Lecture 2

Ethics and the Profession

Learning Objectives:

After the completion of the chapter, the students will be able to:

• identify the ethical issues that influence professional decision making;

• analyze global computing issues that influence professional decision making;
• describe the mechanisms that typically exist for day-to-day ethical decision
making;
• identify the progressive stages in whistle-blowing incident; and
• specify the strengths and weaknesses of relevant professional codes as
expressions of professionalism and guides to decision making.

Profession

What is a profession? It is a trade, a business, or an occupation of which one

professes to have extensive knowledge acquired through long years of experience and
formal education and the autonomy of and responsibility to make independent
decisions in carrying out the duties of the profession. To profess is to make a public
declaration, a claim of something. In the case of a professional, that something is
knowledge in the knowledge domain of that which makes up that occupation or trade.
Webster’s dictionary similarly defines profession as “a: a calling requiring specialized
knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation b: a principal calling,
vocation, or employment c: the whole body of persons engaged in a calling”. Well-
known professions are law, medicine, and engineering.

In our study of professions and the people who profess the deep knowledge of the
profession, we focus on four themes: (1) evolution of professions, (2) the making of an
ethical professional, (3) the professional decision-making process, and (4)
professionalism and ethical responsibilities. These four themes cover all the activities
of a professional life. First, we look at the beginnings of professions, describe the
characteristics of professionals, and discuss how these characteristics are supported
by commitment, integrity, responsibility, and accountability. We then describe the ways
professionals are made through both formal education and informal unstructured in-
service. When professionals enter the workforce, their duties involve decision making.
We therefore look at the process of decision making, the problems involved, and the
guilt felt about what are perceived as wrong decisions and how to avoid them.
Professionals in their working environment encounter problems everyday that require
them to check in with their moral code. We focus on professionalism and ethical
responsibilities as one of those areas that requires continual consultation with
individual morality and discuss how these affect professions.

Evolution of Professions

Origins of Professions

The concept of a profession is actually not new; however, the word profession today
carries a far different connotation than it did during the Middle Ages. According to the
Code of Ethics in the Professions, the word profession referred to a commitment
formally professed by a person to become a member of a religious order, and a
professional was the person who has professed the commitment. By the sixteenth
century, a profession was a commitment to “learned pursuits (divinity law, medicine
and the military), being an authority on a body of knowledge, belonging to an
occupation, being skilled or being a fractioned, not an amateur.” And by the nineteenth
century, more new professions had come into existence.

Sizer states that professions started in medieval times with the craftsmen’s guild and
in inns. These guilds were responsible for apprenticeship standards, competence, and
performance of their members. Little distinction was made between manual labor and
intellectual groups. But as small intellectual groups developed like those of clerics, the
first requirements of achievements and maintenance of professional criteria started to
emerge. The emphasis on intellectual capabilities for membership in a group became
increasingly important as time passed. Sizer states that professions in eighteenth-
century were regarded a “occupations for the ‘gentlemen,’ offering a safe social niche
but not large material rewards.” The Industrial Revolution is credited with establishing
professions in engineering, accounting, and banking. Over the years, however,
material rewards for being a professional have increased, and a set of requirements
has evolved.

Over the years, the term profession and its requirements for membership evolved into
two categories: the learned professions, which required individuals with a deep
knowledge of the profession acquired through years of formal education, and common
professions, which required the individuals to be noblemen who in theory did not really
need to work for a living: They were liberated from the need to work, but ought to learn
the profession anyway. The first liberal profession was the military career. When the
life of nobility became less influential, especially after the revolution, the common
distinction of professions came to be known as trades, probably as we know them
today. However, trades, as today, still required one to hold a higher ethical standard.

Requirements of a Professional

There are three basic professional requirements, and over the years as the professions
evolved, these three elements have taken different forms. They are as follows:

