Values and Ethical Beliefs Based on Principles

Values and ethical standards play a very important role in our daily lives at home and work because of what we personally believe in. Values are things that we feel that have an important meaning in our lives. Ethics are the standards of behavior of what our society appears to believe what is right and wrong. My individual values and ethic have slowly developed due to my own personal life’s experiences with family, education, and work. In my reflection paper I will discuss my own personal values, morals, and ethics and relate it to my last job when I was working for a hospital in Arizona. I will incorporate my experience and analyze my moral and ethical principles in an organization evaluation of strengths and weaknesses using detailed examples of circumstances and contexts from the knowledge I have learned so far in my course study with Personal and Organizational Ethics. My personal values play a very important role in my life and they all have to do with what is most important to me. The things that I value the most are my family, religion, education, and my work. Family and religion are my two most important values that I believe to be very important in my life because family is where I have learned most of what and who I am today with my prioritizing my values, ethical and moral standards. My parents brought me up to respect and value family, religion, education, and never to take work for granted. I have had the pleasure of experiencing my parents love and support in all my decisions as an adult. Their love and moral guidance, I believe has helped me set my values and ethical standards. Moral standards include the norms we have about the kinds of actions we believe are morally right and wrong as well as the values we place on the kinds of objects we believe are morally good and morally bad (Velasquez, 2006). I only want others around me to be proud of who I am and what kind of moral and ethical decisions I make not only for me, my family but for my co-workers as well. In the future, if I am to be placed in a supervisor or management position I would want others to respect me due to how I handle certain situations with the best experience in making ethical, and moral decisions not only for them but for the company we work for. In my personal vision and mission statement I believe in honesty and truth. Not only do I believe in my own statement but I believe that businesses should focus on three different kinds of issues: systemic, corporate, and individual. According to Velasquez, 2006 p. 4, a Systemic issues in business ethics are ethical questions raised about the economic, political, legal, and other social systems or institutions within which businesses operate. This would touch on how a business operates when making decisions morality of capitalism, law, regulations, industrial structures, and social practices. Money should never get in the way of making the right decision for oneself or for one’s employer. I believe in the saying, †Å"What goes around will come around. † If I lie, cheat, or steel; it will come around and bite me in the behind ten times greater. If I stand up for the truth and work honestly at my job it will find me later down my life’s path and bless me ten times greater. My personal impression of what I would like others to view me to be in the future when I am a manager is someone that everyone looks up to for advice because they see how open, honest, and my moral along with my ethical reasoning’s are followed by a very strict code of ethics. As a future manager I want to follow and respect company’s policy guidelines and help others know that by doing this you can make a difference in people’s lives and even possibly save them from being fired, fined, and/or imprisoned. I think this is where the ethics of corporation come into play. Instead I want to help get them that promotion or raise they deserve. I’m all about helping others and myself to make a positive change in their values, morals, and ethical decisions based on holding to a code of ethics that is going to help keep principles in balance with today’s’ hard ethical decisions with companies that are located all geographically around the world. I worked as a clerk in the administrational department for five years in one the largest hospitals in Arizona I had the opportunity to experience many situations when dealing with moral and ethical decisions. One example was when I was supervising seven other employees in the administration department. We would take patients personal information such as their current home, work, employment, and insurance data and put it into a personal information program and file it for hospital records. I was also in charge of making sure the patient’s medical insurance were up to date, current, and proper medical billing was accurately inputted into the patient’s records. Once the patient left I would be in charge to take co-pays and then mail them bill for everything that was done during the visit. Now once in a while when a patient left and stopped by my window to check out they would ask questions and I would answer to the best of my ability without giving false or inaccurate information. If you couldn’t guess, most of the questions had to do with money and how much it was going to cost them and if their medical insurance was going to pay for the hospital bill. I had very little knowledge my first year working in the administration and billing department but as I got very familiar with medical terminology and billing codes I could see some discrepancy in how or what was being billed to their records. For example a person that had come into the emergency room for left ankle pain would most likely get a left ankle extra. I would take all their personal information down and of course most importantly their medical insurance information and put it in our data program. After two weeks they would receive their bill in the mail. Sometimes the insurance would pay for the entire cost but some insurance would not so this would put the responsibility of the patient to pay the hospital. Well, I was the one that patients would come and talk to and sit down with and put a payment plan together. They would bring in their bill and we would set out a billing plan. A few people that would request to see their medical records and reports because they just could not believe how expensive their hospital visit added up. Well, in many cases I found that customers