Category: ethics

Rogue Columnist!

On By southwerkIn ethics

“My aim has been to achieve the best in hard-hitting newspaper news column writing, a special and dying craft outside of a few places. I often fall short. But at its best this involves trenchant writing, a distinctive and compelling voice, backed by the facts (as Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, “you are entitled to your own opinion but you are not entitled to your own facts.”), analysis, context and pointed commentary.”

This is from John Talton’s latest column on his blog. This is one I read regularly and I recommend it to you.

I wrote him a short note by e-mail –
I put your latest column on on “Digg.” I am in the middle of writing something positive about it on my blog. When I was reading your piece I noticed that you said that writing a regular blog was grueling. Yes. Absolutely. I write on ethics usually twice a day. It feels like swimming up a waterfall. Increasingly we seem to live in a world devoid of honor. Well, enough of my musings. You probably get tired of hearing this, but I very much enjoy your columns. The only reason I don’t refer to them very often is that most people in NW arkansas (I’m only a few miles from Wal-Mart corporate headquarters.) have no idea what you’re talking about and a lot of your stuff is squarely in-state material.
My best wishes!
James Pilant

Read James’ entries on Pilant’s Business Ethics Blog
https://southwerk.wordpress.com/

You will notice I end my message with a shameless reference to my own blog. I feel bad about having done that but not bad enough to quit doing it.

James Pilant

Can A Non-Profit Help Women Dress For Success?

On By southwerkIn ethics1 Comment

In San Jose, California, there is a non-profit called the Career Closet. Volunteers at this non-profit can choose among a half million dollars worth of clothes to help women dress for interviews.

Let me quote from the Mercury News: “Since 1992, this nonprofit has been dressing disadvantaged women in clothes donated by the Bay Area’s working women. Clients, referred by 130 local agencies, can choose a week’s worth of clothing, as well as handbags, jewelry and new underwear. They also get free haircuts and makeup consultations — everything they need to look professional.”

(Patty Fisher of Mercury News wrote the article I am discussing here.)

Is it fair that society judges people by looks and dress rather than their experience and ability? Certainly not. Unfortunately grim realities force accommodations. So, it is that those with more clothing knowledge, upper class accents and mannerisms will dominate the job market for years to come. With the advent of “emotional intelligence,” hiring decisions are more and more based on how your social skills appear. Emotional intelligence has great validity in sales and other people oriented jobs, but to use it broadly ignores the importance of ability and punishes the socially awkward or simply independent among us. We can do better. It doesn’t require a great deal of thinking to realize that emotional intelligence is but one facet of job skills and that they must be weighed in proportion to their importance. But when read articles about EI, I see over and over again broad statements stating directly or implying that social skills are the primary skill for success in all areas. Think about that. Think about the socially awkward like Thomas Alva Edison, Soren Kierkegaard, Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein, William Blake, Charles Lamb, Arthur Schopenhauer, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Blaise Pascal, William James Sidis, and H.P. Lovecraft. Let society decide that only the socially skillful are producers and creators of value. Isn’t that the current direction? I wonder what kind of human development we can expect in a civilization of the popular? What would you call that society? We already know.

It’s called Mediocracy, government by the less than average. That’s what you get when ability becomes a side issue. That’s what you get when the give and take of ideas become so painful that a feigned state of agreement becomes preferable. That’s what you get when money is more important than making things, more important than being sincere and honorable; because both sincerity and honor disturb people and has the possible side effect of appearing socially awkward.

Hiring the at-first apparently popular is easy. Hiring the skilled requires judgment. Judgment means thought, work, contemplation and the application of judgment means a willingness to disagree, to advocate for the unpopular candidate. So by exercising judgment, a skill, those who believe in hiring the skilled, become unpopular and thus unhirable themselves.

Remember acting with intelligence, judgment, humor, honor or conviction can make you unpopular. These qualities make civilization go forward. They are vital in making life worth living, in cultivating the young, following the pathway of love of country and fulfilling our responsibilities to fellow citizens and posterity.These are the things we must give up to be hirable and liked.

Something of an ethics problem, huh?

James Alan Pilant

Malware Kills My Computer!

