Task 5c: Professional Ethics

 

Following my thoughts and research on the ethical code of conduct within my line of work, I have studied the course reader and reflected upon the issues raised.

So, what exactly is ‘ethics’? Why does it play such a large role in not only the way inquiries are gone about, but the way people live their lives?

The reader tells us that the word ‘ethics’ is believed to derive from the Greek word ‘ethos’ meaning character. This shows that they believed that the concept of ethics is imbedded in a person – part of their natural character. Philosophers were very interested in the notion of good and bad; what leads a person to carry out certain actions? What is within them that makes them act in different ways?

Ancient thinkers such as Aristotle were continuing to be interested in what makes up and persons character – what makes them good and what actions may that incur? He discussed the issue of people making moral decisions throughout their lives or simply when they feel it is necessary. As with a lot of things, religion has played a large part in helping people to make decisions. As people have been raised with very strong beliefs in a certain religion they may not be able to distinguish between the morals that have been taught through religious teachings and those that they would naturally believe to be wrong. This also introduces the law. When many laws were created Britain was a Christian country so many rules were created around the Bible. This may not have had any issues at the time but as time has passed things changed and religion and law began to stop fitting together so well. The cases of abortion and gay rights seem to be the most obvious – issues that seem to cause a lot of anger between many people. As Britain has become more culturally diverse, it has had to adjust to the views of many people from many different backgrounds and, I believe, that is gradually making the law become more associated with moral as opposed to religion. This, of course, depends on your views upon religion. Hobbes (1651) believed that ethics is a practical solution to social harmony. If that is the case then what is the law for? If an action is ethically and morally wrong then consequently it should be enough of a deterrent to prevent any wrong doing? Does this mean criminals have no moral conscience or do they know it is the case that their actions are immoral but would prefer to do it anyway?

How do ethics impact on life nowadays?

The first thought was that ethical actions and views can be split into 4 main categories, personal, professional, organisational and social. Whilst these can intertwine and work well together, they also can be 3 separate ways of steering ones actions.

Firstly, personal ethics. This is based upon a person’s family background, religious beliefs and natural conscience of right and wrong. This brings up the age old nature/nurture argument – is one born with a moral conscience or are they taught it from birth? Either way, this can dramatically effect a person’s attitude towards all aspects of life including how they deal with others, whether colleagues, clients, friends or family. Many can have many strong views with regards to decisions that they feel are ethical however these often oppose the ethical code of conduct of their organisation. This, I believe, is the issue in Case Study 2: The Ethics of Photography (BAPP Reader 5, Page 10). In this case, Kevin Carter, a photographer who took a photograph of a Sudanese girl struggling to crawl towards water. The stunning photo won a Pulitzer Prize however the controversy sounded the fact that Carter took the photo and left, leaving the girl still struggling for water. The girl died raising the issue of should he have tried to help. From a professional point of view, Carter and the other photographers he was travelling with were specifically asked to not touch, to prevent spreading diseases however, from a personal point of view people would have expected someone in that situation to try and help. This is a particularly strong example of the differentiation between personal and professional ethics. The case can be compared to those who film wildlife documentaries – the have to stand a watch the cruellest acts in nature but professionally cannot intervene. Personally I could not do this, I can’t even watch the wildlife programmes, but I guess it takes a special sort of person to be able to put their personal morals and ethics to one side to be able to do a job. They must have enough reasons to justify that what they are doing is for the good of the job to be able to be content with their actions. Unfortunately Kevin Carter wasn’t. I find that very sad.

Professional ethics are often hard to separate with organisational ethical conduct as they often have to link together in order to work well within a business.

The profession that links all aspects of ethical practise together is medicine. To want to become a doctor, for example, you must be personally a morally strong person. You must want to commit your life to helping others. Professionally you must be able to work hard and always think of the welfare of the patient, constantly keep up to date with the latest medical findings and treatments and always act in a manner that is professional and honest. Most doctors work for the NHS, a huge nationwide organisation that has the responsibility of looking after the health of the UK, this means that an individual must conform to the organisations procedures an ethics in order to give the best care for so many people, ensuring fairness and consistency across the board. Finally the role of the doctor has a major role in being socially ethical- they are dealing with people’s health and potentially can be saving lives. The general public trust the medical profession and they have a duty to act in their best interest. All doctors sign the Hippocratic Oath to promise this. The case of Harold Shipman proves the public lay all their trust in doctors and if they are let down it is a huge problem. Case Study 1 (BAPP Reader 5, page **) “Mid-Staffordshire inquiry: Unhealthy System” proves that when such an enormous mix of ethical views and actions are combined, often it can go wrong and be a very complicated job to unravel.

With regards my professional inquiry, I will need to ensure that I follow that code of conduct within my school and also maintain my personal and professional ethical beliefs. When conducting inquiries I must always maintain a professional attitude and consider the wellbeing of others involved.