Lesson 3 – PROFESSIONAL ETHICS IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson, the student must be able to:
 Define professional ethics
 Familiarize ethical principles for business and importance of professional
ethics

INTRODUCTION:
This lesson deals with the definition of professional ethics, its principles in business
and importance

CONTENT:

Professional Ethics
-professionally accepted standards of personal and business behavior, 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.
Professional development is personal undertakings that will enhance one’s self-
confidence, and broaden his/her talents and skills.

Ethical Principles for Business

The most recent lesson on the importance of business ethics came with the Wall
Street collapse, as once highly esteemed financial institutions made headlines for
their bad choices and questionable behavior.
While businesses have to meet economic expectations, they also have ethical
responsibilities. Everyone, from the bottom to the top of the organizational chart,
must take care to meet these responsibilities.
The Six Pillars:
(1) Trustworthiness
(2) Respect
(3) Responsibility
(4) Fairness
(5) Caring
(6) Citizenship
“The overriding principle that you have as an individual is you have to make the right
decision,” says Rich Jarc, executive director of the Josephson Institute. “That is
sometimes very difficult because a decision may be easier, but it is not right. So it
takes more of a personal challenge to do the right decision.”
However, behaving in an ethical manner can create positive business results. A
business environment that promotes and upholds strong values is usually a happier
and more productive workplace, Jarc says, and customers receive good service so
they keep coming back.
In addition to work behavior, Jarc believes that ethical principles should guide our
personal and professional lives.
“Being ethical requires looking at universal values and that is the decision matrix
people can use in their business and personal lives,” Jarc says.

Importance of Professional Ethics

Ethics concern an individual's moral judgements about right and wrong. Decisions
taken within an organization may be made by individuals or groups, but whoever
makes them will be influenced by the culture of the company. The decision to behave
ethically is a moral one; employees must decide what they think is the right course of
action. This may involve rejecting the route that would lead to the biggest short-term
profit.
Ethical behavior and corporate social responsibility can bring significant benefits to a
business. For example, they may:
•attract customers to the firm's products, thereby boosting sales and profits
•make employees want to stay with the business, reduce labor turnover and therefore
increase productivity
•attract more employees wanting to work for the business, reduce recruitment costs
and enable the company to get the most talented employees
•attract investors and keep the company's share price high, thereby protecting the
business from takeover.

Unethical behavior or a lack of corporate social responsibility, by comparison, may

damage a firm's reputation and make it less appealing to stakeholders. Profits could
fall as a result.
Along with good corporate governance, ethical behavior is an integral part of
everything that Cadbury Schweppes does. Treating stakeholders fairly is seen as an
essential part of the company's success, as described here: 'A creative and well
managed corporate and social responsibility programmed is in the best interests of
all our stakeholders - not just our consumers - but also our shareowners, employees,
customers, suppliers and other business partners who work together with us. *'

REFERENCE/S:

 Personality and Soft Skills Development for Workplace Success. J. J. San

Miguel. Published in 2015 by C & E Publishing, Inc.
 http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/professional-ethics.html
 https://www.southuniversity.edu/news-and-blogs/2017/07/ethical-
principles-for-business-38725