PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND HUMAN VALUES FOR B.TECH JNTU KAKINADA

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND HUMAN VALUES FOR B.TECH JNTU KAKINADA

MORALS:   Morals are the rules, which people use to guide their behavior and thinking in terms of right and wrong. Morals mean principles of right and wrong. Morals relate to duty or obligations. It pertains to those action of right and wrong, virtue and virus. It pertains to the rules by which such actions are to be directed towards the practice. Morals also mean manners, conduct, or men as social being in relation to each other. One can perform Dharma or actions by adopting morals.  

A human being will like to spend his time and life happily. A man’s happiness depends upon the satisfaction and pleasure he derives. A thirsty man feels happy when he takes a glass of water. This type of happiness is related to physical satisfaction.  Dharma, good actions or moral action brings satisfaction or happiness. When one’s actions bring happiness or satisfaction to others in the society, we call it as “Service” those who contributed to the welfare of the society, have become grate souls, like Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa.

Morality relates to human conduct. Most of the human beings have acquired and practiced moral principles. They whole-heartedly accept them. Moral principles imply that human beings and animals are to be treated with respect and dignity.

Morality also guides human beings on aspiration, ideal and values. Morality guides in understanding human nature, tradition and society. It determines one’s place in society and universe. Values like honesty, empathy, truthfulness, humbleness, love for others, will develop a man as amorally good person. Values mean good qualities of human beings. A person becomes valuable if he possesses values in him, like courage, honesty, integrity, sincerity. Based on values, moral standards can be set up.

VALUES:   Values refer to the standards that guide our actions, judgments and attitudes. These are qualities, characteristics, or ideas about which we feel strongly. Values differ from person to person. Our values affect our decisions, goals and behavior. Values define what is worth, what is beneficial and what is harmful. Values give direction and consistency to behavior. Honesty is a value. Speaking truth is a value. Doing physical exercise is a value. Values help you know what to and not to make time for. Values establish a relationship between you and the world. Values set the direction for one’s life. Values are what we feel should ,”ought” or “are supposed to” influence our lives. If you allow your values to decide your behavior and goals, you feel very happy. Values may change over a time period, as your  experiences change your values also.

 

HUMAN VALUES:  Human values are the good qualities of a human being. Values of a human being reflect one’s character and conduct. Human values make a person great. Some important human values one should possess are as given below:

1.                  Demonstrating a strong and consistent commitment to ethical values.

2.                  Obeying the law.

3.                 Reflecting the responsibility expected of all professionals.

4.                   Protecting life and safeguarding people.

5.                 Demonstrating professionalism, integrity and competence.

6.                 Commitment to community well-being

7.                Care for the environment.

Human Values are related to individuals. Either in moral values or social values, the individual plays a prime role. Human values are the same for all people all over the world, irrespective of religion, nation, gender or creed. They are generally related to morality and justice. All religions preach values.  Value is a quality of being useful or helpful. Some common values are freedom, equality, fraternity, empathy, democracy and secularism may be values for certain countries, while some countries may not accept. Though countries differ, human values are common to all countries.

Professionals like Engineers, Doctors, and Lawyers have to deal with people and the society. They have to be acquired with the various human values as discussed above for peaceful and comfortable living. Values can be imparted to the students through personality development programmes.

ETHICS:  Ethics is also known as moral Philosophy. It is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. Ethics comes from the Greek word “ethos”, which means “ character”. In philosophy, ethics studies the moral behavior in humans, and how one should act. “ethics” also means distinguishing ethical problems, issues and controversies from non-moral problems. It refers to a particular set of beliefs, attitudes, and habits that a person or group displays concerning morality.

PERSONAL ETHICS:  Every individual is free to set his/her own set of ethics. This does not mean that all choices and all value systems can be equally called “ethical”. Every though each individual has the autonomy to choose, one has moral responsibility to respect others and protect the environment. The yardstick to say whether an individual is ethical or not is based on well defined actions and beliefs, namely trust worthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. Ethics refer to the ability to distinguish right from wrong, good from evil and property from impropriety. In involves the commitment to do what is right, good and proper. Ethics entails action.

