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Professional ethics may be understood as professionally acknowledged

measures of individual and business conduct, values, and guiding
principles. Professional ethics is nothing but a code of conduct applicable
to different professions and is set up by the expert members of such
profession or professional organizations. The underlying philosophy of
having professional ethics is to make the persons performing in such
jobs to follow the sound, uniform ethical conduct. Hippocratic Oath
undertaken by medical students is one such example of professional
ethics that is adhered by even today.

If you want your business to have a good reputation in the community

then you adhere to some strict professional ethics.

Before I took over the business, my manager had me attend a

professional ethics course, so I would know how to conduct myself as a
businessman.

In order to look good in the public eye, many companies have

professional ethics which show the public that they are operating a moral
company for its customers.

Ethics are guiding principles encompassing the standards of behavior

expected by a person or group. Professional ethics are those that apply
to a specific profession and will vary based on the specific knowledge,
skills and duties of those in the role. One of the best-known examples
of professional ethics is the Hippocratic oath sworn by doctors to do no
harm to those they are treating. While this is a good ethical standard for
most people, it applies more directly to those in the medical profession
than those working as a lawyer. That is why there are many types of
ethics for many different professions.

List of Professional Ethics

Each profession will have its own different codes of ethics, but some universal
ethical principles may apply to people across all professions. Generally, people in
all lines of work should adhere to a basic list of professional ethics that include the
concepts of honesty, trustworthiness, loyalty, respect for others, adherence to the
law, accountability and avoiding harming others whenever possible.

Codes of Conduct
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Many industries, such as the legal and medical fields, institute professional codes
of conduct that are based on ethical principles. These codes specify standards of
behavior for those involved in the profession. These are often governed by a
professional association such as the American Bar Association that overlooks
those in the legal field. The association may create and modify rules as time goes
on and help members of the field understand the expectations set out for persons
in that line of work.

In many cases, failure to adhere to these guidelines can result in removal from the
professional society and sometimes result in an inability to work in that area.
Sometimes, violating these codes of conduct can even result in criminal charges if
the offense is great enough. For example, it is unethical for a prosecutor to tamper
with evidence to secure a conviction. The American Bar Association considered
that when creating their Ethics of Discovery. If a lawyer violates these rules, he
could be disbarred, meaning he can no longer practice law, and he could also be
charged with a felony or misdemeanor depending on what state he practices in.

Codes of conduct help professions in many ways. They can build public confidence
in the profession's trustworthiness, ensure greater transparency with clients, make
challenging ethical decisions easier for those in the profession, create a unified
understanding of acceptable practices by everyone in the field and make it easier
for others working with the profession to know what to expect.

Judicial and Legal Ethics

Those operating in the legal field must balance their responsibility to defend their
client or prosecute criminals with their ethical obligations to be truthful and uphold
the law. While they have a responsibility to advocate zealously on behalf of their
clients, they should never strive to win at all costs. They also have an ethical
obligation to maintain confidentiality and to avoid conflicts of interest. These all
must be balanced against one another, and the legal field is full of difficult ethical
decisions. An attorney, for example, must uphold the law, so if they know a client
intends to lie on the stand, they cannot willingly introduce it as false evidence. This
means that if they cannot convince the client to tell the truth, they may ask to
recuse themselves from the case rather than aid someone in committing perjury.

Ethics also detail how an attorney may get paid, though not precisely how much.
For example, while a lawyer who handles accident lawsuits may agree their client
can pay on contingency and only pay if he wins, a divorce attorney cannot make
such an agreement with her client based on a prospective alimony payment.

Medical Code of Ethics

While the Hippocratic Oath may be the most famous ethical code, it is far from the
only ethical standard of the medical field. The American Medical Association first
created their Code of Medical Ethics in 1847 at the founding meeting of the
association. Among other ethical guidelines, doctors and nurses must maintain
patient confidentiality, respect the patient's dignity, be honest in all professional
interactions and respect all human rights. Sometimes, one of these principles may
contradict another, for example, when a patient with a terminal disease wishes to
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prematurely end her life rather than suffer. While ending a life can be seen as a
form of harm, so can letting a patient suffer and when the patient believes her
dignity will be lost through suffering, a doctor may want to aid her or he may feel
comfortable helping anyone end their life for any reason.

Physicians are also expected to follow the law and seek changes in laws that are
considered contrary to the benefit of their patients. This is why many doctors often
advocate on behalf of end-of-life legislation or against laws allowing insurers to
exclude coverage of certain conditions.

Ethics and the Media

A free press is a cornerstone of the American Constitution, but the value of a free
press able to expose governmental and institutional corruption is greatly reduced
when the public doesn't trust the media. While some publications and journalists
ignore these ethical standards to earn more money through sensationalist or even
outright dishonest reporting, the majority of publications attempt to uphold public
trust in the media through ethical reporting.

The Society of Professional Journalists says that an ethical journalist will always
act with integrity. The group bases their Code of Ethics on the following principles:
"Seek Truth and Report It," "Minimize Harm," "Act Independently" and "Be
Accountable and Transparent." Sometimes, reporters must balance one of these
principles against another to make the right ethical decision in their reporting. For
example, if someone is accused of bombing a building, a reporter may write about
the person in an attempt to seek truth and report it. But she could be harming the
individual at the same time, particularly given that a wrongly accused person could
have his life destroyed by such reporting even if he is later proven to be innocent.

Even if reporters are not part of the SPJ, many news organizations such as the
New York Times and Washington Post have their own similar standards of ethics
that staff reporters and contracted freelancers are required to adhere to while
working on behalf the company.

Engineering's Ethical Code

After hearing about scandals like Apple intentionally designing products to fail after
the warranty expires, it's no wonder that The National Society of Professional
Engineers has their own code of ethics. The organization created this code in an
attempt to promote the principles of honesty, impartiality, fairness and equity to
best protect the public health, safety and welfare. As such, engineers are asked to
only perform services in the areas of their competence, issue public statements
only in a truthful and objective manner and to avoid deceptive acts. Like many
professional organizations, the NSPE requires its members to conduct themselves
honorably, responsibly, ethically and lawfully to maintain the reputation and honor
of the profession.

The Ethics of Realtors

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The National Association of Realtors seeks to eliminate practices that may damage
the public or bring discredit to the real estate industry. As such, their Code of Ethics
and Standard Practices seeks to prevent fraud, misappropriation of funds and
discrimination. In addition, the code urges realtors to avoid gaining an unfair
advantage over competitors and to refrain from making unsolicited comments
about one another.

Other Professional Organizations

It is always a good idea to know the commonly accepted ethical practices of a

profession or company for whom you work. Most professional organizations and
many larger companies have their own code of ethics. These can usually be found
by searching for the profession, organization or company's name, followed by the
words "code of ethics."