The role of the government has evolved over time and in this day and age, its purpose is to govern the nation well by ensuring peace and prosperity in the country. The People’s Action Party (PAP) in Singapore encapsulates this in their manifesto which is “to build a fair and just society where the benefits of progress are spread widely to all”. It aims to achieve this through its core values system, honesty, being multi-racial, meritocracy and self-reliance.
This is no mean feat and requires the group of leaders to be reliable, pragmatic, united, far-sighted, decisive, compassionate and resilient. (PAP, 2013) As Confucius states, a person is to first, cultivate his moral character; only then would he be able to order his family well; upon being able to order one’s family, one is then fit to govern the nation. (Confucius, 1979) Therefore, leaders of the state will need to have good moral character and highest standards of personal conduct in order to govern the country well.
Michael Palmer, in this case study, has tainted the squeaky clean image of a Member of Parliament (MP). He had an extra-marital affair and came clean about it one year after it started. He confessed to DPM Teo Chee Hean and proceeded to resign from the service. He apologised to his superiors, colleagues and the public about his misconduct. He admitted that “his conduct was improper and a serious error of judgement”. (Tan J, 2012)
Despite being very successful in his political career, his misconduct was severely unacceptable. This is mainly due to the nature of his job. This mistake Palmer made showed that he lacked morality as, according to Aristotle, morality lies in a person’s character and a person’s character can be judged from his conduct. Aristotle po...
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...6 June 2012). Ex-SCDF chief charged in widening sex-for-contracts scandal. Yahoo! Newsroom, Retrieved from https://sg.news.yahoo.com/ex-scdf-chief-peter-lim-charged-in-court.html.
Tan, J. (14 February 2013). Former CNB chief Ng Boon Gay acquitted. Yahoo! Newsroom, Retrieved from https://sg.news.yahoo.com/former-cnb-chief-ng-boon-gay-acquitted-072825790.html.
Swanton, C. (2003). Virtue ethics: A pluralistic view.
Rosenstand, N. (2013). Using Your Reason, Part 2: Kant's Deontology (7th ed.). Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education.
Rosenstand, N. (2013). Aristotle’s Virtue Theory: Everything In Moderation (7th ed.). Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education.
Rosenstand, N. (2013). Case Studies In Virtue (7th ed.). Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education.
PAP. (2013). People’s Action Party: Our Core Values. Retrieved 3 April 2014, from https://www.pap.org.sg/about-pap/our-core-values
Corruption is a persistent problem that plagues the world and it knows no boundaries. Transparency International defines it as the “abuse of entrusted power for private gain” (2013). For the purposes of this thread, ‘corruption’ is defined as any individual, collective, or structural act or process that permits the use of public authority or position for private gain. This definition captures the broad and many ways individuals and institutions abuse power and the public trust. In regard to whistleblowing, much conflict stems from the context in which the whistleblower is viewed.
In “The Death of Honesty,” William Damon raises the concern that current apathy towards increasing dishonesty threatens democracy. In this essay taken from the online volume “Endangered Virtues ” published by the Hoover Institute in 2012, Damon initially concedes that there are situations where lying could be considered acceptable. However, with that being acknowledged, he transitions to his main premise that honesty is losing its importance in society and will lead to its downfall, and he cites examples in politics, law, journalism, and business in contemporary society where dishonesty is expected, and even, condoned. Damon finally directs his remarks pointedly at teachers and current students who accept cheating in schools. To persuade his audience of university students and academic scholars, Damon uses many rhetorical devices and styles including classical logos, pathos, and ethos, and allusions to make an ethical appeal regarding the necessity for honesty.
Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Pure Reason. Trans. Norman Kempsmith. New York: The Humanities P, 1950.
Johnson, R 2014, ‘Kant's Moral Philosophy,’ The Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy (Spring Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), .
