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Showing posts with the label values

The Politics of Language-Personality and Expression

Language impacts just about everything our lives that range from our perspective on life all the way to how we react to new information. The book Symbol, Status and Personality by S.I. Hyakawan provides insight into the nature of language and how it influences our personality and our effectiveness in getting the things we want out of life.  No one exists in isolation. We are cultural creatures that are part of a long line of ancestors, cultures, symbols, values, and people. In childhood we engrain people’s values and beliefs into our own. A few adults learn that these values and opinions are not always correct and can master them.   Words also have emotions and images attached to them. In politics we use words to stir people to action on certain events. Creating the image, using certain types of words, and giving people an outlet for their concerns is a primary political activity.  Within any conversation there are lots of needs, goals, objectives, and perceptions bein

Developing Moral Character in Business Education

Businesses have a crisis in leadership that has been brewing over a few decades. A paper by Crossman, et. al. (2013) delves into the need to develop character and values in business education in order to provide future leaders guidelines for appropriate behavior. From ethical crisis ranging from Lehman Brothers to Enron the business community has important functions in society that also include setting a standard of behavior.  According to the authors there has been movement on the ethical side of educating business students since major scandals have damaged the country. Yet the movement has not delved deep enough into how students learn about ethics and develop character.   To help them identify what their values are it helps in identifying their moral compass through difficult situations.  According to (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) an analysis of cultures, religion, moral philosophers and others have revealed some universal values: Wisdom: The cognitive ability

Ethics as a Sign of Intelligence

What does intelligence have to do with ethics and moral reasoning? Ethics can be seen as a value system that governs the actions of both an individual and a group. Through the use of such ethical systems a level of commonality and trust is formed that encourages stronger business associations and efficient economic interactivity. However, why some are more ethically driven than others depends in part on their cognitive and social intelligence abilities. Such abilities start very young in a person’s life and are influenced by the environment. Ethical development is a concept of nature and nurture as superior to situations where nature versus nurture takes precedence.  Moral reasoning is closely associated with the development of intelligence and emotional sensibilities. It is believed that …” individuals with extraordinary developed intelligence and creativity are the most valuable gift that humankind has …” Kholodnaya, 2007). The more capable a person is to reflect on their beh

Personal Definition of Leadership

The transformational leader who is passionate about distance learning has an opportunity to be a part of a societal change process.   America and the global community are going through a paradigm shift in regards to public perception of distance learning.   Alone, one person cannot initiate and coordinate a national or global societal change, but individually, a transformational leader can establish a vision, create a passion, and develop a leadership plan.   As I reflect on my own personal leadership plan in the field of distance education, a three-step approach was taken.   Self-reflection, honest feedback, and continual learning were the components that I used in designing my personal leadership plan. Bennis, leadership author and guru, defined leadership as “ the capacity to create a compelling vision and translate it into action and sustain it ” (2003, p. 1).   Leadership can be learned.   If one has the desire to be a leader, one can be.   " Like John Kotter, Prof Be