Week 4 Blog Entry

We finished The Seven Layers of Integrity this week. Pick a few ideas from the first four weeks of our class which stand out for you and tell us about them. The impact can be intellectual, or perhaps emotional, or maybe even behavioral. Often, ideas with the biggest impact have changed you in some way either great or small. Tell the readers of your blog about them. Perhaps the class has had no effect on you at all. If so, tell us why not.

         A few things that really stood out after reading The Seven Layers of Integrity were formal contracts affecting relationships and industry standards. The authors, Jones and Ferrill stated "in essence, the formal contract has a strong impact on the relationship between the parties" (2006, p. 17). As I mentioned before, I had written up a contract with a friend of a friend. She broke the agreement and the relationship has changed negatively. Without the use of the formal contract things would have been more casual and friendly. At the time I was fine with not making friends. I wanted my money returned more than a new acquaintance. 

     
        The authors mention industry standards and the reader learns, when you examine ethical business behaviors, you should know about the environment before you decide what is ethical and what is not. I once worked in the restaurant industry. When I first started, I quickly learned the restaurant standards are a little different from other industries. The relationship between co-worker and co-worker were more flirtatious compared to retail or banking. It wasn't weird for workers and managers to say inappropriate jokes everyday. 

       
         The bond we shared over how we felt about certain guests, were only okay because we worked in a restaurant. I couldn't imagine any office job being like the restaurant I worked in. The standards in a corporate job most likely wouldn't allow it. Human resources would be called everyday. It's just some things are accepted when you work in a restaurant. Lots of stress, lots of people, lots of personalities, lots of drama. 95 percent of the people I worked with have integrity but I don't know if it would work in any other job. It's a different industry. 

       Before reading The Seven Layers of Integrity, I really didn't think much about industry standards. In undergrad, they taught you one way about business. The professional way was the right way. But now I see it just depends on the industry. 

Jones, G. P., & Ferrill, J. (2006). The seven layers of integrity®. Bloomington, Ind.: Authorhouse.