Ethical profile
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Ethical Autobiography
Morality is defined as the sense that is able to differentiate decisions, intentions and actions between those that are right and wrong. As human beings, we are able to perceive what is right and wrong. However, it is a relative conclusion and depends on an individual. What a person sees as right may be seen as wrong by another person. Deciding what is right and wrong is a personal decision that one reaches alone. Determination of what is right and wrong is done using what is termed as a moral compass (Hall, 2004). Moral compass are things that guide an individual when making personal decisions on the basis of virtues and morals. It can be anything from a person, a book or even religion. Among the most common moral compass used in determining right from wrong in daily life is one’s conscience. An internal subconscious is used to determine what is right and wrong. The conscience is an inner voice that prompts a person when they do something wrong. When one does something that is good for them as an individual and those that are around them then it is something right. As a child, one learns to differentiate what is right from wrong but as they grow older, one is required to make their own decisions based on their conscience. Common sense can also be used to determine what is right and wrong. When one is required to make a decision on ethics, they use their brains to come up with an appropriate decision. In our day to day lives, we are supposed to decide right and wrong based on whether our decision is fair or good.
Ethical behavior is acting in a manner that is consistent with what individuals and the society think are good values. Ethical behavior involves demonstrating key moral principles such as fairness (Hall, 2004). Fairness is ethical behavior whereby an individual does not practice injustice or biasness. It involves making judgments without any form of discrimination. Another example of ethical behavior is being honest. Honesty is the choice of not lying, cheating, or deceiving others in any way. It means being trustworthy, sincere and loyal in everything that one does. Another ethical behavior is practicing equality. Equality is ensuring that people are treated equally according to ability, degree or value. It involves treating people in a fair way and equally regardless of whom they are or where they are from. Another ethical behavior is being loyal. Loyalty means being faithful or devoted to a person, country or a particular cause. It means remaining faithful to things one is committed or obliged to do (Hall, 2004).
People develop ethical behavior as they grow up in their family environment. Ethical behavior is mostly influenced by the cultural heritage of where an individual is from. Culture heritage expresses the way people live and it has developed over time and passed through generations. Cultural heritage shapes our values because it comprises of practices, customs, values and expressions that people have. Cultural heritage produces a representation of belief, value systems and lifestyles of people. In short, cultural heritage influences the behavior of people and hence shapes their values. People’s values are formed on the basis of their cultural heritage.
I have found myself exhibiting the four ethical behaviors through my day to day activities. I am always fair in everything that I do in my day to day activities. I am not bias and neither do I practice injustice in anything I do. I am honest in everything that I do, I do not cheat, lie or deceive others in nay way. I always practice equality and do not discriminate anyone that I deal with. I am always loyal in what I do. I am devoted and faithful in everything that I am set to do.
Professional Ethical Hero
My ethical hero is my football coach and he is undoubtedly my role model. He is professional and ethical in everything that he does. He is quite sensitive on different issues and knows how well to approach different people and situations that he faces. He always thinks about others and goes an extra mile of ensuring that everyone is okay. He knows what to say and when to say it such that he does not hurt anyone’s feelings. He puts his team members first and always makes sure their needs are taken care of without any favor. He knows how to set boundaries with his team members as well as his colleagues. He knows how to maintain these boundaries and ensure that no one crosses the boundaries. If a situation requires him to remain professional he dies exactly that. However, he knows when to change from being professional to casual when the situation requires. He also respects other people’s privacy and is not considered about people’s personal lives.
He only involves himself with issues pertaining to the game and nothing else. He does not bother about our personal lives. He only gets involved in one’s personal life if they willingly share their personal information. He is also has an ethical commitment whereby he carries out his activities in an ethical manner. He does mot discriminate the team members in what he does. He treats everyone equally and does not favor anyone regardless of whom they are. For instance, there was a time we needed a team captain for the team. All the team members expected to appoint someone he wanted. However, he did not anyone as we had expected, instead, he decided we should vote for our preferred captain. We ended up voting and the person with the highest number of votes was appointed as the captain. The incident shows that he has ethical commitment in his dealings. He has also shown ethical courage many times. He always stands by what is ethical and is not influenced into acting unethically. There was a time the team had qualified for national competitions. The team that had won the previous year did not qualify and their coach was willing to do anything to go to the nationals. The coach offered our coach some money to bribe him into not going to the nationals so that his team can go instead. Our coach did not agree and refused to take the bribe. He was ethically courageous to stand by what is right and not follow what the other coach wanted.
My coach is not corrupt, he does not believe in corrupt dealings. He always makes sure that he is straight forward in what he does. He does not believe in shortcuts but follows the correct procedure in everything. He is honest in his dealings and does not cheat or lie. He is not deceitful and is always truthful. He compassionate and cares about the feelings of his colleagues and employees.
