...Personal Values, Organizational values, and Ethical Decision Making Steven R. Oldham MGT/521 September 17, 2012 Thane Messinger Personal Values, Organizational values, and Ethical Decision Making Based on the results of my Williams Institute of Ethics Awareness Inventory Assessment, my own values, ethics and many years of experience in management it is my belief that all organizations should uphold the maximum standards of ethics. Business integrity should have zero tolerance for any form of corruption, extortion, or embezzlement. The highest standards of integrity are expected in all business dealings. Any form of unethical conduct has no place in a respectable and honorable organization. Any member of an organization should be instantaneously dismissed from the organization and legal action should be ajudiacated. However, I discovered this is not always the case, as I researched some unethical business dealings. In the case against KBR on human trafficking charges, K KBR: Corruption Within America’s Biggest Construction Company Formerly known as Kellogg Brown & Root, KBR is the largest non-union construction company in the United States with a history that can be found from over a century ago. Many companies are viewed as being corrupt, with greed being one of the major preceding issues resulting in this corruption; KBR is not an exception. One would think that with so many major politicians being connected to the companies, KBR would try to refrain from scandals...
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...Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Ethics and morals are often used interchangeably, but they are not quite the same. Ethics can be applied personally or in the business world, and the processes in these two situations can be different. This essay will explore the difference between ethical and moral issues, and personal and business ethics. Examples will also be given to demonstrate these issues in the business world. Ethics and Morals Every person has different life experiences, and these life experiences work together to create individual personalities. The core values of a person are defined as his or her morals. But ethics and morals are often interchanged because they are so closely related. In actuality, ethics applies morals. Ethics tend to be more standardized in relation to social acceptance. Trevino and Nelson define ethics as “the principles, norms, and standards of conduct governing an individual or group” (Trevino & Nelson, 2007, Ch. 1). Morals act as a basis for ethical decisions. Personal morals will differ among people. For example, one person believes that eating meat is not morally right, but another person believes that eating meat is just a normal part of life and therefore morally acceptable. These are simply differences in moral values. This can be an important factor in business when hiring a new employee. Employers will want to make sure that a potential employee has a moral set that will be workable with the business’s ethics. Ethics are tied...
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...Ethical Self-Assessment Paper Ethical Self-Assessment The assignment calls for self-examination of what influences the ethical decisions individually made within the health care industry, as well as describing or defining lessons learned from self-assessment. The American College of Health Care Executives (ACHE) has developed a series of questions, designed to demonstrate the ethical decision making process. This paper will address what, how, and why I would choose the ethical decisions made in healthcare. As a health care professional in society today, there will be daily situations that call for an ethical decision to be made. According to Dictionary.com (2012) “Ethics is being in accordance with the accepted principles of right and wrong that govern the conduct of a profession”. The ethical decision will be comprised of two things, the beliefs developed by the organization for employees to carry out and the beliefs the individuals have set for themselves. There are always guidelines to adhere to in the health care field as far as patient care, privacy, treatment, and delivery, but ethical decisions are based on moral values instilled in the worker. There are a few things that I learned from this assessment. But one that stands out the most is when making an ethical decision, especially as a health care professional, it is not just about the personal moral beliefs. An ethical decision in health care must ensure that the decision made does not negatively...
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...Ethical Self Assessment Abstract * As Health care executives in this globally diverse world where cultural beliefs blends with societal ethics can one truly define ethics? What might be right to one person may not be right to another person. Ethics is one of the most important topics that should be addressed not just in this industry but in every aspects of the business world. But a major challenge with ethics is that it is a very relative term. After completing the American College of Healthcare Executives Ethical Self Assessment, the author found answers to questions included in this paper. Such this paper will address what I learn about my own ethical decision making from the self-assessments. The effect of professional ACHE standards to my ethical decision making will be discussed in this paper. How my individual ethics influence my decision making will be enumerated in this paper. Finally the strategies that I can adopt to improve my ethical decision making in the future will be enumerated in this paper. Ethical Self Assessment Paper As Hermans and Oles (1994) states, “The human person not only lives in a world of values but also is able to create values on a personal perspective” (p. 569). Value to me simply describes an individual or cultural belief system an individual may have. Values are viewed as objects or ideals important to an individual, called personal, or group of individuals, culture, or family. A personal value thus refers to an individual’s belief...
