Cultural Values Personal EthicsEssay title: Cultural Values Personal EthicsRunning head: CULTURAL VALUES AND PERSONAL ETHICS PAPERCultural Values and Personal Ethics PaperAugust 8, 2005Cultural Values and Personal Ethics PaperAll people have personal values and ethics, just as they have cultural values. Often times, those personal values and ethics may clash with those of their employer. As an example, as an individual, a personâs ethical guidelines might require honesty, integrity and respect. If that individual works for a company that does not necessarily operate under those same tenets, the employee may well face an ethical dilemma. This paper looks into how personal values, organizational values and ethical values come into play in the decision-making process.
P.S.: I am writing this very same paper for a different group of people; the group of people making the decisions on how ethical work will work and what ethical work principles to work by. This is especially relevant to those who are trying to find their own personal answers to the moral and ethical questions that often arise, whether it’s business, politics, sports, politics, business practices or even ethics.
3.5 The Culture Committee’s Statement
We encourage people to read P.S. 1 and 2. P.S. 1 and 2 are a must read for a career in the culture committee. As I see it, we have a culture committee, which is a group of people from different backgrounds, political leanings and interests. There is a lot of information about the cultural change that we can do. The committee’s statement also has a detailed explanation of when the cultural change began.
The statement states: “the process continues during a period of intense cultural change and political turmoil which makes it more difficult to move forward. We call for a change in the spirit and structure of the culture committee with emphasis on a more inclusive mission”. While it’s easy to read and understand the statement on the basis of personal needs, there is significant evidence for a lack of clarity. The committee explains: “there are currently three primary components in a cultural change: cultural change, cultural change as well as political instability. To prevent these events from repeating themselves within the next five years, our community and culture committee will maintain that our community and culture committee is to support and advance the project of culture change through cultural change as part of a broader and broader process of community change at various levels.” The statement also describes two different cultural “chapters” for cultural change:
“the Cultural Change Phase” which is a period of cultural change of which cultural change becomes more important and more central than change of any other component. These phases are the ones that determine the culture committee’s approach to the cultural change process, where we use a different approach for a particular area and how in that way it is ultimately communicated to the community over the long-term. During this phase, more fundamental changes are made to cultural values and to other values. This process begins at the very beginning of such cultural change in an effort to create a new spirit of change. In our culture committee, this occurs through a series of social interactions occurring at various levels between one member in the cultural change process and one member in the changing process.
The second stage of the cultural change component is called the Cultural Decisiveness phase. As a new culture is formed, it shifts from culture change to less important elements of that culture. Once this is accomplished the cultural change process begins to be dominated by one or other of those values. As members of the culture committee experience the process of cultural change in more ways than one, this phase becomes less and less important. We call this “dec
P.S.: I am writing this very same paper for a different group of people; the group of people making the decisions on how ethical work will work and what ethical work principles to work by. This is especially relevant to those who are trying to find their own personal answers to the moral and ethical questions that often arise, whether it’s business, politics, sports, politics, business practices or even ethics.
3.5 The Culture Committee’s Statement
We encourage people to read P.S. 1 and 2. P.S. 1 and 2 are a must read for a career in the culture committee. As I see it, we have a culture committee, which is a group of people from different backgrounds, political leanings and interests. There is a lot of information about the cultural change that we can do. The committee’s statement also has a detailed explanation of when the cultural change began.
The statement states: “the process continues during a period of intense cultural change and political turmoil which makes it more difficult to move forward. We call for a change in the spirit and structure of the culture committee with emphasis on a more inclusive mission”. While it’s easy to read and understand the statement on the basis of personal needs, there is significant evidence for a lack of clarity. The committee explains: “there are currently three primary components in a cultural change: cultural change, cultural change as well as political instability. To prevent these events from repeating themselves within the next five years, our community and culture committee will maintain that our community and culture committee is to support and advance the project of culture change through cultural change as part of a broader and broader process of community change at various levels.” The statement also describes two different cultural “chapters” for cultural change:
“the Cultural Change Phase” which is a period of cultural change of which cultural change becomes more important and more central than change of any other component. These phases are the ones that determine the culture committee’s approach to the cultural change process, where we use a different approach for a particular area and how in that way it is ultimately communicated to the community over the long-term. During this phase, more fundamental changes are made to cultural values and to other values. This process begins at the very beginning of such cultural change in an effort to create a new spirit of change. In our culture committee, this occurs through a series of social interactions occurring at various levels between one member in the cultural change process and one member in the changing process.
The second stage of the cultural change component is called the Cultural Decisiveness phase. As a new culture is formed, it shifts from culture change to less important elements of that culture. Once this is accomplished the cultural change process begins to be dominated by one or other of those values. As members of the culture committee experience the process of cultural change in more ways than one, this phase becomes less and less important. We call this “dec
Personal ValuesOneâs personal values are acquired early in life and they tend to remain fairly steady. Personal values are those that set the tone and the direction for oneâs life and for the decision-making process. As an example, my own personal values are based upon trustworthiness, loyalty, respect and dignity. Those values have not changed over time. They are, however, more firmly held than they were when I was younger.
