PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Virtue Ethics
·
Virtue
Ethics is a departure from the traditional approaches discuss so far.
·
Virtue
Ethics can be defined as follows:-
Virtue
Ethics contends that morally correct actions are those undertaken by actors
with virtuous characters. Therefore, the formation of a virtuous character is
the first step towards morally correct behaviour.
·
This
are set of acquired characters that enables a person to lead a good life.
·
Central
of the ethics of virtue is the notion of “good life”.
·
For
Aristotle, one of the original proponents of virtue ethics is happiness.
·
For
example: a happy businessperson would not only be one who finally makes the
most money, but one who does so by at the same time savouring the pleasure of a
virtuous manner of achieving their success.
CODE
OF ETHICS
·
Code
of ethics are voluntary statements that commit organizations, industries, or
professions to specific beliefs, values, and actions and/or that set out
appropriate ethical behavior for employees.
·
There
are four main type of ethical codes:-
(i)
Organizational or corporate
codes of ethics-
these are specific to a single organization. Basically these codes seek to
identify and encourage ethical behaviour at the level of the individual
organization.
(ii)
Professional Codes of Ethics – Traditional professional
groups such as doctors, lawyers and accountant have their own guidelines for
their members. However this is increasingly common for other professions such
as marketing or engineers to have their own conduct.
(iii)
Industry Code of Ethics- particular industries also
sometimes have their own codes of ethics. For example, in 2005 the electronic
industry released its code of conduct to ensure the working environment is safe
to work, workers are treated with respect and dignity and the manufacturing
process are environmentally responsible. This code was developed by a number
companies together including Dell, Hewlett, IBM.
(iv)
Programme or Group codes of
ethics:- This
are code of ethics established by certain programmers, or other sub-grouping of
organization participating in specific programmers. For example the usage of a
certain label or trademark.
·
Consequently,
codes of ethics are usually written in general terms, nothing obligations to
each group without stating which one of them take precedence in any given
situation.
·
In
terms of the content, codes of ethics typically address a variety of issues,
many of which appear to reflect industry factors and the prevailing concerns of
the general public.
