Course Objectives Met for MMC Ethics and Decision Making

Reflection is typically not one of my favorite exercises.  Sometimes it is easier to focus on what you did not accomplish over what you did accomplish.  However, here are my thoughts regarding my achievement in my Ethics and Decision Making course.  Overall, I am very happy with all that I learned.  The book on the Seven Layers of Integrity was the perfect book for the class.  I found the Judgment in Managerial Decision Making a difficult read and attribute it my lack of understanding with mathematical equations and how many examples in the book math was utilized. 

I have tried several of the ideas presented in the books within my daily work life and some work and some do not.  I am glad I tried them but should have kept in mind to give credence to what experience and processes I already use that may be just as effective. 

I believe I make better decisions and am more analytical because of Chapter 5 in Judgment in Managerial Decision Making Text.  Many times, we allow emotional influences to impact our decisions.  The section on “When Emotion and Cognition Collide” caused me to laugh and ponder my own biases.  I am not sure I would want to be tied up as Ulysses but his plan worked because he had a backup plan with people he could trust.  I pray that I could make this type of decision when the outside forces are stronger than my own person efforts to take a hit for the team.

Wish I had known then what I know now...

Judgement in Managerial Decision Making has been very insightful and will contribute to my processing of decisions in the future.  According to Stephen Kuhn, "A paradigm is what members of a scientific community, and they alone, share." A paradigm shift is referred to as a dramatic change in methodology or practice. It often refers to a major change in thinking and planning, which ultimately changes the way projects are implemented.  My boss has been supervising for over forty years and in my history with him, his management philosophy is “it is his way or the highway”.  In 1998, I was hired as the program manager for an early childhood initiative serving twenty counties.  Our main modality for communication was mass mailing to our clients.  We mailed a newsletter quarterly with a cost of $7500 a year.  The program is funded by state and federal dollars so as with many social service agencies reducing costs is one of the ways to deal with a flat line budget.

In 2006, I had a plan to educate, train, encourage and support childcare providers in a movement from hard copy mail to email.  When I presented this idea to my boss, he was vehemently opposed.  He found every reason why this was not a viable option.  He shot me down.  It was slightly emotional for me because I was passionate about the idea and knew it would save money.  I did the thing that no one should do.  I took it personally.  It was hard to become detached in the flat no.  I know for a couple weeks, I could not detach from being wounded by the emphatic “NO”.  I believe it was harder for me than it was for him. (I wish I would have known about freezing, unfreezing and refreezing.  Also, how to understand biases in others)

 In 2007, I approached him a second time with the same request and asked for permission to do research and present again to him in three months.  He again said no.  I asked if he could explain to me his reservation and concerns regarding this idea. As he began rattling off a list of everything that was wrong with the idea, I spent time really listening and at the root of his concerns were misinformed concepts around electronic communication. (There was most defiantly a escalation of conflict and it was very intense) I started doing some research to understand his perception and found that this was common with supervisors in my boss’s age group.  I had not thought he might need educated on email communication and technology. Over the next two months at our weekly meetings, I gave information on technological advances and how they could reduce costs. (I needed to acquire expertise)

In 2009, he had the PARADIGM SHIFT.  He came to me and asked me to share my idea.  I explained my plan to educate, train, encourage and support the child care community while we made slight changes to the move from hard copy to electronic copy media.  The excited part was that in his shift in thinking he became excited and actually championed the movement.  I am thankful that although it was a two-year process, the end result was success for the idea and cost savings for the program.  On a side note, he never addressed taking so long to say “yes”.  I dropped it.  I knew it was more about my need to be affirmed than what was in the best interest of the job. 

There are so many things I would have done differently now that I have read this book.  This work cause a paradigm shift in me.  Thanks Professor Artz!

