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Cultural Values

Cultural Values and Personal Ethics Paper
In modern society there has been a rise in business competition. This new wave of competition has called for increased quality in all aspects of business while still being able to offer a competitively priced product. This has resulted in businesses engaging in unethical behavior in order to increase profits. Though such practices have always happened, more stringent laws have caused such behavior to come to light. Recent scandals involving Fortune 500 corporations such as Enron, Citicorp, WorldComm, Tyco, and Martha Stewart have many consumers worried about the ethical standards of businesses today.
When looking at this epidemic, values described as "a belief, a mission, or a philosophy that is meaningful" (Ponser, 2005), need to be examined. Personal values, organizational values, and cultural values all play an important role when faced with ethical dilemmas in the business environment.
Personal Values
Of these values, the most important is that of personal values. The choices that guide a person through life are based on personal value or beliefs about what is important in life. Personal values may further be described as:
Whether we are consciously aware of them or not, every individual has a core set of personal values. Values can range from the commonplace, such as the belief of hard work and punctuality, to the more psychological, such as self-reliance, concerns for others and harmony of purpose (Ponser, 2005).

Personal values are directly related to organizational and cultural values. Personal values can be greatly affected by the culture by which a person is raised. Cultural values can also serve as a basis of personal values.
Cultural values have played a big part in the establishment of my personal values. Though most personal values, I have picked up form my culture were good, I have established personal values by watching and learning from the bad as well. Growing up on a Native American...