ANAYSHA BOOM DECEMBER 6,2013 MLVRCS 7-2 INTEGRITY I think t hat integrity y is super import ant because integrity is like showing your respect t o another person and it s like helping and or alerting another person when this situation happens right away like in a heartbeat that ‘s why you show integrity because one day something like t hat happens t o you t hat person or another person would show t heir integrity t o you. Having integrity is something that defines a person. If a person says what he/ she says they will do, this is integrity. If a person lives up to commitments, that is ntegrity.
The importance of integrity in public life is that society operates more smoothly. For example, if there is no integrity, you can not writ e checks at stores due to the high risk oft hem bouncing, which translates o lost revenue or higher cost s of doing business f or st ores. Without integrity, it is more difficult to borrow money for a home or car. Without integrity, the government has to step in and pass very expensive laws such as t he Sarbanes-Oxley act t hat cost s businesses billions of dollars per year Just t o show t hat t hey are acting appropriately.
Without integrity, lawyers make more money and everything cost s more for us because those fees get rolled into the goods and services we use every day. In the book “The Speed of Trust ” by Stephen M. R. Covey, not t o be confused wit h Stephen Covey, it makes a very good case f or t his. It basically says t hat lack of integrity and t rust in others slows life down and makes it more expensive. He also t ells a story of how Warren Buffet did a very large business deal based on a handshake and it only took a few months t o close t he deal because t hey had a great deal oft rust bet ween t hem.
This t rust saved many months and millions of dollars in fees of all kinds f or Mr. Buffet and t he business partner. A man named Gabe used t o work as a clerk for Party planners . One day the phone rang and Gabe answered. The caller asked t o speak to Gordon Perez, who happened to De In t ne room at nen Mr. Perez Instructed Gane to t ell tne caller tnat he was out , Gabe handed him the phone and said, You tell him you’re out l’ Gordon Perez was absolutely furious, but Gabe said t o him, ‘Look, if I can lie for you, I can lie t o you. And I never will. That moment transformed Gabe ‘s career at Perez – he ecame the owners most trust ed employee. Integrity, for Gabe , was so deeply ingrained that he disobeyed his boss without hesitation. Yes, he might have been fired, but I am guessing t hat Gabe wouldn’t have want ed t o continue working t here anyway. In t his case, however, his integrity was instrumental o his ascent at Party planners. Because we t end to be blind t o our own short comings, I challenge you t o ask a friend – one with integrity – to t ell you honestly whet her you are more like Gabe or his boss.
The answer is critical t o your future success. How import ant is integrity in your workplace? What can you do t o make a difference? Does your employer encourage and model integrity? In what ways? If you are a boss or supervisor, how well do you model integrity? It is no surprise t hat employees with integrity shine. They do not undermine t heir fellow workers, t hey work Just as hard whet her t hey are being watched or not , t hey can always be count ed on to do t heir best , and t hey will be honest enough t o admit it if t hey have made mistakes. They won’t pass t he blame, but t hey will share t he credit .
They are an inspiration to others, creating a positive and upbeat work environment . If you were in charge of hiring and net working, wouldn’t you dig beneath the surf ace of a potential employees resume t o learn of their integrity? Of course you would. Therefore, if you are t hat employee, your services will be covet ed, bot h when you are hired and f or years there after. Student s who violate t he Code of Integrity undermine the atmosphere oft rust t hat best enables learning and excellence. They cheat themselves, their fellow students, and their faculty by breaking t he bond t hat is at t he heart of honest y and integrity.
Below is some general advice t hat might help you et t er understand and avoid dishonest y, or t he appearance of it , in and out of the classroom. Student s are responsible for knowing the Code of Integrity. Ignorance of t he code is not a valid reason f or committing an act of academic dishonesty. Student s are responsible for knowing the integrity policies of their instructors. Talk o your instructors, read your syllabus and learn what t hey are. Student s are expected to act with integrity and avoid dishonesty, or the appearance of it , inside and out side the classroom.
All members of are expected t o report violations of t he Code of Integrity. If you are suspect ed of violating the Code. Nancy’s boss has Just let her know that her client ‘s order is about to leave the companys warenouse. As sne PICKS up tne pnone to call tnem, ne tells ner tneres a problem. “The shipment was damaged by someone on our warehouse team,” he says. “There are some dings, but t his shouldn’t affect t he product ‘s performance. Ift hey complain, we’ll blame it on the trucking company that delivered it t o us. ” Nancy pauses, feeling uncomfortable. “But didn’t our warehouse crew damage t he product ? Her boss shrugs. “Yeah, but t he customer doesn’t know t hat . I’ll Just file a claim now, saying it was damaged on delivery. Don’t worry, t he client won’t even not ice t he damage. ” Nancy’s boss walks out and she sit s at her desk, unsure what t o do. She knows it ‘s dishonest t o blame t he damage on t he t rucking company. It ‘s also dishonest t o deceive her client , and give t hem a less than perfect product . Many of us have t o make decisions t hat define who we are and what we believe in. Most oft en, t he choices we f ace may seem insignificant .
But t his doesnt mean t hat they’re not important to us: even t he smallest act ion can have an impact on our elf -respect , our integrity, and ultimately, our reputation. In a world where headlines are of ten dominated by people who make t he wrong choices, people who make t he right ones can seem to be rare. However, it f eels good to live and work with integrity, and when we become known f or t his highly valued t rait , our lives and our careers can flourish. Integrity sometimes sounds st if f and kind of esoteric yet there are aspect s t o it t hat are so critical to your success that it bears pointing out – repeatedly.
