Chapter 2 Pple

Professional Ethics, 2nd Edition
R. Subramanian
© All rights reserved. Oxford University Press

2017
Chapter 2
Profession &
Professionalism
© Oxford University Press 2017. All rights reserved.

OBJECTIVES
✔ Define and illustrate the terms profession, professional, and

professionalism
✔ Describe the distinguishing features of a professional
✔ List and explain the role and objectives of professional

organizations
✔ Understand the roles and responsibilities of a professional

TERMINOLOGY
Profession
A type of job that requires special training or skill, especially
one that needs a high level of education such as medical, legal, or
teaching.

TERMINOLOGY
Professional
Someone connected with a job that needs special training or skill,
especially one that needs a high level of education, and does this
as a paid job rather than as a hobby. Having special education
and training Producing high quality of work.

FEATURES OF
PROFESSIONAL
✔ A professional does a job that requires him/her to possess a large
body of academic knowledge with practical training.
✔ He / She possesses academic knowledge obtained generally

through formalized training from a university or higher level
academic institution.
✔ He / She enjoys a certain amount of autonomy in the workplace

even if doing a salaried job. He / She does a job requiring him/her
to exercise independent thinking and judgment in the work being
done.

FEATURES OF PROFESSIONAL
✔ He / She has the authority to take decisions and does that with great
honesty and integrity.
✔ He / She does a professional job, meaning the quality of work done

by him/ her is high.
✔ He / She is able to utilize the natural and harnessed/ acquired talent

to do jobs that cannot be done by others or even by machines.
✔ He /S he shows a high level of ethical conduct in the profession.

This is a hallmark feature of a professional and is the reason why
ethics is important for a professional.

FEATURES OF PROFESSIONAL
✔ He / She works in an area that is self-regulatory to some extent, that
is, there is centralized training and evaluation of new persons
entering the profession.
✔ He / She is controlled by a professional organization related to that

field in terms of registration to practice the profession, code of
conduct, and so forth.
✔ He / She generally enjoys a high status and is highly rewarded in

terms of money earned by practicing the profession.
✔ He / She generally possesses knowledge and skills that the common

man is ignorant of. One danger to be avoided in practicing a
profession is the temptation to exploit this ignorance and take undue
advantage of it as in the case of a doctor or a lawyer.

PROFESSIONALISM
Professionalism
The high standard that you expect from a person who is well
trained in a particular job requiring great skill or ability.

PROFESSIONALISM - CRITERIA
Professional Training
A basic requirement for professionalism is that the person has
appropriate education and training to perform tasks related to the
profession. Without such training, a person will not be able to perform
tasks at the high quality expected of a professional.
Being an Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who has the ability to think, analyze
situations, understand the pros and cons, and act in a logical way.
This ability is essential for right decision-making, logically arriving at
a conclusion, and explaining a particular course of action.

Autonomy in Function
A professional, by virtue of the special training that he / she has
received, is in a job that requires professional decision-making. He
/ She needs to have autonomy that enables him/her to think
professionally about a situation and take a logical decision.
Professional Judgment
Independence in judgment thus becomes a major requirement for
showing professionalism. A professional’s ability to collect and
analyze information and make decisions purely on the merit of the
case, considering all technical or other details, is a hallmark of
professionalism.

Mindset for Service

All professional services produce public good. An abundant
sense of service to the public is essential in a professional’s
job. The mindset for producing high quality products and
services, providing the best care to clients, etc., should come
from within.

Commitment
A professional must be committed to his/her profession and the
duties he/she performs. Such commitment will ensure that
he/she does all tasks with devotion and integrity, resulting in a
professional job of high quality.
Pride in the Profession

One of the criteria for professionalism in the job is to be proud
of the profession one is practicing. This pride is not arrogance,
but a sense of being one with the job and feeling happy that one
is practicing such a profession.

PROFESSIONALISM CHARACTERISTICS
Expertise in terms of Knowledge & Skills

Professionalism can only come from people having expertise in
terms of both knowledge and skills in the profession. This is
ensured through the high level of education and special training
that a person gets before entering the profession.

General Orientation toward Public or Community Interest

All professions have a common theme of public service in their
ambit. Medical profession, legal profession, and engineering
profession in a variety of public services are examples of public
utility of professions. The professional must get an orientation
towards public service during his/her education and training.

Self-regulation in Work
Professionalism calls for self-regulation by the person doing
any job. He / She does not need supervision and control in doing
his/her job professionally. Professionalism requires the
professionals to regulate and control their work themselves
without being supervised.