1. A set of highly developed skills and deep knowledge of the domain. Although
professional skills are developed through long years of experience, such skills
must be backed up by a very well-developed knowledge base acquired through
long years of formal schooling. Acquiring a sophisticated level of knowledge is
crucial because skills based on shallow knowledge of the domain could be
damaging to the profession in cases involving decisions that require
understanding, analysis, and adoption of concepts to suit the environment or
the problem. This requirement alone is enough to differentiate between
professionals and skilled laborers who acquire considerable skills from long
years of working in the same domain such as auto mechanics and landscape
designers.
2. Autonomy. Because professionals provide either products or services, there is
always a relationship between the provider of the service and the receiver of
the service or the provider of the product and the receiver of the product. In this
relationship, we are concerned with the power balance. In the case of a
professional, the power is in favor of the professional. Take the relationship
between a lawyer and a client or a physician and a patient, for example. In
either case, there is a power play in favor of the provider of the service. If we
consider the example of an auto mechanic, however, there is also a power play
in the equation, but this time the power is in favor of the customer, not the
provider of the service. There are also marked differences in the way the
service is provided by professionals and nonprofessionals. In the case of a
professional, there is more room to vary the way a service or a product is
provided without consulting the receiver of the service or the product, meaning
that professionals have autonomy to vary the way the service is provided
without asking the receiver for confirmation or consent. However, in the case
of nonprofessionals, the provider of the service cannot vary the way the service
is to be delivered without checking with the customer. For example, when you
take a car for repair, the mechanic cannot vary from what you agreed on without
formally asking you.
 3. Observance of a code of conduct. A working professional usually observes
these four types of codes:
• The professional code: A set of guidelines provided to the professional
by the profession spelling out what a professional ought to do and not
do. A professional code protects both the image of the profession and
that of the individual members. Thus, it is a requirement for the
profession that members adhere to the code.
• A personal code: A set of individual moral guidelines on which
professionals operate. In many ways, these guidelines are acquired by
professionals from the cultural environment in which they grow up or
live in and the religious beliefs they may practice. Whatever the case, a
personal code supplements the professional code significantly.
• The institutional code: A code imposed by the institution for which the
professional is working. This code is meant to build and maintain the
public’s confidence in the institution and its employees.
• The community code: A community standard code developed over a
period of time based on either the religion or culture of the indigenous
people in the area. It may be imposed by law or the culture of the
community in which the professional works.

The interaction between the four codes can be explained as follows: Consider each
code as a circle inside another circle with the community code at the center of these
concentric circles. Outside the community code is the institutional code enclosed by
the personal code, which is enclosed by the professional code (Figure 2.1)

Figure 2.1 Codes Governing Human Actions

Any action performed by a professional working at a local institution is contained in the
outermost circle. Therefore, for such action to be ethical, moral, and legal, it must be
in conformity with all the codes and intersect all codes.

Let us consider an example, suppose a physician is working in a community hospital

where the hospital and the community do not support euthanasia. If the doctor is asked
by his or her patients to assist them in taking their own life, the doctor must examine
all four codes before coming to a decision. First, the professional code may not support
euthanasia whether his or her individual moral code does or does not. Because the
institutional, community, and the professional codes do not support euthanasia, the
doctor may not find it in his or her best interest to grant the patients their wishes even
if he or she agrees with the patient. The requirement that any action taken by a
professional must fall within the intersection of the four sets of codes may present
moral dilemmas for the professional in the decision-making process and consequently
tarnish the professionalism of the individual.

Pillars of Professionalism

Professionalism is supported by four pillars: commitment, integrity, responsibility, and

accountability.

Commitment

Commitment, according to Humphreys, has these six characteristics:

1. The person making the commitment must do so willingly without pressure. The
person executing the commitment must like what he or she is doing. If
commitments are in the form of assignments with little autonomy, it is more
likely the commitment may not be there.
2. The person responsible must try to meet the commitment, even if help is
needed. Because commitments are not assignments, the person who has
made the commitment is assumed to have the know-how, the autonomy to vary
steps, and the skills to do the job. Professionals possess these characteristics,
plus they have the ability to seek the necessary skills from others to circumvent
obstacles that may arise, so more commitment is expected of them.
3. There must be agreement on what is to be done, by whom, and when.
Professionals entering into a commitment must have advance knowledge of
what is to be done and who is likely to do what part. Entering into a commitment
without adequate advance knowledge is highly unprofessional. When the work
 is divided among other professionals, they themselves must make the same
commitment for their respective parts and, in this case, commitment for those
smaller parts is as important as the commitment for the whole job. If the smaller
parts are assigned to nonprofessionals, they are considered assignments, and
the commitment must lie with the professional assigning the parts. Such
commitment is carried out through supervision of the nonprofessional members
of the team.
4. The commitment must be openly and publicly stated. Open commitments are
transparent and easily correctable if there are problems. Professional
commitments must fall within the allocated resources of time, material, and
money. If a commitment is public, there are more chances that most of the
sourcing, acquisition, distribution, and use of the resources will be transparent,
and thus, the job is likely to be done more smoothly.
5. The commitment must not be made easily. Before entering into a commitment,
professionals should do research to make sure that what they are entering into
is not a Trojan horse (something or someone intended to defeat or subvert from
within).
6. Prior to the committed date, if it is clear, it cannot be met, advance notice must
be given, and a new commitment negotiated. It is a sign of responsibility and
commitment to have the courage to tell others of shortfalls in parts of the
agreement, so if there is anything to be done to meet the deadlines, it is done
without hostility.

