Who Am I? Ethical Re-re-REMIX!!

Before answering this question again, I had gone back to read about the me before the course and the me throughout the course. One thing that bothered me immensely is my usage of commas in the earlier posts. I apologize for all the bad punctuation and spelling, will improve on that. (though later posts did show signs of improvement.)

After this course, I feel like a different but still the same person. I am still who I am, yet perhaps more tapped into some unconscious pasts of myself, society, and the cosmos as a whole. In fact this course has shed more light unto who I am. It has pried open more layers of me buried deep within by my unconscious self-protection efforts. I have come in contact with my shadow side, and a side of me that is struggling against some of my biggest fears, which were hard for me to explain, but is now a little clearer and has stepped into the conscious.

I have gone through a journey opening many doors in psychology, religions, philosophy, and how each is connect to my inner core. This semester has been definitely a spiritual deepening experience, as more things are opened for more understanding and exploration. It is hard to put into words the things I have learned and the experienced gone through except a joyous feeling of excitement and achievement.

Many thanks to my wonderful GSI and classmates going through the wonderful journey with me. It has been great sharing thoughts and opinions with all of you, and has made me realize many different points of view that I have never thought about. I hope to continue to be in touch as we continue on our lives to further explore and connect to the cosmos and our essence! XD

Business Ethics

"How could firms derive the full advantage of low cost labor and the benefits of flexile contractor relationships, while also respecting the rights of workers in developing countries" (pg 316).
"How can we pull together as a team to make this merger work if some of our key players have to run home every time their kid has a cold" (pg. 290)?

I think companies should rethink the definition of "taking full advantage of low cost labors" by factoring the bottom rule that respecting the rights of workers IS part of "low cost labors." I believe out sourcing jobs to developing countries is already cutting the cost down compared to hiring workers in the states. However, because of he competitive market, companiess are lured into cutting the cost even lower by fringing upon human rights. Yet, similar to Levi, from "Ethics in the Trenches," the company can be also competitive with a positive value for the right of their workers. After reading about Levi's creative response to underage workers, I felt a responsibility as a consumer to support that. Though Levi jeans are more expensive than other companies, yet it's qualities are also better than most. I also believe that companies such as Levi can also put pressure on other companies for their unjust ethics and inform the public of their choices and power in consumerism. Similar to Nike's turn around, I think it is possible to affect the overall ethical awareness if in the long run, the benefits will out weigh the sacrifices taken in the initial stages. (reminds me of the three malaises...)

As for McNeil's case, it seems to me that the problem started right at the beginning, at the interview. I thought McNeil was absolutely clear about her responsibility as a parent and what her priorities are. It was unfair that during the interview Walters and Foyd did not tell her the truth, perhaps lied, to her about the working environment and that they are practically looking for a single and young person {similar to Walter} for the job. Thus right at the begining, they are already trying to force a round peg into a square hole.

That aside,every employee will need to attend to their family members once in a while, it is inevitable. However having a fellow co-worker to help back up the work or holding a conference call from home can help ease the situation greatly. Today, many people work at home and do not even set foot in the office because technologies allow us to communicate with each other through the internet, and even monitor or exchange work loads. In McNeil's case, she could be virtually at the meeting through the internet or on the phone, though not ideal, yet perhaps will help the situation.

SGI Buddhism

After reading about Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity, I felt I was most connected with Islam outside of my own religion. That may mainly because that I am a Catholic, hence the Islamic values seem more of something I felt akin to. However, I have not yet the chance to read Judaism, which I think will also offer a more interesting variety of religion to choose, since it is also embedded in similar beliefs. Naturally, I want to visit a Islamic service, however only to find out that I missed it just by a couple hrs after a phone call to a Muslim friend. In need of a religious service to attend (originally, I thought about Jewish services, yet since I didn't read the chapter, I may not understand it enough to appreciate the service from a different perspective.) I attended a Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Buddhism service.

One of my room mate is a member of the SGI group and invited me to go to one of their youth events. Though she was unable to go, I was accompanied by a really nice member of the group. The religion follows Buddhist Shakyamuni's teachings as if was taught by the Buddhist Reformer, Nichiren Daishonin, in Japan.

At first, I always thought Buddhism is something contrasting to Christianity. My understanding of Buddhism, through the text and personal experiences, is that the religion calls for a self-fostering and self-challenging. It calls for achieving spirituality through the individual work and meditation, not so much community orientated. While, Christianity is much more community oriented religion, where everyone is encouraged to help each other and obtain spirituality together. However this visit to the SGI changed my whole conception. Buddhism can be very community oriented too, especially at SGI.

The event was in preparation for a convention coming in the summer, where distinguish youth leaders are chosen to participate. What shock me the most in the visit, was how diverse the members are and how everyone cheered each other one, with a strong community atmosphere. The members were quick to react to the person leading the event, performing, or giving speech. Going to the service made realize that Buddhism can also foster a strong community, not necessarily only focusing on the individual.