A634.6.3.RB - What are Virtues?

The virtue test concluded that I am on the right path but I could certainly pay more attention to being more clean and orderly. The three virtues that I am going to reflect on are cleanliness, moderation, and sincerity.

I chose cleanliness because I was marked down on it in the virtue test. This is an area that covers almost every aspect of life. Dirty habits can be formed in your professional or personal life, along with personal hygiene and living conditions. I am by no means a dirty person, nor do I think I have dirty habits, but this is simply a matter of opinion. Men typically get a bad rap for being sloppy and careless about their hygiene, but I do not feel that this accurate, especially in my case. I could, however, take better care of my physical body a bit more and eat cleaner. I think confidence and the development of one’s life are also lumped into this virtue (McKay, 2008). Being more conscience about what we eat, how we live to benefit our mind and body, and acting confidently are all ways to improve in this area.

                                               

Moderation is one virtue that I struggle with. I tend to take the all or nothing approach with several activities in my life, resulting in myself overdoing something to the detriment of myself or others. I push myself very hard in sports and physical activities, I encourage my children to be the best at what they do, and I live each day as if it was my last. I am a man of extremes, and this sometimes hurts relationships with others because of my attitude when something is not done as hard as I would like. Taking it easy at times and understanding that not everything has to be done in an extreme manner is one of my goals. My wife is a perfect partner for this as she is at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of living in extremes.

Sincerity is also something I struggle with from time to time. I feel like I have been through a lot in my life, physically and emotionally and have a hard time commiserating with others when they experience something similar, or showing sincerity and empathy toward them. I also sometimes speak very honestly where someone could be hurt by my words. Being mindful of the impact words and actions could have on others is the key in helping me through this. Sincerity should be something that is afforded others without little effort as the feelings, emotions, and viewpoints of others change so much we must learn to adapt.

I am by no means perfect, as highlighted above, but I think I am aware of what I need to work on from a virtue standpoint and how to incorporate them into my daily life.

References:

McKay, B. (2008). The virtuous life: cleanliness. The Art of Manliness. Retrieved from http://www.artofmanliness.com/2008/05/04/the-virtuous-life-cleanliness/

A634.5.4.RB - Is Marketing Evil?

Marketing, especially in today’s business world, is a very cutthroat industry. Marketing firms specialize in tempting customers and convincing them that they need something, which is rarely ever the case. Because of this, I feel that marketers do what they need to for an organization, which is selling their product or service and making it a necessity in the lives of the consumers. As stated by Sayed and Ghazaly, some people believe that they make decisions in an organizational environment that are less ethical than their own values and beliefs. So, could it be that marketers go against what they believe in to satisfy their organizations and the consumers? It appears so.

                                       

However, marketers do not have to be untruthful about the products and services they promote. Honesty and integrity are preached in most business environments and this should include the content and manner in which marketing is used to make an organization successful. Being truthful is something that is respected by consumers, even if the product or service is not the best on the market. It is a quality that the business environment needs more of at the moment. One of the biggest ways to combat this need to be unethical to win is to give realistic goals for marketing teams and support healthy competition. If we are giving marketing teams goals that are only attainable by taking shortcuts in some capacity, we are encouraging unethical behavior.

I do not think it is ethical to track buying habits of individuals. This exposes the consumer in some fashion and on a personal level without consent. This form of marketing is borderline manipulation, as it gives retailers an opportunity to tailor coupons, specials, and marketing efforts to your needs and wants and creates desire by doing so. It may be beneficial for a retailer to know my birthday, eating habits, favorite sports team, and my marital status, but it is quite invasive. All of this to get me to buy a product or service? Where is the ethics in that?

As a leader, the most powerful step I can take is to lead by example and promote an honest work environment with strong personal and professional integrity. Like I stated earlier, the profession does not have to have a negative connotation attached to it, marketing teams can choose to be the opposite of what the general public perceives them to be. 

A634.4.4.RB - Is Affirmative Action Ethical?

I have never been a big fan of affirmative action. In a country where opportunity is something that is bragged upon, why do we have to give preferential treatment to minorities or women? Having come from a family of fourteen children, poor, and underprivileged in my opinion, should I not have deserved special treatment when applying for jobs or college scholarships after graduating high school? There is nothing ethical about giving preferential treatment to a certain race because we feel that that they are still oppressed from something that happened decades ago. All we are doing is oppressing that race even more by affording them a crutch to lean on when they encounter something that has proven to be tough on every American: applying to get into school and obtaining a promising job.

