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PI6032 Professional Issues in Interactive Media CASE STUDY REPORT Schools R’ Us Group B David Delaney 0138789 Shan Zhu Fiona Kiely 0618802 Ray O’Brien 0615994 0618845 Kun Liu Na Liu 0613967 0667617 Submitted as a partial requirement of the module, PI6032, Date: Friday 13th April Introduction Schools R’ Us is the case study which introduces us to Aisha Patel, a 35 year old woman and recent graduate. She is working in her first professional job as a trainee programmer for a large software company. Upon review after six months, her performance is satisfactory. However, she is questioning the content within the company’s software that it sends out; she sees it depicting more men than women and is bias in this regard. The dilemma which she faces is; should she bring this matter up with management or keep it to herself and continue on with her work as before? Important criteria lie in the fact that Aisha is also a single mother with two children at school age. From an initial analysis of the subject matter in the Schools R’ Us case study it would appear that it may be one of sexual discrimination. Investigating the scenario we looked at the role of Aisha’s employment as a female to see if she was being treated differently to her male counterparts. It is not mentioned if females at the company are being treated any differently to their male counterparts. Vis–a-vis we would also have to look at the facts and see if men were being treated any differently to women. There is insufficient evidence in the case study to determine this, therefore we can rule out the possibility of sexual discrimination or sexual harassment. We could then look to see if Aisha is being discriminated as an individual and not as a male or a female and this would lead us to see if she were being bullied on a personal level. Given the limited presentation of facts obtained from the case study, both these possibilities cannot be properly analyzed. A gender specific role of employment can also be looked at whereby fundamental qualities to the job at hand are necessary for a good reason. A good example would be a rape crisis centre for women. Women are predominantly employed because it provides a gender specific function when dealing with such sensitive issues. There is not enough evidence to back this reasoning here either in the material given. The above examples serve to demonstrate that there is insufficient information to determine if sexual harassment, bullying or gender specific issues are present prior to making any reasonable judgment. A prima facia case could be made if there were more facts given. Overall, in order to make a reasonable discussion with the information 1 provided, i.e. the matter of Aisha and her future employment can be best analysed by focusing on the ethical and philosophical elements that are raised within the case study. In order to achieve this, three ethical theories will be discussed to determine what possible alternatives Aisha has; Subjective Relativism, Utilitarianism and Kantianism. As mentioned previously Aisha is six months into her employment and finds that her company’s software evokes a stereotypically sexist portrayal of women and a racially skewed portrayal of minorities. Aisha is very worried about this discovery. Upon review she was offered a full contract by her manager. She took this opportunity to express her concern at shortcomings to the manager but was forewarned that the company does not warm to feminist attitudes. Does Aisha have a moral question to resolve? Introducing Subjective Relativism The first ethical viewpoint to be discussed for a possible decision is Subjective Relativism. It belongs to the philosophy of idealism. The basic principle of this theory is that there is no universal norm of judging what is right and what is wrong. Subjective refers to the thought processes in people’s mind; therefore it is not an object. Relativism allows that any person can say something they believe is right while another can deny what the first person has said. Subjective Relativism holds that points of view are individual but carry equal merit from person to person. It supports that every person can decide right and wrong for himself or herself, which is not influenced by others. People can be encouraged to do things they perceive to be right and even if their actions are not accepted by other people, they are still respected. Subjective Relativism as an effective tool for Critique The first ethical viewpoint to be discussed for a possible decision is Subjective Relativism. It belongs to the philosophy of idealism. The basic principle of this theory is that there is no universal norm of judging what is right and what is wrong. Subjective refers to the thought processes in people’s mind, therefore it is not an object. Relativism allows that any person can say something they believe is right while another can deny what the first person has said. Subjective Relativism holds that points of view are 2 individual but carry equal merit from person to person. It supports that every person can decide right and wrong for himself or