Integrity Taking Responsibility for ones own Actions Integrity is a multi-side term where we try to bring together various

overlappin g qualities. Integrity can be viewed as integrating various parts into a harmo nious whole, intact and uncorrupted. Integrity can also be viewed as one who i s holding steadfast to their commitments. Another view of integrity is that of standing for something in a consistent and public manner. Another way of thin king about integrity calls for a moral life and their intellectual responsibilit y in seeking to understand the demands of such a life. [3] For me, personal integrity means being true to one s self. This calls for one to know what they value and then to live those values. Webster's dictionary defi nes integrity this way: "uncompromising adherence to a code of moral, artistic or other values; utter sincerity, honesty and candor, avoidance of deception, e xpediency, or shallowness of any kind" A group s integrity demands that individuals blend together to form a cohesive who le. Peter Whagenbach puts it this way: Integrity can be compared to a great smo othie. It consists of many healthy and tasteful virtues such as discernment, loy alty, courage, honesty, and humility all mixed together to form one outstanding quality. Not only is it rewarding in the end, but the act of striving for it is well worth the effort. [1] To have group integrity there must be personal integrity based around commonly h eld values. Since integrity comes from within, the use of force my produce com pliance but not integrity. This is why some groups function better than others . Groups with integrity believe and hold to a set of values and their internal self-discipline manifests itself as a well run group. They pull for each othe r; they demand much of themselves and each other. They can be counted on to pu t in that extra effort and as a consequence they are called upon to carry out th e more difficult, the more heroic missions, which further binds them together as an integral unit operating as one. Fundamental to integrity is honesty. First we must be honest with ourselves an d then with others. A person who cannot tell them self the truth about them se lf will be unable to tell the truth about them self to the group. Ego, pride, shame, fear, greed, puts honesty to the test. As the dictionary points out honesty is more than words: Honesty is the human quality of communicating and acting truthfully, in accordance with a sense of fa irness and sincerity. A statement can be strictly true and still be dishonest if the intention of the statement is to deceive its audience. Similarly, a falseho od can be spoken honestly if the speaker actually believes it to be true. Conver sely, dishonesty can be defined simply as behavior that is performed with intent to deceive i.e. lying. Misunderstandings can be worked out with Integrity. As long as both parties invo lved act in good faith. Good faith is the mental and moral state of honesty. It all comes down to mutual trust in each other, if there is no trust in the oth er parties integrity the misunderstanding may go unsolved. Conviction as to the truth or falsehood of a situation in this case would not be resolved. Integrity calls for accountability. Accountability is defined as "A is accountab le to B when A is obliged to inform B about A s (past or future) actions and decis ions, to justify them, and to suffer punishment in the case of eventual miscondu ct" [5]. Accountability is taking responsibility for the inconsistencies in ones actions, compared to ones values. It is each individuals responsibility to not only hold themselves accountable to ones own values, but also to have other peop le to hold them accountable. In the army ones Non Commissioned Officers play thi

s role. This is why Non Commissioned Officers do corrective training; it is hold ing one responsible for the army s standards. The army s 7 core values hold me accou ntable. For example having personal courage to do what is right no matter what t he outcome may be. If I compromise the value of personal courage I also compromi se my integrity. The same principal works on all of the other army values as wel l, Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, and Honor. Integrity calls for reliability. Reliability that one can be counted on to follo w ones own values. You can be counted on to constantly adhere to ones core value s and therefore are reliable. Reliability means you are constant and trustworthy with the actions you take. In general, reliability (systemic def.) is the abilit y of a person or system to perform and maintain its functions in routine circums tances, as well as hostile or unexpected circumstances. [4] Integrity calls for openness. When one has integrity one does not need to hide t he reason for ones actions. Because they will be constant with ones core values. Transparency and openness will come naturally when there is nothing to hide fro m others. Integrity calls for understanding. If one has Integrity and applies constantly t he use of ones core values, there is no reason there should not be an understand ing of where you stand on any issue. When one understands ones own core values a nd the core values of others it leads clear communication and understanding betw een those involved. Comprehension of ones core values using reason and judgment will lead to an agreement and a reconciliation of differences of two parties in any misunderstanding. Integrity calls for diligence. Diligence keeps ones core values constant and the refore protects ones Integrity. If one is not diligent then you may stray from o nes own core values and therefore compromise ones integrity. Diligence is a zeal ous and careful examination of one s actions and work. For example being diligent in budgeting one s time to reflect one s core values, such as family. Integrity calls for discipline. Discipline is having self-control of ones behavi or. Discipline to follow ones core values is important because straying from one s core values compromises your and my integrity. In the army it is important to have the ability to follow instructions well, which is having the will power and discipline to follow orders. The army has 7 core values which it expects its me mber to have the discipline to follow. A breakdown in discipline in following th ese 7 core values compromises the Army s integrity. Self-discipline is to some ext ent a substitute for motivation, when one uses reason to determine a best course of action that opposes one's desires. This is also known as faking it, or havin g false motivation. Integrity calls for action driven by a meaningful purpose. The purpose of the ar my is to protect the United States of America, be it by military action, or simp le intimidation. When the army acts in accordance with the 7 army values when pr otecting our nation, it sets up standards and values that the army will follow n o matter what the situation may be. If the army fails to follow its own core val ues under tough situations the army compromises its integrity. Having integrity is a very important and once you have broken your trust with so me one, you will damage your integrity with them. Trust and Integrity are intert wined and are interdependent; they affect one another. Ethics and Integrity are highly prized and show up in American companies Core Va lue statements 76% of the time, according to the American Management Association Survey. [2] However, nearly a third of respondents (32%) said that their company s public state ments sometimes conflicted with internal messages and realities. And 36% said th at their organization would always do what s legal, but not always what would be p

