Personal Values & Professional Ethics
[Pages:4]Ethics
)ersonal-alues
)rofessiohnicasl
TpoShasneooedoArtcehfvemiiorsFetfiho?eoteonyhcrpiCieaectorysdsaoe,tlPmn-.e,?a-.yrc?sahsFnwoueerglelebs(nrSteeseArcrasFSottveon)oa.stmibifnshdeCelcitrieoeatoihobnvaceltEnerdufolrvtwreetcehirthonshhdytiiitsnhacenjaeSoutssobtsucsifeeofpittfAcyemirseponenretil--py os
ofEthicCsh.angainpgrofesscioondo'esfcon- cifictoforestedrisff,icutoltinterpr(etspecitahlellyandethica),ndcounterpro-
ducmt igchatucsoensidecroanbtlreoversyd. uctivtoemotivateinthgicbael havi(oRradcli1ff9e98O). therwsillsuppothrte
Somweilsl upptohretcurrewnot rdianngd currenwtordinagndopposcehangSe.omme aywanwt hichevceordebetterre-
oppocsheanagned,othewrsilsl egereat flectstheirpersonvaal lues.
meriintthenewwordiRnegg. ardwlehsast, Toooftenit,seemfso,restaevrsoiaddiscussoifoenthicess, peciawlhlyeonne
weneedisa codethatarticulatethsecore ormorepartieasredogmataincd"knowt"heyarerightH. oweveert,hicisborn
professivoanlauleosfallforesteArfsir.st stepth,enis,distinguiosuhprinegrsonal
valufersomthecorvealuoefsforestry.
whewn erespotnodconfliacnt dconsternabtyiotrnyintgodevelopprocedures andstandafrodrsassesseitnhgicjauldgmenWtsh.enresolvitnhgeconflicittsis, importatnotdistingubisehtweepnersonvalueasndcorperofessiovnaaluleUs1. -
fimatdSy,AFneedtosidentitfhyecorperofessiorensapl onsibialintidedsearly
outlinteherulefsormeetintghosreesponsibilities.
ByKennethKipnisand
David B.South
This articleis intendedto help tion,requiretswodistinctivveirtuesa: Idahow, emaynevermeetanyonwe ho
memberdsiscuspsrofessioneathl icsby willingnestos entertainviewsin oppo- isfundamentaldlyifferentI.t canseem
clarifyinwghatisirrelevanatndwhatis sition to our own, and a commitment blesseidndeedto livein sucha place.
pertinento identifyingcoreforestry to try to formthe mostresponsible But eventhere, national ethical issues
ethicsW. e startby layingout some judgmenotnthemattear thand.
maynotbecoveredbytheprevailing
background.
localmoralityM. oralityt,hesetof be-
Ethics and Moralities
liefswegrewupwith,oftenfaltersIn
Absolutists and Relativists
In workingtowardanunderstand- thefaceof newandtroublingprofes-
Twocommonposturehsavetended ingofethicsit,isoftenhelpfutlobegin sionaldilemmasF. or exampleo, ur
to giveethicsa badnameA: bsolutism with morality.When we speakof teachersdid not cover the ethical com-
and Relativism. Absolutists believe moralityw, hatwehaveinmindispeo- plexitieosfpesct ontrolW. ethusenter
theyareinpossessioofnEternaMl oral ple'sbeliefsabouttheirobligations. ourprofessiownsithournativemoral-
Truth,universalblyindinguponevery- Most of uswere raisedin communities itiesasour originalbaggageIf. our
one. Ethical decisions are either black withonepredominanstetofideasa,nd professiognivesusnothingto supple-
orwhite,andallright-thinkinpgeople aswe maturewe typicallylearnthat ment these, our moralities often are
know the difference. On the other peoplefromotherbackgroundhsave insufficientot resolvceonflicot r help
hand,Relativisthsavenoticedmany differenitdeasabouthowtheyshould usdiscernthehonorablwe ay.
contradictorysetsof EternalMoral behave.
