Professionalism and ethics
Effective business practice
Identify core values of business and ensure values are ingrained in
everyday practices
Core values differ and every business measures success in different
way and they all use different ethical theories to get there.
Ethical theories
Principle-based
Set of values and rules determine if action is ethical or not (must
decide whose principle it’s based on)
Different people have different principles and values meaning
If you ignore outcome and be guided by principles to decide if action
is ethical or not it may lead to undesirable outcome
E.g.: lady comes in for abortion, but one doctor believes in life over
death and the other believes in principle of freedom. So according to
one it is acceptable and to the other it’s not (so sometimes it’s not
the best)
Consequence-based
Outcome of situation determines whether the action is ethical or not.
Utilitarian theory
Also focuses on outcome but states that if majority benefit from
outcome, then it is justifiable.
E.g., medication given to the public benefits 90% of them but 10% of
people become blind
Narrative theories
Use stories, organizational culture (common beliefs) and folklore to
illustrate what is acceptable
Somalia pirates using Robin hood story to justify kidnappings
Other
Virtue based: judges’ person and character rather than action
Deontology: if person upholds obligation to another person or
society the action is ethical
Professionalism, ethics, and responsible behavior
*Ethical is just a component of being professional
, Ethical person will:
Honest and act with integrity
Act in manner acceptable to society
Do what is right over what is easy or financially rewarding
Professional person will:
Be prepared to share knowledge to develop employees
Exercise good judgment when on job
Be reliable by honoring commitments (related to ethics)
Accept accountability for mistakes
His or her appearance matches standards
Use appropriate language
Leave personal issues at home
Bathlo Pele
A framework to ensure professional and ethical service delivery in public
service in SA.
Aims
Using and applying state resources effectively and efficiently
Not subscribing to discrimination rather fairness
All state departments respecting needs of people of country
All state departments respecting needs of people in country
Acting in transparent manner and accepting accountability
Eight principles
Consultation: discussions, meetings and surveys with stakeholders
can be used when government policies are developed as you hear
other input
Service standards: monitored to determine if citizens are satisfied
with service delivery and is also measured against international
benchmarks
Increase access to public services: will improve empowerment and
increase standard of living
Courtesy: consideration and respect leads to better communication,
service deliver and minimizes negative perceptions.
Transparency: relevant information is shared about government
department and service delivery issues are shared to public service
employees so they can answer publics questions
Accountability and responsibility: government employees at local,
provincial, and national level should be for how resources are
applied and utilized
Readdress: when it does not meet standard there are mechanisms in
place to readdress
Effective business practice
Identify core values of business and ensure values are ingrained in
everyday practices
Core values differ and every business measures success in different
way and they all use different ethical theories to get there.
Ethical theories
Principle-based
Set of values and rules determine if action is ethical or not (must
decide whose principle it’s based on)
Different people have different principles and values meaning
If you ignore outcome and be guided by principles to decide if action
is ethical or not it may lead to undesirable outcome
E.g.: lady comes in for abortion, but one doctor believes in life over
death and the other believes in principle of freedom. So according to
one it is acceptable and to the other it’s not (so sometimes it’s not
the best)
Consequence-based
Outcome of situation determines whether the action is ethical or not.
Utilitarian theory
Also focuses on outcome but states that if majority benefit from
outcome, then it is justifiable.
E.g., medication given to the public benefits 90% of them but 10% of
people become blind
Narrative theories
Use stories, organizational culture (common beliefs) and folklore to
illustrate what is acceptable
Somalia pirates using Robin hood story to justify kidnappings
Other
Virtue based: judges’ person and character rather than action
Deontology: if person upholds obligation to another person or
society the action is ethical
Professionalism, ethics, and responsible behavior
*Ethical is just a component of being professional
, Ethical person will:
Honest and act with integrity
Act in manner acceptable to society
Do what is right over what is easy or financially rewarding
Professional person will:
Be prepared to share knowledge to develop employees
Exercise good judgment when on job
Be reliable by honoring commitments (related to ethics)
Accept accountability for mistakes
His or her appearance matches standards
Use appropriate language
Leave personal issues at home
Bathlo Pele
A framework to ensure professional and ethical service delivery in public
service in SA.
Aims
Using and applying state resources effectively and efficiently
Not subscribing to discrimination rather fairness
All state departments respecting needs of people of country
All state departments respecting needs of people in country
Acting in transparent manner and accepting accountability
Eight principles
Consultation: discussions, meetings and surveys with stakeholders
can be used when government policies are developed as you hear
other input
Service standards: monitored to determine if citizens are satisfied
with service delivery and is also measured against international
benchmarks
Increase access to public services: will improve empowerment and
increase standard of living
Courtesy: consideration and respect leads to better communication,
service deliver and minimizes negative perceptions.
Transparency: relevant information is shared about government
department and service delivery issues are shared to public service
employees so they can answer publics questions
Accountability and responsibility: government employees at local,
provincial, and national level should be for how resources are
applied and utilized
Readdress: when it does not meet standard there are mechanisms in
place to readdress
