Ethical Decision making (Post-test)

Ethical Decision-Making (Post-test)

 

     Much has been learned about ethical decision-making in this course.  Prior to taking the course I used ethics and morals interchangeably.  I no longer make that mistake.   Morals are the set of standards of right and wrong whereas ethics is the moral philosophy or code of civility of society.  We have studied intensely the ethics of leaders this semester.

     Ethical leadership has dated back to the philosophers of Western civilization from Socrates to Aristotle.   The same doctrines were used then and are have been updated to meet the needs of today’s society.  Ethical leaders must have integrity, compassion, and be trustworthy.  Gant states that ethical leaders should be transparent.  What I take that to mean is that ethical leaders should reveal their plan of action and be available to subordinates regardless their level.  Ethical leaders have the power to lead an organization to great heights or to destroy the organization.

     Frances Hester shared how ethical leadership can cross a very fine line.  Although actions of leaders are not intended to be unethical, it occurs.  She did a great job with ethics of the student and principal while both exhibit ethical principles.  She shared an article about a young girl in Florida who at the age of 12 has been charged with many felonies.  Some of the same actions in another school under another principal would have been handled in a different manner; however, this principal called the police each time the young student was disruptive.  I was appalled by the decision of the principal especially since the actions of the student were directly associated with her special education disability.  We had a great discussion in class regarding this article.  Remember ethics is the principles which governs society and abides within the legal system and policy and procedures of the organization.  According the school district, the principal was within the policy of the district; she did not break any laws.  By definition, she is acting in an ethical manner.  The question then arises how will felonies affect the progression of a 12 year old student and the future of this student?  Was the principal acting in the best interest of the student?  No, she was not but she was acting in the best interest of the other students and staff.  She had to protect the school and keep it a safe and civil learning environment. 

 

     Mathias Vairez gave us an in-depth and historical breakdown of ethics.  He gave us the philosophies of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. A vast amount of Western Civilization history was presented and the format of each of the philosophers and historians.   Mat described the four major branches of ethics.  They are:

• Meta-ethics - about the theoretical meaning and reference of moral propositions and how their truth values (if any) may be determined;
• Normative ethics - about the practical means of determining a moral course of action;
• Applied ethics - about how moral outcomes can be achieved in specific situations;
• Descriptive ethics - also known as comparative ethics, is the study of people's beliefs about morality             

 

                                    

     Ethical leadership must be maintained in business as well as in education.  We must ensure the safety of the stakeholders but must act for the betterment of the organization.  Power is the root of decline of many leaders who were once very ethical leaders.  The British historian Lord Acton states that absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Ethical leaders must remain focused on the big picture which is the organization.  Increasing the power of the leader and his team will increase the organization as a whole.  Increasing the power of only the leader will lead to discourse and possibly the demise of the organization if a leadership change does not occur.  Some major companies in the USA have fallen from grace because they did not change the leadership in a timely manner.  Some of these companies have not been able to recover.  Such companies as Enron and WorldCom have become the trademark companies to use in Ethics Courses at business schools. These companies had millions of people lose everything they own.  Some of the CEO’s and top directors were sent to prison.   The downfall of religious companies is more detrimental because of the breakdown of the religious communities.  Ted Haggart, Steven Flockhart, Jimmy Swaggart, and Jim Baker were pastors who left followers and in some instances the country in dismay.  Unethical actions began occurring after immorality entered the lives the ministers.  The power of the people is overwhelming and these great men fell just as Jeff Skilling, Kenneth Lay, and Bernard Madoff did when greed took over. 

                                                    

                    

     The Bible and an old Chinese proverb say that money is the root of all evil. Money seems to change the views of people especially when they are not from an economically stabled environment.  All ethical leaders do not change.  We all have a sense of spirituality.  Those leaders who are spiritually inclined and lead with integrity remain grounded and desire to see the company progress without disgrace.  Educational leaders are usually in this group.  It takes a special type of person to become an educator and to lead educators.  We must do what is good for the entire school, community and district.  Ethical leadership in education will create productive citizens and well rounded environment for students who might not learn social skills anywhere else.

