Professional Ethics: What You Need to Know

Introduction 

People live lives outside the scope of their work because work does not amount to all that what people do for a living. The relationships that people share with their families, friends and other mates bear significant obligations of moral concern which may from time to time conflict with their occupational duties (Rabier, 2007). Therefore, there is need for one to have a balance that sees them divide time and attention between their person and professional responsibilities. However, in as much as the balance can be satisfactory, it differs among people depending on circumstances and thus compels people to sort through the possibilities for themselves. I this paper, I discuss an ethical code in relation to my future place of work and manner in which to handle conflicts as dictated by the code. 

Professional code of Ethics 

The Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct 1.01 Misuse of Psychologist’s work insists that psychologists must take up responsible steps to rectify or minimize a misuse or misinterpretation if they learn of the same in their work (American Counselling Association, 2014). The code is imperative to my future experience because it reflects on the possibility of misconduct and the most ethical way of going about resolving that conflict. 

The code of ethics is of the idea that one must act fast immediately they realise that either their course of actions or other codes of conduct relating to what they do have brought forth a conflict (American Counselling Association, 2014). Psychologists work with various people on a daily basis and are thus confronted with different problems, emotions and necessary actions. In this regard, the ethical code reminds them that it is normal to mess up sometimes but they should proceed promptly to rectify that mistake by following the proper procedure and channels. 

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Code of Ethics 

As an IT expert at the International Business Machines Corporation, I am tasked with the obligation of monitoring the networking systems and overall performance of the IT department. I thus encounter numerous challenges such as conflicts in opinions with co-workers that may lead to an improper undertaking courtesy of the competition to outdo one another. The above code of ethics is important because it comes with advantages that help in my kind of scenarios. The advantages of the ethical code include; first it eases a person because it lets them know that it is okay to have made a mistake (Association of Information Technology Professionals, 2014). Most people would panic in the face of a mistake and act desperately to fix that mistake in a manner that will not arouse any suspicion. However, the code keeps people in check and makes them feel at ease and ready to face whatever challenge they have head on and in the proper way. 

Secondly, the code directs the professional on what immediate step to take when faced with a conflict that is usually a necessity to conflict resolution (Association of Information Technology Professionals, 2014). Personally, I have encountered a situation whereby my colleagues and I approved different programs to run and I realised a brewing conflict. To avoid an unnecessary and unproductive war or competition at the place of work, it is recommended and advisable to follow the code of ethics and find the right authority to handle the situation. 

The code of ethics is universal despite being specified for the practice of psychology. It cuts across all professions and ensures that everyone can apply its principles (American Psychological Association, 2014). 

Cons 

The primary con of the code is perhaps the idea that it does not detail on what step exactly should be taken when realisation of a conflict but only serves to point towards a certain direction (Rabier, 2007). The lack of specificity may mislead an individual to take any route they deem should be taken to resolve an issue. 

Methods for Discussing Ethical Disagreements in a Productive manner 

Dialogue 

The primary method for discussing a conflict and proceeding to find a solution to the same is dialogue. Dialogue entails sitting down with the conflicting parties and talking through the problem at hand. It offers a platform for which both parties in conflict can voice their opinions and talk about what they believe to be best and why they hold that belief (Marcoux, 2008). In the end, a resolution is arrived at by virtue of common agreement where both parties group what they agree on and what they disagree on. It is a procedural process that works on the areas of agreements to try and analytically find a solution to the areas where there are disagreements. 

Mediation 

Mediation entails usage of a third party to try and help the conflicting parties come to an understanding. The third party sits between the sides that disagree and controls the process of getting to an agreement by carefully allowing each side to present its grievances (Certo, 2018). Mediation is usually a slow process and takes time because it depends significantly on how the third party negotiates with the conflicting parties. 

Negotiation 

Negotiation entails a process where the conflicting sides try to make compromises and come to a common ground. The parties negotiate what stands to hold and what stands to let go in order for each side to gain favour and at least have their way. It is a slow process but usually the best because it entails a lot of conflict in trying to gain a piece on the negotiating table (Dettmer et al., 2013). However, when the negotiations are over successfully, the parties usually share the platform and newly found solution. 

Own Areas of Disagreements 

As earlier mentioned, I work as an IT professional at the IBM. It is a role that takes most of my time and sometimes stirs up conflict with my friends and family on how a priority the job is to me than they are. It becomes even harder for one to try and strike a balance between the two roles. At a time, my friends decided to stop calling me to go out and just have a great time and so did some of my family members. Others just refrained from being to close with me and decided to see me when they see me. 

At work, I conflicted with colleagues over what program is suitable to run in a bid to clear the system of a virus. It became a problem that saw both parties decide to use the two existing programs to see which one works. Of course the two programs worked but only caused trouble because a system cannot be run by two programs doing the same function. At this point, it took the intervention of the manager and supervisor in charge to resolve that problem that saw both parties work together to come up with a new program. 

Conclusion 

Conflicts are a common thing in everyday life. It becomes even harder when one is forced to choose between relationships that prove vital in their lives. However, despite these confrontations, there are ethical ways of resolving such conflicts. Thanks to the ethical code of the Psychologist’s work, professionals have an understanding of the aspect of conflict and the need to act promptly to resolve it before it grows into a major problem. I have encountered conflicts myself but have seen them solved by either negotiation or mediation that are key ways to solving disagreements. 

References 

American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics Retrieved from http://www.counseling.org/Resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf 

American Psychological Association. (2014). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx 

Association of Information Technology Professionals. (2014). Code of ethics and standards of conduct Retrieved from http://www.aitp.org/?page=EthicsConduct&hhSearchTerms=%22code+and+ethics%22 

Certo, S. C. (2018). Supervision: Concepts and skill-building: McGraw-Hill Education. 

Dettmer, P., Knackendoffel, A., & Thurston, L. P. (2013). Collaboration, consultation, and teamwork for students with special needs: Pearson. 

Marcoux, A. (2008, April 16). Business ethics: The Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-business/ 

Rabier, C. (2007). Defining a profession: surgery: professional conflicts and legal powers in Paris and London, 1760–1790.