What Does Ethics Mean to You?
I think it is obvious that a professional is expected to behave ethically. In fact, the definition
of a “profession” adopted by Professions Australia opens with: “A profession is a disciplined
group of individuals who adhere to ethical standards...”
But what do we mean by “ethics”? There are many different definitions, perceptions and
opinions about ethics but I prefer the original concept. The father of philosophy, Socrates,
believed that it was summed up in a short question: “What ought one to do?”
Ethics, therefore, is simply how to decide what to do in any given situation.
The significance of this definition should not be underestimated. It poses two fundamental
challenges that many people struggle with:
1. Ethics requires a thinking process or a basis or a framework for an individual to make
decisions – and not everyone is willing to attempt to understand how they make
decisions.
2. Ethics is about action. It’s not the theory or the intentions that count, it is what is
actually done that matters – and not everyone is willing to be judged on their actions.
So this is a very difficult subject and how it is made visible in your business is a real
challenge. If you decide to lift the profile of ethical thinking in your business two options
are readily promoted:
a. Undertake an Ethics Course
This will be helpful if you and your team would like a better understanding of the many
different ethical frameworks that might be adopted (and there are plenty of them). This
could be especially useful if you and your team have different backgrounds and it appears
that people make decisions differently. However, on its own it won’t be sufficient because
ethics is about action.
b. Develop Your Own Code of Ethics
This will be helpful if you would like to differentiate the ethics of your business from your
competitors (or your clients’ expectations). This could be especially useful as a team
activity to collectively define your code. Again, however, it won’t be sufficient because
ethics is about action.