High Level of Ethics

A professional can be left to do his/her job professionally
because of the high level of ethics possessed by the person.
Ethical functioning is a basic requirement of professionalism. As
professional functions are performed with freedom and
self-regulation, ethics becomes a regulatory factor in true
professional functioning.

High Level of Rewards

A professional commands a greater pay package and perks
because of the high level of education and special training
undergone. It is not only the remuneration that is high; he/she also
has a high status in the society. More than this, professionalism
requires that professional functions be performed with
commitment and integrity irrespective of the monetary rewards.
That is the spirit in which a true professional functions.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Advancement of Knowledge
A professional must be involved in the advancement of
knowledge in the profession. Innovation must be a hallmark of a
professional’s functions. Whatever one may be doing, attempts
for improvement must be made.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Publication of Information
One should not only attempt to advance one’s knowledge
domain in the profession but also publicize and inform others
about such developments. This is also a responsibility of a
professional.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Maintenance of Associations of Professionals to Advance the Goals

of the Profession
This is a basic requirement of professional activities.
A professional should necessarily become a member of
professional bodies and contribute to their objectives.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Promotion of Well-being of Co-Professionals
Professionals, individually or through their associations, must
ensure the well-being of the members of their profession. It is
essentially done through the membership of the professional
association. These associations are duty-bound to protect the
interests of the members.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Development & Maintenance of Standards
In a profession and its practice, one should abide by the code of
conduct developed by professional bodies. In addition,
professionalism requires that a professional sets his / her own
standards for his / her functions and adheres to those standards.
They may be ethical or other standards.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Control of Access to the Profession
Controlling access to the profession is the

responsibility of the professional bodies comprising
professionals. This is done through registration and
conducting examinations to evaluate the individuals
seeking entry to the profession.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Maintenance of a Clean Image of the Profession
Again, individuals and professional bodies are responsible for

this. The image of the professional is very important as it is mostly
related to public service in some way. Professionals and
professional bodies need to control professional practices by
ensuring that ethical conduct and professional practice are beyond
any kind of questions.

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES
Mastery of Theoretical Knowledge

A professional must have thorough knowledge of all aspects of
the profession. With experience, the professional can fine-tune
his / her knowledge and skill sets to do a better job. Such
knowledge and its enhancement are required to show
professionalism.

Capacity to Solve Problems
Problem-solving is a higher level function and is
required by professionals to maintain both
professional and human relations. Professionalism
requires a professional to have the ability to solve a
problem by logically analyzing the problem, finding
solutions, and selecting the most viable and
economical solution to the problem at hand.

Application of Theoretical Knowledge in Practice
A professional should not only possess theoretical knowledge
but also the skills to apply this knowledge in practice.
Professionalism gets expression only through practical
application.
Ability to Create Knowledge

While practicing a profession, a professional meets with new
situations or problems that require solutions. In finding
solutions, he/she has the ability to create new knowledge and
utilize it.

Commitment to Continuous Learning & Enthusiasm to Practice
This is a basic need for professionals. They must have the will to
learn continuously and yearn for new knowledge. This will be
shown by their enthusiasm in practicing the profession.
Professionals should not remain like frogs in the well but should
come forward to innovate.

EXPECTATION
Relationship with Clients
S
A professional has to deal with many clients during his/her
professional activities. He / She develops a special relationship
with clients who are beneficiaries of the services and has to
show utmost honesty and integrity in dealing with them in a
professional manner.

EXPECTATIONS
Keep Professional Interest Above Self
A hallmark of professionalism is the ability of a person to keep
professional interests above self-interest. True professionalism
can be expressed as a passion for professional activities.
Be Involved in all Aspects of the Profession

Professionals should be involved in a variety of activities
contributing to the promotion of the profession. This can be
research, publishing, membership of professional societies,
attending seminars, and so forth.

EXPECTATION
S
Publicize What the Profession does & What it is
While failure and misconduct will automatically get wide
publicity, a clean and true image of the profession also needs
highlighting. Professional associations and professionals must take
the responsibility of doing this. This will not only ensure that the
public has a clear perception about the profession, but also their
cooperation in reporting failures and success stories.

SUPPORT
Promote Ethical Behavior
One of the hallmarks of professionalism is ethical behavior.
Professionals not only have a responsibility to behave
ethically, but also to shoulder the onus of promoting ethics in
the profession. All decisions must be based upon professional
and ethical standards. Apart from any organizational code, the
professional must develop his/her own code of behavior based
upon one’s understanding of ethical principles. He / She must
also articulate the importance of ethical behavior through
various means available to him/her.

