Professional Conduct and Ethical Standards PDF

Chapter 1: PHILOSOPHY OF ETHICS, MORALITY, STANDARD BEHAVIOR, VALUES, AND SOCIAL NORMS Lesson 1 - PHILOSOPHY OF ETHICS Are you familiar with the word ethics? When and where we can say that you are practicing ethics? Sit back and relax, we will d...

Chapter 1: PHILOSOPHY OF ETHICS, MORALITY, STANDARD BEHAVIOR, VALUES, AND SOCIAL NORMS Lesson 1 - PHILOSOPHY OF ETHICS Are you familiar with the word ethics? When and where we can say that you are practicing ethics? Sit back and relax, we will discuss ethics because this is very helpful on your part as a future law enforcer. Ethics, also called moral philosophy, the discipline concerned with what is morally good and bad and morally right and wrong. The term is also applied to any system or theory of moral values or principles. How should we live? Shall we aim at happiness or at knowledge, virtue, or the creation of beautiful objects? If we choose happiness, will it be our own or the happiness of all? And what of the more particular questions that face us: is it right to be dishonest in a good cause? Can we justify living in opulence while elsewhere in the world people are starving? Is going to war justified in cases where it is likely that innocent people will be killed? Is it wrong to clone a human being or to destroy human embryos in medical research? What are our obligations, if any, to the generations of humans who will come after us and to the nonhuman animals with whom we share the planet? Ethics deals with such questions at all levels. Its subject consists of the fundamental issues of practical decision making, and its major concerns include the nature of ultimate value and the standards by which human actions can be judged right or wrong. The terms ethics and morality are closely related. It is now common to refer to ethical judgments or to ethical principles where it once would have been more accurate to speak of moral judgments or moral principles. These applications are an extension of the meaning of ethics. In earlier usage, the term referred not to morality itself but to the field of study, or branch of inquiry, that has morality as its subject matter. In this sense, ethics is equivalent to moral philosophy. Although ethics has always been viewed as a branch of philosophy, its all- embracing practical nature links it with many other areas of study, including anthropology, biology, economics, history, politics, sociology, and theology. Yet, ethics remains distinct from such disciplines because it is not a matter of factual knowledge in the way that the sciences and other branches of inquiry are. Rather, it has to do with determining the nature of normative theories and applying these sets of principles to practical moral problems (Singer, P. n.d.).  Lesson 2: MORALITY What is Morality? Are you familiar with the word morality? We often heard and used the term morality, but are you practicing or doing this in your daily life? Let’s take an example of a situation and what will be your decision. What would you do if you found P500,000 pesos in a bag on the way home from work tonight? Would you turn it in and hope for a reward? Or would you keep it for yourself? Or would you just keep it for 24 hours so you could roll around in it for a while before returning it? Our answer speaks of our morality; of what we think is the right thing to do. So, what is morality? The simplest answer is that morality is the human attempt to define what is right and wrong about our actions and thoughts, and what is good and bad about our being who we are. But that's not really all that simple, is it? Philosophers have been attempting to provide answers to this question for thousands of years! Perhaps if we stand upon their shoulders and look at this question, we can find some answers that will be meaningful for us. What is Good? Are you good enough? Are you good in the eyes of the public? For a clearer understanding, let us discuss what is good. We must begin with a foundation upon which to build our understanding of morality, so let's begin with defining what is meant by 'good.' After all, that seems to be the focal point of understanding morality; understanding what it means to be good. Lots of things are referred to as good. Food is good. Sleep is good. Playing games and hanging out with friends is good. Chocolate is good! Actually, chocolate is very good. But a list of things we personally find to be good doesn't offer much help in understanding morality, or what it means to be good. So, we need a baseline of fundamental ideas in order to shape our understanding of goodness. So, what is necessary for something to be considered good? Classical ideas break it down into five different elements. Pleasure What is pleasure? We are fond of using this term pleasure. You often tell It is my pleasure to meet you. For a better understanding, let us discuss what is pleasure. Without pleasure, nothing can be truly enjoyable. In order for anything to be good, we must enjoy it. Now this doesn't simply mean, 'If it feels good do it' kind of pleasures. We have to understand that there are long-term ramifications and that we can impact others with our pursuit of pleasures. So, what the pleasure philosophers are speaking of is the