Integrity

Integrity means a state of undivided loyalty to self-belief. It is honesty, uncompromising

self-value, and incorruptible. The word integrity comes from the Latin word integratas,
which means entire, undivided, or whole. To stay undivided in one’s beliefs
professionally requires three maxims of integrity, namely, vision, love of what one is
doing, and commitment to what one has to do.

✓ Vision. Having vision is the capacity to anticipate and make a plan of action
that will circumvent obstacles and maximize benefits. Vision is a sign of good
leadership, and professionals who have the initiative, the autonomy, and the
authority in the provider–client relationship exemplify leadership.
✓ Love. Numerous studies have shown that people who love what they do, do it
better than those who do it because they have to. In school, children who have
a love for a subject perform far better than those who do it because it is a
 requirement. When people choose professions, they should do so because
they have a love for the work. The amount of love put in helps maintain morality
in one’s actions because what is being done is no a longer chore but a creation,
and we all know people love their own creations.
✓ Commitment. The vision and love applied to the work bonds the individual to
whatever he or she is doing until it is done.

Responsibility

Responsibility deals with roles, tasks, and actions and their ensuing consequences.
For example, as parents, we have an obligation and a duty to bring up our offspring.
That is parental responsibility. But responsibility also depends on a person’s value
system, which is based on his or her environment and culture. There are various types
of responsibilities, including personal, communal, parental, and professional, and
these responsibilities vary depending on the age of the individual and his or her
position in society. For example, the responsibilities of a 5-year-old are far different
from those of a 40-year-old. Clearly, the responsibilities of a politician are different from
those of a janitor. When individuals choose a lifestyle implied in a career or a vocation,
they choose and must accept the package of responsibilities that go with that lifestyle.

Responsibilities of a Professional as a Provider. A professional in either a provider–

client or provider–customer relationship plays the role of provider of either a service or
a product. This relationship, as we pointed out earlier, is a contract between the two
parties. The relationship consists of three major types of responsibilities: service,
product, and consequential.

Service Responsibilities. In order for a professional to provide a service to a client,

there must be a contract binding the professional and the client. In this contract, as in
any other contract, the professional has specific responsibilities regarding the time of
delivery of the service, the quality of the service, and the consequences after the
service has been rendered. For example, in the time-constraint responsibility, the
service must be rendered within an agreed time frame; if not, a new time must be
negotiated. In the quality of service responsibility, the service must meet its desired
goal as far as the client is concerned, and it must have the expected value. The
consequence responsibility involves the safety of the client from harm, both physical
and financial, after receiving the service. The provider must take all these
responsibilities seriously.
Product Responsibilities. If the contract between the provider and the client involves a
product, the provider has the responsibility to deliver the product agreed upon on time,
in good shape and of quality, and to provide documentation for safe use of the product.
The provider of the product is responsible for all liabilities that might arise as a result
of use of the product. In liability cases, the provider responsibility depends on the
contract and the degree of harm.

Consequential Responsibilities. In one television medical drama episode, an operating

room scene showed a female doctor dancing to a reggae tune while operating on a
patient and unknowingly sewing the patient up with a surgical metal clip still in the
patient’s chest. In the next scene, the patient has died, and the autopsy shows the
metal clip is still in his chest. Before the results of the autopsy, the doctor remembers
her error and naturally becomes remorseful, not knowing whether to tell the family right
away or wait until the medical report is issued. She knows full well that whatever the
case, the family is going to sue her and the hospital, and probably her job at that
hospital and her medical career are over. There is regret on the part of the doctor and
anger on the part of the patient’s family, all because one person did not fulfill her
responsibilities.

Regret and anger are aftereffects of an action gone wrong, in this case a professional
service. Whether a professional has provided a service or a product, there are always
aftereffects of that action. Oftentimes, one is praised for a service well done and the
best product ever provided, but there are also times when one is regretful because a
service did not produce what it was intended to or a product did not live up to
expectations. In the worst-case scenario, the service or product may cause physical
or financial harm to the client. In such cases, one expects liabilities for the service or
product, and the professional must accept those consequential responsibilities. In the
case of the doctor, the service she provided fell short of what was expected, and she
had to face the consequential responsibilities of her actions, which at times not only
include the parties involved but may also involve innocent bystanders.