disputed their bills because they believed that there was incorrect billing cost. Someone was putting in extra data that was not being done to the patient. Earlier I mentioned a patient that came in for left ankle pain and the doctor ordered one x-ray. Now this doesn’t sound too expensive but patients forget that they are also getting billed for other things than just one x-ray. The hospital will bill you for care by the doctor, nurses, x-ray tech, administration, x-ray machine, materials and products they use to service your needs. After explaining this to a patient most of them would not argue and then see that there is a bigger picture then just getting billed for one x-ray. However, there were a handful of patients that didn’t buy all our billing excuses. They wanted to see their medical records in front of them and see what was charged to their personal profile. This is when a code of ethics comes into play and what I didn’t understand back then from what I now understand today because of the knowledge I have learned from my current class in Personal and Organizational Ethics. There were people working in the billing department that would add on false charges to patient’s accounts just so that their bill would be high enough that insurances would be liable to take on cost to pay the hospital. There are insurances that will not cover cost if the cost does not reach a certain price and the hospital loses out on what percentage should be paid by insurance companies and would solely rely on patients to pay for the care that was given to them. When I was working in the billing department there was about 70 percent of patients do not pay their medical bills to the hospital and if they do it takes years and even decades for them to pay it off because they are only making the required minimum payment amount to the hospital. They work the system this way so they do not get sent to collections or damage their personal credit. If insurance companies or patients do not pay medical bills then the hospital could be at risk and could possibly result in future threats of closing down and putting hundreds of employees out of work. If I was managing an organization I would hope that my social responsibilities would be based on a specific utilitarian principle. Utilitarian principles require that managers pursue those goals that will produce the greatest social benefits and the least social harm (Velasquez, 2006). I would want to conduct business and perform at a level that would be socially and economically beneficial to my organization. My responsibilities would require me to make decisions that would work best for my company and the employees; making sure that no physical or financial harm would come to either one of them and to make sure that the produced goods are being met according to standard. If there would be a situation that would put myself, the company, or employees into a social or economical harm I would do my best to find an effective way to achieve the responsibilities that were given to me because of my position as a manager. Another responsibility that I believe is very important that is required as a manager is to have is the ability to do performance appraisals. It is an important part in the career development. One must obtain, analyze, and record information about the approximant worth of an employee to the organization. In my current job right now, I work at a local bank and my manager sits down with us every 6 months and does a performance appraisal. This is when I, the employee gets evaluated on my personal strengths and weakness. It is also a time for possible promotions, recognition, or the need for more training. In my opinion this is a very effective way that management can relay information back to their employees on how they are doing and what they expect from their employees to make their organization the best not only for themselves but for the entire company. If I was to analyze my previous organization I worked for back in Arizona on an ethical perspective when it came to finding out that extra charges were being inputted into patients billing records I would have to say that it morally and ethically wrong. If the hospital did not input extra charges then the patient’s insurances would not cover a certain percentage of the bill, so therefore the patient would have to pay out of pocket due to their own insurances not covering the cost. The hospital would solely rely on the patient to pay the bill however, because of past experiences the hospital has a good impression that the patient(s) will not pay back the hospital for the services that were provided. Is it morally ethical that the billing department put extra charges on a patient’s records when those procedures were not performed on the patient while they visited; only to help the patient not pay out of pocket so that their insurance would cover the cost of health care. I can see how the hospital is trying to prevent losses by adding on enough charges to the patient’s records so that the insurance would cover the cost instead of the patient going into debt; and therefore limiting the risk that the hospital may go bankrupt by never getting paid due to the patient unable to pay the bill. I have come to know and realize that if I am ever to be placed into a management position I want to portray a positive moral and ethical example to my company, co-workers, and others around me like my friends and family. I believe that there are principles that need to be followed and respected based on moral ethics and how they can relate to a business. In my opinion I believe that dealing with ethics in a business perspective I am following a code of ethics of what is right and not what is wrong. Ethical means accepted standards in terms of your personal and social welfare; what you believe is right (Velasquez, 2006). I may feel differently than another manager who is dealing with the same situation but we both choose to ethically make different actions and decisions base on our own experience and perspective of what is right; however, it doesn’t mean either one of us is wrong. Moral standards include the norms we have about the kinds of actions we believe are morally right and wrong as well as the values we place on the kinds of objects we believe are morally good and morally bad (Velasquez, 2006). For example my moral standards are to tell the truth and to protect innocent people. If my company wants me to lie about a finding on a