A634.6.3.RB - What are Virtues?

Personally, I view virtues as part of a formula towards living morally.  LaFollette (2007) supports my view because he suggests virtue theorists think morality is not an imposition on life, rather a prescription in achieving living the best life possible.  He also states Aristotle’s stance on virtues is that a “virtuous person must: (1) do the appropriate action; (2) do so habitually; (3) enjoy acting virtuously; (4) know that it is virtuous; and (5) know why it is virtuous” (LaFollette, 2007, p. 213).  Ben Franklin developed a program towards self-improvement which included 13 virtues which defined a person of good character.  The virtue quiz in relation to Ben Franklin’s 13 virtues revealed I could improve on temperance, resolution, and cleanliness.  I will discuss these virtues and how I can incorporate them into my daily life.

Ben Franklin’s thought towards the virtue of temperance is to “Eat not to dullness.  Drink not to elevation” (Ben’s 13 Virtues, n.d.).  My interpretation of his thought is that we should not eat to the point we feel we are in a food coma or drink alcohol to the level our judgment is impaired.  Basically, eat and drink in moderation.  This of course sounds like good, sound, and simple advice at first glance.  However, many people including myself, merely enjoy eating and drinking.  I love cooking and trying different foods I have never eaten.  I love craft beers and the varieties available.  I do not think there is anything wrong with trying new things, but I do see where constant excess can degrade temperance and lead to problems.  I think there are some ways I can incorporate increasing restraint to excess.  I do not see my eating habits as a problem because I am very good about portion control and stopping when I begin to feel full.  Am I perfect?  Of course not, I am human.  But I do know there are times I need to scale back on how many beers I consume in a sitting.  I can combat this problem with either putting a time limit on how long I will be when out with friends or establishing a limit prior to having a drink.  Also, I have never been a designated driver in my life, so I will try that.  Another aspect is how I need to be more aware of how my children perceive the act of drinking alcohol, especially in relation to me, their father.  Warren (2009) states “The virtue of temperance is mainly cultivated in children in the context of family, the example of parents and relatives on the growing child, and the place of alcohol in their lives” (p. 106).  I have to agree with that statement and need to be more cognizant of the impression I leave on my children.  I typically approach drinking beers with friends as something fun, but I have to consider that I will pass on that connection to my children if I am not careful or do not teach them otherwise.  

Franklin’s anecdote on resolution is to “Resolve to perform what you ought.  Perform without fail what you resolve” (Ben’s 13 Virtues, n.d.).  I interpret this as fix or improve on what we feel we need to and stick to the plan to accomplish the improvement.  The best example is the New Year’s resolution millions of us make each year.  These resolutions are supposed to be oriented towards making some part of our life better.  This explains why there is such an influx of people in January who join a gym in hopes of improving their physical fitness.  They typically start out strong in the beginning of the year and then their attendance steadily fades out as the year progresses.  I used to be somewhat religious about working out and now find myself struggling to wake up in the early hours to go work out.  Going to bed late, the weather, kids, job, and other things find their way into explaining why I fail to go.  I realize these are ultimately just excuses and there really is no other explanation.  I need to live more closely to a “be stronger than my excuses” frame of mind.  