Accountability

One way we can define accountability is the obligation to answer for the execution of
one’s assigned responsibilities. This process involves a cycle of setting measurable
outcomes and achievable goals, planning what needs to be done to meet those goals,
reporting progress toward goals, evaluating the reports, and using that feedback to
make improvements. Accountability involves these three key elements:
 1. A set of outcome measures that reliably and objectively evaluate performance:
In every profession, there is a minimum set of measures that every individual
in that profession must meet. This set must be carefully selected, and those
measures must be attainable. However, these measures vary according to the
profession and the individual activity to be performed by the professional. For
example, in the teaching profession, one of the measures might be the success
rate of students when they take standardized examinations.
2. A set of performance standards defined in terms of these outcome measures:
Like outcome measures, performance standards must be carefully chosen and
attainable. These standards are also very dependent on the profession, but
each profession must have a set of common performance standards for all its
members for every type of service or product provided by that profession. For
the teaching profession, the standard of output measures may be the passing
of standardized examinations at a certain predetermined level. In the law
profession, it might be the ability of a judgment to stand on subsequent appeals.
Whatever standard measure is chosen, it must be plausible and measurable.
3. A set of incentives for meeting the standards and/or penalties for failing to meet
them: The incentives chosen must be good enough so as not to create
undesirable motives. For example, if the incentives are too good, they may
force professionals to put the interest of their customers and clients below the
interest of attaining the measures. If the incentives are monetary, they may
force professionals to put the interest of making money ahead of the services
they are supposed to offer. Similarly, the penalties prescribed must not be so
harsh that they drive away those who intend to enter the profession. Harsh
penalties also tend to make people in the wrong hide their actions and dig in
deeper for fear of being discovered.

The Making of an Ethical Professional: Education and Licensing

In our discussion of the evolution of the professions, we have noticed the never-ending
requirements of an individual seeking membership in the chosen profession or trade
either to have a deep knowledge of the profession acquired through formal education
or to be intrinsically of a gentleman’s calling, willing to hold a higher ethical standard.
In order to continue to uphold these essential requirements in both professions and
trades, let us now discuss three items that encourage, maintain, and improve that
higher ethical standard. These are as follows: formal education, licensing, and
professional codes of conduct. Professionals must follow a specific process to meet
and maintain those professional requirements.
Formal Education

For formal education to be effective in teaching and enforcing the pillars of

professionalism, it must be targeted and incremental. Let us walk through the making
of an information technology professional as an example. In elementary school, as
students are introduced to information technology, they should be told not to use
machines to destroy other people’s property or to hurt others. But these cautions
should be explained in an age-appropriate way. For example, children should be taught
responsible ways of using computers and the Internet.

They should be told not to visit certain Web pages, to avoid getting involved in
relationships online, not to give personal and family information online, and not to
arrange for a rendezvous on or off-line. In addition, they should be told to respect
others’ work and property, whether they are online or off. There are already reported
cases of children as young as 14 years old breaking into computer systems and
destroying records. In fact, many of the computer network attacks, and a good number
of the headline-making incidents, have been perpetuated by young people, sometimes
as young as 10 years old. For example, in a certain county, several ninth graders broke
into their school computer system and infected it with a virus that wiped out most of
the school records. It is believed the students got the virus off the Internet. The content
of what is taught must be relevant and sensitive to different age groups and
professionals.

As students go through high school, content should become progressively more

sophisticated. The message on responsible use of computers should be stressed
more. The teen years are years of curiosity and discovery, and a lot of young people
find themselves spending long hours on computers and other online devices. Those
long hours should be spent responsibly. While a good portion of the message should
come from parents, schools should also be part of this partnership by offering courses
in responsible use of computers. The teaching could focus on ethics; students should
be given reasons why they cannot create and distribute viruses, download copyrighted
materials off the Internet, and use the Internet to send bad messages to others. These
are ethical reasons that go beyond “do it and you will be expelled from school” type of
threats.

In college, of course, the message is more direct. There are several approaches to
bring the message across:
 1. Students take formal courses in professional ethics in a number of professional
programs in their respective colleges.
2. Without taking formal courses in their curriculum, students are taught a good
amount of the information ethics sprinkled throughout their courses, either in
general education or in their major.
3. Using a capstone course in the general education requirements and in that
course adds information ethics content. Many colleges now require computer
literacy as a graduation requirement. Use that course to add ethics content.
4. Require an exit information ethics course which can be taken online.

Once they join the workplace environment, these professionals should be required to
attend informal refresher sessions, seminars, and in-service workshops periodically.

