According to Moore and Parker (2009), “Moral reasoning differs from other kinds of
reasoning in that it consists mainly in trying to establish moral value judgments” (p. 437). It can
be hard to imagine sending off sick or elderly members of my family to fend for themselves as
some of the Pacific Islander tribes would in the past. When considering cultural diversity, it
becomes a little easier to understand why they may have taken these actions in the past. I
currently live in a society where there is an ample amount of food, water, and medical care
where individuals do not need to sacrifice themselves for the good of everyone else. In the past,
on an island where there may not such an abundant environment to be able to support everyone it
could have made sense to the members of the tribe that were infirm or elderly to make that final
sacrifice for the good of the tribe. Pondering a situation where some crisis has happened where
things are not like they are today, but more closely resemble a society where life is hard, and
survival depends on these types of sacrifices I wonder how my cultural background would be
able to deal with these changes and if my moral values would have to change to accommodate
the new world I would find myself living in.
References
Moore, B. N., & Parker, R. (2009). Critical thinking (9th ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill.
Some real world examples of ethical practices that I have read about, seen in the news, or
encountered at my place of employment are people that come forward when they are aware of
corruption or unethical practices happening at their place of employment, giving back extra
change when a mistake has been made at the checkout counter, or informing the human
resources department when extra time has been added to a person’s vacation bank. Some real
world examples of unethical practices that I have read about, seen in the news, or encountered at
my place of employment are an accountant skimming profits, an employee claiming a group
effort was all their idea, stealing from the office supplies, or lying to a customer. According to
Ireland, Hoskisson and Hitt (2008), “So strategic leaders should determine the boundaries of
acceptable behavior; establish the tone for organization actions; and ensure that ethical behaviors
are expected, praised, and rewarded” (p. 32). In an ideal world, individuals that do the right
thing ethically should be rewarded while those that are unethical should be punished. There are
times when a person can be punished for doing the right thing, like a whistle blower having a
hard time finding a new job because they had come forward about an unethical practice where
they previously worked. There are also times when someone is doing unethical behaviors, but
are not caught, such as a person that steals a small amount of office supplies every month.
References
Ireland, R. D., Hoskisson, R. E., & Hitt, M. A. (2008). Understanding business strategy:
concepts and cases (2nd ed.). Mason, OH.: South-Western Cengage Learning.
According to Senft and Gallegos (2009), “A fine line exists between what is ethical and
what is legal. Something can be ethically wrong but still legal. However, with that being said,
some things initially thought to be unethical become illegal over time” (p. 58). Yes, it is possible
for a communication to convey a message that is legal, but ethically wrong. There are many
individuals that feel that abortion is ethically wrong, but abortion is legal within this country.
The same is true for the death penalty. There are states where the death penalty is legal and
others where it has been banned. Many people feel that putting someone to death for a crime
that they have committed is ethically wrong. Another example of a message that is legal, but
ethically wrong would be the protests that the Westboro Baptist Church hold at military funerals
and other events. They have the legal right to speak their opinions as upheld by the Supreme
Court, but many find them to be ethically wrong in what they say about soldiers’ deaths. One
way that a message could be ethical, but not legal would be in a country where individuals do not
have the same freedom of speech that is enjoyed in the United States. The message could be
perfectly ethical in pointing out a political shortcoming or other subject, and is illegal because it
is against that particular country’s law to say something negative about the government or other
subject.
References
Senft, S., & Gallegos, F. (2009). Information technology control and audit (3rd ed.). New York:
CRC Press.