What are Virtues?

Virtues

            It is stated that a “virtue is a moral habit” that enables one to achieve his or her values (Landauer & Rowlands, 2001).  My values are those that I strive to attain based on my notions of morals and ethics.  After reading Benjamin Franklin’s 13 virtues, I considered the virtues that I strongly believe I possess; the virtues of resolution and industry.  The first, resolution, as Franklin had defined is to “perform without fail what you resolve” (Public Broadcasting Service, n.d.).  Synonyms for resolution are purpose, determination and perseverance.  I believe the aforementioned traits summize how I have lived my life. 

            The second virtue that I strongly believe I possess is ‘industry’.  Benjamin Franklin described ‘industry’ as that in which one loses no time (Public Broadcasting Service, n.d.).  He further added, “Be always employed in something useful.  Cut off all unnecessary actions” (Public Broadcasting Service, n.d.).  I always tell myself to be “productive”.  I always tell my kids to be productive (much to their annoyance).  However, I did not always think this way.  I had experienced a significant event, when I had lost a friend in combat, that I realized the frailty and impermanence of life.  Thus, I am constantly compelled to achieve something, no matter big or small. 

            The virtues I mentioned above are demonstrated in the following examples in my life.  I am currently pursuing a Master’s degree and train/compete in martial arts.  Both of these endeavors are nothing that I have to/am required to do.  I want to do them.  I choose not to be timid with opportunity and to have no regret with an unfulfilled life.

            Yet, I understand that possessing a few virtues does not make me a virtuous person. Franklin wrote of at least 13 virtues that one ought to have to be a person of good character (Public Broadcasting Service, n.d.).  I wrote that I strongly believe I possess the virtues of resolution and industry.  I feel the same with the virtues of order and cleanliness.  However, after taking the virtue quiz, I learned that there are some virtues that I need to improve upon and include in my daily life – the virtues of sincerity and tranquility.   

            To have sincerity is to “think innocently and justly” (Public Broadcasting Service, n.d.).  I believe this relates to how I judge people.  I discussed in this course’s current Module about my biases towards others.  I admitted that I am not free of bias – I judge others against my standard of “truths” i.e. how one should behave and/or act.  However, it is asserted that the “truth” can only be recognized through things such as context, perspective, empathy, and self-reflection to name a few (LaFollette, 2007).  In order to develop sincerity in my daily life, I must reflect upon my assumptions, misconceptions, and/or prejudices towards others and get to know the other person. 

            Another virtue that I seemed to fall short on is tranquility.  A person who is tranquil is “not disturbed at trifles or at accidents common or unavoidable” (Public Broadcasting Service, n.d.).  The quiz results declared to not sweat the small stuff.  Developing this virtue will most definitely be a challenge to me.  Many of my professional and educational experiences and teaching have conditioned me to pay attention to detail.  However, I do recognize that not every detail is important and in the context of life, I ought to pay more attention to the things that really matter.  From another perspective, tranquility can also mean finding personal peace.  The Dalai Lama XIV once said, “Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek” (Good Reads, n.d.).

References

Good Reads. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.goodreads.com: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/tranquility

LaFollette, H. (2007). The practice of ethics. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Landauer, J., & Rowlands, J. (2001). Retrieved from www.importanceofphilosophy.com: http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Ethics_Virtue.html

McKee, A., Boyatzis, R., & Johnston, F. (2008). Becoming a resonant leader. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.

Public Broadcasting Service. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.pbs.org: http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/pop_virtues_list.html

Is marketing evil?

            I have learned in this course’s teachings that the role of ethics is significant in business.  Organizations and their employees face daily challenges between doing the right thing and making money.  Marketing is but one tool that many businesses use to reach out to customers, and it can be exploited for good or bad.  The question that this blog seeks to answer is, “Is marketing evil?”  Although I am not a marketer nor have I worked in a marketing environment, I can provide a perspective on marketing from the viewpoints of a leader and customer. 

