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PROFESSIONAL ETHICSResponsibilities & Rights of
Professionals
FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
Abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions,
the national flag, and the national anthem;
Cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national
struggle for freedom;
Uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of
India;
Defend the country and render national service when called upon to
do so;
Promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all
the people of India transcending religious, linguistic, and
regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory
to the dignity of women;
Value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite
culture;
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
Protect and improve the natural environment including forests,
lakes, rivers, and wildlife and to have compassion for living
creatures;
Develop the scientific temper, humanism, and the spirit of inquiry
and reform;
Safeguard public property and to abjure violence; and
Strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and
collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher
levels of endeavor & achievement.
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
RIGHT TO INFORMATION
The right to information act was passed in 2005
A practical regime to enforce the right of citizens to
information
Under the Act, citizens may request any information as defined and
permitted under the rules; inspect and study documents and records;
get copies of documents; obtain certified copies of documents; and
request for soft copies of information.
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
RIGHT TO INFORMATION
All constitutional authorities covering the executive, legislature,
and judiciary;
All institutions established by an Act of the Parliament or the
state legislature;
Organizations owned, controlled, or substantially financed by the
government; &
Non-governmental organizations substantially financed directly or
indirectly with funds provided by the government.
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
EMPLOYED PROFESSIONAL
Work towards advancement of profession
Promote common professional cause
EMPLOYED PROFESSIONALS
Loyalty to public good is foremost
Loyalty to the profession
Loyalty to the employer
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EMPLOYED PROFESSIONALS
Organizational loyalty is the result of contractual
obligations.
Identity loyalty is due to reasons beyond contractual obligations;
your emotional attachment to the organization and the group of
people you are working with.
Both loyalties will make one perform; but identity loyalty makes
one do better due to emotional attachment; such employees will be
asset to organizations
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EMPLOYED PROFESSIONAL
Misplaced Loyalty
Loyalty to the organization should not come in the way of
professional or public cause.
Balancing the different loyalties can sometimes become
tricky.
Professional need to keep public good and professional integrity
above organizational loyalty.
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EMPLOYED PROFESSIONALS
Confidentiality
As employee, professional gets a lot of information; some such
information may have to be kept confidential.
The professional has to decide about which information has to be
kept confidential.
Contractual obligations and moral considerations makes it mandatory
for the professional to keep a lot of information
confidential
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EMPLOYED PROFESSIONAL
Confidentiality
In the case of organizations, they have the right to keep some
information confidential. This is required to survive in a
competitive environment.
Confidentiality of information is also essential and an absolute
need in some cases. A medical professional is given private
information by a patient with the tacit understanding that the
information so provided will be kept confidential. This is accepted
as a mandatory requirement of confidentiality worldwide.
Employees are bound by contractual obligations about
confidentiality, either explicitly mentioned or otherwise. Some
employers may include this as a part of the contract for
employment.
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
EMPLOYED PROFESSIONAL
Confidentiality
When an employee changes jobs, he has the moral obligations to keep
the information from the previous employer confidential.
As per ethical theories as well, confidentiality can be justified
as the employer has a right to keep information confidential for
business growth.
Confidentiality is not absolute; Information can shared if it is in
the interest of public good.
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
EMPLOYED PROFESSIONAL
Authority can be positional
Authority due to expertise is more valued
When you are employed in an organization, you are bound by the
rules, regulations, traditions, organizational structure, etc., of
the organization.
You are bound to obey orders issued to you and perform the duties
assigned. You have to report the results or difficulties to your
superiors.
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
EMPLOYED PROFESSIONAL
Respect for Authority
You have to respect both the authority of individuals and the
channels of communications laid down for you to communicate
vertically and laterally.
All this binding applies as long as the orders do not command you
to do something unethical or against your best professional
judgment. Respect for authority is, thus, not absolute and may not
cover all situations.
In ordinary situations, you may receive an order and act
accordingly. You may or may not make an independent judgment of
what that order means and whether it is ethical or not. Most of the
times you may not even consider how ethical a situation is.
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
EMPLOYED PROFESSIONAL
Respect for Authority
If there is a conflict between organizational requirement and what
you consider as ethical to do, then you have to go by your most
fundamental obligation of public safety. You must have the right to
show your dissent, vent your objections, and defy the authority if
required.
Public safety and welfare is a prime concern for a professional and
institutional authority should not come in the way of you ensuring
this main obligation.
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
PRIDE OF PROFESSION
You have to be committed to the profession.
This sense of commitment will enable you to work in a better way
and achieve the objectives of the profession, the most important of
which is public good.
You will be able to contribute to the development of the profession
if you have this kind of commitment.
The pride of the profession will give you the moral strength to
fight against acts that discredit the profession.
This sense of commitment will also enable you to be a useful member
of the professional body, contribute to the professional
development, and bring a better image to the profession.
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Your good professional judgment may be affected because you have a
personal interest in the issue and your sound and unbiased
professional judgment is important for the company you are working
for.
A professional should avoid situations where conflict of interest
arises.
The prime criteria will be whether your professional judgment is
affected because of such interest.
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
GIFTS & BRIBES
These terms are used to indicate a wide range of things from a
harmless small gift to bribery. In between is a grey area that is
difficult to judge.
A professional should not act against his/her professional
conscience or judgment.
He/She should avoid situations that have the potential to force
him/her to act against his/her judgment.