herself, which is not influenced by others. People can be encouraged to do things they perceive to be right and even if their actions are not accepted by other people, they are still respected. She is considering the validity of her views, despite being warned of her interference by management. It is obvious that Aisha and the company have contrasting views, with both parties arguing that their actions are justified. One must consider that there are two major scenarios in this case study which merit discussion. The first scenario questions whether the content in the software is right or wrong. It can be perceived that the so-called shortcomings described in the case study are solely Aisha’s opinion. Meanwhile, the other party disagrees. The issue therefore requires a decision that the software either contains inbuilt flaws, or there is nothing wrong with the software. It is mentioned that the company is successful and popular with schools which would lead one to believe that no negative issues have been previous fed back to the company. It is common practice for large software companies to conduct usability testing and maintain communication with their clients and their needs. Issues that Aisha is raising due to content material may or may not have been previously addressed by content managers. They are usually hired as experts in their fields to review products released into the marketplace. The second scenario needs to question what Aisha should do next, in essence, how to move forward, either through coercive action or a lack thereof. This will be examined in the conclusion of the report. Let us reiterate the point that Aisha is a single mother with two school age children, so she has to earn money to support her whole family. Taking care of her children will occupy lots of her time and energy both mental and physical. We all appreciate that one’s personal time and energy is limited, you cannot do everything in one day. Aisha has to work hard and also to take care of her two children, which undeniably incurs pressure. In reality it is not easy for a 35 year old woman to find an ideal job that fits perfectly with her lifestyle. Aisha is a trainee programmer, which demands a high computing knowledge. Importantly, such work requires a person to update their professional 3 knowledge at any moment in order to evolve with the ever changing workplace. This is a challenge within any profession. As a recent graduate Aisha is new to such changes. The following solutions are derived from the theory of Subjective Relativism with the development of possible options for Aisha in an attempt to assist Aisha through her current dilemma. It is encouraged that Aisha remain quiet about the software’s shortcomings. A framework has also been devised as a guideline process, for clear understanding of how Aisha should best get through the dilemma. Firstly, Aisha can stick to that her view about the software according to Subjective Relativism. So she can continue to hold her view and never give up her personal value. Aisha can continue to work in this company and study professional techniques as much as possible, and at the same time she will accumulate the sufficient work experiences so as to build up her future work credibility to progress. We cannot envisage that Aisha will commit her entire working life to this company with this limit to freedom of expression. Aisha may keep silent to observe if the company makes any adjustments to the content of their software, while, at the same time, she can circulate her CV to other companies. If the company continues to develop such software, then Aisha should seriously consider leaving the company. The viewpoint of Subjective Relativism offers a further suggestion to Aisha. If she can keep a balance working in this company, that will be good, but if she cannot, it would be advised to change to another company. There is one thing she should be aware of; what she perceives to be right may be wrong in the eyes of another person. She ought to try and understand others and accept that it is these superficial conflicts of interest, which put many people in the sort of dilemma which she currently faces. In conclusion, Subjective Relativism offers a pathway of solutions for Aisha. While common belief holds that different people have different norms to judge right and wrong, 4 Aisha is advised to keep silent at the moment in order to retain her job and enhance her prospects of securing a better job in the future. Kantianism explored. Kantianism has been chosen as the second ethical stance to argue the dilemma that Aisha Patel has found herself in, as she is very apprehensive about the shortcomings that have risen in the software she has helped write. This is perhaps Aisha’s first expert job since graduation and, while keen to succeed and progress in her occupation, she feels equally endowed in promoting honesty and fairness, by addressing the deficiencies which she feels are worth correcting. Immanuel Kant adopts a number of key fundamentals for judging the morality/ immorality of an event/act. Firstly, Kantianism assumes rationality; people act ing within reason. Kantianism