On By southwerkIn ethics

I’m thrilled. My dvd drive quit working. The computer indicated that the driver was malfunctioning and I went on the net to try to find one. I found an apparently reliable site but after it downloaded for about ten seconds, I decided I didn’t want to risk it and stopped the download. Well, guess what?, ten seconds is enough. My infested computer had to be wiped and the basic software reloaded. Now I being ever cautious have two computers that do this blog. So, one computer is left and it’s the main one. The one I just wiped is going to become a web cruiser only with tons of defensive software, so in a couple weeks I should have identical material on both computers.
It makes me angry that people would do this and much more angry that Microsoft’s operating system bears more resemblance to Swiss cheese than a computer program. But I’ll keep going.

James Pilant

Only One Blog Entry On Friday!

On By southwerkIn ethics

This is me surviving a sinus attack!
This entry may still make Friday but not by much. I suffer from chronic sinusitis and the great demigod of pollen beat up on me badly Thursday night and Friday morning. I am better and will get some stuff up. Thanks for your patience!
James Pilant

Ethics Problems Around the World

On By southwerkIn business ethics, ethics, Government Failure

Ivory Coast – Toxic Waste Dumping.

Nigeria – In that country illegal gold mining puts lead into the water systems resulting in the deaths of children.

South Africa – Rigged bidding on a soccer stadium results in cover up, assassination and devastation to the local community.

Egypt – African migrants work their way to Egypt in order to cross the border into Israel.

Australia – Australia is putting out advertising to tell people of its new, tough laws on sexual tourism. Australian citizens who commit crimes against children in other nations can still be prosecuted in Australia.

Australia – Australian government investigates Google for privacy breach.

China – The county of Qingshuihe in far Northern China decided to relocate a town. So they built a new one. At least they started. After spending about 880 million dollars (translating the expenditure into American money), they have a few empty buildings in the middle of nowhere.

Burma – There is some evidence Burma has embarked on the construction of a nuclear weapon.

Russia – There are claims being made that Russians looted the bodies of the Polish citizens of the ill fated flight that crashed in April.

Germany – Banned genetically modified corn has been planted on acreage in several southern German states.

France – Jerome Kerviel is going on trial soon for breach of trust, forgery and unauthorized computer use. He is blamed for the loss of 4.9 billion Euros in losses by a French bank. (That’s about 6 billion American dollars.)

Scandinavia and the Baltic – Nordic bank Nordea has sold all its shares in British Petroleum. (That’s right. The oil spill will never reach them and they have the sense to punish wrong doing.)

India – Courts in India have found 8 people guilty in the Bhopal disaster and sentenced them to 2 years in prison. The Bhopal disaster resulted in the deaths of up to 18,000 people (those injured number up to 600,000) and occurred in 1984. So, the wheels of justice have been grinding for 26 years. These are the first convictions they have and one of those sentenced is dead and presumably is not concerned about his conviction. While there is definitely a business ethic element to the story, even the most casual reader will find it fascinating from purely an entertainment perspective and a cautionary tale of a nation that does things “differently.” (India is a glorious nation with an incredible history but 26 years to get your first convictions and a two year sentence for destroying a small city’s worth of people is not a recommendation for your justice system.)

Bangladesh – In the city of Dhaka, poorly constructed building housing hundreds are little more than death traps should they catch on fire.

See if you can figure out why this is ironic?

On By southwerkIn ethics

“Ethics is an integral part of business as well as life. Strong ethical business practices can determine the success of a business.”
These are the first two sentences of an essay available on SampleEssays.com. jp

Ethicsdaily.com

On By southwerkIn business ethics, ethics

I ran across the Ethicsdaily web site while checking for new commentary from the Associated Baptist Press. (I mentioned this in an earlier posting.) I went to the web site and read many of the editorial content, sermons, etc. It’s a good site. Obviously, it is Christian advocacy. I have no trouble, whatsoever with this (being a Christian myself), but that’s not what I am doing here. I am dealing with business ethics. So, after careful search, I discovered that there is material on the site that applies Christian ethics to business. That is very important to me. I strongly, strongly believe that religion has a great deal to tell us about morality and to provide us with guidance to make good decisions. I believe there should be religious component to all business ethics textbooks.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want business ethics textbooks that attempt to convert people to one religion or another. What I do want is the Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Islamic teachings on business ethics to be taught to business students as legitimate choices of moral guidance.

So, there will on this web site, discussions of and links to articles from Ethics Daily, but only those with a great deal of relevance to business. There is great number of articles on the site but I only think that four or five a month are likely to be on point.

