Ethical Standards and Codes Defined

Ethical Standards and Codes Defined Ethical standards and codes of ethics can be defined as the common standards of practice within a profession. All professionals within the discipline can be said to agree upon the correct way of practicing their work and their dealings with other professionals as well as clients. According to Freeman, Engels & Altekruse (2004), codes of ethics represent both the highest and lowest standard of practice that is expected from a professional in any business.

Ethical standards in a profession can also be said to emerge from moral expectations as these have evolved over the time of the profession's existence. While ethical standards for a lawyer today is for example not necessarily quite the same as those of a century before, such standards evolve to suit the requirements of any given time in human history and society.

In addition to their nature as evolved from the requirements and norms associated with the profession from its existence over centuries, ethical standards also provide a guideline for present and future practice. This is particularly handy in cases where the obvious ethical principle is not obvious. In ethical dilemmas, for example, the ethical standards denoted for the profession can be consulted for guidance on how to resolve this.

In this way, ethical standards provide a business with guidance on dealing with clients, colleagues and society in a uniform way within the accepted norms of its profession. As such, ethical standards are the accepted moral expectations that are applicable to all decent and respected members of the profession. These standards are accepted not only within the profession, but generally within society as well (Freeman, Engels & Altekruse, 2004). Because ethical standards can be arbitrary and unclear, it is essential to substantiate it with duty.

If ethical dilemmas or unclarity arise, the professional can then consult the underlying theory for greater guidance in how to act in specific situations. Ethical codes may be based upon ancient codes that have evolved, as mentioned above, and current situations may be beyond the scope of the so evolved standards. This is why theory should always underscore practice in order to provide a sense of uniformity across the profession and even among the colleagues within a specific business. B.

The Impact of Societal Norms All businesses function within and serves a society during any given time in history. Since as early as Aristotle, and even earlier, ethical codes and standards have dictated not only business, but also society as a whole. Aristotle's concept of "the good life" provided a starting point for ethical codes during Ancient Greek times and afterwards. The first articulated codes of ethics were then created to apply to society as whole rather than just to business.

With the development of business practices, such codes of ethics also became necessary in this sector, and were intertwined with the ethics of conduct for society. A business that serves society must have standards of conduct that relate to that society and are acceptable within the social context. This is even so if the business does not particularly focus on social or humanitarian services. Two common ethical standards for businesses for example is providing customers with value for money and to create pleasant circumstances within which their employees can function.

If it becomes clear that a business is not following such basic standards, it is.