Values Reflection Paper

Every individual has a set of his or her own personal values that dictates how he or she reacts to situations in life and these values also define who he or she is. Values are significant and lasting viewpoints and principles shared by most people in society in regard to what is morally right or wrong. Some examples of values are integrity, loyalty, honesty, virtue, love, selflessness, and zeal. Values can sometimes sway an individual’s actions and can act as general rules for every circumstance. Individuals in society will often have his or her own set of values that serve as an individual blueprint that defines who he or she is and is the influencing factor in how he or she lives, behaves, speaks, and believes. My core values are honesty, love, trust, spirituality, family, accomplishment, respect, perseverance, and hygiene. My most important value is family, no matter where an individual is or what an individual goes through in life I believe that family should always be first. Every family has ups and downs and I firmly believe that a family should always help each other and should not become enablers. The second most important value to me is love; a person must first love his or herself before others can love him or her.

I love myself first and my love for others is very true and does not falter if someone does me wrong. I truly believe an individual can still love a person if the person hurts him or her in any kind of way, but the individual can love that person from a distance. My faith is very strong in my life because without God I would not be here and I know that his love will take me further than what man can. I also believe in honesty because if I am honest with people they will trust me. One cannot have honesty without trust. I set out to accomplish every goal I set and I know that my perseverance will help me to achieve those goals. I respect myself and therefore others respect me. Also I respect the beliefs and personal space of others and I expect them to do the same. Last, I believe in hygiene, I keep myself and my surroundings clean and I expect that of others too. Individuals are not born with values imprinted in them and values often develop as an individual grows throughout life. Sociologist Morris Massey states individuals develop values during three different periods of their lives.

The three development periods are the imprint period, the modeling period, and the socialization period. During the imprint period young children from birth to about age seven often soak up and learn things from witnessing the behaviors of his or her parents (2002-2012). Some of the things learned at a young age will often influence a child throughout adolescence on through adulthood, especially if it is physically or emotionally damaging. An individual should learn at this age what behaviors are right and wrong (2002-2012). During the modeling period individuals from the age of eight to 13 learn how to emulate the actions and behaviors of his or her parents and others (2002-2012). Individuals during this period may have his or her own values but are not quite comfortable with them and try to figure out how these values will work for him or her. Morris Massey suggests that during this period individuals will often adapt his or her values from religious beliefs or academic educators (2002-2012). Last the socialization period is from the ages of 13 – 21 where individuals receive the most influence of his or her life from peers (2002-2012).

During this period individuals often try to distance his or herself from the values learned early in life and seek out others who share the same values as he or she does. Also during the socialization period the media is a key factor in what values an individual adopts (2002-2012). Values in life help to determine and shape who an individual is as a person. Values establish what behaviors a person will exhibit in life in making a determination of what actions are right and wrong. Sometimes in life there are individuals and situations that influence an individual’s behaviors and those behaviors are not always in line with what the individual knows is right or wrong. Sometimes negative influences from peers can facilitate changes in people’s values. For example, a peer can believe stealing is the only way to make a living, but the individual knows that stealing is against the law and working on a job is the right thing to do. Strong moral values will often prevent an individual from committing wrongful acts that he or she knows goes against the rules of society. The nature and importance of human values in the workplace is crucial for the success of any organization. For any company to be a success there must be a cohesive relationship between management and the employees.

Values and ethics are crucial in any work environment to promote order, to guarantee the company runs efficiently, and to ensure the company continues to bring in revenue (Amico, 2012). Every company has a set of its own values and ethics that it makes known to individuals either before or after the hiring process (Amico, 2012). Sometimes an employer can terminate an employee who continually excels in job performance because the employee is not following workplace values and ethics. Some workplace values are dedication, integrity, accountability, and conduct. An employee when accepting employment with any company is agreeing to show dedication by performing his or her job to the best of his or her ability. Integrity is a very importance factor in employment because an employer must be able to trust the person he or she has hired. For example if an officer seizes a large amount of drugs and money during a drug bust the officer’s superiors expect for the officer to turn in and report the correct amount of drugs and money.

Accountability is another important factor in the workplace because an employee should report to work on time and should not misuse breaks or lunchtime (Amico, 2012). Employees should also take responsibility when things go wrong and should find a way to rectify the situation in any way possible. An employee should always exhibit exceptional conduct in any workplace environment. Employees must act in a manner befitting with company standards and policies, and he or she must also respect and treat other employees with respect. Every company has its own set of rules regarding employee conduct that an individual can find in the employee handbook and training apparatus (Amico, 2012).

Often in life individuals will encounter situations in which his or her values will determine the outcome of the situation whether it is a personal or workplace conflict. If the person has a sense of what values are good and bad he or she definitely will choose a favorable outcome pleasing to everyone involved. As stated earlier individuals learn values early in life and those values develop over time in three different stages. By the time an individual reaches adulthood, he or she has an established set of beliefs and values that influences how he or she lives, behaves, speaks, and believes. These values will also help to determine the type of employee the individual will become to the company he or she seeks employment with.

References

Changing Minds.Org. (2002-2012). Retrieved from http://changingminds.org/explanations/values/values_development.htm Amico, S. (2012). Workplace value and ethics. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-human-relations-workplace-23061.html