Marc’s MSLD Reflection Blog

LaFollette (2007) suggested that the best way to live a moral life is by cultivating virtues.  Aristotle thought of virtues as character traits and tendencies to act in a particular way (2018).  He thought that living a virtuous life was the key to happiness and a good life.  Additionally, Aristotle suggested that a virtuous person does the appropriate action, does it habitually, enjoys being virtuous, knows that it is virtuous, and knows why it is virtuous (LaFollette, 2007).   Benjamin Franklin had a lifelong commitment to cultivating virtues.  He developed a list of thirteen virtues that he considered were essential to virtuous living.  He also developed a chart he carried around with him that he could use to note when he had not adhered to one of the virtues.  Franklin focused on one virtue each week, so after thirteen weeks he had spent time trying to cultivate each one.  He would then start the process over again.  When Frank...

Most organizations exist to deliver a service or product to their customers.  That is the purpose of being in business.  Marketing is the means by which an organization can connect with their customer base.  Bonini (2012) indicated that there are 4 core objectives to a successful marketing campaign: building brand awareness, engaging with the target audiences, generating customers and sales, and proving industry expertise.  Expertly created marketing campaigns are memorable and create a feeling that is associated with a product.  Those who grew up in the 80s and 90s as I did will never be able to hear “Just Do It,” “You quiero Taco Bell,” or “They’re Grrrreat!,” without thinking about Nike shoes, Taco Bell, or Frosted Flakes.   Organizations have to walk a fine line when it comes to marketing.  They must balance the business need to generate revenue with the ethical demands of honesty and integrity.  Some organizations have crossed the ...

The history of race relations in the United States has a checkered past.  The first slaves were brought to the American Colonies in 1619, and the practice of slavery continued to be commonplace throughout the time of the Revolution.  However, shortly after America won its independence some people began to see the oppression of slaves as analogous with the oppression of the colonies under British rule.  Abolitionists became more vocal in the early decades of the 1800’s.  President Abraham Lincoln emancipated the slaves in 1863.  The 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865 officially abolished slavery (History.com, 2020).  Despite the fact that slavery ended in 1865, racism has continued to be a major issue in the United States to the present day.   LaFollette (2007) indicated that racism is such a persistent problem because it is essentially a habit.  “What is modern racism?  It is an inability or unwillingness to acknowledge the...

In an article entitled “The Harder They Fall,” Roderick Kramer (2003) discussed the fact that many leaders of large corporations have followed a similar course to get to the top of their careers. And then they fall, hard.  “Admired leaders — not just in business but also in politics, religion, and the media — are finding themselves in a similar free fall.  One moment they are masters of their domain.  The next they are on the pavement looking up, wondering where they went wrong” (Kramer, 2003, p. 58).   The path these leaders take to get to the top requires aggressiveness, determination, and sacrifice.  They are confronted with several dilemmas on the path to the top.  These are winner-takes-all job markets where there are only a limited number of “top spots” in industry.  However, there are a relatively large number of qualified candidates.  Moving up the ranks is like a tournament where candidates are eliminated in each round.  “...