Commanders are given their positions because they have demonstrated their ability to execute sound judgment. Judgment is the key factor when committing to actions that could be either favorable or disastrous, or anything in between. Moral decision making, however, takes more than sound judgment when complex problems with undiscernible outcomes arise. When developing leaders to understand decision making in high-stress or combat situations, a thorough understanding of moral judgment is warranted. Case studies provide leaders with valuable tools to stimulate thinking and challenge subordinates. When evaluating the decision the commander of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) has to make, understanding the difference between moral dilemmas and …show more content…
Moral Actions are comprised of an individual’s moral awareness, judgment, motivation, and character. Moral awareness is a person’s ability to understand the difference between acting ethically and doing the right thing under a given set of rules. Or simply put, the understanding of when an ethical decision needs to get made. In the case study of the LCS Commander deciding whether or not to assist the distressed crew in Chinese waters, the moral awareness of the commander will let him know that his decision is not as simple as right versus wrong. His decision will affect the lives of those in present need, and could potentially affect the lives of many more if he were to escalate the situation into international conflict. The action that ultimately gets taken depends most importantly on the Commander’s ability to judge morally. His emotions, personal experience, and ability to reason affect his moral judgment. The commander needs to understand the political environment, give his own experience the proper weight, but not over-rely on “gut emotion,” and clearly think through the …show more content…
S. Forces (2009) adds clarity to the situation and defines the conventional limits the commander already abides by. If his own ethical decisions are in line with the convention, his decision to act has a sound base. The Right of Assistance grants authority to the commander to act in self-defense of the stranded Americans and to take action once it is determined that the Chinese craft is not acting within legitimate authority by attacking an oil vessel. Having the fortitude to act when the situation is not black and white is what the commander gets paid to do. The PLA vessel is claiming that a police action is taking place. The truth of the matter is that they have attacked a Vietnamese oil vessel and there are American lives at
Accountability is a subject that ranges through every spectrum of life. From simply knowing your food supply by opening the refrigerator, to knowing the exact amount of ammunition a military convoy has at its disposal, down to each individual round. When we know what the situation is, and hold each person responsible for they're actions in the situation, that is the concept of accountability at its root. If we are not to hold each other responsible for each of our own actions and choices then we will never be able to correct problems and concerns, which will make us fail as a whole because the smallest individual action can account for the gravest of concequences. In this essay I'm going to show how important accountability is in the everyday life of a United States Marine. I will do this by presenting the textbook definition of accountability then dissecting it and defining it in my own words. I will then show you how the military practices accountability with everything it does; by applying a system that is similiar to that of checks and balances. I will tie into this the Incident that occurd in 29 Palms, CA on August 31, 1988, where the failure to have accountability of all the marines on Base ultimately resulted in the negligent death of one Marine, and the ruined careers of those who were in charge of him. Lastly I will go down to the basic level of the Marine Corps: the life of the individual Marine and how he can, and naturally does to a point, apply accountability to his every action, be it on or off duty.
This essay will evaluate Eisenhower’s moral judgement and ethical decision-making using three (of seven) ethical principles author Don Snider contends are applicable to all Army professionals. After evaluating Eisenhower’s integration of duty, loyalty and subordination, this analysis concludes that Eisenhower used appropriate ethical and moral judgement in his decision authorized the deal as Allied Commander. The first principle
A man is running late to work one day when he passes by a homeless person asking for help. This man and many others usually consider this particular man to be generous, but since he is late, he ignores the homeless person and continues on his way. One can assume that if he had the time, he would have helped. Does that matter, though, seeing as in that situation, he did not in fact help? Scenarios like this supports Lee Ross and Richard Nisbett’s idea that it is the situation that influences a person’s behavior, not he or she’s individual conscience. Although a person’s individual conscience could play a part in how one behaves in a given scenario, ultimately, the “situational variable” has more impact on the actions of the person than he or she’s morals.
Jocko Willink writes of his experiences as a Navy Seal Commander, sharing the lessons he learned as a leader in intense battle situations. Jocko’s leadership has zero room for error and must be extremely decisive; lives are at stake. For this reason, Jocko must make the
... of their personality then that guides to making a good or moral judgment in this situation. The negativity for this ethic is that the coast guards moral fibers might not be the same compared to other coast guard or even to the people that they are rescuing. Some may say that this kind of person would save the family of four that contains the children yet some would argue to save many lives as possible.
...en when tough situations are presented to a person. Motivation from peers, educational leaders, or other members of society may help those that should learn to behave ethically, but the bottom line is following one’s inner code of ethics, which constitutes character.
