Moral Compass
The role of human values in business leadership
Morality is concerned with the core values that act as guidelines in the society and regulates the behavior of individuals. All aspects of life require people to be morally upright because there are consequences of breaking moral norms. Such effects include loss of employment and integrity. In the business world, morality is a key consideration for one to succeed. Business leaders need to have a moral compass that guides their direction in critical decision making. I feel that the society is morally adrift, and people lack a clear sense of grounding their actions and identities to values that transcend place and time. I do not in any way imply that the society is immoral, but rather it is amoral. There is no standard guideline or a clear compass that the business leaders can use to determine the moral values that they should uphold. In my understanding, the moral compass is crucial in forming a foundation for social consciousness and personal integrity. This is a moral compass essay.
For one to be a successful business leader, they need to be persons of high integrity. The trust of the leaders in the business community is grounded in their ability to steer the business towards achieving its goals. To do this, the leaders must uphold the integrity that enables them to make sound business decisions. The leaders do not get integrity naturally, but they have to user the moral compass to guide them in the actions that are said to be of high integrity. My moral compass is constructed from religion since all religions provide a moral ground that one can use as a moral compass. Another source of my moral compass is a book by Barry Schwartz entitled the battle for human nature that provides a detailed discussion of moral philosophy as taught by the higher education system in America. Both religion and moral philosophy concepts drawn from Schwartz provide a guide to what is considered as morally wrong and the acceptable moral values. However, religion does not offer adequate solution in the modern days due to the evolution of scientific models. The models define morals differently thus contradicting the morals defined by the religion. The book by Schwartz is also not an accurate guide to morality since it assumes that individuals share values and aspirations.
A good life is defined by one’s ability to meet their career and social aspirations. I feel that a business leader can claim to have a good life if they achieve their set goals in time. A business leader cannot have a good life if the business keeps making losses year after year. I believe that moral vision plays a major role in determining whether one lives a good or a bad life. My moral vision is anchored on integrity, honesty, obedience, and trustworthiness. I get inspiration from the book entitled Lost in the transition that discusses the darker side of young adults in American society. I realized that the moral principles do not have to be taught in school on in religious settings, but individuals should uphold them. This also applies to the business leaders who must define their moral values. However, I still rely on religion as my moral compass. The moral code is also an important element in my moral compass because it guides me in the things that I should do especially when given responsibility. Integrity and respect for humanity are the rules that guide my moral code. My moral code is linked to my moral vision in the sense that they e all about integrity and strong moral values that give my life a sense of direction. Religion and the moral philosophy concepts I have learnt have greatly influenced my moral code by providing a guideline against which I draw my moral codes.
I define moral fitness from the practices that I do to other people especially helping the needy since I believe that the actions reflect good moral values. This also helps me develop a good personal character and personal integrity because I value what I have and see the importance of sharing. Helping the needy align with my moral vision and code since it is all about showing concern and respect for humanity. However, my journey in finding a moral compass has not been easy because I have encountered a moral challenge. The situation happened when I was requested to make a judgment in a situation that involved one of my relatives and I had to be impartial. It was a job interview, and the other person was more qualified than my relative and I had to make the right decision. The challenge proved that my moral character is strong. I would not rewrite the script of the event in my life because I believe I did the right thing, and I uphold the same moral values. My believe moral philosophy and religion are attributed to my conduct in the challenge since I knew the right thing to do regardless of the circumstances.
My future as a business leader will be guided by moral vision and code in all my undertakings. My decision-making will be based on fairness, respect for humanity, integrity, honesty, and truthfulness. I believe that the values will guide me in making all the decisions and avoid vices such as corruption. I envision various challenges in building social networks in the workplace especially due to the difference in perception about morality. I respect the opinions and social standing of other people, but I will have to define the basic moral values to be used in the organization for the sake of consistency in behavior among the employees. I will have a great opportunity of mentoring the young people about the rightful morals and moral compass based on religion and moral philosophy. I envision resistance of the moral guidelines from the employees, but this is an opportunity to sensitize them to the importance of moral compass in one’s life. Businesses strive to ensure that human welfare is enhanced through the creation of wealth. However, I envision a challenge with corrupt employees that will put the achievement of business objectives at risk. This presents a golden chance for me to teach the other employees the importance of upholding good morals. I will partner with the employees and all the stakeholders in ensuring a business society that works well for everyone. The challenge with the partnership is the pace at which the decisions will be made regarding the moral principles. However, the partnership will ensure that the moral principles are based on different moral compasses. My take on the moral compass is that it should be from within oneself and not from any writings. One should be able to distinguish right from wrong.