Reflection of My Ethical Upbringing

by Garrett Jones

Introduction
Dr. Mark Wells defines business ethics as, “Responsible behavior in ethics” (2008). Therefore, I would alter his definition slightly and define ethics and “responsible behavior in society.” Our ethical views are our guidelines to how we conduct ourselves in society: including, our personal behavior and our treatment others. Ethics are defined as, “the branch of philosophy that deals with morality. Ethics is concerned with distinguishing between good and evil in the world, between right and wrong human actions, and between virtuous and non-virtuous characteristics of people” (“Ethics,” n.d.). There are many different views of what ethics are. There are also many different ethical views from different societies. So, how do we determine which issues are handled ethically and which are handled unethically?
The Utilitarian Approach
The utilitarian approach encompasses society’s views as a whole and examines what is best for the society. John Stuart Mill’s greatest happiness principal is the basic approach of Utilitarianism in which society, “solve[s] ethical dilemmas by bringing the greatest [amount of] good to the greatest number of people. There will always be a few disgruntled souls in every ethical dilemma solution, so we just do the most good that we can” (Jennings, 2009, p. 6).
The Rights Approach
The rights approach to ethical reasoning basically implies that everyone has the right to the truth, to personal privacy, and the right to not be harmed. This approach gives everyone the right to choose for him/herself. In the book, Business Ethics, Jennings also says that, “it’s up to the governments to protect those rights” (2009, p. 7). This is because it is these governments that allow people these rights. If society was not set up with governmental systems, then this ethical approach would not exist.
The Rule Approach
The rule approach, also know as the Categorical Imperative, was developed by philosopher Immanuel Kant. Kant’s theory says that a person must act in such a way that his or her actions may be made into a universal law (Jennings, 2009, p. 6). Kant’s theory also says, “You not only have to be fair but also have to want to do it for all the right reasons” (Jennings, 2009, p. 7). People cannot act in ways that are for personal benefit. By doing so, is also going against Kant’s intentions for this approach.
The Virtue Approach
The virtue approach is one of the most commonly used approached worldwide. This theory was taught by Aristotle and Plato, two of the most well recognized philosophers of all time. The virtue approach could also be longest know approach to ethical evaluation. This approach takes a virtue standard and applies it to how society should act. Honesty and integrity could be the two most common virtue standards used in society, and they are often times used in conjunction. Honesty means to tell the truth, where as integrity in the means of being trustworthy. Integrity and honesty go hand-in-hand. To act with integrity or to be trustworthy, one should also be honest. This leads me into my upbringing and the foundation of my ethical background.
Past and Ethical Foundation
For as long as I can remember, my father has instilled to me the value of carrying myself with honesty and integrity. He always told me that being honest with people, even in troubled situations, would yield the best possible outcome. He also said that by being honest, I would view as a trustworthy person. To me, earning someone’s trust is one of the highest honors a person can bestow on another. Therefore, acting with integrity was one of the earliest values that I learned and it is one that I will always practice.
The next two virtues that I learned were responsibility and attentiveness. Developing the ability to work with integrity allowed people to give me responsibility. This is very important to me. My parents had enough trust in me, to allow me to be responsible for myself. They allowed me to be involved in multiple activities, because they trusted that I would be responsible enough to get the required things done. I was able to participate in multiple after-school activities at a young age. This allowed me to participate in sports with children that were two or three years older than I was, because the children my age were not allowed to. Parents had to sign a waiver and grades had to be maintained at a satisfactory level to participate. I was responsible for ensuring that my grades were well maintained and that I was working hard in the classroom. I was also taught to be attentive to my surrounding and to my elders. Again my father instilled in me, that I should look people in the eyes when they were speaking (even if they were not directly talking to me), and try and understand why things happen; not merely just accept that the do. I feel that listening is one of the most important virtues a person can possess.
My grandma also played a large part in developing the virtues that I possess today. She showed me what it meant to be courageous, caring, and compassionate. I learned more about compassion, when I encountered my own situation “down the road” in my life. However, I watched my grandma, “Mam-maw” as I called her, go through the deaths of her husband (my “pap-paw”), two of her sons (my uncles), and her nephew (my cousin). She showed great courage through those situations. Unknown to me at the time, it would drastically affect how I handled a situation of my own.
