Personal Code of Ethics - Essay Example

Personal Code of Ethics Essay

The code of ethics is an important factor in anyone’s life. It is a guideline that directs me in the right direction at any time. It shields me from the temptations of desiring to divert from the right path by continually reminding me of the repercussions. I have seen the need to create a clear guideline on what is to be done if I ever find myself diverting from the set norms. These are to be serious consequences that would make me think twice before deciding to break any of the set rules.

I use this paper to explain my firm belief in people coming up with a code of ethics. I show how my personal code of ethics looks like and inspire everyone to consider making the same steps. To me, this code of ethics will guide my daily actions. I will need to be true to it if I am to be guided in the right direction.

I believe in the idea that ethical behavior is a virtue worthy of any competent leadership. It attracts respect and admiration in equal proportions. People would trust an ethical leader than one who is not ethical. I desire to be such a leader who commands the said respect and admiration. It is why I see the need to be intentional in setting an ethical foundation on which I will offer my leadership.

I hold this dearly to my heart since I believe that my ambition to be a leader will never come to fruition if I fail to show strong values and strictness. In other words, I will have to stand for something, or else I will fall for anything. To me, it is not the character of an effective leader since leaders tend to be unwavering in their thoughts, decisions, or actions. Their ethical behaviors earn them meaningful relationships as they inspire trust. It also allows them to be more productive than they would otherwise be if they were unethical.

Regardless, this should not be taken to mean that a leader has to be very rigid on any decision made regarding a situation. No, a leader should create space for improvements to whatever ideologies previously held in a code of ethics. However, any changes made by a leader should still be guided by a strict ethical code as prescribed by that leader’s previously set personal code of ethics.

My code of ethics is directly related to the profession I intend to pursue – a profession in broadcast journalism – news anchoring. Therefore, I understand the need for me first to observe the code of ethics set in the journalism field, particularly as a news presenter. I must then pick all those that I feel would work for me now and in my future profession as a news anchor. I have to refine each guideline to make it less foreign and more specific to my ambitions and dreams. It is also important to understand that I am not yet a journalist.

As a result, this code should help me not just in the future but also in my current life as a student or unemployed graduate. It has to be so meaningful to prevent me from the temptation of having to keep it for later adoption when I get a job. Everything begins now since I believe that I have to start by acquiring the form, nature, and character of a professional for me to be one in my desire to become a news presenter. All I wish is to be the type of leader whose examples can be emulated by others.

I will be guided by different concepts of leadership – one being utilitarianism. I have intentionally included this concept into my code of ethics since it is a bold statement of my true identity. I do not believe in egocentrism. Everything I do is always for the greater good of everyone. It is whether or not I have a chance to bypass everyone’s interest and act to my benefit. I believe that this virtue will help me be fair in every judgment I make as a leader.

Utilitarianism is particularly important to me since I have a background in organizational leadership and functionality. It naturally makes my role a key function in any organization. In other words, this background makes me a decision-maker in any team or group within an organization. I have to give a type of guidance that will be acceptable to everyone without being seen as making a poor judgment.

I also incorporate ethical egoism in my list of guidelines. It might come as a shock to many, especially after talking of putting everyone’s best interest before mine. However, I believe that every employer needs to have a little bit of ethical egoism. It means that there are moments when I will partly consider whatever is in my best interest. It will be something that happens once in a while, and that will be done in good faith.

I consider ethical egoism given the fact that it is viewed as an acceptable moral action. It helps in a world where we always have to prove ourselves to employers by producing extraordinary results. At times, losing focus on our best interest of what is in our best interest only means that other people will overtake us in our organizations.

It is despite the fact that the achievement of desired results could have greatly been attributed to us. But then, as I said, ethical egocentrism will be adopted into my personal code of ethics. In other words, my responsibilities will always be considered as no one else’s responsibility, but mine alone. Regardless, the same effort directed towards my career advancement is the same I will direct towards helping any other employee attain what is due to him or her. It will be a win-win situation.

My ability to make decisions will be guided by different factors. For instance, shared value is one of the factors I will consider. I will have to determine whether or not the persons assigned to me have a shared value. I will seek to know their thoughts regarding the roles given to their general moods concerning these roles. My actions will also be determined by factors like religious views and political views. These are factors that affect me as a person and those around me.

Therefore, I will have to take a keen interest in each factor when I encounter different situations that require immediate intervention. It will help me eliminate any biases that could blur my decisions. It will look at situations from different viewpoints before finding the most respectful way to deal with them. In other words, I will have to be guided by a good sense of judgment by considering the effects of certain actions on different people.