Ben Franklin’s stance on cleanliness is one in which we “tolerate no uncleanness in body, clothes, or habitation” (Ben’s 13 Virtues, n.d.).  When this virtue populated in the quiz as an area I may want to think about approaching differently, I was quite irked.  Even a little offended.  Just because I would only clean up spilled spaghetti sauce on my stove and ignore my dirty dishes until the next day does not mean I am not a clean person. It means I am an exhausted person who does not want to wake up his kids for the sake of trying to reach an OCD level of cleanliness.  Yes, I may be overreacting.  I know the intention of the quiz was not to question my cleanliness or personal hygiene; however, maybe it was to bring to light better ways of approaching certain habits.  I believe the point in this virtue in particular was to reveal how I should handle things in the moment and not procrastinate.  There is no better time than the present (in most circumstances) to accomplish anything whether we are referring to cleanliness or any other virtue.  I also believe Franklin is saying that if we tolerate uncleanness, then our toleration will progressively worsen and spill over into other aspects of our lives.  Referring back to making the connection between uncleanness and procrastination, I believe I can incorporate the technique of mental rehearsal.  According to Peper, Harvey, Lin, and Duvvuri (2014) “mental rehearsal is role-playing in your imagination. The more you imagine yourself performing the desired (or undesired!) behavior, the more likely it is that you will actually perform that behavior.  Mental imagery is a process in which a behavior or a performance is rehearsed mentally, as if the person is actually performing it” (p. 83).  This method can be especially helpful in my self-improvement through mentally rehearsing what I learned from past behavior and accomplishments I wish to achieve in the future.    

References:

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

PBS. (n.d.). Ben’s 13 virtues.  Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/pop_virtues_list.html

Peper, Erik, PhD., B.C.B., Harvey, R., PhD., Lin, I., & Duvvuri, P. (2014). Increase productivity, decrease procrastination, and increase energy. Biofeedback (Online), 42(2), 82-87.

Warren, R. C. (2009). Temperance and alcohol. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 1(2), 97-109.

A634.5.4.RB - Is Marketing Evil?

1. Do you feel ethical guidelines make a difference to marketers?

I believe ethical guidelines make a difference to marketers who are committed to a long term strategy focused on the customer.  El Sayed & El Ghazaly (n.d.) state that “To be customer focused in marketing, is the essence that brings an organization to success, it's the underlying culture that enables a company to grow, simply because marketing is the glue that sticks the consumer to the company or the product it sells” (para. 4). Marketers who are willing to overlook ethics for the sake of making quick profits will only last a short time.  Markets are simply too competitive to try and maintain fooling the customer.  It is the customer who will ultimately decide if an organization’s marketing is unethical.  A single consumer alone cannot make that come to that conclusion.  Conversely, if the majority of the consumers are detracted from what they perceive as unethical marketing, they will seek out more ethical marketing tactics.  The result is the perpetual demise of the organization who should have known unethical marketing would be counterproductive to successful business practices.  However, that does not stop marketers from pushing their ethical boundaries.  For example, Lord & Taylor has recently come under fire for a practice called “native advertising”.  This tactic involves a company paying someone such as a blogger to make the content of their media look more like editorial content as opposed to a paid ad.  The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) charged Lord & Taylor specifically for paying bloggers and a magazine to promote their clothing without disclosing they were ads.  This practice in turn dupes consumers into thinking a product may be trending or gaining popularity when the reality is that it is just a paid advertisement.  Ron Urbach (2016), chairman of law firm Davis & Gilbert LLP, which concentrates on the advertising and marketing sectors, states, “The reason the line between editorial content and ads becomes blurry on social media compared with traditional paid advertising is due to the personal nature of social posts. On digital and social platforms, content is more likely to be presumed by the consumer as not being advertising” (Hadley, para. 14).     

2. How can companies balance the need to win with being ethical?

Companies can balance the need to win with being ethical by avoiding shortcuts and accepting that trying to be number one in their market will come with time as long as they respect their customer.  Sticking to an ethical marketing strategy will almost always win in the long run.  Targeting the young, impressionable, and sometimes the ignorant can be an easy accomplishment using unethical tactics.  The real challenge for a successful unethical marketing strategy comes when people are armed with education and experience to identify such immoral approaches.  People quickly learn how to avoid falling victim to being exploited by unethical companies and their unrealistic product promises, approaching them with an “I am not buying what you are selling” attitude.  Companies need to have a high level of self-awareness and introspection to ensure they are staying within the proper ethical boundaries.  Consumers are looking more and more at how a company is impacting society because of competition in the industry.  Many times there are numerous companies who can provide a product or service and the consumer would rather select a company who is focused on making the world a better place.  Auger, Devinney, Louviere, and Burke (2010) suggest “most research, both commercial and academic, on the importance of social product attributes suggests that a growing number of consumers are increasingly taking ethical and social issues into account when purchasing products” (p. 143).   

