Saturday 28 January 2012

Personal Ethics vs Professional Ethics , Are they really different ?

Personal Ethics vs Professional Ethics , Are they really different ?

Today,  many  professionals believe that Personal Ethics and Professional ethics are different and a distinct approach is required for each of them when it comes to pragmatism  . The matter of fact is that both personal ethics and professional ethics have their distinct places in one’s life but they are deeply interrelated. Because Personal ethics come into existence in the very early phase of an individual’s  life  and essentially get governed by instinct  , this is crucial to understand  that  many of the major values  of Professional ethics  are the values that are inherited from Personal ethics .
         Personal ethics play a unique role in refining an individual’s character by making him/her mature enough to appreciate the alignment of the deeds with well established checklist of actions for their correctness .Personal ethics include the principles which are extremely crucial in driving a person’s social status . This status essentially decide about   how distinctly he/she is likely to be seen and respected in the society . Personal ethics have a broader vision and include key values such as  honesty  , benevolence, truthfulness,  politeness ,commitment  , trustworthiness and respect for people’s emotions . Personal  ethics ,  if followed in a disciplined way, rightly lay foundation stones for building honourable  professional ethics to which an individual gets linked at the beginning of professional career whether as a lawyer ,doctor ,engineer or teacher etc .
         Professional ethics relate more with inculcated values which influence the work ambience and include elements such as diligence,  dedication  , integrity , punctuality , loyalty  and respect towards the code of conduct of the organization for which anybody works . For example- In an industry , the breach of professional ethics especially in a manufacturing set up might even cost the industry , an employee’s  life  or legal penalty with a defamed brand image .If we study conceptually ,  then we can find that the vital common elements between personal ethics and professional ethics are  honesty ,accountability for actions and respect for people . Thus,  professional  ethics are cultivated by having a holistic approach towards one’s mindset &  behaviour , and for this needful approach personal ethics essentially pave the way forward .
        One of the few areas where both personal ethics and professional ethics are challenged sometimes is Work Life balance with time as a  constraint . Where professional ethics call for the duty to be performed diligently  & qualitatively , personal ethics  on the other hand may call for the required time to be given to family while respecting the emotions of the family members. The reinforcement  to the point of serious correlation between personal ethics and professional ethics in this regard is the fact that highly reputed companies all over the world respect the concept of Work Life balance at workplace. Especially when time is a constraint and duties are coincident  then , prioritization of duties giving due regard to both personal ethics and professional ethics is crucial in having the required duties done in the most ethical & satisfactory manner  .
     In conclusion , to have adorable professional ethics ,one must  also try to align his/her actions with  well  established  personal ethics, while laying stress on the point that the preached principles of life  are never bypassed .

Written by :

Devesh Sharma




 

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