Professional Ethics

1
Professional Ethics

• In the last class, we discussed ethics in
  general. Today, we will start a discussion on
  professional ethics.
• As mentioned earlier, this discussion is based on
  the book Professional Ethics for Natural
  Resource and Environmental Managers A Primer by
  Lloyd Irland (2007)
• First, let me ask the question, what is a
  profession?
• This may sound like an odd question, but what are
  the characteristics that make something a
  profession?

2

• An obvious related question is, what are the
  differences between an amateur and a
  professional?
• Is it just doing something well and being able to
  do it for money?
• Is a professional athlete a professional in the
  same sense as a physician?
• Obviously, there are some differences between
  these two types of professionals.

3
(No Transcript)
4
(No Transcript)
5

• Professional ethics is a professional skill just
  like the more technical ones. As a skill, it must
  first be introduced through training, then it
  must be cultivated over time.

6
(No Transcript)
7

• But is everything always as black and white as
  right and wrong?
• Of course not! And we see examples of that even
  in our legal system.
• The law makes a distinction between first and
  second degree murder, for example. Even though
  the victim is just as dead either way.
• This is why whenever an ethical situation arises,
  we must devote some time to it and carefully
  decide how to proceed.

8

• So, how should we proceed on professional ethical
  situations?
• A very important step is to define the nature of
  the problem.
• This may not be as simple as it sounds.
• Some problems may not be of ethical nature at
  all.
• Often these problems may be caused by simple
  disagreements, or differing views (political,
  philosophical, etc.) on existing policies.
• In such cases we may make these problems more
  complicated by defining them as ethical problems.

9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
11

• Recall the four questions to ask yourselves in an
  ethical situations that we talked about in the
  last class.
• They can be really helpful in this process!
• What does my conscience say?
• What would it be like if everyone did this?
• How would it feel if everyone knew about this?
• How would I feel about this tomorrow?

12
SAF Code of ethics

• What is the purpose of the SAF Code of Ethics?
• The SAF defines it as follows
• Clarify core values.
• Guide professional conduct for the benefit of
  society.
• Inspire members to exceed minimum standards when
  possible.

13

• The Code begins with a Preamble which is
  basically a broad statement of principle.
• The preamble states the professions mission of
  forest stewardship and emphasizes the importance
  of forests to the society.
• It states comprehensive and ambitious goals for
  the code including protecting and serving
  society, fostering long term stewardship, and
  supporting good business relationships.

14

• The actual code contains six points which are
  stated as pledges.
• These six points are
• 1 Foresters have a responsibility to manage
  land for both current and future generations. We
  pledge to practice and advocate management that
  will maintain the long-term capacity of the land
  to provide the variety of materials, uses, and
  values desired by landowners and society.

15

• 2 Society must respect forest landowners'
  rights and correspondingly, landowners have a
  land stewardship responsibility to society. We
  pledge to practice and advocate forest management
  in accordance with landowner objectives and
  professional standards, and to advise landowners
  of the consequences of deviating from such
  standards.
• 3 Sound science is the foundation of the
  forestry profession. We pledge to strive for
  continuous improvement of our methods and our
  personal knowledge and skills to perform only
  those services for which we are qualified and in
  the biological, physical, and social sciences to
  use the most appropriate data, methods, and
  technology.

16

• 4 Public policy related to forests must be
  based on both scientific principles and societal
  values. We pledge to use our knowledge and skills
  to help formulate sound forest policies and laws
  to challenge and correct untrue statements about
  forestry and to foster dialogue among foresters,
  other professionals, landowners, and the public
  regarding forest policies.
• 5 Honest and open communication, coupled with
  respect for information given in confidence, is
  essential to good service. We pledge to always
  present, to the best of our ability, accurate and
  complete information to indicate on whose behalf
  any public statements are made to fully disclose
  and resolve any existing or potential conflicts
  of interest and to keep proprietary information
  confidential unless the appropriate person
  authorizes its disclosure.

17

• 6 Professional and civic behavior must be based
  on honesty, fairness, good will, and respect for
  the law. We pledge to conduct ourselves in a
  civil and dignified manner to respect the needs,
  contributions, and viewpoints of others and to
  give due credit to others for their methods,
  ideas, or assistance.

18

• Lets have a short class discussion on what each
  of these points are trying to emphasize.

19

• 1 Land ethic.
• 2 Importance of clients rights.
• 3 Importance of science.
• 4 Role of the profession in public policy.
• 5 Importance of communication and
  confidentiality.
• 6 Civil and dignified behavior.