Ethics can be classified into:

            Engineering ethics – related to engineers, engineering practice and industries.

            Professional Ethics – related to various professional like Doctors, Lawyers.

            Business Ethics – related to people involved in business.

            Work ethics – related to employers and employees at work.

Necessity of Ethics:  The world community calls for a global approach to basic ethics and social problems. On seeing the present day trend among people of various countries, world top leaders have expressed concern for basic ethics. Lack of ethical values, has been a major factor for the downfall of many industries, companies and corporations. Deviation from human values, ethics and failure to learn from wrong applications, will result in professional misdeeds leading to disaster.

            Engineers as professionals have moral responsibility for safety, health and welfare of the people. All these can be achieved only when, those involved in engineering, and society are concerned about ethics.

What affects ethics? Greed, Fear and Pressure.

Pressure to perform does not justify unethical acts. Mahatma Gandhi, the father of our nation insists the importance of values and ethics when he talks about seven social issues , which are as follows:

            Wealth without work.

            Pleasure without conscience

            Knowledge without character

            Commerce without morality

Science without humanity

Religion without sacrifice

Politics without principles

According to Gandhiji, the above said seven social issues can help society, only if ethics is followed. Upholding morals and values, surmounting difficulties in our day-to-day life is possible only when we follow ethics.

INTEGRITY:  Integrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and morals.  Integrity comes from the word "integrate." Therefore, it's the ability to integrate the values of my heart into my daily actions. INTEGRITY is consistent character that will not compromise even if circumstances make it easy and the potential for ill-gotten gain is great. An organization’s success depends on the integrity of its employees. Integrity is an internal system of principles that guide the behavior of an individual. The reward for behavior with integrity is intrinsic. Integrity is not obligation, it is a choice. Integrity comes with right upbringing and exposure. The outside environment also may influence one to develop personality with integrity. Integrity conveys a sense of wholeness and strength. Integrity means “ soundness of moral Character” the wider meaning of moral is “being concerned with the principal of doing right or wrong things” Therefore integrity means honesty, loyalty, honour, incorruptibility, rectitude, righteousness, uprightness and similar virtues. Integrity reveals one’s state of mind, attitude and behavior. Integrity includes all the above said good qualities. For any person, to acquire leadership quality or skill, requires “ integrity”. If one, lacks integrity, no amount of knowledge and skills in dealing with people can shape him into a good leader. Certainly, he/she will exercise his/her authority and get things done by threatening and coercive forces.

For an engineer, professional integrity is the key under difficult situations. An engineer with professional integrity will be ready for any kind of challenge and additional responsibility. An engineer with integrity has to be honest, truthful, and trustworthy. He should be consistent in his professional conduct, in moral ways and uphold human values. An engineer, as a professional, consultant, practicing engineer or manager, should be a person of integrity in discharging his duties and responsibilities to the society.  

WORK ETHICS: Ethics is a set of moral principles. Work is, a characteristic attitude of a group of people or workers towards morality of work. In other words, work ethic is being personally accountable and responsible for the work that one does. It is based on a belief that work has a great value. The term “work ethics” is often applied to characteristics of people who are at work (workers, players, engineers, Doctors, Lawyers etc.,) work ethic is usually associated with people who work hard and do a good job. It includes good habits, good attitudes, good manners, good appearance, and good behaviors we adopt in relationships with other people.

PARAMETERS FOR GOOD WORK ETHICS:

A.    RELIABILITY – When an employee is punctual, follows through his tasks, shows up ready to work, such employees performs all the tasks given and gains the confidence of the employer. If one in not reliable, no business owner can afford to retain him/her on the payroll. Reliability is the most preferred virtue for an employee, from the employer point of view.