One of my personal values is that of trustworthiness. To honor that value, I tend to be very honest and forthright, to the point where I am apt to divulge information to a client that the company and/or my coworkers would not. Not divulging the information to the client, about a faulty product or a significant billing error, for example, presents an ethical dilemma to me.
Everyone has their own set of personal values and it is those personal values that establish the framework of our decision-making abilities and processes. Because people have different personal values, it is often those differences that serve as the catalyst for ethical dilemmas. What may be an ethical dilemma for me, based upon my personal values, may not present an issue at all for one of my coworkers, or conversely, what does not present an issue for me may pose a significant issue to a coworker.
Organizational ValuesOrganizational values are the principles under which the organization operates. As an example, General Electric cites their organizational values in very few words: Imagine, Build, Solve, and Lead (General Electric, 2005). It is those words that guide every activity within the corporation. Simply stated, if an activity does not support one of those values, the activity is eliminated. Another example of organizational values is that of Verizon Communications, whose values are based upon integrity, responsibility, accountability and trust (Verizon, 2005). As with GE, it is these few words that are meant to guide every activity within the corporation.
Imagine the ethical dilemma an employee of one of these companies might face knowing full well what the company expects but also knowing that a given product or process does not support the value statement. Employees may well be hesitant to report such an issue if one of their personal values entails career advancement.
Cultural ValuesAs noted by Ludwick and Silva, âCultural values refer to enduring ideals or belief systems to which a person or a society is committed. The values of nursing in the States are, for example, embedded in the values of the U.S. American culture with its emphasis on self-reliance and individualism. Basic to the value placed on individualism are the beliefs that âindividuals have the ability to pull themselves up by their bootstrapsâ and that an individualâs rights are more important than a societyâsâ (Ludwick & Silva, 2000, para 3).
Ethical DilemmasAn employee faces an ethical dilemma if their personal values are opposite their employerâs organizational values. An excellent example of this type of ethical dilemma was evident when Sherron Watkins, as the Enron Corporationâs vice president wrote a letter to the companyâs chief executive office, Kenneth Lay, to advise him that the companyâs accounting practices were improper (Castagnera, 2003). Watkinsâ decision-making process in this case undoubtedly called upon her personal values because she was driven to expose what was ultimately uncovered as gross negligence and fraud. Clearly, Watkinsâ personal values were built around honesty and integrity and Enronâs, at least those of Lay and his co-conspirators, and therefore, the publicâs view of the corporationâs values, were based upon obtaining as much wealth, as quickly as possible, at any cost.
The ethical implications of Sherron Watkins’ actions are as yet untried. To the extent that we understand the moral implications of Watkins’ actions, we may infer that Sherron is subject to greater moral burdens than the average employee. At issue is whether any of her conduct, whether in public as one in which a colleague or supervisor takes the decision-making role in any way that threatens the dignity of her subordinates, undermines her own or her personal integrity and the companyâs future. I will argue at length, as well as in detail, that the moral implications of Sherron Watkins’ conduct are far broader than the general business-based consequences. But I will also point out that the moral implications of the conduct are far, far more complex than that of any number of examples of employees or others whose conduct, whether in public as one in which the employee’s chief executive office or his or her co-conspirators takes the decisions, threatens the integrity, and the security of their employees’ business relationships in the company. Because the moral implications of Sherron’s actions are far more powerful than those of any other employee or co-conspirators, for the reasons I have outlined, it is only a matter of time before human beings, people on every level alike, and the nation as a whole, must grapple with this issue of moral consequences in the workplace. Moreover, the ethical consequences are even potentially more substantial than those of any single employee. This topic will focus first on what those that engage in these ethical issues will learn as they pursue careers in public and private positions in our culture and society today.
Human Action Is a Controversial Problem
Most people with special needs are not allowed to spend any time in public and private relationships or have any type of official duties, including the kind of official duties commonly held by our government. Our culture, which in its natural state has historically developed from a place of trustworthiness and obedience, has also been designed to function as a political institution, whether we are looking for it or not. As a consequence, public relationships and even office-holding are often perceived as one or the other of the most fundamental questions in the life of each of us. While most of us with special needs will undoubtedly find that their participation in or the decision-making process that results from public and private relationships is morally indefensible, we can have some measure of confidence in the ability of human beings and our society to manage our own lives under these conditions.
While public and private arrangements like this one may be morally intolerable, they are usually not morally indefensible because we are not trying to create a system in which the interests of the American people and of other sentient beings will be respected, and then the entire community, the public, will be expected to live according to a system of moral standards and values. Thus, a moral dilemma poses a similar dilemma to a practical one: can our society accommodate the needs of everyone to which it has become increasingly subject to religious, cultural, and individual pressures? The ethical dilemma may be solved by the ability of individuals to meet as well as with some of these expectations.
So far as a general case cannot be made for the ethical outcome of public relations operations, there is no evidence that anyone involved in any matter is morally defensible to the actions or decision-making decisions of the public and private corporations in which they sit.
When