Professional Values and Ethics

Professional Values and Ethics

Team B

Foundations for Education and General Success/GEN 200

April 19, 2010

Sara Murphy

Professional Values and Ethics

Most successful companies will state that their success is directly related to their employees and the way in which they conduct their business. Professional values and ethics are the fruit of what makes a company successful by allowing employees to believe in what they do and customers to trust the service provided. This paper will serve to define what professional values and ethics are, and specifically discuss values and ethics as it relates to the Intel Corporation, Sabanci Group, and General Electric, in addition to how professional values and ethics can impact career success.

Values and Ethics Defined

Values and ethics are words that are heard alone and in combination with each other. Value has multiple meanings, and for the purpose of professional value, we are focusing on the accepted principles or standards of a person or group. Ethics is defined as the system of moral principles governing the appropriate conduct of a person or group. When looking at these definitions one can see why the two are often found together when discussing professional behaviors. Professional values and ethics define how a person or group focuses on conducting themselves on accepted principles or standards in a moral way. By using three large U.S. companies, one can discuss their specific values and ethics.

Intel Corporation

Intel Corporation was founded on July 18, 1968 and manufactures motherboard chip sets, network interface controllers, integrated circuits, flash memories, graphic chips, embedded processors, and microprocessors.

Paul S Otellini, president and CEO of Intel Corporation, expresses boldly why his company is still going strong today. "Our business success has always depended on our ability to build trusting relationships – with one another, customers, suppliers, governments and communities. But, trusted relationships don't happen overnight. They're built over time, on the integrity of every decision we make, every expectation we set, and every action we take. Everything we do, big or small, can have a big and lasting impact."

Intel believes their success can be attributed to their compass: their mission, their set of shared values, and their Intel Code of Conduct. This Code of Conduct represents Intel's expectations of what it means to act ethically and within the boundaries of the law.

The Intel Code is the standard of conduct that unites them, strengthens and allows them to continuously deliver value and build trust year after year. "Integrity beyond reproach is our commitment, our foundation, and our future" according to Ostellini.

Intel's Code of Conduct follows these five principles:

• Intel Conducts Business with Honesty and Integrity

• Intel follows the Letter and Spirit of Law

• Intel Employees Treat Each Other Fairly

•Intel Employees Act in the best of interest of Intel and Avoid conflicts of interest

• Intel Employees Protects the company's assets and reputation.

Intel has 22 pages of guiding principles, policies and governance structures that ensure Intel continues to be recognized as a leader in corporate governance and business ethics.

Sabanci Group

"The Sabanci Holding group has been in operation since 1967 and is the largest privately owned share holders in Turkey" according to Sabanci Holdings. (Sabanci Holdings, 2010). The company formed to allow the Sabanci family to operate in an international capacity. The family wanted to keep its founding ideas resulting in the need for a business code of conduct. These guidelines were to be used throughout the company and in everyday life.

The guidelines have a basic five step program. First, determine the issue or problem. Second, think before one decides. Third, decide upon an action plan. Fourth, test one's decision. Fifth, proceed