 

    There was an incident that occurred that borders on ethical and unethical decisions.  A student received a poor grade from a teacher.  The student did not realize the grade was going to be unfavorable because the posted grades showed a high “C” average.  There were several grades not posted but the student knew he had done a great job on the assignments so he was sure he would complete the course with at least a “B” average.  He knew he had to maintain A’s and B’s in order to remain in advanced placement classes.  The semester ended and student was home for Christmas break when his parents received a letter.  The student had been dismissed from the Advanced Placement Center and was told to contact the school at the return from Christmas break to register in general education classes.  His parents wanted to contact the teacher but the student did not want any repercussion; he knew he would have to take the teacher again.  His parents agreed.  The student return to school but was given a schedule in advanced placement classes.  His counselor told him that his name had not been removed from her list of AP students so don’t worry about his letter.  The young man did very well that semester.  Unfortunately, he was not allowed to register for his AP classes for the next year.  He and his parents thought the school was enforcing the letter from the previous semester.  The principal would not meet with the student but his Upper Level Advisor explained the protocol.  The student was disappointed but did as directed.  He was re-instated for the following semester but lost AP credits which would have allowed him to graduate early.  Should the school have allowed the young man to continue on his path since the school had made a mistake by not removing his name?  Should the school have taken into account that the student could have done an extra credit assignment had he known his grades from the teacher?  Should instructors prolong the grading of assignments?

 

 

     In all we do we must remain ethical.  “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”    — Peter Drucker

Spirituality in the Workplace

Spirituality in the Workplace

 

 

     Many companies try to separate church from state.  I agree that no one religion should be given reference over another; however, our spirituality is a part of our being.  Our spirituality is a personal part of us not a religious part of us.  Regardless of your religious or non-religious views, we all are spiritual beings.

     Spirituality is the idea of a process or journey of self-discovery and of learning not only who you are, but who you want to be and the challenge of reaching beyond your current limits. This can include keeping an open mind, questioning current beliefs, or trying to better understand others' beliefs. Spirituality is personal not RELGIOUS!  Spirituality is a higher power, whether rooted in a religion, nature, or some kind of unknown essence.  Its benefits are life altering.  Spirituality offers emotional and physical benefits to your life.  Developing your spiritual life can give you a sense of purpose and help you figure out where you are most passionate in your professional, social, and personal life. Some studies show that positive beliefs can comfort you and improve your health. People who have taken time to develop their spiritual life are also likely to better understand their needs.

     Use different methods to increase your spirituality in your life.  Community service gives you a sense of purpose when helping others even when you feel your life is unraveling.  Although in turmoil, you have a sense of peace just seeing how your efforts are helping others.  It also gives you a sense of gratitude because of what you do have instead of focusing on what is wrong.  Find a type of exercise that is relaxing and meaningful to the body physically and emotionally.  Yoga and Pilates are exercises that will give you peace through the stretching and meditation.  If you believe in a higher power, prayer will also give you a sense of peace.  A belief in a higher power gives you hope in things you have no control over.  

 

 

     Spirituality in the Workplace is a movement that began in the early 1920s. It emerged as a grassroots movement with individuals seeking to live their faith and/or spiritual values in the workplace.   Workplace spirituality has continued to gain acceptance as a topic of study in business schools across the country, presumably with application to practice within organizations. Though initially the topic of spirituality in the workplace may have been viewed as a passing fad, it now seems to have reached trend status. Management textbooks routinely include sections about “workplace spirituality,” and professional organizations such as the Academy of Management offer membership in special interest groups emphasizing spirituality.   Kent Rhodes says that in the wake of Enron the value and place of spirituality in the workplace have been further encouraged by the need for managers and leaders to behave more ethically in the world and to foster ethical decision-making in their workforces.  Rhodes suggests a model for spirituality in the workplace.  These are the six (6) components:

·         Emphasizes sustainability

·         Values Contributions

·         Prizes Creativity

·         Cultivates Illusions

·         Develops Principles

·         Promotes Vocations

     To emphasize sustainability, an organization must incorporate its structure to contribute to the greater good of the world.  How is what you doing enriching the lives of consumers or involved parties?  This systemic view of global business means that a company will constantly reassess the long view of risks and rewards associated with doing business in the long run, including a careful ongoing review of potentially negative and unintended consequences of business decisions on individuals, societies, or the environment.  

