Hi Caitlyn Balich,
Although there have been times that I have wanted to call in sick to work just because I didn’t want to go, I had to stop myself simply because it felt wrong to do so. I understand your point of view. It is a difficult ethical decision to do the right thing when you don’t want to. Although I haven’t called in sick to work when I wasn’t sick, I’ve had others call in sick to later see them doing other things on social media. Seeing this, it made me angry at the person, and later not trust them, and say no when they need a shift covered. It’s hard to do the right thing, but in the end, it will make you feel good if you do so.

Hi Zoe Hill,
Wow! The beginning of your paragraph was enlightening and it seemed like you guys figured out how to work and play hard, which was great! Toward the end of your paragraph, I was very angry at the person who decided not to work as hard as you. I have to say, working with anyone who is the son or daughter of the boss is an ethical challenge to begin with. Unless their father or mother has the ethical sense to treat their son or daughter the same as any co-worker, they will always feel like they can get away with doing less because their boss is mommy or daddy.

• Lucia Pulido

This was a really fruitful discussion. I can tell that you are all very interesting people and you have a lot going on in your lives. One of the things I like best about teaching in the intersession is that we have the best students and they tend to be more mature and thoughtful so it makes my job very interesting. You have all given me a lot to think about, thanks for that!

General comment
I did not take points off since it is early days, but note the difference between ethics and morality. I know in regular language we use the two as synonyms but in philosophy there is a technical difference that is important to note. The main difference is that Ethics are systems of thought that use logic and rationality to determine what is right and wrong. Morality is more based on feelings and emotions and has a strong cultural ad possibly evolutionary influence. Both motivate behavior but they do so in very different ways from each other.

A couple specific comments
Lucia
As a consultant this is what I would have to say. This is as tough problem. FB can get one in very hot water at work so you have to be careful. Think of it this way, your comment said as you entered a party with your best friends would be funny and well received but imagine walking into a work party or a family party and saying the same thing. It would probably not have the desired effect. So unfortunately FB is becoming more and more of a public space and not a private party. You do have to moderate your language. I tend to keep things very professional on all my social media now. I do miss being more coarse with my best friends, but I keep that for in person interaction now.

Natalie
That is a serious ethical concern. Lawyers have to take an ethically agnostic position as it is important to present the best case for one's client, even when they are personally reprehensible. It is hoped that the opposing attorney is also doing their job and bringing these negative points against the defendant so that it all works out for the best. However, we all know hat this does not always occur. But it is preferable to other systems where people can be brought to court on moral charges, not just legal charges. We don't need or want that to happen. As we will see, there is a distinction between ethics and law. Ideally they overlap completely, but in reality there is an offset.

• John Sullins

Assignment 1

I recently had a moment in my personal and professional life that made me wonder if I had done something unethical. Let me begin by saying, I’m a nurse at an Adventist hospital, that is my professional life. I am also a person who likes to use curse words daily. On my personal Facebook page, I take the liberty and freedom to express my free speech. I also have co-workers from the hospital as my Facebook friends. On Christmas Eve, I wrote the Facebook post, “Merry Christmas Eve mother fuckers!” I didn’t really think much of the Facebook post, other than I found it humorous. After a couple of days, a co-worker had shown my Facebook post to a charge nurse. A discussion began about how inappropriate my Facebook post was, how I should take it down, how I could be fired and more. However, I defended my Facebook post, saying that it was my Facebook and that I could say what I wanted on my Facebook. When this occurred, I deeply wondered if I had done something unethical. I spoke to others about it. I was also furious that my work could impact my personal life in such a way. After all, they were just words. Was I wrong for saying what I said, and then not taking it down after I was scrutinized? That night, I unfriended all of my co-workers who worked in the same department of the hospital as I did. Looking back, I don’t think I would have changed what I said (and I didn’t), however, what I would have done is not had my co-workers as my Facebook friends to begin with.

• Lucia Pulido

Comments:

Natalie Keys:
I think you have brought up a really great scenario that questions the line we sometimes have to draw between acting in a way that is the result of “just doing my job,” and one that is more in line with your personal morals. You may take on a client simply because you are obligated to (either legally and/or because your job demands it), or, because you relate to them and their story on some personal level. Which kind of reasoning you may have will ultimately, in some way, have an effect on that person where you plead their case better (or worse), you push their paperwork through ahead of someone else (or don’t), etc… It can be a line we have to tread carefully at times hehe.

