Protected
values, my way of understanding this is that these are decisions which I
make that will never change. I will never have to think twice about making
these types of decisions because these are part of my personal values. These
values are imbedded into who I am and I can never waiver from holding these
protected values to the highest regard. I know that I want to be a successful
person but I also have limits to what I will do to attain these goals.
This is a good subject to go over
because it seems that many times once someone gets a taste of success they can
become addicted to this feeling; avoiding the thought of selling your soul to
become richer is one which must be talked about in business. We have to have boundaries
which will not be jeopardized for the sake of some extra earnings.
With that being said I have given
great thought to what my own protected values are as I have become an adult.
Some of these values I picked up recently and I think that as a humans, the
older and more mature we get the more important our values can become. One of
my values which I have gained and would like to have the strength to stand for
in my future; would be to have any products which I ever produce to be American
made.
Far too often we forget the
importance of having pride for our country and supporting our country. I do see
the importance in participating in the global economy but I also see that our
nation is weakening because more and more citizens no longer have a sense of
pride for their country. If I was to ever become a manufacturer I would make it
a point to make sure that I tried my hardest to have American made products. Many
people see the negative in this because it might not be as cost effective and
it might hurt some of my company’s profit; but there is also a lot that a
company can gain from having American made products.
If we think about which country has
one of the largest populations with at least a high school diploma, I think
that the USA would definitely be amongst the top countries. It is weird to me
that we purchase so many items from countries which only have good educational
systems in place for the wealthy. Another reason to support USA products would
be the fact that many buyers do have pride in their country and like to rally
behind a quality product even if it cost a bit more. It would bring me great
pleasure if I knew that I was contributing to our economy and keeping more jobs
in the USA to make us a stronger country.
Another protected value of mine
which I know I will not waiver from is being able to not take advantage of the
less fortunate. We always hear about companies taking advantage of everyday
people which do not have much to offer. How many times do we see these payday
loan companies making a fortune off of people who are down to their last dime
and their last choice? I think that it is insane to charge someone over twenty percent
in interest for a loan that will be paid off within two weeks. This makes me
sad because you see people and families who cannot get out of a financial hole
because they are reduced to these types of options. If I could provide a
service that would charge half of the interest that these other companies are
charging, I think that I could make a huge difference by sticking to my values.
Companies in today’s day and age are
ruthless and business men can also follow suit. I have seen too many examples
where people will make deals with others knowing that a bad business move will
not only hurt this person but it will hurt those that should be left out of their
loved ones mistakes. Many times we see families use their children’s credit to
apply for loans and many times these creditors know exactly what is going on.
One value which I would never compromise is brining family members into a
problem which might go south. As business person I might miss out on a lot of
money but at least I would know that my conscious
would be clear and I never let my strayed from my values.
I think that many times we all need
to stop and remember why we got into certain businesses and who we were when we
were just getting started. In life, even outside of business there are certain
values which do not even require a decision to be made because these are part
of our values. Dan Gilbert talks a lot about the decision making process which
we have, he talks about the irrational decisions which we might make. These irrational
decisions are due to many of the values which we have, rather we make good
decisions or bad decisions our values and our protected values play a large
part in the decisions that we make.
Reference-
Hooch, S.,
& Keunruther, H. (2001). Values and Decisions (1 st ed., Vol. 1, p. 45).
Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons.
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