Moral Compass Essay

            It is a fact that thinking process of people is driven by various influences and factors, and people do behave and react on the basis of those influences. The life has to face so many issues and problems, and one of such situations can come up with ethical dilemmas to see that how one reacts to these ethical dilemmas. There can be various situations, where an individual has to make personal as well as professional decisions. Personal as well as professional decisions are crucial in a context of society, because such decisions can have positive or negative impacts on surroundings. For instance, if someone has developed his/her personal conduct on the basis of moral and ethical values, and when he/she has to make any personal decision, then he/she keeps those true values in mind such as being honest with others. The people develop their moral compass on the basis of their personal experiences as well as influences they get from their parents, society, culture etc. It means that various factors can play their part in developing moral compass of a person.

        It is important for a person to develop some sort of moral compass so that he/she knows what to do in different given situations. I have developed my moral compass with the influences from my parents, family as well as Chinese society. Since my early childhood, I have learnt to behave like a responsible person, and a person who don’t lie to others. Moreover, when I grew as a child and became an adult, I also learnt that I have to treat others with honesty and fairness, and I will never be unfair with anyone. It means that I will give rights to others, which they deserve, and I will never involve in any injustice kind of activities. My personal and professional moral compass has always been revolving around these principles, which I have just mentioned earlier. I have understood the importance of being morally and ethically right in every given situation, and never cheat anybody for one’s own benefits.

        I have always tried my best to be kind with others, and treat them fairly, if had any role as a leader. I have developed my own moral code of conduct, which allows me to take decisions with honesty and fairness. I never try to cheat others for any personal or professional benefits, and I never lie to others. It has been my core value that I always like to treat others with love and kindness, and I never discriminate with others on the basis of their color, race, religion or cultural background. For me, all human beings are equal, and they all deserve respect and kindness. It is important to mention here that I strongly believe that one should develop a moral compass, which not only protects rights of others, but also protects rights of one’s own personality as well. So, I always interact with people, and keep an eye on their moral conduct to make sure that I may not be cheated by anyone. If I don’t want to hurt anyone; I expect the same from others. I think we should all base our behavior and attitude on some true values and moral guidance.

        I believe that personal experiences in life are important to shape your moral compass principles and values. Being in a Chinese society, I have always learnt to be kind and fair with others. I have grown up in a society, where being kind and fair is the biggest moral value to have. My parents have also helped me to be fair, kind and a loving personality, and that’s why I have basis of my moral values and principles on these true values. I think that whatever you learn in your personal life, you carry those values and traditions in your professional life as well. It is a fact that if you have been influenced by values like kindness, fairness, and love, then these values reflects from every decision you make regardless it is personal or professional. I have been working as a compliance officer in a hedge fund company. Being a compliance officer, it was my responsibility to make sure that my company is following all relevant rules and regulations as well as ethical standards to conduct its business.

        I can talk about various situations, when I was asked by my higher management to compromise on compliance standards and rules. But I always stood on my moral compass of being fair and following a path based on truth and ethics, so I never accepted any such advice from my higher management. I had to face a lot of pressure in many situations, but I never stepped back from my moral values, which asked me to be fair and follow relevant rules and standards of industry to conduct hedge fund business. I always believed that I owe these moral values to our customers, as they trust use. So, I never wanted to break that trust by cheating with our customers, so that our company can obtain any unfair advantages. I must say that it was not easy to do so, but fact of the matter is that I always did so in every given circumstances. I was able to do so, because I have based my moral compass since my childhood, which was shaped by my Chinese society, my parents and family, who always encouraged me to be fair. So, I never hesitated in any given situation to follow my moral principles and values, which I have developed throughout my life.

        I have also been a fashion line entrepreneur, and I always based my business on fairness. I believe that if you stay true to your customers, and they trust you as a business, which will never cheat them; then you can get as many benefits as possible from a business. I always wonder that why people and businesses think that if they will make false promises, and if they will cheat customers, they will gain more financial and other kind of benefits. I don’t believe that such benefits can be useful for long term; rather these are short term benefits, which never last forever. But if you have based your business on fairness, and true values, where people are not cheated, and they are given true value for their money, you can get long term benefits as well as loyal customers. The success based on wrong values and by cheating others is not a success in my viewpoint.

        In any business, it is important to follow code of conduct and ethics, and make sure that your business is following a business behavior, which is based on truth as well as morality. You may get short term success, but one day you will have to pay for your wrong business behavior, where you have cheated with your values customers. The scandal case of Wells Fargo is a good one to understand this fact. The case has revealed that Wells Fargo cheated their clients by creating fraudulent checking as well as saving accounts. The issue was that when company did so, they did not take any consent from their clients and it as being done without their knowledge. Soon, the clients started to notice this fraud, when they noticed that they are receiving debit or credit cards, which they have not asked for, and they are also paying fees, which are unanticipated. Soon, they realize that something suspicious and wrong is going on. It was found that higher management of Wells Fargo asked their staff to do so by opening as many accounts as possible. But what happened in the end, Wells Fargo’s fraud was captured and identified, and they have to pay huge amount as a fine. The company also had to deal with many other criminal as well as civil suits.

        Looking at the case of Wells Fargo, it can be concluded that if they would not have done so, and if they would have continued their business based on fairness, then they might have identified other strategies to boost their business. The beauty of being fair and finding suitable strategies following moral & ethical values is that businesses can get long term benefits. In short term, Wells Fargo did get few benefits, but their anticipation was absolutely wrong that they can get any long term benefits. The fraudulent activities may take long to be identified, but they do come under the radar sooner or later. This is what I always told my higher management when I worked as a compliance officer in a hedge fund, and I always preach this to my fellows working as fashion line entrepreneur. I always tell others that to be kind, be fair, and never make decisions based on cheating or any other wrong moral intentions, and one day you will surely be successful in your life, and this success would be a long term success.