This weeks reading assignment in TCT was all about ethics which they defined as "doing what is right." However after finishing the reading, it becomes clear that while defining ethics is very straight forward, solving some ethical dilemmas are anything but. For some ethical dilemmas just knowing what the right thing to do can be hard enough, and for many other ones, actually doing the right thing is usually very hard to do.
In the professional world ethics are extremely important, although after watching the news lately it may be hard to believe there are very many ethical people left. Too often companies put profits and making money ahead of all else. Instead they should follow the hierarchy laid out in the TCT reading that puts Rights first, then Justice, then Utilitarianism, then Care. If companies put rights and justice before their own profits ( utilitarianism) it would be better for everyone in the long one.
When considering an ethical dilemma that would have come up in a previous project, the resume and cover letter project struck me as an one with and obvious dilemma. With the job market being so difficult and the number of places hiring seems to be decreasing every month, job hunting is becoming extremely difficult, with more people competing for fewer jobs. So of course when writing resumes many people may be tempted to add things to it to make them appear more desirable to employers and give themselves an edge over other applicants. This example isn't a very complex moral dilemma and I would like to think that most people do the right thing and keep their resumes honest. Because the consequences of not doing so are usually far greater then the benefits you may or may not get from making the unethical choice.
Resume Ethics
Yeah I think that you are right about resume ethics. With everyone making resumes and no companies following up on them, the people that are lying are getting the jobs. Even if someone lied and said they had a Masters Degree they probably could get away with it. I actually heard that someone had a career for five years and was caught not having a bachelor's degree. This is a good example of what you are talking about. I also think that putting extra information on a resume is a common error. It is mostly done on accident but is very unethical if not caught.
Re: resume ethics
Yeah, the whole resume ethics really bothers me. When we were doing the project where we had to turn in our resumes, so much of the reading stressed that being truthful and honest in your resume was the most important thing to keep in mind. It is very frustrating to think of people getting jobs over me by presenting false information. While it makes me mad and want to just do the same thing myself, my personal ethics would prevent me from ever thinking of doing such a thing.
Resume/Cover Letter Ethics
When I was reading this week’s reading assignment in my head I never thought of ethics in our resumes and cover letters, but you bring up an excellent point. With the condition of the economy now and the large number of people who are looking for jobs there has to be much more cases of people facing an ethical dilemma where they either tell the truth or lie to try to make themselves sound better. I am sure that many people are tempted to possibly put false internships, scholastic achievements, incorrect job descriptions, and just about anything else to put themselves about the next candidate. Personally I would never lie on anything like that, but I am sure that people have before. In a case like this it all comes down to a person’s ethics and how they respond to their dilemma.
Not so simple
I completely agree that "doing what’s right" or following the "golden rule" is not always as simple as it seems. Often enough, doing what’s right can change according to perspective and is often not very clear. I also view the golden rule as inherently flawed, as it's essential goal is to derive a selfless act from a selfish thought. Do I really need to think about what I'd want done to me, or can I simply understand/comprehend someone else’s possible pain and misery? I'd like to at the least think not.
It's not very difficult to find wide-scale examples of moral dilemma. Take abortion, for example. This is an arguably unclear moral issue, with two polar extremes that are "ethical" from varying perspectives. Whose perspective is more important? How do you weight perspectives? How can something be so utterly complicated? I don't have the answer.
The "Golden Rule"
I feel the same way with following the “Golden Rule”. Not everyone thinks the same way nor understands the same thoughts that I think. How can I follow this rule if I am doing something that I believe is helping someone when actually I am causing discomfort or pain to the person who I am intending to help? This is usually a good rule to follow in most cases, but there is times when it is flawed like you were mentioning. Even though sometimes it is not a clear understanding, I still think for most cases it is a good rule to follow.
Zebulon Rouse