The Professional Career in Liberal Arts Studies - Essay Example

?The Professional Career Although a career professional seems to have more responsibility to both themselves and the community, the increased responsibility can lead a person to be more fulfilled both in their careers and in their personal lives. A career is much more rewarding than simply punching a time clock and doing the same repetitive work every day. Being a professional means that you not only have a technical skill, but that you also “put more of yourself into your work,” so to speak. In this regard, being a professional allows one to grow more as a person by creating a bond between that person and their career work. Of course, one of the dangers of a professional career is that it can lead an individual to sacrifice personal ethics and morals at the expense of financial gain, power, or even mere conformity. Using “Plunkitt of Tamany Hall,” Tacitus’ “Agricola,” Augustine’s “Confessions,” Arendt’s “Eichmann in Jerusalem,” and Whyte’s “Organization Man” as a guide, this essay will explore the consequences of professionalism as related to personal morals and ethics. A majority of professionals are still answerable to a boss for their productivity and their actions. Taking this fact alone into account, a professional career is still similar to a “job”. Therefore, situations can still easily arise where a professional has to follow orders or else they could risk being fired. The question here would be how much one is willing to sacrifice in the area of morality and ethics in order to keep their job. Throughout a professional’s career, unfavorable circumstances such as disagreements with a boss will inevitably arise. Agricola showed throughout his life that he was able to deal with a “bad boss” effectively by using discretion and not openly rebelling against a tyrannical ruler. This seems to be a very difficult thing to accomplish, yet Agricola showed that he was still able to accomplish great things in his life even though he was answerable to a tyrant. Agricola spent most of his life “working for” a Despotic and unjust “boss” because he submitted to the idea that discretion was always the better course of action. He didn’t provoke his fate by doing or saying things that would cause the emperor to look unfavorably on him (98). Although this may be difficult to accomplish in a professional setting with a similarly bad boss, Agricola showed that it is possible to still be act virtuously even when those who rule over you are immoral and unjust. On the other hand, situations may arise when a boss demands that you carry out an order that is so immoral that it should be opposed. Eichmann’s argument for not opposing Hitler is that he was merely following orders and if he didn’t he would likely have been executed. So in order to save his own life, he justified murdering thousands of people. Although this may have been a difficult situation, a moral person would fight against such orders; maybe not openly but in a more discreet way. As a professional, one should possess the ethics to see that just because something is an established law doesn’t mean it is necessarily a good law. It is almost implied that a professional should be ethical; however a person can easily justify immoral acts just as Eichmann did. So that someone is a professional does not imply that they can’t fall prey to immoral attitudes and practices. In the case of Eichmann, he may have been too fearful or unwilling to oppose the laws of Hitler. Again, this would be a tough situation, but being one of Hitler’s “professionals” almost implies that you agree with his beliefs and policies. It was likely that he wouldn’t have achieved such a high rank unless he supported Hitler’s ideas. On the other hand, he may have felt that Hitler was going to be victorious so he might as well join him so he could reap the benefits, even though he may have not agreed with everything Hitler believed. Of course, such drastic immorality is fortunately not prevalent in the business world or in a free society. Yet a situation could arise where a boss asks you to do something that you know is immoral. This is often a predicament for a professional who is trying to keep their job while at the same time exercising their morals and beliefs. One can observe that there is definitely a scale of morality in which some immoralities are quite petty while other things are very serious. Ideally, a professional would want to perform their job in such a way that their actions are in line with their moral values. However, in many cases a professional may be required to have some degree of moral ambiguity in order to maintain their job and make an organization profitable. However, when this ambiguity “crosses the line,” a professional definitely should not become a common criminal by doing things like stealing from and oppressing others. As a professional, Plunkitt believed that there was such a thing as an honest profit and a dishonest profit. He felt that if both State and personal interests stand to gain an advantage from a venture, then such a thing was justifiable and therefore an honest profit. On the other hand, he would see stealing from other as a dishonest profit and would condemn such an action (Plunkitt, 1905). In other words, he may justify “a little” corruption as long as it doesn’t amount to stealing from others and as long as it benefits the State as well as the person. Similarly, there is no harm in corporations seeking an honest profit as long as it their business is actually benefiting society in some way and not being a detriment to society. On the other hand, profit seeking could be viewed as perhaps somewhat corrupt, especially when people at the top of a corporation are taking most of the money for themselves. From a business perspective, Plunkitt did seem to have the dynamics of business pegged. Buying something for a low price and selling it for a high price is the essence of productive business, and Plunkitt’s views were in line with this sentiment. For him, corruption meant actually stealing from others, while trying to make a profit was not corrupt at all. Plunkitt also believed in seeing opportunities and taking them and also realized that who you know is more important than what you know. These concepts are widely held to be applicable in the business world today. Obviously, competition is not immoral and many would argue that it is what makes a society productive. As a professional, a person definitely shouldn’t be required to give up their important personal values and be a mere servant