idea of higher pleasures and an effort to ensure long-term pleasures. Perhaps you enjoy a fine brew from the local pub? That can certainly be a pleasure to some. But what happens if you enjoy too many of those brews? Well, the morning after can be very unpleasant, indeed, and pleasure goes right down the toilet, so to speak. Happiness What is happiness? What makes you happy? When and where you are happy? For a clearer understanding, let us discuss what is happiness. We all wish to be happy. If our idea of good didn't include getting to be happy, then why in the world would we pursue it? Happiness, like pleasure, isn't simply for the moment but rather the search for long-term and personally meaningful happiness. Excellence Are you excellent? When and where we can say that you are an excellent? For a clearer understanding, let us discuss what is excellent. This is a higher form of pleasure that leads to a deeper satisfaction in life. Take movies, for example. We all have our favorites, but we can certainly acknowledge that there are some films that are really very good. However, there are some that stand out as excellent. Creativity Are you creative? Are you fond of imagining? Do you have original ideas? Are you producing artistic work? All beings need an opportunity to create, even if that which they create is another being through procreation. Creativity is considered a necessary element within the definition of goodness. Harmony Do you live harmoniously? Is there a pleasant feelings or peace of mind? We discuss what is harmony. Finally, we must all be able to have the chance to enjoy our pursuits of pleasure, happiness, excellence, and creativity. Without harmony and peace, we have very little chance to experience any of the other elements of goodness. Imagine if you were a child in a war-torn country where each day the threat of violence was prevalent. Would you be focused on happiness? Or would you just be focused on survival? Thus, to be good, to be moral, one must have the opportunity to pursue it. How Do We Be Moral? Are you guided with the principle of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human character? So, be careful with your intentions, decisions and actions. Here's where the ideas of morality get a bit more complicated. After all, we all don't agree on what is good, so how can we agree on what is the right thing to do in order to experience goodness? Some people, when defining 'good,' focus on personal gain, while others believe we should all work for the betterment of all. How we can be moral and how we understand morality is determined by many factors; the environment in which we develop, the philosophies and perspectives we are exposed to in our lifetimes, and our personal experiences with happiness and unhappiness and what we see as the causes for both (Jones, L. n.d.). Lesson 3: STANDARD BEHAVIOR Employee Behavior Standards in the Workplace Why there is a need for us to maintain a standard behavior? That’s why upon entry to a work or job you will undergo orientation so that you will be guided accordingly to the Implementing Rules and Regulation of the organization. In many organizations, employees must meet standards of professional behavior as a condition of employment. These behavioral standards help an organization create a respectful working environment for everyone. If you learn the standards that govern your workplace, you can ensure that your behavior is acceptable and prepare to succeed in your job. Acceptable behavior is also required for acceptance into the workplace culture. Code of Conduct Organizations provide a code of conduct to explain which behaviors are and are not permitted by employees. In addition, employees can be required to acknowledge this code by signing an agreement upon employment. Employees who violate the standards face consequences through a standard employee behavior policy, such as a progressive discipline system, which has grave consequences for the most serious violations. Also, employees may get a warning for the first occurrence of a less-serious violation, but they would get a more severe consequence for another occurrence of the same behavior. Progressive discipline gives employees a chance to change their behavior and continue employment. Interpersonal Communication Some examples of unacceptable behavior may be included in a policy containing employee behavior standards, but an employer will usually include language such as "not limited to" to allow for disciplining employees who have committed other unacceptable behaviors. Employers will not tolerate inappropriate ways that employees treat others at work, including co-workers, superiors, customers and visitors. Examples are bullying, harassment, intimidation, belittling others, undermining a person's performance by withholding information, spreading gossip to hurt a person's reputation, or making offensive gestures or comments. These kinds of behaviors could include communication through technologies such as cell phone messages, text messages, social media posts and emails.  