UNIT-1

VALUES

Humans have the unique ability to define their identity, choose their values and establish their beliefs. All three of these directly influence a person’s behaviour. People have gone to great lengths to demonstrate the validity of their beliefs, including war and sacrificing their own life! Conversely, people are not motivated to support or validate the beliefs of another, when those beliefs are contrary to their own.

A value is defined as “a principle that promotes well-being or prevents harm.”

Values are our guidelines for our success—our paradigm about what is acceptable

Personal values are defined as: “Emotional beliefs in principles regarded as particularly favourable or important for the individual.” Our values associate emotions to our experiences and guide our choices, decisions and actions.

Types of Values

The five core human values are as follows:

(1) Right conduct

(2) Peace

(3) Truth

(4) Love

(5) Non- violence.

1. Values related to right conduct are:

(a) Self-help skills: Care of possessions, diet, hygiene, modesty, posture, self-reliance, and tidy appearance.

 (b) Social skills: Good behaviour, good manners, good relationships, helpfulness, No wastage, and good environment, and

(c) Ethical skills: Code of conduct, courage, dependability, duty, efficiency, ingenuity, initiative, perseverance, punctuality, resourcefulness, respect for all, and responsibility.

2. Values related to peace are:

Attention, calmness, concentration, contentment, dignity, discipline, equality, equanimity, faithfulness, focus, gratitude, happiness, harmony, humility, inner silence, optimism, patience, reflection, satisfaction, self-acceptance, self-confidence, self-control, self-discipline, self-esteem, self-respect, sense control, tolerance, and understanding.

3. Values related to truth are:

Accuracy, curiosity, discernment, fairness, fearlessness, honesty, integrity (unity of thought, word, and deed), intuition, justice, optimism, purity, and quest for knowledge, reason, self-analysis, and sincerity, spirit of inquiry, synthesis, trust, truthfulness, and determination.

4. Values related to love are:

Acceptance, affection, care, compassion, consideration, dedication, devotion, empathy, forbearance, forgiveness, friendship, generosity, gentleness, humanness, interdependence, kindness, patience, patriotism, reverence, sacrifice, selflessness, service, sharing, sympathy, thoughtfulness, tolerance and trust.

5. Values related to non-violence are:

(a) PSYCHOLOGICAL: Benevolence, compassion, concern for others, consideration, forbearance, forgiveness, manners, happiness, loyalty, morality, and universal love

(b) SOCIAL: Appreciation of other cultures and religions, brotherhood, care of environment, citizenship, equality, harmlessness, national awareness, perseverance, respect for property, and social justice.

MORALS

Morals are the welfare principles enunciated by the wise people, based on their experience and wisdom. They were edited, changed or modified or evolved to suit the geography of the region, rulers (dynasty), and in accordance with development of knowledge in science and technology and with time.

Morality is concerned with principles and practices of morals such as: (a) what ought or ought not to be done in a given situation? (b) What is right or wrong about the handling of a situation? And (c) What is good or bad about the people, policies, and ideals involved?

Differences between Morality and Ethics

1. More general and prescriptive based on customs and traditions.

    Specific and descriptive. It is a critical reflection on morals.

2. More concerned with the results of wrong action, when done.

    More concerned with the results of a right action, when not done.

3. Thrust is on judgment and punishment, in the name of God or by laws.

    Thrust is on influence, education, training through codes, guidelines, and correction.

4. In case of conflict between the two, morality is given top priority, because the damage is more. It is more common and basic.

    Less serious, hence second priority only. Less common. But relevant today, because of complex interactions in the modern society.

5. Example: Character flaw, corruption, extortion, and crime.

    Example: Notions or beliefs about manners, tastes, customs, and towards laws

ETHICS

Ethics is the word that refers to morals, values, and beliefs of the individuals, family or the society. The word has several meanings. Basically it is an activity and process of inquiry. Secondly, it is different from non-moral problems, when dealing with issues and controversies. Thirdly, ethics refers to a particular set of beliefs, attitudes, and habits of individuals or family or groups concerned with morals. Fourth, it is used to mean ‘morally correct’.

The study on ethics helps to know the people’s beliefs, values, and morals, learn the good and bad of them, and practice them to maximize their well-being and happiness. It involves the inquiry on the existing situations, form judgments and resolve the issues. In addition, ethics tells us how to live, to respond to issues, through the duties, rights, responsibilities, and obligations.

INTEGRITY

Integrity is defined as the unity of thought, word and deed (honesty) and open mindedness. It includes the capacity to communicate the factual information so that others can make well-informed decisions. It yields the person’s ‘peace of mind’, and hence adds strength and consistency in character, decisions, and actions. This paves way to one’s success. It is one of the self-direction virtues. It enthuse people not only to execute a job well but to achieve excellence in performance. It helps them to own the responsibility and earn self-respect and recognition by doing the job.

