In order to discuss my ethical values, how I came upon my ethical values and how I apply them to difficult situations, one must first understand the definition of ethics, both my own and that provided by various texts, as well as the difference between ethics, morals and values. Only then can the discussion continue into what are my ethics, how they were developed, how are they manifested and the implications of these ethics in my decision-making process. Finally, for the purpose of this paper, I will apply these ethics to a situation at work that has some complex legal and moral ethical issues.
Definition of Ethics
According to Ruggiero (1997), ethics is the study of right and wrong in a person's conduct. Broken down further, it is the discipline involving the collection and analysis of data on what different cultures believe, without consideration for the appropriateness of those beliefs (Ruggiero, 1997). Holmes (2002) considers ethics as the study of morality through different approaches such as moral philosophy or moral legalism.…
