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NAF Professional Ethics

Lesson 2 Ethics and Professionalism

Teacher Resources

Resource Description

Teacher Resource 2.1 Presentation and Notes: Characteristics of a Professional (includes separate PowerPoint file)

Teacher Resource 2.2 Resource: Quotes on Integrity

Teacher Resource 2.3 Assessment Criteria: Ethical Codes

Teacher Resource 2.4 Key Vocabulary: Ethics and Professionalism

Teacher Resource 2.5 Bibliography: Ethics and Professionalism

Copyright © 2016 NAF. All rights reserved.

NAF Professional EthicsLesson 2 Ethics and Professionalism

Teacher Resource 2.1

Presentation Notes: Characteristics of a Professional

Before you show this presentation, use the text accompanying each slide to develop presentation notes. Writing the notes yourself enables you to approach the subject matter in a way that is comfortable to you and engaging for your students. Make this presentation as interactive as possible by stopping frequently to ask questions and encourage class discussion.

As you have learned, a person can behave in a professional way even if he or she is still in high school and doesn’t have a career yet. Some behaviors are professional, and some are not. We have been using the term professional as an adjective to describe characteristics.

When the term professional is used as a noun, it can have a related but different meaning. As you view this presentation, think about how the two uses of the word are alike and how they differ.

Presentation notes



A job is something you do to earn money. Occupation is another word for a job. A profession also involves doing work to earn money, but it is more than a job.

Professions require more education and training than jobs; usually you need a college degree to enter a profession. For instance, working the front desk of a hotel is a job that requires training; managing the hotel and all of its staff demands a higher level of education and training, such as a degree in business, hotel management, or both. There are formal professions—doctor, lawyer, engineer, for example. There are also informal professions, where the term can cover many different types of careers. An example of an informal profession is business. A person in business is a professional but could work in a wide range of industries and have different job titles.

A trade requires training and a specific skill set, as well. Examples of people who are in the trades include carpenters, electricians, computer techs, and hair dressers. The line between a trade and a profession is blurry, but one difference is that trades involve (1) working with your hands and (2) getting special training but not usually a college degree.

Your academy focuses on a particular career theme, or industry, and prepares you to enter a range of professions in that industry. It does so in part by preparing you for college.

Presentation notes



People in a profession also have specific expectations or standards that they are supposed to follow. Of course, every job has some expectations, but people in a profession follow standards that are beyond the basic requirements.

What does that look like in real life? Let’s take a doctor as an example. One standard for doctors to follow is to do their best to cure the sick. Other standards include promoting a healthy lifestyle for their patients, committing to lifelong learning (also known as professional development), and protecting patients’ privacy.

Members of a profession uphold standards because it is the right, or moral, thing to do. They abide by these standards even though they might benefit personally if they didn’t. For example, a doctor could get free samples for an expensive new drug. The makers of the drug might offer that doctor a kickback, or payment, if the doctor prescribes that drug to his or her patients. But if that drug is a lot more expensive than one that does the same thing, it would be morally wrong and against the standard of the medical profession to prescribe it. It is also immoral to enter into that kind of financial arrangement with a drug company, because it is not in the best interests of the patients the doctor serves.

Presentation notes



The element of trust is central to every profession. After all, you consult a professional because he or she has knowledge and skills that you don’t. You place your trust in a professional to give you the right information. The word fiduciary means involving trust. The professional has a fiduciary responsibility to the client or patient.

This trust is also why professions are, or tend to be, self-regulating. People outside the profession aren’t qualified to regulate professions because they don’t have the knowledge to do it. So as a matter of trust, society grants professional organizations the right to set standards of conduct and admission to the profession. Formal professions license those who may practice the craft, and practicing the craft without a license is sometimes considered illegal.

Presentation notes



What are your obligations as a professional? Let’s look at some examples.

#1 – Use good judgement in business decisions. Imagine you are the head of a technology company that has just created an exciting new app that everybody is talking about. If your app is that popular, teenagers and even younger children will want to try it out. If your app will produce any “mature” content, you need to think about how to make sure that content is not shared with young children. You might not be legally obligated to keep adult content away from little kids, but morally and ethically, it’s the right thing to do.

#2 – Follow the standards and moral obligations of the profession.

The American Marketing Association has established “ethical norms” that marketers should follow. One of these is Honesty. If you are a marketer working to promote a new hotel, it is important to be truthful in your ads. Don’t claim the hotel has beautiful waterfront views if it’s surrounded by office buildings.

#3 – Work together with colleagues. You might think of colleagues as people who work in the same organization, but in fact a colleague could be anyone who works in the same field. For example, medical researchers at different organizations might work together to discover a cure for a disease.

Honoring these obligations is part of behaving in a professional manner.

Presentation notes



Many professional organizations have an ethical code that reminds their members of some of the following:

• As a member of this profession, you have certain ethical obligations.

• Your customers or patients, your organization or employer, and society in general deserve your best efforts.

• You have a responsibility to think about the implications of your actions. They will have an effect on more than just your finances and the finances of the people you are serving.

In formal professions, you can get disbarred for unethical behavior. In informal professions, such as manager of a hospitality business or a software engineer, unethical behavior will ruin your reputation and you will probably be fired, and possibly arrested.

