Ethics, Crime and Criminal Justice - Assignment Example

Ethics, Crime and Criminal Justice The first story shows that organizations can function at lower levels of moral development. In the lower levels of moral development, the focus is on self at the pre-conventional level and others at the conventional level. When applied to an organizational setting, some employees only perform better or behave in a particular manner because of fear of punishment or reproach from authority. A company employee might report to work early not out of their volition but because they fear punishment from the employer. For example, it may be the Company’s policy to dismiss employees who report to work late (Williams & Arrigo 132). The same scenario happens at the police branch. The vice group only took action after an exposé was carried out. It seems the vice group was afraid of the censure they would receive either from the public or their authority as a result of the revelations on their inaction. Some organizations also operate with their interests far off from the larger society, below the conventional level of morality. There are many organizations today that trade-off services that would benefit the society at large, for profits (Williams &Arrigo 26). Although the prostitutes ring around the neighborhood was operating openly and illegally, the police did not take any action despite gathering information and receiving numerous calls of action on the same from the neighborhood group. People who are not accepting of divergent views are also considered to be operating at lower levels of moral development. These groups of people are usually anti change. They are not willing to challenge themselves out of the status quo. In the story, the new police boss had a new idea of implementing community policing in the city. The idea would have probably resolved most of the issues the residents of the Midwest neighborhood were facing way faster. The officers were however not willing to rid off their old thinking methods and seeing the benefits of community policing (Williams & Arrigo 21). The same behavior happens in most organizations where there is a form of resistance to the introduction of new methods that shake up the old ways of doing things. From the above analysis, it is clear that some if not most organizations function at lower levels of moral development. In the second story, receiving a free meal is ethically correct in this context because of two things. First is the frequency of the free meals. The restaurant owner was simply by the use of a single meal thanking the officer for the single job he did. People always reward others with free offers as a way of showing gratitude. For instance, a father can give a teacher some extra money as a show of thanks because the teacher helped his child to improve in a subject the child had difficulty in previously (Williams & Arrigo 24). It would be a form of corrupt practice if the restaurant owner would continue offering free meals to the officers and the officers accepting the offers. Finally, the intention of the parties involved was clear and straightforward. The officers did not intend to receive any more free meals from the restaurant owner. If the restaurant owner had an intention of receiving special favors from the officers or vice versa, then it meant crossing the ethical line. In my view, both parties were not ethically wrong with the free meals. Discussion: Chapter 7 In this particular manner, due to the fear of punishment and reproach from authority people always fear. For instance, just the same way a child should be motivated to take part in doing what is right so as to avoid unnecessary punishments just from the childhood. In stage 4, it is important that Kohlberg’s model of moral development describing several reasons providing a contrast with the post conventional phases of growth. He explains that, this is the highest stages of maturity that majority of people experience in the lifetime of an individual. Stage 1 through 4 reflects on the natural developmental processes. Therefore, education, socialization, training, and other influences that were thought by Kohlberg. In the developmental stages that occur beyond this stages is not applicable to the process of cognitive development (Williams & Arrigo 135).Therefore, Kohlberg’s model details us on how we should first gain the growing kind of reasoning and other cognitive skills that created great moral leaders, that consequently imitate the moral qualities as described in stage 6 of the reasoning and ethics that are admirable with its character, qualities and achievements (Williams & Arrigo 136). Kohlberg still argues that, in different stages of moral development that occur in their own thinking, the moral concern of various interactions should promote moral development. By stimulating the cognitive processes, they encourage the refining of the reasoning skills that is essential to mortality. For these reasons, Kohlberg emphasizes that mortality is not fully exposed to the challenging moral scenarios that are being forced to think critically about these dilemmas. In other words, certain rules promote social order; it does not mean that the taking order is good. In such a case, a totalirian society could be orderly and functions well. Similarly, it might also leave much to the desired while promoting moral ideals such as fairness, justice, and rights. Therefore, Kohlberg concludes that, at the fifth stage, there is a believe that a good society is best conceptualized as the social contract that each one should agree on the two principles that have the basic rights such as life and liberty (Williams & Arrigo 134). From the above analysis, it is clear that some and not most organizations function at lower levels of moral development. This shows that moral development has greatly helped us to understand motivations either good or bad for violation and criminal laws while making distinctions basing on the ground morality. Therefore, the concept of moral development could aid us in proper understanding of these various facets of law, crime and justice (Williams & Arrigo 138). Work Cited Williams and Arrigo. Ethics, Crime, and Criminal Justice. 2nd ed. Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2012. Read More