Madison Verner:
Paparazzi! Yes! I agree completely and often wonder to myself why the media is so fascinated with following some of these people around everywhere they go. You have to assume then, that the reason they do so is because images of those people, and stories of those people, make money for them, and, they make money for them because the general public consumes it in some way. So, where does the problem reside? Are the paparazzi bad for existing? For doing a job that seemingly has high demand for their content? Or does the general public bear some responsibility as well? For being so interested (and sometimes obsessed) with the lives of celebrities? Obviously, paparazzi and the public can both do better, but…money is unfortunately quite difficult to argue against.

• Justin Bernard

Assignment 1

When it comes to ethics issues within the past 10 years, I believe it’s impossible to ignore the bursting of the housing bubble in 2008, and the resulting economic recession. Some in this class may have been too young to really understand or care what all the fuss was about at the time unless they were directly impacted by it, but I think that what was going on within some of the country’s biggest financial institutions represents one of the most catastrophic ethical issues in recent history (outside of wars).

While there were many factors at play that caused the 2008 recession, the biggest has to do with the housing market and rampant issuing of bad loans, and then reselling of those bad loans to other financial institutions in various countries.

Desperate to make as much money as possible, housing loans were given to nearly anyone who wanted to buy a house, even if they had bad credit. Banks lured these buyers in with an attractive interest rate that would be low to start with, but would eventually rise. When this interest rate did rise, buyers couldn’t afford the payments, AND, were unable to refinance, which resulted in mass foreclosures around the country. Now that the buying party was over, demand for houses, along with their value, plummeted, making the loans worth more than the houses themselves. Financial institutions worldwide lost billions of dollars, many having to declare bankruptcy, merge with other banks, or, eventually, be bailed out by the U.S. tax payer, millions of which would be homeless and/or jobless.

There are more details to the crisis than explained above but it briefly illustrates how money and greed can potentially obscure whatever ethical and moral side of those with great [financial] power may have. Banks, Wall Street, and ratings institutions all put their bottom line - their profits - as first priority ahead of the people who would be affected most by their decision making. In the end, those people (us, the taxpayers) would spend billions to bail them out for their mistake, despite many of those in upper management positions who were just fine because they either had a golden parachute of some sort, or found ways to profit off of the collapse in the stock market, or both.

I can’t exactly say what I myself would have done differently here as I was not in a position where I could have influenced much change in that crisis, but to put myself in the shoes of someone who was in charge of one of the top banks, investment firms or insurance agencies at the time - if I’d discovered the fraud that was taking place, if I’d been able to see where those business practices were leading and the effect it could have on the economy and of course the people, my customers, there is no doubt in my mind I would have made every effort to stop what was going on in not only my company, but others as well. Of course, you may think that this is all very easy to say in hindsight years later, but because my personal ambitions have never been motivated by money, I do believe I would have been able to make better decisions that would have helped prevent the crisis.

• Justin Bernard

Kimberly Lavio: I agree that giving someone false hope for one’s own benefit is ethically and morally wrong. The upper management used your hard work and drive for a promotion to benefit the company’s sales rather than your personal career. You were willing to work extra hard to prove to them that you were worthy of promotion and they took advantage of your hard work for their own personal benefit. They had you under the impression that your hard work would pay off for you, when really your hard work was only benefitting them. You proved your worth and I am glad that you are able to see that that company’s actions were unethical and unmoral and that you are deserving of better employment.


Madison Verner: I agree that the actions of the paparazzi are unethical and unsafe for the lives of many celebrities. It is unfair to them that their entire lives are on display to the world. Everyone has a right to some privacy, while many celebrities have lines of photographers taking pictures of their every move. The worst part of the paparazzi in my opinion is the fact that they are digging for a negative story to post about a celebrity because they know that will get the most reaction from their audience. Paparazzi’s are willing to post anything and everything and disregard the thought of how it affects the celebrity they are sharing information about. In most situations, false stories are made up about celebrities simply to entertain the public. These rumors can affect the celebrities personal and professional life and that does not seem to concern the paparazzi.

