Professional Ethics

&
Code of Conduct
 Definitions

• Ethics: The process of determining right and

wrong conduct. The discipline dealing with what is
good and bad and with moral duty and obligations
• Ethical Behaviour: Behaviour that conforms to
accepted standards of conduct.
• Unethical: An action or conduct which violates the
principles of one or more ethical systems, or
which is counter to an accepted ethical value,
such as honesty
• Professionalism: Conduct or qualities marking a
professional/qualified person
Defining Ethics
• Ethics is relevant to you in your everyday life
as at some point in your professional or
personal life you will have to deal with an
ethical question or problem, e.g. what is your
level of responsibility towards protecting
another person from threat, or whether or not
you should tell the truth in a particular
situation
 Professional Ethics

• Are principles that govern the behaviour of a

person or group in a business environment.
Like values.
• Professional ethics provide rules on how a
person should act towards other people and
institutions in such an environment.
 Engineering ethics
• Is the field of applied ethics which examines
and sets standards for engineers' obligations
to the public, their clients, employers and the
profession and is appropriate in all aspects of
professional practice