Ethics Inventory

YOUR ETHICAL PERSPECTIVE
CHARACTER:You tend to base your ethical perspective on what it is good to be, rather than what it is good to do . You believe that attention to ethics should focus on the achievement of moral excellence. When asked to judge whether an individual's actions are ethical, you look beyond the actions to the individual's character. Uprightness and integrity are key. You look for evidence of virtue in people, including such traits as honor, justice, and benevolence, believing that a virtue is not just an abstract principle. It is reflected in the quality of an individual's character, and character is more important than an individual's actions. In your opinion, mere compliance with rules, no matter how well-intentioned, does not make anyone an ethical person without being accompanied by consistent voluntary striving to be a morally good person. This category is most closely aligned in philosophy with virtue theory (Aristotle and Alasdair MacIntyre).

YOUR ETHICAL STYLE

You believe that ethics relies on the ability of individuals to make sound moral judgments. You do not believe that it is enough to comply with some preset standards or principles of right and wrong to find the solution to a complex ethical dilemma. Ethics relies on exemplary character to make the difficult choices. You value such qualities as honesty, wisdom, and integrity, and you place greater emphasis on demonstrating these qualities than on following the rules. You believe that an individual would be incapable of choosing between conflicting rules or standards of right and wrong without already possessing good character. Your approach to ethics calls for developing practical wisdom within individuals to serve as the basis for ethical decision making. Your ethical style compels you to strive to be a person of wisdom and integrity

QUESTION:

Please interpret the above ethical perspective and apply them to your own personal & professional development. This analysis should address your use of ethics in thinking and decision-making and your potential for conflict in situations with people who have different interpretations of ethical behavior.