1. CHARACTER IN THE WORKPLACE
Hi everybody,
How is the character in your workplace? Is everyone in your workplace doing all they can to make it a place of good ethics and great working conditions. Is it all wonderful, no gossips, no backstabbers, no dishonesty, all just super great people with good character. Being of good character (making ethical decisions) can be difficult. In a world full of economic, professional and social pressure, the moral issues can get buried. And, often workplace managers and employees do not have enough experience with character/ethics to determine what or how to improve them.
People are not automatically born with good character, so some one like a parent, a school teacher or some kind person helped develop our individual character.
Just as in our individual lives, some times character issues arise in a work place, views can clash and we are forced to rank the issues according to the consequences of our choices. Does that make sense? It can be very, very difficult to make a decision that has consequences not agreeable with what we really want to do. Let’s try an experiment and see if what I am saying is easier to understand.
I am going to tell you a story and I am going you to make some choices>
THE STORY:
Your car is rear-ended by another car, damaging your rear bumper. The other guy is insured. When you go to the body shop for an estimate, the estimator suggest that he can fix a rear fender dent that you had before the accident. He says you can claim that the damages were caused by the same collision. Otherwise, fixing the fender will cost you $350. He assures you that he has done it many times before and that you will have no trouble with the insurance company. WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Poster Board 4 suggestions:
Do It (Accept the offer)
Refuse politely
Refuse angrily and tell him this is illegal.
Refuse, tell him this is illegal, and then report this to your insurance company.
SO WHY DON”T WE
In today's marketplace, on a scale of one to ten, skills and talents and assets acquire the number one place WHILE CHARAZCTER OR ethics are sifted down to the very bottom of the pile. It's mainly because ethics are weighty issues and they need depth and a lot of work to develop,
We have instant coffee and instant microwave stuff and the instant glory that so many people are after. Once fame and recognition are achieved, in the struggle to maintain it there can be a breakdown in some area of the individual's life. It could be financial, social, personal or all of these. But eventually it affects your life, and who you are.
Which brings me back to character/ethics.
People do not automatically develop good ethics, therefore the present and the future of your workplace requires that we all get involved. Why don’t supervisors demand good ethic. Maybe they need some help deciding what is involved in a work place of character. You might just be the one to go back and start the process.
Gerri Warden
Fleet and Family Support Center
Pascagoula, MS

2. STORYTIME Accept the Deal Thank you but “No”
Refuse and express irritation at dishonesty
Refuse, express irritation & report to insurance company

3. WHAT IS ETHICS?
Standards of duty and virtue that indicate how we should behave.
Ethics is about right and wrong and how an honorable person should behave.
Ethics is about being a good person.
Is vs. Ought
When I speak about ethics or character, what do I mean.
Ethics refer to principles that define behavior as right, good and proper. Ethics are non-partisan, they transcend political, cultural, or religious issues. They are not about what some people call success. We do tend to judge people by wealth, position, education, and even beauty. Some times we evaluate them by their bank account, the care model they drive or their possession of the latest and greatest gadgets. But how much can you really know about a person by looking at these external things?
Ethic principles do not always dictate a single “moral” course of action, such as “this is right this is wrong” or this is good this is bad” but provide a means of evaluating and deciding among several competing options.

4. It’s not the same as values.
Ethics is what you do when no one else is watching.
Imagine you were invisible and were able to do anything without consequences or repercussions.
Most people have convictions about what is right and wrong based on a variety of reasons. Some of them are religious beliefs, cultural roots, family background, personal experiences, law, organizational values, political habits.
Character requires more than knowing right from wrong—It also requires ethical sensitivity to the final outcome of decisions and it requires a procedure for applying these procedures to problems.
Ethics and character are the same, but VALUES are not interchangeable with these two. Why? Because ethics apply to how a person SHOULD behave, whereas values are a personal inner judgment that determines how you will actually behave.
And values can change with time. Our values are what we prize and our VALUE SYSTEM is the order in which we prize them. Because values rank our likes and dislikes, our value system determines how we will behave in certain situations and creates a lot of clashes in our life. For instance, the desire to be rich may clash with our desire to be honest. A desire for personal independence may clash with a desire for intimacy.
The simplest way to separate values from ethics is that ethics/character put into action what we should do as a matter of integrity. Character is a lot of self restraint by not doing what you have the power to do and what you have the right to do. And biggest of all not doing what you want to do.
Remember Ethics is:
Not doing what you have the power to do. An act is not proper simply because it is permissible or you can get away with it.
Not doing what you have the right to do. There is a big difference between what you have the right to do and what is right to do.
No doing what you want to do. An ethical person often chooses to do more than the law requires and less than the law allows.

