Essay Example on Good Moral Character: A Foundation of Integrity

Introduction

I think I have good moral characters because I believe in the existence of virtues such as honesty, loyalty and integrity which are a few things that contribute more to one's sense of self and overall image. I can consider myself to be a good person and a good citizen who has sound moral compass. I am trustworthy, respectful, responsible and fair in my actions. My idea of integrity is that one has to have attributes such as responsibility, loyalty, accountability, truthfulness and self-awareness for them to be termed as people of complete integrity.

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The virtues that I aspire to practice every day during my activities include being honest and respectful. I try as much as possible to build my character through my actions which are meant to shape who I am as a person. I also uphold the practice of integrity because the art of being honest and showing consistency as well as uncompromising adherence to strong values and ethical principles clearly shows that an individual is in the best behavior and their actions reflect who they say they are.

The Value of Ethics in my Life

The value of ethics in my life is that they guide the choices I make. The ethics is a system of principles that helps me tell the right from the wrong, and good from the bad. They give real and practical guidance to my life. Whenever I need to make a decision, I consult the ethics I uphold to see whether there is anyone that will get hurt. I am aware that the choices I make have consequences for myself and also others hence the responsibility I have for my actions makes it ideal for me to choose wisely to act in ways that do not hurt others and those that are best for me.

I do not think that I could live a happy life without trying to be ethical. I feel better when my actions are pure and follow the code of ethics. An example is that of cheating and playing mind tricks with the professor during exams so that one can copy answers. In this case, I would rather choose to be honest during the exam time so that I get genuine grades than allow myself to be swayed by the notion of success that is fake.

Reflect using information obtained from IDIS-302

The reason for having these core values is so that they can guide my everyday actions towards being a better person for the world. I like to be on the safe side of the law and acting in ways that do not prove that I am quite selfish. There are values that have been modified as a result of this class because I am now better at knowing when to use the values to act responsibly for the truth and build a character that defines people.

I now understand that in virtue ethics, character is more about would a person with good intentions and great character would do. They would obviously do the right thing according to what they stand for and minding that character counts. The ethical theory that helps greatly to affirm my beliefs is that of utilitarianism that places the locus of right and wrong solely on the outcomes of an action. I believe that actions are rights as far as they promote happiness and that happiness is the only thing with intrinsic value.

Case study

ABCD analysis

The case study to analyze is the plight of executive integrity at American Apparel. The company believes in passion, innovation and ethical practices that are necessary for the clothing industry (Markkula Center for applied ethics 2020). However, the founder of American Apparel, Dov Charney has never apologized for using sex to sell clothes. She made the art as central for the strategy of the company in marketing products from the first day. The ABCD analysis discusses the need for awareness of the actions of people. The series of questions that guide analysis to ethical decision making are centered across the dimensions of awareness, beliefs, consequences and decision. The case of American Apparel is that there is a violation of the sexual harassment policy of the company by their leader (Markkula Center for applied ethics 2020). Even so, he still refused to step down for another leadership of the company and had to be fired. The sexual acts of Charney led to a bad public image for the company hence the decision to fire him.

Facts

The ethical issue in the case of American Apparel is that the company's CEO engages in activities that are contrary to what the company says they uphold to the public. It is expected that American Apparel acts in ways that prove their passion, innovation and ethical practices but the founder engages in sexual activities that form an aspect of the marketing strategy to make more sales (Markkula Center for applied ethics 2020). The company went ahead to ask the employees to sign forms that indicated they knew they were working in a sexually charged environment. The code of ethics is against sexual practices in business such that individuals should only use strategies that are appropriate for the public and not use their persona interest to convince people to buy their products.

Moral Agents and Moral Recipients

The moral agent in this case is the founder of American Apparel, Dov Charney and the moral recipients are the public consumers of the company's products and the employees. Charney is choosing to act in ways that ae in complete opposite of the company's ethical statement which is to engage in innovation, passionate and ethical practices. However, he engages in using sex to sell clothes by masturbating during interviews as they carry on a conversation about business. The consumers of the products that the company sells are the recipients of the actions of Charney. The use of sex to sell clothes is a strange behavior that should not be encouraged in business because the public do not uphold such behavior.

Ethical Theories

The ethical theories that helped me reach the decision include that of deontology where people should adhere to their duties and obligations when engaging in decision-making that need ethics in play. People need to follow their obligations to other individuals and also the society because upholding such duties is what is considered ethically correct (Bosupeng, 2017). This way, the case of Dov Charney is such that he is obligated to act in ways that uphold the law and ethics of business and not use sex to his advantage in the name of a strategy for marketing. Businesses should consider how personal decision affects the way they work.

References

Bosupeng, M. (2017). Whistle Blowing: What Do Contemporary Ethical Theories Say?. Studies in Business and Economics, 12(1), 19-28. Retrieved from https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/sbe/12/1/article-p19.xml

Markkula Center for applied ethics (2020). Case on executive integrity. Santa Clara University. Retrieved from https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/business-ethics/resources/case-on-executive-integrity/