Ethics: Understanding Fairness, Values, and Responsibilities - Essay Sample

Introduction

Ethics, in my opinion, is a logical understanding of morality that points out what individuals can do and should not do in terms of fairness, values, responsibilities, or privileges. I feel it is important to continually check our ethical standards to ensure that they are fair. Different people have different personal and professional ethical views; it is challenging to have the same ethical expectations of other people as one does for themselves, this makes it difficult to judge people based on ethical standards. I will provide only an overview of my moral principles, which ethical theory fits me well, and how I have changed over time. I will discuss how these ethical virtual have impacted my life and what I have learned. Lastly, I will give an overview of my personal and professional ethical standards and what ethics means to me.

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Looking at ethical theories, I will discuss egoism because the concept fits me more, it helps me a lot when I am confronted with a moral problem, and I need to make a decision. Egoism is the philosophic belief that people should make decisions based on their self-interests. Some have described it as “just thinking about oneself.” The word egoism has a heavy, negative connotation, but does egotistical individual neglect others? I was born and raised in a family where my parents used to give me everything I asked for; my big brothers treated me like a little kid, which I enjoyed. I did not do much at home since my bigger brothers and sister did everything for me. This is where my egoistic character started. I love doing good to people only so that I can get a “thank you” from them and have a little ego boost. When I do not get a thank you, I feel upset and may even whisper, “You are welcome” under my voice, just to feel good. Selfishness is sometimes viewed as a weakness, and selfish acts are sometimes perceived to be wrong, this is discouraged by ethical egoism. Some critics might claim that being interested in personal good is a concept of selfishness. Still, with an awareness of various forms of egoism, one might see that what may appear to be selfishness is an ethical perception of self-interest. I have to do what is right for myself: in a way, still, I have to be selfish. Other times I give my time to make it look great on resumes.

I never reflected on why I do such things until the last few weeks in class. Speaking to my small sister regarding my behavior, I found that she is paralleled by ethical egoism. Talking to my father regarding this topic has made him believe that my small sister and I do the same thing. Because of these reasons, I assume that all human acts are guided by selfish greed. People have been raised to be self-centered since day one. Children cry because they are sad, thirsty, exhausted, etc. They may be perceived as selfish. Psychological egoism can have a negative and positive effect on the people around me.

A perfect example of my egoism is when I was the leader of a band in my music group. I would not encourage my fellow band members to challenge my decisions. All that mattered is what I said and approved. I could not tolerate someone who would not obey my guidance. Some group members saw my decisions as selfish; others were good with my decisions. The concept of egoism explains the case where I chose not to let my group members express their opinions to make sure I feel in control. I felt good, showing my level of confidence and hiding my fears. It is morally correct for any person to follow his or her self-interest that he or she finds fair. Any other fundamental concept is explained by this obligation. In my view, background and the environment are two main factors in determining the ethical interests of the individual. A background with good morals and consideration for others will produce more persons with outstanding qualities, combined with high ethical standards. A society that focuses much on competitions and challenges might cause people to lose track and make it easier for them to participate in an unethical activity due to social pressure.

I have always been egoist due to my background. Of late, I have noticed a change in my character; this is due to interaction with some of my friends who have Utilitarian character. I confess, as a human being, I am selfish. I do things for my gain, behaving in a manner that would only help me, but sometimes you have to care for the people around you. As I grow older, the concept of utilitarianism is appealing to me; the idea of “no man is an island.” As someone who is part of a social group, I have a responsibility to act in a manner that helps everyone, not just me, or my relatives, or my friends, but my actions should help others. Of late, whenever I am constrained by conditions or have to make a choice, the first question that comes to mind is whether it will help other people, not just me.

I have always thought myself to be egoistic; For example, in a physiology class where I did not quite grasp a definition. My character did not allow me to discuss the matter with my classmates until one of my classmates noticed that I was struggling with my grade. She helped me understand the central concept through a class discussion that changed my grades. This enabled me to learn that no man is an island, and we need each other to do well. Being self-centered is not always practical. Working together and supporting one another makes us powerful. Since that point on, I noticed a drastic difference in my ethical interest, and I understood that my ethical philosophy changed from egoism to utilitarianism. I become more accessible to the groups, and I started to extend my connections to other individuals. I began to reflect more on the effects of my actions and the influence of the outcome on the people around me.