WORK ETHICS

Industry and Society are the two systems which interact with each other and are interdependent. Society requires industry/business system which provides manufacturing, distribution and consumption activities. It needs investment (capital input), labour (input), supply (raw materials), production (industries, business organizations), marketing and distribution (transport), and consumption (public, customer). A lot of transactions (and interactions) between these sub-systems involving people are needed for the welfare of the society. It is here, the work ethics plays an essential role. Work ethics is defined as a set of attitudes concerned with the value of work, which forms the motivational orientation. The ‘work ethics’ is aimed at ensuring the economy (get job, create wealth, earn salary), productivity (wealth, profit), safety (in workplace), health and hygiene (working conditions), privacy (raise family), security (permanence against contractual, pension, and retirement benefits), cultural and social development (leisure, hobby, and happiness), welfare (social work), environment (anti-pollution activities), and offer opportunities for all, according to their abilities, but without discrimination. To work (job), is not for monetary considerations only. Human beings believe that it is good to work. Work is good for the body and mind. It promotes self-respect, self-esteem, well for the family, and obligation to the society and allow the world to prosper. Work lays a moral and meaningful foundation for life. That is why, work ethics affirms that, the work per se is worthy, admirable and valuable at personal and social levels. It improves the quality of life and makes life purposeful, successful, and happy.

SERVICE LEARNING

Service learning refers to learning the service policies, procedures, norms, and conditions, other than ‘the technical trade practices’. The service learning includes the characteristics of the work, basic requirements, security of the job, and awareness of the procedures, while taking decisions and actions. It helps the individuals to interact ethically with colleagues, to effectively coordinate with other departments, to interact cordially with suppliers as well as the customers, and to maintain all these friendly interactions.

The service learning is a methodology falling under the category of experiential education. It is one of the forms of experiential learning and community service opportunities. It is distinguished in the following ways:

 (a). Connection to curriculum: Integrating the learning into a service project is a key to successful service learning. Academic ties should be clear and built upon existing disciplinary skills.

 (b). Learner’s voice: Beyond being actively engaged in the project, trainees have the opportunity to select, design, implement, and evaluate their service activity.

(c). Reflection: Structured opportunities are created to think, talk, and write about the service experience. The balance of reflection and action allows the trainee to be constantly aware of the impact of their work.

(d). Partners in the community: Partnership with community agencies are used to identify genuine needs, provide mentor ship, and contribute input such as labour and expertise towards completing the project.

VIRTUES

Virtues are positive and preferred values. Virtues are desirable attitudes or character traits, motives and emotions that enable us to be successful and to act in ways that develop our highest potential. They energize and enable us to pursue the ideals that we have adopted. Honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, fidelity, integrity, fairness, transparency, self-control, and prudence are all examples of virtues. Virtues are tendencies which include, solving problems through peaceful and constructive means and follow the path of the golden mean between the extremes of ‘excess and deficiency’. They are like habits, once acquired, they become characteristics of a person. Moreover, a person who has developed virtues will naturally act in ways consistent with moral principles. The virtuous person is the ethical person.

Civic Virtues

Civic virtues are the moral duties and rights, as a citizen of the village or the country or an integral part of the society and environment. An individual may exhibit civic virtues by voting, volunteering, and organizing welfare groups and meetings.

The duties are:

1. To pay taxes to the local government and state, in time.

2. To keep the surroundings clean and green.

3. Not to pollute the water, land, and air by following hygiene and proper garbage disposal. For example, not to burn wood, tyres, plastic materials, spit in the open, even not to smoke in the open, and not to cause nuisance to the public, are some of the civic (duties) virtues.

 4. To follow the road safety rules.

On the other hand, the rights are:

1. To vote the local or state government.

2. To contest in the elections to the local or state government.

3. To seek a public welfare facility such as a school, hospital or a community hall or transport or communication facility, for the residents.

4. To establish a green and safe environment, pollution free, corruption free, and to follow ethical principles. People are said to have the right to breathe in fresh air, by not allowing smoking in public.

1. Civic Knowledge

Citizens must understand what the Constitution says about how the government is working, and what the government is supposed to do and what not to do. We must understand the basis of our responsibilities as citizens, besides duties and rights. We must be able to recognize when the government or another citizen infringes upon our rights. It implies that the government requires the participation of the enlightened citizens, to serve and survive.

2.  Self-Restraint

For citizens to live in a free society with limited government each citizen must be able to control or restrain himself; otherwise, we would need a police state—that is, a dictatorial government to maintain safety and order. He advocated for morality and declared that happiness is achieved and sustained through virtues and morals. He advocated and demonstrated self-restraint several times in his private and public life, and naturally he was a great leader.

