This document outlines Joseph Ortiz's personal code of ethics. It discusses that he believes in making difficult ethical decisions based on justice and fairness. His core ethical beliefs include treating people with respect, practicing what you preach, making decisions that benefit society, and treating employees fairly. His closest relationships are with his wife and two daughters, and he aims to apply his ethical standards consistently in those relationships. He learned his ethics primarily from his mother's teachings and from observing ethical examples and failures over his life experiences. His written code of ethics states that he will honor his family and friends, treat others kindly, make decisions in others' best interests, follow all policies and procedures, and ensure others also follow the same standards without wavering for

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Colorado Technical University
Personal Code of Ethics
Edward Arcuri
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
PHIL310
Ethics
By
Joseph Ortiz
Greenwood Village, Colorado
May 2010

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I believe I am the type of person who can make difficult ethical decisions that may not always be
the most popular ones, but they are usually the correct ones. I believe this stems from my belief in
justice. I feel that things should be done, rules should be set and followed, and people should act in an
equitable manner towards one another. I know that others see me as someone who is strong in my
beliefs and someone who doesn’t compromise them. I also believe in the golden rule, where we should
treat others in a way that we would like to be treated and I feel that I exhibit this sort of behavior
regularly.
My Ethical Beliefs
1. People should be treated with respect and kindness unless they have given you a valid
reason not to.
2. People and companies should practice what they preach.
3. Companies should make decisions that benefit society.
4. Companies should treat their employees in a fair manner.
5. It is my job to inform my supervisors of anyone who is breaking policies or acting in a
manner detrimental to the company.
6. I should provide my friends and family with the love and loyalty they provide me.
My Relationships
My closest relationships are to my wife and two daughters. I feel like my ethical beliefs translate
well to my relationships with them. I try to treat my two children fairly and not give one preference over
the other. I treat them all with respect and kindness as much as possible. I try to hold myself to the same
standards that I hold them to. And I love and cherish them unequivocally as I feel they do me. Of course,
things are not perfect and our relationships are always a work in progress. However, I do feel that if I
focus on my ethical beliefs when faced with difficult situations involving them, I will be more likely to
make better decisions.
History of Beliefs
I can say there are two places where I learned most of what I believe ethically. The first is my
mom. She did such a good job of instilling good values in me and she did so in a way where I always
knew why my actions were so important. The second factor in how I conduct myself ethically is just my
experiences and the experiences of others. As we develop from children to adults, we get to observe
instances, whether it be in school, on the news, on a sports team, or in a book, we are constantly faced

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with decisions and see others faced with those same and/or different ones. We then gauge are
responses to those of others as well as compare the results.
Code of Ethics
Based on everything that I have written, my personal code of ethics is this:
1. I will love and honor my family and friends.
2. I will be kind to others and treat them as I would like to be treated.
3. I will make decisions in the best interest of those I care about.
4. I will follow the policies and procedures of all institutions that I am involved with.
5. I will do everything in my ability to make sure that others follow those same policies and
procedures.
6. This code will not waver based on any potential or perceived personal gain.