The History About Professional Ethics

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Abstract:

People always think that professional is a person who has good career. The title for this paper is ‘Professional Ethics’. This term paper will focus on the topic that relate with the professional which is specialist in ethic. In general ethic can be defined as rule or standard governing to conduct peoples or community. Everyone needs to apply ethic in their life as a guideline to be a respectable person such as ethic with family at home, ethic in workplace, ethic in public place or somewhere else. In the field of occupation, there need for some one that specialists in ethic to guide other staff at in their work. The responsible person for this is Professional Ethic. The need for professional ethic to guide the staff base on principle or guideline that was creates by organization. In this topic will cover about the definition and the concept of Professional Ethic, theory that use to describe the profession of Professional Ethics, the challenges that taken by Professional Ethic and the recommendation for this topic.

Keywords: Ethics, Professional, guideline, principle

Introduction

Professional ethics also list in the important profession in organization. Professional ethic can be defined as professional accepted standards of personal and business behavior, value and guiding principles. Codes of professional ethics are often established by professional organization to help and guide member or staff in performing their job function according to consistent ethical principle. In the globalization world, the developments of many occupations in different fields are rapidly growth. The work becomes more complex and hard to be done by the staff. Many professional in occupation increased sharply at developing and busy work place. So that, the need for guideline or principle to guide them. Professional ethics helps a professional choose what should the do when faced with problem, and confine the enquiry to the description. Professional ethics concern to assist with making choices and approach called prescriptive professional ethics. Prescriptive Ethics can refer to thought processes use value, virtual, rules, ethical theories, moral reasons, moral explanation and moral decision. Nowadays, Professional ethic becomes more interest in organization. This argument can be proved by the need for professional ethics because occupations become more specialized and the ethical issues become more specialized. Beside, the professional societies have increased efforts to establish ethical to guide their members. The rapidly development also make increasing public security and lack of traditional deference. The last is need to regulatory oversight and public protection to protect people.

As professional ethics in an organization, they should apply several component because they as a guidance for member in their organization. Therefore, the several components need for professional ethics.

First is honesty means being trustful, trustworthy, loyal, fair and sincere. Honesty also means straightforward conduct. Honesty refers to a facet of moral character and connotes positive and virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness and straight forwardness, cheating or theft. Honesty is revered in many cultures and religions.

A professional ethics also need to be integrity in their work. Integrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, principles, expectations, and outcomes. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. Integrity is suggests that parties holding apparently conflicting values should account for the discrepancy or alter their beliefs.

Respect is a positive feeling or deference for other person. a professional ethics should respect for member secret that he know. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected. It can also be conduct in accord with a specific ethic of respect. Rude conduct is usually considered to indicate a lack of respect, disrespect, where as actions that honor somebody or something indicates respect. Specific ethics of respect are of fundamental importance to various cultures.

Another component is transparency. Transparency, as used in science, engineering, business, the humanities and also use for professional ethic. Transparency is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed.

Methodology

To complete this term paper, I carry out with three different methods that focus on the topic that I was choosing which ‘Professional Ethics’. It’s not easy for me to complete this topic without collect the information from different source. I should understand about the topic that I choose.

The first method that I use to complete the term paper is literature review. I use internet as medium to find the right article that relate with my topic. I read the article and understand what the content of the article. I collect the information from the article in the website and combine the information and create new information that I can understand and the new information still relate with the topic. Everyone know, not all the information in the internet is good to use, so I should know what the right information that I should use as content for my term paper.

The second method I use to finish this term paper is I make an observation base on the situation. Any field of employment need for professional ethic to guide them to follow the principle that was creates by organization. Form my observation around my university, I found the staff here very integrity in practice their work. So that I know they have their own ethics in workplace that create by UITM.

The last method that I use is gain knowledge. I ask my friend to give their opinion about the ‘Professional Ethics’. We also make small discussion to gain knowledge about this topic. After exchange idea, I get new knowledge that I can write in my term paper.

Definitions and concepts of Professional Ethics

To know what the brief definition for professional ethic, we should understand what the meaning of profession, professional, ethics and the last we will find the concept of professional ethics.

