Business Ethics Paper - I have attached guidlines and a sample paper for you.

I am too sensitive. I overanalyze everything. I am anxious and paranoid.

I am empathetic. I am a critical thinker. I am careful and cautious.

My fears and faults are the catalysts for some of what are my most distinct traits. But how people

describe me, is distinct from how I describe myself. Although I strive to align my doing with my being, as

inspired by Pope Francis in his second encyclical Laudato si’, my inherent value system is not easily

transcribed. Nor is it easy for me to derive as the motivation for every thought and action I deploy. But with

careful consideration, as I maintain in every aspect of my life, I have settled on the values that hold the most

authority over my life.

 Empathy

 Justice

 Integrity

 Resiliency

The order of these values is cyclical in nature. The starting point can be anywhere, but we can

begin with Empathy. I am sensitive, I tend to take criticisms personally. I wear my heart on my

sleeve, as some might say. And while this trait is dangerous as it exposes you to having your feelings

hurt and often feeling discouraged from trying again, it enables me to read others quite well. When

you are in tune with your emotions like I am, it is second nature to pick up on the emotions of

others. My sensitivity allows me not only to sense what others are feeling but to put myself in their

position.

Empathizing with others allows us to see more clearly into the hearts and minds of others, and

in turn to make decisions that benefit the most people in the most moral way. Justice is

complementary to Empathy by this affect. Justice is the scale used in making decisions. When

making a decision that is truly just, the weight will be distributed evenly, the scale will equal out.

But, one cannot properly execute Justice without knowing the thoughts and feelings of those

involved. Thus, Empathy must be exercised in order to establish the balance of the scale.

I believe in order to make the claim that Justice is something you value, you must do your best

to enforce it. Justice is not a trait but a series of decisions. In this way, valuing Justice requires that I

maintain my sense of Integrity. If I claim to be just and never follow through in ensuring Justice for

those around me, then what legitimacy does my claim have. Having Integrity ensures that I live up

to my word and follow my moral compass.

But no matter how diligent I may be, in following this code, I will most certainly fail at times.

And others will fail me too. I have always rooted for the underdog, but inevitably the underdog will

often let you down. And because I am so sensitive, disappointment hits me harder than most. To

overcome my weaknesses, I value Resiliency. Resiliency allows us to learn from mistakes.

Sometimes, often times, Resiliency requires forgiveness. And forgiveness requires us to empathize.

And thus, even when we feel we have strayed away from our values, the cycle continues, we begin

again.

Empathy - The extent to which my entire being is guided by a love for others is difficult to

express in words. To put it into perspective, I find it hard to do something as simple as walk

down the street to get groceries, because of the vast examples of diversity and life I encounter

along the way. Each person, whether I know them or not, feels inextricably a part of my life. I am

by no means a saint. I do my part when I can. I hold the door open for others, I buy lunch for

someone who needs it, but to be honest, sometimes I get so overwhelmed living in a city like

New York that I have to shut out these feelings completely just to maintain some sanity. And

when I do this I feel incurably guilty for an unprecedented amount of time. For me, Empathy

means that I tend to take on the feelings of those around me. Empathy is the consequence of

valuing a combination of a Universalist and Benevolent perspective according to the Schwartz

Theory of Basic Values. Above all, I value the welfare of all people and nature. Second to that, I

value the welfare of those with which I am in frequent contact. To explain the logic of putting

strangers above your family or friends you must understand the aspect of Justice which also

directs me in my thoughts and actions.

Justice - Justice is about being impartial. It is about doing the right thing despite your bias. Bias

would conduct me to prioritize what is best for my friends and family. But Justice, by Utilitarian

standards, should be doing what is best for the most amount of people. This thought process

coincides with Universalism in the sense that we should be motivated by the greater good, not

just Benevolence. In my everyday life, Justice drives my ambition and for better or for worse,

makes me very critical of my colleagues. There is something about the concept of entitlement. It

is much more satisfying for me personally to achieve, or to observe others, what I or they have

earned. A simplistic way of expressing this, is that I am very much opposed to cheating. For me

this can be seen in my work ethic. I obviously never cheat, and I adamantly speak out against it.

But I also am not one to cut corners or take shortcuts. I find myself irritated by those who obtain

their success unjustly or who don’t work hard for what they have. This is the challenge with

maintaining one’s inherent Justice system. Justice is not just about upholding these beliefs for

yourself, but ensuring that those around you are honest in their work as well. In this way I tend

to hold myself to a high standard of Integrity.

Integrity – When you fully dedicate yourself to everything that you do, you tend to expect others

to do the same. There are few things worse than when someone doesn’t follow through. It is

part of the human experience to be let down, but I feel that I tend to take these matters

personally. In an attempt to counteract this disappointment, I strive to maintain Integrity in all

that I do, so as to never have this disheartening effect on others. Honoring one’s words is

incredibly important to me and I cannot stand to let people down. When people are counting on

me, I do everything in my power to exceed their expectations. When I commit to something I

mean it. Before I commit, I carefully consider what it will take to bring that task to fruition.

Because I want people to be able to trust me and count on me, I would never take on a project if

I didn’t think I could complete it to the best of my ability. Due to my innate moral compass,

mentioned previously, I do hold people to a higher standard and have little tolerance for

dishonesty. This stems from my experience with many people failing to honor their word and

maintain their Integrity. Because I deem Integrity to be such an integral and assumed part of the

human persona, I find it hard to trust those who have failed to keep their word. But, just because

I don’t trust someone at present doesn’t mean that trust can’t be earned again, and more

importantly it does not mean I don’t forgive. Above all, I strive to be Resilient, which is the final

value essential to my personal creed.

Resiliency – In order to be Resilient, one must learn to forgive. Most of us are taught the value

of forgiveness early on in life. For many forgiveness is associated strongly with the messages

bestowed upon humanity by Jesus Christ himself. It is the mindset instilled into every church-

attending individual in America and in the world. But forgiveness is an integral part of numerous

religions and belief systems above and beyond Christianity. Having been confirmed in a

Catholic church you might assume that this where my strong favor of forgiveness originated. But

for me it was the Buddhist rationale for forgiveness that has stuck with me since I became

interested in this religion about ten years ago. In Buddhism, forgiveness is beneficial to both

parties involved in the exchange. Thich Nhat Hanh encapsulates this idea in this quote, “When

another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his

suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help.” I have tried to adopt

this philosophy because I have realized that when you forgive those who have done you harm,

despite their intentions, you free yourself from resentment. Resiliency is the ability to overcome

hardship of any variety. While forgiving others allows us to heal from the pain they have inflicted

on us, we must also learn to forgive our own mistakes, as we often inflict pain on ourselves.

Alas there is always going to be uncontrollable adversity, but just as we forgive the people in our

lives, we must forgive the circumstances we are dealt and move on. By freeing ourselves from

the resentment of misfortune, we allow ourselves to be at peace with the universe, and propel

ourselves to overcome and succeed.