The code of ethics are being used by the practitioners so that they would have common reference

and to enhance the practitioner’s sense of identity as a global professional community. The
presence of the code of ethics, values, and beliefs is that to prevent the occurrence of ethical
concerns, issues or problems in the helping-consulting process.

RESPONSIBILITY TO OURSELVES: Acting with integrity and Authenticity; striving for self-
knowledge and personal growth; asserting individual interests in ways that are fair and equitable.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMPETENCE: Accepting responsibility

for the consequence of our acts; developing and maintaining individual competence and
establishing cooperative relations with other professionals; recognizing our own needs and
desires, and dealing with them responsibly in the performance of our professional roles.

RESPONSIBILTY TO CLIENTS AND SIGNIFICANT OTHERS: Serving the long-term well-being of our
client system and stakeholders; conducting ourselves honestly, responsibly, and with appropriate
openness; establishing mutual agreement on a fair contract.

RESPONSIBILITY TO THE OD COMMUNITY: Contributing to the continuing professional

development of other practitioners and field of practice; promoting the sharing of professional
knowledge and skill; working with other professionals in ways that exemplify what the profession
stands for.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Acting with sensitivity to the consequences of our recommendations for
our client system and the larger systems within they are a subsystem; acting with awareness of
our cultural filters and with sensitivity to multinational and multicultural differences and their
implications; promoting justice and serving the well-being of all life on earth.

Ethics based on values help OD practitioners guide themselves as they move along the paths of
their work and lives.

Values are set of manners that individuals learn while growing up. It is different from ethics
because ethics are publicly agreed on, and publicly stated, guidelines for a practice in a
profession. Why is it important for OD practitioners to have his/her own values? It is important
and necessary because mostly, his/her judgment will depend on his/her values. It is also
important that the OD practitioner and the organization have aligned values to that they could be
able work hand in hand and there would be purpose in what they are doing.
LIFE AND THE QUEST FOR HAPPINESS: People respecting, appreciating, and loving the experience
of their own and others’ being while engaging in search for and the process of co-creating a
good life.

FREEDOM, RESPONSIBILITY AND SELF-CONTROL: People experiencing their freedom, exercising it

responsibly, and being in charge of themselves.

JUSTICE: People living lives whose results are fair and equitable.

HUMAN POTENTIAL AND EMPOWERMENT: People being healthy and aware of the fullness of their
potential, realising their power to bring that potential into being, growing into it, living it, and
generally doing the best they can, both individually and collectively.

RESPECT, DIGNITY, INTEGRITY, WORTH, AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS AND

OTHER HUMAN SYSTEMS: People appreciating one another and their rights as human beings,
including life, liberty, and the Quest of Happiness.

AUTHENTICITY, CONGRUENCE, HONESTY AND OPENNESS, UNDERSTANDING AND ACCEPTANCE:

People being true to themselves, acting consistently with their feelings, being honest and
appropriately open with one another and both understanding and accepting others who do the
same.

FLEXIBILITY, CHANGE AND PROACTION: People changing themselves and acting assertively in a
continuing process whose aim is to maintain or achieve a good fit between themselves and the
external reality within which they live.

LEARNING, DEVELOPMENT, GROWTH AND TRANSFORMATION: People growing in ways that bring
into being greater realisation of their potential, individually and collectively.

WHOLE-WIN ATTITUDES, COOPERATION-COLLABORATION, TRUST, COMMUNITY AND DIVERSITY:

People caring about one-another and working together to achieve results that are good for
everyone, experiencing the spirit of community and honouring the diverse that exists within it.

WIDESPREAD, MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION IN SYSTEM AFFAIRS, DEMOCRACY, AND APPROPRIATE

DECISION MAKING: People participating as fully as possible in making decisions that affect their
lives.

EFFECTIVENESS, EFFICIENCY, AND ALIGNMENT: People achieving desired results with an optimal
balance between results and costs and coordinating the energy of systems, subsystems, and
macro systems (especially energy, needs, and desires on human being within those systems)

In the recent years, values such as Spirituality and Community are gaining voice, Sustainability is
being raised, and Human Potential and Personal Development values are reemerging.

Reference

“A Statement of Values and Ethics by Professionals in OD and HSD.” (Gellermann, Frankel, and
Landenson. 1990)