3. Is it ethical to track your buying habits or web visits to target you for marketing purposes?

I could care less if a company tracks my buying habits for the purpose of marketing products.  I have nothing to hide.  If a company wants to use resources and invest in trying to find out what their consumer buying habits are, then I believe they have every right to do so.  They are not forcing me to make a purchase.  They are not stealing some sensitive information from me.  They are not hurting me or costing me anything.  I, the consumer, have the final say in whether or not I make a purchase from being targeted by marketing.  I even take a welcoming approach to being marketed because sometimes there may be things I find interesting that I did not realize were available.  Again, it is up to the consumer to decide if they want or need what is being marketed.  

4. As a leader, how will you manage the ethical aspects of your marketing efforts?

Leading by example is a key to leading others in a way of practicing what I am preaching and that is one way I will manage the aspects of my marketing efforts.  For example, if I tell my followers what to do and what not do regarding ethics, yet my actions are contradictory to my guidance just one time, all trust is lost.  This is a recipe for a plausible slippery slope where “a relatively harmless and plausibly permissible action may increase the propensity of acting badly later.  This propensity makes doing the initial actions immoral” (LaFollette, 2007, p. 135).  I may not recognize my unethical behavior and my subordinates are too afraid to point it out, so it continues.  In the meantime, the rest of the organization feels they can conduct their behavior in the same manner because their leader is setting the example.  The organization has now set the tone for an unethical culture.  With that said, I will also question the impacts of marketing decisions on the business and customers.  The organization has a bright future as long as everyone in the organization can unequivocally answer no when a potentially unethical decision is in question.

References:

Auger, P., Devinney, T. M., Louviere, J. J., & Burke, P. F. (2010). The importance of social product attributes in consumer purchasing decisions: A multi-country comparative study. International Business Review, 19(2), 140-159.

El Sayed, H. & El Ghazaly, I. (n.d.).  Is marketing evil? marketing viewed as a tool.  Retrieved from http://www.ethicsbasedmarketing.net/2.html

Hadley, M. (2016, March 15). Lord & taylor settles FTC charges over paid Instagram posts.  USA Today. Retrieved March 15, 2016, from http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/03/15/lord--taylor-settles-ftc-charges-over-paid-instagram-posts/81801972/

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

A634.4.4.RB - Is Affirmative Action Ethical?

Affirmative action according to LaFollette (2007) is “the practice of giving special consideration to minorities and women in hiring and school placement” (p. 87).  I am a white male who makes a sincere and conscious effort to remove any bias or assumptions when addressing affirmative action.  I am fully aware there are differing opinions on affirmative action and this practice affects people (women, men, race) differently.  However, I make a point to not only try to educate and form my opinion on this issue through how it affects me, but also how it affects others.  Can I truly understand how affirmative action someone who is black or female or both?  Of course not, but I can at least try.  The question at hand here is not whether affirmative action is or is not effective.  The question is if it is ethical.  First I think a basic understanding of ethics should be addressed to help answer the ethical dilemma.  The definition of ethics according to Merriam-Webster is “an area of study that deals with ideas about what is good and bad behavior : a branch of philosophy dealing with what is morally right or wrong” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.).  So now the question gets a little more specific of whether affirmative action is good or bad behavior or if it is morally right or wrong. 