Even if we are convinced we are
Truths,all commandingequalcertainty (and all ethicaldecisionsare gray).If eithertheAbsolutistosr the Relativistwsereright,therewouldbe little pointin discussinegthicsT. he
Absolutist knows the answer in ad-
vance,andthe Relativistknowsthereis
Two problemstypicallyemerge rightandothersarewrongw, ecanstill whenweapplyournativemoralitietso tryto developanindependenstandissueinsprofessioneathl icsT.hefirstis pointfromwhichissuecsanbe dethe problemof disagreemenIt. is cidedW. henwestartryingrationally clearf,orexampleth, atsocietiedsiffer to decidewhoisright,lookingat the in their ideasabout how parents justificationfosrbothsidesw, eareinshoulddisciplinechildrenand how volvedin a procesosf self-reflection.
no answer.
children should respect parents. Ethicsisnothingmorethansystematic
It follows that two conditions must Samoamn oralityisdifferenftromthat criticalreflectionaboutour obliga-
bemetin orderto derivesomething found in Sweden. What do we do tionsA. ndprofessioneathl ics--infor-
from a genuineconversatioanbout whenthereis disagreemebnet tween estryf,or example--iswhatonegets
ethics.First, therecanbe no room for moralitiesIs?theotherculturealways whena professiolnearnsto carryon
dogmatismW.emusttryto haveopen wrong?Do they lack a developed suchadiscussioinnternally.
mindsandbewillingto changeour moral consciousness?
views if there are valid reasons for
Sometimewseavoiddisagreement Personal Values and Ethics
doingso.And secondw, e shouldnot byavoidingdiscussioBnu. tif wecon- Justaswebringamoralityintoour
besoopen-mindethdatourbrainsfall verse,we may discovedr eepdiffer- professions,oeachof ushasa setof
out.BetweetnhedogmatiAcbsolutist encesF.orexamplefo, restemrsayenter prioritizepdersonvaal luesV.aluesmay
andthecapriciouRselativisatreforest- ourfieldwithvariouspreprofessionabl ethoughotfasendpointsinexplana-
erswhoaspiretoresponsibilintyeth- moralitieasn, daccordingSlyA, Fmem- tionsof actions--anyaction,likeap-
icaljudgmentsP.robablmy ostforest- bersmay haveconflictingnotions plyinga silviculturatrleatmentO. ne
erswantto beableto givea goodac- aboutheprofessioonb'sligationIsf .all canaskJones",Whydidyouapplya
countof theiractionsM. anyforesters wehaveisourindividuaml oralitya, ll herbicide to this stand?"
"Well, I wanted to control the
weeds."
Ethical dilemmas involve
"Why did you want to control
weeds?"
hard choices that force us to
giveup somethingimportant.
Jonesanswers", To grow more wood."ForJonesg,rowingmorewood isoftena decisivreeasonforsuppressingcompetingvegetation.
NowJonesis asked", Why do you
will listento criticismsand ask,What
istherighthingforforestetrosdo?In productivdeiscussiownsithothersw, e
learn to take into account what we
wantto growmorewood?"
of us--as different as we are--are
At thispointJonesdoesn'ktnow
stuck.Our differingmoral beliefs whatto say."If youdon'tunderstand
probablcyannopt rovidea pluralistic whyI wantto increasweoodproduc-
professiownithanethicacl onsensus. tion,I can'texplainit to you."Jones's
haveoverlookeadndtodisregarwdhat Mattersmaybedifferentin small abilityto accounftor the actionhas has been shown to be irrelevant. homogeneocuosmmunitieIsn.aniso- reacheda limit. ForJonesg, rowing Ethics, asa form of human conversa- latedruralvillagein, sayA, labamoar more wood is an ultimate value. Now
July2000
explanationfosrincreasinwgoodproductionwill vary.Somemaywantto
increasperofitso;thersmaywanttosequestemr orecarbons;omemaywant
to meet the material needs of an in-
sonalor professionvaal lue?Morefa- beableto makeprogresisn working miliarto usareourpersonavlaluesA: outsoundprinciplefsorprofessional forestemr aypreferminticecreamto practice. pistachioP. lainlythe forestedr oesn't It isnotsomuchwhatoneperson
like mint ice cream as a forester: It is shouldcareabout, but ratherwhat the
creasinpgopulations; tillothersn, ot onlyapersonaplreference. caringaboutprofitsm, aywantto in- The forestemr ayalsoprefervalid creastehesupployfarenewabelenergy argumenttso invalidones,truth to sourceP.ersonvaal luevsary.
