A634.9.5.RB - A Reflection of Learning

The course proved to be very beneficial in several ways and offered dozens of lessons that can be applied to my professional and personal life. The three lessons that I thought to be the most impactful were ethical relativism, moral speculations, and slippery slope arguments.

Ethical relativism helped me understand the implications of adopting one moral code, and highlighted the moral and ethical differences between cultures, religions, countries, etc. It helped me become more open minded toward the subject and offered insight on the arguments for or against relativism. Learning about moral speculations and the factors that alter our moral expectations were also new material which could help me better evaluate and understand people better from a moral standpoint, and possibly understand an organization better as well. Slippery slope arguments are something that I hear and say quite often, but arguments that I did not know that much about. The logic of these arguments and impacts they have are quite substantial, and living on slippery slopes could prevent someone from truly living to their fullest potential because it reinforces comfort and safety for an individual.

The topics described above were the most interesting, and in my opinion, the most beneficial in the course. I feel that the course was value added and helped equip me with the tools I need to help lead others in and out of the workplace from a moral standpoint. I also feel that it will help me understand others better and make more moral and ethical decisions because I have more knowledge and understand the impacts better. I think that real world scenarios and training would prove to be very beneficial for the students of this course, but that’s easier said than done in an online environment. I think that more team activities would help to promote learning as students have different opinions about the subject, and merging these opinions into something productive and positive is somewhat challenging. Overall, I thought the class was helpful and value added. I fear that courses like these could be offered more with the workplace transitioning from managers to leaders. 

A634.8.3.RB - Gun Control: What is the Answer?

The ethics behind gun ownership, in my opinion, revolve around the individual. I do think that individuals should have the option of owning guns. The reason being is that guns are purchased for several different reasons, with hunting being a very popular one. With that being said, would it be ethical to prohibit the sale of hunting guns because of what people may do with the rifle that does not involve hunting? I don’t think so. In this country we cannot prohibit the sale or use of something because of the fear associated with misusing it. And I don’t think it would be very practical to prohibit the sale of certain types of firearms either, as they can all be used for different activities. Handguns can be used on the range for fun or in the home for self-defense, rifles can be used for just about anything, semi-automatic firearms are a bit more aggressive but can still be used for recreational purposes.

The argument that guns should not be legal because they can be used the wrong way can be applied to other laws in our country. For example, alcohol consumption is legal for anyone over 21 years of age, but alcohol poisoning can kill a person and drunk driving has proved to be a problem in our country (Banks, 2013). Just because someone can kill someone else while driving drunk, or even kill themselves from alcohol poisoning, does that mean we should ban alcohol consumption?

Arguments for gun control include making our country safer, exercising a right that was established more than a century ago, and creating security and comfort for families and individuals. Those who argue against it state that guns create more homicides, assault weapons are not used for sport, and most gun incidents involve firearms that are sold legally. There are too many variables that play into both sides of the argument. There is no data out there to support the claims from either side because the laws in our country have never been consistent enough, or followed enough to support these claims. It is hard to say whether or not gun control will make our country safer. A good example may be to look at countries that do not support gun use and their crime rates. However, these countries enforce strict punishments for broken laws, which is the opposite of justice system because some states have very relaxed gun laws.

Only the individual will know if they are truly buying a gun for its intended purpose, whether that be hunting, self-defense, recreation, and so on. No legal gun sales are made with the intention of selling a gun to an individual for the purpose of harming another individual, just like no alcohol sales are made with the intention of the buyer driving drunk and causing bodily harm to someone else. There is also no accurate way to track the safety of the arguments for or aginst gun control. The ethics lie solely on the individuals purchasing them and selling them, not on those controlling the sale or prohibition of them.

References:

Banks, J. (2013). Gun control debate: the argument that every gun owner needs to start making. PolicyMic. Retrieved from http://www.policymic.com/articles/72067/gun-control-debate-the-argument-that-every-gun-owner-needs-to-start-making

634.7.4.RB - Ethics and Behaviors

Target has several values that it embraces and promotes in the work place, with some of the biggest ones being diversity, a friendly work environment, and community involvement (mission & values, n.d.). These values are what drive everyday business decisions and keep a team of more than 360,000 team members happy and challenged.

Diversity is very important at Target. The organization values differences in the workplace and ensures that every team member, regardless of race, religion, gender, etc., feel valued. One of the biggest ways they promote this is by organizing diversity teams in each store, distribution center, or headquarter unit to celebrate the differences of each team member. A month ago one of the managers organized an event where we celebrated breast cancer awareness month through team member involvement in community events, along with smaller events inside the distribution center like “pink-out” days.

A friendly work environment is key to success at Target, so they typically go the extra mile to ensure team members are treated with respect, given a chance to succeed and develop themselves, and have fun while working. Our building held several events throughout this past year that helped the workplace more enjoyable, like dunk tank challenges with the executive team, holiday meals, and bowling and basketball tournaments. These events promote friendship and relationships and allow the teams a chance to connect on a personal level, something that is rare in a lot of organizations.

Lastly, Target is extremely proud of its community involvement. They donate 5% of their earnings to the community in some fashion, and thousands of volunteer hours across the country. Target affords employees time to volunteer and coordinates events through local partnerships to allow team members the chance to give back. Some of the programs include 5K and 10K walks and runs that are sponsored by Target, school mentoring programs, educational assistance to local schools, and holiday community programs. My manager is involved so much in the community that he has received several awards for his efforts for the county where are building is located, and is next in line to be the president of the local chamber of commerce.

References:

Missions & values. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://corporate.target.com/about/mission-values