Voicing your Values

On a daily basis we come across many situations in which it is important that we voice our values, especially in a business environment, as there are many people or sources from which we may find discomfort due to their actions, such as the Organization, or the other employees, or the employer and many others. What are values? Important and lasting beliefs or ideals shared by the members of a culture about what is good or bad and desirable or undesirable. Values have major influence on a person's behavior and attitude and serve as broad guidelines in all situations. Some common business values are fairness, innovation and community involvement. (webfinanceinc) In most cases our values are greatly influenced by the situation around us, be it the cultural background or the various laws, or the interest of the community. During a certain period in time the use of all drugs were still legal, and during this period the use of drugs was part of life. Drugs and music was considered to go hand in hand, and many musicians used to promote the use of drugs by using it on stage. My greatest interest is in music and the main reason I stand strongly against drugs is due to the fact that many of the great musicians are lost to us due to drug overdose and even now many suffer from this addiction and go to rehabilitation centers to get this habits destroyed.

In a situation where one of my co workers is under the influence of drugs at the workplace is not only harmful to him, it is also greatly harmful for the company and the other employees, and me. The ethical responsibility of an employee Employees It is the responsibility of each employee: to take reasonable care of the health and safety of others in the workplace to cooperate with employers in their efforts to comply with OHS requirements such as following procedures and participating in hazard identification and reporting to use equipment properly in order to provide for the health and safety of people in the workplace. (WorkcoverNSW, 2006) It is my responsibility to be concerned for the health and safety of Pat hence as a course of action I would first talk to him and make him aware, if he is not, of the various problems of using cocaine even

though while using the drug he may feel in control, the after effects of the drug are deadly, and that it is not worth risking his life for a few hours of false happiness. (Goldberg, 2013) It is not easy to convince someone to quit using drugs, because they are addicted to it and have become dependent on it for daily activity. I will talk to several other employees and request their support and I would contact his family and try to bring a few of his few friends and organize an intervention and with the help of everyone try and get him to enroll in a rehabilitation program. I will also make Bob, Pats manager aware of the various actions that I am taking to help pat. I will also try and convince him to join in with this venture. Making it an impossible situation for Pat to ignore. Only if all of my efforts fail will I try and get someone from the outside involved, such as a counselor, or someone who knows a lot more of the situation Pats in. If Pat still refuses help, then I will be forced to inform the authorities forcing Pat to enter a rehabilitation program. Though this action will be out of the purview of the organization or my work I will do all of these things. When we see someone doing a mistake we must realize that it is only natural, because if we count the number of times people have been kind to us and forgiven us for our mistakes it will surprise us. When Pat is surrounded by the people who care for him, and to show that there many people who do, it will be a success on its own as he will be forced to choose the love and support of all these people or back to using drugs. I will do all I can to help Pat, because having a drug addiction is like having a tumor growing in you just waiting to explode. Hence, what he requires more from me if help, than someone to crucify him, which will drive him more into using drugs, which will be a result which is opposite to what I set out to do. And through doing this it would not only make a difference in Pats life, but also all the people who get involved, spreading awareness and a sense of joy being able to help a fellow human being, and to some saving the life of a loved one. The problem occurs, if Pat might not receive this action in the right manner. If he feels that I conspired against him and informed everyone of his drug use which he was trying hide from everyone, and ganged up on him, might b cause for him to have a personal vendetta against me. The other course of action would have to be more to the point and I would have to go my manager and inform him of the situation, because it is not only that because of the use of cocaine Pat is putting his life in danger, under the influence of the drug he has an unfair advantage over the others. If the action of Bob, Pats manager, is encouraging towards Pats drug use, then this will encourage more and more people to turn to drug use and this will create a workplace culture of using drugs and taking high risks and doing everything to make money. But due to this, the company, that is an investment bank, will have a change of image. Since the banks main activity is investing, they are using their main source as the publics money, and if the public thinks that the people in the bank are taking unnecessary risks and are under the influence of drugs while dealing with their money, the main source for the bank may decide that it is too risky to invest in the bank and take their money elsewhere. Due to the actions of Pat and Bob the company will suffer greatly and it will cause a devastating effect to everyone who works there. If I am to raise the affair and pursue this further then the company can avoid a dangerous situation later. But when I raise this affair to my manager I will have to mention what happened with Bob, who is in a

managerial position and his word will hold more value in front of the administrative level managers. Hence there is a possibility that he might turn against me and since he has more power and influence in the company, he can even get me fired. And if I dont take any action in such a situation, and ignore or just go along with it, I would be equally guilty as I had knowledge of him taking drugs. And the guilt would be unbearable. I am willing to undergo the consequences for doing something right than to live with the guilt of not doing anything. As per my values, I would do whatever possible to stop the use of drugs, because it has formed as a destructive force in my world. The use of drugs has destroyed many lives and families all around the world. It is not the problem of one person or family or community, or nation, it is an international problem. There are laws which ban the use of most of these drugs, but unfortunately no one is successful in doing any serious damage in this matter. I am sure that all of us know at least one person who has been under the influence of drugs before. But sometimes telling them that they must quit is not easy, and most of the time the person we talk to does not want to hear what we say, and may even get irritated, and in extreme cases it might cost our friendship. But we must voice our values, in all scenarios, whether it is regarding drugs or discrimination or any other situations. In business, the main decisions must be taken after taking into consideration all the ethical concerns, which can be a taxing affair. In the same manner, on a personal perspective, we must also determine what our ethical concerns are and have a clear set of values, of the things that matter to us and stand up for what we believe are important to us, even if it means standing against the majority. There are various factors which can govern our values, it could be the culture we come from or the community we live in or the way we were brought up. It can also be the time we live in, as in various time periods some matters were not considered ethically wrong, and over a period of time these have become an ethical issue. The courses of action I have chosen is one where I can help more people, and the main purpose I choose to voice my values is for that matter and not to destroy someone, or their career. For me it is very important that I do not bring any harm to anyone, be it intentional or unintentional. It is always a choice to do some things, and the best way to make that is by seeing that at the end of the day you can be sure of yourself and your actions, and that there is no guilt that comes from harming someone. It is important to me to stand up for what I believe in, and I will continue to do so, even when it is hard, because, I see it not only as a responsibility to myself but also the business or organization I work in.

Works Cited
Goldberg, J. (2013, june 23). WebMD Medical reference. Retrieved november 19, 2013, from WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/cocaine-use-and-its-effects

webfinanceinc. (n.d.). Web Finance Inc. Retrieved November 20, 2013, from http://www.businessdictionary.com/: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/values.html WorkcoverNSW. (2006). workcover nsw. Retrieved november 19, 2013, from workcover.nsw: http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/formspublications/publications/Documents/drugs_alcohol_workpla ce_guide_1359.pdf