Values and Ethical Decision Making

Values and Ethical Decision Making

Personal values and organizational values should coincide at a point in one's life. If one has personal values different from an organization that he or she works for, it can be difficult for one to believe in the organization and be loyal. Google is a large organization that has employees throughout the world. Considering the company operates as a large corporation, the culture of everyday operations continues to have a small-company feel. Google has remained on the best places to work list for several years running. The respect level for each employee ideas is considerable high. Therefore, employee's tasks are completed with significant confidence. This paper will focus on evaluating personal values, organizational values, and ethical decision-making of Google. In addition, discuss results of the Williams Institute Ethics Awareness Inventory Assessment and Google's decision-making process.

Personal Values

Personal values cultivated early in life usually are defiant to change and may result from specific groups, such as religion or culture. In addition, family, inhabitants, and environment contribute to an individual's personal values. "Values are deeply held beliefs that guide our behaviors and decisions. They reside deeply within the subconscious and are tightly integrated into the fabric of everyday living. We make decisions and choose behaviors, friends, employment, and entertainment based, in large part, on our values" (Looper, 2007, para 2). Personal values arise from situations within the internal and external world can change over time, and are slightly different from organizational values.

Organizational Values

Organizational values perform as standards for actions, goal identification, and tactical decision-making. Without organizational values, individuals will adopt manners, which are parallel with his or her individual values, which can have a major impact on an organization culture. In addition, organizational values have an influence on relationships between individuals and other organizations. "A company's culture and founding values are significant factors in a startup's march toward long-term success (Moon, 2008). Organization values are influenced by senior management, which plays a considerable role in establishing the organization atmosphere by representing and conveying values to others. Undoubted, expressed values of any organization should offer a structure for the combined leadership of the organization and sustain the realization of the organization mission, purpose, and goals.

Ethical Decision-Making

Organizations often have to deal with intricate ethical dilemmas, such as laying-off employees to increase profits or cut angles on quality production or services to meet a deadline. The extreme heaviness of business may not allow an individual the indulgence of a good deal of time for consideration, which may persuade an individual to concede his or her ethics. Reasonable individuals occasionally have sizeable disparities of view concerning what represents ethical behavior plus the method of making a fair and final ethical decision. However, by considering different approaches to ethical decision-making, an individual can make the right decision, when needed. "When confronted with an ethical dilemma, ask whether would feel comfortable telling your mom" (Maslanka, 2011). These ethical decision-making skills are shown through the Williams Institute Ethics Awareness Inventory assessment below.

Williams Institute Ethics Awareness Inventory Assessment

The Williams Institute Ethics Awareness Inventory Assessment's objective is to enable each participant to understand and care about the basis for what is good or right" (Ethics Awareness Inventory, 2003). The assessment revealed that the individual's ethical profile was most closely aligned with results and least closely aligned with equity (Ethics Awareness Inventory, 2003). What that means is that,

"Consequences or results based on actions taken, and results based on sound assessments of facts and process served as the base for the ethical perspective in this individual. It showed that the goal of ethical decisions in such an individual is geared to achieving the greatest possible good for the entire society (Ethics Awareness Inventory, 2003).

Additionally the individual's ethical decision-making is further impacted by the belief that everyone should have an opportunity to partake of the good life. When there is a disparity in this for the majority of the population the goal for the results oriented individual becomes, what can be done to improve the well being of the majority of the people in society (Ethics Awareness Inventory, 2003). According to Vericat (2010), in an interview with Michael T. Jones, chief technological advocate of Google, "enables people to do new things, it educates them for a better life, it raises their expectations. It is an enabler of a better society" (p. 181).

The results-oriented individual and Google do not always align. However, concerning what each believes is of greatest importance for society, particularly when issues on protected values come into play. The individual believes "protected values (PVs) are considered absolute and inviolable" (Hoch, Kunreuther, & Gunther, 2001, p. 251). Google makes decisions