Licensing Authorities

Licensing grants individuals formal or legal permission to practice their profession,

which tips the balance of power in the giver–receiver equation in favor of the giver.
Before a license is issued, certain formalities must be taken care of, for example,
testing the competence of the aspirant for the specific knowledge and skills required.
If such a test is not passed, the licensing authority may deny issuing the license.
Besides testing for competence, the licensing authority also provides the licensee with
a set of rules to follow to keep the license. If the rules are violated, the authority may
have the prerogative of either sanctioning the licensee or recalling the license. Clearly,
a license is a privilege not a right, and if licensees want to maintain that right, they must
follow the prescribed code. Licenses can be (and have been) used as both control and
educating instruments to enforce rules, laws, and certain group or society norms.

Many professions license members and most of these professions require the potential
licensee to take and pass examinations that sometimes test both knowledge and skills.
Many professions, in order to keep members updated and compliant with their codes,
limit the validity of their licenses to specific time periods so members have to renew
their licenses. They then tie license renewal to passing of continuing examinations,
which helps ensure that members stay knowledgeable in the profession. Professions
also use periodic licensing examinations to check on members’ compliance with
codes. If members have in the past violated a code and been reported, such members
may not have their licenses renewed even if they pass all examinations.

It is quite evident that in those professions with no licensing requirements, discipline

has been and continues to be a problem, whereas in those maintaining vigorous
licensing requirements, relatively few disciplinary problems have emerged. Because
every profession strives for a good image, many legitimate professions require
licensing for membership. Licensing enables professions to enforce their rules by law.
For example, physicians can lose their license to practice if they do anything unlawful
or unethical. Once such a license is withdrawn, a physician cannot practice medicine.
Although there are many professions with licensing requirements but with no
enforcement mechanism, an increasing number of professions are opting to require
enforceable licensing to keep their image undamaged.

Professional Codes of Conduct

The primary purpose of professional codes of conduct is to promote the public image
of the profession by specifying and enforcing the ethical behavior expected from its
members. Accordingly, and in most cases, professional codes consist of standards,
norms, and rules of conduct that address the following areas:

• Moral and legal standards

• Professional–client relationship
• Client advocacy
• Professional–public relationships
• Sanction mechanics
• Confidentiality
• Assessment
• Compliance
• Competence
• Certified professional credentials for those professions that use certification

In order for professional codes of conduct to be effective, a profession must institute a

system of enforcement, reporting, hearing procedures, sanctions, and appeals. Codes
without such systems in place are completely ineffective.

Enforcement

Experience and studies have shown that professions with enforceable codes have
fewer discipline problems among their members than those with no codes or those
with codes but without enforcement mechanisms. Those professions with fewer
disciplinary problems naturally have better images. Because the purpose of codes for
any profession is to create and maintain a good image, those professions without
codes should come up not only with codes, norms, and guidelines but also with
enforcement mechanisms, and those with codes but with no enforcement system
should add them. It is common knowledge that laws, codes, norms, and/or guidelines
are not obeyed until and unless some type of enforcement machinery is in place. There
are various techniques of enforcement, most of them with no civil authority. The most
widely used are professional ethics boards, standing committees, or review boards
charged with the following:

• Drawing up the codes of ethics for the profession if none exist

• Revising codes if and when necessary
• Conducting education campaigns at the membership level
• Distributing copies of the codes to every member
• Developing disciplinary procedures
• Receiving complaints, conducting hearings, counseling members, and
sanctioning members found guilty
• Promoting the image of the profession

Reporting of Grievances

There are two main reporting procedures. The first is the typical organizational route
in which a complaint is reported first to the local chapters if it exists. The complaint
then makes its way to the top, usually to the national ethics committee. The second is
the short-circuit procedure in which reporting can be done at any level, and then from
there a complaint is forwarded all the way to the top. Professions may vary these two
types of reporting mainly in the area of who is supposed to report a professional in
violation. In some professions, the reporting must be done by a member of the
profession in good standing and nobody else. This means that concerned members of
the public must report their complaint to a member of the profession, who then forwards
the complaints to the committee. In other professions, any member of the public can
initiate a complaint with the local professional board. Whichever way the reporting of a
complaint is done, there should be a way to inform members of the profession and the
public on the procedures of reporting and who can and cannot file a complaint, and
there must be established channels of communication.

Hearing Procedures

Hearing proceedings are difficult to generalize about because of the many factors the
hearing depends on, for example, the nature, the financial standing, and the structure
of the profession; the kind of enforcement procedures being used; and the penalty to
be imposed. If there is no enforcement procedure or if the penalty is not significant, the
accused member may not even appear for the scheduled hearing. Professions should
consider all these factors when drawing up the hearing procedures. For example,
hearings should be held at the profession’s nearest field office to save members from
traveling long distances. If there is no field office, arrangements should be made to find
a location convenient to both the accused and the hearing committee members, and
the hearing process itself should be short if possible.