demands that a rule must apply universally, to everybody, and not just to offer a subset of a culture any absolute or comparative advantage. In the context of the dilemma which Aisha faces, Kantianism assumes that moral law must be observed and every human is to be treated with respect. The atypical portrayal of women in Schools "R" Us Ltd’s products implies that the company fails to abide by this law. An important aspect which the company could be equating is; the specialized skills and high standard of work she brings to the organization, versus her commitment to care about certain moral standards which she feels are being violated. An intriguing issue which does not reach fruition in the case study, is the possibility of the company punishing Aisha for her “war of conscience”. Stanford University academic Allan W. Wood, in his critique of Thomas E. Hill Junior’s publication, Human Welfare and Moral Worth: Kantian Perspectives (2002) outlines that according to Kantianism, punishment is a necessary function of the state, but it has no ground in the sphere of ethics. Because, morality is most likely a matter of Aisha’s socio/cultural upbringing, others have no business trying to enforce it by punishing moral faults she may possess or misconduct (especially as this involves no violation of right. Kantianism holds that, in terms of ethics, it is a clear violation of our freedom to pressurize us to behave in conformity with their moral opinions. 5 How come she did not go to management sooner with her questions regarding gender issues in software material? Did she do it as a means to an end to feed and cloth her children? Former President, Richard Nixon, addressing the Chamber of Commerce of the United States in April 1969 remarked that “there were some who believed that any means are justified if the end is worthwhile. However, Nixon continues by explaining that past experiences show that this approach, when adopted fails to hold merit, as the end eventually becomes the means. Here, Kantianism views that certain characteristics of Relativism are flawed when dealt with on a more complex nature. Reverting back to the dilemma, we must look again at the circumstances which Aisha finds herself in. She is a lone parent, supporting two young children through education. The ultimate sacrifice she could make would be to renounce her position in the company on moral grounds. Were she to pursue the matter through an equality tribunal, she would incur sizeable legal costs, which could put the welfa re of both herself and her school faring children in jeopardy. A recent, controversial decision by Governor Rick Perry saw Texas becoming the first state to require girls to get a new vaccine for a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. The similarities between Governor Perry’s actions and Aisha Patel’s stance lie in their somewhat deep moral philosophies which they hold. Aisha stance seems to be motivated by cultural beliefs of equality. Governor Perry adopts a more ideological stance, and accredits his decision to expert opinion from such bodies as The American Cancer Society, the Centers for Disease Control, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Just as Aisha, in her stance, tries to address the sexist portrayal of women and racially skewed perspective of minorities, by adopting a universal rule, Perry’s mandatory addresses any shortcoming by including all women in the mandatory vaccine, thus greatly reduce health disparities in minority racial and ethnic populations. Further evidence of Kantianism in the above statement is evident as his roll out of services treats every woman with respect. 6 Kantianism, and an exploration of Aisha Patel’s morals and emotions. Another way to look at this from a Kantian point of view is that Aisha, it would seem, is not content with her actions morally. This is evident by her questioning her belief system from a feminist perspective. It could be said the prior to this occasion Aisha held this belief system and made other actions based on these morals. In a guest lecture given by Dr. Patrick Jordan at the University of Limerick, April 11 2007, he discussed the process of fulfilling the ideological pleasures of the customers by acknowledging good moral judgment and respecting the core values of their users. What they found overwhelmingly was; people’s core values change little over long periods of time. In the context of Aisha’s judgment, her core values are unlikely to alter during her working career. As mentioned in the paper titled Kantian Ethics After Darwin, the author John Teehan explores an area that would allow us to make comparisons with Aishia’s behaviour and what Teehan questions with this statement; “how evolutionary theory effects the way we understand the roles of reason and emotion in moral philosophy” ( Teehan, J., 2003 p.50). He elaborates further: “It is characteristic of several important moral traditions that reason and emotion are distinct and typically conflicting elements of the moral self” (Teehan, J., 2003 p.50). It is suggested that emotions play a large part in our decision making and that perhaps Aisha is