report; I know that if I do this then I am not following my personal moral standards. Another example is if I know that my company is not disclosing any possible danger or harm to their employees due to the products or equipment that is toxic to their health they are using; then I know that I am not following my moral standards. In too many cases I find that what goes around will come back around. You can only through dirt over it for so long because the rain is going to come and clear away the findings. The truth will always come out sooner or later, and then what will others think of you for making unethical decisions based on moral standards they thought you had and lived by. However, it is possible that I allow myself to lower my moral standards due to unethical persuasions that have come from a higher threatening position that puts pressure on me. Therefore a decision or action could be forced upon me which is an example of nonmoral standards. According to Velasquez (2006), nonmoral standards can be contrasted with standards we hold about things that are not moral. For example my company may threaten to replace me if I do not do what is requested by them. It is possible that I could be persuaded to make a nonmoral decision over my moral standards based on examples like my job is at risk, my pay is good, I have bills and a mortgage, or I have a family to provide for. Nonmoral standards are the standards by which we judge what is good or bad and right or wrong in a nonmoral way (Velasquez, 2006). This is one example of my moral philosophies and ethical principles that I would not like to experience future management decision. Nor would I want to hold onto these kinds of standards in an organization I would be working for now or in the future. I find this to be a very weak characteristic that only hurts my organization reputation, me, and others that I may be leading moral and ethical examples for them to follow. We need to lead by examples in order to continue to make ethical business decisions. In order to change bad management habits or organizational conditions one must realize that there are areas that need improvement and then a plan needs to be developed. In my previous job working in the medical field for over 5 years I experienced highs and lows in regards to how management handled certain situations. Training new employees was something that needed to be addressed. Many new hires were lueless with policies and procedures. They had no experience or skills with the technology that the administrator department used. New employees were not properly trained. They were told and showed one time this is how we take patient’s information, insurance cards and put it into the data system. They missed vital information that was almost impossible to get once the patient left the hospital’s facility and insurances were not notified with in a proper time frame of the patient’s visit. My manager would find missing information and sit one by one and lecture new employees how they were not doing their job right; this sometimes lead to employees quitting and complaints to higher personal that the administration department was not properly collecting the right information from patients. Instead of lecturing new employees and making them feel bad for not doing their job correctly due to lack of proper and adequate training I would set a plan in action to train new employees and set up performance evaluations. My suggestion was to place new employees in a class for at least 1 week prior from starting and have them practice hands on training with our computer system we used when taking patient’s vital information. As a manager I would try to find ways to keep my employees instead of losing them due them being frustrated with not understanding the importance of collecting accurate data on patients when entering into the hospital. Also I found that when my manager would sit most of her employees down in her office she was rude, downgrading, and belittling most of them. When conducting a performance evaluation it would allow the manager and the employee to sit down and talk about what needs to be improved and also what areas have been met. In the five years I worked for this organization, not one time did I get any kind of praise or recognition. Going forward when I become a manager I know how important it is to express to my employees how much they are worth to me and the organization. I would suggest that the management board come together at lease quarterly and do something for their employees like providing a group lunch every quarter to show their appreciation or perhaps allowing the top employees to take off an hour early with pay. There are many ways to show an organization appreciates their employees like a thank you card, or a certificate to a restaurant. It is our job as managers to recognize the hard workers and appraise them once in a while for their commitment and hard work toward our organization. We are a team and one annot get the job done without the other and there is no position better than the other. In a business perspective we’ve seen that values and moral standards play a big role in how we make decisions on a daily basis. We base our values and morals on the importance of what we feel are ethically right and wrong. Our society that we live in is what helps us develop our ethics and keeps our belief strong with what is right, wrong, goo d and evil. My previous work experience and education has helped me develop my own moral standards. In this reflection paper I have discussed my own personal values, morals, and ethics and relate it to my last job when I was working for a hospital in Arizona. I have given examples of what kind of management skills I want to improve on and continue to develop for my future organization I will one day work for. I’ve realized that I must stand strong with my moral and ethical principles in order to be a good manager who will lead by great examples and help other follow in a positive way to use their moral and ethical principles when making important and vital decisions for an organization. I’ve used this course of study in Personal and Organization Ethics to help me evaluate the strengths and weaknesses and I’ve given examples using detailed circumstances and contexts from the knowledge I have learned so far. References Velasquez, M. (2006). Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases (6th ed. ). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.