Consumer Expectations
The summer following my junior year in high school I learned the harsh realities of business in the world of used cars. When I purchased my 1995 Honda Civic I was told the air conditioner needed a recharge after I asked about the malfunctioning unit; however, a mechanic soon informed me of the real problem-the absence of a full A/C unit. The dealership in fact replaced the A/C unit, but not until I signed a contract stating I could not file suit or request any other repairs for the car-that, of course, was to their benefit. Three months later, I found out that the engine had been improperly mounted and that the transmission needed $3,000 in work-all things they failed to tell me at the time of purchasing the car. After only four months of use, the car sat unusable for nine months.
At first, I thought I had gotten a deal when they fixed my A/C; however, that deal-in the end-cost me about $5,000 in additional work. It bothered me that a company could manipulate people, especially me, into signing a contract-knowing of several other problems with the car. From this experience, my idea of business morphed into one of deception-a result of the untruthfulness of business practices I encountered.
Behind deception rest secrecy and openness-two important but yet difficult to define ideas-where large conflicts arise. Sissela Bok's essay, "Secrecy and Moral Choices," seeks to explain these complexities of secrecy-how secrecy is both helpful and harmful to human existence. Bok scrutinizes not simply the idea of secrecy, but considers as well our ability to control secrecy.
In discussing secrecy's inherent benefits to society, Bok presents its ability to grant "elements of human autonomy: identity, plan...
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...s. Ed. Denice Martone and Pat C. Hoy II. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. 14-16.
"Secrecy and Moral Choice." The Advanced College Essay: Business and Its Publics. Ed. Denice Martone and Pat C. Hoy II. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. 3-10.
"The Perspective of the Liar." The Advanced College Essay: Business and Its Publics. Ed. Denice Martone and Pat C. Hoy II. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. 11-14.
Carr, Albert Z.. "Is Business Bluffing Ethical?" The Advanced College Essay: Business and Its Publics. Ed. Denice Martone and Pat C. Hoy II. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. 17-21.
Kim, Christopher Jr.. Personal interview. 6 Feb. 2002.
Oppel, Richard A. Jr.. "Despite Warning, Enron Chief Urged Buying of Shares." The New York Times. 19 Jan. 2002. 26 Jan. 2002.
Polonetsky, Jules. "Privacy in the Internet Age." Schimmel Auditorium, New York U. 4 Feb. 2002.
This case arose when I went out of town on my first business trip. I have been a sales trainee for the last six weeks, and my supervisor felt it was time to send me out. I was lucky enough to get sent with the number one sales rep for the company, Vince Collier. I was excited because I knew that if I was going to learn the best ways to make a sale, it would be with Vince.
Bowan, S (2007). Ethics and Public Relations. Retrieved on February 14, 2012 from : http://www.instituteforpr.org/topics/ethics-and-public-relations/
There is considerable utilitarian value in extending privacy rights to the Internet. The fear that communication is being monitored by a third party inevitably leads to inefficiency, because individuals feel a need to find loopholes in the surveillance. For instance, if the public does not feel comfortable with communica...
The fundamental cause of the Civil War was the debate over slavery. As early as 1837, South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun stated that “We of the South…cannot surrender our institutions [of slavery]. To maintain the existing relations between the two races…is indispensable to the peace and happiness of both. It cannot be subverted without drenching the country in blood.” Moreover, every sectional pre-Civil War crisis had slavery at its roots. Henry Clay’s Compromise of 1850, meant to quell Southern radicals’ calls of secession over the issue of slavery, addressed slavery in each of its provisions. John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry, which deepened Southern dislike of the Northern Republican Party, was meant to start a slave uprising. And when South Carolina seceded from the Union in December 186...
...or George and Augustus cares for Hazel. George cares for Lennie and Hazel cares for Augustus.
"5 Leading Theories for Why We Laugh?and the Jokes That Prove Them Wrong." Slate Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
Applying the idea of moral goodness with business, however, is often a contradictory concept in lieu of the malicious and often scandalous behavior that businesses are notoriously publicized with. Enron, an energy company based out of Houston, Texas, is perhaps the most popular of scandals of the century thus far. Their name is synonymous with corporate fraud and corruption after the allegations of accounting fraud hit the headlines in 2001. The scandal was also considered a landmark case in the field of business fraud and brought into question the accounting practices of many corporations throughout the US (Raslan, 2009). Under this shroud of deceptive business practices and activities, applying the idea of moral goodness with business is a difficult sell to readers.
Privacy postulates the reservation of a private space for the individual, described as the right to be let alone. The concept is founded on the autonomy of the individual. The ability of an individual to make choices lies at the core of the human personality. The Supreme Court protected the right to privacy of prostitute. The autonomy of the individual is associated over matters which can be kept private. These are concerns over which there is a legitimate expectation of privacy. Privacy has both a normative and descriptive function. At a normative level privacy sub-serves those eternal values upon which the guarantees of life, liberty and freedom are founded. At a descriptive level, privacy postulates a bundle of entitlements and interests
In the literature, a healthy sense of humor has often been equated with mental stability and overall proficient social functioning (Malpass & Fitzgerald, 1959; Prerost, 1983). Beneficial uses for humor can be traced back...
Computers, tablets, cellphones and all modern tenchnology has decrease our expectations of privacy in this digital age. People don't care anyone for their privacy, they only want the benefits that modern technology has brought to them. In the essay, “Privacy is Overrated” by David Plotz (2003), argues that it is sometimes good to be open and not be bother by privacy. In Jack Shafer's (2010) essay, “The Invasion of the Cookie Monster” he argues that we are the ones to be blame for the lost of our online privacy. The didgital age has created an extremely big problem of privacy for people.
Giving the examples of theories and perspectives enables a person to reflect and evaluate pros and cons of domestic surveillance or any situation rather it be political or personal. Although reviewing ethical theories gives us a clear reason as to why such a monitoring is done, this does not mean a definitive resolve exists. Therefore, there is the unfortunate fact that with any theory there will have to be a tradeoff between a certain level of privacy and a strong sense of domestic security.
Privacy is one of the severe issue in today’s Modern Technology era, tied to human right around the world. Most countries have started thinking differently regarding between the people’s right and national security, and trying to leverage on new technology to detect potential national threats without hurting people’s privacy. However, there's a blurred line between privacy violation and government surveillance. (Sánchez, Levin & Del, 2012) It would be a learning process for governments to seek an optimum balance between retain integrity of privacy right and eliminate national threats in order to make the country better.
Garfinkel, Simson. "Internet Privacy Can Be Protected." Privacy. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Privacy Requires Security, Not Abstinence: Protecting an Inalienable Right in the Age of Facebook." Technology Review 112
...ble (Thoreau, 2013). This went too far because he wanted to hold the power in a decision in which he couldn’t change. He wanted to tell the government that he had rights as a citizen even if it came to a war that he didn’t support. His statement on the government making the wrong decisions, it’s probably true that they do, but as citizens we must have trust in what our government does for this nation, even if it’s not the right decision.
Solove, Daniel J. “5 Myths about Privacy” Washington Post: B3. Jun 16 2013. SIRS. Web. 10