     American companies historically have fundamentally understood that part of their role is to make the world a better place through the products or services that they sell. Today’s spiritual organization is deliberate in implementing a vision that is built around contributions to the betterment of mankind. It promotes work outside of the organization that contributes to and “gives back” to society through community and volunteer service. Spiritually aware managers and businesses consider themselves servants of employees, customers, and the community.  This is a great valuable contribution to society.

     Creativity is a necessary part of the business cycle.  The spiritual workplace recognizes that being creative is not necessarily reserved for a special few, but that all people have creative capacities. A spiritual workplace provides resources to help people to uncover their creative potential and to practice creativity within the organization. 

      Spiritual organizations have once been excluded from the workplace.  Many people interchanged spirituality for religion in the past which lead to the exclusion.  We are more understanding of the differences now thus are doing more to include spiritual organizations into the workplace.  They have a sense that the concepts of love and acceptance within a cultural context of care builds a sense of community that supports the work of the company and that has a direct impact on the bottom line.  

     Organizations have begun to realize the benefits of treating the whole person by actively supporting the formulation of ethical principles that promote personal growth, long-term character development, and personal connections of faith and work development. Assisting employees in integrating personal growth, learning, and faith with job performance benefits the organization. This type of principled emphasis includes providing resources that help employees better understand themselves, develop successful professional and personal relationships, and enhance personal management skills. Employees are encouraged to develop an accurate and realistic sense of the impact that other people have on them and the impact that they have on others.

     Organizations have long been aware of the benefits of shared ownership of corporate values by every member of the organization. By acknowledging that one’s general search for spiritual growth and fulfillment need not be separate from one’s work, organizations lay the groundwork for spiritual development to assist in engendering understanding among employees. Companies that understand workplace spirituality go beyond being supportive of learning and development by helping employees develop a sense of “calling” or identification of passion about their lives and their work. Such companies emphasize the discovery and appropriate utilization of individual giftedness and encourage employees to use their unique skills within the organization. Grounded religious faith development is recognized as an important and deeply personal part of growth for many people, one that can help them more easily recognize their vocations.

    The six components can be used as building blocks for a model of workplace spirituality.  It can also serve as a partial framework for engaging in a broader conversation of spirituality’s place and influence in Western culture. The United States is trying to reclaim and recognize the spiritual nature of people and the importance of incorporating the “whole person” at work to continue to change the face of how business is done in America for the foreseeable future.

 

 

 

REFERENCES:

http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2010/08/six-components-of-a-model-for-workplace-spirituality/

http://swc.osu.edu/about-us/spirituality/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_spirituality

 

Power and Ethics

Power and Corruption

     Power can become addictive and become the destruction of an ethical person.  Many CEO’s worked hard and were ethical workers and leaders as they rose to the top.  Once they reached the pinnacle of their success, some changed.  The decisions that they once made are fogged with power. 

     The most important thing for a leader to remember and be aware of  is the ethical responsibility  and use of power.  The leader’s power should be used to help and not to harm. All leaders use power and politics to influence people and accomplish goals.  The power of the leader can influence others to reach the desired outcomes.   The types of power used by leaders are based on the leader’s position and personal qualities.   The three outcomes that result from the use of power are compliance,  resistance and commitment. 

     Leaders who use coercive power will probably result in resistance of his team and/or staff.   Leaders who use position as power will sometimes get compliance but could possibly encounter resistance.  Those leaders who use the position as power but also uses the power of reward will get compliance.  Those who just throw around their power because of their position will get resistance.  Leaders who use personal qualities as power will get committed followers.  They are more trusting of the leader. 

     Power is acquired, developed, and exercised through political activities.  Leaders use a wide variety of influence tactics based on general principles to assert influence.  The seven principles for asserting influence by leaders are:

·      Rational persuasion

·      Liking and friendliness

·      Reciprocity

·      Developing allies

·      Direct appeal

·      Scarcity

·      Formal authority

The most important thing in all this information is to the use of power and politics  ethically and responsibly.  Ethical leaders use the power to serve the organization’s goal, respect the rights individuals and groups, and strive to be fair in their dealings with everyone. 