I’m telling you this because I am trying to put the best stuff on business ethics I can find on this site. It is not a small task and I suspect that I will make many mistakes as to who should be talked about, etc. But, here I am, putting this right out in the open, so that you know that I do think about these things, that I do have to work at this and I do respect and appreciate the thoughts of others in making these decisions.

I want to make a better world. I think if I can collect good business ethics writing and put it on this site regularly that maybe, just maybe, more people will read it, think about it and use it. (I like to think I have significant things to say as well but you probably gathered that.)

I want to do the right thing. I want to do this as well as my powers of judgment allow. If you want to advise me and help me make these choices, charge right in. I don’t mind intelligent criticism.

Okay?

James Pilant

Jane Jacobs

On By southwerkIn ethics

008Jane Jacobs

Author of seven books, Jane Jacobs was not just an urban activist but a visionary. Here is David Owen’s take on her writings.

Morality and ethics are not trip wires. We must not wait until a moral dilemma strikes to act. We can act ethically and morally in an affirmative manner. We can seek to curb evil and its influence. It’s important to react to evil but it may well be more important to work against evil with persistence and commitment all our lives.Jane Jacobs when confronted with the taking of homes and businesses for development acted to stop it. She is an example of what can be done by a willingness to confront and oppose evil in an affirmative manner and not a passive one.

Hard Thinking

On By southwerkIn ethics, Teaching

I had the misfortune and the opportunity to think over the long break. The misfortune was due to my trip to Tulsa. I have a dramatic allergy response to the city either the phosphorous laden Arkansas River or the emissions of the oil refineries or both. I was down and in a lot of pain for several days. But on a larger note, I thought. I am 53 years old and I am not sure what happens next. Gail Sheehy called my age, the age of mastery. I don’t feel like a master of my career or much of anything else.

So, I thought. I apologize for the lack of posts. I wanted to clarify what it was I was trying to do. I wanted to clarify to myself my purpose and to set some goals for this savage year. Yes, savage year. I predict a rough year for me and, more particularly my students. They have come seeking new lives and all this economy has to offer them is pain. They seek an American dream that barely exists.

Why should I write this when so few read it? I wrote my previous blog for more than a year and never gained an audience. I finally deleted it feeling it was of no significance. This one is different. It is different because I am using it as a tool to seek kindred souls and develop my thought.

I want to talk about ethics seriously and without backing away in educational jargon from confronting the evils of our time. Of particular concern are two issues. One is the total lack of protections for our internet communications. We as a people are entitled to some kind of protection for our e-mail and other posts. The second is privatization in the state of Arkansas, my home. I sense something in motion. I worry about the assets of the people of this state being turned over to private interests for their unjust and cruel enrichment.

Sometimes, I would fold my tent and walk away. I could read, listen to music, play my games and let the sweet things of life escape me away from the tedium of the continuing struggle for significance, for the struggle against evil, for that action that says I stand and while I live I will try to do what’s right. Let me quote Tennyson:

 Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
  We are not now that strength which in old days
  Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
  One equal temper of heroic hearts,
  Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
  To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Not a great post, but my post. A new year. Continued struggle. 2o10

James Pilant

Tolstoi and Wisdom in Conduct

On By southwerkIn ethics

049Tolstoi and Wisdom in Conduct

I’ve been reading Garnett’s Wisdom in Conduct. He talks about Tolstoi and his five rules being an oversimplification. I admire Tolstoi but I have to agree with Garnett. These kind of platitudening (if you don’t mind me inventing a word) is all too common. If we just did this or that following these simple rules the world would be a better place. Most of the rules suggest that we need to be nicer than we are now.

I am strongly opposed to simple niceness. We can do things better not nicer. Niceness is not a cause worthy to fight for. Being a better and a kinder person has its place. For instance, I often tell my students that each of us has a story, the story of our lives. Few ever get to tell the story to anyone at any time, because most of us are too wrapped up in ourselves to listen the sounds of anybody else’s beating heart. Kind of a pity, really. We have a lot to say. On the other hand, we have a lot of nonsense we talk about habitually, time killers, social recognitions, maintenance phrases (how’s the weather, etc.) and sometimes we take the serious, (I love you), and make it trivial.

The story of one’s life we should encourage and pay attention to; the trivial and annoying we should ignore and discourage. Both involve strength and judgment. Neither are just being nice. In fact, nice, may be fairly pointless unless translated with more specificity, like kindness, caring, compassion, etc.

James Pilant