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-1 Professional Values and Ethics Paper Rhonda Beron, Andrea De Los Santos, Emilie Goodman, and LaToya Sims GEN/200 August 16, 2010 Andrea Lara Abstract The purpose of this paper is to discuss the relationship among professional values, ethics, and career success. A person’s personal values and ethics can influence their professional values and ethics in the workplace. Finding the right balance between personal and professional views in the workplace will help foster a successful career. This paper will cover professional values and ethics and how they can influence the success of a career.
Also discussed is how professional values and ethics are based on the foundations of personal values, professional and academic integrity. Professional Values and Ethics Paper Ethics and Values “Values refer to moral principles or other judgments of worth”. (Cambridge, 2006). Values are the personal beliefs and ideas of an individual or a social group. A person’s values may determine the standards by which they measure the worth or importance of their life or how they choose to live their life, such as the religion they practice, or how they view education or social freedom.
Ethics are defined as a “Branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of ultimate value and the standards by which human actions can be judged right or wrong”. (Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, 2006) An individual’s ethics determines how they deal with the right and wrong of certain actions as determined by their values or by society. A person’s ethics may be defined by society’s belief of what is ethically and morally acceptable. Professional ethics examines issues, problems, and the social responsibility of the profession itself and individual practitioners in the light of philosophical and, in some contexts, religious principles among which are duty and obligation”. (Wilcox, 2003) In the workplace individuals should learn to incorporate their personal values and ethics along with those that are required of the position and those that they are obligated to fulfill. The two should come together to create mutual understanding of the goals required to achieve success. Sources of professional values and ethics
Professional values and ethics are based on the foundations of personal values, professional and, academic integrity. Integrity is the act of doing what is right even if there is no one is around. Personal values are comprised of an individual’s integrity, morals, and ethics, the standards in which, an individual holds him or herself to. One must exercise personal values which in turn become the foundation professional values. “Professional integrity derives its substance from the fundamental goals or mission of the profession” (Wakin, 1996, para. 5). Meaning to say, individuals seek for a professional’s valued and ethical advice to which the professional holds their responsibility to maintain and exceeds the level of their expertise. For example, a general practitioner will treat a variety of patients, from all different walks of life with a plethora of different problems. It is their duty to diagnose and treat the patient to the best of their professional ability without prejudice. Another aspect of their duties is the principle of patient confidentiality.
Medical professionals are legally bound to not divulge any information provided to them by their patients. Academic integrity can be summarized as the pursuance of higher education in a scholarly fashion and the value of learning without cheating or plagiarism. “Despite clear policies for handling reported occurrences of plagiarism, and the inclusion of anti-plagiarism statements in course syllabi and university calendars, reports of both student and faculty plagiarism in universities has increased dramatically in the past decade” (Paterson, Taylor, & Usick, 2003).
Fabrication or plagiarism could potentially devalue someone’s hard work and credibility, which is why ethics has been a growing concern in an academic environment. How professional values and ethics influence career success When it comes to being successful in a career, an employee needs to have professional values and ethics. Values are considered the standards by which a person lives by. When it comes to professional values a person’s standards will help a person succeed or fail in his or her career.
Career success can be based on an individual’s professional values and standards. Individuals create their personal goals to strive with their ambition and dedication to further them to a hirer position. Ethics are when an individual asks themselves if their decision will have a positive or negative effect. Professional values and ethics go hand-in-hand. Everyone has values and those values are set according to the individual’s ethics and moral standards. In today’s working world people value honesty and hard work.
However, there are times when employees have unprofessional work values and ethics, which causes coworkers to lose their expectations and the individual’s respect and trust. When the employees are open and honest about their values and ethics, it creates a trusting relationship among employees, coworkers and managers. Employees are expected to represent the company in a professional manner. One example of unprofessional work ethics may be stealing money, goods, or products from a company. Another example would be employees cheating on their time cards.
When an employee has unprofessional values and ethics while working for a company, there is a chance that he or she may not be promoted to a higher level position in the company. Possessing unprofessional values and ethics could cause a person to lose his or her job or give him or herself and the company a bad reputation. If an employee can make a distinction between work values and ethics and personal values and ethics, this will help them to succeed in their career. Conclusion In a successful career, it is important for a person to have professional values and ethics, which varies amongst other cultures and societies.
There are many reasons that could effect and individual’s success within their company, though, the fundamentals of values and ethics can greatly contribute to one’s success. The majority of employers expect their employees to uphold the standards set by the company to the best of their abilities, even if they do not agree with the company’s values and ethics. References Ethics. (2006). In Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www. credoreference. com/entry/ebconcise/ethics Paterson, B. , Taylor, L. & Usick, B. (2003). The construction of plagiarism in a school of nursing. Learning in Health & Social Care,??2(3), 147-158. Retrieved from CINAHL Plus Values. (2006). In Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Retrieved from http://www. credoreference. com/entry/cupsoc/values Wakin, M. W. , Professional Integrity, Airpower Journal, 08970823, Summer 96, Vol. 10, Issue 2 Wilcox, J. R. “Professional Ethics. ” New Catholic Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. Vol. 11. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 743-745. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 9 Aug. 2010.