What exactly is ethics? Ethics is the study of the general nature of morals and the specific moral principles that govern a person’s behavior.1 In effect, ethics represents the guidelines you use to make decisions every day. But not all people share the same ethics. Many systems of ethical conduct exist. Some are based on religious systems, some are cultural or national, and some have been passed from generation to generation within a specific ethnic group.

What are the different systems of ethical conduct? One ethical system is moral relativism, a perspective that holds that there is no universal moral truth; instead, there are only people’s individual beliefs, perspectives, and values. This means that there is no single view that is more valid than any other. Thus, no single standard exists to assess ethical truth. According to moral relativists, each person has his or her own ideas of right and wrong, so no one should judge anyone else. Imagine trying to organize any group of people—a family, a company, or a country—according to this ethical system.

Another ethical system is situational ethics whereby people make decisions based on a specific situation instead of universal laws. Joseph Fletcher, a Harvard Divinity School professor, developed the concept of situational ethics because he believed that applying the Golden Rule—treating others as you would like to be treated—was more important when it comes to making ethical decisions than applying complex sets of moral rules. Because it challenged the idea that universal rules exist and can be applied to every situation, Fletcher’s ethical system was considered controversial.

Many other ethical systems exist, some of which are defined by religious traditions. For example, Judeo-Christian ethics refers to the common set of basic values shared across both Jewish and Christian religious traditions. These include respecting property and relationships, respecting one’s parents, and being kind to others.

Of course, people sometimes act in a manner that violates the beliefs they hold or the beliefs of the ethical system they say they follow. Unethical behavior is defined as behavior that does not conform to a set of approved standards of social or professional behavior. This is different from amoral behavior, in which a person has no sense of right and wrong and no interest in the moral consequences of his or her actions.

What are personal ethics? Every day, you have thoughts that lead you to say and do certain things. As you choose your words and actions, you’re following a set of personal ethics, the principles that guide the decisions you make in your life. Sometimes, people have a clear, well-defined set of principles that they follow. Other times, a person’s ethics are inconsistent or are not applied the same way in every situation. Still other times, people have not taken the time to clarify what they value most.

Sometimes, it seems clear that making an unethical decision will produce an immediate benefit. This is when it is hardest to adhere to your own ethical system. Consider this example: When applying for a dream job, a college senior exaggerates a bit on her résumé about her experiences and responsibilities during an internship to seem more qualified. Is this lying, or is it justified behavior?

Now consider how you treat property. Say you bring home a few pads of paper, some pens, and a stack of blank Blu-rays from the supply closet at work. Is this stealing? What if it were just one piece of paper you brought home? Some people would say it depends on whether you use the material to do work at home. What if you used some of it on work projects and some of it on personal projects? What if it wasn’t you who was taking office supplies but someone else with whom you work? It’s often easy to have one view when you’re taking the supplies and another when it’s the person you like least in the office taking the supplies.

How can I clarify what my personal ethics are? Taking the time to examine your personal ethical code is of great value. If you have a clear idea of which values are most important to you, it will be easier to handle situations in your personal and professional life that require you to make complex ethical decisions. Table 3.1 outlines one way to analyze your own ethical system. Let’s look at each step in the process:

Table 3.1

Determining Your Code of Personal Ethics

1. Write down what kind of person you are. What is your character? Would a friend describe you as honest and kind? Ambitious and self-serving? Interested in others’ well-being? Be honest in your assessment of yourself.

2. List the beliefs that influence your decision making. For example, would you feel comfortable working in a lab that uses animal testing for medical research purposes? Do you think it is okay to lie? If so, which kinds of lies are acceptable to you, and which kinds are not acceptable? Are your answers inflexible—that is, are you committed to adhering strictly to your ethical positions?

3. Now that you have your beliefs written down, think about how you came to believe them. What we experience during our lives offers all of us opportunities to develop our personal ethics. We also are taught about ethical behavior by our families, places of worship, first-grade teachers, and so on. Sometimes, our experiences lead us to abandon some ethical rules and adopt others. And for some of us, our ethical rules are modified depending on what is at stake. Have you accepted your ethical beliefs without investigation, or do they stand up to the test of real-world experiences in your life?

4. Consider your behavior with regard to the places you work, study, and live and how you relate to people around you. Would you like to change anything about your behavior? For example, do you ever find yourself gossiping or speaking in a way that creates a more divisive atmosphere? You may feel justified in the comments you’re making, but is your ethical position on gossiping creating the kind of environment you ultimately want to live in?

How can an ethical life get me ahead? Sometimes, ethics feels like an abstract ideal—ideas that would be nice in a utopian world but have no real impact on your life in the here and now. Yet there are some clear benefits from living ethically.

First, society has established its own set of rules of conduct as laws. Of course, ignoring laws can have an immediate negative impact on your life. But because we live in a society of many different cultures, religions, and ethical systems, the laws do not always reflect our personal ethics. Acts of civil disobedience occur when people choose to nonviolently follow their own beliefs even when they go counter to current laws. Whether it is complying with a law about the way you run your business or following laws that affect your personal life, deciding how your own ethics align with a society’s laws is critical.

Living ethically may even be good for your health. When your day-to-day decisions are in conflict with the values you consider most important, you often feel stressed and angry. In situations where constant conflict exists between what you value and what actions you take, a variety of types of mental and physical damage may follow. Renate Schulster* is an example. Schulster, a vice president for the human resources department at a financial services firm, was asked to investigate an employee’s allegation that the company’s CEO’s had engaged in sexual harassment.3 Schulster’s investigation led her to believe that the CEO of the corporation was guilty of the offense. Her personal ethics dictated following through with the employee’s claim, which put her at odds with the company. As pressure from the conflict between her own values and those of the CEO grew, she sought psychological counseling for the emotional impact of the stress she was experiencing. Schulster was eventually able to recover her medical and legal expenses from her employer and left the company. Although she held on to her integrity, the battle was not an easy one.