Sanctions

If a hearing committee decides that a member is guilty of the offenses charged, then
the committee must come up with sanctions to fit the violations committed by the
member. The committee may decide to recommend any one or a combination of the
following: probation, revocation of certification, request for resignation, and suspension
from the profession at the member’s expense. If a probation option is taken, the
committee must clearly specify the nature, duration, and conditions of the probation.
Also, there must be a person to whom the professional is to report for all requirements
of the probation including supervision. After the sanctioned member fulfills the
requirements of the penalty, a recommendation can be made to reinstate the member
in good standing.

Appeals

A profession must have an appeal process on the books for the sanctioned
professional who is not satisfied with either the ruling of the committee or the penalty
imposed. Such guidelines should state clearly the procedure for appeals, how the
appeal instrument is to be handled, who deals with the appeals, and the maximum
amount of time an individual has between the time he or she receives a judgment and
the filling of the appeal. The time allotted for a judgment on the appeal should also be
stipulated. The profession must also state whether an appealing member should
remain executing his or her duties or be prohibited from doing so until the appeal is
complete. In certain professions, appealing members are either put on administrative
leave, suspended, or allowed to carry on with their duties pending the decision of the
appeal.

Professional Decision Making and Ethics

Now, we come to our third theme on professionalism and ethics: the process of
professional decision making. Here, we focus on professional dilemmas and guilt
associated with decision making.
Professional Dilemma in Decision Making

Dilemmas in decision making are quite common in the everyday activities of a

professional. The process of decision making resembles a mapping with input
parameters and an output decision. The input parameters in the decision-making
process are premises. To each premise is an attached value. The mapping uses these
values along with the premises to create an output, which is the decision. For example,
if I have to make the decision whether to walk to church or take the car, the set of
premises might include, among others, time, parking, safety, and gas. The values
attached to these premises are that if I go by car, I save time, I need a parking space,
walking is good exercise, and I need money to buy gas. If I decide to walk, my decision
might be based on a set of premises including health and money to which I may attach
the following values: Walking to church 1 day a month is good exercise, and it saves
me money for gas. The mapping function takes these premises together with the
values and outputs a logical decision. This mapping function is similar to the one we
used in the ethics definition. Dilemmas in decision making are caused by questioning
the values attached to one’s premises as inputs to the decision being made. One’s
input values may be clouded by conflicting codes of conduct, advances in technology,
and/or incomplete or misleading information.

Advances in Technology

Dilemmas in decision making may also be caused by advances in technology.

Computer technology in particular has created more muddles in the decision-making
process than any other technology. Advances in computer technology create a
multitude of possibilities that never existed before.

Incomplete or Misleading Information

Not having all the information, one needs before making a decision can be problematic.
Consider the famous prisoners’ dilemma. Two people are caught committing a crime,
and they are taken to different interrogation rooms before they have a chance to
coordinate their stories. During the interrogation, each prisoner is told that the other
prisoner has agreed to plead guilty on all charges. Authorities inform the prisoner that
agreeing to plead guilty on the charges as the other prisoner has done will bring him
or her a reduced sentence. But rejecting the plea will of course mean that the accused
is not cooperating with the investigation, which may result in he or she receiving the
maximum punishment allowable. Each prisoner has four recourses:
 • Plead guilty without the friend pleading guilty, which would mean deserting a
friend
• Refuse to plead guilty and the friend pleads guilty, which would mean betrayal
and probably a maximum sentence
• Plead guilty and the friend pleads guilty, which means light sentences for both
of them
• Both refusing to plead guilty and probably both receiving a light sentence or a
maximum sentence

Whatever option the prisoners take is risky because they do not have enough
information to enable them to make a wise decision. There are similar situations in
professional life when a decision has to be made without enough information available
and within time constraints. In such a situation, the professional must take extra care
to weigh all possibilities in the input set of premises and their corresponding values.

Taking all these into account and using the ethical framework we developed can help
the professional in making decisions that are just, fair, and plain ethical.

Guilt and Making Ethical Decisions

In an ethical decision-making process, decisions are made based on, and reflect,
consequences, individual liberties, and justice. To achieve this, individuals can use any
other ethical theories to frame or make ethical choices that reflect the selected criteria.
However, whatever theory used, the outcome falls into one of the following three
criteria:

• Utilitarian criterion —where decisions are made solely on the basis of their
intended outcomes or consequences.
• Rights criterion—where decisions are made based on the set of liberties the
society enforces such as the Magna Carta.
• Justice criterion—which reflect justice. Decisions are made so that they are fair,
impartial, and equitable to all.

