Moral Decisions In Daily Life

Moral Decisions In Daily Life Moral decision making is something every human does on a daily basis, modifying their behavior to obey standards of society which are based upon a shared system of values. In its most simplistic form, moral decision making is done with ethical motives in mind, concerned with the distinction between right and wrong by each individual. Moral decision making models and theories provide specific guides and rules to help individuals unravel their moral deliberations. Two of the most well-known moral decision making models in philosophy are consequentialism and deontological theory, both of which have strengths and weaknesses. The two models do share some commonality but there are many issues at which they stand at opposition. All of this must be taken into consideration before choosing which moral decision making model best fits an individual. The consequentialist moral decision making theory states that an action is considered morally right provided that the consequences which result are more positive than negative. A good aphorism for describing the backbone of consequentialism is that the ends justify the means. Provided that a good outcome results from an act, that act is considered morally just. Consequentialism can be agent-neutral or agent-focused and the two approaches are worth discussing to better understand the moral decision making model. Agent-Neutral consequentialism ignores the specific affect an action has for any certain individual and instead focuses on the consequences benefitting all. Agent-Focused consequentialism, on the other hand, is when the results of the moral decision are concentrated on the needs of the decision maker. This means that the moral actor makes their decision so that consequences resulting better themselves and the welfare of those they care about and not just the general welfare of society. The deontological moral decision making theory is a different form of moral reasoning than consequentialism for a variety of reasons. As opposed to consequentialism, deontological moral theory states that the rightness of an action or decision is not solely dependent upon maximizing the good of society. Instead, deontological theory defines the morally rightness or wrongness of an action from the behavior of the action itself, not the behavior of the outcome. Deontological moral decision making provides distinct guidelines for morally right and wrong behavior for individuals to use when making day to day choices. This deontological moral guide places a higher value on the individual than on maximizing the good for society. In fact, deontology actually has constraints to stop an individual from maximizing the good if it hinders following the moral standards of the guideline. Deontology is more open to interpretation than consequentialism, however, because it remains flexible for self- interpretation. Consequentialism possesses strengths as a moral model that deontology does not. One of the strongest points in favor of consequentialism is actually another theory which resulted from it known as utilitarianism. Utilitarianism was founded by Jeremy Bentham, an English philosopher, who believed that the best moral action would result in the greatest good for the largest amount of people. Following it allows for relaxed tensions in society ensuring that the most people feel pleasure, rather than a large amount of individuals on edge or in pain. However, consequentialism possesses weaknesses in its moral decision making too. Consequentialism causes irresolvable morality dilemmas as it requires correlating principles which cannot be compared against one another on the same scale. A resulting weakness of utilitarianism is that it is so focused on the interest of all that it overlooks the rights of the individual which can lead to injustice. The most unavoidable weakness of consequentialis m is that is does not provide any direction to its followers for which actions are right or wrong, morally. The wrongness of the action can only be determined by its consequences and by that time its too late to change the decision. Deontological moral theory also possesses its own unique strengths and weaknesses. One of the advantages of deontological morality is that it allows the individual to take into account their families, friends, and personalized plans when making ethical decisions, as opposed to consequentialism which tends to be alienating in its decision making module. By putting more stress on the self-worth and personal capital of the individual deontology results in a less flawed moral theory. Immanuel Kant, a well-known deontological philosopher, and his Kantian ethics are a strength of deontology as well because he stated that its not the consequences of the actions that are right or wrong but rather the motives of the person doing the action. This forces the agent to take responsibility for all parts of their moral decision making, not only the results. However, the biggest weakness of deontology is that it categorizes actions as right or wrong, black or white, leaving no room for any gray area despite the obvious existence of many moral gray areas. Deontology is also hard to follow because its stringency leaves its followers feeling unguided by their morals which lack prioritizing, ultimately causing confusion. These are only two moral decision making models in philosophy and neither are necessarily the ideal. It is my belief that the ideal moral decision making process must combine the strengths of consequentialism and deontology while attempting to compensate for their errors. The best decision making process must involve an individuals own moral beliefs combined with the knowledge that can be gained from studying a large amount of moral theories and opinions. Morals are subjective, meaning that each person or group of people may possess their own set which differs from those of others. This is why the ideal process must be personalized to meet the needs