He/She should not accept any material gift of any value from
someone or some agency if he/she has to make a business decision
involving that person or agency
No guidelines can be laid down to clearly indicate the distinction
between a harmless gift and a bribe. A bribe, essentially has an
ulterior motive and is given with an expectation of return for the
material or service given. A professional has to develop his/her
own yardstick to decide on an acceptable form of gift in a given
context.
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OCCUPATIONAL CRIMES
takes the opportunity of using official information for personal
gains;
has knowledge that he/she provides to friends or relatives for
making profits;
uses such information and sells that information to others for
making profits and financial or other gains for oneself;
sells classified information for pecuniary benefits; and
performs some illegal acts for making profits.
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OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES
Industrial espionage like selling industrial secrets for pecuniary
gains
Tender manipulation through cartel – when bidders form a cartel to
manipulate prices
Endangering lives – Workers being put into situations that is
hazardous to their health
Insider trading
PROFESSIONAL RIGHTS
RIGHTS AS AN EMPLOYEE
You have a right to get a compensation package commensurate with
your qualifications, experience, and skills, as per industry norms
or standards. You have a right to get a compensation package
commensurate with your qualifications, experience, and skills, as
per industry norms or standards.
You have a right not to be discriminated against in the course of
your career, starting from recruitment to promotions and other
employee benefits.
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
PROFESSIONAL RIGHTS
RIGHTS AS AN EMPLOYEE
You also have rights conferred on you by the employment contract
like benefits that you may demand such as paid leave and travel
allowances.
You have the right to pursue some outside activities that do not
interfere with your work such as a hobby or other interests.
You have a right to be a member of an organization of employees for
collective bargaining for getting their just rights.
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
PROFESSIONAL RIGHTS
RIGHTS OF PROFESSIONALS
You have the right to pursue your profession in a free and fair
manner by freely expressing your professional judgment.
You have the right to perform your professional duties according to
your best professional judgment, without being coerced into
decisions.
You have the right of refusal, that is, the right to refuse to do
anything that is unprofessional or unethical.
Within the bounds of confidentiality, you have the right to talk
freely about professional matters.
You have the right to pursue your professional interests, such as
higher studies or research, without hampering your contractual
obligations.
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
PROFESSIONAL RIGHTS
RIGHTS OF PROFESSIONALS
You have the right to be a member of professional organizations
that promote the profession and take active part in activities
related to the profession.
You have the right to engage in activities that uphold your
professional responsibility of public safety and welfare despite
your loyalty to your employers.
You have the right for recognition of your professional services,
including adequate remuneration and other rewards.
You have the right to go public with unethical acts
(whistle-blowing).
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
WHISTLE BLOWING
DEFINITION
‘Disclosure of information about unethical acts in an organization
to an authority within or outside the organization that is capable
of taking steps to prevent such actions or punish those doing such
acts with the motive of ensuring public safety or upholding
morality.’
The whistle blower need not necessarily be an employee
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
WHISTLE BLOWING
Employee as Whistle Blower
As an employee you have to first explore the normal channels
available to you to prevent any unethical act. It is only when you
find that such efforts do not result in any action, that you have
the moral right to violate the normal channels of communication
within the organization.
Your loyalty (which is considered a responsibility) comes in the
way of your communication. So the matter that you choose to
disclose must be serious enough to bypass this responsibility. You
have to seriously consider and weigh your options and only when you
are satisfied that the matter is considerably important for public
safety or morality within the organization that you must choose to
blow the whistle.
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
WHISTLE BLOWERS PROTECTION ACT
KEY FEATURES
It will protect the whistle-blowers from any discrimination or
victimization in their workplace.
t provides for concealing the identity of a citizen who discloses
information about the misuse of power and money. Those who reveal
the identity of the whistleblower will be held liable and penalized
by the CVC.(central vigilance commission)
The offenders will be liable for imprisonment up to 3 years and a
fine up to `50,000.
There will be penalization in case of delays in response, under the
RTI Act. A fi ne of `250 will be imposed for every day of delay
beyond the set deadline.
There will be a penalization of officials who try to mislead the
CVC.
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
WHISTLE BLOWERS PROTECTION ACT
KEY FEATURES
The bill provides for addressing complaints against public sector
employees and employees of the central and the state
governments.
The bill also ensures the honest government officials are not
harassed in any way but those individuals who fi le false
complaints and charges will be liable for imprisonment up to 2
years and fine up to `30, 000. The public interest disclosure as
defined in the bill includes the following:
Any public servant or any other person including a non-governmental
organization (NGO) may make a public interest disclosure to a
competent authority (defined as the Central or State Vigilance
Commission).
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
WHISTLE BLOWERS PROTECTION ACT
KEY FEATURES
Disclosure is defined as any complaint made in writing or
electronic mail against a public servant on matters related
to
(a) Attempt to or commission of an offence under the Prevention of
Corruption Act 1988;
(b) Willful misuse of power that leads to demonstrable loss to the
government or gain to the public servant; or
(c) Attempt or commission of a criminal offence by a public
servant.
A public servant is any person who is an employee of the central
government or the state government or any company or society owned
or controlled by the central or state government. However, no
public interest disclosure shall be accepted against defense,
police, and intelligence personnel.
Each disclosure shall be accompanied by full particulars and
supporting documents. The vigilance commission shall not entertain
anonymous complaints.
© Oxford University Press 2013. All rights reserved.
DISCRIMINATION
Discrimination is considerations other than merit in recruitment,
promotion etc. This goes against the concept of equality.
Job discrimination is the most common as in recruitment
Gender discrimination is bias against women in all walks of
life
Cultural discrimination is based on language, religion, caste
etc.