Personal Ethics - Life Balance Goals - Assignment Example

Personal Ethics - Life Balance Goals Ethics are an important aspect of everyone's life because they help an individual understand the difference between right and wrong. I think that everyone has a set of ethics but this does not meant that they always listen to them. I have learned that it is important for someone to have a code of ethics to live by because it gives them a foundation for what is "right" and what is "wrong." The interesting part about ethics is that they are different for different people. Character is an expression that a person builds over time. It is something that people learn about the individual through watching and interacting with them. Ethics will be the determining factor in what an individual does in any situation. They will build character through what they believe in. Character is what other people see that allows them to develop an opinion. Leadership is what happens when someone has built character and developed skills that match what they believe. In other words, leadership grows out of an individual's skills and abilities. They will become leaders when they have achieved a certain level of success and their ethics will be part of this leadership. Service is important to each individual because it enhances an individual's life. A person can serve their community by helping others or they can serve their church or family. PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL MISSION STATEMENT My aim is to be an individual who is well rounded and who lives a full life. I am a complex thinker who has a holistic approach towards life and towards my career. I choose to be a person who thinks beyond the box and who embraces not only those things that we can "see" but also those things that other people think are impossible. I want to be a business leader who has a holistic approach towards my job, family and society and who would try and integrate the various aspects of my self with that of the professional and personal duties that are required of me. I also want to insure that I remain committed as an individual to my work and that I evolve spiritually into a complete human being. LIFE BALANCE GOALS I will be responsible towards my family. I will develop a holistic approach to life. I will take good care of my health. I will learn new skills every year I will achieve professional success I will work towards my goals. I will do my best for society. I will be responsible towards my staff and team members. DEFINITION OF TERMS Leadership has been described as a "process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". (Chemers 2000). My definition says that leadership is the art of ensuring that one gets things done by delegating duties and making sure that the team contributes to the bottom line objectives. Ethics are all about value systems and their utility in leading a life of virtue that means respecting the right of others to lead their lives. This happens when we also respect others and when we do not compromise the normative mores of social and fiscal behavior. Character is something that develops over a period of time in resonse to the travails of life and the accompanying bouts of happiness and sorrow that are a part of every day life. Service is the art of sharing time and resources with others with a view to bettering the lives of other people. Ethical Issues in Business I believe that the ethical issues for business today include fraud, access to healthcare, opportunities for advancement, downsizing and crime. Today the most important ethical issue is healthcare reform. Although this is in the news on a national level it is going to have some impact on every business. The dilemma for some companies will be that they may have to start giving healthcare where they did not have to in the past. Other companies will be faced with how they will provide better healthcare; this may mean that they will have to downsize some in order to do the best for the many. Healthcare reform is important because so many people cannot afford it whether the government makes it "mandatory" or not. The second ethical dilemma that I think is important is crime. Within each organization there are people who can be disgruntled or find themselves in a situation that will push them to commit a crime with their employer. Many people feel they are not making enough money and that they will not be caught if they steal for their employer because they are perceived to have more money than the "little person." Sometimes situations happen in a person's life that will cause them to turn to crime because they do not have any other ideas of what to do. In the news we have seen where doctors, lawyers and CEO's have had problems with something and they have taken sometimes small amounts and at other times larger amounts. Theft and fraud are the two largest aspects in the area of crime that seem to be something that employers have to work through and that employees do not realize will cost the company more money. CASE STUDY AND SOLUTION The case study I chose was the "loan officer and the debtors" and I am using the PISCO Decision making model to "solve" this case study. PROBLEM STEP 1 Shelby Grant is a new graduate in finance and she has taken a job with First National Federal Bank, a lending institution that makes loans all over the state. This is a good first job for Shelby because it is "the second-largest financial institution in Wyoming" and she feels she will gain more experience here than in other smaller banks. Since Shelby is new she is faced with what she was taught at the University of Wyoming's School of business and what she is experiencing in real life. Shelby is uncertain about her current boss's ethical behavior and whether she should follow it. Her boss, Ben Garrison, is a senior loan officer and could make her job more unpleasant. She has been ordered to do several things that she feels are unethical: First, she will go to a ranch to get a loan signed and although she believes the bank should pay, Garrison says that the client will pay. Her second dilemma is that she has been told to call the people whose loans she handles to ask them for charitable donations. QUESTION: Are these behaviors unethical according to the rules of the bank, and if so, what should Shelby do? INPUT STEP 2 Garrison is Shelby's boss and in effect she must do exactly what she needs to do if she wants to keep her job. She does not have a lot of knowledge about the bank but she may have read the code of ethics that were instituted in the late 1980s. Although she feels that she needs to stand up to her boss, she does not have someone she can talk to about the situation. She has financial obligations that are pressing her but she is not sure what she should do in dealing with him. She does not know whether this is the way that business is conducted everywhere (which she is inclined to believe) or whether this is just Garrison's way of behaving. On the one hand Shelby could confront her boss (cause) and tell him that she will not do what he has instructed her to do because of the ethical considerations; however, this may mean that she will be fired (effect). Shelby could go back to the orientation materials (if she was given any) and approach her boss with the information that is in the code. She could state that the company may get into trouble if they do not do what is required in the book. She may find that Garrison is resistant to changing anything and again this may result in losing her job. What she does from this point on may determine her destiny at this job and in other jobs. On the note about the fundraiser, it seems that Garrison is used to approaching his customers to present something for charity. Shelby could ask for more information about why they are used to doing this and she could ask him for advice as to how to approach her customers since she is new. SOLUTION STEP 3 There are three things that I would suggest in this situation. There is a question that comes to mind here as to whether Garrison is her supervisor or just another loan officer. Although he is the senior loan officer, he may not be her supervisor. This is the first thing she should do. If he is her supervisor, she should schedule an appointment with him to go over what his expectations are of her and what her responsibilities are to him and/or the company, and she should ask for something in writing. This way she could remind him of what he told her to do and she would keep her job at the same time. Shelby could also explore other jobs in case something happened with this one. Although most people want to get into a job that they will stay in for the rest of their life, there is always the possibility that they will lose a job for one reason or another. It can be easier to find a job when you have one than when you have been fired. SWOT ANALYSIS 1. Identify her supervisor 2. Make an appointment with her supervisor 3. Explore other jobs Strengths: Makes her job easier because she knows exactly what is expected of her. She can make her points about her feelings about what she was given. She learns how to stand up for herself in the very beginning. She can explore other jobs "just in case." She can go to her supervisor if it is not Garrison and ask what she should do. Weaknesses: She seems shy which may prevent her from confronting him. He may not listen to how she is feeling if he has a "do what I say" type of management style. Opportunities: This is a great way to practice standing up for herself. She could take a course in assertiveness to learn how to stand up to authority in an appropriate way. She could talk to the head of the bank if she needs more information. Threats: He could fire her on the spot. She could risk doing what he says and finding herself in more trouble afterwards. She could lose her job anyway if the bank's practices are unethical. CHOICE STEP 4 Shelby will make an appointment with her supervisor to make sure that she is on the right track in her job. She will learn to stand up for herself and be assertive in a way that is appropriate to her job. She will understand the job market so that she will not have to worry about losing a job. OPERATION STEP 5 Shelby will clarify her job with her supervisor to make sure that she understands what her duties are and what is expected of her. Action steps 1. Shelby will check he code of ethics for the job. 2. Shelby will make an appointment with the supervisor to understand her duties. 3. Shelby will take an assertiveness class to help her stand up to authority in an appropriate way. 4. Shelby will explore the job market to find out what other job opportunities are available. Read More