of the individual following it. This compensates for deontologys inadequate claim of unchanging principles known as universal law. However, it should include the aspect of deontology that forces a person to be morally responsible for their own actions as this is its best idea. By forcing an individual to take into account how their decisi on will affect them and their own rather than society, leads, I believe, to better moral decisions being made. This combination decision making theory will also make use of the principle of utility, the best idea of Jeremy Bentham, which teaches individuals to do the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people. This combined with deontologys focus on the individuals rights dissipates the danger of consequentialism justifying genocide, torture or violence as necessary means to a morally right end. The ideal moral decision making process is difficult to pinpoint, as morals vary by individual and are subjective to different opinions from one person to the next. However, there are aspects of modern philosophical theories, consequentialism and deontology, which can be studied and used to help create an ideal guideline. Consequentialism is important because it focuses on the results of an action for the good of humanity, something which cannot be overlooked in an increasingly globalized world. Deontology forces the moral agent to take responsibility for their own actions instead of relying on someone else to care, just as important to maintaining moral societal standards. Together the two create checks and balances, which, when combined with an individuals beliefs, allow for moral decision making to occur with limited room for error.

The Big Sleep - The Movie and The Book :: Movie Film comparison compare contrast

The Big Sleep - The Movie and The Book One would think that it would be quite easy to adapt a novel to a screenplay; after all, what is there to do but turn the dialogue into lines and description into set design? However, common sense, aided by the horrifying number of absolutely awful adaptations, dictates that it simply is not that easy. When moviegoers have problems with a film adaptation of a book, their complaints tend to lie in the tendency of the creators of the film to change elements of the story: plot, character, and the like. It would seem, then, that the best way to make a successful adaptation of a novel would be to just stay as true as possible to every detail mentioned in the book. However, staying as true as possible to plot points, character type, and the like may be the best way to a horrendous adaptation. In moving from the printed page to the silver screen, moviemakers must be aware that they are not simply reproducing a narrative&emdash;they are changing the medium by which the narrative is presented. Oddly enough, cinema lends itself easily to some of the tenets of writing well: namely, the command of, "show, don't tell." In cinema, there is no option, really, of telling, "the details are not asserted as such by a narrator but simply presented." (Chatman 406). The use of a voiceover, of course, is an option, but even the voice of an omniscient narrator cannot stop the viewer from seeing the images and interpreting what he sees. In movies, the viewer does his own telling. The very nature of The Big Sleep, then, makes adaptation difficult. The entire narrative is described by a character within the story space: Marlowe tells us the entire story. Our view of the plot, then, is clouded by Marlowe's sight. Being a character within the story space, he has his own feelings and his own reactions to what happens to and around him, and he passes those reactions&emdash;albeit unconsciously&emdash;to the reader, who, also unconsciously, picks up on them. Marlowe does not act the role of mediator, though, in the film version of The Big Sleep. The Big Sleep - The Movie and The Book :: Movie Film comparison compare contrast The Big Sleep - The Movie and The Book One would think that it would be quite easy to adapt a novel to a screenplay; after all, what is there to do but turn the dialogue into lines and description into set design? However, common sense, aided by the horrifying number of absolutely awful adaptations, dictates that it simply is not that easy. When moviegoers have problems with a film adaptation of a book, their complaints tend to lie in the tendency of the creators of the film to change elements of the story: plot, character, and the like. It would seem, then, that the best way to make a successful adaptation of a novel would be to just stay as true as possible to every detail mentioned in the book. However, staying as true as possible to plot points, character type, and the like may be the best way to a horrendous adaptation. In moving from the printed page to the silver screen, moviemakers must be aware that they are not simply reproducing a narrative&emdash;they are changing the medium by which the narrative is presented. Oddly enough, cinema lends itself easily to some of the tenets of writing well: namely, the command of, "show, don't tell." In cinema, there is no option, really, of telling, "the details are not asserted as such by a narrator but simply presented." (Chatman 406). The use of a voiceover, of course, is an option, but even the voice of an omniscient narrator cannot stop the viewer from seeing the images and interpreting what he sees. In movies, the viewer does his own telling. The very nature of The Big Sleep, then, makes adaptation difficult. The entire narrative is described by a character within the story space: Marlowe tells us the entire story. Our view of the plot, then, is clouded by Marlowe's sight. Being a character within the story space, he has his own feelings and his own reactions to what happens to and around him, and he passes those reactions&emdash;albeit unconsciously&emdash;to the reader, who, also unconsciously, picks up on them. Marlowe does not act the role of mediator, though, in the film version of The Big Sleep.

