Proffessional Values, Ethics and Career Success

Professional Values, Ethics and Career Success

Gen 200

27 April 2011

Mrs. Mclean

Professional Values and Ethics

Understanding the importance of good ethics in the work place and how ethics affects performance among employees or group members is essential in day to day business operations. First let's define ethics; the Webster Dictionary defines Ethics as [The science of human duty; the body of rules of duty drawn from this science; a particular system of principles and rules concerning duty, whether true or false; rules of practice in respect to a single class of human actions; as, political or social ethics]. (Webster.com)5. I believe that ethics are moral standards that everyone possesses, some people have high moral standards and others have low; we judge one another on what we the majorities think is the norm.

Values can be defined as a belief, a mission, or a philosophy that is meaningful. Roy Posner once said "Whether we are consciously aware of them or not, every individual has a core set of personal values. Values can range from the common place, such as the belief in hard work and punctuality, to the more psychological, such as self-reliance, concern for others, and harmony of purpose." (Roy Posner) 3 I believe that Values are instilled in people as they are raised, they are passed to us from our parents and elders and later become the foundation by which we live by.

Identify three sources of professional values and ethics

1. Code of Ethics – [a set of guidelines designed to set out behaviors for members of a particular group, association or profession. Most organizations govern themselves by a code of ethics or conduct; it sets professional standards by which members must abide by]. (Answers.Com)1

2. Academic Integrity – [By virtue of membership in a University's academic community, student/learners accept a responsibility to abide by the Student Code of Academic Integrity, Academic Integrity covers areas from Plagiarism to inappropriate behavior]. (University of Phoenix Academic Policies & Procedures pg.1)4

3. Organizational Values - described as [beliefs and ideas about what kinds of goals members of an organization should pursue and ideas about the appropriate kinds or standards of behavior organizational members should use to achieve these goals. From organizational values develop organizational norms, guidelines, or expectations that prescribe appropriate kinds of behavior by employees in particular situations and control the behavior of organizational members toward one another. (Barney, J. B. (1986).2

Professional values and ethics can influence career success no matter the career field; Values and Ethics are very important. Some people have jobs where bosses may often ask them to lie to customers, like in sales, in this case having good