B.     POSITIVE CHARACTER Between character and efficiency, every employer looks for employees with character. An efficient worker no character has no relevance. Small businesses have close, tightly knit and familial atmosphere and it is likely that these may face difficulties in the course of business. Exactly during the time when the business goes tough, employees with positive character will be of great help to the employer. Employees with negativity and dissent damage the workplace morale and productivity.

C.     PROPER COMMUNICATION strong interpersonal skills, cohesive and collaborative teams among employees and handling challenging assignments have something in common, i.e proper communications skills. Effective communication skills are prerequisites for one to be successful.

D.    GOAL-ORIENTED Good employees are often altruistic and goal-oriented. While salary is a strong motivator, a good work ethic also puts oneself aside to work toward the greater good of the organization as a whole. The goal of every employer should be to develop teams, respect for employees, soft in considering their personal requests but tough in terms of organizational interest discipline and organizational interest. Employees also should develop goal-oriented behavior.

SERVICE LEARNING: 

Service learning is a method of learning by which, students learn from their past services rendered to their communities. Young people apply academic skills to solve world issues like hunger, pollution and illiteracy. They are also active partners in a service-learning project. They identify community needs and plan service activities. After rendering service, they assess the project’s impact on the community. This makes young people to develop leadership skills. Service learning assesses genuine needs that are important to the community.

a.      Academic collaborations integrating learning into a service project enhances the quality of service learning. Academic collaborations should be clear and built upon the existing and future academic needs.

b.      Student voice in the process of involving service learning related activities, the students should be given opportunity to select, design, implement and evaluate their service activity encouraging relevance and sustained interest.

c.       Class room discussion the students discuss their learning experiences in the classroom and appreciate how they could address the societal needs.

d.      Impact analysis structured opportunities are thrown open to think, talk and write about their reflections on the service experience.

e.       Community partnerships in consultation with the community, the needs for service campus can be identified; mentorship opportunities and adequate resources are offered for completion of the service projects. Community partnerships will be successful if clear guidelines are evolved for student engagement in service to a particular community groups.

f.       Assessment and feedback well structured assessment instruments can be used for constructive feedback through reflection regarding positive reciprocal learning. If found feasible, such programs can be replicated.  

CIVIC VIRTUES: Virtue means good quality. Civic relates to society and the environemtn. Hence “civic Virtues” mean the good habits and qualities that one has to follow when he/she moves in the society and deals with environment. Certain civic virtues are, caring, sharing, respect for others, living peacefully and letting others live peacefully. Yawning, sneezing, relaxing the body by bending backwards,snoring and spitting, such habits are to be  avoided in front of others in a gathering. A person who is conscious of the above habits is said to have “ civic Sense” or “ civic Manners”. In total , these habits are called “ Civic Virtues” . to be a better person and a person  and a person of pleasing personality, one should cultivate “ Civic Virtues”.

  RESPECT FOR OTHERS: Treating people with respect makes this world a nicer place to live in. it is very easy. All you have to do is, “treat people the way you like others to treat you”. Here are a few ideas.

1.      Don’t insult people or make fun of them

2.      When you speak, listen to others.

3.      Value other people’s opinion.

4.      Be considerate of people’s likes and dislikes.

5.      Don’t tease or harass people.

6.      It is not good to talk about people behind their back.

7.      Have respect to other people’s feelings.

8.      Don’t compel anybody to do something he/she does not want to do.

We live in a country of many languages, cultures, races and backgrounds. In order to make all our lives a lot more fun and interesting, we have to get along with each other. To achieve “unity in diversity”, we have to respect each other. Here are some more ways we can respect people.

1.      We have to learn something from the other people.

2.      We have to show interest and appreciation for other cultures and races.

3.      We should not have prejudice and racist attitudes. Engineers and professionals require this attitude of “respect for others” to achieve better results.

