The Fundamentals of Character, Deliberation and Moral Problems in Training - Essay Example

They will all be analyzed here forthwith. II. The “Slippery Slope” The “slippery slope” is basically a domino effect that takes place after one moral principle is compromised, leading to other compromises in principle. As stated by Delattre (2002), “[T]he slippery slope of corruption begins with any gratuity, including the well-known cup of coffee” (pp. 77). This particular example is referring to police, although many different public servants could also be considered on par with police so much so that they indeed do receive special treatment as a member of a certain group of public servants (i.e., judges, lawyers, senators, Congresspersons, city board members, aldermen, etc.). For example, if a judge was given a bribe in order to help sway the decision of his very first court case, this could be a premier example of the slippery slope.

The judge isn’t really supposed to do that, but perhaps the judge figures it’s just a one-time action. Later on, when other lawyers petition the judge with more bribes in the form of financial assistance, that judge may be hard-pressed to say no. However, while some people accept gratuities to be a simple fact of life in order for public officials to perform (sometimes illegal) favors in return—performing these favors in return for gratuities are a form of bribery and should not be tolerated.

Although people may be used to giving gratuities which they may deem harmless, the damage has been done. III. The Society-At-Large Hypothesis Within the society-at-large hypothesis, the main idea here is that society corrupts people with political or otherwise hierarchical powers. According to Delattre (2002), O.W. Wilson stated, “[For example, in Chicago] it had been customary to give [people in public service] gratuities…[with a] certain progression of events [to] follow…” (pp. 69).

This allowed certain public officials to get away with crimes that went unchecked. Without a doubt, nepotism and cronyism still play a large part in politics in several different cities and nations, due to the nature of the job. It has long been considered standard to offer, for example, that free cup of a coffee to a cop on the beat by a local food mart. However, that may be taken as a sign that public servants deserve more than just that, in effect producing a society which expects its leaders to take bribes or be corrupt—effectively proffering corruption. IV. The Structural/Affiliation Hypothesis The structural or affiliation hypothesis, developed by Arthur Niedenhoffer, posits that corruption is indoctrinated into new recruits of organizations by the higher-ups.

For example, if a rookie cop sees his superior shaking down drug dealers for monetary gain, he might very well start doing the same thing by way of affiliation. The corruption is also a structural problem which is built in to the police culture. Other organizational cultures—for example, in corporate offices—might have similar structural difficulties. Enron is a great example of a company that had corruption increasing the farther one went up the chain of executives. V. The Rotten Apple Theory The rotten apple theory basically states that there is poor hiring, training, and supervision within an organization, effectively putting individuals who already have a track record of corruption in positions of power.

The rotten apple