Administrative Behavior Other forms of behavior that could impact an organization relate to the misuse of power or resources. Managers have many expectations governing their use of authority. Managers shouldn't give preference to people for unfair reasons, such as employing friends or relatives. They also shouldn't claim expenses for items such as mileage, business lunches, airfare or hotel accommodations if they were really personal expenses. All employees should be honest in communications regarding employees and delivering information to customers. Without a policy that covers how employees can abuse power or resources, some employees will find unethical ways to benefit from their employment in an organization. Revising the Rules Every organization has an opportunity to get employees involved in rewriting the rules of professional behavior. Employees may want to include behaviors such as bullying or social media gossip that were not addressed in current work standards for employees. Employers may address employee concerns by adding separate policies for some areas of professional behavior. For example, an employer could write a separate policy to address bullying, travel reimbursement, outside employment, financial disclosure or acceptable use of technology. Special policies provide details that will help employees better understand how to conform to an employer's expectations (Work Chron 2020). I do hope that you learned a lot about employee behavior standards in the workplace, It is very clear that in an organization you should be guided with the code of conduct, interpersonal communication, administrative behavior and the opportunity to revise the rules of professional behavior. Lesson 4: VALUES What Are Your Values? Deciding What’s Most Important in Life What is important is your belief about good behavior. As a future law enforcer, you should be indoctrinated with values to serve as a role model in the community. How would you define your values? Your values are the things that you believe are important in the way you live and work. They (should) determine your priorities, and, deep down, they're probably the measures you use to tell if your life is turning out the way you want it to.  When the things that you do and the way you behave match your values, life is usually good – you're satisfied and content. But when these don't align with your personal values, that's when things feel... wrong. This can be a real source of unhappiness. This is why making a conscious effort to identify your values is so important. How Values Help You Values exist, whether you recognize them or not. Life can be much easier when you acknowledge your values – and when you make plans and decisions that honor them. If you value family, but you have to work 70-hour weeks in your job, will you feel internal stress and conflict? And if you don't value competition, and you work in a highly competitive sales environment, are you likely to be satisfied with your job? In these types of situations, understanding your values can really help. When you know your own values, you can use them to make decisions about how to live your life, and you can answer questions like these:  What job should I pursue?  Should I accept this promotion?  Should I start my own business?  Should I compromise, or be firm with my position?  Should I follow tradition, or travel down a new path? `So, take the time to understand the real priorities in your life, and you'll be able to determine the best direction for you and your life goals ! Tip: Values are usually fairly stable, yet they don't have strict limits or boundaries. Also, as you move through life, your values may change. For example, when you start your career, success – measured by money and status – might be a top priority. But after you have a family, work-life balance may be what you value more. As your definition of success changes, so do your personal values. This is why keeping in touch with your values is a lifelong exercise. You should continuously revisit this, especially if you start to feel unbalanced... and you can't quite figure out why. Defining Your Values  When you define your personal values, you discover what's truly important to you. A good way of starting to do this is to look back on your life – to identify when you felt really good, and really confident that you were making good choices. Step 1: Identify the times when you were happiest Find examples from both your career and personal life. This will ensure some balance in your answers.  What were you doing?  Were you with other people? Who?  What other factors contributed to your happiness? Step 2: Identify the times when you were most proud Use examples from your career and personal life.  Why were you proud?  Did other people share your pride? Who?  What other factors contributed to your feelings of pride? Step 3: Identify the times when you were most fulfilled and satisfied Again, use both work and personal examples.  What need or desire was fulfilled?  How and why did the experience give your life meaning?  