A633.1.2.RB - Leadership Gap

Before joining the workforce in a professional capacity, I knew very little of the term leadership as applied to the workplace. I assumed leading people was a skill that could be learned through school, much like the skills and knowledge that an engineer develops in an undergraduate program. I was sadly mistaken shortly after being thrown into a leadership position while in the military in a war zone. I soon realized that leadership was something much more difficult than I could have ever imagined, and I feel the same way about the topic today. I have a deep respect for those who can empower others to do something greater, making themselves and those below them better at what they do.

There is a changing trend in the way leaders are viewed. In today’s workforce it is not strange to see young leaders in roles with great responsibility. This is because of the dynamics of leadership roles and the education programs that support these dynamics in the workplace. This was not as common even a decade ago when the workforce had less formal education and managers earned their position through years of work in lower level positions. The responsibilities that leaders now have are much more involved in the operations, the people, and the development of others. A narrow job description for leaders in today’s workplace is absolutely the exception and not the rule.

I think that this attitude toward leaders has evolved because the role of the leader has changed so much in the last few decades. Leadership programs in educational institutions get more attention than ever, leaders are being tasked to develop their peers and those below them, and they are being challenged with possessing technical skills in addition to human skills. I believe that leadership roles are merging and will continue to do so. There are fewer organizations with technical and developmental leaders, as most are migrating toward merging the two into one powerful leader.

I believe there is a gap in the quality of our leaders because the expectations of a great leader are outpacing the actual abilities and knowledge of great leaders. The current workforce of leaders is also mixed between a generation that has a plethora of experience and virtually no education with a generation that has education but almost no real world experience. One way to help bridge this gap would be to ensure each leader across the major organizations is trained consistently with processes and education that have proven to be effective in the leadership realm. People expect some consistencies across leadership, but this does not always happen as every organization is different in what they request from a leader, and these leaders change their style based on this. There has to be some consistency in the way we approach and lead our workforce.  

References:

http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/dec2009/ca20091214_346828.htm

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

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