Personal Ethical Views
Summary of the Quick-Test Results
Self-evaluation is important for a person to understand their personal characteristics and how they affect their behaviour in the workplace environment. I performed the quick test aiming at evaluating my ethical characteristics. My score for the test was 35 out of a total of 40 showing that I am relatively an ethical person. I think that this is a useful test in helping a person to understand their ethical characteristics. This is a valuable test for creating a simple understanding of a person’s values and principles. However, I would not say that the test is valid in truly understanding one’s values. The test only includes ten questions, which cover only a small part of business ethics that need to be examined. By taking this test, one does not get a true picture of their ethical characteristics as there are many areas that have been left out. This test seems to focus more on the values of honesty and integrity. A person may be ethical in these areas but unethical in others. The test can be improved by being longer to focus on testing more values that are important to maintain in a workplace environment. Do you need help with your assignment ? Get in touch with us at eminencepapers.com.
Business Ethics Myths
One of the ethics myths evaluated by Weiss (2014) is that ethics is personal. This myth posits that ethical behaviours are personal characteristics as opposed to being a result of external influences such as the public. As much as people have personal characteristics that influence their ethical characteristics, they are largely influenced by the type of culture in their surroundings. Cultures are characterized by a set of values, beliefs, and customs, which are eventually demonstrated by people who associate with the respective culture. This myth is very accurate. It is a false belief to think that ethical behaviours are personal because even those personal characteristics are influenced by a person’s surroundings. This myth could easily affect me in the workplace environment when working in a group that expresses a different culture from mine. While thinking that ethical behaviour is my personal trait, I might easily be influenced by unethical people in the group to perform actions that are inconsistent with my values. This is why it is important to push for organizations to foster positive ethical environments by creating an ethical culture that can be shared by all employees.
Internal and External Influences on My Ethical Decision-Making
Internal Factors
One of the internal factors that would influence my decision-making is my personal values. I have some values that I always ensure that they are respected regardless of the situation I am in. Some of the values that influence my decisions include integrity, respect, and freedom. In every situation I am in, I will make sure that the decisions I make are in line with these values. My decision-making can also be affected by my personal characteristics such as age and nationality. People’s culture are highly influenced by the national culture (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015). For instance, my national culture is highly individualistic; hence, my decisions are likely to forego collectiveness. I also think that with age, people learn more, thus, they become better at dealing with ethical situations.
External Factors
One external factor that can influence my decisions is the organizational culture. Employees are more likely to make ethical decisions when working in an organization whose culture is perceived as ethical. I believe that if I am working in an organization that promotes positive ethics, I will be in a better position to make ethical decisions because they are promoted. My decision can also be influenced by opportunity. There are organizations which promote ethical decisions by offering rewards for positive behaviours (Goodpaster, 2015). In such an organization, my chances of being ethical will be elevated. My decisions in an ethical dilemma can also be influenced by the intensity of the issue. There are issues that are too sensitive and one may be forced to make a decision that they would normally not make in similar issues.
The Parameters of Business Ethics
An ethical climate has often been promoted as the ideal type of culture for a successful organization. To understand why this type of culture is important, it is essential to understand how ethical reasoning is beneficial to an organization. One of the reasons why it is important to have ethical reasoning is because there are always grey areas that are not covered by law or rules. In such situations, a person needs to be able to ethically evaluate a situation and come up with a solution (Weiss, 2014). This can only be achieved when the employees have the ability to reason ethically. The second reason why ethical reasoning is important is that the markets, free and regulated, do not effectively inform managers on how they can respond to complex situations. Ethical reasoning helps them to understand how to respond to these complex situations and arrive at ethical decisions. Lastly, ethical reasoning is important in business because complex situations require an understanding and concern for justice and fairness, which cannot be catered for by company principles (Weiss, 2014). Employees need to be able to apply their intuition in complex situations to make the best decisions.
The Importance of Ethical Behavior in Workplaces
Ethical behaviours include actions that promote positive moral values. An act that is categorized as unethical is one that is against the moral values and principles promoted by an organization. Ethical behaviours are of great benefit to both employees and the organization. Ethical behaviours promote professionalism, which in turn creates positive working environments for the employees. They are more likely to be happier for an organization that puts a lot of importance on creating a culture that fosters positive cultures. For the organization, ethical behaviours help to make them more attractive towards their stakeholders. Customers, investors, and other types of stakeholders associate with companies which demonstrate positive moral values.
Conclusion
Studying business ethics is important to me because it adds some value not only in the professional environment but also in all other aspects of life. This is a valuable course because it can help to improve the manner in which business professionals manage their ethical cultures. For instance, this course can help a manager to understand the strategies they can use to create better ethical behaviours. As a professional, I strive to promote positive ethics. However, there are many challenges that may affect my ethics and decision-making. One of the challenges is balancing between my values and those of my colleagues. What I consider to be wrong may not be what another person sees as wrong. Therefore, finding this relationship may be difficult. Another difficulty may be avoiding negative influences from the people in my surroundings, which can affect my ethical decision-making. From this course, I hope to deal with these challenges by fulfilling the following objectives.
- To develop my critical thinking skills and understand how to deal with ethical dilemmas
- To improve my understanding of the influences of ethical behavior and how to deal with them
- To understand how to foster positive ethical cultures in groups that I am part of.
References
Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson Education.
Goodpaster, K. E. (2015). Business ethics. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, 1-6.
Weiss, J. W. (2014). Business ethics: A stakeholder and issues management approach. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
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Question 
Personal Ethical Views
In this assignment, you will explore where you currently stand on ethics and write a paper based on a self-assessment.
Assignment Preparation
To prepare for your paper, complete the following:
•Review pages 47-48 in Chapter 1 of your Business Ethics text, which offers a quick test of your ethical beliefs. Complete the 10 questions and score yourself according to the instructions in the text.
•Review Section 1.4, “Five Myths About Business Ethics” on page 48 of your text. Take a minute to consider how, if at all, any of these myths are reflected in your current belief system.
•Reflect on this self-assessment and, if possible, discuss it with a professional associate or someone who knows you in your work environment, current or past. Consider in this discussion whether your ethical beliefs are well known to others you work with. If they are known, how do they manifest themselves?
Assignment Instructions
Using best practices for academic writing, prepare a personal statement of your current thinking about and understanding of business ethics. In this essay, please be sure to:
•Summarize the quick-test results (from Chapter 1, pages 47-48) and your own analysis of the validity of these results. Describe what seems valuable about the quick test, and what (if anything) you think might not be accurate.
•Apply one or more of the five business ethics myths described in your text to your own ethical perspective. The author of the text believes many people are victims of these myths. How might one or more of these myths affect you—or how might they not be accurate? Include a rationale for your answer.
•Describe some of the biggest internal and external influences on your decision-making in moments when you need to act ethically.
•Discuss the parameters of business ethics as described in your text. In other words, according to your Business Ethics text, why is it absolutely necessary that all employees use careful ethical reasoning? Hint: Be sure to look at the section that presents the three reasons why we need ethical reasoning in the workplace.
•Evaluate the need for ethical behaviour in our workplaces. What do you think should count as ethical workplace behaviour, and what should be called unethical?
•Conclude your essay with a paragraph that summarizes your view of studying business ethics and its potential value for all business professionals. What are some of the biggest ethical challenges? Also, looking into your own professional career, explain what your challenges are and how solid your belief is related to what is considered ethical or not ethical, based on what you know thus far. Include three objectives for what you want to get out of this course.