            I believe that ethical guidelines make a difference to marketers.  That being said, I believe the difference will be determined by the leadership and organizational culture in regards to ethics.  It is not enough to simply have ethical guidelines i.e. code of ethics or programs – ethics cannot be a “check the block” requirement.  Leaders must cultivate or reinforce one’s personal ethical behavior.  Many times in my Army career, the unit pushed Equal Opportunity, Sexual Harassment/Assault Prevention, Consideration of Others, and other ethical training.  The prevailing assertion made by the instructors was “Now that you know what’s right, don’t f**k up!”  Ideally, employees behave ethically because there is a sense that the organization’s purpose is governed by principles.

            I was taught by my mentors to “choose the hard right over the easy wrong”.  However, I have learned through my own experiences and witnessing the experiences of others that that adage is far easier said than done.  One’s personal morals/ethics will undoubtedly be tested at some point in his or her career, whether it be by his or her co-workers, customers, or boss.  Imagine a situation where one was faced with reporting information to the boss, and telling him or her what they wanted to hear rather than the truth?  Thus, in addition to organizational ethics, a marketer ought to have strong personal ethics.  They may encounter marketing situations where being unethical is just as rewarding as being ethical.

            Thus, companies must balance the need to win with being ethical.  Being ethical in business is a challenge for the individual and/or organization.  Milton Friedman, the famous economist and Nobel laureate, theorized that the purpose of business is “profit maximization”.  Many organizations and their employees understand that ‘”winning” usually means making money.  Yet, organizations and employees ought to understand that there must also be a degree of corporate and social responsibility.  For instance, a marketer should not make a false claim for the sake of sales.  Consider Volkswagen’s emission scandal where the company cheated on automobile emissions tests to help push its U.S. marketing campaign for low emission diesel cars (Hotten, 2015).  Ironically, in the company’s attempt to make profit, the leadership’s unethical decisions consequently led to loss of nearly $2 billion (Hotten, 2015). 

            Yet, profit maximization can be achieved while still being ethical.  When an organization practices corporate and social responsibility, it considers the needs of stakeholders, the public, and the environment.  Friedman also noted that “profit maximization” is socially responsible “…so long as it (the firm) stays within the rules of the game” (Friedman, 2003, p. 133).  In the context of this discussion, the “rules” are the ethical guidelines.

            However, in areas such as marketing, the rules can be grey.  Consider the tactic of behavioral marketing.  It is a tactic that firms use to track your buying habits or web visits to target you for marketing purposes (Deschene, 2008).  The purpose of behavioral targeting is to help marketers get sales leads (Deschene, 2008).  I am familiar with this marketing tactic as I have experienced it many times.  For instance, when I shop on Amazon, the site “offers” me products that I may be interested in based on my history of purchases or searches.  In this instance, I see it as a helpful tool and consider it an ethical practice.

            However, I recognize that behavioral targeting can also have negative ethical implications.  First, I assume that most people, including myself, don’t like unsolicited advice.  (This reminded me of a humorous saying I heard in the Army, “If I wanted your opinion, I’d give it to you!”).  People do not like the feeling of being manipulated.  Moreover, people do not want to be watched, monitored, tracked, etc. without their consent or knowing, even if the intent is for “good” - consider the controversy of government wiretapping in the war against terrorism.  Thus, depending on the scope or intent of behavioral targeting, and the person’s perspective, the tactic can be either ethical or unethical. 

            Leadership in marketing is as important as in any other business function.  As a leader, I would manage the ethical aspects of my marketing efforts by focusing on the marketers themselves.  As I wrote above, I believe that an organization’s ethical guidelines will be ineffective if the individual persons do not have a strong moral center.  Thus, I would develop interpersonal relationships and a workplace culture that reinforced the value of ethics. 

            In addition, I would also provide my followers with formal “rules” to govern ethics as well.  My code of ethics would highlight integrity, honesty, respect, and duty to name a few.  Ferell (n.d.) suggested developing an ethical-decision making framework that considered stakeholders, individual perspectives, organizational culture, and opportunity.  These of course, are small steps towards developing true and lasting ethical behavior.  However, I believe that if you take care of the small things, the big things will take care of themselves.

References

Deschene, L. (2008, May 1). Retrieved from www.cbsnews.com: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-behavioral-targeting/

Ferrel, L. (n.d.). Marketing Ethics.