Integrity can make or break your career which makes it well wort h paying attention t o. In t he world of work t he primary thing we trade off of daily is t rust . If you are unable or unwilling to trust the other person to do what t hey say t hey will do, t hen how can you work wit h t hem? This is very basic in work and in life. If you make a commitment and t hen don’t pull through wit h it and simply shrug it off , you are shrugging off your ability to advance in your career. You are also shrugging offt he opinions of others. You may think you have some truly valid reasons f or missing it , you may even think it ‘s not too important .
That might be t rue to some extent owever all it takes is missing the small stuff enough times t o permanently impact your brand. Trust given to someone is t he basic building block f or t he foundation of all of our relationships. We have to know we can trust someone to be reliable, to have our best interest in mind and to behave honestly. It doesn’t really mat t er if it ‘s a big or small goof up. You Just dent ed your reputation. It is bet t er to be upfront if you know a situation is going to not “work out ” and be honest in dealing wit h t he goof up prior to t he impact , t his act of integrity can usually minimize t he dent .
In our relationships at work, we are all allowed a margin of error f or when circumstances impact our commitments. We all understand t hat t hing happen in ways we could never predict . When we have too many uncontrolled situations and therefore too many missed commitments our credibility eventually diminishes to nothing. Those working around you expect you t o cover your bases and manage your envlronment to ensure wnat you say you wlll ao get s cone It . doesn’t mat ter IT It Is showing up on time to a meeting or delivering a report on a certain day.
The expect t ion is t hat you are intelligent and insightful enough t o make commitments based on your assessment of your environment and likely impact s. Simply saying t hat you got caught in traffic during rush hour will only work a couple of times. Everyone will t hen expect you t o adjust your departure time t o allow f or t hose conditions or come up wit hot her opt ions. If you cant do something t hat simple, how can you handle bigger t hings? Trust is t he kind oft hing t hat usually is given t o you instantly when you begin working. It can take only one act to completely destroy t rust .
Rebuilding t rust after t is gone takes many consistent acts to gain back slowly. Sometimes t rust is never fully restored. Granted, t he magnitude oft he act will often dictate if it completely destroys it or if it chips away at t he foundation. Even if your missed commitment has little impact , when you do t hat sort oft hing enough times you will destroy t he t rust you were given. I think t he phrase “death by a thousand small cut s” describes t his. The thinking t hen moves t o not wanting t o increase your responsibilities because you can’t handle t he small stuff . You have to take your assignment seriously.
If you can’t increase your responsibilities you won’t grow your career. It ‘s t hat simple. You may not even realize t hat you have t his issue as I think many people have behaviors t hat don’t serve t hem well and are simply unaware. Your lack of personal insight is your second issue. You have t o spend time thinking about whet her t his might be you. You may have people making a Joke about it which is a cloaked way of telling you about your problem. Even ift hey haven’t , you need to ask f or feedback if you have any remote suspicions t hat t his could be you. This is a game changer f or our career.
If your career seems t o be going no where you might want t o think about your integrity. St art wit h understanding if you are as good as your word. If you have had any history of missing deadlines, showing up lat e or saying t hings in t he excitement oft he moment (and lat er not following up), t hen you need t o consider changing your behavior. When you are as good as or bet t er than your word, you will be sought out and great t hings will happen. Integrity can be summed up as doing what you say you will do. It is honest y, account ability and commitment t o doing what is right even hen no one is looking.
What can you do as a instructor to encourage your students to do honest work? There are many reasons cited by students when they are asked why they cheated, plagiarized or collaborated dishonestly. Some of the most common reasons can be instructive regarding what faculty members and teaching assistants can do to discourage dishonest behavior and encourage integrity in their courses. Educate your students: students must be educated on what is and is not acceptable, and that there can be substantial penalties for not following the University of Waterloo policy.
Do not assume that your students know how to correctly acknowledge sources, or that they will come to you with questions. You may also want to direct your students to there Integrity undergraduate or graduate tutorial in your course syllabus to Turtner tnelr Knowledge on Integrlty. IT your students are navlng Issues wltn wrltlng direct them Provide clear instructions on the course syllabus and in introductory lectures on what is expected and required of your students. For assignments, clearly indicate if group collaboration is acceptable (and the level of collaboration permitted) r if students must do all work independently.
On the course syllabus, refer to Student discipline. Indicate both verbally and in writing that there can be significant penalties for failing to meet the University of Waterloo A1 standards. You may also choose to have your students complete an with each assignment, on which students “sign off on having done the work themselves, and/or listing classmates with whom they may have consulted. Provide information on how t o credit academic sources, and/ or ref er t o a source f or t hat information. The library has excellent information on Modern Language
Association and American Psychological Association (formatting, etc. You may also f ind it helpful t o require an annotated bibliography, where student s are required t o provide a brief abstract f or every source document . This ensures t hat student s have document ed t heir research and used source material appropriately. Ensure all of your teaching materials properly acknowledge all sources (including course not es, chart s, data, tables, fgures, maps, PowerPoint present at ions, etc. ) so t hat you lead by example. Remember, your behavior will set t he standard f or your student s.
Report all cases of suspect ed misconduct promptly to t he Associate Dean of your Faculty. It is critical t hat all cases of misconduct (even minor ones) are report ed promptly t o improve our effort s in educating student s and t o identify t hose who re-of f end. Take t he time t o talk t o your student s about t he importance of A1 and t he need f or t hem to learn and reflect on t he information in your course. Developing relationships wit h your student s helps t o build an atmosphere oft rust and respect . Help t hem understand t he importance of A1 and integrity in general.