No one else other than myself will be charged with the responsibility of ensuring that this personal code of ethics is followed to the later. It means that I am the creator and implementer of these rules. I am also the one who will know when I have broken them, which means that I will have to know the appropriate punishment to inflict onto myself whenever I drift away from these set personal code of ethics.

As I mentioned, punishment is as important as the personal code of ethics I set for myself. One of these punishments will be a self-inflicted shame and embarrassment of knowing that I broke my personal rules. I know I will never forget any mistake I make that goes against my personal code of ethics. The guilt would probably be with me for a lifetime since I am not the kind of person who forgets about my failure. It is a natural punishment that I will want to avoid at all costs, which is why I have included it as a form of punishment.

Taking responsibility for breaking my rules will be another type of punishment. I will have to swallow my pride and admit my weaknesses to fellow employees. It will be another form of shame that I will not want to have to deal with. The two forms of punishment are very severe that I believe I will want to avoid any mistakes if that will be the only way of skipping the punishments.

The basic ideas that make up this personal code of ethics are based on my personal life, the importance of news anchoring, and overall professionalism. Here are details about this personal code of ethics:

• I will be professional in every responsibility given to me by my employers. Never will I drive away from observing the highest levels of professionalism at all times. It is regardless of the circumstances that I might have to deal with.
• I will take every responsibility assigned to me without feeling more or less important. I will also work with everyone else in the achievement of every task meant to be achieved as a team.
• I will be respectful to others by acknowledging the need for them to be honored for who they are. It will be done regardless of my position in an organization or society. I will be punctual for meetings: never will I intentionally keep anyone waiting.
• I will strive to improve my career skills by enrolled for short courses and even advancing my education to master’s and Ph.D. levels. It will make me more competent to handle the ever-evolving changes in today’s business environment.
• I will hold onto the virtue of integrity, both in my professional field as a news anchor and in my non-professional social circles. I will not engage in any dishonest habits, even when opportunities for dishonesty present themselves to me.
• I will adopt and display high moral characters at all times – whether or not I am working. It will be to avoid any chances of ruining the good image desired in a competent news anchor.
• I will be discreet with any private information received handled on behalf of my organization. This same high level of confidentiality will be transferred to my interactions with friends and family.
• I will always take time to conduct thorough research on any information I receive before presenting it as news. It will shield me from spreading rumors that might end up hurting someone or an organization.
• I will offer equal opportunity to everyone regardless of race, friendship, gender, or nationality. Never will I show any favoritism towards a few individuals.
• I will handle every task assigned to me with much ambition. No task will be treated a useless or less important as long as I agree to perform it. It will give me consistently high productivity both in my chosen career and when working with friends.
• I will not agree to be influenced by my news items to be influenced by anyone. I will strive to provide accurate information on whatever news I present by staying regardless of any political or organizational pressure to do otherwise.
• I will work hard never to intentionally hurt anyone by my words or news items during my career as a journalist.
• I will maintain an environment of honesty by refusing to take credit for someone else’s effort.
• I will strive to admit any mistake committed by me and seek to make amends. Never will I push my mistakes to someone else.
• I will remain humble and understanding at all times, seeking to understand people’s cause of anger rather than turning on them with an equal display of anger. I will be the kind of person that restores calmness whenever there is strife at my organization.
• I will be more accommodating to everyone regardless of their levels of experience, gender, nationality, or race.

The first six points in the list could be applied to any business or career setting as they are all related to general work ethic. I consider myself lucky to have been brought up by a father who was deeply into business. I saw how his character and good virtues helped him grow his business. He was also instrumental in shaping me into the highly responsible, business-minded individual that I am today.

At least, I confidently say that I am always professional in every formal or informal setting I find myself in. I know how important it is to respect people regardless of their identities. As a result, it will be easier for me to incorporate them into my daily life and, subsequently, in my profession as a journalist.

I have mostly acquired my leadership skills from observing my dad rather than from being told what is right or wrong. It is mainly based on the fact that I acted as his personal assistant as he did routine checks on all his stores. I would accompany him to most of these stores and respected how employees treated him with the utmost decorum. I admired it a lot that I desired to be like him. So, I imitated most of the impressive virtues I saw in him.

I also learned from some of my mistakes during this time. For instance, I remember once when my dad reprimanded me for talking rudely at a security guard. He gave me a lecture on the need to respect everyone regardless of position. He talked of how at times, life changes and the despised could as well land higher-paying career opportunities than me. He believed that I never had to wait until such a time to show respect to such people. It was a valuable lesson that I have held dearly to date. No wonder I would do anything to show respect to anyone despite their positions in society.