Business Redesign for Healthlite Yogurt Company Essay

Business Structure Healthlite’s corporate headquarters is located in Danbury, Connecticut. All production takes place in processing plants that are located in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Illinois, Colorado, Washington, and California. Healthlite Yogurt Company has 20 sales regions, each with approximately 30 sales representatives. Healthlite has a 12 person in marketing division at corporate headquarters. Products Yogurt and related health products and new yogurt based products which would include frozen desserts and low-fat salad dressings. Major Business Processes for Sales The following are the way Healthlite conducts business in a day-to-day basis: Â · Sales persons must write up hard-copy tickets to place orders through the mail or by fax. Â · Each salesperson stores and retrieves data for assigned customer accounts using the minicomputer system in the regional office. Higher client satisfaction due to value-added customer service is one positive result. Decision-making can be improved because the information systems used are more efficient and can provide them accurate and updated data in real time. Improvement in control of resources (materials, labor and products) and organizational planning. Increased job satisfaction for employees’ particularly regional sales people whose jobs are now greatly facilitated with the aid of the new system. Major Business Process Changes The following major changes are required for the business redesigning plan. Eliminate the need for hard-copy tickets to place orders. Enter sales orders directly into enterprise-wide system instead of using around 20 workers at corporate headquarters to sort and to enter order tickets which could reached up to 500,000 order tickets per week. This also allows all systems users to have access to this data for analysis purposes. Do without the need of using snail mail and fax machines for taking orders. The new business system allows orders to be placed directly through the web site. No longer need to mail printed reports for individual salespeople and sales offices. Salespeople can access the system for needed information at anytime. Sales representatives no longer need to write and mail monthly reports to regional headquarters. Sales information can be accessed from the system. Managers can access up-to-date sales data in the new system anytime they need them. They no longer need to call subordinates and piece information together to update their reports. Announcements, promotional campaigns and pricing discounts can be quickly disseminated though the enterprise-wide system. Thus, helps in improving communication processes between sales managers and sales representatives. Customer Relationship Management tools are available to help with ordering. Customer history management, complaints, and real-time tracking service are also available for use. Reduce the time involved to process orders since faxing and mailing will no longer be required in order to place orders. As a result, this would enable shipments to be delivered on time. Thus, promoting customer satisfaction. Major New Technology Components of the Plan Upon analysis of Healthlite’s needs to implement technology to support the new business processes, an enterprise system comes highly recommended. This is so because an enterprise can best meet the demands and requirements. An enterprise system could link enterprise-wide information processes in turn improving the overall business efficiency. When the entire company is able to use a single software system, all departments can share information readily and freely. Enterprise systems enable the company to avail of a wide-ranging information system technology platform. This technology platform provides a single data warehouse or a databank that can be accessed by different departments to input and to obtain enterprise-wide information. Also, the new system enables data storage in one data warehouse, which will prevent inaccuracy in extracted information. The data should be grouped according to processing sites, but can be accessed by all users. This data storage process will allow differentiation among processing sites at the same time allowing enterprise-wide search capability. It is easy to see then the enterprise system is essential element in propelling Healthlite’s success as it moves into the future. An enterprise system into the Healthlite business will enable the managers to support business processes that will make the company more efficient. The enterprise system will allow for centralized data collection and entry. This centralized entry system will reduce or eliminate paper passing throughout the company. This system will also enable employees to view reports on-line which no longer requires printing of documents or doing paperwork manually unless necessary. This additional feature will help managers and market analysts in accurate sales planning, decision-making, and marketing strategy development