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...prescribed and regulated by the management accountant's personal code of ethics, the code of ethics of the employer, societal norms, and the law. In addition members of the Society are regulated by the Society's code of ethics. As more organizations adopt codes of ethics, management accountants will increasingly be asked to design systems to control, evaluate, interpret or apply ethical judgement. The following develops the basis for forming ethical judgements. The management accountant fulfils four broad roles concerning ethics: 1. to ensure that management has developed and installed a comprehensive and internally controlled code of ethics. 2. to verify that the code of ethics and its controls are comprehensive and that everyone in the organization understands and complies with it. 3. to report to management any deviation from the code of ethics and its control systems. The Board of Directors may ultimately have to address any failures in the code or its controls. 4. to act in accordance with the code of ethics in making personal decisions. What are Ethics and Morals? Ethics are the rules people use to define and regulate moral behaviour. Morals distinguish right from wrong. Descriptive ethics are codes of ethics as actually practiced. Descriptive ethics provide no value judgements. Normative ethics, or moral reasoning, develops statements about whether a practiced ethical system is good or bad and suggests how ethical dilemmas, which are conflicts between individual systems...
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...Comparing Ethics What exactly does it mean when one says that a decision is ethical? The answer to that question depends on that person’s perception of ethics. Ethics is a perception of a situation or culmination of situations, decision, and resultant factors. To answer the question fully, one would have to consider the ethical values of the person. Is the person basing the decision on virtue ethics, utilitarianism, or a deontological standpoint? A careful review of these three standpoints would reveal one’s situational perception of ethics. There are similarities within the three perspectives of virtue, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. In virtue ethics, one would be making an ethical decision if that decision is aligned with an effort to strive for excellence. “It takes the viewpoint that in living your life you should try to cultivate excellence in all that you do and all that others do” (Boylan, 2009, p. 133). This is an obligation to personal development. Similarly, from the utilitarianism viewpoint, one would consider whether the decision would result in the best outcome for community or society. With deontological ethics, one would have to take into consideration the duties of that person and how one fulfills obligations to self and community. All three perspectives judge the ethical decision with consideration for whether or not the decision considers personal responsibilities and quality of life. The three standpoints...
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...how others approach ethical decision making (The Williams Institute for Ethics and Management, 2012). “Ethics awareness inventory is designed to assist individuals with achieving specific objectives enabling an individual to understand and care about what is right or good, compare, and decide alternatives, form opinions about actions morally appropriate to take, and acquire the skills to justify decisions or ethical grounds” (The Williams Institute for Ethics and Management, 2012, p. 1). Understanding the importance of an individual’s own personal ethical perspective is an important area that individuals should be aware of and understand as well, the relationship between personal and professional ethics are also areas important to be aware of and understand. The ethics awareness inventory consists of four categories of ethical thoughts used to determine the profile of an individual, which should reflect the individual’s beliefs. After taking the multiple question inventories it is apparent that the ethical profile most closely aligned to is (O) obligation, and the ethical profile least closely aligned is (E) equity (The Williams Institute for Ethics and Management, 2012). The ethics perspective of (O) obligation, “individuals who most closely aligned with obligation tend to base his or her ethical perspectives on an individual’s duty or obligation to do what is morally right” (The Williams Institute for Ethics and Management, 2012, p. 4). The ethical style is individuals...