     Lord Acton, 19^th century British historian states, “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  Lord Acton suggests that as a person’s power increases their morality decreases.   Unfortunately, this seems to be the case more now than in earlier years.  We have several different companies who have engaged in unethical acts that cost some consumers to lose everything they own.  It has led some leaders to commit suicide and others to spend the remainder of their lives in jail/federal prisons. 

    

      One of the most famous examples of not having an ethical leader is in the company Enron. According to Seeger and Ulmer, which is noted in Organizational Communication: Perspectives and Trends by Michael J. Papa, Tom D. Daniels and Barry K. Spiker, this is the best way to understand ethical failures.  Enron Corporation is a gas pipeline company that turned into a huge enterprise. In 2001, the company collapsed due to scandals and bad leadership. Basically, the reason why they failed was due to a set of values that employees had to agree to, but in fact executives were demonstrating a different set of values. Due to this miscommunication of values and other important facts, the company went bankrupt.  The conclusion to the Enron case, according to Wee Heesun, is that smart CEOs will realize that an honest, transparent, and trustworthy culture can also bolster employee morale and ultimately guard shareholder value.   Failure of the leader to recognize the need for the development and the importance of personal power will most likely increase subordinates’ resistance to change or direction. 

     The unethical use of power may help a leader achieve a short-term effect, but over the long run this behavior will cause the leader to become a detriment to the organization and force the organization to move against him or her. For example, in one organization a leader changed scrap records in order to impress higher level authorities. This unethical behavior eventually caught up to this a leader, as other unethical acts followed and the company replaced him. In another large American organization, a leader found guilt of altering the content of fruit juice paid dearly for this unethical conduct. Levinson (1978) claimed the leader with an abrasive personality, often of high intelligence, acts as a perfectionist–pushing hard toward accomplishments, consistently producing a superior job but not working well with others, usually fails to motivate subordinates. These type leaders often fail to live up to their potential, rarely rise very high in organizations, and have trouble delegating or empowering others (Levinson, 1978). While difficult to do, if top leaders would only point out the destructive tendencies of abrasive behavior and teach their subordinate leaders that such behaviors will not be tolerated, improvement might occur.

    

     To avoid unethical issues, leaders must remember that to increase their personal power, persuasiveness, and expertise will enhance their effectiveness. If leaders exercise authority over others with sensitivity, avoid dominating or threatening them, and rely on their expertise and personality to influence them, they can enhance their effectiveness. Effective leaders do not engage in unethical conduct nor display the characteristics associated with an abrasive personality, which would cause them to under-utilize the talents of their employees. Effective leaders increase their personal power by empowering others in the organization.

References:

Daft, Richard L.  (2008). The Leadership Experience. Cengage Learning.

Levinson, H. (1978, May/June). The Abrasive Personality. Harvard Business Review, 86-94.

Fuqua, Harold E., Payne, Kay E., and Cangemi, Joseph P.  (1992). Leadership and the Effective Use of Power. Western Kentucky University.

Sex, Age and Race

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 Ethical decision- making is based on the ethical practices individuals.  Different ethnicities and genders can impact ethical decisions.  The decision -making processes consist of strategies, probabilities, choice and judgment. For a decision to be made, it requires a type of rise in emotions that will reflect the outcome of the decision that then readies the person for new information.  We know that most women make decisions based on emotions and show more empathy than men.  When people lack empathy and moral identity, they are morally disengaged; and moral disengagement is positively related to unethical decision making.  Decision-making can be disadvantageous even when explicit and stable information about outcome contingencies is provided when there is stress involved (Starcke, Wolf, Markowitsch, &   Brand, 2008).  This raises the question of who deals with stress better men or women?  Which ethnicity handles stress better?  Does race or gender drive the handling of stress?

http://www.riverwoodsbehavioral.com/images/banner-older-adults.jpg

     Students at San Jose University investigated the effects of gender and age on ethical decision- making.  Ethical decision -making was determined by a two- dilemma questionnaire written by Lind (2009). The results indicated gender or age alone had no effect on ethical decision making but when gender and age were combined on the mean score of the two dilemmas combined, the results were nearly significant.   The findings showed that gender and age combined could in fact have an effect on ethical decision-making.  Age and Gender are important factors in ethical decision making because decisions are made every day and knowing which gender at which age is the most capable of making an ethical decision is important in maintaining an even balance in society and also when delegating an important decision. Knowledge of the two factors combined can increase the likelihood that the most ethical decision in any situation will be made.