My ethical standards have had both a negative and positive impact on my life. My egoism character has helped me to be competitive in every aspect of my life, helping me produce good results in most of my activities. At times, my egoism character makes me appear arrogant and selfish in some circumstances that do not represent my personality. Ethical values have taught me to respect other individuals; I have learned not always to judge people without first understanding why they act in a certain manner. As I grow older, I understand the need to adjust my ethical standards to help me work well with other people.

In my view, ethics is of utmost importance and should be a primary priority if I want to participate in business with a specific entity. I firmly believe that my ethical values are key to my personal and professional success. In my view, being Ethical involves doing what is right in terms of values, justice, roles, commitments, expectations and morals, many of which come from traditions and family histories. My egoism character came from my upbringing, and my brothers had a lot of influence on my ethical values growing up. For instance, as I think of the big Accounting Companies, they are well known for being the best, consistent, trustworthy, and having excellent ethical standards in what they do. Auditors of such companies offer a strong opinion on the financial accounts, which implies that they place the credibility and prestige of the company on high standards. As a result, all work carried out must be carried out professionally and ethically. I agree that ethics is not only important, but it is a vital part of being productive in general. I always aim to maintain up decent moral value every day, hoping that this may become part of my life. I actively participate in several school groups that make many students understand the importance of ethical professionalism in the accounting field. Ethics are important concepts that I need to uphold to maintain the prestige of my accounting profession.

Kindness is a virtual that involves taking care of other individuals, animals, society and environment at large. In the United States today, Kindness is a key virtual among many people. The pursuit of knowledge and Kindness is incredibly necessary for defining the country that we have today. In my view, the brilliant economic and foreign policies of the United States in the past has allowed the nation to achieve enormous resources to expand and generate more jobs for its people, and that is built on virtual of Kindness among American people. As I grow older, improving my ethical values, I want the act of Kindness to be a co value in building my social life and professional life. Growing up, people were very kind to me. My big siblings treated me so lovely with Kindness; this developed my egoism character, which, as I stated earlier, I am transforming to a more utilitarianism person. Apart from developing an ethical aspect, I learned the virtual of Kindness, which means a lot to me today. I believe that Kindness is important in my personal and professional life. Kindness virtual will open many doors for me to learn and stretch myself to become a well-rounded individual. As an accountant in public finance, I need to have the experience to work with the analytical aspect of accounting analysis and to fix the issue quickly for my company. I have to communicate with various clients daily; this requires me to be kind to make them comfortable and gains their trust. Kindness will make them comfortable, and this will help me gain their trust. Kindness represents how I approach others the way they wish to be addressed and how I should inspire them and join them together for a shared purpose. Kindness is an essential attribute that will be of great help in my personal and professional career.

On September 2020, I intend to launch the elderly care initiative in Delaware. It is a project that will involve continuous visit, clean up services of the homes of elderly people and offering food program to the needy. I believe the elderly have more needs compared to adults and youths. The reason is that most of them do not have jobs to sustain their lives with the ever-growing economy. The elderly are week; hence, self-grooming and care are often neglected. The elderly are mostly lonely because the children get married and leave them; they have high nutritional needs hence the need for a balanced diet.

Well-wishers will fund the project, and the main sponsor of the initiative is Foodbank of Delaware and The American Red Cross. Foodbank of Delaware is a non-profit making organization that donates food to needy individuals. It is an interactive program where one can give food, receive food and offer volunteering services for packing and distributing foods. I plan to engage with the food bank of Delaware to give and distribute food to the neighborhood of Delaware with the focus of the elderly. The American Red Cross is a humanitarian aid organization that helps in disaster relief, disaster preparedness and education. The American Red Cross will help our community volunteer team members to be equipped with knowledge of emergency care of the elderly, which is an important skill in caregiving. I will be involving creating a volunteering team and integrating with the sponsors. The visiting hours will be in from 6 am to 6 pm and clean-up of the compounds will occur at the same time. The project will help me develop the virtue of Kindness. Kindness is an important virtue in my life; when I treat others well, the virtue will suppress my self-centered feelings and benefit the community.

My proposed internship learning service is an important platform to remodel my egoistic ethical standards. The internship will be with a neighborhood small firm called Doherty & Associates. I feel excited since it will help me interact with many people and get to listen to their views and ideas. I am enthusiastic about learning from my colleagues. I expect to meet senior managers and c...