por The professional ethics It consists of a set of codes or standards that apply to all professions. For this reason, it is common to hear about medical ethics, legal ethics, business ethics, bioethics, among others.
This ethics can also be defined as that which deals with the values, norms or principles that are inseparable from the exercise of an occupation or profession. For example: legal ethics requires lawyers to respect the confidentiality of their clients, which means that they cannot divulge any confessions they make.
Professional ethics should not be confused with personal ethics; the latter is shaped by personal experiences and by other factors such as family upbringing, religion and culture. That is, personal ethics has many sources that organize and structure it.
Instead, professional ethics are made up of specialized rules that vary depending on the profession or work being performed.
In fact, it can happen that a person experiences contradictions between his professional and personal ethics; In these cases, the person must reflect on the circumstances and incline towards the ethics that is most favorable both for his conscience and for the people around her.
It is worth noting that professional ethics have the objective of establishing a code that serves people when facing problems or certain situations in their area. For this reason, it is affirmed that this ethic helps to prevent errors and allows the exercise of the profession to flow properly.
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Characteristics of professional ethics
– It is a branch or extension of morality
For philosophers and academics, professional ethics can be classified as a part of philosophy that is related to morality and the obligations of the human being.
In other words, professional ethics —like all ethics— is born from man’s need to order and standardize human behavior with the aim of promoting coexistence. In the case of professions, ethics seeks to favor the provision of a service.
For this reason it is affirmed that ethics are linked to philosophical and moral precepts. For example: medical ethics seeks that health professionals provide an optimal and safe service to their patients.
– Look for the moral rectitude of any profession
The purpose of this ethic is to lead any profession along the path of good according to the parameters or social norms of each culture; for this reason it is affirmed that he seeks moral rectitude. It should be noted that moral rectitude refers to a way of living or acting consciously and coherently, which facilitates coexistence with others and with oneself.
Moral rectitude within the professional field implies compliance with a series of values or duties such as responsibility, punctuality, respect, among others. These elements are universal values, but each profession may require particular duties.
For example: graphic designers have the duty to deliver their designs in the time established with the client, while doctors must comply with the use of gowns, gloves and masks when performing an operation.
As can be seen in the example, each profession has its particular regulations. However, they all share some universal values such as tolerance, commitment, among others.
– Reflects the goals and values of each profession
Professional ethics is a reflection of the objectives and principles of each profession. This means that this ethics is used to publicize the virtues that professionals exercise in their areas.
For example: one of the virtues expected of doctors is that they comply with hygiene regulations, while one objective of their profession is to help other people.
On the other hand, a writer is expected to have creativity as one of his virtues; he is also expected to have an appropriate and coherent use of language. All these elements are located within the framework of the regulations of professional ethics and represent the essence of every profession.
Importance of professional ethics
Professional ethics is important for several reasons: first, because it allows any profession to be organized based on a series of rules. These standards favor productivity and promote excellence among professionals.
If the exercise of a profession were disorderly or did not follow any law, it would not be possible for that professional to contribute to social development and their own growth.
In addition, through professional ethics, teamwork is encouraged and ties are built between colleagues. This occurs because adherence to professional standards increases positive interactions between people. For example: if a colleague is punctual and responsible, others will appreciate him for his level of commitment to the profession he exercises.
professional code of ethics
When talking about the code of professional ethics, reference is made to the system that encompasses the obligations or responsibilities of each profession. That is, these codes are a set of laws that regulate the actions of a profession according to its needs.
The professional code of ethics of a public accountant can be taken as an example; it enumerates a list of virtues and duties such as: integrity, independence, objectivity, competence and professional care, confidentiality, dissemination and collaboration.
examples
– When a person does not feel well emotionally and still successfully performs their work duties, they are complying with the ethics required by their profession.
– At the time of practicing their profession, doctors take an oath where they affirm that they will comply with the principle of beneficence; This means that they have the obligation to act for the benefit of other people, so they must suppress prejudices and illegitimate interests (that is, they distance themselves from the medical objective).
– Lawyers are complying with professional ethics when they respect the confidentiality agreement between themselves and their clients. They are also being ethical when they defend the rights of society and individuals according to the laws of their nation.
At times, lawyers may experience contradictions between their personal and professional ethics; This occurs when they have to defend a client they disagree with or have to save a confession from a client who is doing something illegal.
The same happens with the ethics of some companies: sometimes they are carrying out actions that affect the environment, however, their ethics trump environmental interests.
– Journalists apply professional ethics when they comply with the following values: fairness, responsibility and impartiality; The latter refers to the fact that all the facts have two points of view, so journalists have the duty to analyze both circumstances from an objective perspective.
– In general, all professions are governed by the principle of non-maleficence, which means that the exercise of any profession cannot harm or harm another human being. Therefore, a doctor, journalist, writer, teacher, biologist or any other professional is being ethical when his actions contribute to social welfare and collective development.
References
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Estela, M. (2020) Professional ethics. Retrieved on March 20, 2020 from Concepto.de.
Ibarra, M. (sf) General considerations of professional ethics. Retrieved on March 20, 2020 from Lifer: .com
Ethical Network (2014) Ethical journalism is summarized in 5 principles. Retrieved on March 20, 2020 from Safe Ethics: eticasegura.fnpi.org
SA (nd) Code of professional ethics of the lawyer. Retrieved on March 20, 2020 from icj.org
SA (nd) medical ethics. Retrieved on March 20, 2020 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org
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SA (nd) What are professional ethics? Retrieved on March 20, 2020 from businessdictionary.com
UNOCD (2019) University Module Series: Integrity and Ethics. Professional ethics. Retrieved on March 20, 2020 from unodc.org