Values & Vision

Phillip Anderson

MGMT 403

Values and Career Vision Essay

The value that is currently first on my list is financial success. For me financial success is not about wealth or accumulating things for myself, as much as it is a feeling that I am able to afford to do the things I enjoy, save for the future, and not feel like I am sacrificing other things to get this done. I think this relates very much to the fact that I don’t currently have any income, and am maintaining a house and car payment along with my other expenses. Debt has always made very uncomfortable, and I will be happy when I am able to pay down my debts and start building investments for retirement.

The second value that I identified is family. I believe family is an integral part of leading a fulfilled life. I have also been spending more time with my paternal grandparents recently, and it has struck me how much I have learned about our family’s history and my grandparents as people over just a few months. This has given me a better sense of where our family traditions come from, and I believe that your immediate family are the people you can rely on most in life when you need support.

A trait that value very highly is creativity. I think this human characteristic is one of the main reasons that I find the world interesting. Creativity allows people to imagine perspectives outside of themselves, and to come up with new ideas that change the world. Imagination also allows experienced people to anticipate all kinds of situations before they happen, and I believe it gives people a greater ability so see things from multiple view points. The ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes gives you a better idea of what they think or value in different situations. The fourth trait that I place a high value on is integrity. To me this means treating everyone you deal with respectfully and honestly. Watching how someone treats those who are dependents on them, which in the workplace means subordinates is one of the best ways to determine what kind of person they really are. I would also extend this to how people would behave if there were no legal, societal, or religious ramifications. This is not the easiest thing to really judge, because people won’t come out and tell you what their real intentions or desires are most of the time, but I think you can judge this by watching people’s actions and listening to the things they say that reveal deeper attitudes towards people and responsibilities.

My last important value is open-mindedness. Although this is quite similar to creativity, I see some distinctions between the two. This extends beyond the ability to just imagine someone else’s perspective, but being able to accept and in some cases embrace ideas that do not line up with your own. I enjoy being around people who are not afraid of the unknown, and who actively try to expose themselves to opinions that differ from their own. I think this makes many people uncomfortable, and it takes a strong person with a strong mind to be able to listen to opposing views with an open mind before making a judgment. I think most people’s impulse is to defend their own beliefs or agrue when presented with an opposing viewpoint, and once this starts they are no longer really listening to what the other party is saying. I think these are great characteristics to have both in your personal and professional life, and I try to spend time with people who exhibit them and cultivate them in myself.

On the Philosophical Orientation Questionnaire I scored 25 points in the pragmatic category, 19 in the intellectual category, and 16 on the human value category. This put me in the 94th percentile in terms of pragmatic valuation, and the 12th percentile in terms of human valuation in my decisions. I don’t think this is really very reflective of how I weigh things, because I think it pretty drastically over-emphasizes my real tendency to place more weight on what I see as practical matters. I was exactly average in how I emphasize intellectual interests into my decisions. What this means in a practical sense is that I probably don’t experience much conflict between the different value types when making decisions, and that I will decide between options based mostly on pragmatic factors.

I think the values I have chosen correspond directly to the people I chose in my board of directors exercise, as would be expected. I think most people seek council from those around them that they trust, and who either have traits that we admire, or are trying to develop in ourselves. I can identify people who I would say are exceptionally open-minded and creative in my board, as well as individuals who have attained what I define as financial success and integrity. Additionally, 3 of the individuals are part of my immediate family, while a couple of the others are friends who are almost as close as family members. I think these people are the best to bounce ideas off of and get input from, because I trust their character and know they will always try to be honest, even if the answer they give is not what I am hoping to hear. The most dramatic personal growth takes place when you are given honest feedback about what you don’t do well, along with constructive criticism on how you can become more competent in these areas. This theme also came up in my career interview project, when we were discussing ways that past supervisors had helped my subject to grow towards his career objectives. He stated that honest criticism was one of the most helpful things he received from the people around him. I think these core values are represented in the friends I chose, the people I decide to trust, and the jobs that I have taken when I have had some choice in the matter. To take this a step further, I take people less seriously when they don’t exhibit any of these characteristics, and am much more likely to dismiss their opinions as irrelevant.

One of the primary trends that I noticed in looking at the items on my “Catch your Dreams” exercise is travel. Many of the 27 items I listed pertain in some way to travelling or adventure. Although I was aware this is something I enjoy, I don’t spend much time thinking about it, primarily because I can’t afford to do much of it at this point in my life. Another surprising theme for me was physical fitness. All of my work experiences have been in desk jobs, and I am not in nearly as good of shape physically as I once was. While I realize that some of this is inevitable as a person ages, I want