5. WHY BE ETHICAL? It’s just good business It’s the smart thing to do
People have a lot of reasons for being ethical:
Inner benefit. Virtue is its own reward.
It gives us a personal advantage.
It leads to approval, self-esteem, admiration and respect of peers.
Good behavior can please or help you serve your GOD.
Some people are ethical out of habit, they were trained as children.

6. Aspen Declaration
In 1992 an eminent and diverse group of educators, youth leaders, and ethicists from 30 segments of our nation issued the Aspen Declaration, a document asserting the primacy of six core ethical values that “transcend cultural, religious and socioeconomic differences.”
In 1992 an eminent and diverse group of educators, youth leaders, and ethicists from 30 segments of our nation met in Aspen Colorado to formulate a national framework of what character involves. They issued the Aspen Declaration, a document asserting the primacy of six core ethical values that “transcend cultural, religious and socioeconomic differences.”
These are the six cores that everyone agreed would make any person that practiced them a PERSON OF CHARACTER>
So what did they choose?

7. The Six Pillars of Character
TRRFCC

8. SKILLS SYSTEM CHARACTER
OUR WORKPLACE
SKILLS
SYSTEM
CHARACTER
Look at this chart. To make any workplace function properly, we know we need to have a skilled staff, a system in place that works, and both leadership and staff with character.
Imagine a skilled employee without character---He/She just will not fit in. Character is a highly respected trait. The most desirable employee is the selflessness one.
A selflessness person is filled with humility while a selfishness person is filled with pride. Selflessness people are strong and they know and practice the “It’s not about me” program.
Lets look at the system, I personally feel that most of you have good systems in place. Past performance proves that. But the system is set up in a way that rewards individuals. If ______ is given a 1,000 reward for work that was done by him that you could have or have done in the past, how should you feel? If you are a person with character, your character should not and is not affected by this.
In the war of competencies versus current behaviors we need to work on all three, skills, character and system.
Somewhere out there, I bet there is s list, a policy, a directive that outlines the expectations of an office. It might not be 100% perfect, but we can build. Just skills training will not change the results (if character is lacking). The system may be great but some person may not live up to the expected and need a check. If the system is at fault, change it. If not, hold that person accountable.
An example of the system needing a change is with a teen aged child who goes to the library to work. The library closes at 9 but his curfew is 8:30. Every day he is late coming home. Why, because he looses track of time until they announce the closing. So how can this problem be changes? Change his time for curfew.
We can always set the ethical bar higher!!

