Personal Code of Ethics

“If you give a child your heart, she’ll want your integrity to go with it. You’ll give her your honor, and she’ll probably learn to trust you, so she’ll want you to teach her. She’ll ask you lots of questions. When you answer her questions, she’ll probably ask you for your respect. You’ll have to find it within your soul.  Your respect will remind her that she is in a safe place. She might feel inquisitive and want to learn more.

She’ll want you to meet her individual needs. She’ll look into your eyes for loyalty. Then she’ll tap into your belief system to find your moral compass. She’ll open it, and probably need something special to guide her thinking. When she’s almost done, she’ll ask you to be intentional. You’ll enrich her mind with opportunity, and she’ll soar to new heights. As she flies, she’ll see the future she has before her, and she’ll want to build a foundation. So you’ll have to give her the tools she needs. When her roots have been established, she will flourish, and remember the integrity with which you led. And chances are, if she is given integrity, she’ll cherish the heart that comes with it.” – Michelle Askew.

Where do we learn our ethics from as a child, a teenager, and as an adult? What does ethics mean for a business? What are the similarities or differences between personal and business ethics? Provide an example of an actual ethical dilemma for an organization and discuss how they acted.

As a child, we learn our ethics from our parents or caretakers. They are the people who surround us often times and mold our brain’s shape. As a child begins her/his school, she/he gets the idea about ethics from her teacher as well. Teenage is the time when we are often with our friends, school, and family, so they affect our way of thinking what’s good and bad. As an adult, we learn ethics from different life experiences, workplace, religion, and beliefs.

Ethics for business means the investigation of legitimate business strategies and work on viewing possibly disputable issues, for example, corporate administration, insider exchanging, pay off, segregation, corporate social obligation, and trustee duties. Law frequently manages business ethics, while different circumstances business ethics give an essential system that organizations may pursue to increase open acknowledgment.

The main difference between personal ethics and business ethics is that personal ethics are built upon one’s own moral code and values which is individually developed through personal experiences. On the other hand, business ethics are not developed in individual level rather is a code of conduct that has to be followed by everyone involved in the business. One of the main similarities between personal and organizational ethics are both of them are expected to be built upon a society’s expectation or ideals. The societal expectations have a huge significance upon both business and personal ethics.

An example of an actual organization facing an ethical dilemma:

Laurie Peterson, who was the founder of build & Imagine toys, started her business targeting the young girls to excite them about science through her toys. While she was running her business, she saw that the boy’s toy had a bigger market and profitability in the business. So, for the business, she decided to make boys toys which she eventually could be played by girls too. After years, she realized that was ethically wrong as that was not her original purpose. But she was doing right for her business which was making a good profit.

How did the organization solve it?

To get out of this dilemma, she came out with a conclusion. She decided to teach STEM skills to boys and girls and feature its products likewise. So, instead of targeting only boys, this would target both boys and girls (Giang, 2015).

Giang, V. (2015). Business Leaders Share How They Solved The Biggest Moral Dilemmas Of Their Careers. [online] Fast Company. Available at: https://www.fastcompany.com/3046630/7-business-leaders-share-how-they-solved-the-biggest-moral-dilemmas-of-their [Accessed 19 Jan. 2019].  

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