Questions
1. What is the morally right thing to do in the case and why do you think it is right, given your moral world view?
2. What moral norms or values would voice, and how do they flow from your world view?
3. How would you enact these norms and values given the circumstances set out in the case?
4. Identify the emotional, cognitive, cultural, political, and institutional “enablers” and “disablers” that would likely influence your ability to voice your moral values, in the circumstances described in the case.
1. In the context of the given case study, being a protagonist with a moral view I think it is essential to give the employees of the Tasmanian Bread Mills Pvt Ltd a notice for the upcoming changes in the company. This is because the bread mill is the one and the only largest employer in the small rural town of northern Tasmania (VIRTUES PROJECT INTERNATIONAL 2007). More than half of the population of the town is employed or engaged in employment related to the bread mill. Hence from the view of a protagonist, I believe that sudden shut down of the mill will lead to a major disaster to the lives and livelihood of the people residing in the city. While facing a hard moral decision regarding the closure of the mill on a sudden notice I would prefer to postpone the choice for some time until the point the decision can be taken without causing any further harm to anyone. Further more, the relevant decision in accordance with the values is important for upholding the circumstance related to the closure of the mill. Though Robert was proposed another job opportunity with a better designation and a better salary figure at the head office of the company. Still, it would be morally wrong to forgo the issues that the employees and the citizens of the city of Tasmania would face in the cost of the new and improved opportunity of Robert. From a protagonists viewpoint, I think it is important and essential for the managers of the company and both global strategy manager to introduce some of the newer opportunities for the local people employed in the company for a decade. This is because the sudden closure of the company would ruin the wellness living of many families around the town (Crane et al. 2014, pp. 130-153). Further more I think, since the decision of the closure of the mill was taken solely on the basis of its old technological types of equipment and surplus requirements of the global production of the multinational company, the managers and the senior directors of the mill should consider rethinking their decisions and initiate changing and upgrading their technological equipment of the northern bread mill rather than closing it down altogether.
Answers
2. Values tend to play an essential role in the fulfillment and integration of the desires and basic impulses. In the context of the above-stated case study, the value is significant for the generic experiences in the social action in attitudes and social actions. Morals distinguish between the good and bad behavior. It furthermore deals with the situation which enabled me to think the injury or the harm that can come up in the context of the sudden shut down of the firm towards the living of the human beings of the town. Moral norms of mine state that the sudden shut down of the bread mill of the northern state without proper notice is totally wrong (Cook et al. 2015,pp. 217). From the view of a protagonist the horrendous decision of the managers and the owner of the mill will tremendously affect the lives and the status of living of the people and Robert as the HR manager of the bread mill, even after knowing about the sudden closure of the mill should not avoid his basic terms and moral value as a human being towards the welfare of the town. Though he is getting ample opportunities and a higher designation in the headquarters of the company where he and his wife desired to move for a long time due to their family and personal issues, he should not act selfishly and only think about himself. Instead, he should consider the fact that the labor market of the northern town of Tasmania had been soft for many years, and this sudden shut down will break and ruin the entire market. While initiating discussion with the global strategy manager of the company, Robert must line up the issues that may arise due to the sudden closure of the mill, like the reactions of the industries and the local communities. Furthermore, he should also consider that problems like proactive industrial conflicts, backlashes from the community people of the northern Tasmania and the adverse campaigns of the local media will be tough to handle and manage in the case (VIRTUES PROJECT INTERNATIONAL 2007). Hence from the view of a protagonists I think it is essential for Robert to have a good discussion with the global strategy manager of the mill and should convince him to rethink about the decision and give at least a notice period of 9 to 12 month to the currently employed local people before the closure of the mill so that they can at least search for some new opportunities by the time and be prepared for the upcoming days.
