Personal Value System

In today’s business world, everyone is facing though ethical business challenges as well as personal decision due to constant changes in technology, economy, and government laws. Further more, they must take risks, legal issues, fairness, and corporate social responsibility in to consideration when formulating and making any decisions. Most importantly, if they want to be successful, they must pay closer attention to business ethics. Same can be said for personal decision as well. One must make good judgment and apply appropriate ethic standards. This leads us to observe what ethics is and elements that are associated with it such as personal values.
In thinking about the ethics, first thing that goes though my mind is Enron. Ever since the Enron corporate scandal, the policies, process, procedure, and even ethic with-in business world has taken more attention. All businesses are reviewing their process, procedure, and ethical policies to ensure all employees are making right decisions. Companies are paying more attention to their actions. They are also performing internal audits to ensure that all its employees are not taking any unethical action. Many big companies such as ABB, IBM, and GM Motor are hiring auditor from outside addition to its internal audits. This allows them to monitor activities effectively and to ensure employees are following its code of conduct. This brings us to a big question. What is Ethics? “Ethics refers to well based standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues.” (Issues in Ethics IIE V1 N1, 1987) The personal decision of right and wrong ultimately determine process of ethics.
One of the key factors that play a key role in ethics is Value. Value can be define as preferences concerning appropriates courses of action or outcomes. (J.R. Schermerhorn, Jr., J.G. Hunt, & R.N. Osborn, 2005) As such, value reflects sense of right and wrong. Value also tends to influences attitude. For example, if you value good and honesty, then when working with people who are bad nature and liar, could result in possibly conflict and possibly looking for different job. Value comes from parents, friends, and surrounding environment. Value can also be developed by continues learning experience. There are two types of value, the terminal value and instrumental value. Both values are different. “The terminal values reflect person’s preference concerning the ends to achieve; they are the goal that individual likes to achieve in their lifetime.” (J.R. Schermerhorn, Jr., J.G. Hunt, & R.N. Osborn, 2005). Where as, the Instrumental values reflect the means for achieving desired ends. These values have clear relationship between attitudes. Attitudes are influenced by values and are acquired from the same source as values. Before we proceed with my personal value, keep in mind that the ethics, value and attitude are linked together.
Development of my personal value perhaps began when I was born and it is one thing that will continue to develop as I get older. I was born and raised in state of Gujrat, India, where I spent my first 11 years. I acquired my personal values from my parents, religion, culture, people and environment that I grew up in. I think that my foundation of value started at home, where my parent taught me difference between what is right and wrong. They set certain standard for me, they gave me education, and perhaps the most important, they raised me in Indian culture with Islamic way of life.
One of the elements that I value most is honesty and fairness. The honestly plays a big role in my personal and business decision. Everyday, I face many challenges that require honesty. At workplace, I work in Supply Management where being honest is important. However, from ethical perspective, even the dishonestly can sometime consider ethical. For example, if I am negotiating with supplier on prices, I could bluff, or lie by saying that I can buy same item from else where for way cheaper. By doing so, I might get better price to meet my budget constrain, however, I am also going against my personal value. These types of ethical dilemma are compromised base on individual situation. Sometime my personal values overrule group value and sometime they are not. In any case, honesty is one of my core values that I developed at young age and I will continue that carry on as long as I live.
Another one of my core value is my religious belief. I am a faithful Muslim. Islam is my belief and the way of life that I choose to live by. Through my studies of Quran, I have learned to make moral decisions that are right. I face many challenges on personal level as well as business where defining what is consider morally right is sometime difficult. However, when making such decision, I always rely on what makes common sense or at lest what is right thing to do given situation. Sometime I face Ethical dilemmas where I do thing that I should not otherwise. For example, as a Muslim, one of my beliefs is not to eat haram food, in other word forbidden or slottered food. However, sometime when the food looks really good, and I am feeling very hungry, temptation takes control and I make decision that are unapproved by my core value.
I came to United States when I was twelve. When I arrived, I did not have a single clue as far as American way of life, school system or even language for that matter. I remember the first day I went to school, I spoke no English nor did I understand anything at that time. One of the students approached me, looked at me straight in to my eyes and said something bad about Gandhi, I knew it was bad because he used profanity. One thing he did not know was that Gandhi was one of the people who inspired me the most. This goes to show how culture difference can create different view of people one admires. As I got adapted to American way of life, I learned about many other people such as Elbert Einsiten, Steven Hawin, and Andrew Caregie who are just few people inspired me and possibly chance my personal values. As I get older and as my environment changed, so will my values.
Everywhere we go, no matter what city, state, or country we travel to, we will always be surrounded by people with different belief and values. The difference in gender, race, ethnicity, and age is what create cultural diversity. Diversity is a part of our daily lives and it is something that must learn to live with. People with different demographic differences working in the organization makes diverse workforce. It is becoming more important for the organizations to know about these differences and how to manage it. The difference in peoples value system is becoming the common issue in the workforce environment, in some companies employees often get discriminated or misunderstood because of there personal values. So it is important for the companies to recognize personal value and so that group values are some what in align. I know when I make decisions, they are based on my personal values.
There are a number of factor that contributed in development of my personal values. The key factors were my parents, cultures, religion and people I admire. By knowing what my core values are, I can make personal or even business decision more effectively with out violating any ethical standards. The values are what determine the difference between right and wrong. In the end, the values are the basis of ethics.

References
Organizational Behavior (9th ed.) J.R. Schermerhorn, Jr., J.G. Hunt, & R.N. Osborn Wiley, 2005 Hoboken, NJ
Issues in Ethics IIE V1 N1, (1987) Retrieved March 02, 2008 from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/pr acticing/decision/whatisethics.html