How Values Affect Decisions in Personal and Professional Life Essay

Abstract Many people have a set of core values, either personal, organizational, or cultural, that help guide his or her life, and that assist him or her in making decisions in their everyday existence. Most of my decisions are based on how they will affect my family, me, and my career. My family is the key factor in any decision I make. I have to consider what influence my choices will have on my family before I act on them. My success in my career choice of Information Systems is also an important value to me. I strive to improve my knowledge of information systems to the best of ability in order to further my career. This value has brought me to be results oriented, a hard worker, and a team player. Companies are now doing business with other companies in different countries. Organizations are now set up to where employees have to interact with different people to get the job done. If someone desires a long, prosperous career, they have to learn to work with diverse people of different cultures. Everyone has a set of core values that assist him or her in making decisions in their daily existence, and many people expect these values to lead them to live a wonderful life. Many people have a set of core values, either personal, organizational, or cultural, that help guide his or her life, and that assist him or her in making decisions in their everyday existence Values such as my family, friendships, and personal growth contribute to the choices that I make in my personal life. Values such as being results-oriented, a hard worker, a team player, and the desire to be successful guide me in making decisions in an organizational environment. I evaluate my core values before making any decisions that will influence them in anyway. According to author David Peters (2003): Personal ethics have been defined as principles of good behavior, a moral code of conduct, or a system to decide between competing options. But simply stated, personal ethics are nothing more than the rules impose on ourselves that govern our daily actions. (p. 30) For many people different factors and beliefs shape their values but, I believe that everyone shares one goal of living the best life possible not just physically but spiritually and mentally. Many of my decisions are based on how they will affect my family, me, and my career. My family is the key factor in any decision I make. I have to consider what influence my choices will have on my family before I follow through with them. For example, my returning to school keeps me from spending as much time as I would like with my loved ones. I thought about returning back to school long and hard and came to the conclusion that I need to return to school now before I have more children, my daughter gets to an age were I have to run her all over town for things that she wants to participate in, or any other life-changing event takes place. I came to the conclusion that I need to go now because it will only take between a year and half or two years to complete. By the time I am done with school, my daughter will be four and starting kindergarten, and that is a good time to also think about having another child. So I decided to go ahead and return to school and get my master’s degree in information systems. If I know that a decision will drastically affect my family, I will go to them to get their input on the situation. My success in my career choice of Information Systems is also an important value to me. Roy Posner states, â€Å"One of the interesting values in life is one’s innate desire for continuous improvement. † (Roy Posner 2006). I strive to improve my knowledge of information systems to the best of my ability in order to further my career. This value has brought me to be results oriented, a hard worker, and a team player. In the environment of information technology, everyone has to be team player because most of the positions require people to interact with each other. Whether the person is a systems analyst or a mail clerk, he or she will be part of a diverse group of people who have to work together effectively and efficiently to meet the goals of the organization as a whole. â€Å"Culture is the key to people’s way of living, accepting changes and doing business is rapidly loosing geographical borders. † (Kanungo, 2006, p. 23). Companies are now doing business with other companies in different countries. Organizations are now set up to where employees have to interact with different people to fulfill his or her job duties. If someone desires a long, prosperous career, they have to learn to work with diverse people of different cultures. At one time or another, everyone has had life experiences that help guide his or her decision making process. Nancy Haught (2006) states the following: For many people, from many different belief systems, their faith is the only factor that they see shaping their personal ethics. But most Americans would admit that other factors do play a part: parents or other relatives;? experiences such as a stint in the Peace Corps or a brush with the law. The factors that shape our ethics are varied, but it religion that often gets the credit, or the blame† (p.C1) Many people have come to the realization that they don’t have to have the world to live a good life. Although, someone may want a successful career, they shouldn’t have to sacrifice other aspects of their life to obtain it. Other aspects of life are more fulfilling, such as a wonderful relationship with God, family, and friends. Many people have a set of core values that assist him or her in making decisions in their daily existence, and many people expect these values to lead them to live a wonderful life References Haught, N. (2006, March 11). Ethics & values | definitions ethics, morals, values. The Oregonian, C1. Kanungo, R. P. (2006). Cross culture and business practice: are they coterminous or cross-verging? Cross Cultural Management, 13(1), 23. Peters, David. (2003) Your Personal Ethics ? is it time for a check up? National Jeweler, 97 (7), 30. Posner, Roy. (2006). The Power of Personal Values. Retrieved July 05, 2007 from http://www. gurusoftware. com/GuruNet/Personal/Topics/Values. htm.