Guilt is our natural internal judgment system, punishing ourselves based on our moral
standards or the group’s standards. So, guilt therefore, plays a crucial part in ethical
decision making. In the decision-making process, guilt normally sets in right after the
decision or a choice is made. And because guilt stays with the individual over a period
of time, sometimes becoming cumulative, as we pointed out earlier, it may affect that
individual’s future decisions. Its effects on future decision-making processes center
round new values being attached to the premises of the input set to the decision
function. A guilty person re-examines his or her value set attached to all premises that
come into play in the decision-making process. Sometimes guilt produces doubts
about the present values attached to the premises without producing new and better
values. Guilt causes decision makers to agonize over decisions. An excess of guilt
could cause an individual to withdraw from society, which could be more dangerous
because a withdrawn person may start to challenge the values attached to the
premises as he or she tries to justify the guilt, resulting in bad decisions being made.

Although decisions are based on the outcome of an individual’s deliberations,

considering all input parameters and attaching values to these premises calls for a
thorough examination of each premise by the individual. This process is aided by the
individual reflecting on these basic steps:

• Examining the ethically relevant issues, principles, standards, and practices

• Determining the different parties (and their special interests) who will be
affected by the decision
• Deciding on an alternative course of action if and when the outcome of the
decision is not what is expected
• Considering the probable consequences (short and long term) of each
alternative on each of the different parties involved
• Thinking of consulting with a trusted colleague if the situation is complex, risky,
or there is undue personal involvement
• Determining how personal values, biases, beliefs, or self-interests influenced
the decision (either positively or negatively) and whether the consequences of
the decision have been evaluated
• Being prepared to assume responsibility for the consequences of the action
including correction of negative consequences.

Professionalism and Ethical Responsibilities

This is the last of our four themes in professionalism and ethics. We focus here on
professionalism and ethical responsibilities that include whistle-blowing, harassment,
and discrimination.
Whistle-Blowing

The term whistle-blowing gives the impression of an act of seeking public attention.
This is what we see in a sports event whenever a foul is committed. The referee blows
a whistle to call public attention, including that of the athlete, to the unsportsmanlike
act committed. In some countries, law enforcement personnel use whistles to draw
public attention to what they deem unlawful acts and to seek help.

The purpose of whistle-blowing in the workplace and the goal of a whistle-blower are
the same as that in the sports arena—calling to public attention, including especially
to that of a higher authority such as a government, what is considered an illegal or
mismanaged act. Whistle-blowing can be internal, in which case the attention is sought
internally and remains within organizational channels, or it can be public, in which case
it alerts everyone.

Everyday people, especially employees, witness wrongdoing on the job. What they
witness usually can jeopardize not only their health, safety, or lives but also the well-
being of others. Quite often many witness such illegal acts but choose to remain silent
in the face of such misconduct because they think it is not their thing or they think it
will not make a difference. Yet others fear to cause problems on the job. A few brave
it out to save lives. However, quite often, instead of receiving praise for their brave
actions and high integrity, they are often targeted for retaliatory acts such as
investigations, ridicule, blacklisting (especially in their trade), harassment, intimidation,
demotion, and sometimes outright dismissal.

So in light of these threats, the most important aspect of whistle-blowing is to remain

anonymous. Revealing the identity of a whistle-blower could be dangerous. Besides
the obvious risks of potential job loss and poor or inadequate legal protection, there is
also a psychological and sometime emotional price to pay for whistle-blowing.
Personal and family friends may turn against you. At work you may be labeled a
troublemaker, leading people with whom you work to treat you as an outcast. So care
must be taken before whistle-blowing to ensure anonymity. The most difficult decision
may involve finding a good medium that will insure that confidentiality and anonymity.
It is difficult and almost impossible to expect total anonymity, though, for a whistle-
blower because there will be a need for sufficient information to support allegations
which may result in giving away one’s identifying details.

Different whistle-blowing methods have been used for years, ranging from traditional
ones to more modern computer-aided ones.

Computer Aided Methods

Most common methods are anonymous including anonymous remailers that use a
software program to take an original e-mail and strip its header and all other identifying
data before forwarding it to its destination. Because the remailer does not include any
return address on the e-mail, it attaches a pseudonymous address in case you need a
reply. Before using anonymous remailers, however, exercise caution because the
authorities can force the server administrator to reveal the owner of the pseudonymous
name and address in cases of emergencies and other coercion.

Traditional Methods

There is a cross section of traditional methods used in whistle-blowing. Historically,

whistle-blowing has used spy-like methods to pass on information to either the public
or a higher authority. All methods that ensure anonymity can be used; the most
common methods include face-to-face communication with a public person that will
ensure your anonymity; talking with the news media, which can keep your identity a
secret; hotlines that alert the caller identity; and writing letters.

