My Personal Code of Ethics

What is ethics? Most people would simplify it as a moral standard that people rely on when making decisions whether it’s in business or in your personal life. I believe a set of ethics should be created when conducting business or in your personal life for responsible decision making. My list of ethics could go on for days; I put the top 6 that was most important to me first.

My set of ethics

Honesty

I believe honesty is very important in business and in your personal life because people can take you at your word. You didn’t misrepresent the facts, overexaggerate, or give partial truth you were blunt and straight forward. When people see that you’re transparent, they see realness and they’re able to relate to the message and take you at your word. People/customers appreciate openness, and trust begins to be established. More importantly, people want to be involved with people they trust because when trust is built the relationship is rewarding. Being ethical as a friend or business owner means you didn’t build a relationship on lies.

Integrity

I believe this is so important in friendship and in business because you will not sacrifice your honor or character for the sake of getting the job done no matter what it is. This is so vital when earning the trust of others because you never change who you are. Integrity is all about consistency and standing up for what you believe in. You never waver the truth no matter how beneficial telling a small lie could be and your actions, words, and thoughts align with what you’re constantly representing.

Keeping Your Promises

I have always stood by this in all aspects of my life. I have never broken a promise yet. I think it’s so important to do what you say and say as you do! People believe in you and don’t mind conducting business with you because they trust you. You are a woman of your word. People can count on you. That’s how you build a great team and a great team is developed through trust. They only have positive things to say about you because your energy exudes positivity. When you fulfill a promise, you uplift the spirits of the promise and commitments you made to these individuals that have counted on you.

Loyalty

I think everyone with a list of ethics has this lovely word bestowed in their handbook. I believe loyalty helps you build trust. It lets people know that you place high value on the interests of your company/peers. It means you are entrusted with important information and you will not deceive anyone to advance. You will remain humble and do things tactfully and in order. You will not forget who helped you when things get a little rocky because you have a strong feeling of support or allegiance to a cause.

Caring

I think caring is mistaken for a weakness, but it is not. For me it’s automatic to have a genuine concern for people. Everyone needs a sense of compassion. You want to be able to reach a goal with the least amount of harm but the greatest amount of good if possible. You can’t forget about the needs of others because you too may need a hand one day. I’ve always believed that you have to be careful on who you step on going to the top because those are the very people you are going to need on the way down.

Obeying the law

I think this is another important one because who wants to go to jail! Rules are not meant to be broken; they are in place for order. Think how chaotic the world would be without them. Look how chaotic it is now for the ones that break the laws. People get hurt all the way around. The ones that break the laws, the ones that’s affected by them breaking the laws and the ones that love the people involved. It’s never a win in a situation like this. Laws protect the people. They protect our fundamental rights, and the foundation we built our world on. Follow the rules people, please!

My ethics were formed from social norms and cultural patterns as a child. They haven’t really changed; I believe my passion for them may have grown deeper. The cultural patterns where not so much taught but unconsciously experienced in my environment. Although, the social norms I’ve learned in my culture/environment imprinted and impression on me as to what expectations were expected of me and what was approved and disapproved in my culture. I used that as a foundation and kept building from there.

I think my code of ethics could be an outline as to what a code of conduct statement should include in a PR business. At the end of the day a statement is written up for the protection of the people including moral standards that they should incorporate in their day to day life when decision making. This foundation is set to help drive the goals of the business and build trust with its constituents. With a well written code of conduct/ethics this enhances the reputation of a good growing business. This makes the environment welcoming for employees, executives, customers and stakeholders.

One situation was when I had a nurse that was a patient in the outpatient surgery and she had been abusing prescription drugs and getting them from work. I notified the physicians that were taken care of her because I knew she was in danger and couldn’t help herself. As a citizen showing compassion and as a fellow nurse I felt it was only right to try to get her some help. Once the physicians were notified they contacted the Risk Management Department about reporting her and they were told that it would be a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Violation, so nothing was done about it. I felt bad in a way because it felt like I was being a tattle tell but I really was trying to save her life. I knew she was abusing drugs and she even admitted it but was too afraid to get help. Emotions sometimes cloud judgment, but I really felt deep down inside that it was the right decision. My moral standards played a major part in my decision making that day.

