Personal Values

Personal Values Paper

MGT/521

Personal Values Paper

Everyday life is full of decisions, some of significant value and consequences where as others are merely second nature. These decisions, whether it is in the world of work or in the confines of one’s own home, are based on values which are often portrayed through the display of ethics. Often times it is advantageous to take time to identify values, figure out how they align with values of those with whom one may work or come into contact with, as well as how it may affect performance of administrator or managerial duties.

Figuring out exactly what our values and ethics entail is often tougher than it sounds. “It is critical to develop a process to guide us in our struggle to make ethical decisions – one that will allow us to consider a variety of aspects that affect not only our immediate decision but its impact on other people” (EAI, Williams Institute, 2006). Four steps are outlined in the Ethics Awareness inventory or EAI, an assessment produced by The Williams Institute 2006, which help put values and ethical decisions into perspective. These steps are: deciding who will be affected by my decisions, what will be the impact of my decisions, and what ethical perspective is reflected by my decision, and can I justify my decisions on ethical grounds (EAI, Williams Institute, 2006). After taking the EAI assessment, I was not surprised to see that I fall under the obligation category. I tend to want to see and believe in the good of all people, which sometimes gets me into trouble because people aren’t always as trustworthy or ethical as I tend to want them to be. The assessment results report that I “tend to base my ethical perspective on an individual’s duty or obligation to do what is morally right” (EAI, Williams Institute, 2006). However, this is not always the case especially in the world of business and finance.

In the world of work managers must figure out what the ethics and standards...