Professional Ethics Research Articles

Confidentiality and Communication: Navigating Client Privilege

Client privilege and confidentiality are foundational to professional-client relationships, ensuring trust and candid communication. While legal frameworks, such as attorney-client privilege and psychotherapist confidentiality, codify these protections, they are also upheld by ethical standards across professions. This paper examines the evolution of client privilege, its legal and ethical dimensions, effective communication strategies, and the challenges professionals face in maintaining confidentiality. Addressing the nuances of privilege and confidentiality, the discussion highlights the importance of trust, transparency, and active listening in fostering strong client relationships while emphasizing the potential risks posed by breaches, technological developments, and competing obligations. Recommendations for training, adherence to best practices, and the ethical balancing of competing responsibilities are also examined. Keywords: Client privilege, confidentiality, professional ethics, communication strategies, trust, legal frameworks, therapeutic confidentiality.

Idealism and ambiguity: encountering professional socialization in an emerging profession

ABSTRACT This collaborative autoethnography explores the professional socialization experiences of three former primary-role academic advisors within the context of academic advising as an emerging profession. Two main themes emerged from the collaborative dialogue and analysis: 1) the tension between individual professional identity and the identity of organizations in an emerging field, characterized by ambiguity and idealism; and 2) the role of reflection in gaining conscious awareness and navigating this tension. The study highlights the potential of reflective practice in shaping professional identity, managing transitions, and fostering critical self-awareness and empowerment. Engaging in reflective practices allows advisors to bridge personal beliefs with professional ethics, cultivate a sense of community and cultural responsiveness, and develop a more coherent and authentic professional identity. The findings emphasize the importance of integrating reflective practice into professional development programs to support advisors in navigating the complexities of their roles and adapting to evolving professional landscapes. Institutions are encouraged to facilitate reflective practice through structured opportunities, supervision, and peer discussions to promote continuous growth and excellence in academic advising.

Professional ethics in energy and soft skills

Professional ethics in energy and soft skills

Administrative Governance between Reality and Application in Saudi Universities: A Case Study of Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University from the Perspective of its Faculty Members

The study aimed to explore the reality and application of administrative governance in Saudi universities, focusing on Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University. To achieve the study’s objectives, the researcher used the descriptive-analytical method and relied on a questionnaire as the main tool for field study. The questionnaire consisted of 43 items addressing governance principles. The results concluded that the six dimensions of administrative governance (participation, responsibility, independence, professional behavior and work ethics, disclosure and transparency, and strategic vision) were highly present at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University at an overall rate of 84%, with a general mean of (4.19). The principles of governance were ranked based on their application, as follows: Strategic Vision ranked first with a mean of 4.59 (92%) and a very high level of availability. Responsibility ranked second with a mean of 4.30 (85%) and a very high level of availability. Professional Behavior and Work Ethics ranked third with a mean of 4.21 (84%) and a very high level of availability. Independence ranked fourth with a mean of 4.20 (84%) and a high level of availability. Disclosure and Transparency ranked fifth with a mean of 4.12 (82%) and a high level of availability. Participation ranked last with a mean of 3.72 (74%) and a high level of availability. Also the study found no statistically significant differences at the significance level (α = 0.05) in the degree of governance principles’ availability due to variables of gender (male/female) or years of teaching experience.

Anti‐Violence Human Resource Management and Workplace Violence: Perspectives From Australian Aged Care Managers and Employees

ABSTRACTIncidents of workplace violence are commonplace against nurses and personal care assistants (PCAs) employed in aged care facilities. This article examines ways in which managers and human resource (HR) departments manage workplace violence. In this context, understanding anti‐violence human resource management (HRM) practices and other ways in which incidents of violence are managed may have important implications for workforce sustainability. Greenwood and Freeman's [Greenwood, M., & Freeman, R. E. (2011). Ethics and HRM: The Contribution of Stakeholder Theory. Business & Professional Ethics Journal, 269–292.] conceptual model of employee engagement and “ethical” HRM underpins this study by focusing on stakeholder engagement and stakeholder agency. We take a qualitative approach to examine workplace violence in aged care facilities in Australia by conducting semi‐structured interviews with 60 participants. We report on narratives of participants highlighting the unethical use of HRM as evidenced by a lack of anti‐violence HRM in aged care facilities. To encourage greater workforce sustainability, we argue that HR departments and managers need to behave ethically and better support the management and mitigation of workplace violence against workers in aged care facilities. Our paper provides new theoretical and practical insights into understanding the role of stakeholder engagement and stakeholder agency, and the moral treatment of employees through the development of anti‐violence HRM within the aged care context.