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...Ethical Leadership •What are the components of a comprehensive framework for ethical decision making in business? Ethical Issue Intensity Business Ethics Ethical or Individual Factors Evaluations and Unethical Organizational factors Intentions Behavior Opportunity Ethical-Issue Intensity The first step in ethical decision making is to recognize that an ethical issue requires an individual or work group to choose among several actions that various stakeholders inside or outside the firm will ultimately evaluate as right or wrong. The intensity of an ethical issue relates to its perceived importance to the decision maker. Ethical issue intensity, then, can be defined as the relevance or importance of an ethical issue in the eyes of the individual, work group, and/or organization. It is personal and temporal in character to accommodate values, beliefs, needs, perceptions, the special characteristics of the situation, and the personal pressures prevailing at a particular place and time. Senior employees and those with administrative authority contribute significantly to intensity because they typically dictate an organization’s stance on ethical issues. In fact, under current law, managers can be held liable for the unethical and illegal Moral intensity relates to a person’s perception...
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...Personal Values: Kudler Fine Foods MGT/521 11/12/10 Dr. Olivia Herriford Personal Values: Kudler Fine Foods Determining personal values and designing a format for individual ethics requires dedication. According to McGraw-Hill Higher Education (2009), “The generally accepted principles of right and wrong governing the conduct of individuals” (Glossary, para. 16) is the definition of personal ethics. One tool that helps to understand this term is the software program the Ethics Awareness Inventory by The Williams Institute. This comprehensive assessment breaks down individual perspectives pertaining to specific situations presented within the program and provides insight relating to ethical decision making. Personal values The Williams Institute breaks down ethical values in four categories known by the acronym CORE. CORE stands for Character, Obligation, Results, and Equality (The Williams Institute, 2008). The perspective I most closely related to was Obligation with 24 points. In this area, Obligation is about duty, what a rational person ought to do morally as opposed to what her or she should do (The Williams Institute, 2008). Additionally, through the Obligation perspective, I am supportive to providing opportunities for individuals to grow and learn. This assessment also provides the perspective least aligned with individual values. My assessed perspective was Character, where I received -24 points. The definition of Character is “what is good to be rather...
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...Ethical Similarities and Differences David I Schuyler ETH/316 July 20, 2014 Leah Miller Comparing Ethics As we go through life, we have to ask ourselves whether the decisions we make are ethical or not? The answer to that question depends on an individual’s perception of ethics. According to Merriam-Webster, ethics are rules of behavior based on ideas about what is morally good or bad. To fully answer the question, one would have to consider the ethical values of the individual. Is the individual basing the decision on virtue ethics, utilitarianism, or a deontological standpoint? A review of these three standpoints would reveal one’s situational perception of ethics. The Ethic Similarities There are similarities within the three perspectives of virtue, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. In virtue ethics, one would be making an ethical decision if a virtuous person would do the same under the same circumstance. “Virtue ethics is person rather than action based: it looks at the virtue or moral character of the person carrying out an action, rather than at ethical duties and rules, or the consequences...
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...Ethical Dilemmas at Work John Hayes XMGT/216 June 11, 2012 Elaine McCarty Ethical Dilemmas at Work If I were to reflect on a workplace ethical dilemma I have faced, I would choose a dilemma I am currently facing. I recently have been finding it increasingly difficult to complete my university work and my required workplace tasks. This disarray between my work and personal life has resulted in undue pressure and stress. My attempts to keep work and classes separate and balanced have fallen short mostly because of an increased demand to perform. As a result, I have been completing class assignments during work hours on company time. This conflicting behavior violates company policy and the company code of ethics. I made a difficult ethical decision based on a difficult situation yet I understand that sometimes it is necessary to draw from our own ethics and what may be in the better interest of the group or individual. It would seem that I am gradually creating a pattern of skewed thinking and am at odds with myself and the values and beliefs most important to me. Situational context has me circumventing my own belief system and, unfortunately, has allowed my decisions to be manipulated by the pressures of the situation. Understandably, this situation, driven by an unethical decision, resulted in personal embarrassment and an undesirable response from my manager (Under, 2010). I would avoid this ethical dilemma today through a strategy of open communication with my manager...