During my sophomore year in high school, I met a young lady at a cousin’s wedding. We started dating shortly after in August of 2002. We had a great relationship and we were almost inseperateable, on the weekends that is. I lived about an hour and a half away, and because of our busy schedules we were only able to see each other on the weekends. Everything was going great; I was having a great basketball season and I had a wonderful girlfriend. Valentines Day fell on a Friday that year, but I still had school and basketball practice; so, we made plans for me to pick her up at her house for dinner and then we were going to go back to her house to watch a movie. Everything went according to plan; dinner was great, but about half-way through the movie I received a voicemail. It was from my mother asking where I was at and if I was alright. I immediately called her to find out what was going on and let her know where I was and that I was indeed alright. She asked if I had been outside lately, because it had been snowing very hard. I said no, but headed up-stairs to look outside. In the two hours we had spent watching the movie, between one-to-two feet of snow had fallen. There was no way that I could get out and go home that night. I was forced to stay in the guest bedroom that night and then we would evaluate the situation in the morning, but it turned out to be no better as there was now between two-to-three feet of snow on the ground. I was again going nowhere. I finally got out on Sunday and headed home. I spoke with Meredith (my girlfriend) that night and on Monday night and planned on talking to her after practice on Tuesday afternoon (there was no school on Monday and Tuesday). When I returned home from practice, I had an uneasy feeling as I approached the house. I went in to find both my parents sitting in the living room in the dark. My dad sat me down beside him and proceeded to tell me that God works in mysterious ways and that he had something to tell me. It seemed like eternity before the next sentence came out of his mouth. Then, he informed me that Mr. and Mrs. Thomas (Meredith’s parents) had called, and Meredith had passed away that morning. Immediately, I shut down. I did not care about anyone else and resented God for taking her away. I did not understand what I had done to deserve this. Then, I realized that it was not about me.
I asked for forgiveness from God and asked him to allow me to take something positive from this situation. He acknowledged. My best friend was killed in a car accident just a year after my girlfriend passed. Instead of getting angry with the situation, I accepted what had happened and focused helping others through this incident by using my previous event. I learned that things happened for reasons that we cannot explain or control; therefore, we must accept the situation and build off of it. This will lead to the development of other virtuous characteristics. I led me to the further development of charisma, compassion, and caring.
My Present Outlook
I have encountered many different situations and my most used approach to using ethics is the virtue approach; although, I do use some of the other approaches as well. I believe that whether people look at it this way or not, everyone uses virtues in evaluating situations and in carrying out everyday actions. I just recently attended the “2008 Ethical Symposium” sponsored by the Presbyterian Men of the Church on Hilton Head Island, in South Carolina. I learned so much about how people from different backgrounds, religions, and cultures view situations ethically. This is something that really struck me. Before, I knew that different cultures and religions viewed situations differently, but getting to see first hand experience truly opened my eyes to how different opposing views can be. We covered many different ethical issues including: injury and product liability, faith in the workplace, safety and working conditions, sexual harassment, lying on a resume, factory relocation, corporate values, and stem cell research. There were many more issues covered, but these were some of the main issues of discussion; and, everyone had different views and approaches to the situations.
Future Development
I definitely plan on pursuing the development of my ethical reasoning. The recent conference opened my eyes and gave me a deeper understanding to what ethics are and what they mean to me and society. I always knew that I had an ethical outlook on life but I did not understand what that meant until. I did not understand my position on different ethical issues, and I am still learning my position on things. I am going to continue using the virtue approach, but I am going to try to open myself up to other approaches as well to better develop my ethical understanding. I am also going to pursue going to another ethical conference, because I find that it is very helpful to listen to other people’s views on different situations and learn from them.
Conclusion
Ethics play an important role in my life. I also believe that many people overlook the role that ethics play in there lives. If everyone better understood their ethical standing, our society as a whole would be a lot better off. I truly feel that the diversity of rich and poor would disperse and there would once again be a strong middle-class society. However as long as ethics are not brought to executives and owners attentions, our society’s problems will continue to rise.






References

Jennings, M. M. (2009). Business Ethics: Case Studies and Selected Readings, Sixth Ed. Mason, OH: South-Western.

“Ethics.” (n.d.). The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition.
Retrieved November 09, 2008, from Dictionary.com From the website:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ethics