SUPPORT
Promote Environment for Public Acceptance of the Profession
The public perception of what the profession is and what it does
is very important. Professionalism requires that professionals
promote a clean image of the profession in the public’s mind.
Professional associations have a great role to play in doing this.
The profession must be looked upon as utilitarian and a public
service to the people.

SUPPORT
Define & Enforce Penalties for Professional Misconduct
This is a role to be played by professional associations. Any
misconduct on the part of members of the profession should be
taken seriously and penalties must be given out without much
delay for ensuring a clean image of the profession.

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
OBJECTIVES
✔ Promote and advance the profession by bringing together professionals practicing the
profession under one umbrella
✔ Promote advancement of knowledge in the profession by providing funds and

encouraging research in various areas of the profession
✔ Provide a forum for exchange of information and views on various aspects affecting the
practice of the profession
✔ Develop a code of conduct for professionals practicing the profession to maintain the
dignity and honor of the profession
✔ Prevent unethical conduct by professionals by enforcing the code of conduct and

providing suitable penalties

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
OBJECTIVES
✔ Publicize the aspects of the profession by informing the public about what the profession is
and highlighting the services rendered to the society
✔ Take care of the profession and professionals by advancing the cause of the profession
through various media
✔ Publish journals and organize seminars and conferences to achieve the objectives
✔ Develop criteria and conduct tests and examinations to control new entrants to the
profession
✔ Arrange funds for promoting activities related to the profession
✔ Discuss ethical dilemmas that crop up in the practice of the profession and find acceptable
solutions to the issues

OBJECTIVES
INDIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
✔ Promoting and advancing medical and all related sciences

✔ Improving the public health and medical education in India
✔ Maintaining the honor and dignity of the medical profession

OBJECTIVES
INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, INDIA
✔ To promote and advance the science, practice and business of Engineering in all its
branches (hereinafter referred to as ‘Engineering’) in India.
✔ To establish, subsidize, promote, form and maintain local Associations of members

belonging to the Institution and others engaged or interested in Engineering so as to assure
to each individual member as far as may be possible equal opportunity to enjoy the rights
and privileges of the Institution.
✔ To diffuse among its members information on all matters affecting Engineering and to
encourage, assist and extend knowledge and information connected therewith by
establishment and promotion of lectures, discussions or correspondence; by the holding of
conferences; by the publication of papers, periodicals or journals, books, circulars and maps
or other literary undertaking; by encouraging research work; or by the formation of a library
or libraries and collection of models, designs, drawings, and other articles of interest in
connection with Engineering or otherwise howsoever.

OBJECTIVES
INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS INDIA
✔ To promote the study of Engineering with a view to disseminate the

information obtained for facilitating the scientific and economic
development of Engineering in India.
✔ To establish, acquire, carry on, control or advise with regard to

colleges, schools or other educational establishments where
students and apprentices may obtain a sound education and training
in Engineering on such terms as may be settled by the Institution.

OBJECTIVES
✔ To encourage, regulate and elevate the technical and general knowledge of persons
engaged in or about to engage in Engineering or in any employment manual or
otherwise in connection therewith and with a view thereto to provide for the
holding of classes and to test by examination or otherwise the competence of such
persons and to institute and establish professorships, studentships, scholarships,
rewards and other benefactions and to grant certificates of competency whether
under any Act of the Government India or Local Governments regulating the
conduct and qualifications of Engineers or otherwise howsoever.
✔ To give the Government of India, the Local Governments and Municipalities and
other public bodies and others, facilities for conferring with and ascertaining the
views of Engineers as regards matters directly or indirectly affecting Engineering
and to confer with the said Governments, Municipalities and other public bodies
and others in regard to all matters affecting Engineering.

OBJECTIVES
✔ To encourage inventions and investigate and make known their

nature and merits.
✔ To arrange and promote the adoption of equitable forms of
contracts and other documents used in Engineering and to
encourage the settlement of disputes by arbitration and to act as
or nominate arbitrators and umpires on such terms and in such
cases as may seem expedient.
✔ To promote efficiency and just and honorable dealing and to
suppress malpractice in engineering.
✔ To do all such other acts and things as are incidental or
conducive to the attainment of the above objects or any of
them.

OBJECTIVES
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS
✔ To facilitate the advancement of technology to enhance quality,

knowledge, competitiveness, sustainability, and environmental
stewardship.
✔ To encourage and provide the tools for lifelong learning to aid our
members’ continued growth throughout their careers.
✔ To promote professionalism and the profession throughout society
to enhance the stature of civil engineers and to influence public
policy.
✔ To develop and support civil engineer leaders to broaden our
members’ perspectives, enhance their career growth, and promote
the public interest

OBJECTIVES
AMERICAL SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS
✔ To advocate infrastructure an environmental stewardship to

protect public health and safety and improve the quality of life.