Development of Teachers’ Compliance with Professional Ethics in Relations with Students Scales: Teacher and Student Forms

This study aims to develop parallel forms of the Teachers' Compliance with Professional Ethics in Relations with Students Scale for secondary school teachers and students. The first study group comprised 266 secondary school teachers and 427 students, while the second group included 216 secondary school teachers and 851 students. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a single-dimensional structure consisting of 18 items for teacher and student scales, and the total variance explained by this structure was found 64.00% and 48.00% respectively. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that both scales maintained their single-dimensional structure, fitting well and meeting the criteria for goodness-of-fit indices. The Cronbach's α internal consistency coefficient was .96 for both scales. These findings indicate that teachers' compliance with professional ethics in relations with students scales for secondary school teachers and students are valid and reliable scales.

New Directions in Elderly Care Workforce Nurturing: Cross-Professional Collaboration From a Social Co-Care Perspective, Drawing Insights From Japan's Elderly Care Experience

The increasingly severe issue of societal aging worldwide has prompted the reevaluation of elderly-care strategies and related workforce development. This paper was developed to explore new directions in elderly care workforce development from the perspective of social co-care. The current state and challenges of elderly care personnel in Taiwan are analyzed, emphasizing the importance of cross-professional collaboration to enhancing elderly care quality. Cross-professional collaboration models and training systems currently used in Japan are examined with the goal of identifying how these models and systems as well as practice experiences may benefit and help improve Taiwan's current elderly care system. The future goal is to elevate the academic qualifications and skills of care workers, foster their professional ethics and competencies, strengthen their interprofessional collaboration abilities, and improve their autonomy and professional identity. Ultimately, a clear career advancement pathway should be established to ensure care workers play a leading role within the geriatric care team.

Integration of Ideological and Political Education into "Financial Management" Curriculum: Teaching Reform and Practice Research

With the continuous deepening of higher education reform, integrating ideological and political education with professional course teaching has become an important direction for educational innovation. This paper takes the "Financial Management" course as an example to explore the integration strategies, implementation paths of ideological and political education in professional teaching, and its impact on improving teaching quality and students' comprehensive qualities. This paper employs literature analysis, case study, and teaching experimentation methods to construct a teaching model for ideological and political education in financial management courses, proposes specific integration strategies, and validates the effectiveness of these strategies through empirical research. The research results show that the effective integration of ideological and political education can significantly enhance students' professional ethics and social responsibility, while also promoting students' in-depth understanding and application ability of professional knowledge. This paper has certain theoretical and practical significance for promoting higher education curriculum reform and achieving the organic unity of knowledge impartation and value guidance.

Tantangan Etika Dalam Profesi Teknologi Informasi

The profession in Information Technology (IT) poses many challenges, especially related to ethics, especially in privacy and data security. In working, IT professionals must face ethical dilemmas. They must balance between using innovative technology and protecting users' personal information. Professional ethics in IT are rules that determine how a professional should act, including maintaining integrity and honesty. This is important to maintain public trust in the technology services provided. However, with the increasing number of digital activities and data usage, the risk of data misuse and privacy violations is also increasing. In addition, the use of the internet as a modern communication tool also raises concerns about increasing privacy violations. This study focuses on the study of ethical principles in IT work and the issues that arise in data protection and privacy in the digital age. By understanding ethical rules and regulations on privacy, hopefully awareness of ethics will increase and data security practices can be improved to reduce the risk of privacy violations.