Wetrytodevelorpoutineasndskills
goodforestesrhouldcareaboutT. he purposeof settingdownSAF'score professionvaallueissto allowthatdis-
torealiztehegoodws ewantmoreofin
our livesand to avoid the evilsof which
Personal values are not relevant to
wewantlessW. hile somemaywork for world peace,othersmay seek wealthornotorietyA. t thislevel,what
issuesin professionael thics.
Is goodandbaddependos n personal
valuesC. ounselingand deliberation falsehoodc,larityto obscuritTy.hese, tinctionF. orthoseofusin forestryth, e
canhelpeachofusmakeauthentidce- howevear,renotmerepersonaplrefer- valuesarticulatedby Leopold(1949)
cisionsthat expressour mostpro- encesT.heyarepreferenctehsatevery andPinchot(1947), asimportantas
foundlycherishedvaluesW. e canre- goodphilosophesrhouldhave.Simi- theseprofessioncaol mmitmentasre,
flecton ourvaluesr,evisingandre- larly,a goodforesteor ughtto likeit maynonethelecsosnflictI.t isthebasic
orderingthem.
whenaforesitssavefdrombeingcon- ethicatlaskof theprofessiotno come
Personal values are not relevant to vertedtopasturelanadndoughtonot to a consensuson how theseand other
issueisn professioneatlhicsI.f wehave like it when cowsdestroynewly corevaluesshouldbe articulatedand,
to decide whether to use a certain plantedseedlingsF.oresterwshodo equalliymportanth,owtheyshouldbe
brandoftreepaint,it canhappenthat not careeitherway haveprobably prioritized.
choiceX mostperfectleyxpressoense made an error in career choice. The
EthicalfinesseB. ecauscehoosing
foresterp'sersonvaal luewshilechoicYe valuea foresterplaceson protecting amongconflictingcorevaluescanbe
mostperfectleyxpressaensother'Tsh: e soilandwaterqualityisnotjustaper- difficulat ndpainfuli,t isoftenuseful
"right"decisiofnoronemaybeatodds sonalvaluethe foresterhappensto to try to findwaysin whichtheissue
withthe"right"decisiofnortheother. haveI:t isa corevalueforthepractice canbe sidesteppeodr madeto go
If wetakethisviewpoinitn deciding of forestryW. henwetalkaboutcore awayO. ftenit ispossiblteoassembale
anyethicailssuewearemerelydeter- professionvaalluesw, espeakof pur- checklisotf strategiefosrevadingthe
miningwhichforesteirsgoingto be posesthat eachSAFmembershould hard choice. Is there an economical
happywiththeoutcomeIt.isoftendif- have in common with others. Core wayofcontrollinpgestws ithoutusing
ficultto accounftorpersonavlalues. valuems akeit possiblfeorSAFmem- effectivepesticidesE?thicalfinesse
Howcanoneforestedrefenda prefer- berstoreachagreemenotnsomeissues (Jameto1n984)letsusavoidhavingto
encefor yellowtreepaintwhenan- ofprofessioneatlhics.
giveup somethinpgreciouss,uchas
other likes blue?
integrityT.hereisnothingwrongwith
In reasoninagboutpersonavlalues ValueAnalysis
ethicaflinesseIn. deedi,t ishelpfutlo
we sometimesask, "What can I live
In dealingwithethicadl ilemmasa, havea checklisotfmaneuvefrosrget-
with?WhatdoI want?Whatisgoing helpfulstepisto do a valueanalysis. ting out of a dilemma.But profes-
to let me sleepat night?"But such Ethicadl ilemmacsharacteristicainll-y sionael thicsdoesn.otconsisetntirely
questionasrenot questionisn ethics. volve conflict between two or more of finesse. Sometimes hard choices
For all we know, there are murderers corevaluesT.heyinvolvehardchoices mustbemade,andSAFmayeventu-
who sleeplike babieseverynight, thatforceustogiveupsomethinimg - allyhavetodecidaebouat toughethi-
killerswhosewickeddeedsareperfect portant.In settingdownthevalues calquestion.
