code of conduct
A code in which organizations (like companies or professional associations) lay down guidelines for responsible behavior of their members
professional code
Code of conduct that is formulated by a professional association
corporate code
Code of conduct that is formulated by a company
aspirational code
A code that expresses the moral values of a profession or company
advisory codes
A code of conduct that has the objective to help individual professionals or employees to exercise moral judgments in concrete situations
disciplinary code
A code that has the objective to achieve that the behavior of all professionals or employees meets certain values and norms
profession
Often mentioned characteristics of a profession include:
1) use of specialized knowledge and skills
2) a monopoly on the carrying out of the occupation
3) assessment only possible by peers. In addition the following two requirements are also sometimes mentioned
4) service orientation to society
5) ethical standards
To which 3 domains do most modern professional codes relate?
1) conducting a profession with integrity and honesty, and in a competent way
2) obligations towards employers and clients; and
3) responsibility towards the public and society.
integrity
Living by one's own (moral) values, norms and commitments
honesty
Telling what one has good reasons to believe to be true and disclosing all relevant information
conflict of interest
The situation in which one has an interest (personal or professional) that, when pursued, can conflict with meeting one's professional obligations to an employer or to (other) clients
corporate social responsibility
The responsibility of companies towards stakeholders and to society at large that extends beyond meeting the law and serving shareholders' interests
stakeholder principles
Principles that guide the relationship between a company and its stakeholders
What are the 3 most mentioned stakeholder principles?
transparency, honesty, and fairness
window dressing
Presenting a favorable impression that is not based on the actual facts
uncritical loyalty
Placing the interests of the employer, as the employer defines those interests, above any other considerations
critical loyalty
Giving due regard to the interest of the employer, insofar as this is possible within the constraints of the employee's personal and professional ethics
confidentiality duties
Duties on employees to keep silent certain information
What are the 3 reasons the book gives for saying ethics cannot be codified?
1) ethics requires individual moral judgment, instead of blindly following a code
2) codes of conduct are not morally binding
3) they presuppose that morality can be expressed in a set of universal moral rule
confidentiality duties
Duties on employees to keep silent certain information
external auditing
Assessing of a company in terms of its code of conduct by an external organization
global code of conduct
A code of conduct that is believed to apply worldwide
professional autonomy
The ideal that individual professionals achieve themselves moral conclusions by reasoning clearly and carefully