Sunday, November 13, 2011
Ethics and Assertion
I wonder how much assertion plays into an individual's style of ethics. I know that, typically, I tend to follow an agent style of ethics. Part of this is because I feel that in order to succeed, I have to do what the person in charge of me wants. Essentially, my "people" is my boss. I do what is necessary to please my boss, and sometimes the decisions I make on the job coincide with my personal wishes, but I still need to frequently disregard my own desires in order to keep my boss happy and run the business well. I also know that I typically am only moderately assertive unless I have to be. I get the impression that a more assertive person would be able to disregard others' desires more easily and run things based on what they want, or according to a Machiavellian style, and someone who is not very assertive is more likely to make decisions based on what everyone else wants, or according to Plato's ethics. I am not sure how sold I am on this idea though, because it works on the assumption that wants and needs are perfectly aligned.
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I like your point about assertiveness. Someone that is not as assertive will most definitely follow what everyone wants more than someone who is very strong with their own desires and needs. I didn't think about it like this, but now I see it can really depend on the person's personality that is in power. The Machiavellian style, I feel, is very selfish, but sometimes that person may think they are doing the right thing.
ReplyDeleteI think your point about assertiveness is very interesting. I feel assertiveness is a double edged sword. When someone is assertive they don't need to be told what to do as much, and will try to get things done on their own. However, if someone is too assertive and tries to get things done on their own too often, they can make a lot of mistakes.
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