Cultural Values and Personal Ethics Paper

Cultural Values and Personal Ethics Paper

All people have personal values and ethics, just as they have cultural values. Often times, those personal values and ethics may clash with those of their employer. As an example, as an individual, a person's ethical guidelines might require honesty, integrity and respect. If that individual works for a company that does not necessarily operate under those same tenets, the employee may well face an ethical dilemma. This paper looks into how personal values, organizational values and ethical values come into play in the decision-making process.

Personal Values

One's personal values are acquired early in life and they tend to remain fairly steady. Personal values are those that set the tone and the direction for one's life and for the decision-making process. As an example, my own personal values are based upon trustworthiness, loyalty, respect and dignity. Those values have not changed over time. They are, however, more firmly held than they were when I was younger.

One of my personal values is that of trustworthiness. To honor that value, I tend to be very honest and forthright, to the point where I am apt to divulge information to a client that the company and/or my coworkers would not. Not divulging the information to the client, about a faulty product or a significant billing error, for example, presents an ethical dilemma to me.

Everyone has their own set of personal values and it is those personal values that establish the framework of our decision-making abilities and processes. Because people have different personal values, it is often those differences that serve as the catalyst for ethical dilemmas. What may be an ethical dilemma for me, based upon my personal values, m...

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