A634.9.5.RB - A Reflection of Our Learning

Ethical and moral decisions, at first, seem like a no brainer – that they are something we all understand and recognize as important.  However, this course has shown me that ethical and moral decisions are not always easy answers.  This is what tests our moral reasoning and our actions.  There are several questions that were posed throughout the course that really hit me and had me thinking and asking a lot more questions than others.  There were many times I questioned my own actions and wondered whether or not I had been doing the right thing or not. 

         When we began this course, we were posed with the question of what decision do we make when none seem attractive?  This was very relevant to me at the time because I had just put my little kitty, Abigail, down.  She was my shining light everyday and was a part of my life for so long.  When thinking about whether or not it was my choice to end her life, was a very difficult challenge for me.  This was the first time I was faced with a thought I did not want to think about.  I did not want to question my decisions because I knew I wouldn’t be able to take them back.  So when posed with the question of what decision do you make when none are appealing, I learned that you make the decision that is in the best interest of those around you myself included.  While I wanted my cat to stay with me, it hurt more to look at her in pain.  While she wanted to keep me happy, she knew we were just prolonging the inevitable.  I’d like to think that she somehow knows I was putting her first when making this decision, but I will never know.  In these instances, it is best to go forward with your feelings and beliefs that help comfort you and to recognize the rational implications to your decision.  I miss her everyday, but the pain of not having her with me is slowly becoming more bearable, especially knowing I could at least make her last few days happier than if I had prolonged it and she was unable to be herself.

Another topic that was something that I developed and learned in this course is to recognize that ethics and morals can be understood differently through different eyes.  People come from all different walks of life and are exposed to drastically different circumstances in life.  How we perceive morals and ethics is going to naturally vary from person to person.  In some ways, it is not necessarily the action we should be judging so hard but the implications of that action.  An example one of the students in the class gave during the discussion posting was about a woman in another country offering to sell a baby to him.  This sounds crazy, but to them, it may be their way of life and everything they are doing in completely in the circle of normalcy for them.  Recognizing that people approach things differently is important to understanding how to gauge ethical and moral codes. 

            One of the last discussions we had was on animal rights as well as world hunger.  This is a topic that has always been one of interest to me.  My whole life I have had a desire to do more, yet I consistently sit by waiting for the “right time” to swing by.   With animal rights, there are so many different areas where we can make an impact in.  While some may seem drastic to many people, the changes can be mild over time.  I come from a southern, meat eating family and I am an a vegetarian.  With exposure and resources to the right kinds of thought provoking material, educating others has been a huge help.  Many people do not realize how disconnected we have come with food, and I think most people would be ok with making small changes in their lives.  World hunger is another issue that has had me really reflecting on my daily life and myself.  I waste so much food and so much stuff.  In fact, we are currently trying to downsize our house and I realize just how much stuff I have that I don’t need! When thinking back to “Ben’s 13 Virtues”, I really found areas in my life where I could work on developing and growing further.  This has actually helped me a lot.  I work in retail, so I naturally get a need to buy things without reason.  Confronting my problems while reminding myself of the outside world, has helped me look beyond my own personal desires, but still understand that a little bit of egoism is not terrible if used in a correct way.

We all try to better ourselves on a daily basis, but it can sometimes be easy to forget our self-improvement plan during the “daily grind” of life.  This course has taught me that establishing and strong understanding of our own actions and why we are taking those actions can really help to understand our moral and ethical beliefs. 

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

I go back and forth on this topic. On one hand, I don’t understand why anyone would need an assault riffle in his or her home.  I find that if guns weren’t around the very argument for needing them for protection would be irrelevant.  However, on the other side, I think about the individual’s rights.  Is it my right to deny someone possession of something if it is doing no direct harm to me?  I see a good example of this with video games.  Do we ban violent video games because of the potential influence it could possibly cause on an individual’s perception of reality?  It’s difficult to know what one person is going to do with a gun versus another person, which is why they are so controversial to begin with. 

            I grew up in the south and in areas that were not the safest.  As a young, white female, I never once felt like I was in any danger being in these areas.  I learned that most crime that happens with guns happens within a group of people that associate with each other.  I knew that no one was looking to purposefully harm me or my family.  Generally, if you are in a situation that involves potentially getting shot, you most likely know you are at risk for instances like that.  While that obviously not true for every scenario, in my experience it was the case for most.  Since moving to Arizona, I have never felt so uncomfortable around guns.  While I never saw guns back in South Carolina, in Arizona, people can open carry, and it honestly makes me feel more uncomfortable than safe.  While that could just be my lack of experience and familiarity around guns, seeing them makes me uneasy.  Knowing there in my house or in the house of someone I am visiting makes me uneasy.  They seem so severe and so deadly and I just feel uncomfortable around them.  That is how I feel, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the world should feel that way too.  I recognize that and this is why I don’t think there should be a ban on guns; however, I do think we should ban having assault riffles unless you have a special permit or permission to carry them.  Banning anything just causes more crime, especially with something like weapons.  I also believe that if guns were banned, criminals who really wanted to commit a crime would find a way to do it with or without a gun.