letting hers determine her path in this life. Not only would it instill a selfish streak in her work ethic, it puts her personal life at a constant level of vulnerability, should she continue to amplify her beliefs in gender issues and those of ethnic minorities first, to the detriment of her children’s welfare. Obviously Aisha is grappling with choices she feels she has to make in order to render a solution morally. Although Kant’s views are non religious in origin they have similarities to religious ethics. Happiness in Kant’s view is “that reason demands it as a reward for virtue. Kant is clearly willing to sacrifice human happiness in this life to the demands of duty (another point of kinship with many religious ethical systems) that duty being to act in accord with the law of pure practical reason” (Teehan, J. 2003 p.54). We could say that Aisha is feeling a strong duty to stick to her moral beliefs and that if she does she 7 could feel better about herself. If all of her actions are performed or contribute to her decision making are based on this it is fair to say it is akin to a spiritual ideal which resides firmly to her being. If this is the case and Aisha felt that there was a bias in the material being produced by her company, we have to look at Aisha’s motives for employment. Did she do her research and find out exactly what products the company made? Did she make an effort to get her hands on some of the software and review it? This might seem a bit extreme but if she was searching for her first professional job this reasoning could lead one to believe that she acted upon the first offer she got or did not completely exhaust other avenues for employment. If Aisha was in an academic environment before her time at the company would she not have sought after the opinions of one of her instructors surely for the best advice they could offer her? Were her actions based on creating a means to and end? In any case her actions have now caused problems to herself and possibly to the primary stakeholders: her two children. Introduction of Utilitarianism: The conception of Utilitarianism, based on an essay by John Stuart Mill, one of its most distinguished advocates, Utilitarianism (1863) defines Utilitarianism as hedonistic ethical theory which teaches that the end of human conduct is happiness, and that consequently the discriminating norm which distinguishes conduct into right and wrong is pleasure and pain. In the words of one of its most distinguished advocates. In essence, Utilitarianism is the view and method of debate based on the outcomes of the “level of happiness”, otherwise known as “hedonism”. "The paradox of hedonism, which is also referred to as the “pleasure paradox”, is the idea in the study of ethics which points out that pleasure and happiness are strange phenomena that do not follow normal principles." An interesting starting block for the concept of Utilitarianism begins with the conception of utility, based on Bentham’s famous principle of utility. Drawing similar lines to economic theory, it states that utility equals usefulness, and the moral philosophy can be 8 segregated as follows: Positive phrasing: Utility is the component of any object whereby it tends to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good or happiness. Negative phrasing: Utility is the property in any object whereby it tends to prevent mischief, pain, evil or unhappiness. Utility is usefulness in producing something beneficial for happiness or preventing a reverse effect. Ultimately, utility is a tendency of an action or object to produce happiness or prevent unhappiness for an individual or a community and here the happiness has a particular reference in that it leads to an advantage or benefit. Alternatively, unhappiness means incurring a disadvantage or a cost. The only standard of utilitarianism for determining if an action is good or bad, is by weighing up its benefits and harms. Utilitarianism Approach There are two perspectives we can analyze Aisha and the case study from. One perspective harbors a greater consideration for reality; another perspective considers more, faith in her own beliefs. Arguably, specific benefits and harms can arise by choosing either resolution. On one side of the spectrum, should Aisha choose to stay silent over the software’s shortcomings, she may retain her attractive salary and treatment and maintain this stable and prosperous job. She can continue in raising her kids and improve their standard of living. The alternative would be to speak out and tell what she believes is the truth. Advantages of choosing the latter decision would be an entitlement to the benefits of a relaxed piece of mind. The above approach differs from the subjective relativist approach, where the argument was made that from a quite personal view, they support the fact that people do not lie in order to keep peaceful and relaxed in heart although sometimes it is difficult and full of pressure. During the course of arguing the case study, the Utilitarian approach tried to find common ground with subjectivism, and probes the idea of a combination of both ethical decision making