Some of the arguments for affirmative action include having the government assist with something that they may have messed up earlier, drawing certain races to industries of work that they may not have been interested in before, and allowing minorities a boost because they are disadvantaged. I do not think that many of these arguments for affirmative action are credible. What happened a long time ago by our ancestors should not be something that we are currently paying for. I understand fully that the way we operated during this time when black Americans were oppressed was not right, but what more can we do without hindering them from being responsible adults and overcoming challenges that many other Americans face? Shelby Steele, a black American, opposes affirmative action for several reasons and I agree with most of them. He states that in a blog that "affirmative action is cheap, but good education in the inner city is expensive.....so we have a system perfectly designed to keep the people who were always oppressed still oppressed, still backwards." It's not that we as a country are discriminating against black people, but we may be focusing our attention on the wrong things, with affirmative action being one of them. The more support we give minorities the more dependent they become on these programs, so what are we teaching them? Is it acceptable to rely on the government for education and jobs in a country where opportunity seems to be endless?

I think that affirmative action is an unethical approach on our government's behalf to right a wrong that occurred a long time ago when no one today was involved with it. We are creating a society that makes it acceptable to give preference to minorities for jobs and education, almost as if it were a form of racism against white Americans. Having felt like I was a minority due to my background and approaching the real world after I graduated high school, it never once crossed my mind to give up and rely on someone else to help me through life. I did what I had to do to get my education, serve my country, and obtain a job that supports my family. 

References:

The Ethics of Affirmative Action (n.d.). Santa Clara University. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v5n2/action.html

A634.3.5.RB - The Harder They Fall

Power seems to be the culprit of many of life’s dilemmas. In politics, countries build up a military force that is often used as a scare tactic against others, although that may not be the main reason for it. In the workplace, individuals tend to abuse power when they get to a position where they are able to have control over the behaviors of others. In personal life, there are many struggles between parents and children, brothers and sisters, teachers and students, law enforcement and ordinary citizens, most all revolving around power struggles.

Power struggles at work seem to be commonplace in today’s age. People are becoming more and more educated, technology is allowing workers to become more and more capable and less dependent on one another, and everyone seems to know the right way to do something, whether it be changing a water jug or developing the next best video game. I think as the workplace evolves into something that is extremely diverse, competent, and inpatient in almost every industry, there will be power struggles. Power struggles are one of the biggest sources of conflict in the workplace today, and it all stems at having control is some capacity (Matusun, 2012).

An area that we tend to overlook is power struggles and conflict at home. Why is it that something like the need for control and power can spread so far in the lives of almost every human being? One of the reasons may stem from the need for power as described by David McClelland. His need for power theory states that we like to have control over others, enjoy winning arguments, enjoy competition, and appreciate recognition (McClellands, n.d.). In a world where so many people have this need, it’s easy to identify the conflicts in all areas of life. This need is certainly amplified as activities like school sports, competitions, and debates are becoming commonplace.

References:

Matusun, R. (2012). Conflict in the workplace: can’t we just put everyone in timeout? Fast Company. Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/1810877/conflict-workplace-cant-we-just-put-everyone-time-out

McClellands Human Motivation Theory (n.d.). Mind Tools. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/human-motivation-theory.htm

A634.2.4.RB - Theories of Ethics

Consequentialism on its own appears to be a very good theory. I often make decisions in terms of satisfying the highest number of people involved. For example, if a group of people were deciding on whether or not they should purchase hamburgers or hotdogs for an events at work and I were part of the group, I would say that the majority vote rules because then the highest number of people are being satisfied. I do not do this in every scenario, but I do it often enough to make it a trusted theory of mine. The reason I said it was a good theory on its own is because when matched against deontology it seems a bit selfish and narrow. Deontology and consequentialism differ because deontology deals with morals, regardless of whether or not the outcome is favorable, whereas consequentialism seeks to satisfy the most people and allows them to define the morality of the situation.

For example, if a group of my peers were walking around downtown and became thirsty, shortly after realizing that only one of us had his wallet on him, consequentialism would determine that the person with the wallet pay for the drinks if the majority agreed. This is because the outcome for the majority of us is favorable, and we are determining that the outcome is moral, even if they one paying for the drinks doesn’t think so.

Even though I often side with consequentialism, I must say that it lacks a solid foundation when dealing with unique circumstances. What if the best outcome is one that is looked down upon by everyone else accept those benefiting from it? Does this not make it unethical or immoral? I feel that there will be times where selfishness and personal agenda will drive the decisions and moral compasses of others. According to ethical egoism, a subdivision of consequentialism, lying, stealing, and even killing would be morally permissible as long as the agent benefited and was not caught. This clashes with traditional moral intuitions because those who believe in this theory would agree that personal interests should count for something (Consequentialism, 2001).

I think that finding a balance between the two may not work for everyone, but it does for me. I find myself siding with consequentialism much more than deontology but feel that much of my decisions are driven by what I feel is right and wrong, often coinciding with the morals and values of the others affected by the outcome.

References:

Consequentialism (2001). Retrieved from http://instruct.westvalley.edu/lafave/Consequentialism_link.html