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Ethical Perspectives
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Ethical Perspectives
Moral ethics form an important part of our actions and our interactions with the community. There are compelling moral standards that govern people in making choices or decisions as to what action should to be taken in dealing with particular problem. Since the community or society does not have similar interests, we tend to judge our choices and those of other people based on a particular point of view. When confronted by an ethical dilemma, we usually apply different ethical perspectives which can have positive ands negative consequences. The guiding principles in answering the fundamental ethical questions in determining the actions to be taken or decisions to be made are based on certain ethical theories or perspectives which have different components and propositions.
One of the major ethical perspectives is utilitarianism which focuses more on the consequences of the action to be taken and not on the ethical standards. In this perspective, one has to explore the alternative means of solving a particular problem and the action that produces the greatest good or benefits to the majority of the people in the most impartial means possible is termed as the most ethical one. It promotes valued ends rather than employing the right means and is sometimes referred to as consequentialism or teleology. Another commonly ethical; perspectives is the Kant’s categorical imperative moral standard. This perspective differs with utilitarian perspective and proposes a universal moral ethic that is available to all and that ethics are based on the moral obligation to do what is right even if the consequences of our actions may not be good. It holds to the principle that aspects of our lives are guided by unbreakable moral values which should never be broken even if doing so would improve an outcome and that our actions unto others should be based on how we expect them to do unto us. This perspective is closely related to Altruism which justifies service for others and proposes that any action taken for the benefit of others is good while any that is taken to benefit one is wrong. It identifies selflessness and self sacrifice for the sake of others as the highest moral virtue, value and duty and that any action taken is ethically right as long as the beneficiary is not oneself.
The Raul’s justice and fairness perspective is another major guiding moral and ethical principle. It critically examines if fairness and justice to all is exercised in our actions or decisions and whether our actions produce benefits or exerts burdens among members of the community. It further proposes that unless there are morally relevant and justifiable differences between people, they should not only be treated well but also equally. There is a relationship between this perspective and that of communitarians. This ethical theory puts emphasis on the need to strike a balance between the rights and interests of the individual with those of the community. In this perspective, the community beliefs and values prevail over those of the individual and decisions on what is ethically right should be based on the common good of the community and the reason that makes sense to the majority within the community. In this case, individuals are assumed to be dependent on the community and therefore have no autonomy in exercising their rights or beliefs.
With the components of the different ethical perspectives in mind, most of my ethical choices rely on the utilitarian perspective. This is because it explores the different alternative means and their consequences and by doing so examines the utility of every action to the majority. However, this perspective can be criticized owing to the fact that the means of achieving what is good for the majority may be harmful to the minority. In this regard, it can be improved by considering the interests of all the members of the community so as to minimize the adverse effects of our actions to the minority since they also form part of the society.
History of Rome.
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Topic: History of Rome.
The Pompeii-Caesar civil war was the most violent of wars towards dictatorship in Rome. The wars lead to disruptions and uncertainty of leadership leading to the subordinate potentates did not know whom to follow as they did not know who will be victorious. Caesar returned from North Africa and during the years 47-46 BC he massacred and defeated the Pompeii rebels; Rome senate declared him the dictator for ten years. He triumphed over regions in North Africa and after that defeated another group of rebels lead by Pompeii’s son Sextus. Caesar changed several things including the calendar to Julian and allowed attack on street gangs. After Caesar’s death he wrote a will that his Grand nephew Octavian, who later changed his name to Julius Caesar, to take his position. Returning from military training, after hearing the death of Caesar, Octavian came back home only to find Mark Antony having depleted all of Caesar’s funds. A third party still wanted to be the heir of Caesar’s political position, M.Aemilius Lepidus. They all however agreed on a three man dictatorship form of government. The three divided power and each of them ruled different sections of Italy. Of the three Octavian had the strongest hold on the political position. Several emperors after the Octavian triumvirate followed who include Augustus Caesar who ruled for 33 years, followed by Tiberius who ruled for 23 years (Highet, 1949). After Tiberius there stood an evil and crazy ruler known as Caligula who ruled for four years followed by Claudius who ruled for 12 years and Nero another crazy dictator who ruled for 13 years. After Nero there followed five years of good ruling with peace.