OBJECTIVES
BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA
✔ To uphold the Constitution of India, and the representative, free and

democratic form of Government and to uphold and promote the
rule of law.
✔ To promote the science of jurisprudence and to encourage and
conduct research and investigations in legal and allied fields.
✔ To promote reform in the administration of justice and law and its
healthy development according to the social, economic and other
needs of the people.
✔ To promote uniformity of legislation and of judicial decisions
throughout the country.

OBJECTIVES
BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA
✔ To uphold the honor, the dignity and the independence of the Bar
and the profession of law.
✔ To assist the Bar in upholding its rights and dignity in its relations
with the executive and the judiciary.
✔ To apply the knowledge and experience in the field of law to the

promotion of the public good.
✔ To promote unity and solidarity among the members of the Bar

throughout India.

OBJECTIVES
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION
✔ Enhance services to its members.

✔ Work with educational institutions and industry to improve engineering education
and promote faculty development.
✔ Facilitate productive collaborations among industry, academia, and government.
✔ Increase the participation and success of underrepresented groups in the
engineering profession. Enhance services to its members.
✔ Work with educational institutions and industry to improve engineering education
and promote faculty development.
✔ Facilitate productive collaborations among industry, academia, and government.
✔ Increase the participation and success of underrepresented groups in the
engineering profession.

OBJECTIVES
AMERICAL SOCIETY FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION
✔ Promote the value of the engineering profession to society.

✔ Increase membership in ASEE in order to more completely serve the
engineering and engineering technology enterprise.
✔ Facilitate international cooperation in matters pertaining to
engineering education.

ROLES
PERSONAL ROLE
Professionals can improve the quality of their and others’ lives by

being conscious of the professional spirit in their personal life.
They can bring in an aura of enrichment by following
professionalism in their personal lives. The personal role is also
important for their professional image. The expectations from the
two roles may be different but the underlying spirit in playing those
roles should be the same.

ROLES
PROFESSIONAL ROLE
This could be in terms of one’s responsibilities as a professional

or in terms of the different roles one plays in the practice of
one’s profession, such as a leader, a colleague, a subordinate,
and many others.

ROLES
SOCIAL ROLE
A professional is not only a member of his/her professional association

but also lives in a community and hence is also a member of a society
and community. The professional must play his/her role as a member of
the community. Social roles include interacting with other members of
the community, contributing to the welfare of the community in which
he/she lives, and also solving the problems of the community if they are
related to his/her chosen profession. His / Her knowledge, skills, and
special training will enable him/her to play a useful social role.

ROLES
ETHICAL ROLE
Many ethical issues not related to the profession arise in everyday

life. A professional must promote ethical behavior among the
people or community in which he/she lives. He / She has a greater
responsibility as he/she enjoys a higher status in society due to
his/her education, special training, and higher rewards earned. He
/ She thus has a responsibility to play a mentor’s role in ethical
matters.

ROLES
MODEL HUMAN ROLE
In order to effectively play the aforementioned roles, a professional

has to play the role of a model human being. Professionals are not
icons or heroes. Very few, such as a world class surgeon, a brilliant
lawyer, or a renowned engineer, get to be in the limelight. Still, in
the small world surrounding oneself, one must behave with
impeccable standards that will showcase him/her as a model human
being.

PROFESSIONAL RISKS
✔ Professional risks or hazards are a part of professional life.
Sometimes the outcome may not be very serious, but
sometimes, it can be. However, if the risk arises because
of unprofessional conduct, the professional is to be
blamed. One has to follow the path of honesty and
integrity and leave the rest to destiny.
✔ High expectations from the professional can be one reason

for such risks.

PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY
✔ Accountability is a concept used in ethics to denote an organization’s or

individual’s liability to shoulder the responsibility of their actions,
explain the reason or justification for those actions, and take the blame in
case something goes wrong. The word accountable can be defined as
being responsible for one’s own decisions or actions and being able to
justify them when asked.
✔ Accountability is greater in the case of professionals because they enjoy

autonomy in actions and decision-making. Their right (or responsibility)
of independent judgment entails accountability. The freedom you enjoy
in taking decisions and executing actions comes with a price. The more
freedom you have, the more accountable you have to be.

PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS
MEASURES OF SUCCESS
✔ A professional has knowledge and skills that he/she keeps updating

with time through reading, practicing, innovating, etc.
✔ He / She does a professional job all the time irrespective of his/her
grievances or complaints.
✔ He / She strictly follows a code of conduct and does not waver
from his/her ethical standards.
✔ He / She is attached to the profession and feels proud of being part
of it.

PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS
MEASURES OF SUCCESS
✔ He / She dedicates his/her knowledge and skills to the service of

the society.
✔ He / She keeps professional responsibilities above his/her
self-interests.
✔ He / She has earned enough in terms of money and respect in
practicing the profession.

AMBITIONS
✔ Good to have ambitions in life and belief that one can achieve
anything.
✔ Keep ambitions at a level so that success can be achieved to some
extent.
✔ Very high ambitions can lead to frustration.
✔ Develop a positive attitude.
✔ Ambitions can be realized only through hard work.

SATISFACTION
✔ Remain satisfied in the present state without loosing sight of your
ambitions.
✔ Satisfaction has a tendency to dull the initiative and drive.
✔ Remaining satisfied in the present keeping the drive and initiative is

the art of life.
✔ Do not remain frustrated for failures and do not be passive and

docile with satisfaction.

ETHICS & PROFESSION
✔ Make your own value system and understand it well. The important
point about values is that you have found it out yourself and you own
it and follow it. The ideas, constructs, or beliefs that you hold dear to
your heart must be well organized in your mind.
✔ Develop a positive attitude. Neither failures nor setbacks in life

should destabilize you. Learn from mistakes, and firmly believe that
there is light at the end of the tunnel.
✔ Develop a high emotional intelligence score. This will help you

understand others better and work together with peers, superiors, and
subordinates.

ETHICS & PROFESSION
✔ Know your professional association, its objectives, and code of
conduct well. This will help you behave ethically and take the right
decisions and actions.
✔ Ethics is not just a personal matter. This has to be in tune with the
accepted norms of the organization, society, and government
regulations.
✔ Make your own standards of success. Success should not be
evaluated in terms of the salary you earn or the material wealth you
create for yourself.
✔ When you behave ethically, you develop moral strength. This will
stand by you in difficult times, and you can easily get over such
difficult times.

IMAGE OF PROFESSION
✔ Take pride in being part of the profession
✔ Make efforts to enhance the image of the profession
✔ Good work and ethical behavior do not generally get highlighted and
accept it.
✔ Image of profession brings recognition and financial support.
✔ High quality of work and ethical functioning enhances the image of

the profession.

SUMMARY
✔ Profession, professional, professionalism
✔ Features of professionals
✔ Criteria, characteristics, responsibilities, competencies,
expectations and support
✔ Professional Associations
✔ Roles of a professional
✔ Ethics and Profession
✔ Image of Profession

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Professional Ethics, 2nd Edition

© All rights reserved. Oxford University Press

© Oxford University Press 2017. All rights reserved.

✔ Define and illustrate the terms profession, professional, and

✔ Describe the distinguishing features of a professional

✔ List and explain the role and objectives of professional

✔ Understand the roles and responsibilities of a professional

© Oxford University Press 2017. All rights reserved.

© Oxford University Press 2017. All rights reserved.

✔ He / She possesses academic knowledge obtained generally

✔ He / She enjoys a certain amount of autonomy in the workplace

© Oxford University Press 2017. All rights reserved.

✔ He / She does a professional job, meaning the quality of work done

✔ He / She is able to utilize the natural and harnessed/ acquired talent

✔ He /S he shows a high level of ethical conduct in the profession.

© Oxford University Press 2017. All rights reserved.

✔ He / She is controlled by a professional organization related to that

✔ He / She generally enjoys a high status and is highly rewarded in

✔ He / She generally possesses knowledge and skills that the common

© Oxford University Press 2017. All rights reserved.

© Oxford University Press 2017. All rights reserved.

© Oxford University Press 2017. All rights reserved.

© Oxford University Press 2017. All rights reserved.

Mindset for Service

© Oxford University Press 2017. All rights reserved.

Pride in the Profession

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Expertise in terms of Knowledge & Skills

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General Orientation toward Public or Community Interest

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High Level of Ethics

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High Level of Rewards

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Maintenance of Associations of Professionals to Advance the Goals

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Control of Access to the Profession

Controlling access to the profession is the

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Again, individuals and professional bodies are responsible for

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Mastery of Theoretical Knowledge

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Ability to Create Knowledge

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Be Involved in all Aspects of the Profession

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✔ Promote advancement of knowledge in the profession by providing funds and

✔ Prevent unethical conduct by professionals by enforcing the code of conduct and

© Oxford University Press 2017. All rights reserved.