Running head: CREATING AN ETHICAL F.R.A.M.E.

Creating an Ethical F.R.A.M.E.

Leah Sadoian
Azusa Pacific University

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Our core values that make up an ethical framework are natural, they are our instincts that
help us navigate situations in life. For myself, my core values have developed through my
culture, upbringing, and recent identity develop in college and graduate school. Five core values
come to mind as the most prominent things I use to make decisions, find meaning and navigate
life. Faith, Respect, Achievement, Meaning, and End-Goal, or F.R.A.M.E, These five values,
which developed over time, are each important to me and aid in defining how I live my life and
interact with others, both personally and in my professional career.
Faith is the first core value in F.R.A.M.E. I define faith as my religious belief in
Christianity, which includes my belief in the existence of God, redeeming love of Jesus Christ,
and an absolute truth and mission that helps me model my life in a certain way. The Christian
worldview has been a part of my life since I was little, I was raised in a Christian household and
interacted with it growing up in my family. An inherited core value, I came to understand my
faith as my own throughout high school and college. It has changed and molded as I came to
understand this as my own core value, and not one that was given to me by my parents. I practice
this value in the most basic and most complex ways. Simple things such as prayer, church
attendance, and reading scripture help me connect my faith with my everyday life. Wilkens
(2011) writes about the Christian worldview through the lens of narrative ethics. The story of
Gods creative and redeeming workcannot be reduced to a set of propositions or abstract rules
without distorting the Christian messageThis theology-ethics calls us to a new life that is
defined by the story (153). Therefore, this core value also influences and permeates all other
areas of my life. It drives lifestyle choices, my theological beliefs, and how I treat other people. I
cannot think of an area in my life where my faith does not influence how I think, act, or behave.

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The first core value in my F.R.A.M.E., it provides a context from which many of my other values
come out of.
Respect is the next core value in my F.R.A.M.E. I understand respect as admiration or
adherence to someone or something. My cultural upbringing taught me that respect is very
important. My mother comes from an Asian background, where respect is treated with upmost
importance. Respect towards elders, society, institutions, wherever you look it is understood that
respecting is not a choice, but a necessity. Naturally, respect became very important to me as
well. It was a learned value, that if wasnt practiced, led to repercussions. However, now I
realize respect is something that should be practiced for itself, not just to avoid consequences. I
practice respect in little things, such as having respect for rules. One of my biggest pet peeves is
people who cut in lines, or who completely disregard rules that are in place. However, this value
is challenged often. What happens when I dont believe someone/something should be
respected? I often have to discern whether someone/something is good through reasoning, and if
not, remove my respect from the situation. Kants categorical imperative leads us to these
questions about reason. Reason certainly has a place in ethical system [but]maybe we need
some standard to provide a balance to reasonIt may be that human reason alone cannot build
an ethical system adequate to the demand of life (Wilkens, 2011, 127-128). I am still learning
how to balance my own reason with my core value of respect, but ultimately respect has always
been and will continue to be something I value and practice daily.
Achievement is the next core value in my F.R.A.M.E. Specifically, this value relates to
individual achievement, which I see as following through and finishing things to the best of my
ability. It is often practiced individually, defined through responsibility and getting things done.
Responsibility is one of my top five strengths, and achievement stems out of that. Achievement

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is important to me because it is what drives me, fosters my motivation and ultimately

productivity in my work and personal life. My core value of achievement has been developed
over time, throughout high school I had a variety of responsibilities and commitments: athletics,
student leadership, academics, etc. Achievement was also instilled through different mentors
throughout my life, like my dad, who is one of the hardest working people I know. He always
finishes what he begins, and watching that while growing up showed me the benefits of valuing
achievement in your life. Achievement has definitely been challenged recently, as more and more
of my work tends to include team aspects. I enjoy working with others, but it has always been
difficult, because I often believe things would be easier to complete if I just got the work done
myself. Wilkens (2011) egoism chapter discussed this. Christianity and ethical egoism do have
something in common: both believe that moral responsibility requires that we do what secures
and enhances our lives (58). I want to do what will secure and enhance my life, but there is a
fine line between that and being selfish, which Wilkens also touched on briefly. Ultimately,
achievement still has its place in my core values and ethical framework, and I see it at work in
many areas of my life.
Meaning is the fourth core value in my F.R.A.M.E. I understand meaning as a personal
investment in what I do. I need to see meaning in the work I am doing, otherwise my motivation
and productivity decrease, ultimately dropping my core value of achievement with it. I practice
this core value through choosing to think deeply about what I enjoy doing what I am passionate
about. This internal processing helps me understand whether I find meaning in what I am doing,
or if I do not, how to change that. Meaning is one of my core values that has been recently
developed. Since graduating college, I find myself thinking more deeply about my career path
and what I want to do. It is no longer just about securing a job or a paycheck, but about finding a

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career and vocation I see purpose and find meaning in. From that comes motivation to do the
work in front of me, because I see a purpose in it. My mentors in life have always affirmed these
deep thought processes, and I know I do not want to be in a job where I do not find meaning in it.
Meaning is my core value after faith, because so much of who I am and what I practice comes
out of whether I find meaning in something.
The final core values in my F.R.A.M.E. is end goals. This is purpose/vision for whatever
I am currently doing. Similar to meaning, identifying an end-goal helps me find motivation to
finish what I am doing and reach achievement. However, end-goals provide a way to map-out
what I am doing. I practice this everyday through scheduling and planning and identifying
whatever my end-goal for the day, week, or month is. My top strength is Strategic, which aligns
nicely with my core value of end goals. Being strategic allows me to see the path and the steps
necessary to reach my end goal. Seeing the finish line gives me even more motivation to finish
what Ive started. This is another core value Ive developed recently, as I have come to
understanding meaning as something I value, end-goals have come somewhat naturally as well.
Especially in the busy life of a graduate student, seeing the end-goal has provided me motivation
to continue pushing through and working hard on even the most difficult of days.
My F.R.A.M.E also influences my work as a Student Affairs Professional. Although my
core values all interact with one another, they can be grouped into two main categories: abstract
ideas, and concrete practices. Abstract ideas include faith and respect, as they refer to values that
I practice within other tasks. Both of these will influence how I treat others in my profession:
faculty, staff, students, etc. Respect helps me work within an institution and their rules or
guidelines (especially helpful if I choose an institution with similar values to mine). Ultimately,
these values encourage me to do good for others, and seeing how my faith interacts with my

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work helps affirm that this is the field God has led me to. The concrete practices include the
values of achievement, meaning, and end-goals. These all drive how I do my work and why I do
my work. They help me be a hard-worker, responsible, who understands her purpose and vision
for her job. Not only is this great for the workplace, but also becomes a strong model for students
as well. These values all work together to help me serve students and my future institution better,
while also doing my job to the best of my ability.
In conclusion, my ethical F.R.A.M.E helps me make understand and live my life
through what I value most. My faith influences all aspects of how I live, providing a valuable
worldview and discernment for different situations. Respect teaches me how to treat others and
see the importance of rules and guidelines. Achievement drives my work, motivating me to finish
what I started as best as I can. Meaning gives context to what I do, seeing a greater purpose to
the work that is in front of me. And finally, end-goals show me what I am truly working towards,
whether that is at the end of a week, year, or my entire life. This F.R.A.M.E provides context
for how to live my life through my future career and beyond, through what I value most.

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References
Wilkens, S. (2011). Beyond bumper sticker ethics: An introduction to the theories of right and
wrong. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.