Martinez 1 PJ Martinez Buescher Service Learning - Per. 3 12 November 2013 Code of Ethics Assessment Everyone has a code of ethics.

The world would be in chaos without it. Codes of ethics give people the human quality, essentially, that separates this species from beasts. Several factors have helped form my view of ethics, including my family, my religion, and the character traits honor, commitment, and respect. The way a family raises a child more often than not reflects upon that child when he/she grows up, and I am no exception. I learned through both physical punishment and long lectures to not only be obedient, but to seek understanding in my punishments. My physical punishments, such as spankings, were always accompanied by a lecture by my parents in which they asked if I knew why what I did was wrong and then my parents ensuring that I understood why said action/behavior was wrong. The beliefs of my parents and their morals have had a large influence over me; yet, as I continue to mature and form my own opinions, I have found that the majority of them still match with what my parents initially taught me. My religion, my faith as a Christian, has also been a major influence in shaping my view of ethics. The Bible has everything I need to know regarding what is morally right and morally wrong; this is not just the Ten Commandments that have shaped my view, but the actions Jesus took and how He instructed others to live. My religion influences my conscience, which tells me on a real-time basis the morality of an action I am doing. Honor is important in shaping my view of ethics because I can determine what fits my ethics based on the honesty of the action. Honor is also a factor in ensuring that I keep my word on what I say. Commitment is another character trait important to me because it ensures that I follow-through with what I say and dont make empty promises. Commitment influences my view of ethics

Martinez 2 because doge I base what is right on its consistency and its completion. Respect is an especially important character trait because I can determine what is ethical based on the amount of respect it gives or takes away from someone. All of these influences plus the general concept of consequences have shaped my morality; I can decide what is morally right or wrong based on whether the action/idea fits my influences and comparing the benefits versus the consequences of the action/idea. Based on Kohlbergs theory of moral reasoning, I find myself on Stage 5: Social-contract legalistic orientation, because my personal values that sometimes differ from that of the law come into play when I am determining the morality of a situation/action. I also find myself matching the statement, ...emphasis upon the possibility of changing the law in terms of rational considerations of social utility, (Stages of Moral Development sheet, Par. 9). This statement, to me, means that the persons at this stage agree in bending or changing the law should the purpose be to serve a utility that is not within the laws range. In other words, the law is changed because the change would allow society to be better. The following discusses the definitions of civic virtue and good citizen, an ethical dilemma I have experienced and why it is important for each individual to have a code of ethics. Civic virtue, by definition, is an instance when a person is putting the common good above their own individual needs. For me, the first thing that comes to mind is the classic superhero. The superhero is willing to sacrifice himself/herself in some way, whether that be in the form of the loss of privacy or the loss of his/her life, in order to save mankind, or society. Although such cases are rather extreme and uncommon amongst regular people, people can still possess civic virtue to a certain extent, which leads to the definition of what makes a good citizen in our society. A good citizen in our society is one who possesses an extent of civic virtue. Although putting down his/her own life is an extreme extent of civic virtue, a good citizen in our society can be someone who is willing to sacrifice an aspect of their life that satisfies them for the betterment of society. An example of this can be a citizen who is willing to

Martinez 3 pay higher taxes in order for the government to spend the higher taxes on programs that would benefit society as w whole, such as educational opportunity programs. It is important to have civic virtue to prevent a self-serving attitude from forming, as such an attitude will lead individuals to compete with one another rather than help one another. In an ideal world, every person possesses civic virtue, so no one relies upon a single person to better the society; rather, each person contributes his/her own talent to be used to benefit society. In this way, everyone gets something back. The benefits to society as a result of individuals having civic virtue are, again, a less self-serving method of thought, which would lead to a world of both giving and receiving. Everyone makes a sacrifice and receives the benefit of another individuals sacrifice. This benefit can be called a more community-oriented approach to serving. One of the most difficult ethical dilemmas that I have experienced occurred when I was running for student body president. Amongst the three candidates, I had told them at one point or another that I would help them with their campaign, and coincidence had the situation so that each one asked me at a different time without me knowing that the others were running. Each candidate had spontaneously begun running as far as I know. One candidate I had forgotten that I promised to help during sophomore year, another I had said I would help only to have her tell me she was not going to run anymore and then decide she was going to run again, and the other I had been asked early on in the campaign. My ethical dilemma here was deciding whom to keep my word to, as I had made an agreement to each of them. The major influences that affected my view of ethics, particularly honor and commitment, became prevalent in this situation. I thought about what the honest thing to do in this situation would be. I had, after all, made a commitment in a way to each candidate. My religion, my faith as a Christian, came into play at this moment. The Holy Spirit, my conscience, urged me to simply explain my situation to the candidates and remain neutral upon the vice president campaigns as a whole. Thus, I did that. I explained to each candidate that I had promised the other candidates at another point that I would help them as well without knowing that candidate

Martinez 4 would run. I then explained that I was not going to run with anyone and would remain neutral. Some candidates took it more lightly than others and were understanding, while others were hurt and offended. Ultimately, I believe I made the right decision to remain neutral and to be as unbiased as possible. It is important for each individual to have a code of ethics because such a code provides a way of life. A code of ethics provides an individual a basis on which to make decisions on; it provides a concrete reasoning behind why an individual thinks something good and another thing bad. A code of ethics provides a language, in a way, for others to understand an individuals thinking, reasoning behind his/her actions. The culmination of individuals ethics is what allows a set of laws to be made; universally-agreed upon aspects of different codes of ethics are essentially what make the law. As a whole, the importance of every individual having a code of ethics is so great because it keeps society functioning and provides tangible moral background to the decision-making process. This assignment has caused me to take time to think about things I do not normally consider, and I am thankful for that. It has made me reflect upon the kind of person I am and tangibly define what I base my decisions on. I have learned to observe the morality of situations and understand why I think the way that I do. Defining the five main influencers upon my view of ethics has greatly helped me determine what I prioritize in life and how my view came to exist. In conclusion, I now have have a greater understanding that every person has a different perspective of what is right and wrong, as well as what my own code of ethics is and why it is that way.