Studying Management for my undergraduate has been interesting and challenging. The more I advance in the course, the more I am met with challenges especially those of an ethical character. My personal norms have been put to test very many times with regards to how to deal with the challenges.
A few months ago we had our end of year exams. I had really worked hard and got myself adequately prepared for the exams. I spent hours per day in the library doing both intensive and extensive research and fully participated in group discussions. As expected I was very confident about myself on the day of the exam. However, my teammates were not as confident as I was and they decide to cheat in the exam. They came up with several ways that they would employ just to get that extra mark; some of them went as low as writing several points on their handkerchiefs! How inventive! I have to admit that there were moments during the exam when I got tempted to listen as they whispered answers to each other and passed small notes to each other. However, I remained composed, decided to believe in myself and answered the questions diligently and to my surprise I emerged top in the class.
At times we are assigned group projects and each individual has to engage in a lot of research. I often find myself the leader of the group and, therefore, having responsibilities like setting meeting times, communicating the same to every member and doing most of the research. Some members fail to cooperate especially when required to adhere to meeting times, some slack in doing their parts of the research while some do not even bother participating. One time when I was not the leader of the team, I found myself very tempted to commit these vices. The task was simply about managing sexual violence in work places and we had to look for cases, something we were not used to. I was lazy in researching. Sometimes I thought; why not pay back for the times others did not cooperate when I was the leader? On the other hand, I remembered that it is my life and I needed to learn to be responsible. After all, when I get employed in the future I will need to be responsible for my own actions and do my work diligently. Some of these vices in college pick up and if they are not stopped, they become part and parcel of our identity, which is dangerous.
Dealing with such unethical situations I have learnt that one’s greatest downfall comes due to irresponsibility and lack of confidence. College students often have “group mentality” where they think “If everyone is doing it, why shouldn’t I?” This shows how irresponsible of their lives they are. It is paramount to know that everything that happens is your own doing therefore, think and behave accordingly. Lack of self-confidence is what leads to cheating in exams even though they have studied. It is important to create a wall of confidence by believing in yourself, and affirming yourself in cases of doubt that you can actually do it. To top it all, hard work pays. “If you head towards your goal with courage and determination, all the powers of the universe will come to your aid”-Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Works Cited
David, Preston Lawrence. 365 Steps to Self-Confidence. Constable & Robinson, 2013.
