Do you feel confident about your ethical theories? If not, what questions do you still have?
We've talked about:
Week 1: The Good Life
Week 2: Social Responsibility and Technology
Week 3: Fairness and Justice
Q: What are you learning about business ethics that surprises you? That you can apply to your own work life?
I wouldn't say I feel confident in all of my ethical theories. Since starting this course, I find that I question if my actions would be the same in all instances (fairness and justice). I believe that some of this is really about interpretation of people. What may seem fair and just in some cases (to some people) may not be so in all cases to all people.
ReplyDeleteI do believe in social responsibility, but also as a stock holder - I would be concerned about the profitability and social conscious of the leaders of the company. It is a two edged sword.
In regards to your second paragraph, it is interesting to see what the future holds. How will profitability and social consciousness be defined in the future? How much profit is enough, and will it be judged on things other than just dollar return? I see some pretty cool things happening in the future. Technology and social media have brought about a huge information exchange that was not available a few years ago. We can hopefully use this new info to correct and prevent future ethical atrocities. Who knows, we might all need each other for survival in the future.
DeleteAre there any theories that you want more information on? More detail or explained in another way?
ReplyDeleteI think this could be a good reference point. Could you provide a brief description of each one?
DeleteI think Lorain has hit the nail on the head. This class has shined light on ethical theories and has definitely made me think before acting and making sure that I am making the most ethical decision. In regards to the theories, I am not sure that anything has really been shocking because we have touched on all of these briefly in other classes. What has been shocking, however, has been the real life stories we have been blogging about.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting, listening to the Ferguson decision and the prosecutor speaking has mentioned the Media and Social Media multiple times and how it has proved very difficult because of all of the different stories and the non-factual information being shared. I think this case has touched both Social Responsibilities and Fairness and Justice.
I think I understand the theories, and I do feel I have learned a lot along the way. I am surprised that Ethics is not just about Ethics if that makes sense....it involves a lot of thought and definitely makes you think more before you act (just like Lorrain and Colette touched on).
ReplyDeleteMaura so true... Ethics is a lot about a person's character as well as the ethical side of things.
DeleteEvery person has their own point of view leaning one way or another. You're correct by saying we have learned about the "right" way to look at things but in the real world how many people would look at it that way? We just hope that everyone tries to play this out in their head before making an ethical decision. I agree with you completely.
DeleteI think I understand the different theories for the most part--this class truly make you think about ethics behavior from different views points. You certainly can't "judge a book by it's cover" why would you? I have learned that we all have a Social Responsibilities. This class has enlightened me how important ethical theories and behaviors have affected on our daily lives and other circumstances around the world.
ReplyDeleteMelissa you're correct you can't "judge a book by it's cover" but there are so many people or employers that do judge you based on a piece of paper (degree) where if they actually knew the personality of the person they could benefit their company. We do all have social responsibilities in this world and everyone was put here for a certain reason I do believe that but there are doers and followers, we just need to have more people who are willing to help others become those doers and not just make them follow in their footsteps to make them money.
DeleteDo I feel confident about my ethical theories?
ReplyDeleteWell I feel that my theories can change depending on the circumstances. I am also sure that they change as I grow as a person. The one thing I know to be true is that I have always lived my life by a certain creed. I will not do anything that I cannot openly admit that I did to my grandmother without fear of her disappointment in me. It is not a WWJD thing because she would be ok with me doing things that she would not allow herself to do. By nature, I study business, politics, world events, social events, human rights, environmental issues, world conflict, finance, etc...., so I am always trying to broaden my mind.
Nothing surprises about business ethics or the lack there of. I personally think things are a whole lot worse than what we ever get to hear about. I also think that there is a lot of good done on a daily basis.
I enjoy learning about the different theories although I cannot say that I truly understand them.
"We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience. And that will be a day not of the white man, not of the black man. That will be the day of man as man. (Yes)" MLK
I like that you use your grandmother as a guide in your life. It is more and more rare that you hear of the younger generations concerning themselves with what their elders would think. I come from the respect your elders generation, but I don't have the role models you do. I think I have more of the what not to do models.
DeleteI feel somewhat confident with the theories but I believe that in a perfect world everyone would abide by the theories but realistically people of today just don't look at things that way. With the ever changing world of technology we live in a place that is all about me and all about today. I'm one of those people it's not that I'm impatient but the slower things move the more likely it is that someone else is coming out with that same idea. Is that we're greedy and trying to live "The Good Life" to some extent yes but I do what I do for the fact that I enjoy being creative and I want to create a better tomorrow by automating processes.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I would like to see with these theories is that we put it into a live business model and play out the situation, almost role playing if you will. There are many different viewpoints from our classmates that would truly involve themselves into a situation if we we're put into it. This would be a real world learning experience versus just reading a book then trying to regurgitate the information. I know personally I would learn more that way and in no way am I speaking for the class but I think it could help.
Do you feel confident about your ethical theories? If not, what questions do you still have?
ReplyDeleteI feel confident that I know what's right, what I believe/value, and what hills I am willing to die on. I am no angel, but I know I do my best to keep myself in check and live my life with purpose. This is not something that is new to me, but I think I have more of a sense of where my thoughts come from and the ideas have a name. I do however, enjoy looking at these issues from every angle, playing devil's advocate, and trying to put myself in each person's shoes.
Q: What are you learning about business ethics that surprises you? That you can apply to your own work life?
I have to say there are a lot of things that we have discussed that have freaked me out. I guess I have really sheltered myself from the evils of this world. I think it is a defense mechanism. If I were to let all of this negative in, I would fall apart, and I simply don't have time for that. I am learning a lot though I think I would have been just as happy in my little bubble on some issues.
I feel that I'm applying the theories we've learned daily and understanding them more thoroughly each day. I do understand the basics of them, but the better I understand them the deeper they get. I do agree with Lorrain in that I'm trying to evaluate my choices more before I make them to make sure that I'm being fair - that my decision would be the same whether or not the people in the situation were a part of it. What I've learned is that by playing devil's advocate in many situations is helping me to see both sides of the spectrum and this is something that is benefiting me.
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