Ethics deals with what is evil and good and with moral obligation and duty. Hence, it
involves the choices individuals make regarding what is wrong or right (Kurtines, Azmitia, &
Gewirtz, 1992). Consequently, my ethics encompasses honesty, fairness, respect for others, self-
respect, punctuality, responsibility, open-mindedness, loyalty, and persistence. Additionally, as
an ethical person I understand the significance of respecting people and their ideas. Equally,
perseverance without stubbornness is perhaps the toughest ethic to adhere to because it aims at
perfection. However, perfection is not easily attainable, yet perseverance needs continuous
efforts so as to achieve perfection. Therefore, when I encounter circumstances that challenge my
ethical beliefs, I usually choose the most important ethic among my ethics.
My Ethical System and Its Primary Principles
Relativism is my ethical system. One of its principles is that the ethical growth of a
person is directly associated with the culture of the society one comes from (Kurtines, Azmitia,
& Gewirtz, 1992). Additionally, relativism system argues that an individual’s preferences and
what he/she believes is wrong or right depends on the culture of the society. Equally, the
preferences of an individual are influenced by character’s six pillars that are political in nature.
The above mentioned six pillars of personality include; citizenship, caring, fairness,
responsibility, respect and trustworthiness are the six personal pillars (Kurtines, Azmitia, &
Gewirtz, 1992). According to relativism, when an individual is loyal, has integrity and keeps
promises then that person is considered trustworthy. In addition, a trustworthy person takes
responsibility for his attitudes, actions, words, and he is compassionate and fair when treating
other individuals (Kurtines, Azmitia, & Gewirtz, 1992).
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Sources that Helped Shape My Ethics
There are various institutions and individuals that influenced my ethics. First, my family
and parents influenced my ethics, followed by individuals that I respected, religious leaders, and
my teachers (Kurtines, Azmitia, & Gewirtz, 1992). Consequently, my family and parents gave
me the first grounds for the determination of wrong and right. Therefore, my family and parents
taught me things that I shouldn’t do or should do as a child. For instance, it is not acceptable to
throw food, but it is acceptable to put it in the mouth. Equally, teachers taught me the honesty
principle by expecting me to do my work without copying the work of others, punctuality, and
responsibility at school. In addition, religious leaders educated me the standard of respecting my
fellow human beings through moral stories and Bible stories.
Discussing Potential Effect of My Ethics on Job Performance
According to (Arlow, 2000), ethics refers to the values and principles that a person
utilizes to make organization decisions. Thus, behaving ethically mandates an individual to act
according to their personal values as well as the society and an organization held values.
However, some members of various organizations behave unethically and as a consequence,
affect the productivity of teams, individuals as well as the organization. For this reason,
organizations expect individuals to act ethically.
However, an organization ethical climate determines the manner in which employees act.
Therefore, if an organization ethical climate lacks direction, it becomes extremely difficult to
guide employees. As a result, employees end up acting unethically. For instance, research
indicates that there are organization cultures that promote illegal activities by socializing
individuals to take part in acts that are not legit (Arlow, 2000). Nonetheless, this is not the case
PERSONAL ETHICS DEVELOPMENT 4
with me because my ethical principles do not allow me to do so. As previously discussed, my
ethics encompasses honesty, fairness and respect for others. Additionally, I often emphasize on
self-respect, punctuality and responsibility. I am very open-minded to any idea and very loyal
and perseveres regardless the situation I am encountering. These are some of the ethical
principles that I adhere to whenever I get a job during summer holidays. Regardless the situation
I am exposed to, such as being harassed by supervisors, I often work hard to achieve both
organization and personal objectives. I do not mix personal issues with work issues. For instance,
if I clash with one of my colleagues, I do not allow our differences to interfere with our
performance, rather, I focus on resolving the issue as quickly as possible.
Explaining why Ethics is needed in an Organization
Ethics is needed in the organizations for various reasons. To start with, they are essential
in enhancing teamwork and productivity. Through ethics, employers align their organization
values with employees’ values. In order to realize this alignment, the organization needs to
enhance continuous dialogue with regards to openness, integrity and business values among
organization staff. Through ethics, organization staff feels a strong connection between the
business values and their values which consequently enhances their motivation and productivity
(Sims, 2004).
Ethics also enhances the organization image in the public domain. Hence, making ethical
choices by organizations earn respect and develop a strong brand and reputation in the public
domain. For this reason, an organization can enhance their reputation by fulfilling their
corporate social responsibility such as conserving the environment by treating waste and
producing green products (Sims, 2004). Therefore, developing a strong brand image via ethical
conduct increases an organization customer base. The underlying reason is that customers tend to
PERSONAL ETHICS DEVELOPMENT 5
be loyal to organizations that conduct their operations ethically. Ethics improves the process of
decision-making in an organization. For example, employees tend to make decisions that are in
line with organization ethical conduct. As a result, there is increased transparency and
accountability in the organization. An excellent ethical culture is crucial in turbulent moments
because it helps in resolving conflicts. Additionally, ethics promotes change management
process in the organization (Sims, 2004).
How Ethics is integrated into an Organization to achieve its Direction and Goals
Formal compliance and ethics programs are meant to meet various needs in the
organization. Equally, they aim to enhance employee awareness of ethical and legal concerns in
the organization as well as promote ethical behavior. Organization managers expect their ethics
programs to enhance their brand image and reputation, to minimize fraud as well as retain and
recruit talented employees (Sims, 2004). These advantages are realized by integrating ethics into
organization strategic goals and objectives. Organizations need to incorporate ethics into their
compensation and management systems. However, to perfectly integrate ethics into organization
strategic goals, various questions need to be addressed by the organization management. Some of
these questions include: what the organization stands for, its purpose and values. Thus,
organizations need to ensure that ethics forms part and parcel of their long-term strategic plan,
mission statement, and codes of conduct (Sims, 2004). All in all, the application of these ethics
has a positive impact on individuals, organizations, and society. For instance, through ethics,
unethical behaviors are eliminated in the society and organizations.
PERSONAL ETHICS DEVELOPMENT 6
References
Arlow, R. and Ulrich, T. A (2000) Auditing Your Organization’s Ethics, Internal Auditor; 35,1-
1.
Kurtines, W. M., Azmitia, M., & Gewirtz, J. L. (1992). The Role of values in psychology and
human development. New York, N.Y: Wiley.
Sims, R. R. (2004). Ethics and organizational decision-making: A call for renewal. Westport,