Executive Interview - Assignment Example

Executive Interview It may be rather beneficial to describe the s ethical beliefs and practices in order to get a better understanding of his ethical framework. To begin with, one should note that the person in question genuinely believes in doing the right thing regardless of the consequences. One would make no mistake suggesting that this might be seen as a part of Deontological approach to solving dilemmas as it focuses on the necessity to chose the correct option, not evaluating the consequences (Brook, 2007, p. 431). This means that the subject has a distinct set of rules that guide one’s life and are relied on in a difficult situation. In other words, the person has a certain ideal that is used to measure the correctness of each action. Another point that should be mentioned is that the subject draws a direct connection between the notions of ought and can (Doviak, 2011, p. 262). As a result, the ethical rules are not something that exists in the abstract environment, but something that should be applied to everyday interactions with the people. This is particularly important since it shows that the person in question actually engages ethical consideration in the everyday practice. That is why his behavior should be praised as it as directly effected by the ideals and is performed is close relation to the ethical framework that the person has developed. By far, this is a big difference if compared to the majority of the people who do not engage Ethics in the daily life. One would make no mistake suggesting that person has experienced some problem in the course of professional activity. It was noted that one of the biggest ones was to save the integrity and make sure that the ethical standards are not compromised (Constantin, 2014, p. 432). This is rather important since it shows that a person truly wants to live to his expectations and make sure that his image in the workplace serves as a role model for other people. It is quite obvious that the question of integrity is significant for the people who are in the military since it is one of the values that is being highly praised in their environment. That is why keeping it was named among the major challenges in the work place. Another challenge which was mentioned focused on making sure that people who are not able to conduct according to the high ethical standards do not get away with it. One might suggest that this not only goes contrary to the notion of justice, but also undermines the ground on which the military stands. Thus, the latter greatly relies on the idea that a higher position is granted to a person because of the personal merits. However, if a person is not able to comply with the basic ethical rules and regulation, one may not be considered to be worthy enough to occupy it. Furthermore, military, unlike any other area of social life, is often engaged in the matters that deal with life and death. That is why a mistake in the decision making process that a person employs may be rather costly. It must be noted that the subject himself acknowledged that over the years his view of ethics has evolved. It is said that the subjects tries to be more understanding as less judgmental when it comes to evaluating actions of other people (McBeath & Webb, 2002, p. 1016). Keeping in mind the vast experience that the person in question had, one would make no mistake that this approach reflects the wisdom that he gained. Indeed, young people tend to be excessively judgmental towards others, but more mature people, like the subject, understand that every has his or her own moral compass and sometimes it may be different from the majority. That is why the issue of personal ethical framework is a rather controversial one. Having analyzed the interview, one is able to come to the following conclusions: there are several ethical theories that were expressed. On the one hand, it is quite clear that the actions of this person are guided by Deontological Ethics. For example, in the beginning of the interview he said that it is important to choose the right option regardless of the consequences. It corresponds to the idea of categorical imperative (Tanner, Medin & Iliev, 2007, 759). However, on the other hand, the influence of Virtue Ethics is clearly seen on the ethical framework of this person: he has an ideal character that he wants to comply with. In other words, every action that is about to be performed is evaluated whether it adheres to the desired ideal. There is no doubt that that the ethical position which was developed by the subjected features a considerable amount of strong points. One of the most important of them lies in the fact that such people often serve as role models for others and inspire others to be better individuals (Browning, 2014, p. 109). This means that this position has beneficial influence not only on the person who adheres to it, but also on the people around. As a result the behavior urges several people to choose the correct option. In other words, the positive effect is multiplied. Keeping this in mind, one should note that this shows that this ethical position is being actively used. It is quite interesting that the subject recalled the source that motivates him to execute the ethical approach in question. Thus, it was noted that being a Boy Scout has had a significant influence on the ethical vision of the person in question. Indeed, other than people a club for young people, Boy Scouts had a distinct as well as detailed ethical framework (Terry, 2013, p. 70). It is rather sorrowful that some of the participants tend to forget about the oath that they gave while being members of this club. The person in question, on the other hand, did not forget this experience and it is largely responsible for shaping his ethical vision. Finally, I would like to point out that I agree with the subject’s approach to Ethics. I do believe that it is important to make sure that the correct option is chosen regardless of the consequences and that it is essential to develop a moral ideal that will be used to evaluate every action. I admire the fact that the subject was able to develop this ideal so early in his life, namely during his childhood. This means that the person in question was able to create an ideal which was later used in his life to determine the right course of action. That is why there is no wonder that this person succeeded in becoming an ethical individual. It must be noted that one of the primary reason why I agree with the ethical framework which was described above focuses on the fact that I engage Virtue Ethics approach in my daily life. Indeed, I always think about the actions that I perform as steps that are able to lead me to the character that I was to have or away from it. That is why every controversial situation that I encounter I see as a crossroad that can either help me advance to my goal or move me away from it. Just like the person in question I do my best to make sure that I gradually move towards my ideal. Keeping in mind that life always provides people with many different challenges, the approach that the subject and I share allows us to improve our character constantly. In the course of this interview I learned that there are people who have firm ethical principles and that apply them to everyday situation. I was surprised to learn that such individuals exist not only in the book or on the screen, but in real life. This shows that the significance of Ethics is not forgotten by our contemporaries. What is more important is that such people serve in the military – the area of social life where a single mistake in judgment is able to lead to horrible consequences. In other words, the people like the subject reinforce the social environment by contributing to its values. Another point that I learned from my research is that experienced that a person gains in the childhood may have a significant influence on one’s development in the future. When I asked the subject about his motivation, I was genuinely surprised by the fact that being a Boy Scout left such a deep trace in the heart of the person that I interviewed. Indeed, this source of motivation is a rather unexpected one since it shows that even while being young people are able to make a clear distinction between right and wrong and establish firm basis for further development of the character. This shows that groups like Boy Scout are incredibly important for brining up children with strong ethical position. While it may not be useful in every single case, participation in such club surely has a positive impact on the character of the people. References Brook, R. (2007). Deontology, Paradox, and Moral Evil. Social Theory and Practice, 33(3), 431-440. Browning, M. (2014). Virtue Ethics: A pathway to excellence in transformational leadership. International Journal of Management and Human Resources, 2(1), 109-116. Constantin, E. (2014). Deontology in public administration. Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice, 6(1), 432-436. Doviak, D. (2010). A New Form of Agent-Based Virtue Ethics. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice Ethic Theory Moral Prac, 14, 259-272. McBeath, G., & Webb, S. A. (2002). Virtue ethics and social work: Being lucky, realistic, and not doing ones duty. British Journal of Social Work, 32(8), 1015-1036. Tanner, C., Medin, D., & Iliev, R. (2007). Influence of deontological versus consequentialist orientations on act choices and framing effects: When principles are more important than consequences. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol. European Journal of Social Psychology, 1, 757-769. Terry, J. (2013). Development and Evolution of Agriculturally Related Merit Badges Offered by the Boy Scouts of America. Journal of Agricultural Education, 54(2), 70-84. Read More