  

LIVING PEACEFULLY:  to lead a peaceful life, one requires “Peace of mind”. Peace of mind leads to “living peacefully” by all. If one wants to live peacefully, he.she has to follow certain principles in his/her life. They are

1.      One has to believe in God.

2.      Home should be a place of friendliness, sharing and peace.

3.      One has to be patient and considerate towards others.

4.      We have to work towards removal of social injustice.

5.      Work towards reconciliation between individuals, groups and nations, in needed

6.      One has to behave in a loving way towards all men and women.

7.      We should have a caring and loving attitude towards others.

8.      One has to be conscious of his/her daily living.

9.      One has to play his/her role against any form of exploitation and oppression.

10.  One has to live as simple as possible.

11.  We have to serve others by avoiding any form of violence.   
   By sincerely adopting the above said principles, one is sure of “Living peacefully”. 

CARING; Every human being, whether young or old wants to be cared if not pampered. It is the same case with the employees. They want to know what is happening at work place as soon as the event takes place.

How to take care of employees taking care of employees and keeping them happy in the workplace involves providing them with additional benefits, recognition and keeping the workplace professional. This further dovetail to motivating them to work with passion, enjoy their work and produce positive results for the business.

TO TAKE CARE OF EMPLOYEES:

1.      Interview new employees well and ensure that they will fit into your workplace.

2.      Turn away those workers who do not fit into the existing work environment.

3.      Take care of the overall well being of the current employees providing additional benefits, which include life, health or disability insurance to them and to their families as well. A healthy workplace plays a large role in how the company and employees are performing.

4.      Offer retirement options for the employees.

5.      Offer recognition plaques, “pat on back” awards, monetary awards, job promotions or pay increases to employees who work for the organization.

6.      Send greetings to the employees on their birthdays and marriage anniversaries in addition to offering them paid optional holiday on those special occasions.

7.      At times when changes are initiated, make sure the employee is clear about what the change means for their job, goals, time allocation, and decisions.

8.      Communicate daily with every employee who reports to you. Even a pleasant good morning enables the employee to engage with you. Communicate openly, honestly and frequently.

9.      Hold a weekly one on one meeting with each employee who reports to you.

10.  Implement an open door policy for staff members to talk, share ideas, and discuss concerns.

11.  Employees find interaction, communication with, and attention from senior and executive managers motivational. A happy employee is highly productive and has a potential to influence a few more.

 

SHARING: Sharing is the joint use of a resource or space. It refers to joint or alternating use of an inherently finite good, such as a common pasture or a shared residence. It is also the process of dividing and distributing. You can observe in human activity and find many examples of this happening I nature. Flowers divide and distribute their seeds. In a broader sense, it can also include free granting of use of rights of a good.  Sharing can actually mean giving something as an outright gift: for example, sharing food with others means to give some of it as a gift, sharing is part of human life and human interaction, and is responsible for strengthening social ties and ensuring a person’s well being.  Sharing is one of the human values. This implies sharing of feeling, ideas or thoughts and also materials, resources and profit. Sharing is always mutually beneficial. Sharing of joy increases happiness of people involved, similarly sharing of grief or sorrow decreases the intensity of mental agony of people. Sharing of available resources should be the basic concept of humankind’s happy living in this mother earth. To double the joy, it is always better to share with someone.

In industries, corporations, or organizations, people of different cadres like the managing directors, engineers, managers, supervisors and workers have to play their role on sharing basis. A leader, head, or manager of an organization should share working conditions with his subordinates and insist that other lower level officers do the same. This character of “Sharing” is so important to a man’s morale. Sharing of ideas, concept or modifications, may result in a new profitable design of products, they manufacture.

In industries, corporations, or organizations, people of different cadres like the managing directors, engineers, mangers, supervisors and workers have to play their role on “sharing “concept.

Sharing of property or materials of comfort with relatives, guests or neighbors or friends and co-workers will boost human values.