A634.8.3.RB - Gun Control: What is the Answer?

            I do believe that citizens have the right to bear arms; I also believe that there should be legal limitations placed on that ownership in certain situations.  Before I present my side I want to address a few issue I had with the chapter and the authors logic and reasoning.  In his chapter, LaFollette (2007) discussed the act of the agent versus the object; in other words, guns do not kill people people do.  He also made the inference that cars do not kill people, drivers do, however, because cars were not designed to be “inherently dangerous” they do not fall into the same category as guns.  In yet another analogy, he claimed that because nuclear weapons were created to kill or injure a large amount of people they were also not in the same category as guns.  I cannot agree with these logics given the fact that in all instances a person is in control of the object.  It is a person’s decision to drive recklessly or drunk, or to push the button to release a nuclear weapon, just as it is their decision to kill or injure someone with a gun.

            Guns have been around for centuries; in fact, our ancestors needed those guns to hunt for food in order to survive.  While things have certainly changed over the years and the majority of people do not need to shoot their own food, there are still people who enjoy hunting.  Hunting is also necessary to control animal populations, so should we only allow people to own shotguns and hunting rifles?  If the answer to this is yes because handguns are more dangerous and not used for hunting, then my argument is that motorcycles should be banned as they are more dangerous than cars, “as motorcycles are less stable and less visible than cars and often have high-performance capabilities and when motorcycles crash, their riders lack the protection of an enclosed vehicle, so they're more likely to be injured or killed” (Motorcyles, 2014) and they serve the same purpose as a car.

            If citizens of our country have been possessing firearms for centuries then why are we now talking about taking that right away?  One would assume that it is a result of what some see as a rise in gun related crime, which is not exactly the case.  According to the Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics (n.d.), on the FBI website, Murder and non-negligent manslaughter      dropped between 1970 and 2012, however, the number of forcible rapes has more than doubled.  The argument about the country being a more dangerous place as a result of citizens having guns is not a strong one, especially when the number of property crimes has risen which would mean homeowners are in need of protection in their own homes.  A lack of gun safety is also an argument some make for gun control, however, according to Stell (2001), gun accidents declined 40 in the 1990’s.  There are those who feel banning guns will keep them out of the hands of criminals, but as the same with drugs they will find a way to get their hands on them. 

            In response to Stell (2001) Lafollette (2001) stated that “US children were seventeen times more likely than other developed countries, to be killed by a gun, and nine times more likely to die from an accidental gunshot wound” (p. 36).  This is a classic case of assuming that when a gun is in a home a child will find it.  The same could be said of prescription medicine, if a parent does not appropriately store their medication away from their child there is a chance the child will find it.  It is the same for guns; there are safety precautions that need to be in effect to keep people safe.  LaFollette (2001) does offer the coloration between poverty and crime, and when the country’s economics are in good shape crime rates go down.  This would lead to the theory that we have a social issue not necessarily a gun problem. 

            The constitution assures us the freedom of speech, religion, and to bear arms and yet only one of these freedoms seem to be in danger.  The freedom of speech has certainly found many a reporter in hot water, but it most likely hasn’t been the direct cause of multiple deaths.  The same cannot be said for religion, just in the past few years, religion has been at the center of multiple mass shooting in our country alone, from the San Bernardino shooting to the Orlando nightclub massacre, yet no one is talking about revoking our right to religious freedom.  While I understand that guns were the weapons of choice in each of these examples, it was the person behind the gun who was responsible for pulling the trigger.               

LaFollette, H. (2001). Controlling Guns. Criminal Justice Ethics, 20(1), 34.

LaFollette, H. (2007). The Practice of Ethics. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, Ltd.

Motorcycles. (2014). Retrieved July 23, 2016, from

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/motorcycles/fatalityfacts/motorcycles

Stell, L. K. (2001). Gun Control and the Regulation of Fundamental Rights. Criminal Justice

Ethics, 20(1), 28.

Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved July 23, 2016, from

http://www.bjs.gov/ucrdata/Search/Crime/State/RunCrimeStatebyState.cfm

A634.7.4.RB - Ethics and Behaviors

            When it comes to business ethics it seems that different companies have different values and rules as to what things are acceptable and what aren’t.  For example, some companies allow their employees to access the Internet for personal use and others do not.  The level at which certain behaviors are acceptable vary widely, some holding employees to very high ethical standards others are on the border of being unethical.  

            In his video, Gallagher (2013) mentioned that even when certain behaviors are not good for the customer or the company they are still widely acceptable, one example is policy violations; these actions can often turn into a slippery slope.  As Lafollette (2007) pointed out that in a slippery slope argument “we should reject some proposed behaviors or policies because we judge that their likely consequences will be bad” (p. 131).  When companies and businesses treat certain behaviors as acceptable then there are no negative consequences for employees and therefore they end up make poor decisions. 

            Unfortunately at my previous job, my leaders did not exhibit many positive behaviors in regards to ethics, which is one of the many reasons I chose to leave.  Their behaviors ranged from slightly unethical and possible acceptable to outright unethical.  In my company, it was extremely common for managers to leave their shift early yet be paid for the entire shift and most took advantage of this.  Their behavior was acceptable in the eyes of the company and so they took advantage of it.  On the other end of the spectrum, our department’s manager was openly engaging in extramarital affairs with subordinates, often on company time and during business trips.  The fact that these behaviors were simply overlooked for many years continues to breed more and more bad decisions and unethical behaviors.          

Gallagher, C. (2013). Business Ethics Keynote Speaker - Chuck Gallagher - shares Straight

Talk about Ethics! Retrieved July 18, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUJ00vNGCPE

LaFollette, H. (2007). The Practice of Ethics. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, Ltd.

