Applied Ethics - Assignment Example

APPLIED ETHICS Question a Morality is the acceptable standard of behaviors held within the society. While Ethics is a principle that used to decide what behavior is good or bad. Both morality and ethics are related to right and wrong. However, they are different. They are different in that morality consists of standards that exist at a particular time, unlike ethics. Morality undergoes frequent changes, unlike ethics that is more stable. Unlike ethics, morality is like a snapshot taken of a moving thing.

Since ethics is more stable, than morality then, it is said to be bigger than morality. Therefore, ethics can cause morality to change. Finally, morality surpasses cultural norms, while ethics in most cases is overseen by professional and legal guidelines within a particular place and time (Ciulla, 2003).Question b. Ethics is fundamental to any leadership; good ethics upholds characteristic needed for an effective leader. In the leadership, you can get two scenerios, an effective leader but not ethical or a not effective leader but ethical (Ciulla, 2004).

It is hard to get both. Therefore, the phrase “the ends justify the means” depends on what is the outcome and the goal and the means used to achieve them. If the outcome is good and noble then, the ends justify the means. However, most people do not mean that; they use the phrase as an excuse to achieve a particular goal, through any means no matter how illegal, immoral and unpleasant the means could be. The phrase means it does not matter how someone gets what he or she want so long have it.

In most cases this phrase is used in an unfair way such that most leaders use it for self-gain. For instance, Machiavelli never liked Cesare Borgia as a person, however he was impressed by Borgia as the resolute, who got the job done, but the way he did it was morally disgusting.In ethics end justifying the means is an ethical dilemma and a popular scenario. There are things to be considered when making a decision, for instance, what is the morality of the action, the morality of the individual performing an action and the morality of the outcome.

In the leadership, a good and effective leader should use a moral means to justify a moral end. This is because leaders need to be more careful than ordinary people because a leader’s moral inconsistency is highly noticeable by the public than just an ordinary individual. When their action does not meet their promote values, then they tend to lose the trust of their effectiveness from various stakeholders. There are leaders who tend to be effective in what they do, but the beliefs they hold tend to be morally suspected.

For instance, Tred Lott, who was forced to step down as the Senate majority leader due to insensitive racial comments he had made. As much as he was an effective leader, ethics were questionable (Ciulla, 2004). A good leader should be ethical and effective, although it is always hard to get all this in a leader. A leader that takes action without ethics is leads to a torn leadership; ethics is a guide to a moral decision and the best solution. Question cCiulla, 2004 defines good as “morally good and technically good or effective”( p 13).

In deciding what is greatest good one needs to analyze the situation, with many alternatives and also different possible consequences. It is crucial to know that the best action produces the best results. Therefore, when deciding the greatest good it is best to settle on total benefit and reducing negativity and suffering. According to Ciulla, good leadership is that which include strong morals and effectiveness. A good leader maximizes output from people without compromising on ethical beliefs (Ciulla, 2004).

A good leader is guided by the value of honesty such that every action take does not compromise on the well being of the follower.ReferencesCiulla, J. B. (2004). The ethics of leadership. Belmont, Calif: Thomson/Wadsworth.