3.  Self-Assertion

Self-assertion means that citizens must be proud of their rights, and have the courage to stand up in public and defend their rights. Sometimes, a government may usurp the very rights that it was created to protect. In such cases, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish that government (e.g., voting rights, rights call back).

4.  Self-Reliance

Citizens who cannot provide for themselves will need a large government to take care of them. Once citizens become dependent on government for their basic needs, the people are no longer in a position to demand that government act within the confines of the Constitution. Self-reliant citizens are free citizens in the sense that they are not dependent on others for their basic needs. They do not need a large provider-government, which has the potential to become an oppressive government, to meet those needs.  Only a strong self-reliant citizenry will be able to enjoy fully the blessings of liberty. These civic virtues, applicable to local, state, and central governments, nourish freedom and civil liberty at the root of democracy.

RESPECT FOR OTHERS

This is a basic requirement for nurturing friendship, team work, and for the synergy it promotes and sustains. The principles enunciated in this regard are:

 1. Recognize and accept the existence of other persons as human beings, because they have a right to live, just as you have.

2. Respect others’ ideas (decisions), words, and labour (actions).  One need not accept or approve or award them, but shall listen to them first. One can correct or warn, if they commit mistakes. Some people may wait and watch as fun, if one falls, claiming that they know others’ mistakes before and know that they will fall!  Appreciate colleagues and subordinates on their positive actions.  Criticize constructively and encourage them. They are bound to improve their performance, by learning properly and by putting more efforts.

3. Show ‘goodwill’ on others. Love others. Allow others to grow. Basically, the goodwill reflects on the originator and multiplies itself on everybody.

HONESTY

Honesty is a virtue, and it is exhibited in two aspects namely,

(a) Truthfulness

(b) Trustworthiness.

Truthfulness is to face the responsibilities upon telling truth. One should keep one’s word or promise. By admitting one’s mistake committed (one needs courage to do that!), it is easy to fix them. Reliable engineering judgment, maintenance of truth, defending the truth, and communicating the truth, only when it does ‘good’ to others, are some of the reflections of truthfulness.  But trustworthiness is maintaining integrity and taking responsibility for personal performance.  People abide by law and live by mutual trust. They play the right way to win, according to the laws or rules (legally and morally). They build trust through reliability and authenticity. They admit their own mistakes and confront unethical actions in others and take tough and principled stand, even if unpopular.

Honesty is mirrored in many ways. The common reflections are:

(a) Beliefs (intellectual honesty).

(b) Communication (writing and speech).

(c) Decisions (ideas, discretion).

(d) Actions (means, timing, place, and the goals).

(e) Intended and unintended results achieved.

COURAGE

Courage is the tendency to accept and face risks and difficult tasks in rational ways.  Self-confidence is the basic requirement to nurture courage. Courage is classified into three types, based on the types of risks, namely (a) Physical courage, (b) Social courage, and (c) Intellectual courage. In physical courage, the thrust is on the adequacy of the physical strength, including the muscle power and armaments. People with high adrenaline, may be prepared to face challenges for the mere ‘thrill’ or driven by a decision to ‘excel’. The social courage involves the decisions and actions to change the order, based on the conviction for or against certain social behaviors. This requires leadership abilities, including empathy and sacrifice, to mobilize and motivate the followers, for the social cause. The intellectual courage is inculcated in people through acquired knowledge, experience, games, tactics, education, and training. In professional ethics, courage is applicable to the employers, employees, public, and the press.

COMMITMENT

Commitment means alignment to goals and adherence to ethical principles during the activities. First of all, one must believe in one’s action performed and the expected end results (confidence). It means one should have the conviction without an iota of doubt that one will succeed.  Holding sustained interest and firmness, in whatever ethical means one follows, with the fervent attitude and hope that one will achieve the goals, is commitment. It is the driving force to realize success. This is a basic requirement for any profession.

For example, a design engineer shall exhibit a sense of commitment, to make his product or project designed a beneficial contribution to the society. Only when the teacher is committed to his job, the students will succeed in life and contribute ‘good’ to the society. The commitment of top management will naturally lead to committed employees, whatever may be their position or emoluments. This is bound to add wealth to oneself, one’s employer, society, and the nation at large.

EMPATHY

Empathy is social radar. Sensing what others feel about, without their open talk, is the essence of empathy. Empathy begins with showing concern, and then obtaining and understanding the feelings of others, from others’ point of view. It is also defined as the ability to put one’s self into the psychological frame of reference or point of view of another, to know what the other person feels. It includes the imaginative projection into other’s feelings and understanding of other’s background such as parentage, physical and mental state, economic situation, and association. This is an essential ingredient for good human relations and transactions.