9. TRUSTWORTHY INTEGRITY HONESTY PROMISE-KEEPING LOYALTY Slide 9
GAME GAME GAME
Building Blocks Game
Be Honest
Keep Promises
Integrity
Don’t Deceive, Cheat or Steal
Be Reliable,
Do What You’ll Say You’ll Do
Build a Good Reputation
Be Loyal, Stand by your Family, Friends and Community
When others trust us, they give us greater leeway because they feel we don’t need monitoring to assure that we will meet our obligations. They believe in us and hold us in higher esteem. It takes time to build trust.
REMOVE A BLOCK and say: Every little thing you do can take away from that trust. How does our tower look now?
Trustworthiness is sometimes misunderstood as a personal value. The majority of people believe themselves to be trustworthy, yet, their behavior does not match their belief. Generally people believe trustworthiness is keeping your word, taking care of your belongings and returning that which you borrow from others. However, trustworthiness embodies much more.
The definition of trustworthy includes the personal characteristics of:
• Capable of being depended upon: dependable, reliable, responsible, solid. • Worthy of belief, as because of precision or faithfulness to an original: authentic, authoritative, convincing, credible, faithful, true, valid behavioral pattern.
A trustworthy person:
• Arrives on time • Does what he/she agreed to do • Knows his/her limits and avoids promising more than she/he can deliver • Is consistent—based on past experiences one can trust what she/he will do next
How does one become a trustworthy person? Trustworthiness is a learned characteristic. Children learn trustworthiness by what they experience. Therefore, parents need to keep their word. If they tell a child they will take him/her to the store in ‘a little while.’ The parent needs to then take the child to the store. Whatever you tell a child you need to do it, even when it is something the child would not want you to do.
For example: If you tell your child you are going to send him/her to bed early if he/she hits his/her brother, you need to send your child to bed early in order to demonstrate to your child you are trustworthy. Furthermore, when you follow through on your statements, you are telling your child, I say what I mean and I mean what I say. This gives your child a sense of security and trust that all will be in right order, even the things they do not wish to have—i.e. going to bed early.
The same thing is true in the workplace
People who are made aware of consequences, but never receive them learn that their bosses are not trustworthy.
The need for instant gratification in our modern society has made it all too easy to slip out the white lie, to please others, or to ease the pressure on ourselves. In doing so, we implicitly accept deception as part of our culture. Honesty, integrity and trustworthiness are supposedly highly-valued character traits, but what do these terms actually mean?
1. Honesty
To be honest is to ‘tell the truth’. It is simply conforming ‘words to reality’. Honesty is regarded as the best policy. It sets the record straight and allows the truth to be known and declared.
Honesty, however, is not the same as Integrity. A thief can be honest... all he or she needs to do is ‘tell the truth’. We can agree that one is likely to be dishonest for fear of negative consequences. If the consequence is favorable, honesty may be likely. Consider criminals who will tell the truth for a lighter sentence.
On this point, we need to also appreciate that ‘admission’ is not the same as ‘confession’. When one ‘confesses’ something, they come forward and tell the truth. However, when one ‘admits’ something, it’s usually because they have been caught out.
2. Integrity
To have integrity is to be true to our highest values. Unlike honesty, integrity means to conform ‘reality to words’. Integrity is linked in the word ‘integrate’... and to live with integrity means integrating our thoughts, actions, speech and feelings into oneness. What you see is what you get; no duplicity.
To have integrity is to be true in the moment of challenge, test and temptation. Our highest values mean little in declaration if it cannot be lived in combination with action.
On this point, we must consider ‘acts of commission’ and ‘acts of omission’. An ‘act of commission’ is when you do something that violates what you know you should do. An ‘act of omission’ is one in which you don’t do something that you know you should. Equally, this could be a violation to conscience, ethics and law.
3. Trustworthiness
It has been said that to be trusted is greater than to be loved. To be trusted implies that you are trustworthy or ‘worthy of trust’.
It requires character – “who you really are on the inside”. Too many consider their reputation first.
“Be more concerned with your character than you are with your reputation, because your character is who you really are, whilst your reputation is who others think you are” - Anonymous

