Universal or Core Ethical Values Honesty in conduct prohibits stealing,

cheating, fraud, and trickery. Cheating is not

Trustworthiness, respect, responsibility,
only dishonest but takes advantage of those
fairness, caring, and citizenship — are six core
who are not cheating. It’s a violation of trust
ethical values. Using core ethical values as the
and fairness.
basis for ethical thinking can help detect
situations where we focus so hard on upholding Not all lies are unethical, even though all
one value that we sacrifice another — eg we are lies are dishonest. Occasionally dishonesty
loyal to friends and so do not always tell the is ethically justifiable, such as when the
truth about their actions. police lie in undercover operations or when
one lies to criminals or terrorists to save
1. TRUSTWORTHINESS
lives. But occasions for ethically sanctioned
Trustworthiness concerns a variety of lying are rare - eg saving a life.
behavioral qualities — honesty, integrity,
reliability and loyalty.
Integrity
Honesty
There are no differences in the way an
There is no more fundamental ethical value
ethical person makes decisions from
than honesty. We associate honesty with
situation to situation - no difference in the
people of honour, and we admire and trust
way they act at work and at home, in public
those who are honest.
and alone.
Honesty in communications is about intent
The person of integrity takes time for self-
to convey the truth as best we know it and
reflection so that the events, crises and the
to avoid communicating in a way likely to
necessities of the day do not determine the
mislead or deceive.
course of their moral life. They stay in
There are three dimensions: control.

Truthfulness — truthfulness means not The four enemies of integrity are:

intentionally misrepresenting a fact (lying).
• Self-interest — Things we want
Intent is the crucial distinction between
truthfulness and truth itself. Being wrong is • Self-protection — Things we don’t want
not the same thing as being a liar, although
• Self-deception — A refusal to see a
honest mistakes can still damage trust.
situation clearly
Sincerity/non-deception — a sincere
• Self-righteousness — An end-justifies-the-
person does not act, say half-truths, or stay
means attitude
silent with the intention of creating beliefs
or leaving impressions that are untrue or Reliability
misleading.
When we make promises or commitments
Frankness — In relationships involving to people our ethical duties go beyond legal
trust, honesty may also require us to obligations. The ethical dimension of
volunteer information that another person promise-keeping imposes the responsibility
needs to know. of making all reasonable efforts to fulfill our
commitments.
It is also important to: Avoiding Conflicting Interests. Employees
and public servants have an additional
Avoid bad-faith excuses — Honourable
responsibility to make all professional
people don't rationalize noncompliance or
decisions on merit not personal interests.
create justifications for escaping
Their goal is to maintain the trust of the
commitments.
public.
Avoid unwise commitments — Before
2. RESPECT
making a promise consider carefully
whether you are willing and likely to keep it. Respect is about honouring the essential
Think about unknown or future events that worth and dignity of all people, including
could make it difficult, undesirable or oneself. We are morally obligated to treat
impossible to keep your commitment. everyone with respect, regardless of who
Sometimes, all we can do is promise to do they are and what they have done. We have
our best. a responsibility to be the best we can be in
all situations, even when dealing with
Avoid unclear commitments — Since others
unpleasant people.
will expect you to live up to what they think
you have promised to do, be sure that, Respect focuses on:
when you make a promise, the other
Civility, Courtesy and Decency - A respectful
person understands what you are
person is a good listener. The respectful
committing to do.
person treats others with consideration,
Loyalty conforming to accepted notions of taste
and propriety, and doesn’t resort to
Loyalty is about promoting and protecting
intimidation, coercion or violence except in
the interests of certain people,
extraordinary and limited situations to
organizations or affiliations. Some
teach discipline, maintain order or achieve
relationships — husband-wife, employer-
social justice.
employee, citizen-country — create an
expectation of loyalty. Tolerance - An ethical person accepts
individual differences and beliefs and judges
Prioritizing Loyalties. Because so many
others only on their character.
individuals and groups make loyalty claims
on us, it is often impossible to honor them 3. RESPONSIBILITY
all simultaneously. Consequently, we must
Life is full of choices. Being responsible
rank our loyalty obligations in some rational
means being in charge of our choices and
fashion. In our personal lives, for example,
therefore our lives. It means being
it’s perfectly reasonable, and ethical, to look
accountable for what we do and who we
out for the interests of our children, parents
are. It also means recognizing that what we
and spouses even if we have to subordinate
do, and what we don’t do, matters.
our obligations to other children, neighbors,
or co-workers in doing so. Accountability
Safeguarding Confidential Information. An accountable person is not a victim and
Loyalty requires us to keep secrets or doesn’t shift blame or claim credit for the
information learned in confidence. work of others.
Pursuit of Excellence Equity

The pursuit of excellence has an ethical It is important not to take advantage of the
dimension when others rely upon our weakness, disadvantage or ignorance of
knowledge, ability or willingness to perform others. Fairness requires that an individual,
tasks safely and effectively. company, or society correct mistakes,
promptly and voluntarily.
Diligence. Responsible people are reliable,
careful, prepared and informed. 5. CARING

Perseverance. Responsible people finish Caring is the heart of ethics. It is scarcely

what they start, overcoming rather than possible to be truly ethical and not
surrendering to obstacles and excuses. genuinely concerned with the welfare
others. That is because ethics is ultimately
Continuous Improvement. Responsible
about our responsibilities toward other
people look for ways to do their work
people.
better.
Sometimes we must hurt those we care for
Self-Restraint
and some decisions, while quite ethical, do
Responsible people exercise self-control, cause pain. But one should consciously
restraining passions and appetites (such as cause no more harm than is reasonably
lust, hatred, gluttony, greed and fear). They necessary.
delay gratification if necessary and never
6. CITIZENSHIP
feel it’s necessary to "win at any cost."
The concept of citizenship includes how we
4. FAIRNESS
ought to behave as part of a community.
Fairness is a tricky concept. Disagreeing The good citizen knows the laws and obeys
parties tend to maintain that there is only them - but they also volunteer and stay
one fair position - their own. But while informed on the issues of the day.
some situations and decisions are clearly
Citizens do more than their "fair" share to
unfair, fairness usually refers to a range of
make society work, now and for future
morally justifiable outcomes rather than
generations. Citizenship can have many
discovery of one fair answer.
expressions, such as conserving resources,
Process recycling, using public transportation and
cleaning up litter.
A fair person uses open and unbiased
processes for gathering and evaluating
information necessary to make decisions.
Fair people do not wait for the truth to
come to them; they seek out relevant
information and conflicting perspectives
before making important decisions.

Impartiality

Decisions should be unbiased without

favouritism or prejudice.