to an organization, but things like making a profit are not immoral unless greed takes control and a person begins to deal with others unjustly in order to make obscene amounts of money for themselves at the expense of those who are equally deserving. Again, this speaks to the fact that a professional can “cross the line” and sacrifice important virtues for money and power. The goal of a professional career is definitely not money and power at the expense of living a “good” life. The life experiences of Augustine show that self-doubt and despair led him to question the life he was living (397). This self-doubt allowed him to be open to new values and religions and he was willing to accept life-transforming changes. Similarly, a professional should be willing to question themselves and be open to suggestions. It could be effectively argued that this is how a professional improves in their field. In regards to a career path, a professional should also be willing to accept life-transforming changes. This may include seeking new opportunities that are more fitting to the individual person and are able to make that individual more fulfilled as a person. If a professional feels like they are in a bad situation with a bad boss, the better course of action may be to move on and find a career that is more fulfilling and more in line with their personal values. The goal of every professional should be to follow their hearts, like Augustine did. This course of action will eventually lead a person to a better life. A modern professional’s career journey is similar to the journey of Augustine. After years of living his life according to the carnal pleasures of the body, Augustine felt that there must be something more to life than the way he was living it. He thus began a quest for a more fulfilling life. Similarly, a more fulfilling life should always be the goal of the professional. A better career often requires difficult changes, but a professional should be willing to make those changes in order to realize a better life. In nearly every job, of course, there are difficult problems to work through. This could also be said of a spiritual journey. There are times when it is better for an individual to move on to a new job or career, just as there are times where a person needs to make life changes in order to develop spiritually. Although difficult, these changes can lead a person to a better path in which they are able to grow as both an individual and a professional. In this sense, a professional career and a spiritual quest both have the same idea in mind; which is living a more fulfilled and happier life. Returning to the topic of ethics within a corporate setting, Whyte’s observations are still valid for the modern professional because bureaucracy and collectivism are still part of business culture and the middle-class also still makes up most of an organization. Whyte mentions that there is often a belief among corporations that a consensus of opinion automatically makes something true. This is something that every professional should be wary of because thinking something is true when it isn’t can lead a person to do immoral and unethical things. He also mentions that meetings are often unproductive because individuality isn’t promoted. This is also very relevant in the business world today. Also, Whyte’s observation that most jobs are a “rat race” is still true today as well. In one’s own professional journey, I think a quote from Clark Kerr is great advice. He states, “I would urge each individual to avoid total involvement in any organization; to struggle against the effort to absorb; to lend his energies to many organizations and to give himself completely to none” (Whyte, 1956). In business and in life, it is easy to lose your identity and be taken advantage of by a corporation. That is why I feel Kerr’s advice is important. Eichmann could have benefited from taking Kerr’s words to heart. Throughout his life, he relied on organizations to provide him with an identity. This made him susceptible to be influenced by other immoral people just so that he could “fit in.” On the other hand, Agricola was able to maintain his identity and his values while still being ruled by an immoral leader. From these examples, one can observe that the conflict between the Organization and the individual will always exist because organizational culture and personal values are not always the same. Also, a corporation often doesn’t value individuality and sees its goals as more important than the individual’s goals. This presents a challenge for the modern professional because being able to maintain one’s identity and values is one of the keys to having a more fulfilling career. Clearly, the best environment for a professional is one where individuality is valued by the organization. The trend of our modern society is to view a career in terms of advancement up the corporate ladder. Professionals often get discouraged if they feel they are not advancing to higher positions with increased pay. This is another problem that the modern professional confronts. Perhaps an answer to many people’s dissatisfaction and problems with their current career can be found in the liberal arts. Today, education is seen as more of a tool for individual “careerism,” however, the book “Habits of the Hearts” states that “individual careerism cannot provide either personal meaning or civic culture” (2007). This is where liberal arts comes in and shows people that there is perhaps more to a professional career and life in general than just money or advancement. In this way, a professional can add the goal of finding more personal fulfillment in their careers to the goal of achieving higher status and higher pay. References Arendt, H. (1963). Eichmann in Jerusalem. Westminster, London: Penguin Classics. Augustine, St. (397). Confessions. Retrieved from http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/confessions-bod.html Bellah, R.N., Madsen, R., Sullivan, W.M., Swidler, A., & Tipton, S.M. (2007). Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Niebuhr, Reinhold. (2002). Moral Man and Immoral Society. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press. Plunkitt, G.W. (1905). Plunkitt of Tamany Hall. Retrieved from http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/plunkett-george/tammany-hall/index.htm Tacitus. (98). Agricola. Retrieved from http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/tacitus- agricola.html Whyte, W. (1956). Organization Man. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. Read More