Description
Respond to the following posts.
One: In order to tackle this issue integrity must be defined. For the sake of this discussion integrity will be defined as harboring the qualities of honesty and fairness (McFall, 1987). It could be strongly argued from both perspectives that integrity can and cannot be taught. Unfortunately, this is a challenging topic that has many avenues of thought and beliefs.
It may be possible that there is a certain point of cognitive development where integrity may be able to be taught to an individual. For example, a child can be taught integrity but at a certain age, or maturity level, these lessons are less likely to be conceptualized for a magnitude of reasons such as individual life experiences.
Many of us have heard the saying about integrity integrity is doing the right thing when nobody is looking. Is this in fact the truth? Arguably, yes. Arguably no. Let us look at a small example. If at your job, there is a certain process on the computer of downloading a file which then need to be manipulated and emailed back to your boss. This manipulation takes hours and is the primary purpose of your employment, but you are able to write code that does this entire task in a matter of seconds. Many people may look at you as if you are not doing the job the job as it is intended, or you are stealing company time. While others may see you as creating process improvement and efficiency. In this scenario, the employee never mentions this code to their boss out of fear of repercussions. All the boss sees is impeccable performance. Is this wrong? It would depend on who you ask.
Lets take a step back to the previous point on age related reasoning regarding integrity. At a certain age (lets say hypothetically the employee was a toddler), the employer may be able to teach the child that this process of coding lacks integrity. Although, a critical thinking adult may come to the notion that this process is not dishonest and is still fair because all other employees have the ability to create such a process.
Integrity itself can be argued in most cases. Thus, the capability to learn and teach integrity can be argued as well. When it comes to a business or organization, integrity can be promoted. The problem with promoting integrity is that the organization is promoting their version of integrity. This is fully within their rights to do, but an employee could argue that these promoted practices do not promote their personal views of integrity. Mismatching views on integrity can create a toxic and corrupt workplace environment (Cleary, et al., 2013)
Cleary, M., Walter, G., Horsfall, J., & Jackson, D. (2013). Promoting integrity in the workplace: A priority for all academic health professionals. Contemporary nurse, 45(2), 264-268.
McFall, L. (1987). Integrity. Ethics, 98(1), 5-20.
Two: Values and Ethics
The standards of professional conduct are a vital part of establishing the social responsibilities of employees. According to Elena Danielson, establishing ethical standards is a step toward professional autonomy. It harmonizes the requirements of an institution with those of its employees (Jimerson, 2013). The standards of professional conduct are also instrumental in establishing a community that is focused on social responsibility. This type of community is often reconceptualized to enhance its awareness.
A formal code of ethics can be used to define the various forms of behavior that a person should follow when carrying out their duties. It can also help identify the outcomes that a person should expect from their actions. These statements are based on teleological and deontological theories (Jimerson, 2013). Even though the standards of professional conduct are different from those of a particular organization, members of a group should start by establishing the goals and principles that motivate them to perform their duties.
References
Jimerson, R. C. (2013). Values and ethics. Journal of Information Ethics, 22(2), 2145.
