Change in Peoples Attitude towards Work Ethics - Assignment Example

 Change in Peoples Attitude towards Work Ethics Abstract Work ethics is defined as one’s attitude towards work, job, career and vocation. Work ethics is intrinsic that is, it is a desire to do work ethically. Philosophically, this may lead to various perspectives; the truth about work ethics, can be answered from the Work Ethics come from God the creator. Historical evidence shows how the meaning of work has changed over the centuries. Every occupation has a different work ethics but the moral values more or less remain the same. A strong work ethic involves the belief that the work is the core of moral life useful to oneself, family and community. Strong work ethics stress on building character and discipline. As strong work ethics emphasizes moral superiority than the idle laziness, pride in craft over carelessness and earned income over unearned income. Work Ethics 1 Introduction: Definition Work ethics is defined as one’s attitude towards work, job, career and vocation. Work ethics is intrinsic that is, it is a desire to do work ethically. The word ethics in the corporate world constitutes various notions like honesty, responsibility, attitude, communication interaction and respect. From historical perspective, the cultural norms places work in positive moral values, as work ethics are essentially intrinsic. A definition by Hall, 1986 in Protestant Work Ethic states, “work is an effort or activity of an individual performed for the purpose of providing food or services of value to others ;it is also considered as the work performed by an individual.”According to Fineman, 1987, from Protestant Work Ethic, work is very important aspect of middle class as it describes its identity and is a means of its security; it is a secure predictable reward for its labor or efforts. Development of Work ethics –Brief history There has been significant change in the attitude towards work since Classical period. As cited by Roger B. Hills ,The Traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs state that sometime after the dawn of creation, man was placed in the Garden of Eden "to work it and take care of it" (NIV, 1973, Genesis 2:15). There is a likelihood that an ideal work situation was disrupted when sin entered the world and humans were thrown out of the Garden. Genesis 3:19 described the human plight from that time on. "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are Work Ethics 2 and to dust you will return" (NIV, 1973). Rose stated that the Hebrew belief system viewed work as a "curse devised by God explicitly to punish the disobedience and ingratitude of Adam and Eve" (1985, p. 28). Numerous scriptures from the Old Testament in fact supported work, not from the stance that there was any joy in it, but from the premise that it was necessary to prevent poverty and destitution (NIV; 1973; Proverbs 10:14, Proverbs 13:4, Proverbs 14:23, Proverbs 20:13, Ecclesiastes 9:10). Change in people’s Attitude In the present times people attitude towards work has changed drastically .With these attitudinal changes some questions need to be answered. Ethics, According to William H.Shaw (P.7), deal with individual character and moral rules that govern and limit our conduct .It investigates questions of right and wrong, duty and moral obligation and moral responsibility. The Work ethics are intrinsic; they come from within. Philosophically, this may lead to various perspectives; the truth about work ethics, can be answered from the Work Ethics come from God the creator. God made humans in His image, and His word proclaims these various work ethics -- honesty, integrity, doing a job well, keeping things above board, and accountability factors. Most of the civilizations considered work as slavery and bondage and viewed it with contempt. It is strange that the workers, who are the backbone of the economic structure of the country, were treated badly. The medieval era did not undergo any change in their attitude towards work .The significant change that was found that was each person embarked as particular profession, which was also considered a God’s calling and the skill of his trade passed to next generations. Reasons for Change Work Ethics 3 Reformation era saw a significant change in the attitude towards work, the influence of King Martin Luther and Calvin brought change in people’s perspective towards work. He believed that people could serve God through their work, that the professions were useful, that work was the universal base of society and the cause of differing social classes, and that a person should work diligently in their own occupation and should not try to change from the profession to which he was born. To do so would be to go against God's laws since God assigned each person to his own place in the social hierarchy (Lipset, 1990; Tilgher, 1930).As described by Lipset, 1990; tilgher, 1930, Luther did not pave the way for a profit-oriented economic system because he disapproved of commerce as an occupation. From his perspective, commerce did not involve any real work. Luther also believed that each person should earn an income which would meet his basic needs, but to accumulate or horde wealth was sinful. With the rise of Capitalism, working hard was looked on with respect and brought social order. By 18th century, diligence for work, scrupulous use of time became the philosophy .The Christian worldview holds fundamentally two central work ethics -- humility and the treatment of others. Humility is being humble, no task is too demeaning. Humility involves servitude, which emphasizes placing other peoples need before one’s own. Treating others with decency and respect equate to the golden rule. The treatment of others involves loving your neighbor, loving your enemy, doing well to those who dislike you. It involves valuing others, and knowing they have worth. Work ethic is a human survival ethic; the work ethic is a value system for carrying out work in a particular kind of society and specific cultural patterns. Every occupation has a different work ethics but the moral values more or less remain the same. A strong work ethic involves the belief that the work is the core of moral life useful to oneself, family and Work Ethics 4 community. Strong work ethics stress on building character and discipline. As strong work ethics emphasizes moral superiority than the idle laziness, pride in craft over carelessness and earned income over unearned income. Change related to Ethics According to Puritan Work Ethic or PWE- work is not only a necessity but also a moral obligation. Puritan could not tolerate a person without work. It was the puritan who established the belief that hard work, frugality and industry are the pathway to success. The Puritan doctrine of vocation (inherited, we should note, from Luther and later Continental Reformers) integrated life in the world with the spiritual life. The spiritual life was no longer limited to some "sacred" space, nor was it reserved for monks and nuns who had retired from the world. Instead, it is "in your shops" (said Richard Steele in his classic treatise The Tradesman's Calling) "where you may most confidently expect the presence and blessing of God." American ideology echoes the theme of individualism and individualism states that one should be able to provide for his survival and that could be done only through work. Another American ideology is the ideology of equality that is one need to contribute to the society. Historical evidence shows how the meaning of work has changed over the centuries. Many a learned scholars have given their views on work and its ethics and the central ides is that work beliefs, motivation and attitudes cannot be separated from those strictly pertaining to work. Bjorn Are Davidsen writes that the classic analysis of how capitalism evolved is of course by Max Weber (1864–1920), in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904–05). His essay focused on the differences. The goal was not to make money, one Work Ethic 5 worked because it was right. He used this attitude to show a strong causal connection between ascetic Protestantism and the rise of capitalism in the West. Body-Change in the Work Ethic-A Slow Transition The prevalent work ethic in America underwent a slow transition. According to William M. Penn, Ph. D., Professor of Economics & Business Belhaven College Mississippi, away from God centric to self centric. The puritan Work Ethic stressed on the glory of God .The work on the part of creation ordinance under the restraints of God’s law is virtue. All work is significant and all forms of work must please God. Man should responsibly use the God’s gift and look forward to vocation that is God’s calling. The employer and employee share a special relationship as they have common goal that is God’s glory. Wealth or the profits could be blessings if earned in a positive way. The puritan work ethic essentially focused on individual responsibility and achievement. But as the times changed the man started looking at work for self satisfaction not as god’s glory. The man started picking work that suited his circumstances not the conscience. The next phrase in the drift in the work ethic attitude is The Craftsman Work Ethic. This ethic emphasised the motto: “God helps those who help themselves.” after the beginning of the eighteenth century and between the end of the Revolutionary War and the end of the eighteenth century. The entire America was swept in this attitude, the characteristics of the Craftsman work ethic included: The work is important for the sake of work itself. That is individual efforts are supreme. The man is controller of his own destinies. Work is an opportunity to exalt oneself rather than the god’s glorification. Achievements are important at work and fulfilment in job is foremost. The strength of this philosophy was a man’s pursuit for excellence and the weakness was he was crater of his destinies and not the God. The third phase in this change was observed with Entrepreneur Work Ethic Work Ethic 6 which believed material progress is essential to enjoy higher standard of living. Ethical standards were replaced by Legal standards. There was alienation in the relationship of Employer and the employee. Self fulfilment and wealth generation through unscrupulous methods became a norm. The strength of entrepreneur work ethics was that it generated innovative methods but the weak point was that it lead to greed, alienation in the employer and employee relationship, the entire puritan beliefs were shaken off ,man became self centred and self aggrandisement at the cost of others became the basic norm. As Colson and Eckerd note in their book, Why America Doesn’t Work, the disciplines of the Puritan way of life were gradually shaken off, and the doctrine of the secular calling (vocation) was replaced by a “hollowed-out version of the work ethic” appropriately named “occupation.” “People still worked hard, but for different reasons. God was no longer the sacred object of man’s labours; instead, labour itself became the shrine. A typical exponent of this new (more) secular ethic was Calvin Coolidge, who said, ‘He who builds a factory builds a temple, and he who works there, worships there.” This seems to elevate the industrialist to the god-head. The next phase after this was Career Work Ethic; this grew after World WarII and continued till 1980s.It observed loyalty to company as a source of personal security. One must be a team player in the system. Work is no longer ennobling, vocation and vacation are the same .Climbing the success ladder at the cost of others was the norm. The greatest strength was that loyalty towards company was generated and the weakness was that man became more manipulative. The next phase in this cycle is Self Fulfilment Work Ethic that saw work as a vehicle to self fulfilment. Happiness depends on how you get it, Greed is okay. Getting things done with minimal work is acceptable. No positive standards, no ethics and every compromise in work is acceptable .The last phase in this cycle is Ego-Eclectic Work Ethic and emphasis whatever works best for me is the best work ethic .Only self imposed boundaries are Work Ethics 7 legitimate. Work is very personal and is the means of self fulfilment. Fulfilment can be achieved with the help of self generated goals regardless of others agreement/disagreement. It focused much on ME and allowed lassitude in behaviour. Conclusion: This assignment has briefly touched the historical perspective related to a work ethic and the changes observed in the people’s attitude towards work ethics .It has studied the gradual transition and as the man progressed and became materialistic and innovative ,the attitudinal change towards work ethic became apparent. References Bjorn Are Davidsen, Beyond the Protestant work ethic–Why some cultures innovate – Learning from history Retrieved//www.telektronikk.com/volumes/pdf/2.2004/Page_005-025.pdf// Colson, Chuck and Eckerd, Jack, Why Doesn’t America Work, Word Publishing, 1991. Furman Adrian, The Protestant Work Ethic-psychology of work-related beliefs and behaviour, Google Books. Holy Bible: New International Version (NIV). (1973). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Lewis, C.S., Surprised By Joy, 1954,// www.amazon.com / Arts & Literature / Authors// László Zsolnai, Spirituality and Ethics in Management, William H. Shaw ,p.7 Richard Steele in Leland Ryken, The Original Puritan Work Ethic, January 1, 2006 //www.christianitytoday.com/ Issue 89// Roger B. Hill, Historical Context of Work Ethic, 1992, 1996 http://www.coe.uga.edu/~rhill/workethic/hist.htm Rose, M. (1985). Reworking the work ethic: Economic values and socio-cultural politics. London: Schocken. Terris Daniel, Ethics at Work: Creating Virtue in American Cooperation .Google books. William M. Penn, The Changing American Work Ethic- What Are The Implication And What Should We Do? Read More