My Personal Development of Ethics - Essay Example

Development of Personal Ethics Each aspect of a human beings life will require them to take the proper course of action each day. Taking the proper course of action is through practising ethics in everything that a person does, be it in their respective careers as doctors, teachers, lawyers, businesspeople, among many other professions. In today’s contemporary business world, the world has witnessed instances whereby business executives have engaged in unfair practices, with some facing the law for their illegal and unfair practices. In addition, we continue to see businesses collapse due to some business executives’ engagement in illegal and unfair practices, which is due to lack of ethics in business. This has been happening despite many authors writing numerous publications on the issue of ethics in the business world. In addition, business schools and other schools dedicate teaching of ethics in their curriculum in order to ensure that they produced the best business executives with proper training in ethics. In effect, an individual should play the fundamental role of developing personal ethics with the environment, family, religion, and other factors playing an equally important role in shaping personal ethics in an individual. The most important aspect that has been instrumental in shaping my personal development of ethics regards the religion that I practice of Islam. The religion of Islam contains teachings from the Quran that guide people on morality and ethical practices (Rice 345). In this regard, the Quran outlines the values that human beings should attach to life in order to live meaningful lives, which are ethical. As a religion, Islam advocates for individuals to recite prayers five times in a day. I have observed that reciting prayers five times each day helps an individual develop irreproachable morals. Consequently, developing irreproachable morals ensures that I engaged in ethical practices, in any action that I engaged in during the course of life. From a business perspective, there are doctrines in Islam that guide a person while engaging in business. Nonetheless, it requires a lot of faith for an individual to follow these doctrines. According to Chapra, “The Islamic worldview implies that market systems should be maintained, but that the price mechanism be complemented with a device that minimizes unnecessary claim on resources (qtd. in Rice 345). In this case, the device used filters morals amongst Muslims and businesspeople do not put profiteering ahead of morals and ethics in business. This doctrine has helped me shape my future business practices by preparing me to engage in business while following ethical and virtuous practices as taught and advanced by Islamic doctrines. My family is another important aspect in my life that has been instrumental on my quest to develop personal ethics. As a Saudi, my family believes that the teachings and doctrines provided for in the Quran should guide people in living their daily lives. In this case, my family has set a set of values-which we all seek to maintain and achieve each day-based on the teachings from the Quran. The value, which my family has set, motivates each member of the family to engage in purposeful actions each day. Consequently, engaging in purposeful actions each day implies that the practices that we engaged in were geared towards achieving ultimate goals in life. Development of values based on the family’s beliefs and doctrines, as taught by the Quran, has led to the development of a habit aimed at maintaining the best values in life. These same values will help me while engaging in business in the future. In this regard, values gained will enable me engage in ethical practices as guided by the Quran and the values that my family has set. Besides, the values will also ensure that my business life was purposive each day, which will also increase productivity. On the other hand, forming the moral habit of maintaining my values will ensure that I developed virtues, which are an important aspect in business. In this regard, virtues will help me live a happy and prosperous life, both in business and my personal life. The environment has also helped me develop personal ethics. As a young man living in the United States, I left a comfortable life whereby I never used to do my cooking and washing since there were people employed to play those roles. In effect, coming to the United States proved to me that I had a lot to learn and do many things by myself. For this reason, I have come to learn how to perform minor household chores, which has been an excellent lesson in my life. I have come to learn that all work is noble and that each person plays a pivotal role in life. For this reason, I have come to appreciate that the janitor is as equally important as the factory’s Chief Financial Officer is important. This lesson has proved to be important for future business engagements since I will endeavor to recognize the important role of each player, which is ethical practice in business. On the other hand, the environment offered by the United States is always a busy one, with each individual working diligently to meet his or her goals in life. In this regard, living in Salt Lake City has changed my view on work ethics and developed a sense of working harder each day. Back home in Saudi Arabia, most of us work in family businesses, which we inherit and pass on to our children. However, Americans work hard, and most build start-ups that develop into big businesses in the future. Nonetheless, this is only achievable through hard work and a sense of determination, which requires instilling work ethics in an individual. Based on the foregoing, it is evident that an individual can develop personal ethics based on different experiences. Personally, my Islamic faith has played an instrumental role in developing ethics that will be critical while engaging in future business. In this regard, following the doctrines taught in the Quran has made me develop business ethics based on the moral filter of Islam. On the other hand, my family’s belief in a set of values aimed at guiding the family has made me understand the importance of living a life that was purposive each day. In effect, this will help me when engaging in business in the future. Finally, the American environment has helped me develop important work ethics such as hard work and determination. Work Cited Rice, Gillian. “Islamic Ethics and the Implications for Business.” Journal of Business Ethics 18.4 (Feb. 1999): 345-358. JSTOR. Web. 17 Sep. 2012. . Read More