ethics and your personality
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The Impact Personality Has on Ethics
WHY ETHICS?
GOALS OF THE DAYIntroducing
• Understand the importance of ethical decision making and how it is a key to success
• Gain perspective on how our individual personality types influence our reactions and the need for preparing ourselves personally to respond to ethical dilemmas
• Gain a clear and simple understanding of ethical concepts and have a blueprint for ethical decision making and personal preparation
• HAVE FUN!
Would you be proud of your decisions/actions or would your behavior change if your family read
about it in the newspaper or saw it on the evening news?
Color
Most Publicized Ethics Violations By CEOs
Kenneth Lay – Enron Bernard Ebbers – Worldcom Scott Thompson – Yahoo!
Do you have more than one ethical standard?
Ethics – A Personal Issue
Learning your color will help you:
• Understand People Better
• Process Information Differently
• Communicate More Effectively
• Form Successful Relationships
TRUE COLORS
True Colors Personality Type
You May See Yourself As:• Fun-loving, enjoys life
• Spontaneous• Flexible, adaptable
• Carefree• Proficient, capable
• Hands-on person/physical• Independent• Good negotiator
• Able to do many things at once• Curious, likes variety & change
• Sees shades of grades• “Here and Now” attitude
• Witty, funny• Left-Right brain integrated
Others may see ORANGE as:• Irresponsible• Flaky• Unorganized• Scattered• Cluttered• Invading others space• Disobeys rules• Manipulative• Unable to stay on task• Uncontrollable • Indecisive• Can’t be trusted• Selfish or unsympathetic• Wishy-washy
You May See Yourself As:• Superior intellect
• 98% right• Tough-minded• Powerful• Visionary
• Original, unique• Eminently reasonable
• Rational• Calm
• Under-control• Precise, objective
• Holding firm to policy• Seeking Justice• Firm-minded
Others may see GREEN as:• Intellectual Snob• Arrogant• Heartless• Doesn’t care about
others• Ruthless• Unrealistic• Eccentric, weird• Emotionally controlled• Cool, aloof, unfeeling• Afraid to open up• Critical and fault finding• Lacking compassion• Stingy with praise• Inconsiderate of others
You May See Yourself As:• Warm
• Caring, compassionate• Romantic• Spiritual
• Cause-oriented• Unselfish, caretaker
• Empathetic, people-person• Affirming and accepting• Kind and considerate
• Sympathetic• Desiring harmony, unity
Others may see BLUE as:• Overly-emotional• “Bleeding heart”• Mushy, immature• Other-worldly, weird• Unrealistic• Smothering• Too trusting• Hopefully naïve• Easy to manipulate• Soft, fawning, groveling• Out of touch with reality
You May See Yourself As:• Stable• Providing Security• Dependable• Firm• Efficient• Realistic• Decisive• Executive-type• Orderly and Neat• Organized • Punctual • Goal-oriented
Others may see GOLD as:• Rigid• Controlling• Boring• Stubborn• System-bound• Unsympathetic• Judgmental• Bossy• Fussy, limited flexibility• Uptight• Predictable• Rigid idea of time
“Honesty is the Best Policy”~ Benjamin Franklin
Reasons for Unethical Choices
1. We do what is most convenient.
2. We do what we must to win.
3. We rationalize our choices with relativism.
What are some motivators that would encourage you to be unethical?
Power
Priorities
PleasurePride Profit
Pressure
Reasons to Follow the Ethical Road
1. Customers choose ethics.
2. Customers appreciate ethics.
3. Employees are more loyal to an ethical company.
4. Ethical companies are more productive.
5. An ethical office means less legal expense.
Scenarios
My boss told me that one of my employees is among a group of employees to be laid off soon, and that I should not tell my employee. Meanwhile, I heard from my employee that he plans to buy a new house. What should I do?
Should I:a. Say nothingb. Tell my employee the bad newsc. Work to find my employee another position at the companyd. Offer my employee a low-interest loan
One of my fellow employees asked me if it was okay for him to work part-time reviewing workers’ compensation claims for another company. What should I do?
Should I:e. Advise him to check to see if there is a conflict of interestf. Tell him to talk to our bossg. Get more facts so I can make a better decisionh. Find out how well the job pays
Scenarios
I just heard from a co-worker that our boss expects better results this month “no matter what it takes.” What should I do?
Should I:a. Ask my co-worker for more informationb. Start working harder, but still use ethical business practicesc. Ask my boss directly for more directiond. Do whatever it takes to get better results
My boss just congratulated me on the great job I did on my last project, but he did not mention the others on the team.
Should I:e. Pass along his kind wordsf. Remind him that it was a team effortg. Have given the team more visibility during the projecth. Ask him for a raise before he finds out about the others
Questions to Ask Yourself
• Does your decision conflict with any of the core ethical values?• Think of someone whose moral judgment you respect. What would that
person do?• How will your decision affect others?• Ask yourself: Are my actions legal?• Are there regulations, rules, or policies that restrict your choices/ actions?• Would your decision be perceived as unethical?• How would your decision look if it were reported on the news or in
another public forum?• What would a reasonable person do? How would they perceive your
decision?• Would you be proud of your choice if your child were to find out? Would
you want them to make the same choice?• Could you rationally and honestly defend your decision?• Will you sleep soundly tonight?
“The immediate advantage of ethical customer service is
happy customers, which means returning customers
who subconsciously are involved in marketing the
company.”