Individual ethics, also known as personal ethics are vital elements to the daily and future life. They help to shape the morality of the person, depending on the particular beliefs. The ethics are distinguished from legal issues or business ethics. However, the branches of ethics not only come from the government but also from the conscience of the individual. In this, an analysis of my individual ethics, as well as that of the group presentation, will guide to the understanding of individual and group ethics.
Among my core values is justice. I believe that I have compassion and fairness and like to be accountable to the actions of other people. Presently, I tend to behave in a manner that suggests that I pity everyone. I do not like to see people suffering due to the societal injustices or any other behavior that the government can rectify. A second core value is accountability. In this, I am certain that I have personal responsibility and reliability. In this, I value the ability of my institution and staff while honoring my commitments. In the aspect of responsibility, I ensure that all work is in the right manner and not likely to make a mistake to the greatest possible extent. I also demonstrate the ownership of everything that is left under my supervision to achieve the desired results. I also ask what else can be done to meet the objectives of the organization or individual that leaves me in charge of any task.
Another core value is that I am a law- abiding citizen. I believe that individual ethics goes hand in hand with the legal aspects. It is impossible to please the citizens and disregard the nation. In this, I ensure that I do what the law requires. I do not engage in activities that are forbidden by the law such as stealing or abusing drugs. A different value is reflected by fairness. In this, I am responsible for the acts that befall other people. I ensure that everyone or those close to me get justice. I strongly condemn discriminatory acts based on race or prejudice and believe that all people are equal. The fact that I come from Kuwait and study in the U.S does not guarantee anyone the chance to demoralize me. I teach my colleagues to be fair and to treat everyone as a human and not a black or white person. Trustworthiness is another core value that I cannot fail to mention. I am accountable to what is possessed by other people. I also strive to act in ways that build trust with other people. In this, I can build stable relations with portfolio companies, investors, stakeholders, and business partners, as well as the professors and fellow students.
In the future, I plan to utilize the aforementioned core values to achieve the best in life. I plan to ensure that the people I will interact with in the future whether in my locality or in the workplace, obtain equitableness or moral rightness. I will also instill the core value of accountability in management and the development of budgets to achieve the success of the future workplace. In the future, I will be a law-abiding citizen and will ensure that my business adheres to the legal conditions set by the state. The core value of fairness will also be utilized in my future role; in that, I will ensure that all employees experience a fair treatment during the recruitment and the selection process. In the future, I will ensure that the value of trustworthiness is evident in the areas that I will partake. In this, I will be accountable to budgets and any other area that will require trust and transparency.
Through my ethical class, I have learned to create an ethical environment in my life by facing the complexity of the ethical choices that my colleagues make. Even in the discussions, I ensure that I accept my uniqueness by accepting the ethical decisions of other people. For instance, it is hard for me to speak fluently like an American student. In this, I have accepted the fact that I need much time to be fluent by taking responsibility for my errors and decisions. Besides, I teach my colleagues that ethics is the right way of life. In this, I condemn racial prejudice and like to accompany the white students to ensure that I do not feel different. I also engage ethics conversations in every activity that I do, here in Los Angeles. To me, an ethical person means that I should uphold morality in the highest degree by respecting everyone at all times. I do not allow negative interpersonal behaviors to erode the relationship between my colleagues and I. I cultivate for a respectful environment by teaching everyone the responsibility that ethics brings on people. I also share in the ownership of the institutional values and practice every positive habit that leads to uprightness.
The group presentation topic reflected the police wearing body cameras. It was noted that the body cameras capture the incidences between the police and the civilians as a way of increasing evidence of the crime scenes. The body cameras provide the accurate point of encounter between the civilians and the police, enabling the public to accept their operations.
The topic encompassed some legal and ethical issues. The legal aspect of police interactions with the public is reflected in the Fourth Amendment. Another legal aspect is the chain of custody which indicates that the recordings must be authenticated to be admissible in court. The invasion of privacy is a legal issue evident in the topic as the civilians are likely to be seen by the public when the situation causing the crime appears in the media. Another legal issue entails public access whereby the Freedom of Information Act may be violated as the recordings are available to both the police and the media. Based on the personnel, there is another legal issue in which inappropriate language is used in questioning the officer’s work habits using body cams. The last legal issue is based on the high cost involved in the adoption of the system.
Various ethical issues are evident in the group discussion topic. Among them is the interpretation that comes along with the topic. It is notable that the video evidence is not enough to speak for itself. People can interpret the evidence in ways that may not align with the issue at hand. An ethical issue may result since the police may turn off the body cams. In this, it is hard for the police to film their entire day. The police may also capture false incidents to link to the current issue. Another ethical consideration is evident as the issue of body cams may deter witnesses from providing evidence in fear of public exposure. The issue of privacy makes the people who are captured in the videos feel at their worst moments, depending on their current state of behavior at the time when the film was taken.
The ethics decision model prioritizes the stakeholder and the most important value. In this, the public is the stakeholder while the most important value is accountability for maintaining safety and identifying the mistakes of police officers. The decision is that all police officers should wear body cams and the strategy is that there should be nationwide rules explaining when the police should turn the cameras on and off.
In conclusion, the action steps that my group would take to resolve the abovementioned issue would reflect improving the relations between the police and the community. For a long time, the public does not want to be associated with the police. In this, my group would suggest that the police should hold seminars for the public to build strong relations with them. In this, the public would be free to talk to the police, a situation that would also effect the topic question. Besides, the public would not be afraid to be filmed with the police, making it essential for the police to wear the body cams.