Definition: Actively using one’s judgment in decision-making and other daily actions, in order to ensure that the end result honors the values that you hold for yourself. 

 

Criteria: 

• Have a clear understanding of what your values are and what they mean to you.

• Exercise those values constantly in all things you do, both personally and professionally. 

• Hold yourself accountable when you have not properly abided by the standards that you have set for yourself as a person.

• Remain strong and self-aware, especially when interacting with another person that may tempt you to act unethically. 

• Use the process of thought in order to work through the circumstances that garner making an ethical decision and be certain of your reasoning.

 

Artifact:

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Evaluation of Artifact: 

         

        This is a screen shot of a text between my advisor and myself this summer for my job at TXU Energy. My job was to collect marketing research for the company, by collecting energy invoices from local businesses each day. Every weekend, I was required to report my stats from the previous week, which was usually no problem at all. I was required to collect a minimum of at least fifteen bills per week, which ended up being very difficult to achieve during this particular week for some reason. I had put off telling my advisor how many bills I had collected for the majority of the weekend. I was afraid to tell him that I had only collected a mere seven invoices. I wasn’t worried because I feared he would be upset with me necessarily, but rather I feared disappointing the company that put a lot of trust in me to do the job. 

         Mostly, I didn’t want TXU to regret having hired me as their only intern for the summer. Part of me pondered what the harm would be in telling him that I had collected fifteen invoices, given that he couldn’t physically see the bills. Then, I could just catch up the next week and all would be well. I pondered this option for about 30 seconds, before I quickly pushed the idea out of my thoughts and decided to be completely honest in my response. While I felt sheepish in reporting my low collection number, I knew I was doing the right thing not only for me, but for the company as well. It takes strength to achieve great things, but it also takes a tremendous amount of strength to accept underachievement.

         I had a realization shortly after having this experience, which was that I had a tendency to think of my job as being small and unimportant, when in reality I played quite an active role. It’s easy during times of desperation to feel like what you do, won’t really have much of an effect. However, the reality is that my actions, no matter how small, will always affect me directly and will always taint the image I have of myself. I care about how others view me and that my peers feel that they can trust me as well. I also care deeply that I can trust myself, first and foremost, so that I always have that, no matter where I am in life. The standard that I hold myself to, is not the result of bad experiences I've had, that scared me into striving for better. Rather, the standard I have for myself, that I'll always carry with me through life, is an ever-growing combination of experiences that I willed myself to learn from.