Navy leadership. Over the past twenty years, the Seventh Fleet has become progressively more overtasked and under-resourced. Because of this, the fleet has been unable to fulfill its mission without cutting corners in training and safety, and morale has consequently suffered. These fundamental problems should not have been ignored by U.S. Navy leadership because bad morale is often the root cause of poor performance. This neglect has also resulted in several collisions at sea in the region, further straining the Navy’s resources in the area and exacerbating the morale problem.
In A Few Good Men, marines Dawson and Downey choose to obey their superiors and carry out the Code Red. In the article, “The My Lai Massacre,” Herbert C. Kelman and V. Lee Hamilton described a situation during the Vietnam War where a platoon ransacked an entire village while under orders by their superiors. “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem” explains that in order to go further in one’s life, he or she must be disobedient; however, the article recognizes the power of a situation and its effect on a decision to obey or to disobey. Lance Corporal Harold Dawson and Private First Class Louden Downey decide to obey their superiors because they have extensive training in following orders, they are required to obey all lawful orders,
War has always been an essential ingredient in the development of the human race. As a result of the battles fought in ancient times, up until modern warfare, millions of innocent lives have ended as a result of war crimes committed. In the article, “The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience,” Herbert C. Kelman and V.Lee Hamilton shows examples of moral decisions taken by people involved with war-related murders. This article details one of the worse atrocities committed during the Vietnam War in 1968 by the U.S. military: the My Lai Massacre. Through this incident, the question that really calls for psychological analysis is why so many people are willing to formulate , participate in, and condone policies that call for the mass killings of defenseless civilians such as the atrocities committed during the My Lai massacre. What influences these soldiers by applying different psychological theories that have been developed on human behavior.
Captain Aubrey exhibits and demonstrates leadership characteristics that inspire his crew to be the best that they can be. One of the most important leadership traits that Captain Jack has is a single-minded focus on his purpose. All of his decisions are held up against the g...
Everybody uses their ethical and moral compass every day. People have to see whether their choices are ethical and moral, we all use are ethical and moral compass all the time. In the story The Most Dangerous Game, Rainsford used his ethical and moral compass to decide whether to hunt humans with General Zaroff or not, he knew that saying no was ethically right and morally right aswell so he decided to make that decision. Not only Sanger Rainsford had to use his ethical and moral compass, Val Plumwood from Being Prey had to use her ethical and moral compasses. Val Plumwood decided to defend the alligators because she was trespassing in the alligators territory, her moral and ethical compass told her that it wasn't right
In the United States Navy Operational risk management (ORM) is personally experienced. The ORM process is taken seriously by everyone in leadership, particularly when failures can be fatal to personnel or equipment damage, therefore, understanding potential risks faced is vital (Eaamonn, 2013). In many organizations and specifically speaking from military experience, risk management is essential to avoiding catastrophic incidents from occurring. Risk management is sometimes unpopular among subordinates so; it is incumbent on leaders to be courageous and standby decisions made. Leaders must be bold and take a stand to protect the community from the effects of flooding even in times of budgetary austerity (Hall,
The history of Lieutenant General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller is not well known outside of the U.S. Marine Corps, but as the most decorated marine in history his legend will live on and continue to inspire the marines of tomorrow. The enlisted corps has idolized him, frequently encouraging one another to do that last push up when motivated by fellow marines saying “Do one for Chesty!” The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate that Chesty, using current day leadership theories, was a visionary and ethical leader who exemplified the characteristics that our nation’s military needed during World War II and still needs today. I will explain how he embodied some principles of Full Range Leadership Development that are taught today. Then I will describe how he demonstrated his ethical leadership through combat actions when faced with general military ethics situations. Finally, I will examine how my own leadership abilities, though noncombat focused, compare to how Chesty led his marines. Let’s begin by exploring the visionary leadership that Lt Gen Puller exhibited.
In life, we face many challenges with morality and how we feel about others. Sometimes we just push these feelings aside and pretend like they do not exist. However, SEAL Team members do not get a choice in deciding how they deal with these feelings. Throughout the book “SEAL Team Six,” Howard Wasdin develops the themes morality and brotherhood throughout the book to describe his difficult but exciting time as a SEAL Team Six member.
Organizations are constantly tested with various moral and ethical problems and dilemmas. Organizational leaders are the key to establishing an ethical climate in the workplace. By understanding and improving their own moral reasoning, and the biases that affect moral judgment, they enable themselves to make better decisions. This has a catalytic effect that positively increases organizational climate, ultimately improving all organizational behavior.