Moral Compass - Written and Unwritten Ethical Standards

In our Ethic Coursework thus far really one concept has stuck with me since I read it and it is that there is not just one standard.  There are those written and unwritten.  In class last week, we were to write about the Enron Scandal. I believe the unwritten standards have us focus on our personal morals and values.  Enron had corrupt leadership that committed crimes both civil and criminal.  If we assume that obeying the law is the most basic measure of ethical business behavior, understanding which laws apply to your activities and undertaking the diligence of knowing that requirement sis a fundamental step. Several times, it was discovered that Lay asked employees to continue unlawful practices.

Contracts and Agreements were not upheld for instance, the retirement plan for employees.  Deliberate violations occur when one party to the contract willfully decides to violate some or all of the terms of the agreement.  Because of the many contract violations and corporate activities that were questionable, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was created. As for Industry Standards being violated, this happened on two levels, written and unwritten standards.  They breached generally accepted accounting principles, which are written standards associated with accounting and auditing practices.  They also abused unwritten standards by using inflated records to sell stock.  One such employee purchased the second largest farm in Texas.  When people violate an industry standard, there are only three things that can happen: (1) nothing: (2) they can be perceived as innovators: and (3) they can be perceived as disreputable.

When unwritten standards are violated it appears, we end up with court battles going all the way to the Supreme Court to make decisions for us.  I have a very hard time when my moral values are decided for me or we have to have everything written because “our free will” is does not have a moral compass.

Self Assessment of Course Objectives

What is Self-Assessment?

Self-assessment is a process by which you learn more about yourself -- what you like, what you don't like, and how you tend to react to certain situations. Knowing these things can help you determine which occupations and work situations could be a better fit for you.

I have determined to use a 1-5 scale to rate the following five learning objectives in my Ethics course.

A)  Hardest = 5 to Easiest =1

B)  Dull= 5 to  Fun= 1

C) Other Notes

Class Objectives
Students who successfully complete this course should be able to:

1. Describe major ethical issues in business and approaches to understanding business ethics. 

1. A) 2 B) 3 C) This is an area where I have the most experience. It seems to be an a topic that is in the media daily, discussed around the water cooler and within friendship circles and studied at Bellevue in multiple classes including, "The Kirkpatrick Series".  When it comes to business, we have watched Martha Stewart, Enron and Housing Market Decline make unethical decisions which frustrate and infuriate ordinary Americans.  The Seven Layers of Integrity required coursebook if read by Top Executives in my opinion would not have made a difference.  Ethics gets down to who a person is and what is their moral compass.

2. Compare different levels of analysis in ethical conduct and obligations. 

1. A)3 B)4 C)  I found data analysis fascinating except in this situation.  I have been taught over a lifetime that one sin is just a bad as the next.  Do the obligations/ramifications become greater or lesser based on how many people it impacted or did it just impact the individual who made the poor choice?  I find this may be a very hard one to explore and make a fair analytical assessment.

3. Explain common problems in ethical decision-making processes. 

1. A)1 B)2 C)  This one also seems to point to a moral compass within the individual.  Common problems with this area is the allure of more money without the thought that they may get caught.  My biological father was charged with embezzlement in the 70's.  He covered up and got away with the it for a period of time and thought his was invincible.  This one does not seem to be as much as a challenge.  It may be more emotionally charge due to have personal impact to corruption.

4. Investigate methods to integrate ethics with optimal decision-making processes. 

1. A)2 B)2 C)  This one appears to be a challenge when thinking about how to get a group or an organization to buy into ethics if it is not already embedded in the decision making process.  Can this be done without appearing condescending or belittling to folks who you have already established a working rapport?  This one seems to be hard for me.

5. Recommend communication strategies for ethical aspects of decision-making processes.  

1. A)5 B)3 C)  This also looks like it will be a challenge.  I can make the recommendation based on learned information or experience, however this should not stop at the recommendation but at implementation strategies that have been successfully implemented with a proven track record.  

Overall, I have already gained some very valuable information about a code of conduct and code of ethics that has really helped reframe my thinking on this topic.  I found it fascinating how Ethics goes from outside to internal influences, law to personal responsibility.