The Harvey Two-Face of Business Ethics

The interesting thing about business ethics is depending upon who you ask, you will get a different response on what is considered "ethically justifiable" in business.
In reality, in order for businesses to thrive and survive in this ever globalized world a business must be making a profit.
Without profit a business will collapse.
The question then becomes, what is the most ethical way to conduct business?
If you could maximize your profits by cutting a few corners that some may see as unethical, would you do it for the benefit of the company?
Or is it our responsibility to increase profitability of the company, yet at the same time remaining ethical?
There are two sides we can choose both may yield benefits as well as consequences, but is one option better than the other?
To better understand this we can look at the DC Comic's fictional character Harvey Dent a.k.a "Two Face".
Prior to becoming "Two Face", Harvey Dent was a district attorney of Gotham City.
As the district attorney he brought down many of Gotham Cities criminals.
However, after Harvey Dent gets acid thrown in his face he adopts the persona of "Two Face" and changes into a supervillain.
Now you're probably wondering what the heck "Two Face" has to do with business ethics, and that is a totally reasonable question.
Prior to the incident that changed Harvey Dent he was a respectable figure within his community.
However, he changes for the worse and becomes something evil and "unethical".
His face is split in half, one side of his face is not affected by the acid this side represents his old self.
He was a guy that could be admired for his work, but the acid changed him.
No longer was he an admirable figure, rather he became a villain that placed everything up to chance by the simple flip of a coin.
In other words, we can have two faces in the world of business.
One face can be burned from acid a.k.a acting unethically, which can lead to life changing consequences; Or we can put our best face forward and try achieving respect much like Harvey Dent did as the DA.
Ultimately do not leave business ethics up to a mere coin toss, because while you may get lucky once or twice, luck can run out very fast.

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19 Ornaments

Now some of you might be wondering when looking at the title of this post "19 Ornaments", as to why I would writing about Christmas in the middle of September, and it is a totally reasonable question.
Recently in my Study Abroad class we had to write a reflective essay on our ethnic background and or tradition and how that shapes our family.
When addressing this essay I first had trouble thinking of anything that really stood out.
It then occurred to me upon further reflection the importance and significance of Christmas in my family.
It is not until now that I have began to realize just how much of impact Christmas has had on my life.

To my Mom Christmas has always been a very important time of the year.
Every year when I help set up all the Christmas decorations it seems more often than not that there are more decorations than before, however, my Mom will insist other wise.
After we have set up all the decorations, we will proceed to put up the Christmas Tree and begin the process of putting up the ornaments.
Ever since I have been born my Mom has bought a Christmas ornament every single year to represent something significant that happened in my life.
I never really thought much of the ornaments until now.
Each ornament is like a page in a book and like a page in the book every ornament has its own story and or meaning.
Some of the ornaments are more simplistic than others, but none the less the meaning remains the same.
Every year my Mom has placed a lot of  emphasis on hanging these special ornaments first with the most recent ornament being placed first on the tree.
I've come to realize now that she was trying to make me realize how proud she was of me for each accomplishment that I achieved in that year of my life.
Looking back now I am extremely grateful for these ornaments and for all that my mother has done for me over the years.
Our Christmas traditions do not end there however.

We also use to have this tradition in which we played this countdown to Christmas Velcro figurine game.
Every morning leading up to Christmas we would compete against each other to see who could get Velcro the most figurine would get to open up the first present.
I remember some years were I would get up at 2 or 3 am just to put the figurine on the calendar day, and yes I'll admit sometimes I cheated and put the figurine on the night before, but who could blame me?

Also every December we try and watch as many Christmas movies as possible as a family, even if we have seen the movie a million times it'll be just as meaningful if not more.

Everywhere we go in the car during the month of December we will be listening to Christmas music, which kind of drove me crazy after awhile.
However, this past year I went off to college and during the month of December our radio station was always playing Christmas music and for some reason or another listening to it gave me this warm fuzzy feeling deep down inside and I did not know why, which leads me to my final point.

Family traditions no matter how small or big have a significant impact on shaping you into the person you are today.
That is why it is so important to treasure these moments while they last.
It is also important to take these family traditions and pass them down to generation to generation, that way others can benefit.
Do not hesitate however, to start your own family traditions.
Ultimately, at the end of the day these "19 Ornaments" may mean nothing to a passer by,  but to me they are a representation of who I am as a person and I will treasure them in the road to come.

Thank you Mom for all that you have done.

The Ever Growing Addiction of Technology

The truth is although many of us might not admit it; we are all addicted to technology in some shape or forum.
However, who can blame us for such an addiction?
In this ever fast paced changing world technology has become essential for day to day communication.
While technology has its positive benefits, it can also take a negative toll on a person.
Whenever I am in class or in an important meeting I always keep my phone on vibrate.
However, this does not keep me or many other people from checking our phones.
This in turn distracts us from what we should be paying attention to in that present moment.
Even throughout the day we constantly check our phones, even when we know that there is nothing new.
Why is this?
It is the desire and need to stay connected with the world.
This desire is like a parasite that eats away at us, until eventually we give into it.
Is this a good or bad attribute to have in our lives?
I'll leave that up to you to decide.

Social media is just a piece of the puzzle that feeds and drives our desire to stay connected.
I know from a personal standpoint, I've wasted many hours on Facebook staring into the endless abyss of news feeds; I wouldn't be talking to anyone nor doing much of anything.
Meanwhile I could be doing something productive such as writing a paper or studying for an exam.
Time tends to evade a person faster than we ever realize.
Yet being on Facebook fulfilled that desire we all have of staying connected.

I leave you with a simple but revaluating challenge.
Go to a park or any other high pedestrian area and sit down.
Spend at least ten minutes or so disconnected from your own device and just watch the people around you.
Observe and take note of what it is that they are doing.
Take count of how many people are talking with another person as opposed to being "plugged in".
Keep in consideration though, it does not count as talking with someone if the other person or both persons are on their phones.
You might be surprised as to what you see.
You might not be.
Either way it is up to either act and change your own personal habits, or keep them the way that they were.

Any comments or feedback would be much appreciated!

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