Essay About Individual Ethics And Great Example

What Is Ethics?
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What is ethics? It is how a person is supposed to act and respond in certain situations. But people
have to make several decisions every day. Some decisions are simple like what am I going to have for
lunch? Or they can be more complex such as; how am I going to pay for college? How a person perceives
what is right depends on their environment, education and past experiences. “Humans are not always
rationale, and the best option may not also be the right one when you factor in other people associated
or ethical issues” (Swinton, 2010).
Individual ethics start with a persons core values. The quick test is a great example of how a persons
core values, environment and past experiences all affect the outcome of the test. I feel that part of the test
is valid, but some questions were too vague to really put a score on it. For example, lying is necessary to
succeed in life. No one tells the truth 100% of the time. People tell little white lies in order to save
someones feelings or abide by the companys rules. And in this economy, money has become more
important to most people because of the economy. Therefore, people have to be more competitive to
keep their jobs.
“Ethics is about right and wrong in human conduct. Ethics is about choices, dilemmas and grey areas.
It explores the question of what we ought to do, rather than simply discuss what people could do or actually
do” (Doman, Vaughn, 2003). Individual ethics are very complex because our values are influenced by our
experiences, both good and bad. For example, when an employee gets caught stealing more that 90% of
the time it was not their first time. In the beginning, they usually steal money because they are in a
financial bind. But they keep on stealing because they have done it in the past and gotten away with it,
proving that persons circumstance may alter a persons ethics. This person made an unethical and
unlawful decision. The person decided that they were in a financial bind, after exploring other options
(such as borrowing the money) the person made an evaluation and acted