Module 1

Discussing personal ethics requires reflection on our morals, values, and the rules by which we choose to live beyond the legal boundaries applied by society. Many of us react to situations and are blindly guided by our internal beliefs. This activity asks you to reflect on your personal choices and uncover the internal morals, values, and rules guiding your personal decision making. Uncovering these personal values allows us to more clearly identify why ethical dilemmas occur within our personal and professional environments.

For this activity, write an essay that addresses all of the following:

• Reflect on the extent that your moral ideas reflect the society surrounding you in your private and professional environment. What effect does this have on your decision-making process Describe a situation where you felt pressured to act against your moral principles or where you felt torn between conflicting moral values, rules, or principles. How did you choose your response to this situation? Describe the end result of your decision and your feelings associated with this outcome.
• What did you learn that affects the way that you would deal with a similar situation in the future?

One of the considerations when participating in course discussions is to keep an open mind and be appreciative of the fact that we don't all share the same perspective. Ethical issues can many times bring emotion to the surface. Work to take a step back and use this as a learning experience about both yourself and others that you might work with on a daily basis.

Your responses to the discussion questions should relate the assigned readings and viewings to the discussion topic and should not consist only of personal opinion. Your opinion is important to the discussion, but it is also important that you add connections to the material to support your views. Without a foundation in the literature, your opinion has little professional value. For example, "Based on Trevino and Nelson's stance that cultural relativism creates an environment where unethical behavior is justified through the cultural discourse (year, P#), the discussion should center around......" This type of statement allows you to connect your views to the literature. This is possible even when you are providing personal examples.

Post your primary response on the discussion board. These responses should address the points listed above and connect directly to the theories as a foundation for your views. Be sure to review your writing for grammar and spelling before posting. Read any postings already provided by your instructor or fellow students. Read and respond to the conclusions drawn by your classmates. In your responses to other students, ask questions to further develop connections to theory, consider possible alternative choices that could have been made to increase the ethical outcomes, and question the choices made based on what you have learned in this module. You are also expected to read the responses to your original posts, and if a classmate raises a question or an issue that warrants a response, you are expected to respond.

Compose your work using a word processor and save it, as a Plain Text or an .rtf, to your computer. When you're ready to make your initial posting, please click on the "Create Thread" button and copy/paste the text from your document into the message field. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you post it.

Review the SBT Discussion Rubric located in the "Start Here" section of the course for more information on grading criteria. Discussion Participation accounts for 20% of your overall course grade and is evaluated according to the SBT Discussion Rubric. Be sure to review the SBT Discussion Rubric to understand the expectations of this activity.