Enacting Norms and Values
The five strategies that I would enact for the application of the norms and the values in the given circumstances of the case are by speaking the languages of virtues, recognizing the teachable moments, setting cleared boundaries, honoring the spirit and offering companioning. These will help in providing a more peaceful, purposeful, authentic live for the targeted people of the town (VIRTUES PROJECT INTERNATIONAL 2007). This is because language holds the power to inspire the people of the town. With the use of the virtue and the values for guiding, acknowledging and correcting the best feature in the context of the moral norms arises. Furthermore, the strategies help in needs of the virtues in the daily challenges the people will face after the closure of the mill. As a protagonist, I will suggest offering a helping hand and companionship by being deeply present and listening to the issues of the people with utmost compassion so that the community heals fast and grow steadily. Some of the languages of virtues I will use for enacting the values and the norms include acknowledgment, guidance, and correction. While communicating with the global strategy manager, Mr. Smith firstly I will thank him for his kindness towards providing Robert such a good opportunity to work in the headquarters of the company with such a lucrative package. Then I will request him to be considerate about the issues and the lives of the local people in the town who have been employed in the bread mill for generations and the sudden closure of the mill will only leave them and their lives in a huge dilemma of existence. This is because the bread mill is the one and only largest employer in the small town and the closure of the mill without any proper notice will provide the employees with zero or no time to search for some new opportunities to avoid the trap of unemployment. Finally, I will initiate the manager of the global strategy, Mr.Smith to be kindful and considerate towards the targeted employees who will suffer major issues due to the sudden closure.
4. In the context of this case, some of the enablers of emotion,cognition,culture,politics and institution includes acceptance, appreciation, assertiveness, charity,compassion, courage, creativity, determination, dignity, diligence, fidelity, generosity, helpfulness, honesty, honor, humanity, justice, kindness, love, mercy, modesty, nobility, openness, peacefulness, prayerfulness, respect, reliability, sacrifice, serenity, strength, thankfulness, tact, thoughtfulness, unity, wisdom and zeal (VIRTUES PROJECT INTERNATIONAL 2007). These will help in influencing my inner values and the moral norms that I carry in the above circumstances. As a protagonist, I believe that it is not right to shut down the bread mill which in the general terms brings bread and butter to the localities of Tasmania. The above-stated enablers influence my inner norms regarding the morality towards the targeted group of people residing in the small town. Some of the disablers of the above-stated factors that is emotion, cognition, culture, politics, and institution are mainly the act of selfishness, self-concerns, self-help and everything that is related to the betterment of self. Though it not right and ungrateful towards the localities regarding the sudden shutdown or closure of the bread mill, one of the major disablers regarding the stated factors is the self-concern. In the above-stated case study, Robert, the current HR manager of the bread firm has been provided an opportunity to work for the headquarters with a lucrative salary. He and his wife have been long wandering and desiring to travel to Hobart for work and reasons related to the family. This is creating a dilemma and a moral conflict whether to choose the welfare of the community or the self-development. From the viewpoint of a protagonist, I think this is the hardest barrier for the HR manager while pursuing Mr.Smith with the values of the voice and while expressing with the use of virtues and languages during the meet.
References
Cook, C L, Cottrell, C A & Webster, G D 2015, No good without God: Antiatheist prejudice as a function of threats to morals and values. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 217.
Crane, A, Palazzo, G, Spence, L J, & Matten, D 2014, Contesting the value of “creating shared value”. California management review, vol. 56, no. 2, pp.130-153.
VIRTUES PROJECT INTERNATIONAL 2007, The Five Strategies [PDF]. Retrieved from https://2303756_1190018789_5VirtuesStrategies.pdf
VIRTUES PROJECT INTERNATIONAL 2007, The Virtues Project. Retrieved from https://www.virtuesproject.com
VIRTUES PROJECT INTERNATIONAL 2007, HOW TO SPEAK The Language of Virtues[PDF]. Retrieved from https://2303756_1190018789_5VirtuesStrategies.pdf
VIRTUES PROJECT INTERNATIONAL 2007, VIRTUES: The Gifts of Character [PDF]. Retrieved from https://2303756_1190018789_5VirtuesStrategies.pdf