The term renaissance hails from a French equivalent of the Italian word rinascita which means ’rebirth’. It describes the changes that took place in Europe and that lead to what one would consider as the initiation of modern world. The term renaissance describes the 14th and 15th century period where the rebirth of classical values and artistry took place especially in Italy. This new age was introduced by lawyers and notaries imitating the ancient Latin styles and learned Roman archaeology. Petrarch spent most of his time studying human culture and this caught the attention of many Roman popes, emperors and rulers. Plague destroyed much of the economy and around the mid 14th century the European economy went down; but around 15th century there was recovery, with the construction of palaces, decorative arts and long distance trade along the Mediterranean belt. During the later years renaissance was characterized by the development of the bureaucracy and governance in regions of justice and taxation. Italy grew in term of culture especially in Florence under the Medici; artistic achievement continued with Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Titian. Great as it was, renaissance had a dark side to the European regions; warfare was common and death by violence was common (Highet, 1949). Nicolo Machiavelli constructed the realistic science of human nature targeting Italian culture and the formation of a secure civil life. His work brought about great contributions towards renaissance and creation of the modern world. Renaissance science mainly involved medicine, physics and mathematics. Through experiments many discoveries were made both inside and outside universities. Artists started to test with perspective; Perspective was a way of saying that the world should be adapted not only to the eyes but to the proportions of the human body.
Filippo Brunelleschi was the foremost architecture in the Italian renaissance. He was a mathematician, engineer, and was also good at ship designing; but he is most famous for the innovation of perspective and for the engineering the construction of the cathedral dome in Florence. He was also a painter with a very bad temper and most of the rich families fought to see to it that he does not succeed in anything. But one family, the Medici family helped him out; they funded him and gave him a chance to express himself. One of his greatest works was the redesigning of the cathedral dome. There was great competition among man architects with many trying to build the dome but only Brunelleschi had the capability and the right knowledge to build the dome. As other families were against his work, Brunelleschi hurried with the construction; with the death of Medici he knew danger was not so far. He developed the mechanism of the crane which made the lifting of objects easier in the construction. His other works that were of great interest were; development of the hydraulic machinery and also helped to build fortified walls of Florence that served as barriers during wars. He is also credited to the discovering of the linear perspective that led to the revolution of painting during renaissance. The perspective phenomenon was used in building, for example the Piazza that faced the Dome. Some of the other discoveries Brunelleschi made was the hoist and the paddle wheelbarrow used still in the construction of his buildings (Fanelli, 1980).
Nicolo Machiavelli also known as the father of political theory was a philosopher, writer and poet who was born to a scholar in the year, 1496. He received rigorous training and entered Florentine government as a clerk. He wrote his first work in 1499 and progressively went on producing various writings; development of various themes such as use of the Romans as an example to address rebellion. Other writings include political analysis, portrait of the affairs of Germany and France between 1508 and 1512. After the Medici family came to power, for he suffered under the Florentine Republic, he tried to crawl back to the political arena and in the year 1512 he wrote ‘The Prince’ which was published after his death in 1527. But the book brought about controversy and was unable to get a position in politics. The Prince dictated that as a leader one ought to disregard the moral norms and focus on authority and power. The book emphasized on insurance and the preservation of power. He believed necessary cruelty was needed in order to maintain power. He also worked as translator and wrote a novel, several poems and three plays. During the renaissance some of his political topics were used in governance (King, 2007).
Leonardo da Vinci was considered the genius and archetypal Renaissance man. He was greatly talented mostly as an engineer, great artist, architect and sculptor. In 1482, Leonardo’s paintings included the virgin on the Rocks and the Last supper. He was employed in the Ludovico projects which included the designing of a dome for the Milan Cathedral. With Ludovico overthrown, Leonardo fled to Venice where he was employed as a military architect and engineer. His greatest piece of art was that of the monalisa. Renaissance humanism saw no disparity between science and art; Leonardo’s science and engineering clearly manifested itself in his arts and drawings. He was also able to describe the human anatomy through his talent in art. He was given permission to dissect human corpses so as to enable him study the various parts of the human body. He drew many studies of the human skeleton and the muscle structure of the body. He was also attributed to the designing of various structures such as barricades and bridges all used as military defence projects(Stanley, 1996).
Why was Florence such a huge part of the renaissance of Europe, Italy was located at the coast which allowed it to interact with other people and allowed easy trading between it and other nations such as Egypt and Spain. People around the region gained knowledge as they were exposed to different things that made them discover more. Florence was the banking centre and it currency, the florin, was used in trade as an international currency. This and the fact that it was a republic provided a good environment that made Florence a huge anchor in the Renaissance.
How did Europe gain its capital and weaponry, through merchant trade and the development of banking this enabled trade among various traders. Both barter trade and carrying of money in the form of gold and silver was to some extent a difficulty in trading but the coming up of a bank that gave Bill of Exchange to the buyers enabled easy trade. Through the payment of interest banks were able to make profits. They borrowed the idea of double entry of book keeping from the Arabian merchants in order to keep track of the numerous accounts. The banking system also enabled the insuring of property and also people were able to get money through bonds where people lend money to a single recipient who later returned it after a number of years plus interest.
During the rebirth of Europe many inventions were made through the contribution of various people such as Brunelleschi, Machiavelli and Leonardo.