Friedman, M. (2003). Capitalism and Freedom. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Hotten, R. (2015, December 10). Retrieved from BBC News: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34324772

LaFollette, H. (2007). The practice of ethics. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Is Affirmative Action Ethical?

              Discussions about race are always difficult.  Although we all try to be objective about our judgments, we are ultimately swayed by our personal beliefs and experiences.  Yet, I sincerely make a best effort to critically think about the issue at hand.  I consider others’ perspectives and orientations, my own assumptions, facts, and implications and consequences (of my behavior).  That being said, I still stand by my beliefs but also recognize that another’s viewpoint carries equal merit.    

            First, I will discuss the conditions for the requirement of an affirmative action program.  In general, employers are not required to have a formal affirmative action program (Society for Human Resource Management, 2015).  This is because protection against employer discrimination is already covered under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d.).  Title VII prohibits discrimination because of sex, race, color, national origin, and religion (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d.). 

            An affirmative action program is required for an employer when a) as a condition of doing business with the federal government, or b) a court ordered solution to remedy discrimination practices (Society for Human Resource Management, 2015). 

            The arguments I will pose are only to highlight certain instances in which I believe affirmative action to be unethical, however, I am not saying that the concept of affirmative action on the whole is unethical.  I understand that it is meant to do good. 

            I believe affirmative action to be unethical.  If I could boil my reason down to its simplest form, my argument in based on my perspective of equity versus equality.  In the context of this discussion, affirmative action is a process to ensure equity – that those who are disadvantaged are given an advantage so that the “playing field” is equal.  On the other hand, equality ensures that everyone gets the same treatment.    

            I believe affirmative action to be unethical for the following two reasons. (Although there are many different arguments to be made, I chose two for brevity).  First, I believe affirmative action to be unethical as a tool use for recompense.  Should one be punished for the sins of his or her ancestors?  It is argued that affirmative action is needed because African-Americans have been subjected to systematic and institutional racism (LaFollette, 2007).  In short, affirmative action is justified because of past discrimination.  (I noted above that affirmative action is also used for employers caught in current discrimination practices.)

            The consequence of affirmative action is that someone “pays the price” for that restitution even when he or she is innocent, non-involved, or ignorant to past wrong doings.  If we follow this notion, should not the entirety of present-day German citizens continue to provide restitution to Jewish people (who are not holocaust victims)?  LaFollete (2007) argued yes – although someone may not have directly benefited from something his or her ancestors/race did, it undoubtedly gave him or her an advantage in his or her life prospects.   

            Second, I believe affirmative action to be unethical because its disadvantages an otherwise fully qualified candidate based on his or her race (see the irony?).  For instance, if a white and black male both applied for a job, and the employer sought to meet a federally scripted "placement goal" of African-American employees, then the black male would be hired.  Considering that both males were equally qualified, then white male was not hired strictly based on his race.

            Moreover, I believe it takes away the merit and dignity of work.  If the white male is objectively more qualified (i.e. more education, skills, experience, etc.) than the black male, the black male would still be hired.  Title VII does not require an employer to hire (or promote) an unqualified person (Society for Human Resource Management, 2015).  However, it can lead to the indirect effect of the lesser qualified candidate being selected because he is black.  Is it ethical to reward one (over another) without merit?

            Holzer & Nuemark (1996) conducted a study to determine if affirmative action resulted in the hire of less qualified candidates.  The results, based on a sample of 3,200 employers found that there were some evidence indicating lower educational qualifications among blacks and Hispanics hired (opposed to white counterparts) (Holzer & Neumark, 1996).  However, it is also important to note that there was little evidence of substantially weaker job performance of the affirmative action hires (Holzer & Neumark, 1996).

            I have no personal experiences with affirmative action although it is meant to include all minorities.  I am indifferent to it.  On the one hand, I am not white (with no perceived or real advantages).  On the other hand, I am not black (with no perceived or real disadvantages).  Moreover, I am not a female (obviously).  I am Asian – a first-generation born Filipino-American born to immigrant parents, who grew up in a modest income home.  Yet, here I am today – a professional pursuing an MBA.  I cannot say if institutional norms helped or hurt me.  But I can say that given an equal chance, I was able to succeed.

References

Holzer, H., & Neumark, D. (1996). Retrieved from National Bureau of Economics: http://www.nber.org/papers/w5603

LaFollette, H. (2007). The practice of ethics. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Society for Human Resource Management. (2015, November 9). Retrieved from Society for Human Resource Management: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/pages/whenisanaapneeded.aspx

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commision. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.eeoc.gov: https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/titlevii.cfm

            

The harder they fall

            In his article, Roderick Kramer wrote why leaders fall (Kramer, 2003).  He wrote that when a leader has fallen from grace, it is resultant of several common things.  Those things, as I perceived them, related to one losing his or her ethical ways – he or she no longer followed the bearing on their moral compass. 

            For instance, Kramer (2003) wrote that a leader’s ‘fall from grace’ was often a consequence of one’s “winner wants all” mentality (p. 60).  With such a mentality, it was easy for the leader to lose introspection.  It was asserted that with a “winner wants all” mentality, one may “perceive…introspection (as) antithetical to success” (Kramer, 2003, p. 60).  I believe that this is akin to an “ends justify the means” mentality”.  In the context of ethics, a consequentialist may not see something wrong with a “winner wants all” mentality – the risks, the moral missteps, etc. are worth it so long as the envisioned outcome is perceived as the best outcome.  Yet, the problem here is the lack of introspection; one has failed (or fails to) to examine and/or assess his or her moral/ethical behavior and actions. 

            For example, when climbing the ladder of success, a leader may encounter the ethical dilemma of stepping on other people.  Yet, doing this violates an important precept, the Golden Rule (LaFollette, 2007).  The Golden Rule is that universal moral notion that we ought not to harm others, or alternatively, do unto them as we would expect in return (LaFollete, 2007; Putnam, 2006).  Although I did not step on other people to find success at work, I recognized that my past actions had indirectly harmed others.       

            Early in my military career as young leader, I was very focused on mission accomplishment.  I wanted recognition as the leader that gets things done.  To achieve this I pushed my followers hard and had little tolerance for failure or excuses.  Moreover, I became dissonant.  I became socially and emotionally distant from my followers and was not necessarily concerned about their personal lives.  I lacked compassion.  This was a result of focusing on winning (the ends) while dismissing the means.  Kramer (2003) called this the “sins of omission” where one fails to monitor his or her environment and paying less attention to others around them (p. 63).  Contrary to dissonance is resonant leadership, where one has mindfulness, hope, and compassion (Boyatzis & McKee, 2005).  This is now what I strive to be. 

            The “winner wants all” mentality is also pervasive in our American culture (consider political ideologies).  There is (and has been) ideological and ethical conflicts between so-called liberals and conservative on issues that include, but not limited to, abortion, welfare, death penalty, etc. where each side resists compromise.  There is irony in this – the claim from both sides is that the other is intolerant, and yet not recognizing the fallacy of their arguments.  Yet, in the face of this I believe that I carry moderation on these issues and use intellectual courage (or at least try to) in considering others’ beliefs.

            However, Kramer (2003) offered some advice to avoid the previously mentioned moral and ethical pitfalls.  First, keep it simple (p. 60).  I realized that my life had so much more value when I considered what was really important to me – faith, family/friends, and self (personal improvement).  Second, have a reality check, often (p. 60).  I must know and understand the basis of my moral/ethical assumptions.  Are they guided by principles and sound ethical theories or am I affected by ever-changing social norms?  As a person (and leader), I must assess and know who I really am versus who I want (or ought) to be.  Thus, Kramer claims, one must be introspective and understanding his or her strengths and shortcomings.

References

Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2005). Resonant leadership. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.

Kramer, R. (2003). The harder they fall. Harvard Business Review, 58-66.

LaFollette, H. (2007). The practice of ethics. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Putnam, M. (2006). Retrieved from www.globalethicsuniversity.com: http://www.globalethicsuniversity.com/articles/thegoldenrule.htm