Things to consider in writing your personal philosophy and code of

ethics

August 29, 2012

How many of you have made New Year’s resolutions? How successful were you in keeping them?

How many of us have made promises to ourselves or others, if you help me this one last chance, or if—then, I’ll never do it again Bargaining with oneself or with others

“God, just help me out of this situation and I’ll reform myself, or I’ll change my behavior, or __________”

On making resolutions

Why do we fail to keep resolutions? Often we seek to change something about

ourselves that we don’t like, but often we are ill-prepared to make fundamental changes in behaviors or attitudes. These are often, deep seated behaviors or attitudes, that engrained in our personalities.

Making resolutions is about Change Change is difficult

On making resolutions

Professor Thomas C. Schelling 2005 Nobel prize in economics

Key concepts— Precommitment—strengthening resolve by

elimination of some options--- army that burns bridges so retreat is not possible; passing laws that prescribe certain actions in the future

A Nobel Winner Can Help You Keep Your Resolutions,

NY Times, 12/29/05

Applied to individuals, “strategic egonomics, consciously coping with one’s own behavior, especially one’s conscious behavior.”

Everyone suffers from a split personality One side of our personality wants to change

and the other side is reluctant or unwilling I want to lose weight vs I want a dessert I want to quit drinking vs I need a beer I want to be ethical vs Who cares? I want to do _________ vs I don’t want to

_______

Major reason is that the consequences of failing to change are often not “big enough” to serve as a deterrent”

Is the penal code “big enough” to serve as a deterrent— The threat of jail, hard time, or capital punishment

Consider: Mild precommittment—keeping temptations at arms length—delaying indulgence —no tobacco in house, no treats or snacks, or alcohol

Bright line rules—making it more difficult to cheat by simply banning certain activities or food. Sometimes it is easier to go “cold turkey”.

Increasing the odds of success

Bargaining or delaying gratification---I only get a candy bar if do such and such; I will reward myself with a new shirt or dress, or ____ if I meet this goal

Incentives must be strong enough to motivate person to change.

There must be within the same person, the master to have the fortitude to administer the punishment----

Increasing the odds (continued)

It is hard work to be ethical Does ethical behavior come naturally or is it

a learned behavior It is relatively easy to claim “I’m ethical” or

“I won’t do something like that” Beat my wife Cheat on my husband Cheat on my taxes Lie to a customer or client Never steal or

Most people want to be ethical but something gets

in the road

January 2011– I embarked on an experiment My experiment was with myself I wanted to experience “more discipline”—to

see if I could translate generally good discipline in my life to areas that needed more attention.

As an educator, if I can’t change myself, then how can I get others to change.

Motivation was to lose weight and get into shape…too many of my friends were experiencing diabetes, heart disease, joint replacement, etc

I have considerable discipline in terms of work habits, personal responsibility, career, etc but had virtually no discipline about eating and drinking---

Precommittment stage—I joined a gym, hired a personal trainer and set about to develop discipline in my lifestyle…more exercise, and less eating…and less tobacco

A personal experiment

At first the little voice was “I’m starving…one cookie won’t hurt, a DQ treat is loaded with calcium, or a cold beer would sure be nice right about now…

Learning to shut out or ignore the temptations

Bright line rules---I quit all soft drinks (sugar water)

Portion control---order a small instead of large size

Elimination of snacks---substitution of healthy snacks

Started buying new clothes as a reward for weight loss

Cutting the connection between food and emotions Food during celebrations and food for sadness

(and any other time that was convenient)

a personal journey

“Discipline is remembering what you want” A daily reminder---perhaps a trigger, or a

reminder to keep on track.

To date I’ve lost over 100 pounds---and I continue to work at developing discipline.

So what does this suggest about ethical behavior or how does it relate to your up coming assignment?

Being ethical is a journey, requiring constant vigilance

Paying attention to the little things Keeping away from situations where your

ethics can be compromised I try to avoid situations that will lead me to

over-eat, or trigger urges—buffet, all you can eat restaurants

Knowing yourself—what are the triggers Defining what you want, setting goals,

seeking professional or peer support

It is not enough to tell us what you’re going to do or not do, you need to tell what you’re going to do to prevent unethical behavior

I’m not go to beat my wife or I’m not going to lie, steal and cheat…..duh…

I am going to do …..such and such to avoid situations, or I am going to do this to ensure that I act in ethical ways

I am going to consider the consequences of actions

I am going to ask the following questions of my attitudes or behavior, etc

So what does this have to do with your assignment on personal code of

ethics?