10. RESPECT IT IS OUR DUTY TO TREAT EVERYONE WITH RESPECT Courtesy
Politeness
Dignity
Value the differences they bring into our workplace
Tolerance (This can be hard)
People are not things, and everyone has a right to be treated with dignity. We are not expected to hold all people in high esteem, but we should treat everyone with respect. We have a responsibility to be the best we can be even when dealing with unpleasant people.
Follow the Golden Rule.
Respect prohibies violence, humiliation, manipulation and exploitation.
Be tolerant of differences.
Use good manners, not bad language.
Be considerate of the feelings of others.
Don’t threaten, hit or hurt anyone.
Deal peacefully with anger, insults & disagreements.
If I asked you to
Form groups by shoe size
Form groups by number of people in household
Form groups by favorite food
From groups by favorite color
Form groups by favorite animal—no talking!
Would you Find that
We share more in common than we may think.
How does this apply to how we treat customers?
Our boss?
Our co-workers?
The funny thing about mutual respect is that you can’t control it. Sure, you can control whether or not you exercise on a regular basis, whether you control your temper, or whether or not you express respect to others, but mutual respect implies that two or more persons have respect for each other, and as unfortunate as it may seem at times, you can never control when and where others decide to show you respect. So, perhaps the question should be: “How can I encourage mutual respect?”
Read the five tips below and learn what you can do to create an environment that is more conducive to manifestations of mutual respect.
1) Encourage Mutual Respect with Time
It’s painfully obvious that we simply don’t get along with some personalities, but it is also fairly obvious that the more you get to know someone the more you begin to understand them and in turn, respect them. After those primary bad impressions “sizzle off” you might even make some surprising friendships.
If you truly want to foster mutual respect with people who may be hard to get along with, you are going to have to “buckle down” and set aside time to be with that person, work with that person, talk with that person and even play with that person. You might have to grit your teeth now and again but in the end you will gradually start to realize that his or her personality or point of view aren’t that hard to get along with after all.
2) Encourage Mutual Respect with Patience
Patience, in my opinion, is a combination of empathy and selflessness. In other words, patience is about other people, which is why patience is such a hard virtue to master. After all, who wants to spend time thinking about other people when we are so busy plowing through our own agendas? The truth is that the best people, the smartest people and the most successful people take a good long look at other people and express empathy and selflessness towards the people they associate with. Sincerity of action is also very important. A person who is simply going through the motions of being selfless (i.e. taking more time to talk with someone) will simply appear to be a fake if he or she doesn’t show sincerity.
3) Encourage Mutual Respect by Listening
Listening is one of the greatest manifestations of respect. Even if you think the ideas of a co-worker or acquantaince are way “off the mark,” listen carefully to what he or she is saying and then ask questions that truly make you curious. For instance, if your co-worker wants to raise the marketing budget and you think that is the stupidest idea you have heard during your entire career, don’t express your feelings, or your own thoughts regarding the supposed stupidity of the suggestion. Instead, start asking questions like “How will the company have enough to pay for the new hires in two months?” or “What do you think about our current marketing strategies? Do you think we should improve those first? You might find that he or she has some great ideas that were being poorly expressed because no one took the time to analyze them more fully.
4) Encourage Mutual Respect by Laughing
If you laugh with others, you can relax, and when you relax and help others to relax as well, more effective communication takes place every second. Take time to analyze your “opponent’s” sense of humor and be patient with him or her. Try to find common interests, or laugh about experiences that you’ve already had together without using humor that he or she might find offensive.
5) Maintain Mutual Respect with Honesty
Once a person trusts you and starts to show you respect, it doesn’t mean you will have his or her respect for a lifetime. In order to maintain mutual respect you have to be honest with that person even when it is extremely uncomfortable to do so, and you have to be honest every day--not just on the days that are convenient for you. A dishonest businessman or professional is truly no businessman or professional at all. If you are honest, you will become better at everything you do and others will crave your mutual respect.
I decided to check out the definition of respect in the Merriam-Webster's 2008 online dictionary. Here's just a sample of what I learned: respect originated as a noun in the 14th century derived from the Latin respectus, (act of looking back), from respicere (to look back, regard) and from re- + specere (to look). As I read the definitions, I read many phrases such as:
One other thing: People need to make informed decisions about their own lives. Don’t withhole information they need to do so. Allow them to have a say in decisions that affect them.

11. RESPONSIBILITY Don’t make excuses Accept responsibility for decisions
Fulfill all obligations
DO NOT over-promise
“Life is full of choices—what you do and don’t do matters”
“Choosing not to choose is a choice.”
Your ability to reason and freedom to choose makes you morally accountable for your choices.
You are bound by principles of morality to make choices that honor, rather than degrade, universal ethical obligations to be trustworthy, respectful, responsible, fair, caring, and a good citizen.
Your moral obligation is to choose attitudes, words, and actions and to accept personal responsibility for the consequences of those actions.
Responsibility requires that you recognize what you do — and don’t do — matters.
SOME THINGS WE CANNOT CHOOSE:
You can’t choose to be good looking, smart, or athletic. You can’t choose your parents or the circumstances in which you grow up.
But you can choose how to deal with the outrages and opportunities of life. From these choices, your character is formed. Choosing not to choose is a choice.
EXCUSES ARE NOT
That’s just the way I am.” You are what you choose to be, nothing less and nothing more.
“It’s not my fault.” Responsibility isn’t about blame; it’s about accountability. The question for the responsible person is: “Could I have done something that would have mattered?”
Responsible people continually pursue excellence, exercise self control, restrain passions (lust, hatred, greed, fear) for the sake of a longer term vision. These are the people that realize they are as they choose to be, every day all the time.

