Once a person has decided that they want to join the ranks of the academy with a vision to excel and enter the professional world, the steps they take while pursuing this vision become the code by which their future is built. The actions that are taken and the ideals that are formed during this academic tenure will often determine how influential and respected a person can become in society, as well as the code of ethics that he follows.
The philosophy of ethics can be divided into three categories; personal ethics, professional ethics and academic ethics. Personal ethics are the basic principles and values that oversee how we get along with each other. Society has dictated that good ethics include those that positively impact our experiences when we interact with others, whether socially or commercially. Anything that is negative would not be considered socially acceptable.
Professional ethics are the behavior, values, and personal and business guiding principles that have been established by organizations to help guide their members and help them perform their job functions in accordance with the ethical principles of the organization.
Academic ethics are the personal behaviors of an academic community to present a work that is truly theirs. Plagiarism, cheating, or following regulations are offenses that can compromise the integrity of the facility and diminish the academic spirit of the college experience.
Kaplan University’s official plagiarism policy can be defined as “All work done towards the completion of a course must be your original work with appropriate citations or acknowledgments from any source used in the completion of any course, project or assignment. This includes , but is not limited to discussion boards, computer programs, marketing plans, PowerPoint presentations, articles, and other assignments, including drafts and final versions (Kaplan University, 2014). “
Kaplan’s plagiarism policy then goes on to identify offenses that constitute plagiarism as those that include, but are not limited to, using the ideas, words and / or other works of their authors without their consent or credit, purchasing a paper outside of Internet for the purpose of using it as the original work of the sender, and the submission of any work, in whole or in part, as your own, even if you did not perform the actual work.
According to Lobanov-Rostovsky’s definition of plagiarism in Angelaki: Journal of the Theoretical Humanities, (2009), “plagiarism is traditionally viewed as a form of theft, with an emphasis on unearned benefits (educational, financial, or professional) that the plagiarist gains by appropriating the intellectual work of another “. The article goes on to claim that this idea of what plagiarism is simply means that none of our ideas or thoughts are really ours, but rather are a regurgitation of pre-existing knowledge compilations.
The act of committing plagiarism is a very serious offense that has equally serious consequences. If the University has determined that such an infraction has been committed, one of three consequences will occur. These consequences, as defined by the Kaplan Integrity Policy, are: first offense – assignment failure, second offense – class failure, and third offense – expulsion from the University (Kaplan University, 2014).
Plagiarism charges are subsequently recorded in the Kaplan University database and remain there permanently. If a student continues to commit plagiarism, the charges will accumulate and after the third offense, the student will be permanently expelled from the University.
To avoid these consequences, the University has given students guidelines that they can follow to avoid committing any action that may be considered plagiarism. Some of these ways include the Question and Answer Center, live tutoring, and various workshops, either live or recorded, the Kaplan University Writing Center (KUWC). These resources can be found within the Kaplan University Academic Support Center.
Personal choice is always the first resource to be known as an ethical person, both in academia and in professional institutions. It is first within the academic institution where students develop their moral and ethical standards that they then carry with them in their professional careers. It is up to them to maintain a high level of honesty and integrity and their actions both within and outside of these careers. Doing otherwise would cause others to question the policies of the institution involved.
The profession a person chooses, where they choose to practice that profession, the actions they take, and how they choose to practice this profession are personal choices made by the individual. These personal choices have been made consciously along the path the student took during his academic career. It is these conscious choices that become the ethical code of that person and are influenced by their ethical identity (Romani & Szkudlarek, 2014).
The case of the 18-year-old Michael Brown shooting in St. Louis, Missouri, brings to light the issues behind personal choice and ethics. Officer Wilson had to make his own decision in a split second when he was confronted by a young man who some witnesses said was accusing him. Since the conclusion of the Grand Jury trial and the officer’s subsequent acquittal, many different opinions have been raised across the country about the ethics of Officer Wilson and the St. Louis Police Department. The decision to shoot was simply a personal choice Wilson made in the face of any perceived danger at the time of the incident (Cassell, 2014).
If you are ever faced with any kind of ethical issue, the main thing you should do to maintain a personal ethic that conforms to the expected ethics is to resort to the ethics that you were taught during your academic and professional career. Stay up-to-date on what the ethics state and just abide by the laws and rules of the day.
It is the actions and ideals that make up a person’s code of ethics throughout their academic career that will have a lasting impact on how they will be viewed in the professional world. Cheating, stealing someone else’s ideas, cheating, or acting in a socially unacceptable manner will subject a person to incalculable scrutiny and negative consequences. Therefore, by following the ideals and ethics that were exemplified during the academic career, one can secure a positive future ahead.
References
Cassell, P. (December 8, 2014). The audiotape of the Michael Brown shooting that was ignored. The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/12/08/the-overlooked-audiotape-of-the-michael-brown-shooting/
Kaplan University. (2014). Kaplan University Plagiarism Policy. Academic support center. Retrieved from https://kucampus.kaplan.edu/MyStudies/AcademicSupportCenter/WritingCenter/WritingReferenceLibrary/ResearchCitationAndPlagiarism/KaplanUniversitysPlagiarismPolicy.aspx
Lobanov-Rostovsky, S. (2009). The death of the plagiarist. Angelaki: Journal of Theoretical Humanities, 14 (1), 29-39. doi: 10.1080 / 09697250903006435
Romani, L. and Szkudlarek, B. (2014). The struggles of interculturalists: professional ethical identity and the first stages of the development of codes of ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 119 (2), 173-191. doi: 10.1007 / s10551-012-1610-1