expressioonfstheirmostprofoundly thatareaffectedbydifferentchoices, Principleosfproj?ssioncaolnducInt.
cherishevdaluesY. etnearlyall of us wecanfocusattentionon theimpor- engagintgheethicaqluestio(nthehard
willagreethatthemurdereisr unethi- tantaspectosf eachoption.Though choicethatpersistasfterallotherpos-
cal,andthusan actioncanexpress wemayhavedifferentmoralitiesand siblesolutionshave been tried and have
deeplyheld,reflected-upopnersonal personavl alues,if we cansetthese failed),it is a goodideato think in
valuesandyetnotbeethical.
asideandconsideirnsteadonlywhat terms of rules. The result of a successful
goodforestersoughtto be caring conversationin professionaelthics
Core Professional Values
about(if SAFmembercsanagreeto oughto bemorethanmerelya deci-
Hereis a keyto the resolutionof restricdt iscussiojunstto thosecore sion made in the case at hand. If the
somecriticalissuesin professionalvaluesa, nythingelsebeingpersonal decisioinssoundandgroundeidn core
ethicsI:s thevaluein questiona per- rathetrhanprofessionathl)e, nwemay professionvaalluest,henit mightwell
Journaol f Forestry
bemadebyall SAFmemberusnder we considewr hatwouldhappenif Enlightenmehnatsoftenwaitedatthe
similar circumstances. It should be everyonwe ereto do thesameT. he endofdisagreemeCnot.nflictinpgost-
possiblteo stateanethicacl anon--a principleosf anySAFcode(and,in- tions should be set out and defended
rule--tellinpgrofessiofnoarlestehrsow deedi,n allcodesa)reintendetdogov- withgreact areA: llparticipansthsould
to act under those circumstances.
ernthe professionbael havioor f all be concerneednoughto statethem
Sucharulemightbeacandidaftoer SAFmemberFs.orexamplea,lthough preciselayndaspersuasivealsyposst-
inclusionin theCodeof Ethicsp, ro- it maynot discernibldyamagethe ble.Whereexactliysthepointof dis-
agreemenWt?hatkindofdisagreement
isit?Isit adisagreemeonvterpersonal
Codes are best thoughtof as living,
valuesor professionvaal luesW? hat
would convince us that one side was
evolvingdocuments.
correct?
Conclusion
A responsibplreofessiocnonstantly
vidingguidancfeorthewholefieldof professioifna singlemembetrakes debatetshedimensionosf itsprofes-
forestryA. codeofethicsgivesa mea- creditfor the work of another,a wide- sionarl esponsibilitTyh.e finalprod-
sureof protectionto professionalsspreadpracticwe ouldultimatelyde- uctisnot a documentto hangon a
whenclientsoremployerdsirecthem stroySAF'scredibilityT.herearetwo wallorshowtoCongresbsu, trathear
to actunethicallyIt. isonethingto centraql uestionhsere.First,whatare lively and enlighteningdialogue.
refusteocomplyforpersonarel asons, SAF'scoreprofessionraelsponsibili-Within a professione,thicsis best
quiteanothetro refusteo complyfor ties?And second,what are the rules thoughotfasacollectivuendertaking
reasonosfprofessioneathl icsA. strong that,if theywerehonoredw, oulden- bywhichpracticawl isdomis devel-
CodeofEthicswouldbeofgreavt alue ableSAFc, ollectivetloy,meethosere- opedandemployedIt.isasharecdrit-
to SAF(Arnold1976).
sponsibilities?
icalreflectioonnthecommonobliga-
Guardagainstot pichanginSgo. me- tionsasprofessionfaolrestersT.hts
AssessingPrinciples
timesquestionisn professioneatlhics procesisnowunderwayasSAFre-
It is difficult to setout cookbook in- gounanswerebdecausteheyarenot visesitsCodeof EthicsD. uringthis
structionfosrresolvinegthicadl ilem- clearlyaskedG. uardagainsut nwit- procesesa, chnewprinciplsehouldbe
masM. anyissuersequireustodecide tinglychangintghesubjectD. o not givena "valuaenalysitso"ensurt6hat
what responsibilitiaesprofessionaldriftintoa discussiofnpersonvaal l- it reflectascorevalueheldbyprofes-
should and should not assume. Some uesorchangtehetopictolawandin- sional foresters.
