Cultural Values and Personal Ethics Paper

Cultural Values and Personal Ethics Paper

The intent of this paper is to provide an overview of my cultural and personal ethics. Cultural values and personal ethics start the moment we are born. Throughout my life my values and ethics have been put through the test. In this paper I will provide some insight on my personal values, organizational values, cultural values and ethical dilemmas.

Personal Values

Personal values are principles that define me as an individual. Three personal values that are how on my list includes honesty, reliability, and trust. These three values play a major role in how I face the world and relate with people and problems. First, I believe that honesty is the best policy regardless of the outcome. Second, I believe that one should be reliable. Being reliable tells a great deal about one's character. If I say that I am going to do something, everyone knows that I have given my word and my word is set in stone. And last, but definitely not least, is trust. Trust is so important in life. It is important to me to know that I am trusted and can be counted on to complete an assigned or required task -- whether at home or on the job

Organizational Values

Organizational values are principles that guide one's behaviour in a professional work environment or personal family/friends environment. These values define how I work and how I relate to my coworkers, bosses, and clients. They also reveal my potential for advancement. My organizational values include being a team player. I believe that the success of any company consists of a team, not an individual.

Women still suffer from organizational cultures. A survey conducted by Wellington et. Al. ((2003) of 1,000 corporate executives revealed that inhospitable organizational cultures contribute to the opportunity gap between men and women in corporate America. Organizational culture represents the values, norms, and beliefs internalized by organizational members that shape the behaviors and attitudes that are rewarded (Schein, 1992). They suggested that an "inhospitable" culture is linked to the lack of role models and mentoring available to women indirectly through women's career satisfaction and organizational commitment. Because of the many common typologies and dimensions of organizational culture, this study focused on two cultural dimensions that reflect the theoretical interest in examining the degree to which the organization equally values men and women. (Jandeska, 2005) .

My organizational values also include dedication, loyality, punctuality, autonomy and ethics. My management decision and my supervision skills are based upon my personal and cultural values. When I have a counseling session with one of my employees on work performance, behavior, or attendance (which was the case last week), I explain to them that this session is to benefit both of us. I let them know that I do believe in criticism, I believe in finding a solution. This method always works for me because the employee opens up immediately and I see immediate improvement.

Cultural Values

Cultural values are principles that are connections with one's cultural roots created as a child. They help establish faith and customs that connects me to a larger community of people with similar backgrounds (Seneca 2001). Growing up in the south, a big part of my culture included food, caring, friendliness and spirituality. Most Southerners believe that people should always have something to eat and they almost always offer you something to eat when you visit them. I grew with a caring attitude. My mother taught me to treat people the way that want