by providing them with the ability to collect more accurate information to assist them. Healthlite must also improve the telecommunications infrastructure for the whole enterprise. E-mail capabilities will be needed throughout the company in order to eliminate the ineffective communication using snail mails and fax within the company. Email will enable speedy communication companywide. There is no need to do additional paper works by writing or typing requests. Also, the time and effort necessary to mail or fax the message will be greatly reduced through email. The message sent is received by the person addressed to in real time. If there are problems or requests required, the recipient on the email can quickly act on it. Intranet is another option the company could use. Intranet is a private computer network that can be accessed by authorized persons only. These will ensure that secret company information will not fall on the wrong hands. Adding Intranet and Internet service will definitely improve the company’s day-to-day operations. Recommendations To help facilitate the transition and to make better use of the technology or new system, the following recommendations are given: Â · Healthlite should install an entire enterprise system and not limit itself to the customer relationship management component, or better known as CRM, of the system. In order to be effective, Healthlite could introduce the changes phase by phase. This approach in implementing the enterprise software will enable users to adapt to the system well, starting with the order and sales process and advancing to the most difficult part slowly. Â · The systems development team must focus the development process of the new system on eliminating the existing business inefficiencies in manual reporting, hand order-tickets, and mail and fax order taking. Addition ally, the development team needs to follow the systems development lifecycle to establish its new customer relationship management (CRM) system. All users must be ably represented. This means that representatives in each company division must be involved in developing the system. They should be allowed to make suggestions at the same time provide necessary information in formulating the system. And all users need to have adequate information on the upcoming changes introduced to the system. Â · Healthlite should implement e-mail and Intranet use to improve its internal communications and productivity throughout the entire business. This could help do without the need for paperwork, snail mail and fax. The company should provide value-added customer service by including the customers during the design process of the business system. This is accomplished by soliciting feedback from customers in the form of questionnaires on a regular basis. Â · Due to the low shelf life of the produ cts they sell, Healthlite needs to ensure product freshness by improving the efficiency of its distribution of products and services to customers. With the new automated business system, orders are received and delivered immediately. The timely delivery of the products would ensure their freshness. Â · Management needs to address the accounting discrepancies incurred annually. The accounting problem should be identified and resolved in the design phase to make sure that the new business system they come up with is free of these errors and accounting discrepancies will not occur in the future. Â · Management also needs to ensure that the changes implemented in the business are done step by step especially that the company is in the midst of recent and rapid growth. Management needs to change its views regarding changes and adapt to the new business process accordingly. They should also lead the development process. Â · Managers need to wait until the new business process has materialized and the benefits of the new system are realized before implementing the headcount reduction in order to ensure a smooth cutover. Conclusions Despite its current business process problems, Healthlite has managed to attain succes s in its operations. This means that Healthlite has a lot of room for improvement in the future. And this could be easily attained through redesigning business processes. Currently, the organization uses little or almost non existing technology for their daily company activities. Due to the decentralization, many people are doing the same activities over and over again and doing paperworks manually which are time-consuming and could be transmitted electronically. The rapid growth of the company requires that Healthlite should quickly implement systems changes to improve its business processes and to get the product and services to the customer in a promptly and efficiently. Healthlite’s management also posed some problems due to their very conservative views regarding technology. They need guidance in determining a proven system in which they will be comfortable. The management’s support in the new business process is essential in implementing the