Reactionary Essay to If Aristotle Ran General Motors, by Tom Morris

However, after reading further, I concluded that Morris' statement has a great deal of merit. He infers that this type of query is actually involved with “self-interest, which is not the same thing as selfishness” (Morris p. 117). Asking this type of question can really mean that we are looking at the effect something might have on our immediate or long-term personal fulfillment, financial security, etc. Doing the right thing is not always going to affect us in some positive way immediately. In fact, we could suffer short-term negative effects by electing to do the right thing. But the long-term benefits to our personal fulfillment will nearly always be positive, because doing the right thing brings blessings from the Lord. God honors right living.

Organizations that behave ethically are more apt to earn the trust of their customers, employees, and stockholders. Then there are companies that hide the true value of the company from possible investors, customers, employees, and the public at large showing a lack of ethically behavior. This does not all the time included just one company, but a group effort to hide, steal, and mislead everyone for personnel gains. Everyone that deals with any organization expects the upmost ethically behavior on all levels.

Good manners can and will make you more successful in life. Many people don’t consider others and only care about themselves. This can not only be harmful to your well-being, but being rude can affect more people than just you. As Lauren Tarshis wrote in “Is Anything Wrong With this Picture,” “Manners serve to make the world a happier and more pleasant place to live.” The reason that manners exist is to keep us civil. Without them, everyone would be extremely rude and not much would be achieved. Classes would constantly be interrupted, people’s feelings would be hurt, and no one would have any respect for others. Thus, we all must try to use good manners and be

Fred Astaire sums this surrender of compassion into one amazing quote: “The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.” Even though Astaire’s statement contradicts the beliefs of many people across the nation, it shows insight into the true problem. Positive social interactions are no longer a normalized aspect of human life. While the vanishing of respect for one another has hit the mainstream more recently; the issue has been around for multiple centuries. “This pattern and its consequences had already drawn the attention of European and American observers by the early 19th century”” (Fass 85). Yet, we have not tried to fix the issue, but only allowed the bad behavior

It finally has been acknowledged that simply taking an ethics class does not provide the same level of experience as providing a more integrated approach to ethics within the learning process of a student within graduate business school. Gaining the ability and competence to understand ethics is only first step to what awaits the new leaders who will be required to live an ethical life but also sustain and encourage a corporate ethical environment from which staff can also make ethical decisions. The recent financial scandals along with the younger generation’s concerns for the environment has elevated and renewed the importance of corporate leadership in providing more transparent and straightforward accounting reports as well as addressing other issues that do not encourage a culture of ethics within their organization. Wrongdoing should be addressed and ethical decisions need to be encouraged and supported instead. CEOs and board members are just beginning to present themselves and their organizations as ethical decision-makers who are responsibly provide good and wise solutions for stakeholders of the company. In the Journal of Business Ethics, “Business Ethics in North America: Trends and Challenges” the authors reviewed and

Simple things like saying thank you when someone holds a door for another or saying please when requesting a drink refill no longer seem to be the social norm. What has become the norm is to be waited on by a cashier, “all while having a conversation on her cellphone” (Weeks, 2014). In a telephone survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports, 77% of respondents believed that American adults were becoming ruder ("77% Think Americans", 2013). With society’s manners dwindling, the ease of caring only for ‘me’ has become easier. Hartwell-Walker (2008) believes that if you teach manners to children it will produce empathy. If one were to step back and put themselves into the shoes of the person that their selfishness is going to affect, they may be less likely to follow through with that

In this article the authors take the approach of analyzing three famous ethical theories. They look at the ethics of virtue by Aristotle, Immanuel Kant’s deontological ethics, and John Stuart Mill’s utilitarian happiness principle. They explain what each of these great thinkers argued constitutes moral behavior as well as their thoughts on what drives such behavior. They then apply these concepts to ethics training programs of modern day corporations. In short, one must have an understanding of the impetus of people’s ethical behaviors in order to implement an appropriate program to cultivate and reinforce the desired organization’s ethics.

