Those thought to be ethical or moral are described in terms of their values in regards to honesty, integrity and good character. Our ethical conduct originates from our values which are greatly influenced by our morals; they provide guidance and are our standard for the ways in which we carry out and view right and wrong decisions. For these reasons, personal ethics are said to be our foundation and, as such, often influence how we administer ethical codes of conduct in our personal lives, and the ways in which we carry out our organizational duties. The normative foundations of public service ethics are those standards used to justify and defend one’s conduct, i.e. reasoning about obligations, consequences and ultimate ends in specific situations. In addition to personal codes of conduct, leadership in the public sector requires the ability to apply ethical reasoning based on formal controls and technical standards.
The roll of ethics in public administration is based on the administration; administrators should be value-free when they implement public policy. I will discuss why ethics should be based on the administration and, why it should not be based on each individual worker in the administration. I will discuss Weber’s stance on values in bureaucratic organizations, what Macintyre suggests, and what Hummel and Goodsell would conclude about values in public administration. Most people do not understand what an administration deals with everyday on an individual basis. They might think that an administration is supposed to make the best ethical choices, but that is not the case. People who are outside the administration might think that administrators are supposed to use everyday values when implementing policy, but that is also not the case.
The Ego Centric Problem states that the knowledge we have gained over the period of our lives in entrenched so deep that it prevents us from learning new things. Descartes states that “if we can only be certain of the contents of our consciousness, then how are we ever to gain knowledge of the world that lies beyond our minds. This brings up a good point, if we already have knowledge, does that knowledge have any influence on us that would hinder us to learn new things.
There are two basic kinds of egoism, there is ethical egoism and there is psychological egoism. These two different forms of egoism are different because ethical egoism is the normative ethical position that what is moral is to be done in self-interest. This is different from psychological egoism which states specifically that people will only act in their own self-interest. Ethical egoism is broken up into two forms. There is act egoism and Rule egoism. Act egoism says
Today in our society having a big ego is looked down upon, and if someone has a large ego they are often seen as selfish and ignorant of everyone around them. But if someone has no ego at all they can start to lose their sense of self, because they are always focused on everyone around them and they never take time for themselves. To both care for yourself without becoming self-centered and care for others and still have a sense of self, you have to have a balance.
The descriptive claim made by Psychological Egoists is that humans, by nature, are motivated only by self-interest. Any act, no matter how altruistic it may seem on the outside is actually only a disguise for a selfish desire such as recognition, avoiding guilt, reward or sense of personal ‘goodness’ or morality. For example, Mother Teresa is just using the poor for her own long-term spiritual gain. Being a universal claim, it could falter with a single counterexample. And being that I believe this claim to be bunk I will tell you why!
Personal religious beliefs should impact all decisions about business ethics. If your beliefs are truly mandated in your life, then you have no choice but to be fair and honest about your business decisions. Business decisions can sometimes be difficult and harsh, but that is no reason to comprise the integrity of what you believe in.
I do agree with you that we need to not let our faith interfere with our duty. However, our faith can still guide us in our decision making abilities. We must not disregard our faith in the moment, rather keep a professional façade. I have found in the most destitute of situations that some people respond positively to seeing an officer secure in their faith.
“Egoism is the normative idea that each person ought to pursue his or her own self-interest exclusively” (Rachels 77). In other words, what makes one’s actions moral is if they are acting in their own self-interest only. It is the radical view that states that one’s only duty is to promote one’s own self-interest. This theory does not suggest that one should act in their own interest as well as others best interest, but, according to Rachels, there is only one principle to follow and that
Rachels (2003) described ethical egoism to having three arguments which makes it a valid ethical theory to abide by. One of the arguments explained how it is in one’s self-interest to not have help from others (Rachels, 2003). It is considered degrading to have someone offer his or her “charity” (Rachels, 2003, p.194) in attempts to make one’s life better. A person does not want to be regarded as incapable and in need of someone’s help. If everyone was to adapt an ethical egoist point of view, no one would be seen as inferior and everyone would be given an equal chance to succeed (Rachels, 2003). If strong affirmative action programs were employed to the NESA program everyone would undermine
Psychological egoism is the view that everyone always acts selfishly. It describes human nature as being wholly self-centered and self-motivated. Psychological egoism is different from ethical egoism in their “direction of fit” to the world. Psychological ego-ism is a factual theory. It aims to fit the world. In the world is not how psychological ego-ism says it is because someone acts unselfishly, then something is wrong with psycho-logical egoism. In my opinion this argument is completely wrong and unsound.
At times, ethical egoism can benefit the larger group, as in a doctor in a rural town with free rent and a captive audience. The city provides the rent, the doctor the care, but all benefit.
The Egoist argues that what is morally right is for an agent to maximise their own self-interest. If it is in one’s self-interest to speed as they are late for work, the Egoist argues that it is the agent’s moral duty to do so. Violating the speed limit is thus given moral justification, simply because it was in one’s own self-interest. If this moral rule applied to everyone equally, the disorder is conceivably undesirable. To further illustrate that this theory is problematic; Ethical Egoism would argue it would be morally justified for one to steal from someone else if it was in their self-interest (Moseley). If this moral theory were universalized, the notion of proprietorship would be meaningless. Ethical Egoism promotes social chaos, and is thus self-defeating as a moral theory.
There has not been much discussion about the code of ethics in the past administrations than in Trump Administration. Personal integrity is an asset in today’s time where the political chaos runs the White House and where a hullabaloo takes place every week. The atmosphere of chaos prevails in the government and society, which causes disruptive governance to run in every level. In this presidency, there is a sense of aristocracy where the privileged class has taken over the voice of the people and only depends on those members of Congress who adhere to integrity to do what is right for the least privilege. Upbringing integrity to the best of one character brings out courage to overcome obstacles. It is not a secret that if officials who hold high positions and stand by their own decisions always fear repercussions, but with this administration, they fear dismissal. For example, the attorney general Saly Yates, who was fired after she defied the president’s executive order— banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries entering the U.S. (Newsweek, 2017). She decided to stand by her position and she was punished for demonstrating integrity on an issue that deserves more evaluation for policy implementation. Demonstrating
We are a social species. We reproduce sexually and thus our relationships with those around us are essential to our ability to succeed as an individual. With these ideas in mind, society has come to denounce egocentrism and to view those who are prone to it as undesirable and incapable of success. Egocentrism is defined in the Oxford dictionary as “Thinking only of oneself, without regard for the feelings or desires of others.” In the eyes of most, to think only of oneself is to be parasitic to all others. To lack empathy is to be inherently indifferent which precedes unsuccessfulness. Why is it then that there are so many stories of cruel billionaire businessman mistreating their employees and loved ones? How can people that disregard the