Question

Which force do you think wields a stronger influence over our ethical behavior – our personal values or elements in the situation? Why?

Answer 1

Ethical behavior can be explained as doing the right thing in the right moment even when there are easier alternatives which might not be morally right. These actions or decision making often varies from situation to situation and differs from different cultural and personal backgrounds. Very often people consider behaving in a way and following the good values that are considered right by the larger community to be the ethically right option. This may be true in certain cases where these values evolve over a period and are refined as they get passed down through generations.

But displaying such ultimately depends on the situation the individual is placed into. For instance, consider a simple scenario, in an office environment, one colleague does the hard work alongside you and the manager praises and promotes only you. You decide to stay silent in the entire situation as speaking out may hamper your own chances of progression. This can be considered by many as not an ethical behavior since the efforts were done equally by both the individuals. If we look at multiple scenarios we often see the same pattern recurring. Most individuals often choose to ignore the right and ethical way when it comes into a conflict of interest to them. Based on my understanding, I would suggest that personal values play a higher role and have a stronger power over the ethical behavior of an individual. If the individual is not ethically and morally right, then no matter how good the values placed by society are, they would often choose to ignore them when they get the chance. On the other hand, if the personal values are strong, they would always choose to follow the ethics and not indulge in any disputed action. Going back to the situation mentioned, if the individual has a strong personal value that all the reward and recognition should be shared equally, they would often go to the manager and share his opinion with others. This could end up being detrimental to their promotion and progress but it places the individual in high respect among his coworkers and the manager would do the right thing when the time occurs. These daily examples show the importance of personal values in any situation. The different elements in situations often can distract the individual and can force them to move away from personal values. But having a strong set of personal values and self-discipline to follow and maintain it will ensure a higher influence on our ethical behavior.