People exploit the faults in their surroundings in hypocritical attempts to justify their own imperfections. Goodman Brown and Dimmesdale demonstrate hypocrisy in their efforts to avoid confronting their own distorted realities. Both Goodman Brown and Dimmesdale seek to exemplify the ideal Puritan lifestyle. After succumbing to unfaithful temptations, both men recognize that they have transgressed certain central values of their respective puritan communities yet neither correctly identifies the sin that ultimately debases his initially righteous character. For instance, Goodman Brown breaches basic Puritan prin...
In our society there excites a general feeling of distrust. We live in a culture of false advertising and as a result we don’t know who we can trust. People are constantly afraid that the government, corporations and media, are lying to them. Stephen L. Carter’s article The Insufficiency of Honesty, captured my attention because it addressed this issue at its core and left me contemplating the issue of integrity vs. honesty. Currently, there is an outcry for honesty. But in truth honesty is not enough and not quit what we are looking for. Honesty is often used to deceive, to induce harm and to avert blame. What people are really searching for is integrity. Carter’s article address the difference between honesty and integrity and how honesty can be used dishonestly. He also discussed how long held beliefs effect our perception of honesty. All of these factors affect how we view our society and add to our feelings of mistrust.
Kant's Deontological hypothesis is planned around judging an individual's aims to figure out whether a moveme...
O'Neill, O. (1986). A Simplified Account of Kantian Ethics. Matters of life and death (pp. 44-50). n.a.: McGraw-Hill.
25 Immanuel Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Translated James W. Ellington, 3rd ed. (Indianapolis/Cambridge: Hackett Publishing, 1993), 9.
Johnson, Robert, Johnson,. "Kant's Moral Philosophy." Stanford University. Stanford University, 23 Feb. 2004. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
O’Neill, Onora. “Kantian Ethics.” A Companion to Ethics. Ed. Peter Singer. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 1991. 175-185. Print.
With so many constant changes today with different generations, legal and political circumstances and ever-changing and improving technology sources, organizations have new and recurring issues arising every single day. The reasons for these issues vary widely and develop because of so many different situations. The outcome of the situation depends on many factors including the issue at hand, the management style and the ethics of the organization to simply name a few. These outcomes can certainly make or break an organization if not handled appropriately. The issue I have found to be the most significant is leadership. Within leadership, there is the opportunity for many issues in itself.
The important of leadership and ethics issues are two concepts that are interrelated linked with an organizational environment. Ultimately, all stakeholders of an organization want their leaders and organizations to be ethically sound. Bazerman & Tenbrunsel, (2011). Having exercise the power and influence given to leaders over their followers, ethics practice will be critical to the process of leadership. Northouse, (2013). Ciulla (2004) argued that to achieve “good leadership,” leaders must be morally sound and as such, “ethics lies at the heart of leadership studies” (p. 18). Similarly, followers expect their leaders to be honest and ethical (Northouse, 2013). Honesty
Since Singapore gained sovereignty in 1965 from Malaysia, its politics has been dominated by the People Action Party. Under the leadership of People Action Party, Singapore has a “distinct political culture: authoritarian, pragmatic, rational and legalistic.” Economic growth and political stability were maintained by the People Action Party’s guidance. Thus, Singapore is corruption- free government where power is gained through skill and performance that attracted investments from other countries (“Introduction to Singapore’s political system”, 2011). Singapore scored the point of 1.33 in the 2009 World Bank’s governance indicators for the factor political stability. The government also opens a number of sectors such as financial services o, telecommunications, power generation, and retail to increase competition and foreign firms (eStandardsForum, February 2010).
Ethical leadership is having an understanding of who you are, what your core values are, having the courage to live them all, in your personal life as well as your work life. Ethical leadership involves leading in a manner that respects the rights and dignity of others. Ethical decision making and leadership are the basis of ethical organizations. Leadership is a relationship between leaders and followers. The foundation of this relationship is trust. The leaders themselves must be ethical in their decisions and actions in order to influence others to behave accordingly. Ethical leadership is to know one’s core values and having the courage to live them through one’s life. Ethics and leaders go hand in hand; ethics is the heart of leadership.