12. FAIRNESS
Listen
Make decisions based on careful and appropriate consideration
Who do we let go?
What is Fairness
1. Process
The environment of your workplace is vital to employee satisfaction, reduction of turnover, and productivity. It is also vital to the legal stability of your business. A hostile work environment can be the basis for many types of employee complaints and causes of legal action.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lists as a basis for employee complaints the existence of a "hostile work environment." The creation or continuation of a hostile workplace environment can be the beginning of a legal quagmire of lawsuits, wrongful termination suits, and discrimination complaints.
The atmosphere of a harsh and antagonistic workplace can be a death sentence for your business.
2. Impartiality and equity
One of the biggest factors affecting hostility in the workplace is inequity and selective discipline. Employees frequently site favoritism and unfairness as their reasons for discomfort and intimidation at work. Establish a written and clear code of employee conduct that must be applied fairly and without bias. Failure to hold workers accountable to employee standards of conduct and behavior in a consistent manner will lead to accusations of bias and favoritism. The consequences of such accusations are far reaching and will affect management credibility at all levels of your organization.
The perception of employees and fellow workers is the key to creating a work environment that is neutral to the personalities and personal preferences involved. Fairness is out the window when employees perceive that they are being treated differently than others. When the tardiness of one worker is excused because they have to take their child to day care but the tardiness of another worker without such a valid reason is cited with warnings can cause the perception of unfairness. Avoiding the impression of unfairness can go a long way to maintaining an impartial workplace, the satisfaction of employees, and the feeling that everyone is being treated in the same way. It also takes the perception of bias out of the employee relations equation. Though it means hard choices it can mean the difference between a hostile and hospitable work environment.
Able is your newest employee. He’s young, unmarried, and is your best producer. He gets more work done effectively than any other employee.
Nettie is a competent worker of four years, a single mother with three small children at home. She needs the job the most.
Oldham has worked for the company the longest (18 years) and is two years away from a pension.
Tryhard is a good producer with a terrific attitude. He’s the hardest worker you have.
Nepo is a competent employee and the son of one of the owners of the company.

13. CARING Compassion and concern for others Kindness and consideration
Mercy and forgiveness
Empathy
Gratitude and Expressed Thanks
3 golden rules
Be practical - "Instead of buying gifts for one another in our workplace holiday gift exchange, we decided to exchange in kind services," Karen told me a few days ago. One person offered to get coffee for another co-worker for a week. Another offered to take out someone trash daily. Practical acts of service go a long way to plant positive feelings in others, and create great workplace morale.
Be interested - When you stop trying to be interesting and start being interested in others, you'll show others you care. Then you'll be interesting. Guaranteed. It's all in how you see people, either as enemies or as friends, as competition or as collaborators. See people as friends and potential collaborators, and you'll be interested in others. How do you see people?
Be available - What if once a week you asked one of your team members, "How can I help you?" I know you've got enough on your plate and so does everyone else. But, as you help another team member succeed, you'll both succeed. The entire workload will get much lighter.
Bottom line: Dare to care. Take a risk and invest in the lives of your team members and watch how your team succeeds.
When dealing with others in your workplace:
* Talk about things that are upsetting you in your work relationship.
* Don’t avoid the real issues.
* Listen to each other’s point of view.
* Don’t try to convince the other person that you are right and he or she is wrong.
*Don’t take either/or, this, you/ me positions.
* Assume that maintaining a good working relationship is as important as, if not more important than, anything happening at work.
If managers and their employees all conscientiously attempt to keep the work environment clear of competition, then many potentially damaging relationship complications and crises will be more easily handled, doing much less ultimate harm to all those involved than they might otherwise do.
Quality relationships are what produce quality products and services.
Real productivity begins with employees who are nourished by caring, encouraging coworkers and supervisors. While caring about an employee’s emotional well-being and the healthiness of his or her relationships may not be part of anyone’s “official” job description, it is a genuine key to creating quality products and services.
The workplace can often be a very angry place, and the relationships there can be irreparably harmed by anger and mistrust. In fact when it comes to relationships among colleagues anger and mistrust often arise out of issues in the work relationship. A successful organization is one that faces these issues head-on, that discusses them openly and encourages good working relationships, caring, and trust.
At the heart of it all is communication. The secret to healing in the workplace is to get people talking, a process not nearly as elementary as it might sound. Employees do not always want to talk about work. Often, in groups of their colleagues, they talk about themselves, who they are, what they dream about, and, what they resent and fear. They discuss things friends usually talk about, not people who happen to share the same work space.
When people reveal themselves to coworkers, when they openly discuss their feelings with honesty and compassion, when they are truly understood as individuals, the stage is set for meaningful workplace relationships between people who are real, and not just figures hurrying down a hall or across a plant floor. This, in turn, feeds and facilitates the more impersonal, yet worthy and essential goals of an organization: quality, productivity, and the bottom line.
For the most part management can’t arrange for people to get along with one another. That is like parents trying to select or match up their children. It can’t be done. These things, these relationships just happen.
Cultivating relationships in the workplace ultimately comes down to the individual employees. An organization can and should try to facilitate relationships in the workplace but it comes down to individual styles or individual needs as human beings. Because of the type of organization and the diversity of the workplace it will vary from workplace to workplace, manger to manager, and friend to friend.
It is scarcely possible to become a person of character and remain unconcerned about the people around you, both the pain and the pleasures.

