Personal Values and Ethical Foundations

Personal Values and Ethical Foundations

How does one’s personal, organizational and cultural values affect decision-making in one’s personal and professional life? Can a correlation be made to support this conceptually? Can specific interactions reflect the perspectives identified? These are all questions that lead to the formulation of personal values and setting an ethical foundation in a person’s life.

People today in and outside of businesses are fairly liberal in choosing what they will and what they will not believe in. Once a particular concept of a value gets engrained in their belief system, it will stick with them. The principal rule of that value will follow those persons throughout their lives. It will come out in many ways, in many responses and in many interactions. It will impact their ability to make decisions as well as the very decisions themselves (Schneider, 2001,34). The confidence and security of their decisions are weighed in the balances.

When I was growing up, my father was very much the dominant figure in our household. He was very adamant about what things my mother could and could not do. For example, in the area of work, “A woman’s place is in the home,” he used to say. So my mother cooked, cleaned and focused on taking care of us. She always showed respect to my father and was willing to channel her desire to work in assisting others whenever necessary. Well, I didn’t grow up to be a housewife like my mother, but I believe in giving respect to men (and women) and I will do whatever I can for anyone that requests my assistance. Just as my mother, I have learned how to effectively become multi-tasked and have a “servant’s attitude.”

My belief is that the world was divinely framed and strategically designed from the very beginning with a purpose. Within that purpose, we were given the power of choice with independent critical thinking skills when we were created to be a part of it. We, as mankind, have shaped the world system into where it is today. We have populated into a complex society and advanced ‘leaps and bounds’ in technology (Fotis, 1996, p46).

As the global economy continues to grow, we are finding that the choices to understand and know what is right and what is wrong are broadening due to the evolvement of various social factors and cultural differences. In turn, we are finding that our attitudes and perspectives in our professional roles are being challenged to a greater degree. For example, just this week, my manager reneged on a process that she had previously agreed with, just because one of her manager friends did not want to give a negative answer to this particular office. Although there is a code of ethics, it is this type of behavior that grays the policies and procedures. Unless leaders keep their standards high and render the appropriate guidance when known, we will continue to see deterioration in the ethical morality of the American business community. Leaders have to be guided by their personal ethics in order to have the confidence necessary to deal with people in the right manner and enable a drive in those individuals that will make them more effective; this will give them a sense of gratification in the results achieved as they would have met their job accountabilites (Fotis, 1996, p46).

Managers must learn to adjust and readjust. When managers are fair towards their subordinates, deal with their people equitably, and help them to grow, they can be more efficient and productive in their jobs (Fotis, 1996, p46).

Although my father was the dominant mate, there was much love in our home. My parents taught me values such as they had learned. This gave me a foundation for the perspectives of values and their applications. I was taught, tested, and required to learn to balance these perspectives by each of my parents. In doing so, this gave me the ability to apply these values to my life. My parents reinforced the significance of applying the principles of those values and those values became building blocks in developing my personality.