Personal Ethical View Point

Even though I do not always speak up when I know something is wrong, I have a strong code of personal ethics because I believe loyalty, honesty, and above all, respect for others will guide me to make me the proper ethical decisions throughout my life. I feel that I am a very loyal person. I believe that I am easy to get along with and can make friends without effort. Once I make friends, I have them for life. I have always prided myself on supporting decisions that my friends and family make, even if I know they are a mistake. Who am I to correct anyone’s actions?
I understand the importance of making mistakes, so we can learn from them. Along with loyalty, I pride myself on having great fortitude. I am not easily swayed in my beliefs. I will listen to other view points and understand the importance of different beliefs, but I stand strong with the facts that I have discovered in which I developed my beliefs. Although I say that I respect other people’s opinion, I will fight for a cause I believe in, and I will back it up with every bit of energy I have if I feel something needs to be done to correct an action.
I have noticed that I will tell people the truth, even if it may hurt them, but I will only do so when asked for an opinion. I know that telling a lie will only hurt me in the long run, so I am thankful that I am an extremely honest person. Lies will always come back to haunt me, and I am aware of that fact. I prefer to go through life without the stress of being caught in a lie. Honesty always pays off in the long run, even if it may cause feelings to be hurt. Working hard is a trait I value in my life. Not just physical labor, but mental work as well.

I am tenacious in working through a problem until it is solved. I generally work hard on everything I set out to accomplish. I also believe that it takes a great sense of critical thinking to achieve successful hard work. I recognize that working hard comes with a set of rewards unattainable any other way. Along with all the great qualities I have, I would not be human if I said I did not have some negative qualities as well. To me, having some negative qualities does not necessarily mean it is a shame, but instead, I believe having negative points only helps balance out the positive.
For instance, I have been known to be overly quiet when I should have spoken up on someone’s behalf. In other words, I do not always stick up for others when they are being treated poorly. I do get an overwhelming feeling that I should be strong and say something, but the quiet person inside me feels more comfortable and I weigh the options of making a situation worse, rather than better. When I notice something is wrong, I have a tendency to ignore the situation unless it involves me. I believe this goes back to deciding if my opinion will make a situation worse.
I know this is a quality that I must work on in order to continue to become a better person. If more people spoke up, maybe this world could become better? This is what I consider to be my biggest character flaw. Additionally, I also have been known to give into peer pressure. Not when it comes to drugs or other unhealthy activities, but I will often follow others actions when participating in activities that make me feel uncomfortable. Also, I often take advice from people, even if I know it is not the best advice. Perhaps this is a way of showing respect to others.
As I have stated, I pride myself on being a strong person, but sometimes this conflicts with the desire to make others feel valued around me. When I speak of value, there is only one thing that I value the most, and that is my family that I have created. The best gift I was given was my children and my loving husband in which I would do anything for. They are the reason I try to be successful. I have worked very hard at teaching them a great sense of personal ethics of their own, and I support my family’s decisions whether I feel them to be right or wrong.
If a member of my family does make a decision that could have had a better outcome, I let them figure out the issue, and I always suggest new ideas in order to still give a structured solution, while that individual still learns from their mistakes. Again, even though I do not always speak up when I know something is wrong, I have a strong code of personal ethics because I believe loyalty, honesty, and above all, respect for others will guide me to make me the proper ethical decisions throughout my life. How might you use your personal ethics to determine a course of action?
I have an example in which my personal ethics were greatly tested. When I was still working as an Assistant Security Director, the head Security Director was a very harsh, uncaring, pushy type of a person. He often treated all of his employees very poorly. He called everyone awful names. Once an employee had made a mistake within their job duties, my boss would forever hold that over their heads and often referred to those employees as “his retards. ” He would even introduce them to other people that were hired into our department as retard # 1, 2, & 3.
On a daily basis, I would watch our most manly men come into the security office with their head held high, only to watch them leave feeling less of a man, and their heads hung low. My boss would also make sexual remarks to all the female security officers and I know it made them feel very uncomfortable. The Security Director knew that what he was doing was terribly wrong, because he threatened everyone’s jobs if they went to his boss. Most of the employees felt helpless. I believe this is where the quiet part of me stood in the way, because I did not say anything to him or anyone else even though I was just under his rank.
I would often go home and reflect what the Security Director had done for the day and watched how people’s feelings were affected, including mine. After much embarrassment, hurt feelings and lack of pride, I finally let my personal ethics shine through. After a lot of intense reflection, as well as begging from the rest of the staff, I decided it was time to do what I could to stop my boss’s behavior. I stood up for all my employees knowing I could lose my job. I was tired of knowing in my heart that what he was doing was wrong on so many levels. I went above his head and secured a meeting with his boss. I spoke up and evealed all of my boss’s behaviors. I was completely uncomfortable doing so, but I knew it was the right decision that I had made. In the end, the Security Director was given a choice to leave or be publicly dismissed of his duties. I believe the result of me adhering to my strong code of personal ethics was the catalyst for this situation. All the employees who were harassed and bullied by my boss were so thankful and appreciative. My company had hired an investigator and every single employee was interviewed on the topic. Almost everyone stood behind me and showed their support. I guess they just needed someone stand up and be heard.