MY REFLECTION || ACHIEVEMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to my lecturer DR. ROZEYTA OMAR for teaching us this subject Appreciation of Ethics and Civilisations (UHMS1182). The knowledge that was share to us was so meaningful and helpful for us.
After taking this course it really shows me the importance of every civilization. This is my first time being in a diverse group of people (Malay, Chinese and Indian). Therefore, I can see not only does this course makes us understand each other but also makes us more closer and respect each and every civilization and their cultures. An ethic foundation in life is helpful to evaluate the consequences for man and the environment. Now I’m able to understand and refine the moral values advocated by Islam, which is practiced by the Islamic empire and the Malay empire in order to produce citizens who are open-minded, tolerant and ethical in the countries multi-racial of Malaysia. Able to recognize and apprehend the importance of ethics in daily living whether as a student or employee. Understand and appreciate their importance to play an active role in supporting social responsibility to support a healthy, just and safe society. Able to understand, apprehend and practice the values of social justice that are the core of a harmonious society. "Intelligence without the refinement of ethical insight has always been a dangerous force in world history". Very well said dear Nicholas. It helps us to socialize among each other with the activities that was held during the class and think creatively to come out with outcomes that would be helpful to all not individually.
As a student aspiring to be a software engineer, this course didn’t really seem crucial to me at first. When I first entered the class, I never knew that this subject would teach us about ethical concepts from different civilization perspectives and also contemporary issues. I thought that this subject would teach us the interaction of the ethical principles and technology to examine the ways in this which this interaction affects society, its citizens, and specially software engineering products, the construction of software tools that can be applied in systems development and use for the consideration of significant ethical aspects.
However, later I realized that I was slightly wrong, this course was mainly focusing on the ethical concepts from different civilization perspectives. It aims to identify the system, stages of development, advancement and nation cultural in strengthening social unity. In addition, discussions on contemporary issues such as economy, politic, social, culture and environment aspects from both ethical and civilization perspectives can elevate more morality and professionality among students.
Ethics are the set of moral principles that guide a person’s behaviour. By taking this course I have learnt so many important things which will impact on my entire life. These morals are formed by social norms, cultural practices, and religious influences. Ethics reflect beliefs about what is right, what is wrong, what is just, what is unjust, what is good, and what is bad in terms of human behaviours. They serve as a compass to direct how people should behave toward each other, understand and fulfil their obligations to society, and live their lives.
While ethical beliefs are held by individuals, they can also be reflected in the values, practices, and policies that shape the choices made by decision makers on behalf of their organizations. The phrases business ethics and corporate ethics are often used to describe the application of ethical values to business activities. Ethics applies to all aspects of conduct and is relevant to the actions of individuals, groups, and organizations. According to consultant Lynn W. Swaner, moral behaviour has four components:
- Moral sensitivity, which is “the ability to see an ethical dilemma, including how our actions will affect others.”
- Moral judgment, which is “the ability to reason correctly about what ‘ought’ to be done in a specific situation.”
- Moral motivation, which is “a personal commitment to moral action, accepting responsibility for the outcome.”
- Moral character, which is a “courageous persistence in spite of fatigue or temptations to take the easy way out.”
Personal values (trust, integrity, generous) provide an internal reference for what is good, beneficial, important, useful, beautiful, desirable, and constructive. Over time, the public expression of personal values has laid the foundations of law, custom, and tradition. Personal values in this way exist in relation to cultural values, either in agreement with or divergent from prevailing norms. The most important influence on our values comes from the families we grow up with. The family is responsible for teaching children what is right and wrong long before there are other influences. It is thus said that a child is a reflection of his or her parents.
National unity is seen as a dynamic process where people of all races and ethnicities with different cultures, religions, customs, languages and territories can live in peace and harmony.
This course help me to know ethical reflection which explores contemporary social issues from a variety of religious and cultures. Issues covered pertain to personal concerns such as trust, integrity, generous, as well as broader societal issues regarding our economic and political lives and the environment.
