Professional Values and Ethics Paper 1

Professional Values and Ethics Paper

GEN/200

December 6, 2010

Kimberly Davis
Professional Values and Ethics Paper 2

Values and ethics are the central role to any organization and both are extremely broad terms

that focus in on the aspects of any person’s career. They influence the ethical behavior and

actions that build one’s career for success. Values are the things that are important to someone

and their vision. Ethics is the effect of the person’s values, by what that person stands for, and is

the behavior of that person. Values determine what is right and what is wrong, and doing what is

right or wrong is what ethics are. To behave ethically is to behave in a manner consistent with

what is right or moral.

There is a strong relationship among professional values, ethics, and career success.

During a one’s life, there will always be challenges that come and are frequently common. All

these challenges will act as a test when it comes to values and ethics in many issues and

situations. A person has challenges in their careers and in life, that person will develop and learn

values and ethics in all the aspects. Although values and ethics can be in different categories,

professional values are the fundamental characters that that build a person’s ethics in their career

of success. Professional values and ethics are adopted from one’s own career and beliefs. They

develop based on personal strengths and preferences and are driven by self-interest. As a person

grows that person develops into their career, by the use of values and ethics to play the major

role in success. When a person starts to gain these they gain a pride that strengthens their beliefs

and behaviors to show a reflection of the career and their professional life.

Professional values and ethics influence the careers success in many ways. An example would

in a law firm and a teacher; ethics play the major role in both careers. Lawyers have the

obligation to pursue the best interest of the clients and this is what brings the lawyer’s success in

their career. With teachers they too have to put someone else’s best interest first, the student. In

addition to the obligations placed on them, lawyers and teachers are also compelled to keep great
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values and ethics in all aspects of the profession, by meeting deadlines, and keep their focus on

what is important. They are both required to abide by a code of ethics and responsibility that

helps them be successful in their profession.

There are sources of having professional values and ethics that a person lives by in their

career. One of the sources of is how a person is raised. How a person spends the majority life is

going to be an influence on that person. Another source is going to be a person’s mentor, when

learning to be a real professional that person is going to help as a guide in to show which way to

go and act in their professional career. A person with a mentor will bring into their life what has

been taught to them and it will be the base for what that person uses when making decisions.

The third source will be one’s own experiences. These experiences will shape what one believes

as well. Using one’s own experiences to shape them will be a guide, to use when making

decisions in life, and in work.

Professional values and ethics are very valuable assets that can take that person a long way in

developing success. These skills will aid in a person’s career, and can be what makes that person

successful in their life. The way a person in their career will result in making one a greater

contributes to the company. This is because a person not only represents the company, but also

themselves as important assets that will benefit the business. Ethics that are brought to the

business as a way to show the right the right direction and integrity they have. Professional

values do not determine who a person is, but what that person believes in. Ethics are an asset to

the success of a person’s career by choosing what is in the best interest of the company. A person

with strong values and ethics will have a path of accomplishment and will achieve career success

by allowing changing for the better of themselves and others as a whole and not just an

individual.
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References

YARDLEY-NOHR, T. (2010). ethics and etiquette. YOUR BELIEF SYSTEM. Massage

& Bodywork, 25(6), 104-107. Retrieved from Alt HealthWatch database.

Shih, F., Lin, Y., Smith, M., Liou, Y., Chiang, H., Lee, S., et al. (2009). Perspectives on

professional values. Journal of Career Ethics, 18(10), 1480-1489. Retrieved from

CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.