with their interest in the welfare of the people they serve? In this text, Dr Resnick explores the various aspects of applied ethics to give speech-pathologists and audiologists a better understanding of professional ethics and what it means for the conduct of a profession. Solving ethical dilemmas, working with ethics (...) committees, and other practical issues are covered to promote the preservation of professional ethics in daily practice. (shrink)

Purpose Professional ethics is explored with three main foci: a critique of codes of conduct and the value of creating a global code for information and communication technology ; a critique of ICT professional certification; and the debate over whether ICT is really a profession. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual reflection on the current state of the ICT industry internationally, informed by the literature. Findings Compared to a mature profession, such as health, ICT is a young profession. This (...) is evidenced in the disparity of domains of practice, the lack of agreement on universal values governing the industry and the ongoing difficulties in creating international certification. Originality/value Until now, there has been little recognition of the corporatisation of ICT professionals and the effect that has on their ability to engage in appropriate professional ethics. More research is needed to explore appropriate ways in which ethical behaviour can be encouraged in the corporate workplace, including how professional development can be strengthened through building learning organisations. (shrink)

Providing up-to-date and comprehensive information, this practical guide uses clinical case examples and professional codes of ethics to help addiction counselors learn and apply ethical standards. Real-life examples of ethical dilemmas in clinical practice illustrate potential pitfalls and the actions needed when faced with a dilemma.Since most ethical decisions are not clear cut, the author explores the grey area of each dilemma and provides guidelines on how to determine the best course of action when the best (...) course is unclear. This book emphasizes ethics as a set of guidelines aimed at protecting the client, the clinician, and the profession as a whole. (shrink)

This paper considers whether professional codes of ethics are enforceable, legitimate, and just. In analyzing codes of ethics in this way, one must consider whether they exist to benefit members of the profession, or society as a whole. The analysis shifts dramatically based on this question, as codes of ethics are typically created by members of the profession, not by representatives of the larger population, and where they are enforced, they are only enforced among members of the profession. However, (...) professional codes of ethics have an impact on those outside the profession, or the larger society outside the smaller community that created them. (shrink)

This paper presents an experience in developing professional ethics by an approach that integrates knowledge, teaching methodologies and assessment coherently. It has been implemented for students in both the Software Engineering and Computer Engineering degree programs of the Technical University of Madrid, in which professional ethics is studied as a part of a required course. Our contribution of this paper is a model for formative assessment that clarifies the learning goals, enhances the results, simplifies the scoring and can (...) be replicated in other contexts. A quasi-experimental study that involves many of the students of the required course has been developed. To test the effectiveness of the teaching process, the analysis of ethical dilemmas and the use of deontological codes have been integrated, and a scoring rubric has been designed. Currently, this model is also being used to develop skills related to social responsibility and sustainability for undergraduate and postgraduate students of diverse academic context. (shrink)

Philosophy is a vast subject and it is growing day by day in many branches although it has many traditional branches like epistemology, metaphysics, ethics and logic etc. Professional ethics is a discipline of philosophy and a part of subject called as ETHICS. In professional ethics we study the morals and code of conduct to be used while one practices in his/her profession. Media is also a profession and there is also a code of conduct to this profession (...) better. If media professional be ready to work according to its professional ethics, he/she can have a good approach and it will direct him/her to play an important role in shaping good governance. In this paper it is an attempt made to draw a relation between all these conceptions and presents a theoretical interpretation of the above. (shrink)

Most professional societies, scientific associations, and the like that undertake to write a code of ethics do so using other codes as models but without much (practical) guidance about how to do the work. The existing literature on codes is much more concerned with content than procedure. This paper adds to guidance already in the literature what I learned from participating in the writing of an important code of ethics. The guidance is given in the form of “rules” each (...) of which is explained and (insofar as possible) justified. The emphasis is on procedure. (shrink)

The professions have focused considerable attention on developing codes of conduct. Despite their efforts there is considerable controversy regarding the propriety of professional codes of ethics. Many provisions of professional codes seem to exacerbate disputes between the profession and the public rather than providing a framework that satisfies the public''s desire for moral behavior.After examining three professional codes, we divide the provisions of professional codes into those provisions which urge professionals to avoid moral hazard, maintain (...) class='Hi'>professional courtesy and serve the public interest. We note that whereas provisions urging the avoidance of moral hazard are uncontroversial, the public is suspicious of provisions protecting professional courtesy. Public interest provisions are controversial when the public and the profession disagree as to what is in the public interest. Based on these observations, we conclude with recommendations regarding the content of professional codes. (shrink)