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Professional Values and Ethics Gen 200

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Professional Values and Ethics

GEN 200

Professional Values and Ethics
What is Ethics? Ethics can be defined as a branch of Philosophy that questions about morality, concepts of good and evil, right or wrong and justice. Then what is Professional Values? Professional Values can be the guide or beliefs that influence a person in a work behavior. Personal values are also related to your professional value because this is the person’s core belief. Professional values may change but the core belief will stay the same like loyalty, determinations and etc.
Professional values and ethics can play big part in career success and at every level in the organization (Gauss, 2000, p. 89; Curtin, 1996, p. 63). The professional values and ethics of an organization can impact ones career positively or negatively.
Each company or profession has a set of “rules” that give guidelines to how a professional in that field should act. These “rules” are known as the Code of Ethics. Many similarities exist between different professions when it comes to values and ethics. A few examples of these different codes of ethics include the profession of education, architecture, business, and medicine. NPA stated in the Code of Ethics of Architects, “The Architect is engaged in a profession which carries with it civic responsibilities towards the public, whether such responsibilities are the natural outcome of good citizenship or of his professional pursuit or whether they partake of informative and educational matters or of his normal, good public relations (Code of Ethics for Architects, 1995)”. {Is this 1995 or 2010—you have 2010 in the references
The code of ethics for education has the same “foundation” of ethics and values as does the code of ethics in architecture. The teacher values every person and treats them with dignity and respect. The educator has a duty to help every person in the “the pursuit of truth, devotion to excellence, acquisition of knowledge, and the nurture of democratic citizenship” (Florida Department of Education, 2011, para. 1). Also the educator values the individual achievement and guarantee of equal opportunity for all. The educator’s main concern will be towards the development of each student’s potential and to their safety (Association of American Educators, 2010). Educators will always try to demonstrate professionalism in the classroom, toward colleagues, parents and the community in general (2010).
The business professional must have and maintain honesty and integrity when dealing with people inside and outside of the company. They will also try to avoid situations that can create a conflict of interests. The Association of Professionals in Business Management (APBM) stated that a business professional must make sure that his personal goals “blend with his organization’s goals (2011, para. 1)”. They must remain neutral in making choices when doing business, whether it is traditional or electronic transactions. The business professional must keep all business information confidential and never share this information with others for personal or financial gain. Most importantly, “The business professional must not compromise his ethical values and standards (para. 1)”.
The medical profession strives for excellence by establishing a code of ethics. The ‘Ethics Group,’ is responsible for improving the health of the public and maintaining a high standard in caring for their patients by advocating a high level of “physician professionalism” (American Medical Association, 2010). The nine principles in the physicians’ code of ethics can be summed up in three statements. Firstly, the physician should be committed to maintaining the standards of the medical profession. Secondly, they should provide high quality care to every patient without partiality and regardless of the circumstances. Thirdly, the physician should always be learning, keeping pace with new information and research, and collaborating with others so that their level of patient care will not be compromised (2010).

As seen by the similarity of the code of conducts of architects, educators, business professional, and medical professionals they all hold that professional ethics and values should be up held to the highest standard. They place an importance on the advancement and care of others and to not do anything to compromise these personal and professional values as well as maintaining good relationships.
Everyday people are faced with the choice of whether or not to uphold the professional values and ethics of the organization of which they are a part. That choice alone can have a great impact on the success of a professional career. According to Gauss (2000, p. 89), “Career success and integrity go hand in hand. Individuals who can demonstrate they can make the right ethical choices...most often come out as winners in the career race.” Workers who abide by the values and ethics of an organization are trustworthy and are the first to be considered for promotions (p. 89). If professionals are honest at work, even when a mistake is made, they can develop healthy work habits and a better relationship between co-workers and managers.
When a company or professional commits to upholding moral ethics and values many positive things can result. An example of this commitment is Software Engineering of America (SEA) which is a leader in the field of data center software solutions. SEA has established over 10,000 data centers and their products are used in thousands of installations worldwide. These data centers” include 9 of the Fortune 10 as well as 85% of the Fortune 500 Companies (Software Engineering of America, 2010, para. 1)”. SEA has also been ranked as “one of the Top One Hundred independent software vendors by industry trade journals (para. 1)”. A noted industry analyst for Hambrecht & Quist, quoted by COMPUTERWORLD, described SEA as a "high-quality and thoughtfully managed company."
Compromising professional values and ethics in the workplace and getting away with it can jeopardize the company and one’s career. One company that disregarded professional ethics and values is Onward Medical Supply. Doris Vinitski and John Lachman pleaded guilty in a durable medical equipment Medicare fraud scheme. They were accused and eventually convicted in a conspiracy to defraud the United States and to paying health care kickbacks. Vinitski and Lachman admitted to paying kickbacks of up to $1,000 per patient that recruiters brought to them. They billed Medicare for equipment patients never received. They face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Professionals disregarding ethics and values can experience disastrous repercussions (Ethics Gone Wrong, 2010).
The professional values of an organization can impact both the business and the careers of the people who work there. When professionals adhere to the code of ethics and values they have the opportunity to advance in their career because they prove themselves worthy of a high degree of trust. They also help the organization to have a good reputation. Failure to uphold the standards impacts the organization negatively as well as the individual’s career.

References
American Medical Association (2010). Medical Ethics. Physician Resources. Retrieved from http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-ethics.page
American Medical Association (2010). Principles of Medical Ethics. AMA Code of Medical Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-ethics/code-medical-ethics/principles-medical-ethics.page
Association of Professionals in Business Management (2010). Retrieved from https://www.apbm.org/about-apbm/code-of-ethics/
Code of Ethics for Architects (2010). Retrieved from www.prc.gov.ph/documents/Board%20of%20Architecture-CE.doc
Curtin, L. L. (1996). Ethics in management. Why good people do bad things. Nursing Management, 27 (7), 63-5. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/
Ethics Gone Wrong (2010). Retrieved from http://chuckgallagher.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/ethics-gone-wrong-medical-equipment-company-doris-vinitski-john-lachman-plead-guilty-to-health-care-fraud-scheme-and-illegal-health-care-kickbacks/
Florida Department of Education (2010). Code of ethics: Education Profession. Retrieved from http://www.fldoe.org/edstandards/code_of_ethics.asp
Gauss, J. W. (2000). Integrity is integral to career success. Journal of Healthcare Financial Management Association, 54 (8), p. 89. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com

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