Presentation notes



A professional is competent. That is, professionals know what to do and how to do it; they are capable. If they mess up, they acknowledge it rather than blaming someone else, and they do what it takes to fix the problem. This means that a professional is accountable for his or her actions.

A professional is honest. Professionals can be counted on to tell the truth, even if it is unpleasant or not what a client or patient wants to hear—but professionals are also polite, respectful, and tactful.

Much of what defines a professional has to do with behavior and attitude when under pressure. After all, it’s easy to be pleasant and productive when things are going well. But every profession includes many difficult situations to navigate. The professional is equipped to handle them, in part through training and education, and of course experience. A very important quality for a professional is self-control. No matter how hectic or behind schedule or upset the client is, a professional keeps it together. It is one reason a professional is trustworthy.

Presentation notes



Of course, there are many people who work in a profession but do not behave professionally. There are many ways to be unprofessional. If you don’t uphold the standards set by your profession; if you don’t do your best for a colleague, client, or patient; if you treat people poorly, lie, cheat, steal, or break the law, then you are unprofessional.

At a less serious level, you can also be unprofessional if you come to work looking as if you haven’t changed your clothes in days. If you use slang in a situation that calls for formal manners, if you gossip about your colleagues or spend work time on personal projects, then you are being unprofessional. You have learned about these issues in your other NAF courses as well.

Presentation notes



Regardless of the industry, professionals are motivated to make a positive contribution to their field and to society as a whole. A hedge fund manager, a dentist, and a digital marketing analyst all want to meet or exceed the expectations of the people they serve. They strive to be valued members of their profession.

Ethics play a vital role in helping professionals to achieve these goals.

Presentation notes




Resource: Quotes on Integrity

“I cannot find language of sufficient energy to convey my sense of the sacredness of private integrity.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

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“The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.”

—Bob Marley

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“Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.”

—Oprah Winfrey

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“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.”

―Abraham Lincoln

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“I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.”

―Frederick Douglass

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“In a room where

people unanimously maintain

a conspiracy of silence,

one word of truth

sounds like a pistol shot.”

― Czesław Miłosz



“I would always encourage people of any age not to be so quick to follow other people’s truths but to search and follow your own moral code and live by your own integrity, and mostly just be brave.”

―Jewel

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“Integrity has no need of rules.”

―Albert Camus

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“Lead your life so you wouldn’t be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip.”

―Will Rogers

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We learned about honesty and integrity—that the truth matters ... that you don’t take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules ... and success doesn’t count unless you earn it fair and square.

—Michelle Obama




Assessment Criteria: Ethical CodesStudent Name:______________________________________________________________

Date:______________________________________________________________________

Using the following criteria, assess whether the student met each one.

Met Partially Met

Didn’t Meet

The code clearly identifies the responsibilities associated with this role. □ □ □The code provides a thorough description of the desired behaviors, attitudes, or beliefs of someone in this role who behaves ethically.

□ □ □

The code demonstrates an understanding of what it means to have integrity or to behave in an ethical manner while in this role.

□ □ □

The completed assignment is neat and uses proper spelling and grammar. □ □ □

Additional Comments:

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________




Key Vocabulary: Ethics and Professionalism

Term Definition

code A set of guidelines that describe acceptable behaviors and activities in a particular sphere; a set of rules and standards to follow.

competence Ability to do something well.

fiduciary Involving trust, especially in professional relationships.

implication A conclusion that can be drawn but not explicitly stated; a probable consequence; something that is suggested but not directly expressed.

integrity Uprightness of character; the quality of having strong moral principles and honesty.

obligation An act or series of actions that a person is morally bound to do. A commitment.

occupation Another word for a job, or work done in order to earn money.

profession A type of occupation requiring advanced education and training. The members of a profession adhere to agreed-upon standards of behavior and ethical codes.

professional code of ethics A set of guidelines describing how members of a particular profession will pursue their common ideal so that each does his or her best to serve clients or patients, contribute to the good reputation of the field, and avoid pressures to engage in unethical behavior.

professional development Taking courses, attending seminars, or taking advantage of other educational opportunities to keep professional skills current or to improve them. For example, teachers complete professional development to learn new skills to bring to the classroom.

professionalism The skills, traits, and competencies expected of someone practicing a profession.

standard Expectation for behavior; an idea or guide to measure against; principles of conduct informed by concepts of honor and decency.



Term Definition

trade A type of job or occupation requiring special training and skills but not usually a college degree; involves working with one’s hands. Examples: electrician, beautician, computer technician, X-ray technician.




Bibliography: Ethics and ProfessionalismThe following sources were used in the preparation of this lesson and may be useful for your reference or as classroom resources. We check and update the URLs annually to ensure that they continue to be useful.

Online“Professionalism: Developing This Vital Characteristic.” MindTools, https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/professionalism.htm (accessed February 9, 2016).

“Statement of Ethics.” American Marketing Association, https://www.ama.org/AboutAMA/Pages/Statement-of-Ethics.aspx (accessed February 9, 2016).

Weil, Vivian. “Professional Ethics.” Illinois Institute of Technology, http://ethics.iit.edu/teaching/professional-ethics (accessed February 9, 2016).


http://ethics.iit.edu/teaching/professional-ethics

https://www.ama.org/AboutAMA/Pages/Statement-of-Ethics.aspx

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/professionalism.htm

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