When describe about profession, we know that all profession are occupations, but not all occupation are professions. It is because, profession relate with the job that have group identity. Such as medical, teacher, engineer, businessman and another. A profession shared education, the company or organization will give training to their staff and new member to requirements for admission. The professions also have special uncommon knowledge that can be benefit for their profession, as example the creativity of Internal Designer.

The knowledge is used to service of other that need for them known as positive social need. The profession will adherence to certain value to keep the moral in occupation (Dr.Ir.Sudaryanto,MSC). Today’s, many new profession exist in many field of occupation, to make the profession a respectable, it should relate with the ethic.

Next, I will describe the definition of professional. Professional can be defining as a person who is engaged in a certain activity or occupation. The term of professional only can refer to people who have permanent career not for temporary workers, as example the professions as doctors, engineers, lawyers and architects. The term also applied to nurses, accountants, educators, scientists, technology experts, social workers, artists, librarians and many more. Professional is someone that possesses specialized knowledge and skills. They also belong to and abide by the standards of society and serve an important aspect of the public good. Another word can be describe as a person formally certified by an professional body of belonging to a specific profession by virtue of having completed a required course of studies or practices and whose competence can usually be measures against an established set of standards (Strahlendorf(2005)). So, you are not a professional until you are a member of a group of colleagues who have articulated a set of standards and values and can enforce them, at the very least, by exclusion from the group.

Ethics commonly related to the moral principle or guideline that governs a person’s behavior or the conducting of activities. In general ethics knows as the branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles. In history of ethic, Thomas Percival (1740-1804) was published a code of medical ethics for physicians in 1794. He also creates the first code of ethics for professional ethics. The code is the first code of ethics to be adopted by a professional organization, AMA. Today’s, modern professions also adopted codes of ethics because it is a common standards, the minimization of the interpersonal strife that the emphasis on individual honor encourages. Ethic also as a framework of weal that permits professionals to assert their independence of their nominal employers in the name of service to other.

Professional is a person that conducting career and ethic is guideline or principle that should be practice in life or organization. Professional ethics is an important in field of applied ethics and assesses the moral dimension of human activity in occupations that have professional status. Professional ethics include law, medicine, ministry and by extension higher education, journalism, engineering and management. Professional ethics is concerned with the moral conduct and standards governing the profession and its members.

Professional ethics will help a professional make decision, control their work pressure, control their task, specific the risk that will face by professional, integrity in work and many more. Professional ethics will define the profession’s special relation to the market place. Members earn livelihood in professional roles, accepting certain standard in the form of codes, other measures, continuing education and support mechanism for member.

In occupation field, there have many type of professional ethic, the several type of professional ethic is First is scientific ethics. Scientific ethics define boundaries that dictate research. Sometimes, scientific ethics conflict with a society's religious or moral views. Many organizations such as National Institutes of Health require training in research ethics. Typically, scientists and scientific researchers maintain highly ethical standards.

Next is Judicial or legal ethics which comprise the larger legal community's standards that help judges and attorneys maintain impartiality, fairness and independence. Professional ethics standards include oversight and control by a judicial commission in each state or province. Violation of established ethical standards may include an independent investigation followed by a hearing. Judicial ethical commissions have the power to sanction judges and may sometimes require them to retire or resign.

Another is educators' ethics that include believing in each student's worth and dignity and the pursuit of teaching truth. This code of ethics stresses the magnitude of responsibility inherent in the teaching process. Professional ethics provide teachers and educators with a standard that governs individual actions and conduct. The code provides a consistent environment in which all students may benefit from and pursue a quality education.

Next is corporate ethics that provides a moral code of conduct that directly affects a business' management and operations. These values or codes of conduct may dictate how a corporation operates in the national and international marketplace, the level of social responsibility and behavior of individuals within the corporation.

Professional Ethics Conceptual Theory

Table 1: Professional Ethics Theory

ETHIC AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Avoiding conflicts of interest

Acting courteously

Reflecting wide issue

Acting ethically

COMPONENT

Honesty

Integrity

Transparency

Accountability

Objectively

Respectfulness

Obedience to the law

SKILL

Technicall skill + Soft skill = Core skill

Active listening

Meeting room etiquettes

To be approachable

Feedback skill

Email ethics

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

CATEGORIES

Medical

Legal

Accounting

Computer

Educational

Law

Security

Others…

Type of Professional Ethic

There have three type of professional ethic that can be discuss in this term paper.