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...insight to the values and ethical principles governing nursing practice, conduct, and relationships. The Code of Ethics for Nurses, adopted by the American Nurses' Association (ANA) is intended to provide definite standards of practice and conduct that are essential to the ethical discharge of the nurse's responsibility (American Nurses Association, 2012). A nurse cultivates personal ethics through personal, cultural and spiritual values which becomes a moral compass for their professional ethics. Personal ethics in combination with the code of ethics often assist the nurses in personal and social decision making during ethical dilemma. This ability prompts them to better respond to needs of the suffering patient and their own well-being. This paper will discuss the personal, cultural, and spiritual values contributing to nurses’ individual worldview and philosophy of nursing and the moral and ethical dilemma being faced in this profession. Values Contributing to Individual’s Worldview and Philosophy of Nursing Born in a Christian middle class South Indian family, the strict traditional values helped to embed the concept of service, trust, respect, integrity and responsibility through family, friends, education and beliefs. The personal and spiritual belief on the remarks, “Do to others as you would have them do to you”, from the New International Version of Bible has kindled the concept of service, integrity and respect at an early age of one’s personal life. The cultural quench...
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...Ethical and Legal Issues Ethical and Legal Issues Faced with ethical and legal decisions on a daily basis, nurses must at times make some pretty tough decisions including how to proceed with care for an incapacitated patient with no advanced directive or how to proceed when called upon to testify against a current employer. The American Nurses Association Code of Nursing Ethics is one of the main tools available for the nurse to utilize when it comes to making these tough decisions. The nurse may apply personal values as well as societal values to these cases in order to come to a sound, ethical decision. The legal aspects of each of these cases can have a profound effect on the continuing career of the nurse, a thorough evaluation is necessary to protect all involved. Finally, the nurse also carries a legal responsibility to her profession, workplace, patients, and self. Ethical and legal decision-making are complex but after a thorough assessment, the nurse can continue to make an ethically and legally sound judgment on how to proceed. Influence of the ANA Code of Nursing Ethics The ANA Code of Nursing Ethics is the first reference when deciding how to proceed with an incapacitated patient who has no advanced directive or how a nurse should react when called upon to testify against an employer in a negligence or malpractice case. This code, designed to assist the nurse in maintaining his or her ethical integrity as well as protect the nurse...
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...Personal Ethics Development University of Phoenix PHL/323 Ethics in Management Week One Assignment 29 January 2012 Personal Ethics Development Ethics are what human beings base our day-day functions and existence on. It is safe to say that ethics is the very compound that links understanding with reason, when developing beliefs and opinions. A person’s character defines his morals and values. In the decision-making process, these two assumptions play a major role in what is right and wrong, substantial, or beneficial. Ethics are essentially developed at birth and practiced, altered and molded into an individual’s personality throughout life. Until the situation arises that ethics are used to base an opinion or make a decision, ethics are not defined or understood. From the reading Trevino and Nelson define ethics as “The principles, norms, and standards of conduct governing an individual...
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...Values and Ethical Decision Making Learning Team A Kevin Davis, Desmond Harris, David Stevens MGT 521 January 30, 2010 Richard Lewis Values and Ethical Decision Making Individuals and organizations make multiple decisions every day. Making decisions involves making a choice between two or more alternatives (Nickels, McHugh, & McHugh, 2010). Some of these choices are small, like what flavor of ice cream to buy, whereas other choices are big, like should a corporate executive take a bribe. Making ethical decisions is important for an organization’s success. An individual’s personal values and ethics help guide decision making. Organizational values also play a role in making decisions. Ethics awareness inventories help identify a person’s ethical perspective and how that perspective may conflict with organizational values to influence decisions. Values Evaluating personal values Norfolk Southern values can be evaluated through the individual actions, accomplishments, and achievements that have institutionalized the company’s commitment and many years of service. The personal leadership at Norfolk Southern developed the company’s long-term strategic formula for success in the railroad industry. The personal values of Norfolk Southern leaders, like former Chief Executive Officer David R. Goode, developed the company’s mission and vision and helped build a top company within the industry. Mr. Goode’s personal actions throughout countless situations helped guide the...
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