Difference between Ethics and Laws
• Being a moral person alone is insufficient.
 A profession is a job that requires specific
training and is regulated by certain standards.
 Professional ethics are the ethical norms, values,
and principles that guide a profession and the
ethics of decisions made within the profession.
 IT Manager
 Database Administrator
 Social Media Manager
 Website Developer
 Professional ethics are often established by
professional organizations to help guide
members in performing their job functions
according to sound and consistent ethical
principles.
Characteristics of a Profession
1. Common body of knowledge
2. Formal educational process
3. Standards of entry
4. Recognition of public responsibility
5. The Public Interest
6. Integrity
7. Objectivity and independence
8. Due Care
9. Scope and Nature of Services
To be an Ethical Leader
To be perceived as an ethical leader, one must be a visibly
ethical person and an ethical manager with a consistent
message.
Therefore to be an ethical leader;
1.Codes of conduct - represents employee ethics
Executives are distant from most employees
and, without "moral management," bottom line
messages can overwhelm all others.
• Being a moral manager is insufficient.
Moral management gains legitimacy only if
employees believe the given principled, caring
person who means what s/he says
….Then ethical leadership
• Is much more than traits (e.g. integrity)
• Requires great care to create and sustain an
ethical culture that sends a consistent message
that is at least as powerful as the "bottom line"
drumbeat (via real attention to ethics in multiple
cultural systems).
Values vs. Compliance Orientation
1.Compliance orientation
• Requires that employees identify with and
commit to specified conduct
• Uses legal terms, statutes and contracts that
teach employees the rules and penalties for
noncompliance
2.Values orientation
• Focuses more on an abstract core of ideals such
as respect and responsibility
• Research shows is most effective at creating
ethical reasoning
Ethical Programs
• It is a program that create firm's ethical climate
and helps ensure that all employees understand
the organization's values and comply with the
policies and codes of conduct.
• Organizations should develop an organizational
ethics program by establishing, communicating,
and monitoring uniform ethical values and legal
requirements.
A Strong Ethics Program Includes:
1. Written code of conduct
2. Ethics officer to oversee the program
3. Care in the delegation of authority
4. Formal ethics training
5. Auditing, monitoring, enforcement, and revision
of program standards
Concepts of Code of Ethics
Formal statements that describe what an
organization expects of its employees.
2 Codes of ethics - corporate or business ethics.
Most comprehensive document and it
consists of general statements that serve as
principles and the basis for the rules of
conduct.
3.Statement of values - serves the general public and
addresses stakeholder interests.
Code of Ethics
1. Code of ethics are formal statements of what an
organization expects in the way of ethical
behavior
2. It will not solve every dilemma
3. Provides rules & guidelines
4. It reflects senior management's desire for
compliance with values, rule & policies in
support of an ethical climate
5. And it should be specific enough to be
reasonably capable of preventing misconduct
Corporate Code of Ethics
Often contain six core values
1. Trustworthiness
2. Respect
3. Responsibility
4. Fairness
5. Caring
6. Citizenship
Implementing Code of Ethics
1. Distribute the code comprehensively to
employees, subsidiaries, & associated
companies.
2. Assist in interpretation & understanding.
3. Specify management's role in implementation.
4. Make employees responsible for understanding.
5. Establish grievance procedures.
6. Provide a conclusion or closing statement.