The first is, professional ethic is a code of value and norms that actually guide practical decisions when they are made by professionals. As example, professional ethics may be a more less explicit and conscious determinant of action. The study of this aspect in social psychology.

Second is professional ethic is a fully idealized set of value whose purpose is to explicate the best possible world in which the given professional have nowadays formulated their own of conduct that explicate their own best value, conduct and consequences. Such professional ethics can be characterized as expressive and demonstrative, and it can be studies the best by the methods of the discipline called rhetoric. But such an assertion must be clarified before it becomes acceptable. For instance, the notion of rhetoric must not be understood in any adverse manner. It can say that professional ethics is a declaration and manifestation of good intentions that are supposed to characterize a given profession.

Third, professional ethic may be a critical philosophical discipline and as such a part of the wide field of applied ethics. Normal methods of philosophical ethic are applied to professional decision, planning and action in other to evaluate critize and develop them.

Philosophical approach to professional ethics

The first is quandary ethics which is when this idea is applied to professional ethic life is studies from the point of view of its dramatic problems or ethical dilemmas. Every person has the right to defend themselves, but this right cannot be executed without the help of law professional. This is typical ethical dilemma in the field of law.

Next is the key concepts of professional work and professionalism in general can be scrutinized by philosophical conceptual analysis. This is the main philosophical approach. For instance, the concept of autonomy and authority are typical object of analysis.

The last is philosophical approach refer to the historical world of professional life. Understood as the concept and environment in which all professional activities take place.

Challenges among Professional Ethic

The most important thing for every profession to be established in their career is brave to face with challenges. Professional ethic as the profession that works with another member in organization will face by many challenge.

The first is sensitive issues. As professional ethic, they should aware with the sensitive issues among the staff in organization. For several staff, sensitive issues such as about religion, political, race, and another can create problem in workplace. Professional ethics should have knowledge about the issue to solve the problem if this happen in workplace.

The second is different culture or different country. In some culture, hugging and touching between different genders are accepted and expected, but in other cultures, casual touching is considered improper and cannot be accepted. Understanding the culture among the organization should be done by professional ethics especially for them who work at foreign. That is important because professional ethic also should respect for another member in same organization or place. It recognizes too that ethical standards are time and context specific the situation can change in a period of time or in a particular location. It will be a matter for member bodies in their review of the teaching of professional ethics to adapt the guidance here in to their own needs and circumstance.

Next is different perception of other professional. The different ethnic, socioeconomic and educational background of staff in organization can affect how they relate to professional ethics. Some people can accept automatically suggestion or recommendation by professional ethics give to them because their background dictates that authority figures are always to be obeyed. Other, may challenge the professional ethics especially if they perceive they come from a different social or educational background. Sometime, the senior professional also cannot accept suggestion from junior professional even they is professional ethics because the different thinking of them.

Another challenge for professional ethics is faced with a moral dilemma. Moral dilemma is situations in which two or more moral obligations, duties, rights, or ideals come into conflict. To resolve moral dilemma the professional ethics must identify the factors, gather facts, rank moral considerations, consider alternative courses of actions, and arrive at judgments. When have two moral explanations leading to conflicting moral decision. Example of moral dilemma is, come up with a creative third alternative that satisfies both moral outcomes. Another, if possible sequentially on each to satisfy both and evaluation will show which is the strongest moral explanation and decision.

The last challenge is professional ethics though to deal with scenarios that do not involve illegality professional. Professional ethics also should have ability to conduct with other people that have not involved illegality professional.

Example Code of Professional Ethics in Information System

Association for information system (AIS) code of research conduct; guidelines for a victim: dealing with plagiarism; process guidelines.

The Australian computer society code of ethics

The British computer society (BCS) code of conduct code of practice

Canadian information processing society- professionalism

Computer society of South Africa

The Hong Kong compute society’s code of ethics

IEEE code of ethics

The institute for the management of information systems code of professional conduct

Librarian and information manager association ethics web pages

Singapore computer society professional code of conduct

Conclusion

As the conclusion for this topic is ethics in professional lives is not a new thing. Ethics have been around for ages. Today every profession has its codes. The professional ethics as the person responsible to guide member in their field to be ethical worker base on the ethic code or principle that was develop by an organization. All professional should follow the ethic because the ethic will help them to control their task and guide them in their career.