erceived as ethical. Others indicated that their company s values were adhered to only some of the time, including ethics/integrity (23%), accountability (37%) an d respect for others (37%).[2] Moving words into actions is a challenge, especially when not everyone buys into the message of those words. It would appear that for to many organizations in tegrity is an unfulfilled promise. The military certainly recognizes integrity as a core value. The United States Air Force put it this way: "Our Core Values, Integrity first, Service before se lf and Excellence in all we do, set the common standard for conduct across the A ir Force. These values inspire the trust which provides the unbreakable bond tha t unifies the force. We must practice them ourselves and expect no less from tho se with whom we serve." [6] While Integrity is only one part of the 7 Army values, it could be said that all 7 of the Army values are but a defining of integrity. Integrity, as listed in t he 7 values, has an important role in the values because if one does not have in tegrity they can not be trusted. In the mid- to late 1990s, the Army officially adopted what have come to be know n as "The 7 Army Core Values." The Army began to teach these values as basic war rior traits. [7] The seven Army Core Values are as follows: Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit and other Soldiers. Bearing true faith and allegiance is a matter of believing in a nd devoting yourself to something or someone. A loyal Soldier is one who support s the leadership and stands up for fellow Soldiers. By wearing the uniform of th e U.S. Army you are expressing your loyalty. And by doing your share, you show y our loyalty to your unit. Fulfill your obligations. Doing your duty means more than carrying out your assi gned tasks. Duty means being able to accomplish tasks as part of a team. The wor k of the U.S. Army is a complex combination of missions, tasks and responsibilit ies all in constant motion. Our work entails building one assignment onto anothe r. You fulfill your obligations as a part of your unit every time you resist the temptation to take shortcuts that might undermine the integrity of the final prod uct. Treat people as they should be treated. In the Soldier s Code, we pledge to treat o thers with dignity and respect while expecting others to do the same. Respect is what allows us to appreciate the best in other people. Respect is trusting that all people have done their jobs and fulfilled their duty. And self-respect is a vital ingredient with the Army value of respect, which results from knowing you have put forth your best effort. The Army is one team and each of us has somethi ng to contribute. Put the welfare of the Nation, the Army and your subordinates before your own. S elfless service is larger than just one person. In serving your country, you are doing your duty loyally without thought of recognition or gain. The basic build ing block of selfless service is the commitment of each team member to go a litt le further, endure a little longer, and look a little closer to see how he or sh e can add to the effort. Live up to Army values. The Nation s highest military award is The Medal of Honor. This award goes to Soldiers who make honor a matter of daily living Soldiers wh o develop the habit of being honorable, and solidify that habit with every value choice they make. Honor is a matter of carrying out, acting, and living the val

ues of respect, duty, loyalty, selfless service, integrity and personal courage in everything you do. Do what s right, legally and morally. Integrity is a quality you develop by adheri ng to moral principles. It requires that you do and say nothing that deceives ot hers. As your integrity grows, so does the trust others place in you. The more c hoices you make based on integrity, the more this highly prized value will affec t your relationships with family and friends, and, finally, the fundamental acce ptance of yourself. Face fear, danger or adversity (physical or moral). Personal courage has long be en associated with our Army. With physical courage, it is a matter of enduring p hysical duress and at times risking personal safety. Facing moral fear or advers ity may be a long, slow process of continuing forward on the right path, especia lly if taking those actions is not popular with others. You can build your perso nal courage by daily standing up for and acting upon the things that you know ar e honorable. [8] In Conclusion one should always take responsibility for ones own actions, having integrity means that you are honest and take full responsibility for your actio ns. As a responsible person, especially in critical environment such as we face in t he Army, I will endower to better communicate by separating facts from my assump tions. When choosing one bunker over another I should have said I observed the entry way backup with people waiting to get in so I move on to an alternate bun ker. Instead I stated my reasoning as fact. That is I assumed the backup could b e caused by the bunker being full and rather than wait around to see if that was correct, I moved to an alternate location. This substituting what I saw with my thought process has caused some consternation, as this paper attest to. As a person of integrity I do take responsibility for my actions and will endower to be more clear and factual in the future. References [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrity http://www.amanet.org/press/amanews/corporate_values.htm http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/integrity/ http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/reliability http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/accountability http://www.usafa.af.mil/core-value/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army http://www.goarmy.com/life/living_the_army_values.jsp