While walking down the street passing by people, talking with others, the words they use are pretty harsh, I wonder what the people they talk with think; do they think that this person needs to learn manners. On the other hand, going into a restaurant, with people holding the door and hearing people say thank you and your welcome makes you feel like people care for you. In my opinion, society needs more etiquette because without manners our world would have stress. According to the article, “Are Modern Americans A Rude, Boorish Lot?,” it stated, “From road rage in the morning commute to high decibel cell phone conversations that ruin dinner out, men and women behaving badly has become the hallmark of a hurry-up world. All of these things lead

The three things that come to mind when I think of the word ethics that applies to me personally is that ultimately treat people the way you want them to treat you, in business and personally. I say that because it covers everything, the choices we do or do not make, and help in deciding the course of actions we take through life. Even though it is different for everyone.

Humans has been discussing and thinking of the complex theories of ethics and how they relate to mankind for centuries. The history of human ethical philosophy is far greater and more complex than this paper can ever truly attempt to define or explain. Great philosophers like Aristotle, Machiavelli, Kant and Mills have already taken on the aforementioned task. This paper is not an attempt to replicate their work or explain their work, instead this paper will look to take the theories they have presented along with the writings presented throughout the entirety of this course and discuss the risks associated with the creation and implementation of organizational codes of ethics without factoring in the needs of humanity, then create a personal code of ethics.

With recent economic turmoil, ethical business practices have been thrown into the spotlight as a vital area with which companies need to improve on. Proper business ethics are vital for economic growth and progress as well as facilitating a productive and morally correct society. The United States has recently suffered large economic declines, the most significant of which occurred in 2001 and 2008. As the questions are asked and some answers given, the picture of big business not caring about the middle class individual is painted for the American people. Everyone has a finger to point, and many of these are aimed towards these large companies. With the blame falling on various financial institutions, people begin to dig deeper to

In the daily scramble to get ahead, earn a profit, and outwit competitors, some people don't play by the rules. Sometimes the culprits are respected and ordinarily well-behaved persons even though they are accused of a crime or offense. Unfair and unscrupulous actions hinder the development of harmonious relationships between workers and co-workers, and between workers and supervisors. A person who cannot be trusted to do the right thing, fails to win the respect of others. It should be recognized, however, that ethical dilemmas are faced by people at all levels within an organization. Various firms have experienced breaches of ethics. The respected business firms suffer damage to their reputation when questions concerning ethical behavior arise. This is one of the reason formal codes of ethics, developed by many business organizations, and trade associations are popular today. Code of ethics is simply a compilation of the rules that are meant to govern the conduct of members of a particular organization or profession. A recent survey found that 94% of the fortune 500 service and industrial companies have a written code of ethics (American Marketing Association). Companies and trade associations expect their members to abide by such rules as a condition of their engaging in the profession. There are at least two noteworthy limitations to codes of ethics. First, the written rules are sometimes so vague and general they prove to be of little value.

Business ethics is a diverse field that cannot be defined with a single definition. This area addresses numerous issues, problems, and dilemmas within the management of businesses. Does this through numerous perspectives and methods. Of course, in order to present the complexities of business ethics, we must explore the types of issues that business professionals are continuously confronted with. To understand one must

An ethical corporation is not an oxymoron. History is littered with tales of deceit and corruption. Human conduct towards ethics in today’s workplace is an important issue; recent headlines show consequences of unethical behavior on both companies and employees. Contained within the basic code of ethics in the workplace are words like, trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, (Chatov, 1980).

In our lives we use ethics on a daily basis along with our own morals. Our ethics and morals influence the way we make decisions and the way we choose to respond in different situations. At some point in a person’s life there comes a time when a person must choose between sides, and be able to differentiate between wrong and right and what is befitting for humanity as a whole, which is when we apply our personal ethics system.