9 Ethical Behavior & Moral Values in Everyday Life
Ethical Behavior & Moral Values in Everyday Life
Ethics in Law Enforcement by Steve McCartney and Rick Parent https://opentextbc.ca/ethicsinlawenforcement/
The Importance of Ethical Behavior
For citizens, morality and integrity are important characteristics to demonstrate. We instinctively know that it is good to be moral and act with integrity, but by coming to an understanding of the reasons for morality and integrity, we will be motivated to champion such behavior. Among the reasons to be moral and integral are to:
- Make society better. When we help make society better, we are rewarded with also making better own lives and the lives of our families and friends. Without moral conduct, society would be a miserable place.
- Treat everyone equally. Equality is a cornerstone of most Western democracies, where all individuals are afforded the same rights. This is not possible without the majority of citizens behaving in a moral manner.
- Secure meaningful employment. Often employers will look at a person’ past behavior as a predictor of future behavior. Someone who has a history of immoral behavior will have difficulty securing employment in a meaningful job, as that person may not be trusted.
- Succeed at business. If you are employed in an occupation in which there you must rely on others, your moral conduct will determine the degree of goodwill that you receive from others. Businesses that have a checkered moral history are typically viewed with caution and are unlikely to attract new customers through word of mouth, and therefore are unlikely to prosper. This is especially the case where social media makes customer reviews readily accessible.
- Lessen stress. When we make immoral decisions, we tend to feel uncomfortable and concerned about our decision making. Making the right moral decision, or taking a principled perspective on an issue, reduces stress.
Ultimately, ethics is important not so that “we can understand” philosophically, but rather so we can “improve how we live” (Lafollette, 2007). By being moral, we enrich our lives and the lives of those around us. It’s especially important to live a moral life when we are young, as it is helpful to exercise and practice these concepts before being confronted with more complex issues. Lafollette (2007) theorizes that ethics is like most everything else that we strive to be good at; it requires practice and effort. Practicing and making an effort to make moral decisions throughout life will pay dividends when we are faced with serious moral dilemmas. Furthermore, having insight into “…historical, political, economic, sociological, and psychological insights…” (Lafollette, 2007, p.7) allows us, as decision makers, to make more informed decisions, which will likely result in moral decisions. In sum, the practice of being moral, allows us to work on these skills, so when we are faced with real situations that impact others, we are ready
Lafollette (2007) also emphasizes the need to understand and develop our virtues. Knowing that we ought to behave in a certain way, yet missing an opportunity to exercise moral behavior, is an indication of the need to “sharpen moral vision.” For example, we know that we ought to stay in good physical shape but often do not. This illustrates the need to be mindful of a virtue (in this case perseverance) that is important and must be developed.
Successful business leaders often say that treating people morally is a very important aspect in obtaining success. A person’s reputation is of key importance for a business leader, and if a person’s reputation is damaged by poor ethical conduct, the business will also suffer. The same is true in all walks of life. Where ethics are taken seriously, and people strive to make ethical decisions and actions, personal and professional success follows.
Critics may argue that this attitude is self-serving and that some individuals act ethically only for their own self-interest to be successful or happy. Critics would add that this is not the right reason to be ethical, and therefore is not being truly ethical. A counter argument may be that the action itself can be regarded as ethical, regardless of the reason for taking the action. This perspective focuses more on the end result rather than the means to the end.
