TOPIC 3

Universal or Core Ethical Values

-are values, that great many human beings in the vast majority of places and
situations, at almost all times, do in fact hold in common, whether consciously and
explicitly or as expressed in their behavior,
-Trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship are six core
ethical values. Using core ethical values as the basis for ethical thinking can help
detect situations where we focus so hard on upholding one value that we sacrifice
another —
e.g. we are loyal to friends and so do not always tell the truth about their actions.

1. Trustworthiness
-Trustworthiness concerns a variety of behavioral qualities:
 Honesty
 Integrity
 Reliability
 loyalty
2. Honesty
- There is no more fundamental ethical value than honesty. We associate
honesty with people of honor, and we admire and trust those who are honest.
- Honesty in communication is about intent to convey the truth as best we know
it and to avoid communicating in a way likely to mislead or deceive.
THREE DIMENSIONS:

 Truthfulness - means not intentionally misrepresenting a fact (lying). Intent is

the crucial distinction between truthfulness and truth itself. Being wrong is not
the same thing as being a liar, although honest mistakes can still damage trust.

 Sincerity/non-deception — a sincere person does not act, say half-truths, or

stay silent with the intention of creating beliefs or leaving impressions that are
untrue or misleading.

 Frankness - In relationships involving trust, honesty may also require us to

volunteer information that another person needs to know.

Honesty in conduct - prohibits stealing, cheating, fraud, and trickery. Cheating is not
only dishonest but takes advantage of those who are not cheating. It’s a violation of
trust and fairness.
Not all lies are unethical, even though all lies are dishonest. Occasionally dishonesty
is ethically justifiable, such as when the police lie in undercover operations or when
one lies to criminals or terrorists to save lives. But occasions for ethically sanctioned
lying are rare - e.g. saving a life.
 3. Integrity - There are no differences in the way an ethical person makes decisions
from situation to situation - no difference in the way they act at work and at home, in
public and alone. The person of integrity takes time for self-reflection so that the
events, crises and the necessities of the day do not determine the course of their
moral life. They stay in control

THE FOUR ENEMIES OF INTEGRITY:

 Self-interest – Things we want
 Self-protection - Things we don’t want
 Self-deception – A refusal to see a situation clearly
 Self-righteousness- an end-justifies-the-means attitude

3. RELIABILITY

When we make promises or commitments to people our ethical duties go beyond

legal obligations. The ethical dimension of promise-keeping imposes the
responsibility of making all reasonable efforts to fulfill our commitments.
It is also important to:

 Avoid bad-faith excuses — Honorable people don't rationalize noncompliance

or create justifications for escaping commitments.
 Avoid unwise commitments — Before making a promise consider carefully
whether you are willing and likely to keep it. Think about unknown or future
events that could make it difficult, undesirable or impossible to keep your
commitment. Sometimes, all we can do is promise to do our best.

 Avoid unclear commitments — Since others will expect you to live up to what
they think you have promised to do, be sure that, when you make a promise,
the other person understands what you are committing to do.

4. Loyalty
-Loyalty is about promoting and protecting the interests of certain people, organizations
or affiliations. Some relationships — husband-wife, employer-employee, citizen-country
— create an expectation of loyalty.
 Prioritizing Loyalties - Because so many individuals and groups make loyalty
claims on us, it is often impossible to honor them all simultaneously.
Consequently, we must rank our loyalty obligations in some rational fashion. In
our personal lives, for example, it’s perfectly reasonable, and ethical, to look out
for the interests of our children, parents and spouses even if we have to
subordinate our obligations to other children, neighbors, or co-workers in doing
so.
 Safeguarding Confidential Information - Loyalty requires us to keep secrets
or information learned in confidence.
 Avoiding Conflicting Interests - Employees and public servants have an
additional responsibility to make all professional decisions on merit not personal
 interests. Their goal is to maintain the trust of the public

5. RESPECT

-Respect is about honoring the essential worth and dignity of all people, including
oneself. We are morally obligated to treat everyone with respect, regardless of who
they are and what they have done. We have a responsibility to be the best we can be
in all situations, even when dealing with unpleasant people.

Respect focuses on:

 Civility, Courtesy and Decency - A respectful person is a good listener. The
respectful person treats others with consideration, conforming to accepted
notions of taste and propriety, and doesn’t resort to intimidation, coercion or
violence except in extraordinary and limited situations to teach discipline,
maintain order or achieve social justice.
 Tolerance - An ethical person accepts individual differences and beliefs and
judges others only on their character.

6. RESPONSIBILITY
-Being responsible means being in charge of our choices. It means being accountable
for what we do and who we are. It also means recognizing that what we do, and what
we don’t do, matters.
 Accountability - An accountable person is not a victim and doesn’t shift blame
or claim credit for the work of others.
 Pursuit of Excellence - The pursuit of excellence has an ethical dimension
when others rely upon our knowledge, ability or willingness to perform tasks
safely and effectively.
 Diligence - Responsible people are reliable, careful, prepared and informed.
 Perseverance - Responsible people finish what they start, overcoming rather
than surrendering to obstacles and excuses.
 Continuous Improvement - Responsible people look for ways to do their work
better.
 Self-Restraint - Responsible people exercise self-control, restraining passions
and appetites (such as lust, hatred, gluttony, greed and fear). They delay
gratification if necessary and never feel it’s necessary to "win at any cost."

7. FAIRNESS
-Fairness is a tricky concept. Disagreeing parties tend to maintain that there is only
one fair position - their own. But while some situations and decisions are clearly unfair,
fairness usually refers to a range of morally justifiable outcomes rather than discovery
of one fair answer.
  Process -A fair person uses open and unbiased processes for gathering and
evaluating information necessary to make decisions. Fair people do not wait for
the truth to come to them; they seek out relevant information and conflicting
perspectives before making important decisions.
 Impartiality - Decisions should be unbiased without favouritism or prejudice.
 Equity - It is important not to take advantage of the weakness, disadvantage or
ignorance of others. Fairness requires that an individual, company, or society
correct mistakes, promptly and voluntarily.

8. CARING
Caring is the heart of ethics. It is scarcely possible to be truly ethical and not
genuinely concerned with the welfare others. That is because ethics is
ultimately about our responsibilities toward other people. Sometimes we must
hurt those we care for and some decisions, while quite ethical, do cause pain.
But one should consciously cause no more harm than is reasonably necessary

9. CITIZENSHIP
The concept of citizenship includes how we ought to behave as part of a
community. The good citizen knows the laws and obeys them - but they also
volunteer and stay informed on the issues of the day.

Citizens do more than their "fair" share to make society work, now and for
future generations. Citizenship can have many expressions, such as
conserving resources, recycling, using public transportation and cleaning up
litter.

Explain why universal values are necessary for human survival?

- Every society is bounded by common values. Why? So that the members of

that group knows what to expect of each other and have some shared
principles in order to address their difference without violence involved.

So why are universal values for necessary for human survival?

- The universal values we stand by mirrors the type of person we are. The
values that we have will help us in creating decisions in our everyday lives as it
is a reflection of our thoughts, actions and words. These values serve us our
guiding light assisting us in creating the future we want to experience.
We always have to remember that all our actions and decisions are affected by
the values we nurture and uphold