CHALLENGES IN THE WORK PLACE

The biggest workplace challenge is said to be the employee’s work ethics: showing up to work every day (interest in work and attendance), showing up to work on time (punctuality), taking pride in the quality of their work, commitment to the job, and getting along with others. This situation demands inculcation of good character in the workplace by employees.

Ethics and Character

Whilst psychology investigates the growth of different types of character, ethics considers the relative value of such types and the virtues which constitute them. The problem of the true moral ideal is a question of the relative value of different types of character. The effect on the person’s character of a particular form of conduct is a universally accepted as a test of its moral quality. Different systems of ethics emphasize different virtues in constituting the ideal moral character. With the utilitarian, who places the ethical end in the maximum happiness for the whole community, benevolence will form the primary element in the ideal character. For the stoic, fortitude and self-control are the chief excellences. In all conceptions of ideal character, firmness of will, fortitude, constancy in adhering to principle or in pursuit of a noble aim are held important. A man of character is frequently equivalent to being capable of adhering to a fixed purpose. Another essential is the virtue of justice, the recognition of the rights, duties, and claims of others. The richer the culture of the mind, the larger the intellectual horizon, the broader the sympathies, the more will the character approximate to the ideal of human perfection.

Education and Character

The aim of education is not only the cultivation of the intellect but also the formation of moral character. Increased intelligence or physical skill may as easily be employed to the detriment or benefit of the community, if not accompanied by improved will. It is the function of ethics to determine the ideals of human character. The theory and science of education are to study the processes by which that end may be attained.

SPIRITUALITY

Spirituality is a way of living that emphasizes the constant awareness and recognition of the spiritual dimension (mind and its development) of nature and people, with a dynamic balance between the material development and the spiritual development. This is said to be the great virtue of Indian philosophy and for Indians. Sometimes, spirituality includes the faith or belief in supernatural power/ God, regarding the worldly events. It functions as a fertilizer for the soil ‘character’ to blossom into values and morals.

Spirituality includes creativity, communication, recognition of the individual as human being (as opposed to a life-less machine), respect to others, acceptance (stop finding faults with colleagues and accept them the way they are), vision (looking beyond the obvious and not believing anyone blindly), and partnership (not being too authoritative, and always sharing responsibility with others, for better returns).

Spirituality is motivation as it encourages the colleagues to perform better. Remember, lack of motivation leads to isolation.  Spirituality is also energy: Be energetic and flexible to adapt to challenging and changing situations. Spirituality is flexibility as well. One should not be too dominating. Make space for everyone and learn to recognize and accept people the way they are. Variety is the order of the day. But one can influence their mind to think and act together. Spirituality is also fun. Working is okay, but you also need to have fun in office to keep yourself charged up. Tolerance and empathy are the reflections of spirituality. Blue and saffron colors are said to be associated with spirituality.

Spirituality in the Workplace

Building spirituality in the workplace: Spirituality is promoted in the workplace by adhering to the following activities:

1. Verbally respect the individuals as humans and recognize their values in all decisions and actions.

2. Get to know the people with whom you work and know what is important to them. Know their goals, desires, and dreams too.

3. State your personal ethics and your beliefs clearly.

 4. Support causes outside the business.

5. Encourage leaders to use value-based discretion in making decisions.

 6. Demonstrate your own self-knowledge and spirituality in all your actions.

7. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

CORPORATE EXCELLENCE

The spiritual traits to be developed for excellence in corporate activities are listed as follows: 1. Self-awareness — Realization of self-potential. A human has immense capability but it needs to be developed.

2. Alertness in observation and quickness in decision making, i.e., spontaneity which includes quick reflexes, no delay but also no hasty decisions.

 3. Being visionary and value based — this includes an attitude towards future of the organization and the society, with clear objectives.

 4. Holism — Whole system or comprehensive views and interconnected with different aspects. Holistic thinking, which means the welfare of the self, family, organization and the society including all other living beings and environment.

5. Compassion — Sympathy, empathy and concern for others. These are essential for not only building the team but also for its effective functioning.

 6. Respect for diversity — it means search for unity in diversity i.e., respect others and their views.

7. Moral Autonomy — it means action based on rational and moral judgment. One need not follow the crowd or majority i.e., band-wagon effect.

8. Creative thinking and constant reasoning — think if we can do something new and if we can improve further?

9. Ability to analyse and synthesize — Refrain from doing something only traditional.

10. Positive views of adversity — Make adversities one’s source of power—a typical Karma yogi’s outlook! Every threat is converted into opportunity.

11. Humility — the attitude to accept criticism (it requires courage!) and willing to correct. It includes modesty and acknowledging the work of colleagues.

12. Sense of vocation — Treat the duty as a service to society, besides your organization.