Ethical Filter Worksheet

Ethical Filter Worksheet

Value

Personal Source

Justify the Value's Position in the List. Include any challenges to employing these values consistently when making personal and organizational decisions.

Honesty

My personal source for honesty is based on the upbringing and emphasis of honesty by my parents. I was always taught by my parents that honesty is the best policy. Also, my personal source for honesty is based up information I read in "How honesty pays restoring integrity to the workplace".

Honesty was placed at the top of my list of values because I believe that honesty can help you achieve the best success possible. Honesty is the awareness of what is right and appropriate in one's role, behavior, and relationship. The goal is to be trusted and trust provides the foundation and cohesion necessary for untarnished relationships. The challenge with employing this value is that sometimes honesty can hurt someone's feelings unintentionally or damage a business relationship. However, I believe the approach and the words you use can prevent this from happening.

Respect

My personal source for respect is similar to honesty. It's primarily based upon what I was taught by my parents. As a child I was taught to respect my parents, teachers, elders, school rules and traffic laws, family and cultural traditions, other people's feelings and rights, different ethnic backgrounds, leaders, and people's differing opinions. In addition, my parents always told me to do unto others as I would like to do unto me.

I placed respect as number two on my list because respect is a great importance in everyday life. Everyone has a right to be treated with dignity. Of course we don't have an ethical duty to hold all people in high esteem, but we should treat everyone with respect regardless of their background. Within a business, it is primary to be the best in all situations even when dealing with unpleasant people. I've learned that respect is similar to a boomerang; you must send it out before it will come back to you. The challenge with implementing this value is that it is difficult for a new employee or company to earn respect. Nonetheless, it can be earned by showing respect and your ability to get the job done.

Responsibility

Similar to my previous values, my personal source for responsibility was from my parents. They showed me the importance of responsibility by educating me on responsibility and through example.

Responsibility was placed third on my list because I feel that life is full of choices. It is important to recognize that our actions matter and we are accountable for the consequences. I believe that responsible people have the ability to respond to expectations. The challenge with implementing this value is that responsibility is a learned behavior. I believe that a responsible character is formed overtime. If you are in a decision making process with a person who irresponsible, this can inhibit you from making the best decision possible. Therefore, it is important to work hard with this person to ensure the appropriate decision is achieved.

Knowledge