Moral Values in Everyday Life
Ethics & Compliance Initiavive’s Resource Center (2020) identifies the following values as typical values that appear throughout codes of ethics. These are important for us to remember when faced with difficult ethical problems and decisions where we are required to be aware of all the values of each of the vested stakeholders. Consider how the following list of moral values can be used to develop a “moral compass” to help direct actions and decision of everyday life:
| Acceptance | Favorable reception or belief in something |
| Accomplishment | Doing or finishing something successfully |
| Accountability | Obligation or willingness to accept responsibility |
| Adaptability | The ability to modify behavior to fit changing situations |
| Adventurousness | Inclination to undertake new and daring enterprises |
| Allegiance | Loyalty or the obligation of loyalty |
| Altruism | Unselfish concern for the welfare of others |
| Ambition | An eager or strong desire to achieve something |
| Appreciation | Recognizing the quality, value or significance of people and things |
| Aspiration | A strong or persistent desire for high achievement |
| Assiduousness | Unceasing; persistent; diligent |
| Authenticity | The quality or condition of being trustworthy or genuine |
| Autonomy | The condition or quality of being independent |
| Benevolence | An inclination to perform kind, charitable acts |
| Camaraderie | Goodwill and lighthearted rapport between or among friends |
| Caring | Feeling and exhibiting concern and empathy for others |
| Changeability | The ability to modify or adapt to differing circumstances |
| Charity | Generosity toward others or toward humanity |
| Chastity | The condition of being of virtuous character |
| Cheerfulness | The quality of being cheerful and dispelling gloom |
| Citizenship | Exercising the duties, rights, and privileges of being a citizen |
| Clear thinking | Acting intelligently without mental confusion |
| Collaboration | To work cooperatively especially in a joint intellectual effort |
| Commitment | Being bound emotionally or intellectually to a course of action or to another person or persons |
| Community | Sharing, participation, and fellowship with others |
| Compassion | Deep awareness of the suffering of others coupled with the wish to relieve it |
| Competence | The state or quality of being adequately or well qualified |
| Competitive | To strive to do something better than someone else |
| Composure | Maintaining a tranquil or calm state of mind |
| Concern | Regard for or interest in someone or something |
| Conscientiousness | The trait of being painstaking and careful |
| Consideration | Process of employing continuous, careful thought and examination |
| Consistency | Reliability or uniformity of successive results or events |
| Constancy | Steadfastness in purpose |
| Cooperation | The willing association and interaction of a group of people to accomplish a goal |
| Courage | The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with confidence and resolution |
| Courtesy | Civility; consideration for others |
| Credibility | The quality or power to elicit belief |
| Decency | Conformity to prevailing standards of propriety or modesty |
| Dedication | Selfless devotion of energy or time |
| Democracy | The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community |
| Dependability | The trait of being reliable |
| Determination | Firmness of will, strength, purpose of character |
| Diversity | A point of respect in which things differ; variety |
| Easygoing | Relaxed or informal in attitude or standards |
| Education | Obtaining or developing knowledge or skill through a learning process |
| Efficiency | The quality of producing an effect or result with a reasonable degree of effort to energy expended |
| Empathy | Identification with and understanding of another’s situation, feelings, and motives. |
| Encouragement | The act of incitement to action or to practice |
| Equality | The right of different groups of people to receive the same treatment |
| Equity | The state, quality, or ideal of being just, impartial, and fair |
| Ethics | The way people behave based on how their beliefs about what is right and wrong influence behavior |
| Excellence | State of possessing good qualities in an eminent degree |
| Fairness | Consistent with rules, logic, or ethics |
| Faith | Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing |
| Faithfulness | Adhering firmly and devotedly to someone or something that elicits or demands one’s fidelity |
| Fidelity | Faithfulness; loyalty or devotion |
| Flexibility | Responsive to change |
| Forgiveness | The willingness to stop blaming or being angry with someone |
| Fortitude | The strength or firmness of mind that enables a person to face danger, pain or despondency with stoic resolve |
| Friendship | A relationship between people based on mutual esteem and goodwill |
| Generosity | Liberality in giving or willingness to give |
| Gentleness | The quality of being mild and docile |
