What term refers to the moral principles that guide actions in professional settings?

The term that refers to the moral principles that guide actions in professional settings is "ethics." Ethics encompasses the set of guidelines and standards that dictate what is considered right or wrong behavior within a specific context, such as a profession. It serves as a framework for individuals and organizations to make decisions that align with societal norms and values, ensuring accountability and trustworthiness in interactions and transactions.

While integrity, morality, and values are also important concepts related to ethical behavior, they do not encompass the specific professional standards that ethics entails. Integrity refers to the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, often related to an individual’s character. Morality is a broader term that represents the distinctions between right and wrong and can vary significantly across different cultures and societies, thus not being exclusively professional. Values, on the other hand, refer to the beliefs or ideals that individuals or groups hold important, which influence their decisions and actions but do not provide the specific guidelines that ethics does. Therefore, ethics is the most appropriate term for professional moral principles.