The Moral Compass Essay is a critically reflective personal essay defining and articulating personal values and explaining how they guide your character, conscience, and conduct in business, society, and professional life.
Learning Objective:
The purpose of the Moral Compass Essay is to articulate a thoughtfully reasoned system of values, principles, and practices as a human values framework for conscientious business and professional leadership. This assignment demonstrates your progress towards achieving the learning objectives italicized in blue below:
- Foster your personal moral intelligence and well-being.
- Think and communicate effectively about values and ethics.
- Foster human values as the moral foundation of leadership and value creation.
- Develop and justify an action plan to manage an ethical challenge.
- Lead purposeful conversations about values and ethics.
Guidelines:
- Be sure to write the Moral Compass Essay in your own words using the first person narrative voice.
- The Moral Compass Essay is a formal essay between 1250 and 2500 words (five to eight pages, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12-point-font).
- If you use sources, credit and cite them in APA format. The page count does not include a page for references.
Your final deliverable should be a thoughtful, carefully written essay that addresses each of the questions in each section of the outline below.
Personal Integrity Statement
Questions to help you as you write your personal integrity statement:
What is your understanding of a moral compass as a foundation for personal integrity and social conscience?
From which Wisdom Tradition(s) do you draw in constructing your moral compass?
What do you value and question about these Wisdom Traditions?
Who in your life influenced your moral development?
Moral Compass Elements
Be sure to address EACH of the following elements in your essay.
- MORAL VISION: What is your vision of a good life? What values anchor your moral vision? What symbol, song, image, or story motivates and inspires your moral vision? How does your Wisdom Tradition influence your moral vision?
- MORAL CODE: What are the rules or principles of your moral code? How does your moral code align with your moral vision? How does your Wisdom Tradition influence your moral code?
- MORAL FITNESS: What practices constitute your moral fitness regimen? How do you use these practices to cultivate your personal character and integrity? How do these practices align with and reinforce your moral vision and code? How does your Wisdom Tradition influence your moral fitness practices?
- DEFINING MOMENT: What moral challenge that has been a key defining moment for you? How has this challenge tested, clarified, and defined your character and values? If you could, how would you rewrite the script for this event in your life? Why? How does your Wisdom Tradition influence your moral understanding of this challenge?
Your Future as a Conscientious Leader
Drawing from the wisdom of your moral compass, how do you envision the role of human values as the foundation of your future as a conscientious business or professional leader? What is your understanding of human values as the moral foundation of leadership and value creation?
Reflection
What is your key take-away from this assignment?
Grading Rubric
Carefully read the rubric below to see how your essay will be graded.