Implementasi Etika Profesi Hukum untuk ASN di LLDIKTI

Professional legal ethics plays a crucial role in carrying out the legal profession with integrity and fairness. For Civil Servants (ASN), especially those working at the Higher Education Service Institution (LLDIKTI), the implementation of professional legal ethics becomes even more critical, considering their role as bureaucrats who must uphold legal and ethical values in every decision they make. LLDIKTI is tasked with managing, supervising, and facilitating the organization of higher education in Indonesia, requiring its ASN to always adhere to principles of transparency, justice, and accountability in performing their duties. However, the implementation of professional legal ethics in LLDIKTI faces various challenges, including potential conflicts of interest, political pressure, complex bureaucracy, and limited human resources. This study aims to analyze the implementation of professional legal ethics in LLDIKTI and identify the challenges ASN face in applying these ethics. Additionally, the study seeks to provide recommendations on the steps that should be taken to optimize the implementation of professional legal ethics within the ASN environment in LLDIKTI. This research uses a qualitative approach, referring to legal ethics theories developed by Algra (2013) and Winarta (2007), as well as regulations governing ASN, such as Law No. 5 of 2014. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to the formulation of policies and training that enhance the professionalism and integrity of ASN in LLDIKTI.

Promoting Self-Efficacy of Nursing Students in Academic Integrity Through a Digital Serious Game: A Pre/Post-Test Study

Background: Academic integrity is an important component of nursing education, bridging academic ethics with professional practice. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a co-designed Academic Integrity digital serious game in improving nursing students’ self-efficacy related to academic integrity, academic offenses, professionalism, and artificial intelligence use. Methods: A pre-test/post-test design was employed, using a bespoke questionnaire to assess 303 first-year nursing students’ self-efficacy before and after playing the game. The questionnaire covered five subscales: academic integrity standards, academic offenses, professional values, feedback processes, and AI use in academic work. Results: Statistically significant improvements were observed across all subscales following the intervention, indicating enhanced self-efficacy in understanding and applying academic integrity principles, recognizing academic offenses, demonstrating professional behaviors, utilizing feedback, and appropriately using AI in academic contexts. Conclusions: The Academic Integrity digital serious game has the potential to be an effective tool for enhancing nursing students’ self-efficacy in the areas of academic and professional ethics. This approach shows promise for integrating academic integrity-based education in nursing curricula and preparing students for the ethical challenges of modern healthcare practice. This study was not registered.

Using critical applied linguistics to produce a code of professional ethics and values at a Foundation Program English Language in the Sultanate of Oman

Using critical applied linguistics to produce a code of professional ethics and values at a Foundation Program English Language in the Sultanate of Oman

The influence of trust and job satisfaction on structural empowerment and social work competency

ABSTRACT This study examines the interrelationships among trust, job satisfaction, structural empowerment, and social work competency within the Malaysian Department of Social Welfare (JKM). Drawing on data collected from 407 social workers, the research investigates how trust and job satisfaction influence the four dimensions of structural empowerment: opportunity, information, support, and resources. The findings reveal that trust and job satisfaction play critical roles in enhancing access to these empowerment dimensions, which directly impact the competency levels of social workers. Specifically, social workers with higher trust in their organizations and greater job satisfaction report improved access to critical resources and support systems, leading to better professional knowledge, skills, values, and ethics. The study highlights the necessity of implementing welfare policies that promote trust-building, enhance job satisfaction, and provide robust structural support to empower social workers effectively. These insights offer practical recommendations for strengthening the social work framework, ensuring more competent and resilient practitioners capable of addressing community needs effectively. By prioritizing these factors, policymakers and administrators can create an environment conducive to optimal social work outcomes and sustainable community development. This research contributes to the understanding of empowerment dynamics and their critical implications for professional social work practice.

Zarządzenia pracodawcy a należyta staranność lekarza wykonującego zawód na podstawie stosunku pracy (cz. I)

The possibility of combining the status of a professional doctor with the employee status, allowed by the legislator, means that the professional independence of a doctor-employee is not absolute. Despite his substantive independence, the doctor-employee is included in the organizational structure of his employer. However, while in a typical employment relationship the limits of an employee's freedom are determined by the employer's official orders, in the case of doctors employed under an employment contract, they also result, and even primarily, from current medical knowledge, available methods and means of prevention, diagnosis and treatment. diseases, professional ethics and due diligence. Although employing a doctor under an employment relationship involves a significant limitation, but does not completely exclude the employer's managerial rights. Against this background, there may be a conflict between the employer's order and the statutory directives that every doctor should follow when undertaking professional activity. However, resolving this type of conflicts is not possible without first defining the scope (limits) of the sphere in which doctors, including those employed under an employment relationship, are entitled to a statutory guarantee of substantive independence. Outside this sphere, the employment status of doctors will not differ from a typical employment relationship, so the doctor will be subordinated to the employer's orders, just like any other employee.

