Integrity

"Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” - C.S. Lewis.  It is the core of who you are.  Sometimes doing the right thing may bring about criticism from other people, including those whose perspective matters to you. However, you need to remember that no one else lives your life, walks in your shoes or has the same reactions to your situations — be it colleagues, friends or family members. At the end of the day, the only person who must deal with your conscience is you alone.  Like No One is Watching Ask yourself this question- Do you walk your talk- whether or not you’re being watched?

Integrity:

noun

noun: integrity

1. 1.
   the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.
   "he is known to be a man of integrity"

synonyms:

honesty, probity, rectitude, honor, good character, principle(s), ethics, morals, righteousness, morality, virtue, decency, fairness, scrupulousness, sincerity, truthfulness, trustworthiness "I never doubted his integrity"

Integrity is one of the fundamental values that employers seek in the employees that they hire. It is the hallmark of a person who demonstrates sound moral and ethical principles at work. A person who has integrity lives his or her values in relationships with coworkers, customers, and stakeholders 

If I could teach only one value to live by, it would be this: Success will come and go, but integrity is forever. Integrity means doing the right thing at all times and in all circumstances, whether or not anyone is watching. It takes having the courage to do the right thing, no matter what the consequences will be. Building a reputation of integrity takes years, but it takes only a second to lose, so never allow yourself to ever do anything that would damage your integrity.- Amy Rees Anderson in Forbes article: Success Will Come and Go, But Integrity Is Forever

The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour. – Japanese Proverb

So, how can you work on developing and preserving your own integrity? (Preserving Integrity)

Step 1: Define Your Values

You can't live by values if you don't know what you truly believe in. So, start by defining your core values. These are the values that, no matter what the consequence, you're not going to compromise on.

Step 2: Analyze Every Choice You Make

Often, people cut corners or make bad choices when they think no one is watching. Having integrity means that, no matter what, you make the right choice – especially when no one is watching!

You'll usually know what's right and wrong, although sometimes you might need some quiet time to figure it out. If you're not sure what the right choice is, ask yourself these two questions:

1. "If my choice was printed on the front page of the newspaper for everyone to see, would I feel OK about it?"
2. "If I make this choice, will I feel OK with myself afterwards?"

Remember, honesty and integrity aren't values that you should live by when it's convenient; they're values that you should live by all the time. This includes the big choices and the little choices – the choices everyone sees, and the choices that no one sees.

Step 3: Encourage Integrity

People with integrity often have the same characteristics: they're humble, they have a strong sense of self, they have high self-esteem, and they're self-confident. These characteristics are important, because, sometimes, you'll be under intense pressure from others to make the wrong choice.

Work on building and improving these characteristics within yourself, so that you have the strength and courage to do the right thing when the time comes. Build your self-confidence and self-esteem, and work on developing character. Spend time getting to know yourself, and what you believe in. Develop friendships and work relationships with others who demonstrate integrity, and who will support your decisions.

 

Discussion Questions: Is being thought of as someone with integrity important to you? Why, or why not? How would you feel if someone accused you of not having integrity?  . Have you ever taken a stand that was unpopular and had to pay the price for that? What did you do? What was the outcome? How did you feel afterwards? What did you learn from the experience? 

 

Link to very short Integrity video

Teaching Children to Have Integrity- a Parent Perspective
Watch this short segment from the Steve Harvey show.  It shows Integrity in action here in our own backyard.

The impact your Integrity has on others...is powerful

Academic Integrity: Classroom Activities

• Ask students to write down their initial reactions to this question: When you think of academic integrity, what are the first three (or four) things that come to mind? Use students' responses to highlight that academic integrity is more than a list of "don'ts" (or "dos and don'ts"), but is an important university value.

• Stage a debate on an issue such as "academic integrity only matters if you get caught." Divide students into three teams: pro, con, and evaluators. The evaluator team's role is to assess the soundness of the arguments.

• Discuss academic integrity in relation to society's focus on "getting ahead at all costs."

• Present this scenario: your roommate turned in a paper downloaded from a free essay site. Ask your students, how would you describe this person's character? How would you describe this person's capabilities? What kind of employee do you think this person will be when she/he enters the professional workplace?

• Discuss these quotations: "Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud." --Sophocles, "Every time I've done something that doesn't feel right, it's ended up not being right." --Mario Cuomo, "To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice." --Confucius
  "My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was less competition there." --Indira Gandhi
  

• Assign students to find and read three newspaper articles about ethical lapses in the workplace. Tell them to be prepared to start class discussion.

• Give students this scenario: Your just took a test worth 20% of your grade. After taking the test, you overheard three students bragging about cheating and how well they had done on the test. Write an anonymous letter telling each of them what you think.

 

• Ask students why they believe students cheat. Write down the students' list of reasons on the blackboard or overhead, then have students prioritize the reasons. Ask them if any reasons are acceptable to excuse cheating.

• Ask students to write down the meaning of plagiarism in their own words, look up a published definition, and compare the two.

Integrity Story:

A poor woodcutter accidentally dropped his axe into the river. He was very upset, as he had no money to buy another axe. Just then a fairy appeared in the river holding out a golden axe to him. "I found this axe in the river. Is this yours?"

"That's not mine", replied the woodcutter.

The fairy then brought out a silver axe. The woodcutter disowned this one too. Finally, the fairy held out a wooden axe.

Smiling with happiness, the woodcutter said, "That's mine. Thank you very much."

The fairy felt very happy seeing his honesty and said, "Such honesty deserves a reward." She gave the poor man all the three axes and disappeared.

 

lesson on integrity