tools to collectively analyze Aisha’s choices. It was 9 analyzed that while Utilitarianism supports choosing one action which has real benefit when an individual or group encounters an issue, subjectivism can be used to help us to build an idea of what is the benefit aspect, and what are the harm aspects of the event/act. Additionally, it identifies different viewpoints as playing different roles. Ultimately, Utilitarianism can be used to make the final choice from a more realistic angle. However, argument aside, the most important element is to think about whole situation comprehensively, rather than focusing on making a decision. Advocates of Subjective Relativism theory disagree with the previous point, basing their arguments about this from two points. Firstly, while possessing a strong philosophy, Utilitarianism is not the only possible option. Secondly, they argued that utilitarianism was often adopted as a default method of reasoning without thorough consideration. Relativists point out that everyone's basic unit of assessing happiness and utility is different so that what is perceived to be beneficial or harmful from Aisha’s view, will not correspond to that of another individual in a simi lar position. This indicates that Utilitarianism may not suit everybody in the same dilemma or situation. Research of this topic on the Moodle site on Utilitarianism includes the post arguing that there is “No absolute right or wrong”. It was put forward that there is no set criteria of what is right and what is wrong, when facing real life dilemmas. On the post, an example was given, of a woman who faced a similar situation as Aisha. That woman chose to remain silent because she saw herself more importantly in her role as a mother more so than a professional working woman. Whether or not from the point of Utilitarianism, the inevitable choice for her was to withdraw her protests in order to keep her job. The general consensus was that this was a typical example of the reality of countless people’s lives, Aisha's case being no exception. Advocates of Subjective Relativism commented on this post. Firstly, they thought the point was very attractive and strongly agreed with the concept of no ‘absolute right and wrong’ of a decision when facing a real life issue, but people often feel helpless 10 under such situations. Secondly, they felt confused about the concept of Utilitarianism, and could not agree that any action using it could bring beneficial results. A discourse between the previous arguments of Utilitarianism and Subjective Relativism was posted. An example was mentioned, talking about a person who stole a lot of money to support his family. Should his behavior be tolerated, and in what manner? Were his actions right or wrong? One of the postees with a Utilitarianism point of view thought this example was extreme for explaining a principle. The point was held that the most useful factor of using this theory to make a decision is that it may consider what is more important for you and make a favorable balance between the benefits and harms incurred. Ultimately, these two sides reached a point of agreement that there definitely should be laws drafted to constrict people’s behaviors. Application of Bentham’s Principles of Untility. Utilitarianism is a practical approach to handle difficult situations and to some extent to be used as an approach prior to making an important decision. On the other hand it does not mean that this approach only can be used in dealing with a real life case study, here good is that what is beneficial (useful) in the aforementioned sense. Bad could be defined as what is detrimental or damaging for the person. Benefit could equate to pleasure in life and pleasures derived from joyous living which Jeremy Bentham advocates within his Principles of Utility. To echo earlier sentiments, on the opposite end of the Utility scale; harm equates into pain and evil into discontent which Bentham believed were measurable In Aisha’s case, as she is a single mother and has two kids, according to what we have discussed above and standing on the utility point of view, we prefer that letting Aisha to choose keeping silence, although we do not want to make a final conclusion about her dilemma as we believe that holding faith is important for a person as well. 11 Conclusion The body of this report serves to dissect as much information from the Case Study, and presented viewpoints using three contrasting ethical decision making tools to arrive at a solution for Aisha Patel. Prior to stating the ‘course of action’ which we recommend Aisha undertake, it is interesting to examine the compromisation between each ethical viewpoint towards the end of the Case Study. One point, using Subjective Relativism outlined two options for Aisha. It considered that she could either carry on in her current position or cease working for the company. As is evident further on, these two options are in mutual agreement when we explore Utilitarianism and Kantianism theories. Utilitarianism presented a solution for Aisha, by choosing the option that can yield her most benefits; this is because, as