Ethical Journey: Personal Experiences, Family, and Societal Values

This essay provides a personal reflection on the author's ethical journey, starting from childhood experiences within their family and extending to societal expectations. The author defines ethics as morality and discusses how their upbringing instilled certain ethical codes of conduct. They explore instances of ethical compliance, particularly in business and personal life, while acknowledging deviations and unethical acts. The essay highlights challenges like the loss of parents and societal pressures, including marriage and divorce, and how these events shaped their ethical perspective. The author concludes by emphasizing the importance of ethical codes for societal well-being and acknowledges the impact of their journey, both positive and negative, in shaping their moral character.

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My Ethical Journey
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My Ethical Journey
Personally, ethics, to me, simply means morality-what is right or wrong. In the society,
people always engage in actions, behaviors, and conducts which are either acceptable or
unacceptable in the society based on the standard codes expected of everyone. I got to know
about ethics sometime earlier. Since my childhood, I have had my own ethical journey that is
unique to me. My ethical journey has been dictated by the experiences and actions I have
undergone both at home, in school and in the community at large.
In the family in which I have been raised, there are ethical codes of conduct that are
expected of everyone. Since my childhood, I have had to personally experience this. There are
certain actions that are considered to be morally-right in my family. At the same time, there are
others which are regarded as morally-wrong. So, for anyone who wants to fit into my family,
they have no choice, but to conform to all the moral standards (Snezhko & Coskun 2019). From
my own evaluation, I can say that I have been ethically compliant. Meaning, I have been
complying with all he ethical standards accepted in my family. For as long as I can remember, I
have been behaving morally because I always ensure that I conform to the ethical standards
expected of me as a child. That is why I have been having a cordial relationship with my parents,
older, and younger siblings. Whenever engaging in any business activity, for instance, I have to
be morally-upright. Meaning, I have to comply with the principles of business ethics to the letter
(González-Pachón & Romero 2016). However, despite all my efforts, I must acknowledge that I
have not been perfect. Meaning, there are instances in which I have deviated and engaged in
unethical acts (Hammersley 2015). I can remember an incident that happened over six years ago
when I was in high school. I deliberately chose to engage in unethical conduct by disrespecting
the orders given to me by my mother (Van Wart & Denhardt 2019). On this particular day, I

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misbehaved because I engaged in the watching of television (TV) even I had been warned not to
do so instead of engaging in after-school studies. Contrarily, there are instances where I have
encountered challenges that changed me positively. For example, the loss of my parents has
given me the inspiration to be an industrious orphan.
In my society, just like in my family, there are ethical standards that are supposed to be
adhered to by everyone irrespective of their status or diversities. Meaning, everyone including
the kids, parents, adolescents, the elderly, have to abide by certain acceptable ethical codes of
conduct in order for then to fit into the society. Because I know this, I have had to conform to all
the ethical standards. One of the fundamental ethical values in my society is marriage (González-
Pachón & Romero 2016). Once a person attains a specific age, one has to marry, set up a family,
and become a responsible wife, husband, and parent. As a compliant person, I had to conform to
this ethical standard by marrying at 26. Thereafter, I got three kids and chose to work so hard in
my career in order to provide for them. I have been dedicating my time to work so hard because I
want to be a responsible parent. I do not want to be irresponsible because it is unethical in my
community. However, despite commitments to such societal ethical values, I must acknowledge
that I have not been perfect. There are many instances where I have failed to act ethically. For
instance, the catastrophes that befell my family such as the untimely demise of my parents and
brother made me somewhat behave unethically. These challenges made me to be emotionally
disturbed and unstable, something that is not condoned in my society (González-Pachón &
Romero 2016). The end result of this mental torture is that I failed in my marriage because I
ended up divorcing my wife. In my society, divorce is an unethical practice that should not be
associated with ethically-compliant responsible and ambitious young people like me (Ferrell &
Fraedrich 2015).

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In conclusion, I am conscious of the presence and essence of ethics in the society. The
ethical codes of conduct are essential because they not only enhance compliance, but make life
smooth and enjoyable to everyone in the society. Everyone, therefore, has no choice, but to
conform to all the ethical standards because they are for a common good of all he people. From
my own evaluation, I must acknowledge that I have had pleasant, but challenging ethical
journey. My encounter and conformity to the ethical values of my people have made it possible
for me to conform and fit into my society. The cases of ethical defiance have not only challenged
me, but also taught me to be a morally-upright person. The misconducts had long-lasting impacts
on me because they transformed me for the better.

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References
Ferrell, O.C. & Fraedrich, J., 2015. Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. New
York: Nelson Education.
González-Pachón, J. & Romero, C., 2016. Bentham, Marx and Rawls ethical principles: In
search for a compromise. Omega, 62, pp.47-51.
Hammersley, M., 2015. On ethical principles for social research. International Journal of Social
Research Methodology, 18(4), pp.433-449.
Snezhko, S. & Coskun, A., 2019. Liability or Ethics?: The Real Value of Compliance. In The
Circular Economy and Its Implications on Sustainability and the Green Supply Chain (pp. 198-
212). IGI Global.
Van Wart, M. & Denhardt, K.G., 2019. Organizational structure: A reflection of society's values
and a context for individual ethics. In Handbook of administrative ethics (pp. 253-268).
Routledge.