What other factors contributed to your feelings of fulfillment? Step 4: Determine your top values, based on your experiences of happiness, pride, and fulfillment Why is each experience truly important and memorable? Use the following list of common personal values to help you get started – and aim for about 10 top values. (As you work through, you may find that some of these naturally combine. For instance, if you value philanthropy, community, and generosity, you might say that service to others is one of your top values.) Accountability Excellence Perfection Accuracy Excitement Piety Achievement Expertise Positivity Adventurousness Exploration Practicality Altruism Expressiveness Preparedness Ambition Fairness Professionalism Assertiveness Faith Prudence Balance Family-orientedness Quality-orientation Being-the-best Fidelity Reliability Belonging Fitness Resourcefulness Boldness Fluency Restraint Calmness Focus Results-oriented Carefulness Freedom Rigor Challenge Fun Security Cheerfulness Generosity Self-actualization Clear-mindedness Goodness Self-control Commitment Grace Selflessness Community Growth Self-reliance Compassion Happiness Sensitivity Competitiveness Hard-Work Serenity Consistency Health Service Helping-Society Shrewdness Contentment Holiness Simplicity Continuous Improvement Honesty Soundness Contribution Honor Speed Control Humility Spontaneity Cooperation Independence Stability Correctness Ingenuity Strategic Courtesy Inner-Harmony Strength Creativity Inquisitiveness Structure Curiosity Insightfulness Success Decisiveness Intelligence Support Democraticness Intellectual-Status Teamwork Dependability Intuition Temperance Determination Joy Thankfulness Devoutness Justice Thoroughness Diligence Leadership Thoughtfulness Discipline Legacy Timeliness Discretion Love Tolerance Diversity Loyalty Traditionalism Dynamism Making a difference Trustworthiness Economy Mastery Truth-seeking Effectiveness Merit Understanding Efficiency Obedience Uniqueness Elegance Openness Unity Empathy Order Usefulness  Enjoyment Originality Vision Enthusiasm Patriotism Vitality Equality Step 5: Prioritize your top values This step is probably the most difficult, because you'll have to look deep inside yourself. It's also the most important step, because, when making a decision, you'll have to choose between solutions that may satisfy different values. This is when you must know which value is more important to you. Write down your top values, not in any particular order.  Look at the first two values and ask yourself, "If I could satisfy only one of these, which would I choose?" It might help to visualize a situation in which you would have to make that choice. For example, if you compare the values of service and stability, imagine that you must decide whether to sell your house and move to another country to do valuable foreign aid work, or keep your house and volunteer to do charity work closer to home.  Keep working through the list, by comparing each value with each other value, until your list is in the correct order. Step 6: Reaffirm your values Check your top-priority values, and make sure that they fit with your life and your vision for yourself.  Do these values make you feel good about yourself?  Are you proud of your top three values?  Would you be comfortable and proud to tell your values to people you respect and admire?  Do these values represent things you would support, even if your choice isn't popular, and it puts you in the minority? When you consider your values in decision making, you can be sure to keep your sense of integrity and what you know is right, and approach decisions with confidence and clarity. You'll also know that what you're doing is best for your current and future happiness and satisfaction. Making value-based choices may not always be easy. However, making a choice that you know is right is a lot less difficult in the long run. Key Points Identifying and understanding your values is a challenging and important exercise. Your personal values are a central part of who you are – and who you want to be. By becoming more aware of these important factors in your life, you can use them as a guide to make the best choice in any situation. Some of life's decisions are really about determining what you value most. When many options seem reasonable, it's helpful and comforting to rely on your values – and use them as a strong guiding force to point you in the right direction (Mindtools (n.d.). Lesson 5: SOCIAL NORMS What Are Social Norms? You Follow Them Every Day Without Even Noticing Social Norms are unwritten rules that are acceptable in a society. They provide us with an expected idea of how to behave in a particular social group or culture. Norms change according to the environment or situation and may change over time. Social norms operate to build and maintain society. So, how do you behave in the community? Is your behavior acceptable to the norms and standards in the community? Social norms are informal understandings that govern the behavior of a society. Norms can be cultural products that include values, customs, and traditions. These represent individuals’ basic knowledge of what others do and think they should. When we follow the norms of our society, we are participating to either maintain or challenge it. The idea of norms provides a key to understanding social influence in general. Norms provide order in society. It is difficult to see how human society could operate without social norms. Human beings need norms to guide and direct their behavior to provide order. We need order in social relationships and to make sense of and understanding of each other’s actions. What