            When thinking about mass shootings, it’s an unfortunately reality that maybe these could have been avoided, or at least reduced without a gun.  With that said, I don’t think a ban on guns will solve the root of this problem either.  There is obviously a mental health issue in our country, and it should not be avoid through talk about banning guns.  The gun was the method to problem; the state of mental health was the cause and root of the problem.

            On the other hand, the basis for the 2^nd amendment was adopted in the 18^th century back before we had wide spread police.  It was establish to protect us from the government, which is obviously not what its purpose is today.  Because of this, I think a ban, or at the very least, a rewrite of the amendment should be done because it is simply not relevant to today’s society.  Guns also contribute to a vast majority of violent, deadly crimes in America.  If you look at other country’s where guns are banned, the deadly crimes rates drop significantly.  A study from the Harvard School of Public Health found that data from 36 developed countries have shown that wherever there are more firearms, there are more homicides. (New York Times, 2012) There is research after research supporting the decline in homicides and violent crimes when stricter gun laws are in place.  In Japan, a country with very strict gun laws, only 11 people were killed with guns in 2008 compared to 12,000 deaths by firearms that year in the United States. (New York Times, 2012) To put that into perspective, there are 122,800,000 people in Japan and that year is not an anomaly. (Hickey, 2013) Japan also has strict laws prohibiting people who do not have a license for using a gun.  Failure to follow this rule can result in up to 10 years in prison. 

            When looking at statistics and also weighing personal rights and freedom, I don’t disagree with owning a gun; however, I think it is imperative that control over guns be dealt with in a manner that makes sense.  People want guns for sport, hunting, fun at a shooting range, etc., so what is the problem with allowing a background check, enforcing references, and having to have a good reason for wanting a gun?  If you want the right to own something that could potentially cause harm to another person either intentionally or inadvertently, you have to go through the process of allowing that. 

References

Hickey, W. (2013, January 15). How Australia And Other Developed Nations Have Put A Stop To Gun Violence. Retrieved May 12, 2015, from http://www.businessinsider.com/canada-australia-japan-britain-gun-control-2013-1

In Other Countries, Laws Are Strict and Work. (2012, December 17). Retrieved May 12, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/18/opinion/the-gun-challenge-strict-laws-work.html?_r=0

LaFollette, H. (2007). The practice of ethics. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Pub.

A634.7.4.RB - Ethics and Behaviors

Watch the two videos from business ethics speakers and discuss how your organization portrays its values. Share any examples where behaviors were portrayed positively by your leaders or an instance where someone was unethical in your work environment.

The current company I work for, as well as the previous company I worked for, both had a vast range of rules and regulation that corresponded with the values held by the companies.   The organization I currently work for has a set of values that work with the employee’s emotions, as well as customer care since we work in an industry that relies heavily on the customer and their experience.  Maintaining a strong customer experience sometimes gets in the way of employee happiness and well being within the organization.  Because the rules are set up in a way that can be ‘altered’ and adjusted depending on the scenario, it is up to each individual store or district to determine how best to incorporate these rules. 

Recently, we had an employee transfer from a different district where they handled the rules differently.  This employee had difficulty adjusting to the new rules, as her entire life was structured in a way that benefited from her previous set of rules in the other district.  It matched her way of living and our rules did not.  She struggled greatly and did not understand why we did things the way we did.  It was difficult to be angry with her, as she made great points as to why the rules did not make sense compared to what she was dealing with prior to that.  Workplace flexibility is key in developing a broader business strategy for succeeding in today’s work environment because the workforce is becoming much more diverse and challenging. (Katsikakis, 2014)  For instance, we set our employee time schedule every Tuesday; however, since we are so lightly staffed in management, that schedules sometimes do not make it out till Wednesday or Thursday morning.  Our district has set it up so that it is up to the individual employee to figure out their schedule and they are not allowed to call to get the scheduled – they have to either come in or find out from someone else.  This individual who transferred from another district did not have to deal with this issue.  She was able to call and get her scheduled.  She did not own a car at the time, so she rode her bike 20 miles to work when she was scheduled.  One day, she rode her bike on her day off to get the schedule and the schedule had not been posted.  This was her tipping point and she ended up quitting.  Because our district interpreted our corporate rules in such a way, we were simply not flexible enough or accommodating enough for people to work with us.  (Fell, 2014)  Flexibility and understanding our key to having happy workers, and our policy failed to reason with that concept, which is why we are struggling now.