     Ethical decision-making by age alone can impact the decision.  Younger leaders or people will tend to make less ethical decisions than those of older individuals.    With age comes wisdom.  The younger leader may not intentionally make poor ethical decisions but due to his/her life experiences it occurs.  Older leaders have more life experiences and work experiences that will lead to better ethical decisions being made. 

It is very unethical to send this type of message to an employee even in jest!

     There are significant gender differences in ethical perceptions of business practices, but the differences decline as work experience increases.   Men and women may differ in moral orientation, but do not differ in moral reasoning.   Ethical decision-making is more likely to differ by social, political, and cultural experiences more than by gender alone.   Whether or not men will have a lower level of response to an ethical dilemma than women really depends on the situation of the dilemma.   The debate of male and female reasoning about ethical conflict has been an issue for as long as I can remember.  Many philosophers support the hypothesis that females are more care-oriented while males are more justice-oriented.

     Ethical decisions should be based on what is just and right for the organization and human kind.  Race, age, socio-economical status, nor educational level should have an impact on ethical decision-making. 

  

 http://www.kavanaghcollege.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Student-photo-2.jpg

  References:

Lind, G. (2009, October 16). Using the Moral Judgment Test for Research and Program Evaluation. Retrieved October 7, 2009, from http://www.uni-konstanz.de/agmoral/material/moral/messen/MJT_scoring-C.htm

Starcke, K., Wolf, O. T., Markowitsch, H. J., & Brand, M. (2008). Anticipatory stress

influences decision making under explicit risk conditions. Behavioral Neuroscience,

122, 1352-1360.

Chui, Ye Fang and Spindel, Brandy.  (2009).  Effects of Age and Gender.  Retrieved April 1, 2013 from http://www.mikedillinger.com/SJSUpapers/ChiuSpindel2009_decisionMaking.pdf

The Three Greats

The 3 Greats Anyone who has taken an advanced placement high school English class or attended college has studied about the greatest 3 philosophers of all time. Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle have longed been pegged as the greatest philosophers. Many of our policies and procedures or human relationship norms have come from one of the three or all three. Socrates was a Greek philosopher and the founding father of Western Philosophy. His works did not become renowned until he was featured in many of Plato’s discussions and dialogues. He then became renowned for his contribution to the field of ethics. Socrates did not write any texts dealing with philosophy or put his views into writing. All that is known about Socrates comes from the recollection of his students but mostly from Plato. The Socratic Paradoxes are: • No one desires evil • No one errs or does wrong intentionally • Virtue is knowledge • Virtue is sufficient for happiness Socrates is most known for the quote, “I only know that I know nothing noble and good”. Plato was a mathematician and philosopher of Classical Greece. Plato was a student of Socrates. Plato received this name because of his broad build. His family was very active in Athens politics. He became more active as a student of Socrates. He founded a school called the Academy which is considered the first European University. His intent was to establish a place where “thinkers” could excel and work toward a better government in Grecian cities. He led and presided over the Academy until his death. Plato’s different writings were dialogues of ethical issues. The Meno is a work that stresses that no one intentionally does wrong. Phaedo is about the immorality of the human soul. The Republic is the most renowned writing. It is a discussion of the virtue of justice, courage, wisdom, and moderation of the individual and the society. It poses three (3) basic questions: • How to live a good life? • What would an ideal State be like? • What defines a “just” individual? Those 3 questions lead to more discussions about how to educate citizens, how governments should be formed, the nature of the soul, and the afterlife. Quote from Plato, “Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people find a way around laws”. Aristotle was a student of Plato’s at the Academy. He was a teacher of Alexander the Great. Aristotle is thought to be the first of the three great philosophers to create a comprehensive system of Western Philosophy which contains morality, science, politics, and metaphysics. He is known for creating the earliest formal study of logic. His ethics were renewed when the paradigm of virtue ethics became a focal point. Aristotle was very influential which was probably why he was given the title, The First Teacher. Quote from Aristotle, “Education is the ornament of prosperity and the refuge of adversity”.

