When you differ between reflective personal morality and professional ethics, it is based on the concept of doing things or thinking differently depending on the circumstances.
Reflective personal morality is how you view things and react to them, but professional ethics is what you view as morally right and wrong in a professional environment.
Key Takeaways
- Reflective personal morality is an individual’s moral values and beliefs that guide their decision-making and behavior. At the same time, professional ethics are the standards and principles that govern conduct within a specific profession or organization.
- Personal morality is subjective and can vary significantly between individuals. At the same time, professional ethics are established by professional associations, regulatory bodies, or employers and are expected to be followed by all members of a profession.
- Reflective personal morality can influence professional ethics as individuals bring their moral values into the workplace. Still, professional ethics should take precedence when making decisions and resolving conflicts in a professional context.
Reflective Personal Morality vs Professional Ethics
The morals of a person are referred to as reflective personal morality. Different people have different reflective personal morality because their views about the world are different. The rules followed by a person in a professional environment are called professional ethics. In a company or an organization, professional ethics are defined by a group of people.
Reflective Personal Morality is a code of ethics or moral standards that a person has. It’s a set of morals that a person has and how they view the world. It’s different for everyone because people are different.
As a person’s personality develops, their morals develop as well.
Professional ethics are basic rules that explain acceptable actions for a specific role. These rules are designed to protect people and ensure that everyone operates fairly.
For example, the medical profession always has a code of ethics created by medical practitioners, and it is revised whenever new situations are brought to attention.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Reflective Personal Morality | Professional Ethics |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Reflective Personal Morality refers to how a person responds to any action or environment. | Professional Ethics is the set of rules that one must follow in their professional environment. |
| Based On | Moral values are based on one’s prior experience. | Ethics are based on a set of rules that has been deemed correct by a group of individuals. |
| Choice | Reflective Personal morality arises due to one’s own decision to act in a certain way. | Acting on professional ethics is not a personal choice but are rules that are enforced to maintain uniformity. |
| Set By | Moral values are personal. | In business environments, some committees determine professional ethics. |
| Decision | Reflective Personal Morality is subjective, which means it differs from one person to another. | Professional ethics is uniform for everyone in the same profession. |
What is Reflective Personal Morality?
Morality is the way someone acts to show that he or she is behaving properly. Every person is born with an innate sense of morality which is comprised of a belief in right and wrong.
Reflective Personal Morality is defined as the inner conflict between a person and their moral compass.
The morality that a person develops is influenced by a person’s family and past experiences. Reflective Personal Morality helps a person form the way they see the world and choose to act on their own.
This moral compass helps people see what is right and wrong and helps them live a good and happy life.
Reflective Personal Morality is the belief that morality is not objective but is based on the individual’s experience and reason. According to philosophers, humans develop moral reasoning and make judgments about the morality of actions based on reason.
Reflective Personal Morality is contrasted with ethical subjectivism, which holds that there is no right or wrong and that morality is subjective to the individual.
It is also contrasted with the idea that morality is objective, which is the belief that morality is independent of human opinion.
What is Professional Ethics?
Professional Ethics is the set of values and standards that professionals must adhere to and abide by in any field. This standard of conduct is more formally known as the ‘Code of Ethics.
It is a set of guidelines and principles that are essential for maintaining a positive and professional reputation for yourself and your company within the industry.
Professionals must ensure that their actions do not negatively impact the business. For example, professionals that are responsible for keeping track of financial transactions cannot engage in unethical practices such as embezzling from the company.
The need for professional ethics in any business environment is because your business’ reputation is vital for not only the success of your company but also for the success of your mutual clients as well.
For example, most businesses also have a Professional Ethics Committee, which is a team of people who decide the best policy and how to act in certain situations.
In the workplace, professional ethics form the foundation behind how employees make decisions. Setting professional ethics guides on how to work with people, handle challenges, and even treat other companies.
Professional ethics must be communicated to employees as part of the company’s values overall. In addition, employees must be trained on this topic to ensure they are not making mistakes or unethical decisions in their work.
Main Differences Between Reflective Personal Morality and Professional Ethics
- Reflective Personal Morality arises when one takes a decision to act in a certain way based on something’s experience, whereas ethics are meant to be followed and are not based on reflection of prior incidents.
- Reflective Personal Morality arises as free thought and is different between individuals, whereas professional ethics are the same for everyone.
- Reflective Personal Morality does not define right and wrong, whereas professional ethics clearly state what must be correct and what is not in a professional environment.
- Reflective Personal Morality works in all spheres of life, while professional ethics must be adhered to only in the institution of one’s profession.
- Reflective Personal Morality is influenced by religion, culture, tradition, and people’s different values, while professional ethics are more secular and uniform.
- https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1994-33495-001
- https://muse.jhu.edu/article/258040/summary
- https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/227762
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