Journal: 2-5

Ethics

     Two blogs ago, I asked the question of what attracts consumers to certain products as opposed to others. Through my extensive research, I wasn't able to find very many reliable sources that provided a good answer to my question. However, I did come across a blog in which a person described what they felt attracts consumers to certain products.

     One of his points was that consumers like free stuff. Giving away free samples of a certain product always seems to encourage consumers to buy the product because they get to test the product out and see if it is reliable. Also, products that come with coupons encourages thrifty spenders to buy products they wouldn't normally buy because they are a good deal. He said things that look exspensive and luxurious also attract consumers because consumers always want to have the best that there is to offer and like being in the forefront of technology.

     Last Thursday, we started our unit of case studies in Ethics class. We talked about a variety of ethical issues and our opinion on each matter. We talked about the ethics of cheating, "The File" case study and also problems that come with winning the lottery. We also discussed what the word "good" means when it comes to Ethics. Also we talked about what it means to benefit the greatest good and how it's different in every situation. For example, would it be better to buy a homeless man a really nice coat or 50 homeless men a cup of ramen. These decisions we came to find out, can be very difficult to decide.

     When it comes to deciding what benefits the greatest good, I believe the decision is different from person to person based on their personality. I believe there is no well defined greater good and whatever you do that benefits society is good. Either way if you decide you would rather give 50 cups of ramen that benefit a large amount of people or a nice coat that only benefits one, you are still doing a generous thing to society. The unfortunate thing is that you can't predict what will happen when you donate to them, whether the homeless man will keep the coat or sell it for drugs is uncertain. So it is tricky to even say that either way of donating is better.

     While doing some research on the internet, I came across similar ethics situation that I found interesting.

It is time to elect the world leader, and yours is the deciding vote. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates:

• Candidate A: He associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologers. He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks up to ten Martinis a day.
• Candidate B: He was ejected from office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a large amounts of whisky every evening.
• Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn't had any extra-marital affairs.

After thinking carefully about this problem, I naturally clicked on Candidate C because he seemed to be a morally sound individual. However, when I clicked on it I realized that all three candidates were famous politicians in real life. Candidate A was Franklin D. Roosevelt, Candidate B was Winston Churchill and Candidate C was Adolph Hitler. When I saw this, I realized that a person may have poor moral values but can make really good decisions and shouldn't be judged. It goes to show you that you can't judge a book by it's cover.

     I conclude my blog today with a question: Is there really a defined "greater good"?

"Ethics Questions." Web. 23 Jan. 2011. <http://www.businessballs.com/ethics.htm>.

"Testy Tuesday – Topping or Popping? | Phil’s Stock World." Phil's Stock World. Web. 23 Jan. 2011. <http://www.philstockworld.com/2010/12/28/testy-tuesday-topping-or-popping-2/>.

"Museum Studies Ethics Bowl Introduction." IUPUI : Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Web. 23 Jan. 2011. <http://www.iupui.edu/~mstd/a403503/ethicsbowl1.html>.

"What Attracts Consumers: Free Samples, Coupons or Expensive, Cool, Sexy Products." Measuring Marketing. Web. 23 Jan. 2011. <http://measuringemarketing.blogspot.com/2008/07/what-attracts-consumers-free-samples.html>.

Journal: 2-4

The "Leadership" Program

     This past Friday in class, we discussed issues of the Leadership and International Relations Program at our school and how the program can be improved for the future. It seemed almost as though the issues of the program however outweighed the possibilities of improvement that were suggested. A couple of issues that were addressed were the disfunction of PTO manager, the complicated issue of LEAPs, the fact that the program is more centered on leadership more than international relations, the way we are so isolated and also the issue of having a board of ambassadors within the program just to name a few. However, there were suggestions for improvement. Some of the suggestions included: redecorating the Quad, changing the name of the program, going on group service trips, and making the program seem like an elite program to be in.

    For me, there are several things that I strongly feel should be considered for changing the program. Something I really feel discouraged by in the program is the fact that there is a Leadership Board of Ambassadors. Granted, I could have easily signed up for it, but I didn't. I feel like by having this group within the program, it excludes the majority of students in the program from knowing a lot of what is going on in Leadership at the moment while giving others special knowledge and recognition. I believe everyone in the program should be given equal opportunities and should be treated the same. I also believe that LEAPs should be gotten rid. LEAPs I feel are forced upon us to do in order to fulfill an obligation set out by the program and most of the time are not fully enjoyable or give us any real "Leadership Enrichment" at all. An improvement I would really like to see made to the program would be for all of the Leadership Program to go on a group service trip where we get to experience the benefits of volunteering together, making us closer as a group and making a stronger impact on the community as well. Also personally, I think the name of our program should be changed from Leadership and International Relations Program to the "Leadership in Action Program" so we can really stay true to our name.

     Over all I do believe that our special center needs some extra "pizzazz" not only to create a better experience for those who are enrolled in it but also to make students want to apply to James River and give us more notoriety and prestige within not only our community but state and maybe even the whole nation. I believe if we make all of the changes we suggested on Friday to the program, our program would overall become more effective in the lessons it teaches to students and also have a greater impact on the community. We can become the program that doesn't follow the rules and thinks outside the box in regards to education.

    

"2010 March." Mitchell Kapor Foundation Weblog. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. <http://blog.mkf.org/2010/03/>.

"Analogue Technologies - Services." Analogue Technologies - Home. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. <http://www.analogue.in/services>.

"HomeGain Blog » Home Improvement." HomeGain Blog. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. <http://blog.homegain.com/category/home-improvement/>.