Blemished Records-Case Study Blog

Blemished Records – Case Study Blog In recent years educators have been faced with a growing problem with student discipline. New problems have arisen with students having access to the internet and multimedia. Terms like cyber-bullying, slam books, and terroristic threats were not in our vocabulary or an issue for the school districts when we were kids. Students of the 20th century took pride in their school and did not want to do anything to blemish the respectable name of their institutions. Even in high crime neighborhoods, students felt save at school. School was a refuge from the daily dilemmas of home life and community issues affecting the students. The same integrity of the 20th century students no longer exists with most of the students of the 21st century, especially students in our urban areas. Campus school violence and use of weapons have increased over the past decade. Columbine High School was the first nationally publicized school shooting that left the country in fear of sending their kids to school. The country mourned for the lives loss and was left with questions of how this happened? My opinion of how and why it happened is simple. Administrators have relaxed expectations of the students and/or not addressing low offenses for to make discipline issues seem low level on their campus. The problem is students have become increasingly aware of the infractions they can escape discipline from and those that may cause more attention. What kind of message are we sending to our kids? Are we exhibiting ethical behavior by overlooking such acts? In the State of Texas, discipline has been placed on the front burners. The discipline infractions that have led to tickets and/or arrests have overwhelmingly increased. In 2009, over 275, 000 tickets were issued as a Class C misdemeanor. The identified trends based from school districts are disturbing, including but not limited to a likely over-representation of minority and special education students in ticketing, arrest and use of force incidents. I was not surprised by this information. What was a surprise to me was the fact that so many of these juveniles entered the system for very minor infractions and some at such a young age. The Texas Appleseed researches and reports on the impact of school discipline policies; ticketing, arrest and use of force in public schools; court involvement in student discipline; and the effectiveness of alternative education programs to help close pathways to dropout and incarceration. A report conducted by them is showing an increasing number of students whose discipline is no longer being handled in the schoolhouse but rather in the courthouse. Ryan Kellus Turner and Mark Goodner state that in the last 2 decades students in the Lone Star State have been a part of a paradigm shift in discipline. Misdeeds of students which once led to the principal’s office, corporal punishment and supervised laps on the track by coaches are now resulting in criminal prosecution. Criminal records, punitive fines and heft court costs are being imposed on students age 10 – 16. Students under the age of 10 are not supposed to receive tickets but there has been some investigating by Fox News which states a 6 year old was ticketed. Students over the age of 16 are no longer charged with a misdemeanor but possibly a felony and charged as an adult. 1, 486 tickets were issued as felony offences in the State of Texas to school age students. We must do a better job as educators and administrators with the implementation of alternative punishments instead of tickets. The use of tickets has become a national academic issue. Tickets are being issued for very minor offenses. Educators must regain control of their classroom and stop hindering the progress of students. The School to Prison Pipeline is the widespread pattern in the United States of pushing students, especially those who are already at a disadvantage, out of school and into the criminal justice system. This pipeline is the result of public institutions neglecting to properly address students as individuals who might need extra educational or social assistance, or being unable to do so because of staffing shortages or statutory mandates. The resulting mis-education and mass incarceration create a vicious circle for individuals and communities. This is not our thrust as educators. We are to motivate and educate the students academically, as well as socially. We must teach character education in schools. We must gain a rapport with the students which will significantly decrease the classroom discipline issues. The enforcement of tickets is causing a decrease graduation rates and increase in drop out rates. It is also hindering the progress of students who were able to overcome the ticket by now affecting their application to college and some jobs. We are to ethically discipline students which will deter misbehavior but encourage redemption and academic success.