I also learned a lot during my undergraduate education. I discovered through group assignments that I was very untrusting. Being a leader, I could only involve those I felt were more intelligent to handle the assignments. Sadly, I pushed to the side, those who were either introverted or unsure about their abilities.

In the end, our group emerged top in most of the activities. However, our professor gave me a lesson on teamwork when he once discovered that I didn’t involve everyone in our projects. This discovery was made when a group member was randomly picked by the teacher to make a presentation on what we had discussed. He was clueless since we had not involved her in the discussions. She had to confess that she was disturbed by our decision not to engage her in any of the processes. It was a sad moment that made me understand how our actions, at times, make people feel less of themselves. Our teacher used as an example of a highly productive group with poor leadership.

While we had produced high-quality presentations, we proved that we lacked any leadership skills in the group as a result of us not embracing the active participation of all group members. I took this as a challenge to my perspective on life, and my leadership desires later in my profession. I chose to be a fair leader since I noticed that it was the only way of building each person’s portfolio.

I have also realized the fact that news anchoring is a career that is fast changing. I would lose out on all its benefits if I fail to consider taking refresher courses to sharpen my skills. These skills will mostly be related to surviving in a highly vibrant work environment that works with different people with different qualifications, cultures, and races.

I will also need to know how the ever-changing technological advancements affect my career as a journalist. All these are important to sustaining my relevance in this career path even as I continuously remain professional in my news anchoring profession.

I also understand the temptations that individuals have to fight in their respective professional careers constantly. The greatest of all happens to bribes. Most people are likely to approach me with bribes, hoping that I will produce adulterated news content. These could be politicians or organizations involved in shady deals.

Partaking in their crimes would only make me lose my reliable news anchoring touch and break my personal ethical code. I would have no moral ground to fight for anything. It is for this reason that I intend to hold myself to high moral standings. I will do anything in my power to stay away from such negative influences.

The seventh to the twelfth point is directly related to my professional career as a journalist. I mostly highlight my desire to be discreet with any information that I receive. Firstly, with any information regarding the organization I work with. There is a high chance that I will be approached by my employer’s competitors to provide them with any form of news that might make them tarnish the image of the company I work for.

Most people have ended up providing damaging information to malicious characters in exchange for hefty gifts. To me, it should not be the case of a person entrusted with some of the most important secrets of a company. It is with this reasoning that I choose not to be part of such behaviors.

I also understand that some people would like to maintain their anonymity even as they provide highly sensitive information to be published in news articles for the sake of justice. Revealing their identities when they asked me not to do it might only be a risk to their lives. Regardless, I will never break any of my confidentiality clauses even when presented with such an opportunity. I believe that this is the true character of a competent professional news anchor.

The final four pints on the list touch on my desire to respect human life. This is based on the many cases of nepotism, racism, and all other forms of biases that are always witnessed in organizations. Some people fail to venture into their desired profession because some scrupulous leader in some company denied them a chance that was rightly theirs. These leaders instead proceed to hire incompetent friends or people from their race as employees in these companies. Some even sell these chances by receiving bribes in exchange for different positions.

I find it a bit unfair to people who have struggled in life only to be denied those opportunities based on their gender, race, or nationality. I consider this to be very unfair, especially to the most underprivileged members of society. I can only put myself in their positions and imagine the grief and pain they experience after all the rejection they receive from different employers. I can also imagine the experiences of that employee who, though hired, is never considered for any opportunity due to rampant workplace discrimination.

I will endeavor to bring ethics back into such a workplace by being as professional as possible in the way I work with every employee. I desire to bring the best out of everyone and to help them improve their skills even as I also strive for excellence in my profession through my stated ethical egoism concept. It will be a win-win for everyone.

My desire is to stick to this personal code at whatever cost. It is because of the value it adds to my character as an individual as a prospective employee. I believe that they will act as a motivation, allowing me to take the right course of action in whatever role I play in my professional career. This personal code of ethics, as a whole, is what I need to keep me in check even during the hard moments. They will act as a reminder of my ambitions as an aspiring or practicing professional journalist. They will also guide my relationships with friends, family, and colleagues at work.

Having them strongly rooted in my character as early as now is important, decreases my chances of forgetting about them when I suddenly venture into a news anchoring profession. Emphasis is still on the outcomes of these actions and the consequences of breaching any of the set rules in my profession or social circles. These are some of the important ideas you need in a Personal Code of Ethics Essay.