No.46

Think carefully about the issue presented in thefollowing excerpt and the assignment below.

Many people believe that being honest andhonorable limits their options, their opportunities,their very ability to succeed. Unfortunately, in today’sme-first culture, ethics may be the only thing peoplechoose to live without! They believe they have onlytwo choices: (1) to win by doing whatever it takes,even if it is wrong, or (2) to be ethical and thereforelose. Few people set out to be dishonest, but nobodywants to lose.

Adapted from John C. Maxwell, There’s No Such Thing as “Business” Ethics

Assignment: Does being ethical make it hard to be successful? Plan and write an essay inwhich you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning andexamples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

No.47

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignmentbelow.

Whatever happened to good manners? Many books and articles have been written aboutthe lack of common courtesy and old-fashioned politeness in today’s society. From spoiledchildren acting out in restaurants to so-called experts yelling at each other on cable newsshows, people seem less concerned with good manners and civilized behavior than ever before.On the other hand, if people really want to change the world for the better, they have to riskbeing seen as impolite or uncivil.

Assignment: Is it sometimes necessary to be impolite? Plan and write an essay in which youdevelop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examplestaken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

No.48

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignmentbelow.

We define “courage” too loosely. Real courage is conscious self-sacrifice, either for the sakeof others or to uphold a value. But we typically identify a single aspect of courage—daring orhonesty, for example—as the entire virtue. We even say it takes courage to differ from themainstream in one’s preferences in fashion or music or to speak out about certain wrongs.Such acts, though admirable, are not necessarily courageous.

Adapted from John McCain with Mark Salter, Why Courage Matters

Assignment: Should we limit our use of the term “courage” to acts in which people risk theirown well-being for the sake of others or to uphold a value? Plan and write an essay in which youdevelop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examplestaken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.