Personal Values Development

Personal Values Development

According to National Defense University (n.d.), "Most of an individual's ethical development occurs before entering an organization. The influence of family, church, community, and school will determine individual values. The organization, to a large extent, is dealing with individuals whose value base has been established" (The Character of Values and Ethics, para. 27). As such, an understanding of the developmental aspect of ethics in is useful for employers, employees and people as individuals. In order to understand the process of developing ethics, it is helpful to examine the various sources of ethics development.

Values and Ethics Definitions

Values usually means " that which are held to promote the sound functioning of the family and to strengthen the fabric of society" Values - Definition and more from the free Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2010). Conversely, ethics are "the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation" Ethics - Definition and more from the free Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2010). The relationship between values and ethics is relatively straightforward: one's ethics are the systematization and application of one's values.

"The study of ethical behavior in business involves understanding the factors that influence how people behave in these situations. Although we've seen that internal factors such as individual moral development are important, we know that for most people ethical conduct depends, to a large extent, on external factors such as the rules of the work context, the reward system, what peers are doing, what authority figures expect, the roles people are asked to play, and more" (Treviño & Nelson, 2001, p. 99). As such, in order to have a full understanding of the composition of values and ethics, a look at the developmental aspect as well as the surrounding environment is important.

Personal values and ethics – the influence of church

Included in the influences which contributed to development of personal values development are my immediate and extended family, school, church, friends, television and movies and the many books I have read in my life. Among these, however, the most profound, is the church I attended as a child. While the church itself provided specific structure, the people within the church also exerted a significant influence. As a child, I attended church several times a week and it was a large part of my family's day to day life. There was rarely a day which did not have a church related activity. Among the value based lessons were stories of honesty, integrity, diligence, charity, and kindness. Further, lessons included the costly price of sinful behavior; trials, plagues, floods, and other disasters were often the price paid for immoral or unethical behavior. Although I have accumulated additional experiences and other influencers have come and gone, the lessons learned in my church remain with me and continue to influence my behavior.

Value and ethics revision – the only constant is change

Although many values and ethics which I maintain have remained constant in my life, e.g. don't lie, cheat, steal, kill, or commit adultery, others have been reexamined as new information or experiences have accumulated. For example, in my work, I am responsible for managing major client relationships including errors, client escalations and general management of situations which could be perceived of as problems by our clients. While there is a science to my work, equally as important is the art of managing clients' perception. In this, there is often a very fine line between providing enough information to be accurate and honest and yet avoiding information which could be problematic.

Initially, my work in my current role seemed very straightforward and the lines between truth and lies very clear. Over the years, however, I have been confronted situations in which the lines blur and integrity and ethical behavior seem more ambiguous. One example of this is a situation in which omission of a fact or circumstance may be prudent from the business and client perception perspective. On the surface, it would seem that full disclosure would be the most ethical way to approach a situation; however, this is not always prudent or ideal from the perspective of ensuring a satisfied client. In order to remain effective in my work and yet