Brenna's Paper on Ethics

While going through Brenna's external hard drive, I discovered her paper on ethics. I had never seen this before and am so proud of her. This paper is copyrighted and may not be used without permission. 

Ethics Awareness Inventory:   Results and Analysis

Brenna Dowd

July 28, 2008  

 Introduction

            Self-assessment is a journey into who I am, what I believe and how I reached this point in life. Answering questions about ethics and reviewing the results has made me more aware of my personal ethics and how those correspond with personal beliefs. Growing up I learned from my parents to have high standards when working with people. While my viewpoints on issues may have changed through the years, my fundamental ethical system has been strengthened, not changed.

Ethical Perspective

            My ethical perspective closely follows the deontological theory of Immanuel Kant and John Rawls. Duty and obligation are comingled in my individual assessment. I consider the intent of people’s actions and believe that the end does not justify the means, especially if people are harmed in the process. Through the years, I have grown skeptical of decisions made where the bottom line is the dollar without consideration of the impact on the humans involved.

Ethical Style

            Everyone has the right to individual respect with equal opportunity for advancement for all segments of society. Dehumanizing other people for the sake of society or personal gain is not a positive in life and I do not believe society benefits from such actions. When I read about the treatment of prisoners at GITMO, one side of me says, “They are terrorists.  Who cares?”  The other side of me says, “This is not how humanity should treat another human being. We should be better than this.” 

Personal Frustrations with Ethics

            At times, my sense of obligation to others puts me in a bind. I do not like telling someone I cannot follow through with a project once I have committed. This may lead to a health problem with my diabetes, but I work to complete what I started, no matter the personal consequences to myself.

When dealing with others, I expect them to act responsibly and to use good judgment and sound ethical basis for their decisions. I am open to listen to other viewpoints and work out a compromise to complete a job. However, I have little tolerance for those who shirk their responsibility to the project, who lie about their input yet are willing to accept the same reward as those who gave the project 100% of their time and energy.

Educational Experience

            While at times it seems like yesterday when I began classes at University of Phoenix, the reality has been a personal growth and awareness. My first academic advisor insisted that I purchase the manual on APA formatting and learn referencing. His insistence has been a blessing in disguise for my educational experience.

            I have learned skills to avoid plagiarism, not only in my own work, but I have learned how to detect plagiarism in the works of teammates. My first team experience taught me that standing alone on a critical issue is all right when standing alone is the right thing to do. I can compromise on content and method of accomplishing a project.  However, I will never accept plagiarism on any project to which my name is attached. 

Conclusion

            Ethics and values are part of everyday life. Whether making decisions on personal relationships or on behalf of a billion dollar corporation, the bottom line is, “Can I look in the mirror and like the person who looks back at me?”