• Alison Prunauer

Assignment 1:
In my personal online life, I have noticed many instances of cyberbullying. Throughout high school, it became a common everyday thing to see someone either directly or indirectly making negative comments about another person online. This occurred most often on Twitter. Fellow classmates would post tweets regarding other people’s personal lives, decisions, appearances, failures or even just flat out insults about the person. Although most were “subtweets”, meaning that the person’s name was not disclosed in the tweet, it was almost always obvious who the tweet was directed to and most of the time that person would retaliate with another subtweet, resulting in a Twitter fight. I have seen many students cry, stay home from school and even switch schools as a result of insulting or revealing things posted on Twitter about them. It is unfortunate that there was not a better way to prevent people from posting these negative things or that most teenagers do not realize how cyberbullying can actually affect a person. As a teenager, keeping up with Twitter fights was the “cool” thing to do and anyone who stood up for someone or took the situation to the school would be insulted and made the topic of the next day’s Twitter feed. The posts of Twitter rarely remained just online, and would be the topic of conversation in class. The most popular subtweets would be talked about in the halls before school, between class and in class and the news would spread incredibly fast through the school. I never supported those who bullied other on the internet, however, I was never brave enough to stand up against the bullying because I feared what people would say about me if I did. I was not one to bully others, but my choice to not stand up against the bullying contributed to pain and destruction the bullying caused many people. I now realize that many of my classmates probably felt the same way as me and knew the bullying was wrong, but did not have the courage to say anything. If I had spoken up, maybe more people would have as well, and we would have had the power in numbers to take a stand against cyberbullying in our school. One of the first decisions I made after high school was to stop using Twitter. It has been a refreshing experience to be away from the negativity that many people posted about.

• Alison Prunauer

Hi Carlos Gonzalez, I definitely agree with you that it is wrong that people are taking advantage of their break times and other privileges at the workplace. This is morally incorrect and does take a toll on other co-workers who are abiding by the rules. I like how you backed up with steps that should be taken to improve this problem. Thank you for sharing your experience.

Hi Jonna Elvin, I really enjoyed reading your experience at the coffee shop.I find it dishearting seeing all the unnecessary waste as well. I often wonder why more restaurants, bakery, cafes etc do not take left-over perfectly good foods to homeless shelters. This waste should be disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. This is definitely a huge ethical issue that large corporations need to change.

• Haley Nicholson

Natalie Keyes:
I can see how your field of work can be trying at times, as you do encounter many ethical and moral dilemmas. It must take a good deal of thought for you to determine what to do, as you are faced with your personal beliefs and the requirements of your job.

Carlos Gonzalez:
Employees taking extra time during their breaks and lunch, is all too common in the work force. I have encountered this same situation. It's frustrating to see some people work as little as possible, leaving everyone else to pick up the slack.

• Kimberly Laivo

Assignment 1:
Ethics and morality are personal and societal standards of right and wrong. They are utilized as a guide for what we should do. Within society, there are preset norms which dictate what is right and wrong, we use these to determine if the choices we are making are ethical or morally right. These are not hard steadfast rules and are open to personal judgment. This can pose a dilemma, as ethics and law may diverge. Some may judge an emergency citation as a legitimate reason to bend the law, or even break it. While we all hold roughly the same idea of what is ethical and moral, our life experiences and upbringing may allow for differences in interpretation. I have encountered differences in ethical beliefs though out my life, and have learned those difference shape our society. For instance, I have been taught that hard work and dedication will eventually pay off, while some have been taught to work smarter and not harder. At a previous job I sought a promotion and was advised by upper management to meet sales goals and meet the expectation of said promotion, so I could be considered. I was the only individual perusing the position and worked long hours to build clientele and meet the agreed upon sales goal. After one month I had consistently meet my weekly sales goals, which ensured I would meet the monthly goal. I sat down with management to review my performance and discuss my promotion. At which time I was advised to show that I could consistently meet these goals for an additional thirty days. After thirty days I was eager to discuss my promotion, as I had exceeded my sales goal for that month. When I meet with upper management I was once again advised to show consistency in sales. At this point I felt taken advantage of as I had been working my position and the position which I wanted to be promoted to. I voiced my concerns and came to the conclusion that upper management had no intention on promoting me, as they were scouting out someone else with in our office. It was later revealed to me that upper management merely wanted to increase their sales numbers any way they could. While I was working hard for what I wanted, they were working smarter to get what they wanted. In hindsight I shouldn’t have agreed to work a position to show I was worthy of the promotion. Its life lessons like these that shape who we are. I do not believe it to be ethical or morally right, to give someone false hope for your own benefit.

• Kimberly Laivo