changes effectively and leads the company into the future as well as to guarantee its competitive advantage. The company needs to know the importance of using the systems development lifecycle. This process is vital in creating a new business system that will be useful for the company. Also, this phase is important to establish efficient procedures when developing programs that will best fit Healthlite’s needs. An enterprise system will be necessary to advance Healthlite into the future. At the present the company may only focus on redesigning the ordering, sales, and marketing processes. But later on, Healthlite management needs to realize that the CRM system is going to need to be scalable. Healthlite’s business growth despite the difficulties it encountered could mean that the company has a lot of growth potentials in the future. Healthlite therefore needs to accommodate future changes and bigger adjustments. And the new business process they are about to install must be able to handle these changes and need for additional data. The company needs to identify and get rid of the sources of the accounting discrepancies annually between headquarters and the sales force. Management needs the accounting information to make decisions necessary for the company’s growth. The accounting report helps them to address potential problems and see possibilities for future expansion. The discrepancies in their accounting records due to the errors incurred are thus potentially making business decision on bad data. Before the implementation, management needs to address these problems to ensure that they will not arise in the future using the new system. Management needs to take time in implementing the headcount reductions. A successful implementation requires that all employees will be there during its implementation phase. The installation and use of the new system requires the support of all employees. https://support.pearson.com/getsupport/s/?sitename=CW+-+WPS&tabset-dd12d=1 http://business.vcu.edu/departments-and-centers/information-systems/department-resources/software/ https://www.bl.uk/business-and-ip-centre/industry-guides https://identitech.com.au/

The Minority Predicament An Analysis of Asian American...

The Minority Predicament: An Analysis of Asian American Success and the Model Minority Paradigm My grandmother sent me a letter from home, telling the success story of her old Chinese tenants who, through hard work, had become very wealthy in the 9 short years they lived in America. My grandmother embraces the belief that with hard work, patience and a little help from the model minority stereotype, someday Asians will gain full approval of white America. She believes that Asian Americans are inherently smarter, more diligent and thrifty than other racial minorities of our time. I, on the other hand, am skeptical towards this assumed advantage that other minorities have perceived as elevators to the ladder of success in American†¦show more content†¦This paradigm suggested that it was possible for racial minorities like Asian Americans to overcome discrimination so harsh that it would shock those now complaining about the hardships endured by today’s Negroes . The mod el minority paradigm suggested that the failure of other minorities, therefore, due to a lack of initiative, and not something systemically racist within society. While the model minority paradigm glorifies the accomplishments of ethnic Asians and their traditional values of hard work, thrift and morality, Gary Okihiro asserts that it still assigns Asian Americans places of subordination within social formations and oppresses them . One example of this repressive discourse can be seen in Juanita Tamayo Lott’s narrative,Growing Up, 1968-1985. Lott asserts that the implications of this racist love can be seen in the workplace for example, as upper class whites have purposely created the model minority stereotype to assert their superiority over exotic, Oriental, friendly and thus submissive minorities. Asians are exhibited, writes Lott, as model employees, and model minorities that don’t rock the boat This type of racist love wrongly labels Asian American culture as inherently better than other minorities’ ,(or have common cultural values as whites), thus pitting racial minorities against each other. Gary Okihiro suggests that Asians are used to discipline African Americans and other minorities according to theShow MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesand Paul Buhle, eds., The New Left Revisited David M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography Allida M. 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Therefore, as companies again go back to the b usiness basics, this is a reminder of the most fundamental of those basics: Company managers need to recognize that a business’s income comes from its customers, not from Wall Street. NEW LEADERSHIP AND NEW MANAGEMENT MODELS ARE REQUIRED TO MEET THE BREADTH OF NEW CUSTOMER DEMANDS Most management leaders fully understand