REVIEW OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

Professionally accepted standards of personal and business behaviour, values and guiding

principles. Codes of professional ethics are often established by professional organizations to

help guide members in performing their job functions according to sound and consistent

ethical principles.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Accountability is answerability, blameworthiness, liability and the expectation of account

giving owed explanation you hold as a person to only after a task is done or not may refer to

being in charge, being the owner of task or event explanation not necessary can be before and/or

after a task. Accountability is an assurance that an individual or an organization will be

evaluated on their performance or behaviour related to something for which they are

responsible.

Types of accountability

The notion of accountability can be classified according to the type of accountability exercised

and/ or the person, group or institution the public official answers to.

1. Horizontal vs. Vertical Accountability: The predominant interpretation is that

institutions of accountability, such as parliament and the judiciary, provide horizontal

accountability. It can be put in another way, that horizontal accountability is the

capacity of state institutions to check abuses by other public agencies and branches of

government, or the requirement for agencies to report sideways. Whereas, vertical

accountability is the means through which residents, mass media and civil society seek

to enforce standards of good performance on officials. While parliament is typically

 considered as a key institution in constructs of horizontal accountability, it is also

important in vertical accountability. Citizens and civil society groups can look for the

support of elected representatives to redress grievances and intervene in the case of

inappropriate or inadequate action by government.

2. Political versus Legal Accountability: Parliament and the judiciary act as horizontal

constitutional checks on the power of the executive. The role of these two institutions

can be further described in that parliament holds the executive politically accountable,

whilst the judiciary holds the executive legally accountable. Parliament is a political

institution, while the judiciary can only adjudicate on legal issues. Together, they

provide continuing oversight in order to keep the government accountable throughout

its term in office. They may also be aided by other institutions, such as supreme audit

institutions, anti-corruption commissions, regulatory offices and human rights

institutes. These secondary ‘autonomous institutions of accountability’ are typically

designed to be independent of the executive; in the case of supreme audit institutions,

anti-corruption commissions and regulatory offices they often report to parliament

while in the cases of supreme audit institutions and human rights institutes, they may

be part of the judiciary. Political accountability usually establishes itself in the concept

of individual ministerial responsibility, which is the basis of the notion of responsible

government.

3. Social Accountability: Social accountability is an approach towards building

accountability that relies on public engagement, namely a situation whereby ordinary

citizens and/or civil society organizations partake directly or indirectly in exacting

accountability. Such accountability is termed as society driven horizontal

accountability. The term social accountability is a misnomer since it is not meant to

 refer to a specific type of accountability, but rather to a particular approach (or set of

mechanisms) for exacting accountability.

4. Diagonal Accountability: The notion of diagonal accountability is far from settled

with two groups of commentators adopting different definitions. Diagonal

accountability involves vertical accountability actors. Generally speaking, diagonal

accountability seeks to engage citizens directly in the workings of horizontal

accountability institutions. This is an effort to augment the limited effectiveness of civil

society’s watch dog function by breaking the state’s monopoly over responsibility for

official executive oversight.

COLLEGIALITY

The goal of collegial ethics is to actively support our colleagues and to develop the skills needed

to do so. While collegial interactions are key for our careers, there is little or no training in this.

Many of our actions and reactions with our colleagues are instinctive. Human nature has

evolved to be self-protective, but many evolved and automatic responses to others are not

always in the best interests of our society or of us. Developing courage and a style of supportive

language, avoiding destructive acts, and adhering to the golden rule will improve our

relationships and provide a more positive environment for all. It may not be easy to help a

colleague. Sometimes we are not sure what the facts are, or sometimes we lack the structure to

channel our involvement. We also know that taking a stand on a controversial issue can be

perilous and hurt our career (Bird and Hoffman-Kim 1998). If a crime has been committed by

a colleague then support may not be appropriate. But the law is not perfect. It says that one is

not guilty until proven guilty and legal guilt is for the courts to decide.
RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICAL LIVING

Social responsibility is an ethical theory, in which individuals are accountable for fulfilling

their civic duty; the actions of an individual must benefit the whole of society. In this way,

there must be a balance between economic growth and the welfare of society and the

environment. If this equilibrium is maintained, then social responsibility is accomplished.

Social responsibility and business ethics are often regarding as the same concepts. However,

the social responsibility movement is but one aspect of the overall discipline of business ethics.

The social responsibility movement arose particularly during the 1960s with increased public

consciousness about the role of business in helping to cultivate and maintain highly ethical

practices in society and particularly in the natural environment.

LIVING IN HARMONY WITH NATURE

People have to learn to live in harmony with nature thereby protecting the environment and

other living beings that inhabit the earth. Only when we learn to live in harmony with nature,

could we expect nature to behave in the manner that has been there for several hundred years.

When man indulges in affecting nature and its composition through pollution and deforestation,

humankind will be forced to repent for generations. The development of mankind has been

intertwined with that of nature and wildlife. Any break in their ranks would not augur well for

the future. Only when people go against nature, will they be forced to face nature's fury like in

the form of earthquakes, tsunamis and droughts, the Collector observed.

Every individual should take a vow to plant and raise at least 25 trees during one's life time as

a contribution to Mother Nature. In Karur district, though the area categorised as Reserve

Forests was meagre, species such as Slow Lorris, Slender Lorris, bison and deer were found in
the forest areas surrounding the district especially in the Kadavur region adjoining Dindigul

district. Likewise, in the Taragampatti region, a lot of peacocks and peahens are thriving.

People should learn to respect the sanctity of wildlife, she emphasized.

FOUR ORDERS IN LIVING

Those plants, animals, and other features of the world develop of their own accord. It is often taken

to mean the “natural environment” or wilderness-wild animals, rocks, forest, beaches and in general

those things that have not been substantially altered by human intervention, or which persist despite

human intervention. Life is divided into three terms - that which was, which is, and which will be. Let

us learn from the past to profit by the present, and from the present to live better. There are four

orders of nature- Material order, Pranic order, Animal order, and Human order.

The four orders as above should not be viewed in isolation. All these are part and parcel of nature and

existence. These are really mutually complementary and supplementary. They are not independent

but are mutually interdependent. Each one nurtures and nourishes the others.

 Material order consists of things like air, water, soil and so on.

 Pranic order comprises trees, plants, insects, etc.

 Animal order includes birds and animals.

SUSTAINAIBLE DEVELOPMENT

The concept of sustainable development was given by World Commission on Environment and

Development. Sustainable development means meeting the needs of the present without stripping

the natural resources that future generations would need. Our earth’s vital signs show that our planet

is ailing. It is our responsibility to keep the earth in good health. We must not strip the earth of its
natural resource. If we do so, productivity will be weakened. We may meet our needs without

depriving the future generations of the resources that they would need. Besides this man has now

realized that he shares this planet with millions of other creatures. Man’s position is not that of

domination, but of partnership. No generation owns this planet, we are like tenants. And it is our

responsibility to keep the environment healthy. We owe responsibility to the future generation. We

must leave it to them healthy so that they can live healthy and happily on it. Government, industry

and every person must do their bit. The air, water and soil of the earth are polluted. Forests are

vanishing. Wildlife on land as well as in the seas faces extinction. Grasslands and Forests are turning

into scorching deserts. All these are vital symptoms that show that earth is ailing. We can restore the

earth to its healthy state again if we respect and preserve its metabolic needs. We should use not

more than what the earth can replenish it with. We have to preserve wildlife, forests, seas and

grasslands.