Professional Value and Ethics
Professional Values and Ethics
Values and ethics are foundational to any successful organization. Values are the standard against which society measures good and bad, the desirable and undesirable and the concept of business ethics is knowing what is right and wrong and then doing what is right. Important decisions are made every day in the work environment and every decision will have a financial impact on the company whether the choice is positive or negative. A company will assume the values and ethics of its leaders, which is expressed through their behaviors with their employees, customers and competitors. These behaviors become the culture or personality of the company. Judgments on an individual’s ethics and values have long been part of the behind the scenes evaluation of one’s personal and professional lives. Ciulla defines the study of ethics as, “the study of ethics is about what we should do and what we should be. It’s about right, wrong, good, evil and the relationship of humans to each other and other living things” (Ciulla, 2003, p. xi). Ethics also can be stated as the simple task of an individual honoring those rights that are considered naturals rights of every human being. Values are quite similar to ethics in that they are the seen as beliefs that are both critical and enduring that a society holds important for its citizenry (Business Dictionary, 2009).
It is important to note that in most cases ethics and values are culturally biased. A simpler explanation for this statement would be that what one culture or group of people holds an enduring beliefs and values which can be dramatically different from the views shared in other cultures. An example of this would be the difference in viewpoints between those in countries that honor arranged marriages versus those whose philosophy are more in line with Western culture.
Business men and woman who act on professional values and ethics throughout their career can have a
Values and ethics are foundational to any successful organization. Values are the standard against which society measures good and bad, the desirable and undesirable and the concept of business ethics is knowing what is right and wrong and then doing what is right. Important decisions are made every day in the work environment and every decision will have a financial impact on the company whether the choice is positive or negative. A company will assume the values and ethics of its leaders, which is expressed through their behaviors with their employees, customers and competitors. These behaviors become the culture or personality of the company. Judgments on an individual’s ethics and values have long been part of the behind the scenes evaluation of one’s personal and professional lives. Ciulla defines the study of ethics as, “the study of ethics is about what we should do and what we should be. It’s about right, wrong, good, evil and the relationship of humans to each other and other living things” (Ciulla, 2003, p. xi). Ethics also can be stated as the simple task of an individual honoring those rights that are considered naturals rights of every human being. Values are quite similar to ethics in that they are the seen as beliefs that are both critical and enduring that a society holds important for its citizenry (Business Dictionary, 2009).
It is important to note that in most cases ethics and values are culturally biased. A simpler explanation for this statement would be that what one culture or group of people holds an enduring beliefs and values which can be dramatically different from the views shared in other cultures. An example of this would be the difference in viewpoints between those in countries that honor arranged marriages versus those whose philosophy are more in line with Western culture.
Business men and woman who act on professional values and ethics throughout their career can have a
References: Business Dictionary. (2009). Retrieved October 1, 2009), from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/values.html Ciulla, J. (2003) The Ethics of Leadership. Belmont, California: Wadsworth/Thomson Heathfield, S.M. 2009) About.com, Success in Life and Work, Identify and Live Your Personal Values, Retrieved October 2, 2009 from http://humanresources.about.com/od/success/qt/values_s7.htm?p=1 Hall, D.T. and Moss, J.E. 1998), “The new protean career contract: helping organizations and employees adapt”, Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 22-37.