Affirmative action is described by Allen (2011) as “a measure designed to remedy the effects of wrongful discrimination or improve diversity.  Affirmative action can remedy the injustice of discrimination on the basis of race and sex, and other traits as well, such as sexual orientation or language.  As a U.S. civil rights policy, “affirmative action” commonly denotes race-conscious and result-oriented efforts by private and public officials to correct the unequal distribution of economic opportunity and education attributed to slavery, segregation, poverty, and racism” (p. 254).  Personally, I think affirmative action is morally wrong, and therefore not ethical.  I cannot ignore that discrimination has taken place through many generations and still takes place today.  However, I and many others cannot control what happened in the past.  I agree with LaFollette (2007) in that opponents of affirmative action believe “people should be judged by what they do now, not by what their grandparents did” and “not have to pay for the sins of their parents and grandparents” (p. 89) because it is morally inappropriate.  However, he goes on to say that affirmative action “holds that the children and grandchildren of those who wronged blacks should not continue to benefit from those ancient wrongs” (p. 89).  I have trouble with that statement because how do we determine who exactly wronged blacks and who is benefiting?  It is impossible and immeasurable.  

Another debate concerning the ethics of affirmative action is if it is a form of reverse discrimination.  I admit, I have actually said that affirmative action is a form of reverse discrimination out loud, so it was interesting to read about the opposing views.  There are many examples countering the belief that affirmative is a form of reverse discrimination and I find flaws in them.  For example, Fish (2000) suggests “It was the express purpose of some powerful white Americans to disenfranchise, enslave, and later exploit black Americans. It was what they set out to do, whereas the proponents of affirmative action did not set out to deprive your friend's cousin's son of a place at Harvard” (p. 79).  I concur with Fish’s first statement; however, the relationship of who affirmative action deprives is irrelevant.  It still deprives someone.  On top of that, it deprives someone based on race.  LaFollette (2007) admits “it was wrong to deprive people of jobs, housing, health, public benefits, and legal and civil rights merely because of their race” (p. 87).  And, since opponents believe affirmative action is discriminating against whites because of their race, two wrongs do not make a right.  Yet, he believes the principle of universalizability applies because discrimination and affirmative action have general and relevant differences to justify different treatments.  He goes on to claim there are important differences between the two such as how “whites have subjected blacks to decades of systematic and widespread discrimination” (p. 88).  But I ask the question, have ALL whites done this?  He also proposes that “Whites are not thought to be inferior to blacks” (p. 88).  Really?  Is this an answer from all whites?  Is this a response from all blacks?  I am not sure how he can prove that statement, unless it is strictly his opinion.  He goes further into moral reasoning and shows how affirmative action programs do not favor blacks because they are black, but because they are members of a systematically victimized group.  He makes these comparisons using an example of two descriptions of a same event. “Mohammad Atta boarded an airplane in Boston; (2) Mohammad Atta flew an airplane into the World Trade Center” (p. 88).  I fail to see the comparison on a couple levels.  First, I have trouble believing that hiring organizations and academic admissions are looking at anyone as part of a systematically victimized group.  It is more likely that they are taking someone’s minority status into consideration if they are participating in affirmative action.  

I have my views based on my experiences and what how I see our society, just as someone who is black, or female, or Hispanic, or other minority has their views.  We, as a society, need to do what is right in the present and future regarding hiring and education placement.  I believe we live in a very different culture compared to the 60’s and decades prior.  Yes, racism does exist and may never be completely eradicated, but we are continuing on a positive path and live in a much more color-blind society now.  For example, Ward Connerly Jr. (2009), one of the most visible anti-affirmative action activists in the United States, stated "Although I did not vote for him, I think he earned the election by the rules of merit. He ran the best campaign ... The election of Obama to be our president reconfirms that the American people are ready for" color-blind policies that prohibit race-conscious affirmative action” (Roach, p. 17).

References:

Allen, A. L. (2011). Was I entitled or should I apologize? affirmative action going forward. The Journal of Ethics, 15(3), 253-263.

Ethics. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved March11, 2016, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethic

Fish, S. (2000). The nifty nine arguments against affirmative action in higher education. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, (27), 79.

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

Roach, R. (2009). Renewing the fight against affirmative action. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 25(26), 17.

Roach, R. (2009). Renewing the fight against affirmative action. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 25(26), 17.