Ethics and Decision Making and Communication - Movie Review Example

Teacher Ethics, Decision Making, and Communication Every day individuals are required to make decisions and convey them to other individuals. It is expected that both decision-making and communication process follow ethical standards: a common good, fairness or justice, virtue, rights, and utilitarian. Common good focuses on making whole society a better place while the fair and just pursues to establish equality among all persons. The virtue tactic concentrates on the ideal virtues necessary for the society. A rights approach respects and protects individuals’ moral rights. Utilitarian ethics seeks to limit harm and do well for each (Vitez and Diamond 1). The assignment explores the interrelated issues ethics, decision-making and communication from the presentation of three video clips: advertising ethics, ethics in workplace and ethics in financing Advertising Ethics Advertisement is a method of mass communication used in promoting goods and services to the consumers. Advertising accounts for 2% of the US’s GDP (Galbi Think 1). Although, activities of this vast industry are controlled by various federal, local, and non-governmental regulations, one cannot undermine that fulfillment of social responsibilities of ad agencies depends on compliance with ethical standards. This opinion is stressed in interviews given by Mary Warlick the CEO of the nonprofit organization The One Club; Keith Reinhard, the CEO of ad agency DDB Worldwide, and Archbishop Foley of Council for Social Communication in the video clip “Advertising Ethics.” By referring to Dove soap advertisement, Mary Warlick points out that one can sell products without creating unrealistic images of beauty, which is unethical. According to Reinhardt, advertising can create and measure moral standards of a society. If a society elects to demonstrate coarse moral standards, then it can do it through relevant advertisements. Reinhardt further states that the advertisement can either brutalize and vulgarize the society or lift up the society. Thus, one can recognize that ethics plays an important role in advertisements. Referring to the famous Budweiser advertisement, he pointed out that while creating this ad, his company’s moral obligation was not to target people who are below the legal age of drinking. Reinhardt reminds that being unethical one cannot survive in the business. However, Prof. Meme Drumright of the University of Texas, Austin says that often ad agencies do not focus on the ethical issues. Their executives rationalize their approaches by saying that the ethical issues should be their clients concerns; the ad agencies just satisfy the needs of their customers. Archbishop Foley criticizes this approach by saying that the advertisement should be coherent with truth, dignity of a person and the common good of the society. He stresses that advertisement must always tell the truth, must not exploit people and must convey the positive message. In this regard, one can mention the use of a popular violent video game in the Coca-Cola ad where the ad left a positive message to the society through the same video game. Ethics in Workplace In the video clip, “Ethics in Workplace” Chuck Gallagher describes that selection of unethical choices at workplace eventually can put one beyond the legal line, as consequences; one can end up in prison. Gallagher with the help of a circular diagram, which he named as unethical continuum describes how people at workplaces make unethical choices at different levels of their activities. Among them are choices that are not good for the customers but good for the sellers; not good for the company but good for oneself; that violate company policies; that can be attributed to divulging classified information of the company. He further adds that when people make these choices they do not focus on ethical standards. Gallaher describes several unethical choices people make at workplaces. For example, a salesperson tries to sell an expensive TV to an elderly customer by knowing that the customer first does not need it and secondly there are other choices cheaper than the one he is offering. As a sales person, he is not offering to his customer products that are available at different prices; so, the customer can make own selection. In this case, the sales person does not think what is good for the customer but what is good for him and his company. In another example, Gallaher says people at workplaces use company resources like computer, printer and stationary to satisfy own needs; however, they do not see that they are stealing company’s money. When people engage themselves in these activities, they do not observe it from the ethical perspective; they think, “what a big deal, everyone does it.” People do not see falsifying family dinner at the restaurant for dinner with company’s client is stealing company’s money. Gallaher in this video explains how one can sleep into the center of the circular diagram of unethical continuum by, not paying attention to moral obligations at workplace. Ethics in Finance Many considers that ethics has no objective truth; all are a matter of opinion. In addition, they think we live in the market economy, so market decides right from wrong. That is why; there is no need for teaching ethics in financing. The video clip “Ethics in Financing” dispels this myth and shows that ethics does matter in finance. The proponent of teaching ethics in finance say people are economically rational under free market economy; for this reason market and not ethics that determines moral codes and values of the society. The opponents of this opinion say that moral truths are universal exist in different societies irrespective of market type. For example, no society allows lying or killing. In addition, people are not rational, and market is not flawless. If the market were perfect, then there will no bubbles and financial crashes. Free market cannot determine moral values. Science defines moral values. Ethics is a science, which is based on reasons and arguments. The final message of the video is although teaching ethics in finance cannot eradicate all problems, but it brings one more mind in the financial market that is open to financial ethics. Conclusion The three videos: advertising ethics, ethics in workplace and ethics in finance describe various issues that we face every day at home and workplaces. Every one of us individually or in a group takes various decisions on different matters and imply them through communication. The three video clips univocally send the message that both decision-making and communication must be based on moral principles and values; they govern actions and decisions of individuals and group. Works Cited Galbi Think. “U.S. Annual Advertising Spending.” galbithink.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015 Gallaher, Chuck. “Ethics in the Workplaces.” youtube.com. You Tube, 27 Jan. 2013. Web. 02 Feb. 2015. PBS Video. “Advertising Ethics.” pbs.org. PBS Video, 22 June 2007. Web. 02 Feb. 2015. Seven Pillars Institute. “Ethics in Finance is Good.” youtube.com. You Tube, 25 Feb. 2014. Web. 02 Feb. 2014. Vitez, Osmond and Demand Media. “Decision Making in Business Ethics.” chron.com. Chron, n.d. 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