Business or professional ethics are standards or codes of conduct set by people in a specific profession. A code of ethics is a part of the expectations of those involved in many different types of professions. People in a profession don’t want to condone bad, dishonest or irresponsible behavior if it does occur by someone in their field. By setting out expected behaviors in the form of professional ethics, professionals work together to try to uphold a good reputation. Professional ethics are commonly known as ethical business practices.
Respect and honesty are the two main components of professional ethics. All employees are expected to represent a business ethically as they are a part of it. This is why businesspeople traditionally speak of “we” or “us” rather than the more personal “I” for the most part. For instance, if an employee must mention company policy to a customer, he or she may say “I’m sorry, but this is our company policy in these situations.” Policies are another type of preferred standards in how business is done, and everyone in a company is expected to represent them.
It should be noted that people within each profession are expected to be respectful and honest in their personal dealings as well. For instance, it would be unethical for law enforcement professionals to also be criminals in their time off the job. Professionals are also expected to uphold ethics by not getting involved in any type of conflict of interest. A conflict of interest situation may occur when an individual tries to accomplish personal goals as a result of being in a certain profession. For example, a politician who uses government resources to get work done on his personal home could be seen as being involved in a conflict of interest.
Professional ethics training is often included in career education programs. For instance, medical assistants are trained on the many ethics issues regarding patient confidentiality. It is both unethical and unlawful to discuss a patient’s health records with others who are not involved in the medical care of the individual.
Engineering, journalism, religious organizations and many other professions have professional ethics. These ethical codes or rules must never go against laws, but rather often coordinate with them as in the case of medical record confidentiality. In general, these ethics always include upholding honesty and respect in the profession over personal needs, conflicts or biases. A bias is a personal belief such as prejudice toward a certain group of people.