By taking this course I have gained the major religions of India, China, and Japan, including (but not limited to) Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. We can develop a cross-cultural understanding of religion by engaging in a comparative study of beliefs, practices, and sacred texts of these Asian traditions. This course investigates the presence of religious concepts and themes in a variety of literary forms, as well as the presence of literary themes and devices in religious works. It can be concluded that there are many similarities in the issues of ethics practiced by both Islam and Malay empires. Both feature the Quran and the Sunnah which are the source of their ethics. Although the Malay empire initially was influenced animism and Hindu-Buddhist, but it turns out that the principles of Islam is emphasized in the traditions of the ethical guidelines for the people. It is this characteristic that propels these two empires through the centuries of glory because it not only emphasizes the advancement of materialism, but also the development of non-material aspects as well as holistic development.
It is important to understand the role of individuals as members of society, organizations or citizens in becoming responsible for the well-being of their social environment. The social environment includes the neighborhood, campus, working social environment, and both national and international social environment levels. Social responsibility is a part of ethics because individuals are responsible for fulfilling their citizenship tasks and every individual thought and action must benefit the entire community in the country. Individuals as responsible citizens are always in the best interests of their community or their country. Globally, humans have a responsibility for the social welfare of the entire population.
By taking this course I came to know that Social responsibility has been the foundation of a strong civilization built by members of society with strong ethics. I have also learnt six major types of social responsibility which will make an impact on my entire life. These are:
- Social responsibility as folks
- Social responsibility towards professionals
- Social responsibility towards organization or corporate
- Social responsibility towards natural environment
This shows that good ethics and civilization are important in developing a country.
Yes, definitely this course affect me intellectually and emotionally as foreigner’s students in Malaysia. For most students, the challenges of managing international study were made easier by positive co-national relations. Students used their co-national peers as a source of emotional and in some cases, intellectual support in navigating problems relevant to their research. Every country has different rules, values and different perspectives. Our behaviour, act, speak is depends on our society, environment where and how we grew up. I came from Bangladesh so my country has also different rules and act. Bangladesh has a different society system that is why our behaviour and act sometimes it’s different from Malaysia. The simplest form, ethics is a system of moral principles. It effects how we make our decisions and lead our lives.
This course really helped me to Adjustment as a foreign student, when I start to familiarise myself with Malaysians new surroundings, finally being able to get acclimatised to the new environment, culture, norms, language and values.
In this course I have learnt more about Malaysians cultures, civilization, values and their society etc. Firstly, we all of us know that Malaysia is a multicultural country. Malaysians people are very friendly, but also reserved. The traditional Muslim greeting, Salaam, includes offering a handshake with your right hand and subsequently touching your heart while saying "Salaam alaykum". Hindus say "Namaste" or "Vanakam" when they meet and put their hands together in front of their chests as if in prayer, while Chinese generally shake hands.
Malaysia is a multi-religious society. Islam is the official religion of this country but other religious beliefs are practiced freely. There are more churches than there are mosques that I have been visited many times. The four main religions are Islam (about half of the population), Buddhism (about 20%), Hinduism (13%) and Christianity. Catholics form the largest number of Christians, the bulk being in East Malaysia (on Borneo). Malaysians respect each other’s religious beliefs and do not tolerate forms of religious extremism in any of the religions. It is in the Malaysian’s nature to be friends with someone before doing anything. They feel comfortable and trust the other party better if they know each other personally. In order to establish this kind of relationship both parties could go enjoy a good meal together for instance. The way to a Malaysian’s heart is probably through his stomach as most appreciate good food! Another good way is probably to enjoy a sport together like playing golf or a game of tennis or squash.
In conclusion, the whole process of learning helped to change my perspective on the importance of certain things that might look simple to something that would be a great help in the future. It also increases my curiosity regarding many more that lies within the history that I don’t realize or know yet. Adapting these principles to the political and social goals of environmental philosophy makes belief in myself imply an ethical imperative to safeguard and encourage diversity. After completing this course I ensure that I will follow an ethical imperative by cultivating my own personalities accordingly.