problemms aybetoocomplicatetod stitutionalreality--humanartifacts
yieldto a simplerule.Sometimeasll thatcanbecriticizeadndchanged. Literature Cited
that can be done is to list the consider-
ationsthatprofessionaslhsouldtake intoaccounwt,ithouitndicatinhgow theseshouldbeweighedagainsot ne
Considtehreroleofthepro?ssioTno.
be effective,the Code of Ethicsmust
be clear and understandable to forest-
ersA. lthoughit istruethatthemain
ARNOLDK, .R. 1976.Ethicsin SAF--NeededA: code
strongle, gala, ndenforceabJloeu. rnaolfForestry
74:179-81.
JAMETOAN. 1, 984.NursinpgracticTeh: eethicaisl sues EnglewoColdiffsN, J:PrenticHeall.
another. Professions have sometimes purposoefacodeispracticagluidance, LEOPOALD.1,949A. SandCouna{ylmanaNce. wYork
laboredcollectivefloyryearsb, othintellectuallyand politicallyw, orking
actiontsakenbytheSAFEthicsCommitteecanmakeaprofounddifference
OxfordUniversiPtyress. PINGHOGT.,1947.Breakinngewgroun?NewYork
HarcouBrtracJeovanovich.
throughan issue.Codesare best in thewaydilemmasin professionalRADCLIFSF.EJ1., 998C. orevaluese,thicsa,ndforestry
thoughtof asliving,evolvingdocu-
ments. Nevertheless,there are some
usefulstrategiefsor generatinagnd testingprinciples.
ethicsareresolveBd.uttobemeaning- In ForesftbryrumT:helandethic1,51-58B. ethesda,
ful,SAF'scanonsshouldbevigorously supporte(dArnold! 976;Stuar!t994).
MD: SocietoyfAmericaFnoresters. STUARET.,1994.Unethicaplrofessiobneahl avioIrn?
EthicisnJbresetrdy.L, .C.Irland4,17-24P. ortland,
In additionto rulingonspecifiecthics OR: Timber Press.
GeneralizIen. assessinagcodeof casesth, erearemanyotherwaysthat UNGESR.,H.1994C. ontrolltiencghnoloEgthyi:casndthe ethicsi,t isoftenhelpfulto consider SAFcouldfosteranatmosphecreon- responseinbgleineNee?wYorkJ:ohnWiley& Sons
howuniformcompliancweitha rule duciveto ethicalbehavior(Unger
mightchangaecceptepdracticeIst.is !994).ForexampleS,AFcouldestab-
commonplacien ethicsthat actions lishanawardforforestewrshoengage
takenonlybyasmalnl umbeor fpeo- in ethical behavior under difficult cir- KennethI?)onis (e-mail.'kkipnis@
plemayhaveconsequencqeusitedif- cumstances.
hawaiie.du)isproj?ssoDre, partmenotf
ferentfromthesameactionsdoneby NurturedisagreemeOnnte. doesnot PhilosophUy,niversitoyf Hawaii at
nearlyeveryoneW. hatnurseryman- win anargumenbtysilencinogppo- Manoa, Honolulu, HI96822; David B
agersdo maybe permissibeleven nentsT.hosewhodisagreweithuscan Southisproj?ssoSrc,hoolfForestarynd
thoughwewouldnevewr antforesters nearlyalwaytseachussomethinngew lgS'ldliJS?cienceAsu, burnUniverssty,
to actin thatsameway.In generalizing orremindusof somethinfgorgotten. Alabama.
14 July2000
................
................
In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.
To fulfill the demand for quickly locating and searching documents.
It is intelligent file search solution for home and business.
Related searches
- personal and professional values examples
- personal values vs professional values
- professional ethics and personal values
- personal code of ethics examples
- personal values and professional values
- values and ethics worksheets
- values and ethics handout
- personal codes of ethics examples
- personal code of ethics list
- professional ethics statement example
- professional ethics for social workers
- professional ethics and responsibilities