My personal code of ethics

As a student pursuing a degree in finance with plans to be a career employer in the future, I acknowledge the significance of knowing my fundamental core values and actions that reinforce the day-to-day actions of my ethical principles. I acknowledge that I have a obligation to not only myself but to my family, future colleagues, potential customers and the general public to implement those principles and to conduct myself in an ethical way. I also recognize the notion that there would be ethical dilemmas, but I am committed to my ‘Personal Code of Ethical Values,’ which is my willingness to live ethically in every aspect of my life.

My personal code of ethics has been shaped a lot by life experience, my childhood upbringing, and self-reflection. I’ve always been seeking information and insight, and I was sure that this was gained through failure. With both of my parents having distinct careers, the same message was given that the good you receive comes from the seeds you plant. So it wasn’t necessarily, working hard alone, but doing good deeds for other individuals, and just being a reliable person. Self-reflecting, came a lot from working the different ranges of jobs I have leading up to now and taking the good from the bad with each one. I’ve expressed how I could have done certain things better or what I’ve excelled at and took it with me.

Being prided on being a team player who plays more for the name on the back of his jersey versus the front, my family and the legacy after is my fuel to be the greatest version of myself to be able to take care of them all. I believe in my core that I am a great individual and have fulfilled what I have been entrusted with. Then through my own hard work and commitment to my principles, I have found a various amount of truth and morals. Perhaps my convictions are best thrown into the Libertarian School of Thought, because I genuinely think that I am free to mold myself into whatever form I deem suitable. On the way, I used to be homeless, addicted to pills, tempted by the promise of freedom by removing myself from everyone I knew The only absolute truth I understand is that I am the result of my decisions and actions, which are entirely mine alone. Sometimes it’s difficult to accept what is reality, to hold this view. You can easily be proud of yourself and you don’t owe your achievements to anyone, but it is very hard for you to say that your own activities and decisions are the cause of all your issues. Some might claim that society and biology play a greater role in defining a individual than creating oneself, but I think it is incorrect. Genetics may dictate my physical features, my acquired food tastes, and certain personality characteristics, but as human beings we grow and change continuously. Who I have and who I want to be is a result of how and what lessons I take from circumstances. Since I have learnt all of my choices in the past, I have become a culmination of experiences that have taught me the lessons that have molded my ethics.

My belief in ethics and morality is as follows:

• I will only place my focus on what I can control. The things I can control are how I interact with my colleagues in the workplace and people in general, but I cannot focus on how the will respond or perceive me. That will drive someone insane including myself. I cannot control the outcome of me getting a job after spending countless hours preparing for the interview. In life period, you have to focus on the process and not the results.
• I will use my words impeccably. The negative things we state to ourselves just hurt us. The negative things we state about others are doing likewise, we simply think it is harming another person however it is really ourselves that endure.
• I will always strive to do my best. While life is a struggle and getting things right each and every time is unimaginable, the significant thing is to keep on doing your best in each minute. Your best presently won’t be on a par with your best tomorrow or perhaps yesterday. You’re best when you’re drained and not on a par with your best in the wake of a monotonous evenings rest.
• I will not assume. The core of assumptions are from miscommunications. So assuming will cause lots of problems in life that will transfer to the workplace.

In closing, I consider ethics as a manner for individuals to take a measure of control over themselves and their environment in order to be a better individual or better able to deal with their lot in their lives. For me, my ethical code has become the result of the lessons I’ve learned and the hard times I’ve been through. It was a beacon in the dark hard times and a guide in the good times. I do not see my ethical opinions as a standard by which other people should live, but simply as a rulebook for my own lives.

Works Cited

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