As a member of the Department, integrity and a solid work ethic should be exercised at all times. Integrity, including honesty, truthfulness and consistency through all of my words. And actions, builds the foundation for community trust. It is also imperative that as a member of the Department | respect the fact that I am held to a higher standard of moral and ethical conduct both on and off the job. It is important for citizens to associate the Department with these traits because it helps insure to them that their rights are protected and they are being treated fairly, reserving biases and favoritism. By upholding a solid work ethic I assure my own accountability as a public servant who holds the ability to affect many lives so significantly.
By affirming accountability in my coworkers and myself the Department is perceived as having high integrity which transfers into pride for our job therefore making employees more committed and satisfied in the job we perform. Employees who take pride in their workplace increase teamwork, improving on the job productivity and success thus providing better customer service to the public. The citizens of the county also benefit from good work ethics by side stepping the almost $400 billion annual cost of unethical workplace acts. For example the responsibility of employees at the Department allows for unauthorized long distance phone calls, fake sick days and the
misappropriation of privileged information. If such unethical behavior was to be found and released, the public’s view of the Department and those we dispatch for would be tarnished and result in lost faith. This action in turn could lead to people not looking to us in a time of need and perhaps even the loss of life.
The values I have learned from my family, religion, and school do not provide specific guidelines for the complex decisions that must be made in a moments time as a call taker for the Department. Years of experience in this particular field may be required to know what is acceptable and that’s where my personal feelings come into play. Knowledge of workplace integrity will help me to recognize ethical issues and handle the decision process for resolving them. By noticing integrity and ethics issues at an early time in my career at the Department I will be able to better assist myself and my coworkers with conflicts of personal values and the operating procedures that guide our workplace.