Professional Ethics Questions
Professional ethics represent a significant concern for entrepreneurs and business people in every industry. Though many professionals may feel like ethics are a private matter developed over the course of a person's lifetime, professional ethics include a wide array of topics that range from legalities to considerations for secondary and other stakeholders.
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Legality
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The nonprofit leadership organization Compassion Capital Fund lists the question of legality as the first consideration in professional ethics, but legal issues extend further than federal and local legislation. When facing an issue of professional ethics, managers and professionals must consider whether a decision or action complies with all applicable laws outside the company. In addition, though, professionals must evaluate whether the action violates documented company practices or departmental policies.
Effects
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Joseph Weiss, author of the ethics textbook "Business Ethics: A Stakeholder and Issues Management Approach," points out that professionals must consider a wide array of stakeholders when making an ethical decision. Initially, a professional should evaluate how a decision will affect the parties directly involved in the situation or issue. Many ethical decisions, though, have considerably further-reaching effects. In some cases, a decision that directly affects one person may also affect other people with whom the primary stakeholder interacts. Those affected, known as secondary stakeholders, may also alter their behavior in a way that affects another individual or group. For this reason, Weiss cautions that professionals must carefully evaluate ethical decisions for their impact on primary, secondary and tertiary stakeholders as well as the community in general.
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The Golden Rule
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Though ethical decisions can affect a number of parties, professionals may ease the process by applying The Golden Rule. By putting themselves in the places of the affected stakeholders, professionals can more accurately evaluate whether they feel their decision is fair and equitable. If the affected party may feel slighted or otherwise feel the decision is unfair, the professional should reconsider and explore another course of action.
Self-Esteem
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In addition to putting themselves in the place of affected stakeholders, professionals should also consider how an ethical decision will affect their own self-esteem. If a professional will feel bad about a decision or have second thoughts after taking actions, the Compassion Capital Fund observes, he may be about to make an ethical error.
Public Knowledge
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Weiss points out that professionals can address a number of ethical concerns by considering the consequences if the action were to be published in a local newspaper or nationally syndicated. If a newspaper report of the decision or action would lead to public outcry, or if publicizing the decision would cause embarrassment, the professional should reconsider and explore other options.
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References
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