Impact of Professional Ethics and Law no. 5 of 2011 on Public Accountants on the Quality of Public Accountants' Work at Public Accountants' Offices in Indonesia

The purpose of this research is to study and analyze the Impact of Professional Ethics, UU no. 5 of 2011 about Public Accountants on the Quality of Public Accountants' Work at Public Accountants' Offices in Indonesia. The research method uses a qualitative research method by interviewing actors of 10 students of the Stie Yai Master of Accounting study program, library studies, phenomena in society, previous research, the level of triangulation to eliminate subjectivity with Forum Group Discussion (FGD). Research, discussion, analysis and new conclusions and recommendations are drawn. The result of research that Professional Ethics and Law no. 5 of 2011 regarding Public Accountants has an impact on the quality of work of public accountants at Public Accountant Offices in Indonesia.

Respect for Diversity and Multiculturalism in the Historical Transformations of Social Work Professional Ethics

Respect for Diversity and Multiculturalism in the Historical Transformations of Social Work Professional Ethics

Reflection of the phenomenon of altruism in the interdisciplinary context of social work

ABSTRACT This theoretical study provides a multidisciplinary perspective on the phenomenon of altruism with the aim of reflecting on its significance in the social work profession. Considering its origins in religious traditions, the authors point to its significance within Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Subsequently, the importance of altruism within philosophical concepts, developmental psychology and, last but not least, personality psychology is presented. As social work adopts insights from other disciplines, the authors do not neglect to emphasize altruistic concepts in the context of maintaining professional ethics related to professional boundaries in the social worker-client relationship. The aim is also to highlight the reflection of altruism in an interdisciplinary context that can contribute to the strengthening of the relationship between social workers and clients, which can contribute to good social work practice.

Buy! Buy! Buy!—How Multilevel Marketing Companies Pressure Their Participants to Buy Their Products

Despite the popularity of multilevel marketing (MLM) companies and their ability to attract many distributors worldwide with the promise of an income opportunity, the financial outcomes for participants are often unfavorable. Many distributors invest more money in internal products and business expenses than they earn. Drawing on the professional and business ethics literature, this article develops a conceptual framework to understand how organizational characteristics collectively create pressure for distributors to overspend on internal products. The framework integrates legal, financial, and social dimensions, emphasizing the dual roles of MLM distributors as both victims and potential offenders. Utilizing this framework, the article discusses the limited effectiveness of current safeguard policies at preventing the problematic effects of the MLM industry, including pyramid schemes. The article proposes new directions for research on MLMs and other distinct areas within marketing and public policy, particularly addressing the broader category of deceptive income opportunity providers.

التحديات المهنية والأخلاقية للصحافة الاستقصائية وعلاقتها بالممارسة الصحافية

The study aimed to identify the professional and ethical challenges of investigative journalism and its relationship to journalistic practice, relying on the media survey approach, by conducting a field survey on an available sample of (240) male and female journalists practicing journalism in press and media institutions in Jordan, by relying on the gatekeeper theory, and the approach of pressures and professional practices. The results of the study showed that (63.7%) of Jordanian journalists did not practice investigative journalism in their journalistic work, while the most prominent reasons for not practicing investigative journalism were: lack of interest in investigative journalism (26.9%), lack of freedom in investigative journalism (19.6%), and low level of experience sufficient to practice investigative work. The results showed that the most prominent professional and ethical challenges of investigative journalism were challenges related to the use of digital technology with mean of (4.39), then challenges of professional ethics (4.36), then professional principles (4.34), then editorial policy (4.03), then methods of managing and organizing journalistic work (4.21), and the results concluded that there is a statistically significant positive correlation between the impact of the professional and ethical challenges of investigative journalism, and the professional principles that investigative journalists adhere to.

Principle for Effective Insolvence

Insolvency proceedings are complex because they combine 3 components: economic, judicial and social. Consequently, the conduct of these proceedings requires the participation of implementing authorities with a view to achieving the aim laid down by the law, i.e. to cover the debtor's liabilities and to satisfy the creditors as far as possible. Consistency, professionalism and professional ethics of the authorities enforcing this proceeding, together with the good faith of the debtor and the creditors, ensure the principle for effective insolvency.