14. CITIZENSHIP Play by the rules Respect authority Do your share
Within the workplace keep proper records
Follow office procedures
Be a good office neighbor and pursue the common good
A person of good character views the importance of being a good citizen as an integral part of their core . Helping to improve the quality of life for others makes a them socially responsible and connected to community.
Citizenship includes civic virtues and duties that prescrive how we ought to behave as part of a workplace. A good citizen will know the rules and obey them. But that’s not all, the good citizen will volunteer and stay informed of issues of the day. She/he will execute her/his duties and priviliges. HE/She will do more than the fair share to make the workplace and society work. The good citizen will never have the the “DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO” or “DO WHAT YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH” attitude.

15. Enhance Ethical Commitment
Think of the most ethical person you know!
What characteristics do you associate with that person?
Do you think ethics are important to that person?
If someone asked that question about you, how many people would think ethics were important to YOU?
How would it feel to know you are a role model for others?
When faced with a difficult decision, think about this person and the integrity and courage they have. Think about why you admire this person. WHAT WOULD THEY DO> All our words, our actions and attitudes reflect choices.
We all have the power to decide what we do and what we say.
We are morally responsible for the consequences of our choices.
Reflect on your choice before you make it.
Could someone suffer physical harm?
Could someone suffer serious emotional pain?
Could the choice hurt your reputation, undermine your creditability or damage important relationships?
Could the decision impede the achievement of important goals.
THE GREATER THE POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES, THE GREATER THE NEED FOR CAREFUL DECISION MAKING.

16. Taking it to work. What Can the Business Community Do?
In just about any dictionary published, the definition of ethics is essentially "a set of principles concerning proper conduct." Unfortunately, for many people, this does not define the word ethics clearly enough for them to be able to operate a business - or live their lives - in an ethical manner. So, what does the word 'ethics' really mean?
The chances are good that you live your life, and operate your business, based on your own moral code. You may do this without even realizing that you have your own moral code - but everyone does. Even the worst people in the world have a moral code that they live by. It comes down to what you are and are not willing to do in order to achieve or obtain that which you want. So much for the definition of ethics, huh.
For example, there are some people in the world who are willing to kill other human beings in order to obtain things that they want, but this is something that you would not even consider. There are those who would not go as far as taking a life to achieve what they want, but would not be opposed to ruining someone else's life. Again, you may not be willing to go that far. There are those who are perfectly willing to cause others pain or inconvenience in an attempt to get what they want, even though that pain or inconvenience would not ruin a life, but again, you may not even be willing to do that if you have a strong moral code.
Your moral code is essentially your sense of what is right and what is wrong, or what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. There are those that think that this moral code should be the same for everyone - but it simply cannot be, because we all think differently, and we all have different upbringings, backgrounds, and experiences.
Because we all do have different views, there is a set of basic behaviors that most people adhere to. Some of those behaviors have been made into law. For example, it is not only ethically wrong to kill someone or to steal, but it is also against the law, which means that if you are caught, you must pay the consequences of your actions. You won't just be told that such actions are unethical, or have people look at you with disgust or disappointment - there is an actual price to pay, which in most cases is financial restitution, time in prison, and depending on the crime - or unethical behavior - death in states where the death penalty plays in.
So, as you can see, while there is a standard definition of the word 'ethics' for everyone, your own definition of ethics may be different from others. The key to living an ethical life and running an ethical business is to not do anything that will cause you not to be able to be proud of what you have done, as well as not doing anything that will disappoint the people that matter most to you in the world.

