Values Reflection

Values Reflection

Jennifer Mathiesen

CJA/474

Managing Criminal Justice Personnel

May 27, 2013

Mark Weissmann

Values Reflection

According to Dictionary.com, values are the moral principles or preferred standards of an individual or a group. As people mature typically some values will change depending on life or work situations. This is not to say that all values change as many individuals hold the same traditional values instilled at childhood. To discover personal values it is imperative to know oneself, understand if or how personal values have changed over time and the affect those changes have for individuals in life and at work. Therefore through this paper the author will discuss personal core values, describe how people acquire and change values, explain what values do for and to us, and explain the nature and importance of human values in the workplace (Dictionary.com, 2013).

Personal Core Values

After looking over 400 or more various values and taking two personality tests, I have found that my core values are accountability/responsibility, courage, dependability, loyalty, family, friendship, happiness, honesty, integrity, realism, and hard work. It is easy to say what values are specific to one person, but it is not as easy to understand what these values mean regarding personality and decision making. According to the results of a personality test, I am a realist, helpful, reserved, perfectionist, a giver, influential, traditional, organizer, and headstrong. These characteristics correspond well with what I consider my core values (The Foundation for a Better Life, 2000).

Acquiring and Changing Values

Some scientists believe certain values may be encoded in each individual’s DNA. However, most personal values happen three ways: imprinting, modeling, and socialization. Imprinting happens from birth to around age 6. This stage parents and other close family members have a significant role in imprinting values on children. Modeling takes...