A634.6.3.RB - What are Virtues?

After completing Ben’s Quiz, my results indicated that I needed to work on Temperance and Resolution, neither, of which were a surprise to me.  Though the quiz did not give the results for those virtues I scored well on, I would say that one of them would have been Industry.  Given these three virtues I have a good sense of what I do well and what I need to improve on. 

In LaFollette’s (2007) book he references Aristotle’s view of what a virtuous person must: do the appropriate action, do it habitually, enjoy acting virtuously, know that it is virtuous and know why it is virtuous (p. 213).  Given this criterion I feel my virtuous strength in industry, which pbs.org described as “lose no time, be always employed in something useful, cut off all unnecessary actions”.  I tend to be a very organized person, I can envision my kid’s daily and weekly schedules in my head and rarely forget an appointment or activity.  I like to stay as busy as possible as a little downtime turns into hours, if I stay in motion I am more likely to accomplish what needs to be done.  I am also a list maker and create one almost every morning, I like to see exactly what needs to be done and feel a great sense of success when I can cross something off the list.  I sometimes take this virtue to the extreme leaving me with a plate full of tasks and little time, but somehow I always manage to complete everything.  I am also a huge believer that when a person says they are going to do something they should do it.  I understand that things can arise and time can slip away but in the end someone is counting on you to finish the project and it would be a disappointment if you didn’t. 

One of the areas my quiz found I needed to work on is resolution, which pbs.org (n.d.) described as “resolve to preform what you ought, preform without fail what you resolve”.  While I am not arguing this fact, I feel that some of the reasons I am not always able to follow through are out of my control.  I have recently made resolutions to eat better and get back into running, after taking almost eight years off to have four more kids.  This is a great plan in theory, and one that I would love to see through to fruition, however my children often have other ideas.  This is where my virtue of industry is my downfall.  I tend to put others before myself which makes following through on things for me difficult.  I need to find ways to say no to others in order to help myself, which will make me more able to help in the long run. 

I have struggled with temperance all my life, the idea of not using something external to numb one’s self internally.  While I am not an alcoholic, I have used alcohol to escape reality on many occasions.  I grew up with a very cold and demanding mother, who asked for nothing less than perfection from me and made it very clear when I had not lived up to her expectation.  I spent most of my childhood assuming this was “normal” behavior from mothers, and it wasn’t until my high school years that I realized it was far from normal.  Between this type of upbringing and an assault I endured during high school at the hand of a “friend” I spent a lot of time attempting to dull my pain.  Alcohol was usually my first choice and method to dull the pain, food was a close second and I alternated between over eating and not eating at all.  After a while I came to the realization that my experiences were not normal nor were they healthy and made the huge decision, with the help of a therapist, to break away from my mother.  This was a tough decision but one that needed to happen, and it was the best decisions I have made in that it probably saved my life.  I still struggle with appropriate ways to cope, however I have things under control and the idea of bingeing no longer enters my mind.  It has been a long road but one that has made me stronger.

It seems that most people want to live their lives with virtue but struggle with internal demons that may inhibit their behavior.  It was my battle with my demons that led me to where I am today and I am thankful for it.  I now have five kids who look up to me and everyday I am under their spotlight, I know I want them to grow up acting a virtuous as they can so I try to emulate that as often as possible.  One must live a virtuous life out of their own needs and desires not because someone else wants them to, it must be a personal decision.                         

LaFollette, H. (2007). The Practice of Ethics. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, Ltd.

(n.d.). Retrieved July 11, 2016, from

http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/pop_virtues_list.html

A634.5.4.RB - Is Marketing Evil?

            When it comes to marketing it may seem that ethics are thrown out the window, after all, their job is to convince you that you need to buy their product.  However El Sayed and Ghazaly (n.d.) raised a good question “Is it even about satisfying the customer, or does it also involve totally materialistic objectives?”  What is the main goal of marketing? Is it to offer the customer what they want/need or is it to sell what you have?  In a perfect world, it would be the perfect combination of both, your company would create and market the perfect item that people would want or need.   This is rarely the case. 

            Ethics play a role in marketing in that they may limit the ways a company advertises a product and the promises it makes about the product.  Where it may be ethically wrong to outright lie about the quality or function of the product, it seems to be expectable to mislead the consumer a bit about the amazingness of a product.  There seems to be a fine line between honesty and marketing.  A company needs to find a way to balance the need to market and sell with honesty and ethics.  This is not an easy task, in fact as El Sayed and Ghazaly (n.d.) stated “making the consumer want the product and then influencing him to stay loyal to it is definitely not an easy job to do”.  The best way to keep customers is to produce a great product and have great customer service.  Advertising and marketing will draw customers in but quality and customer service will keep them.

            In today’s world of technology, it seems that everything one does online is tracked and used for marketing.  Is this unethical or just a fact of life lived online?  With technology moving faster by the day it is not surprising that companies are watching your habits in hopes to sell you a new and better product.  It does not seem unethical any more than companies who once bought addresses for advertising mailings.  Companies are constantly looking for ways to show their products to consumers, and online is currently the quickest and easiest way to do so.

            As a leader I would advise my marketing team to advertise all the positive attributes of the product without crossing the line of lying or misleading.  Making a quality product is the first step and when this happens the marketer’s job is that much easier.  When this is followed up with helpful customer service it is a combination for success.  The trick is to convince the audience that they want or need your product and then convince them that it is worth the price you are asking if this is done ethically then those customers are most likely to return later.              

El Sayed, H., & El Ghazaly, I. (n.d.). Is Marketing Evil?Marketing Viewed as a tool. Retrieved

June 30, 2016, from http://www.ethicsbasedmarketing.net/2.html