are the effects of breaking social norms? Breaking social norms can make you a hero or an outcast. Many admire individuality, and breaking a small social norm can get you noticed. Breaking social norms has no legal recourse and social norms change with time. But there always exists consequences for breaking social norms. A person may face ostracization from society. In history, this was a literal removal or banishment of the person from the society. Today ostracization may not be geographical. When you break social norms, people stop associating with you. You may lose your job. You can get sent out of a home-owners association or other group. You end up alone. Because society is not comfortable with your behavior, many will refuse to associate. Here are some everyday norms you have been following without even noticing. Chewing with your mouth closed.  This is a considered an important social norm. Many consider it bad manners to see people chewing with their mouths open. It is quite disgusting to see the half-eaten remnants of another human’s meal. We bet You didn’t know this was a social norm and we bet you have been chewing with your mouth closed. Unpleasant odors It is an important social norm to take precautions so that you don’t offend anyone with the way you smell. When out in public, be sure to wear clothing that is clean and fresh. Wear deodorant to prevent body odors. If you are the type that grow beard, endeavor to take care of it. If you wear a perfume or cologne, be sure to only use a very small amount to prevent the scent being overwhelming. Do not expel gas in public either. If you must do so, find a public restroom. Brush your teeth to freshen your breath before leaving home. Now, we are sure you do these every day. Appropriate Dressing It is important that you dress in a way that is appropriate for the place that you are going. If you are going to an event where people dress in a formal or a semi-formal way, do the same. For example, do not wear blue jeans and a t-shirt to a cocktail party. Do not dress in a vulgar manner. But, if you are going to a museum or a movie theater, it is acceptable to dress in a casual way. In other words, try and dress the way you think others will dress at the place you are going. Watch what you say in public When you are out where there are a lot of people within ear-shot and eye-shot, mind your verbal and non-verbal communication. Swear words are inappropriate in public. Do not use words which may offend other people, especially when there are children around. Do not argue in public and do not say things that could be critical. Refrain from doing things like pointing at people and using rude hand gestures. Phone etiquette For mobile phone usage, here are some acceptable norms. Say hello when answering and goodbye when you hang up. Reply to all texts and voice mails. Do not refuse to take a message. Do not lie if someone has the wrong number. Do not tell telemarketers you will call them back. Do not pretend you are an answering machine (that’s horrible). When in elevator For Elevators, Nod or say hello to others on the elevator. Face the front. Never push extra buttons, only the one for your floor. Do not go elevator surfing. Never stand right by someone if you are the only two people on board. Do not say “I’ll wait for the next one” if only one person is on board. Norms about public behavior Shake hands when you meet someone. Have direct eye contact with the person you are speaking with. Consume alcohol in moderation. Unless the movie theater is filled up, never sit right next to someone. Do not stand close enough to someone to touch arms or hips. Do not curse in polite conversation. Do not pick your nose. Wear clothing, especially of a similar style that others wear. Say please and thank you. Be kind to the elderly, like opening a door or giving up your seat. Go to the back of the line. Don’t invade someone’s personal space. When at someone’s home, ask permission, such as turning on the television or using the bathroom. Stop at a red light. Go at a green light. Pull over for emergency vehicles. Drive on the right side of the road in the Philippines. Do not be promiscuous. Try to avoid burping or farting in public. Flush the toilet. Say “please” when asking for something. Say “thank you” when someone does something for you. Call to let someone know you will be late. I bet you have been following these norms every day without even noticing (McNaught, A. n.d). REFERENCES Jones, L. (n.d.). What is Morality? - Definition, Principles & Examples Available at https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-morality-definition-principlesexamples.html McNaught, A. (n.d.). What Are Social Norms? You Follow Them Every Day Without Even Noticing Available at https://www.lifehack.org/587690/what-are-social-norms-you-follow-them- every-day-without-even-noticing Mindtools (n.d.)). What are your values? Deciding What's Most Important in Life https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_85.htm Singer, P. (n.d.). Ethics philosophy https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethics-philosophy) Work Chron (2020). Employee Behavior Standards in the Workplace https://work.chron.com/employee-behavior-standards-workplace-8745.html