ValuesValue is a person characteristic and defines personalstandard. In simple words, it reflects what is more important/valuable for an individual.It is highly subjective to a person and what is important to one may be insignificant/lessimportant for the other.
One importantcharacteristic of value is that it can change from time to time. What Ivalue today may become less valuable for me tomorrow. Some examples of valueare: self-respect, peace, loyalty, influence, humour, honesty. MoralsMorals are the beliefs of a society to differentiate betweenright and wrong. So it is a characteristic of one’s religion, politics andbusiness. Therefore a person can be moral as well as immoral from a perspectiveof a society. Morals motivate us to lead a good life.
Morals generally getformed from the innate values of a person. In simple words, morals are the setof dos and don’ts that our elders expect us to follow but ultimately what wefollow defines our morality. Moralsremains same throughout one’s life and do not change with time.EthicsSimply put, ethics are generally accepted moral values incontext of a profession and business. So it gives us the right code of conductwhile working in a group. A person can violate ethics in order to be morallycorrect. Else, he can follow ethical rules and be immoral. Ethics are generallylegal guidelines within a particular space and time.
There are three types ofethics:· Descriptive ethics· Normative ethics· Applied ethicsA realdilemma from my life differentiating ethics, values and moralsBefore joining MBA, I was working as an Investment BankingAnalyst. During a project with the EMEA team, unintentionally I delivered theproject to the US team. I immediately requested the US team to delete thate-mail and send me a written acceptance of the same which they gracefully did. I followed the organisational ethics and asper the compliance norms, I reported the incident to my manager and thecompliance team.
Now I was in dilemma that should I inform this to the EMEA team as well or not. I was not legallyrequired to do so. My staffers and manager advised me not to do this as itgives a bad impression of our team and is not a compliance requirement.
But mymorals were pushing me to report this to EMEA team because they had beenworking very hard on this important project for a long time. This moral was flowing from my value of honesty which is very important for me.Subsequently, I informed the same to theEMEA team following my morals. I had to convince my staffer/manager withthe fact that the project is more important and the onshore team can assess thepossible threats of this incident and take the required measures so that theproject is not impacted. PART B: Myvalues1. Honesty: This has remained my foremostimportant value since the very beginning. Honesty means non deceptive orfraudulent.
It makes one worthy of being dependent upon. For me honesty meanstruth.· Why:In today’s corporate world, one needs to be effective while working in a group.Also, it is very important to maintain long term relationships with thecustomers, vendors and all the stakeholders in the supply chain. According tomy understanding, the glue that binds everyone together is honesty.
The trustamongst all the people involved is very important and hence being honest iswhat I feel is a must. · How:It is difficult to be honest every time but not impossible. There are timeswhen some information is kept hidden from the client till the very end whichgives short term gain but has a negative impact in long run.
As an honest employee, one should voice againstsuch practices if being followed in his/her company. This may be difficultinitially but with constant efforts it can be done. This will also help tomaintain the integrity of the organisation. 2. Peace: For me peace is the freeness ofmind. It is a state of mental wellness with no stress and anxiety. · Why: Competitionis increasing day by day.
In order to excel, people are pushing themselvesbeyond their limits. It is being taught to us that people only remember thewinner and not the runner’s up. In this rat race, one thing that we lose is ourmental peace. For me it is very important to be mentally well and be satisfiedin whatever you achieve. Achievement has no limits and it is better to enjoywhat you have on your plate. My grandmother says, “If you feel that you have got less in life, then, see people around youwho are deaf or blind.
You will be grateful for what you have” · How:It is a practice of controlling the negative thoughts and focusing on thepositive ones. Yoga and meditation helps a lot and provides additional healthbenefits. Also, taking to your close friends/relatives and sharing any negativefeeling helps to decrease the stress providing the internal peace andsatisfaction. 3. Self-Control: Put simply, self-controlis the self-regulation of your actions so that everything is within discipline.The ability to assess the limits and remain within the same is what self-control is all about. Example: Many of my friends drink alcohol and forceme to drink as well.
But I have sufficient control to tell them no because Iknow what is wrong/right for me and hence I can control myself.· Why: Itis very important to understand the minima and maxima of everything you do. Ithelps to avoid any unwanted actions resulting in embarrassment and loss ofself-respect.
Our parents have given us so much freedom based on the fact thatthey believe that we have a sufficient control on ourselves. So they expect usto show some self-control at this age. Hence, it is important for us to keepenhancing our degree of control on ourselves with time.· How: Oneshould always assess the negative and positives of each action before doing it.This helps us in understanding the consequences and hence the limits. Another thingone should learn is to say ‘no’.
Sometimes because of flow we tend to do thingswhich we did not want to do initially. So saying no to your friends helps insuch cases. 4. Responsible: The ability to take theownership of an event/project and executing it successfully is what responsibilitymeans to me. It makes one worthy of being dependent upon. It is a foremostrequirement throughout the life (responsibility as a son/daughter, as a student,as an employee, as a parent, as the head of the family).
· Why: Beingresponsible matters a lot while doing anything. Unless one is ready to take allthe blame and repercussions of a project on his/her own shoulders, he/she willnot be able to do justice to the work. Responsibility motivates people to workharder and get the best out of them. At the same time, it helps to build thecredibility of a person.· How: Oneshould have a clear picture regarding his/her role to be responsible.
First ofall, a person should stop complaining about the roles given to him. Also oneimportant thing that one should practice is to avoid procrastination. We shouldalso understand how all stakeholders are dependent on us so that we can take appropriateand responsible decisions taking care of everyone. 5. Justice: The ability of being just andfair with everyone in your circle.
· Why: Thisis very much important when it comes to leadership. A person heading a teamshould be fair to each and every subordinate. It motivates the team if the leader isunbiased and clear to everyone· How: Appreciatingthe efforts of good performers and at the same time giving genuine feedback regardingtheir shortcomings in a fair manner is a practice that every manager shouldfollow.