17. Expect all employees to maintain these ethics
Trustworthiness
Respect
Responsibility
Fairness
Caring
Citizenship
So lets go over the 6 ethic character needs that can make you proud.

18. Trustworthiness Try to be honest and ethical in all business dealings.
Never reveal proprietary information.
Do not tolerate lying, stealing or deception.
Trustworthiness

19. Respect
Treat everyone with courtesy, politeness and dignity, valuing individual and cultural differences in our workplace and among those we serve.
Listen to and communicate openly with each other and with the customers in order to build mutual respect and long-term working relationships.
Respect

20. Responsibility Do not make excuses.
Accept responsibility for our workplace decisions.
Fulfill all obligations.
Do not over-promise our customers.
Responsibility

21. Fairness
Listen intently to the concerns of the customers, employees and vendors.
Listen to the employees and make decisions that affect them only after careful and appropriate consideration.

22. Caring Truly care about each and every customer, employee and vendor.
Commit to build long-lasting relationships to mutual benefit.

23. Citizenship Play by the rules.
Keep proper records and follow financial reporting procedures.
Follow all laws and regulations … to the tee.

24. Listen for the bells warning you of an ethical issue.
In just about any dictionary published, the definition of ethics is essentially "a set of principles concerning proper conduct." Unfortunately, for many people, this does not define the word ethics clearly enough for them to be able to operate a business - or live their lives - in an ethical manner. So, what does the word 'ethics' really mean?
The chances are good that you live your life, and operate your business, based on your own moral code. You may do this without even realizing that you have your own moral code - but everyone does. Even the worst people in the world have a moral code that they live by. It comes down to what you are and are not willing to do in order to achieve or obtain that which you want. So much for the definition of ethics, huh.
For example, there are some people in the world who are willing to kill other human beings in order to obtain things that they want, but this is something that you would not even consider. There are those who would not go as far as taking a life to achieve what they want, but would not be opposed to ruining someone else's life. Again, you may not be willing to go that far. There are those who are perfectly willing to cause others pain or inconvenience in an attempt to get what they want, even though that pain or inconvenience would not ruin a life, but again, you may not even be willing to do that if you have a strong moral code.
Your moral code is essentially your sense of what is right and what is wrong, or what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. There are those that think that this moral code should be the same for everyone - but it simply cannot be, because we all think differently, and we all have different upbringings, backgrounds, and experiences.
Because we all do have different views, there is a set of basic behaviors that most people adhere to. Some of those behaviors have been made into law. For example, it is not only ethically wrong to kill someone or to steal, but it is also against the law, which means that if you are caught, you must pay the consequences of your actions. You won't just be told that such actions are unethical, or have people look at you with disgust or disappointment - there is an actual price to pay, which in most cases is financial restitution, time in prison, and depending on the crime - or unethical behavior - death in states where the death penalty plays in.
So, as you can see, while there is a standard definition of the word 'ethics' for everyone, your own definition of ethics may be different from others. The key to living an ethical life and running an ethical business is to not do anything that will cause you not to be able to be proud of what you have done, as well as not doing anything that will disappoint the people that matter most to you in the world.
How will your decision look in the light? Could a reasonable fair-minded person conclude you acted improperly?

25. Identify the Problems Fill the gaps! Close gaps deliberately!
Most of us overestimate
The cost of doing the right
Thing---and underestimate the
Cost of failing to do so.
GAP
GAP
GAP
Develop character skills in your workplace.
Make wise rational decisions
Think before you act
Overcome obstacles such as anger, jealousy, fear, ignorance of facts
Think before you speak
Before you act, clarify goals.
Remember decisions that accomplish immediate wants or needs can prevent the achievement of more important life goals.
Determine facts before yu act
Consider consequences
When there is no easy or right choice, apply the principles of honor.
Monitor and modify as needed.
Everyone thinks it can’t happen in their workplace---until it does.
Everyone is ethical in his or her own eyes