Abstract
The objective of this chapter is to analyze the importance of professional integrity as the improvement concept and ethics in the development of professionals in administration and management sciences. The research method employed is the ethnographic, documental, and life histories, complemented with field work supported by in-depth interviews and analyzed using a comparative method. The outcomes of the research on the application in management education demonstrate that the drama of economic efficiency is centered on dysfunctional professional integrity. This chapter provides a sound professional philosophy that empowers professionals to act with integrity, increases the probability for long-term success and professional fulfillment. The results provide also the basis to develop a code of conduct and regulation policies to sustain management education for professional integrity that can positively impact on business culture through influencing the behavior of key actors.
TopNotion Of Integrity
Integrity is important to build a good society, a reason that makes necessary to define with precision the origin and sense of the term. Srivastva and Associates (1988) describe integrity with an emphasis on congruence, consistency, morality, universality and concern for others. Kerr (1988: 126-127) lists the Ten Commandments of Executive Integrity. Covey (1992) describes integrity as honestly matching words and feelings with thoughts and actions for the good of others. A key component of integrity is the consistency between actions and words. Integrity is defined by the Webster’s New World Dictionary (1994) as: “1. the quality or state of being complete; unbroken condition; wholeness; entirety; 2. the quality or state of being unimpaired; perfect condition; soundness; and 3. the quality or state of being of sound moral principle; uprightness, honesty, and sincerity”. Integrity is a state or condition of being whole, complete, unbroken, unimpaired, sound, perfect condition.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Management Education: Is one discipline of higher education by which students are taught to be business leaders, directors, managers, executives, and administrators.
Professional Integrity: Degree of identification of the behavior of a professional with the ethical requirements of their profession.
Leadership: Consists of the ability or ability of a person to influence, induce, encourage or motivate others to carry out certain objectives, with enthusiasm and of their own will.
Organizational Performance: Capacity of the organization that harmonizes the individual group results and of the own organization; that stimulates performance; recognizes the perceptions of workers; and expresses the characteristics of the competencies that it has.
Managerial Integrity: Is a holistic management approach that makes prudent and ethical decisions in managerial positions relating to functional areas of organizations such as finance, operations, marketing, human resources as well as manufacturing by adhering to the highest standards of product quality, open and clear communication.
Professionalism: The professionalism is the way or the way to develop certain professional activity with a total commitment, moderation and responsibility, according to their specific formation and following the pre-established guidelines socially.
Integrity: Integrity means the totality of a person, including the physical dimension, that is, the body. As a human value, integrity is a personal choice and a commitment to consistency with honoring ethics, values and principles. The moral dimension, including the way of being and the values. In general, the concept applies to human rights, but also to the values that a person may have. In ethics, integrity considers the veracity and transparency of personal actions, therefore, is opposed to falsehood or deception.