MSLD 634_February 2019_2477

When I was a child, I thought the only people who carried guns in public, were police officers. Having a gun was like having all the power in the world, and only those who were specially trained, could own and operate guns. Now, as an adult, the man in front of me in a Wal-Mart checkout line, casually carries his gun; there are department store security guards who don’t even carry.  I think that the reality of layperson gun ownership really set in when I considered my family; my dad, stepmom, sister, and brother-in-law, all own guns. My dad even took me to a shooting range and recommended a gun that would be the right power and weight, so that I would not be overwhelmed. Though my family and friends keep encouraging me to get a gun, especially as a single female, guns make me extremely uncomfortable. For example, when my brother-in-law accidentally left his gun at my house after a family gathering, instead of meeting him halfway to give him his gun, he came back the next day (th...

In reading about psychological egoism and ethical egoism, I am admittedly confused. LaFollette (2007) noted that psychological egoism is the theory that everyone’s actions are always self-interested, while ethical egoism is the theory that people should always and only act to encourage their own self-interests (p. 272). Maybe it’s me, but even after reading further, I can’t see the big difference. In other words, one form of egoism did not seem any better than the other because both are self-focused. In order to better understand, I watched an Ethical Egoism presentation for a verbal explanation of the terms (Ethical Egoism, 2016). In the presentation, the speaker provided the same definitions outlined in the LaFollette text, along with examples; even with the examples, after re-reading my text, I am still confused. Is it correct to say that psychological egoism is selfish, while ethical egoism looks after self, but is not selfish and when self-interest is not the motivator, mor...

  I chose to reflect on the following virtues from Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues: Frugality: make no expense but to do good to others or yourself: i.e., waste nothing Sincerity: Use no hurtful deceit. Think innocently and justly; and if you speak, speak accordingly Humility: Imitate Jesus and Socrates Frugality I chose frugality because it is something that I try to practice each day. While I certainly don’t want to go without, I don’t like having too much either. In having too much, I fear that I will waste, and I don’t like wasting time, resources, or energy. I am sure there are areas in which I am wasteful, so I hope to be more diligent in improving my wasteful actions. What I love most about Benjamin’s Frugality virtue is how he emphasized the expense of taking care of ourselves and others; doing good to ourselves and others, should be our only expense. I love this idea because it speaks to the generosity of our hearts. My expense is the way of unconditiona...

Dincer & Dincer (2014) noted that the functional area most closely related to ethical abuse in organizations, is marketing (p.151). Citing Volle (2013), Dincer & Dincer (2014) noted that ethical abuse occurs most in marketing because marketing is the function of business designed to communicate with and openly satisfy customers (p.151). Citing Murphy & Laczniak (1981), Dincer & Dincer (2014) stated that marketing is scrutinized most because of how public it is. I believe that most organizations start off with good intentions; they are usually small, rely heavily on word of mouth, and try to build a good name. However, as they grow, marketing ethics is no longer a priority, winning is. Unfortunately, some companies are so dependent on winning that they lose sight of the very thing that caused their initial growth…their word. Some may argue that companies have the freedom to do whatever it takes to win, as long as it is legal. After all, are organizations really respons...

As outlined by LaFollette (2007), affirmative action is the practice of giving special consideration to minorities and women in hiring practices and school placement (p.87). While many support affirmative action, others oppose affirmative action for the following reasons: affirmative action is reverse discrimination; affirmative action hurts whites who are not responsible for past harms inflicted on blacks; affirmative action potentially disregards more qualified candidates, and affirmative action stigmatizes black (LaFollette, 2007, p.87). Those in opposition to affirmative action believe that these kinds of programs discriminate against whites because of their race, hence the phrase, reverse discrimination (LaFollette, 2007, p.88). The argument is not sound because as LaFollette (2007) pointed out, “whites have subjected blacks to decades of systematic and widespread discrimination. In contrast affirmative action is not part of a network of discrimination against whites. Whites are ...

First pride, then the crash— the bigger the ego, the harder the fall. (Proverbs 16:18) Society I think society’s overall consensus is that pride is a good thing. We should take pride in our work, our nation, our heritage, etc. While I certainly understand that kind of pride, there is a destructive pride. As outlined in the biblical proverb above, when pride comes, ruin soon follows. Perhaps pride comes from the allure and taste of power… Kramer (2003) noted that the trappings of power only serve to feed the dangerous illusions that we have of ourselves; one of the dangerous self-illusions is that we tend to think we are better-than-average in all that we do (para. 22). From an early age we are taught to excel because winners take all. We are indirectly, unintentionally taught to focus less on introspection and the impact of our actions, and more on winning (Kramer, 2003, para. 11). It’s as though no one really cares how we get there, as long as we reach the top…. that’s sc...