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Professional Ethics, Values And Career Success

Professional Ethics, Values, and Career Success:
United States Presidents
Learning Team C
Adrian Munoz, Delores Oniyide-Smith and McKenzie Linstrom
University of Phoenix
Professional Values, Ethics, and Career Success

United States Presidents

Values and ethics are central to any organization; those operating in the national security arena are no exception. What exactly do we mean by values and ethics? Both are extremely broad terms, and we need to focus in on the aspects most relevant for strategic leaders and decision makers. What we will first discuss is the distinctive nature of ethics for public officials; second, the forces which influence the ethical behavior of individuals in organizations; and third, explore the actions strategic leaders can take to build ethical climates in their organizations.

Values and Ethics

Values can be defined as those things that are important to or valued by someone. They include integrity, professionalism, caring, teamwork, and stewardship. When values are shared by all members of an organization, they are extraordinarily important tools for making judgments, assessing probable outcomes of contemplated actions, and choosing among alternatives. Values are what we, as professionals, judge to be right. They are more than words-they are the moral, ethical, and professional attributes of character. Values are the embodiment of what an organization stands for, and should be the basis for the behavior of its members.

Ethics is behavior in a manner that is consistent with what is generally considered to be right or moral. Most of an individual's ethical development occurs before entering an organization. The influence of family, church, community, and school will determine individual values.

There are three qualities individuals must possess to make ethical decisions. The first is the ability to recognize ethical issues and to reason through the ethical consequences of decisions. The ability to see...