References:
Fanelli, G., & Brunelleschi, f. (1980). Brunelleschi. Firenze: Scala Books
Highet, G. ( 1949). The classical tradition: Greek and Roman influences on western literature..New York: Oxford University Press.
King, R. (2007). Machiavelli: philosopher of power. New York: Atlas Books/ Harpercollins.
Stanley, D. (1996). Leonardo da vinci. New York: Morrow junior books.
Ethical Leadership.
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Ethical Leadership
In the current corporate environment, sustainable leadership is of paramount importance. It enables organizations to benefit optimally from the human resources. Furthermore, it enhances retention of employees, reduces costs, increases productivity and enables the respective organizations to maintain a competitive edge. Sustainable leadership is largely defined by the concept of ethical leadership. This puts in consideration the wide ranging needs of the employees and actively involves them in leadership. Employees in this regard feel appreciated, respected and cared for. The resultant job satisfaction enables the respective employees to maintained continued or sustained growth and development. This has direct positive impacts on the performance of the organization. This paper critically analyzes the leadership of the chief executive officer of Wal-Mart Company in light of the five ethical principles of leadership.
The success of Wal-Mart can partly be attributed to the respect that Scott Lee extends to the employees. In this regard, he recognizes the individual needs, purposes and values of his diverse work force. He helps them to align the diverse beliefs and values to those that are developed by the company in order to reconcile possible gaps. Scott Lee works together with other members of the management to train the new recruits and inform them about the organizational culture. The decision to join the company is made voluntarily and base on informed thought. The organizational culture is consistent with the values and beliefs of the local communities as well as employees. Respect is also exhibited through constant appreciation of the efforts of the employees through promotions, pay rise and other benefits such as insurance and paid vocations.
With regards to serving others, Northouse (2007) argues that ethical leaders need to be follower centered. Although Scott Lee has taken immense measures to cater for the needs of the clients, he has failed to address the needs of the employees accordingly. In the current competitive global environment, it is certain that employees require sufficient compensation in order to empower them accordingly. Seemingly, Wal-Mart has placed undue emphasis on catering for the needs of the clients. The policies that are aimed at minimizing costs in a bid to attain this goal have significantly impacted on vital programs such as team building and mentoring that define servant leadership.
Nonetheless, Scott Lee has succeeded in making justice a mainstream factor in his leadership. According to Daft (2010), justice with regards to leadership entails equal distribution of costs and returns. All the Wal-Mart employees including the management team are given compensation depending on their skills and experience. Wal-Mart also encourages honesty and rewards this behavior accordingly. In this regard, the company provides its employees with reports regarding its financial flows and plans with them accordingly. It also informs the employees about its policies well before recruitment. The inherent openness has been instrumental in enhancing trust and enabling it to avoid employee turn over.
The current expansion and successful operation of Wal-Mart in different foreign destinations such as Japan and China can be attributed to its social corporate responsibility initiatives. In his review, Bennis (2003) asserts that ethical leaders need to cater for the needs of all the stakeholders. In this regard, local communities benefit significantly from Wal-Mart operations. Company reports indicate that in most cases, the workforce is drawn from the local community. Furthermore, the products that the company offers are reflective of the values and virtues that the respective local community upholds. Furthermore, Scott Lee together with the management initiates programs related to environmental protection and green practices in regions that they establish operations. This has been imperative in enhancing local acceptability and sustainable growth and development of the company.
In light of Heifetz’s view on ethical leadership, Scott Lee has effectively managed to maintain harmonic existence of its workforce. As aforementioned, this has been attained through the reconciliation of inconsistencies between the values of the organization and the values of the employees. Using his authority as the chief executive officer of this company, Scott Lee has enforced certain laws and regulations that govern employee behavior. These are also supportive of organizational change that Wal-Mart experiences periodically. According to Northouse (2007), Burns postulates that ethical leaders need to provide suitable work environment that can enable their employees to review their needs and values. This according to Burns enhances quality performance and enables the employees to value justice, liberty and equality.
In this regard, Scott Lee has managed to encourage this through providing model leadership that is devoid of incidences such as corruption. With this, employees are able to constantly re examine their activities and align these to acceptable values and virtues. Greenleaf on the other hand argues that ethical leadership is akin to servant leadership. The ethic of caring and addressing the needs of the less fortunate is intrinsic to this form of leadership. As mentioned earlier, Scott Lee has implemented this through corporate social responsibility initiatives. By providing employment opportunities, the company addresses the needs of the less fortunate. Allowing for community involvement in management of the organization also implies that Wal-Mart is concerned about the needs, interests and values the perceptions of all the stakeholders.
References
Bennis, W. (2003). On becoming a leader. New York, NY: Perseus Publishing.
Daft, R. (2010). The Leadership Experience. USA: South Western College Publishers
Northouse, P. G. (2007). Leadership: Theory and practice (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications