Professional ethics cover the personal and job-related standards of behaviour expected of professionals. Professionalspossessandusespecializedknowledge andskill.The manner of usingsuchknowledge while providing a service to the public is considered a moral issue and is termed professional ethics. Professionals can make informed judgments in various situations based on their skills. The general public is unable to make such decisions for want of relevant training.
Many professional organizations define their ethical approach in terms of the following principles:
¤ Honesty
¤ Integrity
¤ Transparency
¤ Accountability
¤ Confidentiality
¤ Objectivity
¤ Respectfulness
¤ Obedience to the law
The International Federation of Accountants, in International Good Practice Guidance, Defining and Developing an Effective Code of Conduct for Organizations, defines a professional code as: “Principles, values, standards, or rules of behaviour that guide the decisions, procedures and systems of an organization in a way that (a) contributes to thewelfare of itskeystakeholders,and(b)respectstherights of allconstituentsaffected by itsoperations.”
Implementation of Professional Ethics
Professional associations devise codes of practice which their members must follow. The purpose of the codes is to prevent exploitation of clients and to safeguard the integrity of the profession. The codes protect both the clients and the practitioners of the profession. Disciplinary codes enable the profession to prescribe standards of conduct and ensure that individual practitioners meet these standards. If individual practitioners fail to observe the standards, they face disciplinary action. Professionals who act conscientiously will feel reassured that they will not be undercut by less scrupulous colleagues. And the public will retain its faith in the profession and will to continue to engage the professional practitioners.
Internal Regulation
There is a danger that self regulation in a profession can lead to self serving behaviour. The bodies can become lax in enforcing the codes. This can happen in professions where a small number of practitioners hold scarce knowledge. In such cases, government has to create non partisan public regulators. Many countries have provided for some statutory regulation of professional ethical standards in such areas like nursing and midwifery in England and Wales. Failure to comply with standards can invite prosecution.
Two Examples of Professional Codes
We will now lookbriefly at two professional codes. It is pointless to get into details which arerelevant only to the practitioners with relevant knowledge. The idea is to get a feel for what a professional code covers. The codes open with a preamble which sets out the values, mission and vision of the professional body. It is followed by sections which state the items of the code or the individual prescriptions and prohibitions. First, we briefly consider the international code of ethics for nurses.
An international code of ethics for nurses was first adopted by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) in 1953. It has been revised from time to time, the last being in 2012.
(i) Preamble of Nurses’ Code
Nurses have four fundamental responsibilities: to promote health, to prevent illness, to restore health and to alleviate suffering. The need for nursing is universal. Inherent in nursing is a respect
for human rights, including cultural rights, the right to life and choice, to dignity and to be treated with respect. Nursing care is respectful of and unrestricted by considerations of age, colour, creed, culture, disability or illness, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, politics, race or social status. Nurses render health services to the individual, the family and the community and coordinate their services with those of related groups.
The Code of Ethics for Nurses has four principal elements that outline the standards of ethical conduct. One deals with nurses and people. The second part deals with nurses and practice. The third deals with nurses and their professional knowledge. The final part deals with nurses and co- workers.
(ii) US Code of Accountants
Next, we look at the code of conduct which covers the profession of accountants in US. It requires members to comply with the following fundamental principles:
(a) Integrity
A member shall be straightforward and honest in all professional and business relationships.
(b) Objectivity
Amembershallnot allowbias,conflict ofinterest or undueinfluenceofothersto overrideprofessional or business judgments.
(c) Professional Competence and Due Care
A member shall maintainprofessionalknowledgeandskill at thelevelrequired to ensurethat a client or employer receives competent professional service based on current developments in practice, legislation and techniques. A member shall act diligently and in accordance with applicable technical and professional standards when providing professional services.
(d) Confidentiality
A member shall respect the confidentiality of information acquired as a result of professional and business relationships and shall not disclose any such information to third parties without proper and specific authority, unless there is a legal or professional right or duty to disclose. Confidential information acquired as a result of professional and business relationships shall not be used for the personal advantage of the member or third parties.
(e) Professional Behaviour
A member shall comply with relevant laws and regulations and shall avoid any action that discredits the profession.
The Coderecognisesthat circumstancesmay arisein whichmembersfacedifficultiesin complying with the fundamental principles. It is impossible to define every situation that creates difficulties for compliance with the fundamental principles and specify the necessary corrective measures. Further, as work assignments and the nature of difficulties vary, different safeguards may be needed. Therefore, the Code establishes a conceptual framework that requires a member to identify, evaluate, and address threats to compliance with the fundamental principles. The conceptual framework approach assists members in complying with the ethical requirements of the Code and in meeting
their responsibility to act in the public interest. It accommodates many variations in circumstances that create threats to compliance with the fundamental principles and can deter a member from concluding that a situation is permitted if it is not specifically prohibited.
As we saw, a code of practice is adopted by a profession to regulate that profession. A code of practice can also be called a code of professional responsibility. It may discuss knotty questions and dilemmas that the professionals can face and throw light or give guidance on such matters. It can make clear what behaviour is considered ‘ethical’ or ‘correct’ or ‘right’ in the circumstances.