Utilitarianism believed, people can make choices by evaluating beneficial or harmful effects of an action. From a Subjective Relativist point of view no agreement was made regarding this method of decision making. This attitude was argued by raising a question on how Utilitarianism calculates benefit. This is because the Subjective Relativism viewpoint doubts the basic unit of accounting happiness, and now believes that as long as every person’s feelings are subjective, it is impossible to set a fundamental unit for assessing benefit and happiness. Another view, utilizing the Kantianism perspective, adopted a talk aloud method (via Case Study discussion forum) to discuss Aisha’s options and then provided suggestions to Aisha. This view was agreed upon from the viewpoint of Subjective Relativism. When discussing the case, one point supports that people should take Aisha’s family background into account. Aisha has extraordinary family circumstances and, as a single parent, she needs more money than others to a degree. Any theory should be built upon real life scenarios, otherwise such theory has no practical meaning. If people just conform to a theory and fail to take reality into account, then such a discussion doesn’t have any real meaning. 12 A prescribed Course of Action The Case study group has arrived at a solution and formulated a number of recommendations which Aisha Patel should take on board in tackling the issue at hand. Working with only limited information detailed in the Case study, the group operated in acceptance that they could not make any decisions based on data that wasn’t clearly evident in the brief. The group recommends that Aisha Patel stays with the company and postpone her protests at her perception of software shortcomings in the company’s products. However, rather than letting the issue lie, or on a more personal level, possibly admit defeat, the group propose that she should consider the following options in any future perusal of the matter. In the case study it is not mentioned if Aisha has discussed the matter in depth with fellow colleagues. She needs to find out if there were any similar cases before her. How others approached the matter could be helpful for Aisha in gaining and practical understanding of the dilemma she finds herself in. As it is Aisha’s first professional job it is important for her to realize that she is lacking in sufficient real world experience. As an individual arriving fresh from the low risk atmosphere of academia she needs to develop an understanding of how the company connects with its clients. Perhaps this perspective has been overlooked. In her first noteworthy position as an assistant programmer, it is suggested that there are positive aspects that Aisha can learn from. She ought to stay initially and continue upon her experience for her resume. In the meantime, she can research other company policy and the exact subject matter they deal with in their products. Perhaps she could even look for a programming position that deals with completely different content or services. By prolonging her contract and accumulating more experience she can then at her ease search for a company that would complement her work and moral ethics more appropriately . This contemplative action will have beneficial effects for the primary stakeholders, her children and herself. The welfare of everyone will remain at a level 13 of civility. This course of action could also enhance Aisha as an individual in that she can make an informed decision, taking into consideration, her future course of employment. Overall Aisha can learn from her experiences at this point in her life. She has the choice now to be able to look back at this experience with accomplishment that it leads to a career that was well informed from the beginning. If Aisha chooses the contrary, she may very well jeopardize her path at this early stage and lead to have irreversible consequences. Aisha now has the choice to delay her gratification; she could be seen as a persona non grata. Admittably, the group, on first glance at the Case Study, would have preferred for Aisha to defend her morals on the dilemma. However, on application of the various decision making tools, the group believes they have provided Aisha with a series of solutions that will offer both Aisha, her family, and the company the most beneficial, if only temporary, resolution to her dilemma. 14 References Bentham, Jeremy , “An Introduction to the Principles and Morals of Legislation”,. http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/Cavalier/80130/part2/sect9.html [date accessed 8th April] Cauthen, Kenneth. (1997) Relativism and Ethics: What is Truth - does it matter? Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, New York http://www.bigissueground.com/philosophy/cauthen-relativism2.shtml [accessed: April 10 2007] Dictionary.com [accessed: Wed, 28 Mar 2007] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/subjective Ethics Scoreboard, Ethic Heroes, http://www.ethicsscoreboard.com/heroes/0702_perry.html [date accessed 10th April 07] Fox, James J. 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