| Genuine | Not spurious or counterfeit |
| Giving | Voluntarily transferring knowledge or property without receiving value in return |
| Goodness | Morally right, or admirable because of kind, thoughtful, or honest behavior |
| Goodwill | A friendly attitude in which you wish that good things happen to people |
| Gratitude | A feeling of thankfulness and appreciation |
| Hardworking | Industrious and tireless |
| Helpfulness | The property of providing useful assistance or friendliness evidence by a kindly and helpful disposition |
| Honesty | Fairness and straightforwardness of conduct |
| Honor | Principled uprightness of character; personal integrity |
| Hope | The feeling that something desired can be had or will happen |
| Humility | Feeling that you have no special importance that makes you better than others |
| Industriousness | The characteristic of regularly working hard |
| Ingenuity | Inventive skill or imagination |
| Initiative | Ability to begin or to follow through energetically with a plan or task |
| Integrity | Strict adherence to moral values and principles |
| Joy | Intense or exultant happiness |
| Justice | Conformity to moral rightness in action or attitude |
| Kindness | The quality or state of being beneficent |
| Law-abiding | Abiding by the encoded rules of society |
| Liberty | The right and power to act, believe, or express oneself in a manner of one’s own choosing. |
| Love | A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person or idea |
| Loyalty | A feeling or attitude of devotion, attachment and affection. |
| Mercy | Forgiveness shown toward someone whom you have the power to punish |
| Moderation | Having neither too little or too much of anything |
| Morals | Individual beliefs about what is right and wrong |
| Obedience | Compliance with that which is required; subjection to rightful restraint or control |
| Opportunity | Favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances |
| Optimism | A bright, hopeful view and expectation of the best possible outcome |
| Patience | The ability to accept delay, suffering, or annoyance without complaint or anger |
| Peace | Freedom from war or violence |
| Perseverance | Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose |
| Promise-keeping | Keeping your word that that you will certainly do something |
| Prudence | Doing something right because it is the right thing to do |
| Punctuality | Adherence to the exact time of a commitment or event |
| Purity | Moral goodness |
| Reason | The ability to think and make good judgments |
| Recognition | An acceptance as true or valid |
| Reconciliation | Enabling two people or groups [to] adjust the way they think about divergent ideas or positions so they can accept both |
| Reliability | Consistent performance upon which you can depend or trust |
| Repentance | Remorse or contrition for past conduct |
| Resilience | The ability to rebound quickly from misfortune or change |
| Resourcefulness | The ability to act effectively or imaginatively, especially in difficult situations |
| Respect | Polite attitude shown toward someone or something that you consider important |
| Responsibility | That for which someone is responsible or answerable |
| Righteousness | The state of being morally upright; without guilt or sin |
| Sacrifice | To give up something for something else considered more important |
| Self-control | Control of personal emotions, desires, or actions by one’s own will |
| Self-discipline | Making yourself do things when you should, even if you do not want to do them |
| Sensitivity | Awareness of the needs and emotions of others |
| Serenity | Calmness of mind and evenness of temper |
| Sharing | To allow others to participate in, use, enjoy, or experience jointly or in turns |
| Sincerity | Genuineness, honesty, and freedom from duplicity |
| Sobriety | Habitual freedom from inordinate passion or overheated imagination; calmness; coolness; seriousness |
| Stamina | The physical or mental strength to do something for a long time |
| Stewardship | The careful conducting, supervising, or managing of something |
| Supportive | Furnishing support or assistance |
| Thoughtfulness | The tendency to anticipate needs or wishes |
| Tolerance | Recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others |
| Tranquility | A state of calm and peacefulness |
| Trustworthiness | The trait of deserving confidence |
| Understanding | Knowing how something works or a positive, truthful relationship between people |
| Values | Core beliefs that guide and motivate attitudes and actions |
| Virtue | Doing something right because it is the good thing to do |
| Wisdom | The ability to make good judgments based on what you have learned from your experience |
| Work | Perform as intended or desired |
References
Ethics & Compliance Initiative(2020) Definition of values – Free ethics & compliance toolkit. https://www.ethics.org/resources/free-toolkit/definition-values
Lafollette, H. (2007). The practice of ethics. Malden, ME: Blackwell Publishing
