Ethical Filter

Running head: ETHICAL FILTER WORKSHEET

Ethical Filter Worksheet

Jeff Sealey

University of Phoenix

Workshop 3

Ethical Filter Worksheet

Value

Personal Source

with Examples

Justify the Value’s Position in the List. Include any challenges to employing these values consistently when making personal and organizational decisions.

Integrity Jeff was raised as a child and mentored in the Air Force that first and foremost, you have to do the right thing, not the popular thing. Jeff has seen on more than one occasion in the AF where an individual has willfully misspent money, intentionally lied about information just to get things done or to hide wrong doings, or not step up to address inappropriate behaviors. Jeff had his integrity challenged on one occasion where someone in a formal classroom setting started making jokes of a sexual nature. Not once did the instructor address the comments and later tried to dismiss the class. While Jeff was not personally offended by the comments, his integrity to do the right thing led him to address the students as well as the instructor before anyone could leave. Jeff explained that the comments were inappropriate for that setting and that the instructor showed a poor example for allowing it to continue. Jeff placed integrity at the top of the list because he feels that having integrity will lead to trust and loyalty which will ultimately relate to the organization’s effectiveness. The challenge with always displaying integrity is that some people may resent what you do or say. However, while making right decision or speaking up is not always the easiest decision, subordinates and peers will in most cases respect you for doing the right thing in the long run as Jeff found out. He did not go to the school looking for any type of awards, but after speaking up about the comments, he did not feel he would have a chance as a big part of who gets awards is peer evaluation points. On graduation night, Jeff was honored as a Distinguished Graduate based the leadership points he earned from his peers.

Respect Jeff had times early in his military career where he felt he was not respected personally nor did he feel his ideas were respected. Jeff’s motivation and desire to do a good job did not exist. Based on Jeff’s early experiences, he decided he was not going to be one of those individuals who did not value and respect everyone’s ideas and input just because of their rank or other factors such as race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. When Jeff left Texas, he had a going away luncheon that was attended by mostly senior personnel. However, one young Airman came to the luncheon that Jeff had only had minimal contact with from when they both worked on a project together. The Airmen got up at the end of the luncheon and explained that Jeff was the only person in his two years of being in the AF that actually treated him like a person, valued and solicited his opinions, and made him feel like part of the team. The Airman was very emotional and stated that the one and only reason he planned to re-enlist was because he realized there were people like Jeff in the AF and not just people who exclude individuals because of their rank or where they were born. General Ronald Fogelman once stated, “We must learn that no matter how good the technology or how shiny the equipment, people-to-people relations get things done in our organizations. People are the assets that determine our success or failure.” (US Air Force, 2007) Jeff truly believes everyone wants to feel like they are respected and valued as an individual. Leaders who don’t value and seriously consider the ideas of everyone in their organizations are selling themselves and their organization short.

Commitment to People Like with respect, Jeff feels you must take care of your people. Jeff conducts Unit Climate Assessments (UCA) for organizations and has seen where there are perceptions of all give and no take by employees. People always comment that they would be more motivated if their superiors put them in for awards, step promotions, and were sent to school for additional training to broaden their skills. For the most part, people in these organizations like their jobs, but morale