He serves as a role model to other people who are in the helping profession. Those in the helping profession are supposed to be caring and compassionate. They are supposed to put the needs of others before their own and always show concern. They are also supposed to be fair in their dealings. Those in the helping profession interact with different people and hence they are not supposed to discriminate people in any way. They are to treat people equally regardless of their tribe, age, color, nationality, gender and so on. In the helping profession, there is a lot of assistance offered to organization in the form of grants. Those in this profession are expected not to be corrupt and be transparent in issues to do with finances. My boss exhibits all these characters that can be emulated by those in the helping profession.
We often pick values from those we interact with everyday. My coach has been a great influence in my value system. I often find what he as admirable and hence strive to be like him. I see the satisfaction he derives from what he does and would certainly what to feel the same way he does. Seeing him do what he does gives me great confidence to follow suit.
Ethical Decision-making style
The understanding of how ethical decisions are made and followed through is the first step involved in making better choices. The second step involves taking a systematic approach in making ethical decisions. There are various ethical decision making models that can be applied in our day to day lives. Decision-making models help in making better ethical choices. Taking a systematic approach on an issue encourages an individual to define a problem, get the required information and apply the necessary ethical values and standards, examine alternatives and follow through the choice they make. Ethical decision-making models also help an individual defend the choices they make. Ethical dilemmas are not always solved through application of ethics codes (Cottone, & Claus, 2007). Ethical decision-making models can be useful in analysis and making ethical decisions. The ethical decision-making model that reflects on my early and ongoing experiences with moral issues and values is work by Corey et al. It comprises of eight steps; the first step is identification of the problem. The step enables one acknowledge that there exists an issue that needs attention. For instance, one can be late for a party that is seen as a violation of cultural expectations. However, the act is not a moral problem that involves right and wrong. On the other hand, when decides to accept a kickback from a supplier then there is an ethical dilemma involved.
The second step involves identification of the potential issues involved. It is important to get adequate information on the issues involved that will be required to make effective decisions. There is need to thoroughly examine the ethical dilemma in order to establish the issues that require attention. The third step involves reviewing the relevant ethical guidelines (Joseph, 2008). There are different ethical standards that have been set and are used to determine ethical behavior. The ethical standards are used in ethical dilemmas to find out what is ethically wrong and right. The forth step involves knowledge of relevant laws and regulations (Joseph, 2008). There are laws and regulations that can be used to determine what is wrong and right. The fifth step involves obtaining consultation from other people on the ethical issue (Joseph, 2008). There are times when one needs a second or even a third opinion on a matter before reaching a decision. Seeking consultation helps in finding out other people’s views on an issue. The sixth step is looking at the possible and probable courses of action (Joseph, 2008). It is important to look at the different options that are applicable in a situation. The seventh step is noting down the consequences of the different courses of action that can be taken (Joseph, 2008). It is important to look at the advantages and disadvantages of the course of action that one considers using in solving the problem. The last step is making a decision on the best course of action to take. It involves stepping up and making the ethical decision (Joseph, 2008).
The course and my cultural heritage have played an influential role in helping come up with the ethical decision-making model. Through the course, I have learned various ethical decision making styles. The knowledge has enabled me to come up with the best ethical decision-making model. Culture heritage also influences the ethical decision-making model I use because of the values within my cultures. There are things that are things that are acceptable as ethical in my culture while others are considered unethical. Culture heritage helps in establishing the existence of a problem. It also helps in providing possible cause of action that can be used to make ethical decisions (Cottone, & Claus, 2007).
Professional and Ethical development
Ethical development is mostly considered to be a career long process (Qizilbash, 2005). There are various areas in the module that need development such as ethical theories. Ethical theories provide a framework that can be used as reference points on particular moral issues. There are different philosophical ethical positions that can be applied in our day-to-day lives. An individual needs ethical development on ethical theories so as to understand them better. Ethical development is also required so that an individual can know how to apply these ethical theories in life (Qizilbash, 2005). Another area that needs ethical development is ethical decision-making models. There exist different ethical decision-making models that an individual can apply in the process of making decisions. One requires ethical development in decision making in order for them to be bale to come up with ethical decisions. Ethical development can be acquired through self-evaluation in order to find out if one is acting ethically. It involves asking yourself whether one’s individual ethics fit what they do in their day-to day-lives. Ethical development can also be achieved through research and seeking information. Active information searching is a crucial way of approaching ethical issues people face. Research on relevant legal standards, ethical codes, procedures and policies provide a lot of information on the ethical approach of a particular situation.
References
Cottone, R., & Claus, R. (2007). Ethical Decision-Making Models: A Review of the Literature. Journal of Counseling & Development, 275-283.
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Hall, K. (2004). Student development and ownership of ethical and professional standards. Science and Engineering Ethics, 383-387.
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Joseph, M. (2008). Developing and teaching models of ethical decision making (Rev.Ed.). Chicago, IL: School of Social Work, Loyola University of Chicago.
Qizilbash, M. (2005). Ethical development. University of Southampton, Department of Economics.
