Evaluating the situation and the people involved will lead to a success in both your personal and professional goals. Being in a leadership position in the military, I am faced with ethical dilemmas all the time. In most cases, doing what is right is harder and takes more time then doing what is wrong. Recently I was put in charge of division comprised of junior people. Before I arrived, their pervious supervisor did not do their job and a junior person was put in charge. At first I had no problem getting control of the situation. I let everyone know what I wanted and the benefits of doing what they were told in a timely manner. About 3 months into my new assignment I started to encounter problems with the pervious supervisor. She started to put things into my junior sailors head and the jouinor sailors were getting tired of her manipulative tactics. Instead of not listening to her concerns and turning the other cheek, I made the choice to hear what she and the others had to say. After they voiced their concerns, I let them know that I am a fair and understanding person. If something could be done differently or if you they had a problem/issue with what I was doing to let me know. By letting my people know that I care and was willing to listen and take action, enabled me to persuade them to continue to do a great job and produce quality work.
All the parties involved knew something had to change. The pervious supervisor did not want to be fired as my alternate, but others wanted her gone. I had to take the ideas and opinions of my sailors and to determine how to handle the situation. In the end I kept the pervious supervisor as my assistant and explained to the others my reasoning behind my actions. I had to examine my situation and predict the possible consequences to my actions. My practice of utilitarianism was for the benefit of the whole department and not just one person while keeping within the rules and regulations set forth by the military. By choosing the “most appropriate action…I promoted the greatest good for the greatest number of people
The moment we decide to bend the truth or lie we lose credibility. If you have no credibility you will lose the respect and ability to persuade people to do what is right or what you want them to do. “They include not only bring out or promoting about benefit or value, but also honoring value, honoring things such as, rules, producing, appreciating, loving, respecting, creating, being receptive or open to, using or handling appropriate things in an appropriate way
We see people bend the truth and lie to our faces all the time, from salesman’s trying to close the deal or advertiser trying to sale their product. Imagine how affective their ads would be if they just told the truth. People would have faith in their products and then tell their friends. I stopped buying used cars at an early age because I was one of those lucky ones that got sold a lemon. I the salesman told me that I was getting the best deal of my life. The car was in mint condition, “top of the line.” After a month of driving, my car it broke down. Not only could I not get a refund but it cost an extra $400 to get it fixed. I was so mad that I mad flyers and told all my friends about the dealership and the dealer who sold me the car. Sales representative are not the only ones who bend the truth, advertisers do their fair share as well.
Advertisers are notorious for bending the truth. How many times you have as a customer bought a product that did not live up to its advertisement? I for one have fell victim to this numerous times. I have come to realize as a consumer that there is no truth when it comes to advertisements. Most of the time I wait until a friend or relative endorses a product that I am interested in. If a company constantly advertises their product in a positive way and it does not live up to its claims that company will loses its following and people will see them in a negative light. This can cause potential loss of customers, a decrease in sales, and loss of profit.
Ethics is defined as “moral principles that guide judgment about good and bad, right and wrong… “ (Shockley-Zalabak, 2009, p.111). If you have a strong sense of who you are then the decision to do what is right is an easy one. You might feel that lying to achieve your goal is worth it at the time, but you will soon realize that in the grand scheme of thing it is not. Being able to persuade someone ethically will not only benefit you in your profession but in your personal life as well. (Reamer, 2006).” Ethical practices and persuasion is not only important in the work place, but in your personal life as well. (Swanton, 2003, p. 21).” The Virtue theory judges a person’s by their character. It takes a person morals, values, reputation, and motivates behind their actions. If these items are loss, the persuader will lose their ability to persuade the receiver of their message.
References
BIBLIOGRAPHY Shockley-Zalabak, P. S. (2009). Fundamentals Of Organizational Communication: Knowledge, Sensitivity, Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Skills, Values.
Swanton, C. (2003). Virtue Ethichs: A Pluralistic View. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press Inc.Reamer, F. G. (2006). Socail Work Values and Ethics. Chichester, NY: Columbia University Press.