In my corporate job previous to this one, I worked in an office cubicle, similar to the discussion that Chuck Gallagher mentioned about the office printer.  I worked in the graphic arts area, so we had access to all sorts of equipment that made printing so much easier.  I shared a cube with another artist and we got along very well.  The way my company structured themselves made it difficult to plan out work for the entire year.  We were separated from the people were worked directly with, so the flow of work we were given was sporadic and irregular.  Some months we would have more work than we could handle, and other months we would be so slow that we would have nothing to do for weeks.  The girl I shared a cube with had a side business where she designed invitations and business cards for people.  She spent a lot of her time at work doing these designs for her separate business.  The company I worked for at the time had a rule stating that you could not do freelance work outside of the job while working for this company.  Let alone, you definitely could not do you freelance work at work!  But since the company failed to pay attention to the needs of my previous work group, we were left separated from our coworkers and with nothing to do.  In this instance, the company’s values clashed with this employee’s ability to and desire to work, so she did what was against the rules because she would rather do that than nothing at all. 

When company values are set up in a way that are overreaching for the entire company, with not specifications for individual sections, it can be difficult to follow them when they interfere with your life.  Especially in the case of the girl who rode her bike, flexibility should have been something we made exceptions for, as her case was unique and she was exposed to a different set of rules.  I think it is important for our leaders to lead by example as well.  In both scenarios, I had bosses who preached about ethical behavior, but then failed to follow it themselves.  It sets a bad example for new employees who are still feeling out the do’s and don’ts of a company when the leader is saying one thing and doing another.  It is important for management to carry this message through, so that people understand that these values and rules are set in place for a reason, but that we are still flexible when the situation calls for it.

References

Katsikakis, Despina. "The Hidden Value of Workplace Flexibility." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 July 2014. Web. 10 May 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/despina-katsikakis/the-hidden-value-of-workp_b_5561476.html>.

Sutton Fell, Sara. "Your Workers Want Work Flexibility But Companies Benefit Most." Entrepreneur. 30 Oct. 2014. Web. 9 May 2015. <http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/239111>.

A634.6.3.RB - What are Virtues?

Benjamin Franklin's self-improvement program included 13 virtues that he felt were important guides for living along with principles for each that would, in his opinion, define a person of good character. He developed a scorecard for evaluating how well he measured up to his own ideals. Throughout his life, Franklin tried to live by these virtues though not always successfully.

Review Ben's 13 Virtues and take the Virtue Quiz to find out how you measure up against Franklin's virtues.

Select three of Franklin's virtues and reflect upon them in your blog. Ask yourself, how can I include them in my daily life?

After taking the Virtue Quiz, I got that I was “on the right path”, but still had areas to improve.  There are plenty of things I would like to work on in my daily life, as I feel it would help with not only my overall happiness, but the way I see myself and others, as well as the way I react to different situations.  Some of the virtues that really stood out for me as areas I would like to continue working on were silence, frugality, and industry. These three virtues are areas that I struggle with on a daily basis, as everyday activities reach into our lives.  I find that these virtues focus on “excellence to the common good, toward which we should strive and which allow the full development of our humanity.” (Velasquez, Andre, Shanks, & Meyer, 1988)  These three virtues, I find will help me to develop further to reach my potential in this area. 

            Silence is something that I recognize that I struggle with, but try to work hard to maintain.   Benjamin Franklin spoke of silence as “speak not but what benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.”  (PBS) Being more mindful of what I say to others, especially in terms of gossip, is an area that I work on daily.  I work in a job that is all females and gossiping runs wild there.  It can be difficult to avoid gossip when you associate it with connecting to others.  I think that by making a connection between gossiping and the effects is can have on others will help me to avoid this more.  Gossiping only causes stress, negativity, and anxiety for me.  I do not like gossiping; however, I do find it difficult to connect with my coworkers when I have very little in common with some of them.  Reflecting on the image this places on myself, as well as what this says about others is an area that can help remind myself of the negative impacts gossiping has.  When it comes to speaking directly with people, I find that I focus too much on being thoughtful and sincere.  I never want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I think this puts me at a disadvantage at times because I come off as a push over.  Finding a good balance between the two is key for me.

            Frugality, according to Franklin is “make no expense but to do good to others or yourself, i.e., waste northing.” (PBS)  Avoiding wasteful consumption is huge for me.  I am an avid recycler and anti-liter advocate, yet I find myself buying items that are unnecessary and wasteful.  Placing more thought on the things that directly effect me, as opposed to the things that do not effect me, can better help me be less wasteful.

            Industry is a big one for me to work on.  I have so many things I want to do and I have attempted to use a planner more times than I can count, yet I still seem to waste my time away doing things that are huge time wasters.  Making the most of my time would help to make me feel more productive, less of a procrastinator, and help me to enjoy the things I love doing instead of constantly contemplating what I should do next.  Sometimes it can be so hard for me to come up with what I want for dinner, that I end up just skipping it all together.  If I can allocate my time better, a lot of things will be a lot easier and fall into place.

            Overall, the virtues that Ben Franklin attempted to follow seem to be very helpful in terms of living a better, more thoughtful way of life.  There are areas we can all improve on, but recognizing what those areas are and what steps we need to take to get to that stage are important for living a more virtues life. 

References

Ben's 13 Virtues. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2, 2015, from http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/pop_virtues_list.html

Velasquez, M., Andre, C., Shanks, T., & Meyer, M. (1988). Ethics and Virtues. Issues in Ethics, 1(3).