Where's the Moral Outrage? The events of last week where at least 50 people were killed and 50 wounded in an attack targeting two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch was despicable. The admissions cheating scandal in the U.S. raises serious questions whether the large group of people... Read more →
What Makes it More Difficult to Act Ethically? Many behaviors make it difficult to act ethically including pursuing one’s own interests while harming others, narcissistic behavior, and a lack of compassion and empathy for others. I examine in this blog three challenges to ethical behavior in our personal relationships, workplace... Read more →
Ethical Considerations This is the first of a two part blog on office politics. In this blog I examine what it is, how it manifests itself, and the ethics of office politics. My workplace ethics advice blog tomorrow will look at the effects of office politics in the workplace. Definition... Read more →
Turning Philosophy into Action Dealing with ethical issues can be perplexing. How, exactly, should we think through the alternatives? What questions should we ask? What factors should we consider? Classic ethical reasoning methods suggest that once we have ascertained the facts, we should ask ourselves five questions when trying to... Read more →
The Lost Art of Civility It seems today, more than ever before, we are witnessing uncivil behavior in a broad spectrum of society. We hear about basic rudeness; harsh words, expletives shouted at others, and seeking out others with whom we disagree to forcefully make our point or criticizing theirs.... Read more →
Results of Studies Highlight Deficiencies in Learning Experiences I can’t say I was surprised to read last week in a Wall Street Journal article, also reported on Today.com, that grade school teachers have been experimenting with a no homework policy for schoolchildren. In the article, a second grade teacher is... Read more →
The Chaos Stock Market The stock market gyrations that are causing whiplash can be attributed to many factors including uncertainty about the federal funds rate, whether the tax stimulus of 2017 has run its course, and a host of arbitrary considerations brought on by President Trump’s inconsistent messages about tariffs,... Read more →
What is Moral Courage? Courage. What is it? Is it bravery? Is it the strength of one’s convictions? Is it the same as integrity? Is it an ethical value that we all should aspire to achieve? Ayn Rand said in her classic book The Fountainhead that “Integrity is the ability... Read more →
Rest’s Model of Ethical Behavior How do we make ethical decisions? James Rest[1], a well-known cognitive-developmental researcher, developed a model of ethical behavior that is based on the presumption that there are four steps in moral development that lead to ethical action. Rest asserted that ethical actions are not the... Read more →
Missed Profit and Cash Targets Lead to Firing of CEO General Electric is in trouble. Last week it announced the firing of CEO John Flannery after 14 months on the job as problems developed in its power unit causing GE to warn it would miss profit and cash targets. GE... Read more →