Whistle-blowing has been praised by many as courageous actions taken by a few good
people with a moral conscience who risk everything to call public attention to
illegitimate business practices and illegal and immoral actions. Others have
condemned whistle-blowing as acts of vendetta, revenge, and greed that should not
be encouraged. In fact, most whistle-blowers are either fired employees or unhappy
ones. The following situations can complicate whistle-blowing:

• Fear of reprisals: Many illegal and immoral acts go unreported because would-
be whistle-blowers fear reprisals such as physical harm, job loss, reassignment
to less desirable, sometimes demeaning jobs, suspension from work, and
denial of promotions or training. Many organizations are still willing to protect
the whistle-blower.
• Suspicion surrounding whistle-blowing: Not every whistle-blower should be
taken seriously because not all of them are sincere. Some whistle-blowers are
driven by greed, vendettas, anger, or revenge. In fact, many known cases of
whistle-blowing were provoked when management and the employee
disagreed. In other cases, whistle-blowing is caused by booty promises,
 especially by governments, to reward anybody with a certain percentage of the
proceeds coming out of whistle-blowing.
• Membership in organizational channels: Sometimes a whistle-blower act may
be ignored because the whistle-blower is a member of the company or
business organizational channel. Vivian Weil cites two whistle-blowers who are
not considered as such because they called public attention to a serious ethical
and moral problem but remained within the lines of command and, therefore,
were not taken seriously. Both Roger Boisjoly and colleague Allan MacDonald
of Morton Thiokol in Utah are known to have opposed the launch of the fated
Challenger but were overwhelmed by management, and they then blew the
whistle in the hearings of the Presidential Commission set by President Ronald
Reagan.

Harassment and Discrimination

Harassment is to verbally or physically create an environment that is hostile,

intimidating, offensive, severe, pervasive, or abusive based on a number of
parameters including one’s race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age,
disability, political affiliation, marital status, citizenship, or physical appearance.
Discrimination on the other hand is a process of making decisions that negatively affect
an individual, such as denial of a service, based wholly, or partly, upon the real or
perceived facts of one’s race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age,
disability, political affiliation, marital status, or physical appearance. Harassment and
discrimination are serious breaches of human rights. In fact, harassment is a form of
discrimination. If not attended to, harassment does not only affect a few individuals,
but it eventually grows to affect everyone in the organization. The following steps are
needed in fight against harassment and discrimination:

1. Awareness. There are no clear signs of harassment, but in most cases,

harassment is manifested in the following signs: unhappiness, anxiety,
discomfort, stress, and lifestyle changes. If some or all of these signs start to
appear in the environment where an individual is, then there is harassment.
Discrimination is even harder to detect than harassment. However, there is
discrimination if the decisions made are based upon the discriminatory factors
above.
2. Prevention. The main tool for the prevention of harassment and discrimination
is for an organization to have a clear and simple written policy framework
setting out the procedures that must be taken if harassment and discrimination
 occur. The procedures must include the following: awareness/education,
complaint process, sanctions, and redress.

Ethical and Moral Implications

The act of whistle-blowing is meant to alert and call the public to be witnesses to illegal
acts that may be hazardous to their health and well-being or to waste of public
resources. Of course, as we pointed out earlier, there are many other reasons for
whistle-blowing. Are whistle-blowers living saints who fight evil to bring serious
problems to light, thus contributing to the protection of the public’s welfare? Does this
explain the small numbers of whistle-blowers, although it is known that there are
organizations in which a high potential for catastrophe can develop and somehow
remain unexposed despite many people being aware of the problems?

Even people with high moral standards can be prevented from doing what is morally
right because of the privileges, rights, and freedoms they stand to lose within the
organization if they become known. People who feel accused and those allied to them
tend to hit back to deflect attention from the accused. Retaliation is very damaging. So
a would-be whistle-blower either decides to stay in line and live with a moral dilemma,
but survive, or resign and live with a clear conscience. For a professional, a decision
like this presents a complex moral conundrum because if he or she stays within the
organization, retaliation is almost predictable. Staying with the organization also
presents other problems both to the whistle-blower and colleagues. For example,
collegial relationships and networks are disrupted. However, whistle-blowing is morally
justifiable when the activities involved pose serious danger and harm to human life.
The moral concept of whistle-blowing is good; it helps those who dare not speak out
and all others who are affected.

Harassment and discrimination are both evil acts that challenge not only the conscious
of an individual doing the acts, but also, they create a situation that brings discomfort
and inferiority to the targeted individual. It is, however, unfortunate that most individuals
perpetuating the acts of discrimination and harassment lack the moral conviction and
conscience.