Here is my first "short" post. Hooray!! As many of you know I like musicals. I found this little tidbit somewhat entertaining.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Porn and Loans
In my strategic management class, my professor raised what he calls an "ethical dilemma." Meaning - whatever you choose (in this case) you may feel you are violating a promise you made to your employer and the people counting on to do your job OR you may feel you are violating a personal standard that you have set for yourself. We agreed as a class that there are good arguments for both sides - so my intent is not to prove that I am right in my choice, but in this case I feel that the following is the best decision for me. The scenario is thus:
You are the head of a commercial bank's loan department. You have committed to make good loans in order to maximize shareholder value. (It is, after all, THEIR money).
You have a middle man that brings you loans and it is important that you maintain a good relationship with him because he brings your bank business. He has brought you a loan that is considered "excellent" (i.e., great financials, great credit, great reputation for re-payment, etc)
This particular company engages in the production and sale of legal pornography.
Do you make the loan?
As the class was evenly divided, I enjoyed listening to people give their opinions and some were very adamant, and passionate about their views. (It was almost scary) There are some interesting people at BYU.
My initial reaction was that I would make this loan. As I thought more and more about the matter, I became even more convinced that making the loan was the right thing to do. The reasons for my initial reaction were:
1) I felt this loan would be made no matter what, so what difference does it make for society?
2) When you go into a bank and make a loan, the loan officer doesn't ask what you do in your personal life or what you do for work exactly. They may ask the name of the employer but that's all. They do ask how much you make, how long you have been working there, and credit history. As a loan officer - I don't care if you build multi-unit facilities for polygamists in southern Utah, support SI swimsuit edition (Disney), produce an alcoholic beverage, or produce legal porn.
These points were discussed in class and rebutted by arguments from the other side such as: personal values, ethics, social responsibility etc. (most students that espoused these points of view said they would quit the job because they would not be able to uphold their commitment to their dependents) These are good points, and I respect the other points of view on these grounds.
The professor was a mediator and didn't take a side. He then made the point that the very name for which our school is named (Marriott) owns a hotel chain that sells porn in their hotel rooms! Whaaaaaat? This threw some kids for a loop. What about Larry Miller who sales beer at Jazz games, etc...
So I thought deeper about the subject and wondered what some of the students were trying to accomplish by not making the loan. And furthermore, what more would they LIKE to accomplish if they had the power to do so? If we had (as an LDS community) a chance to vote to eliminate all evils from society like porn, alcohol, or even going to the store on Sunday, what would happen? Would we be better off, or worse off?
I would argue that we would be worse off. Growing up LDS I was taught that good cannot exist without evil. For that reason God allows evil to exist. I was taught that it is my God-given right to choose for myself between right and wrong.
I would prefer to have porn available to me at the Marriott and make the choice not to view it, than not have the choice at all. There is a certain pride and self-confidence that comes from having the liberty to make what each individual might consider a "good" decision.
So, I think we have a choice. We can go on a personal crusade to pluck every evil (option) from the hands of people, or we can be more proactive and educate each other about the dangers of all kinds of evil. (primarily by setting an example)
So, I would make this loan. Then I would make a charitable contribution to an organization that helps people to be more educated about possible negative side effects of porn or that helps people that suffer from any of the negativity that may be a result of porn (neglect, addiction, etc) in an amount equal to the profit of the loan proceeds.
Aaron's parable. Take away man's porn, he will be clean for a day, teach a man to see porn for what it is, and what it does, he will be clean for a lifetime. (obviously, this works for any evil)
Addition: another interesting thing to consider is how we might support evil-doing indirectly (like the example above) in our current jobs and just not know it. Where does the line get drawn as to what is ok and what is not? What if the loan was to a company that owned a bunch of companies and one just happened to be a porn company? Is it okay too deny this loan alone, or do you have to deny all loans that might have any connection to something you might consider bad? (e.g., alcohol, stores open on sunday, companies that promote working mothers)
...or we can just not worry about it and do what we are paid to do :)
You are the head of a commercial bank's loan department. You have committed to make good loans in order to maximize shareholder value. (It is, after all, THEIR money).
You have a middle man that brings you loans and it is important that you maintain a good relationship with him because he brings your bank business. He has brought you a loan that is considered "excellent" (i.e., great financials, great credit, great reputation for re-payment, etc)
This particular company engages in the production and sale of legal pornography.
Do you make the loan?
As the class was evenly divided, I enjoyed listening to people give their opinions and some were very adamant, and passionate about their views. (It was almost scary) There are some interesting people at BYU.
My initial reaction was that I would make this loan. As I thought more and more about the matter, I became even more convinced that making the loan was the right thing to do. The reasons for my initial reaction were:
1) I felt this loan would be made no matter what, so what difference does it make for society?
2) When you go into a bank and make a loan, the loan officer doesn't ask what you do in your personal life or what you do for work exactly. They may ask the name of the employer but that's all. They do ask how much you make, how long you have been working there, and credit history. As a loan officer - I don't care if you build multi-unit facilities for polygamists in southern Utah, support SI swimsuit edition (Disney), produce an alcoholic beverage, or produce legal porn.
These points were discussed in class and rebutted by arguments from the other side such as: personal values, ethics, social responsibility etc. (most students that espoused these points of view said they would quit the job because they would not be able to uphold their commitment to their dependents) These are good points, and I respect the other points of view on these grounds.
The professor was a mediator and didn't take a side. He then made the point that the very name for which our school is named (Marriott) owns a hotel chain that sells porn in their hotel rooms! Whaaaaaat? This threw some kids for a loop. What about Larry Miller who sales beer at Jazz games, etc...
So I thought deeper about the subject and wondered what some of the students were trying to accomplish by not making the loan. And furthermore, what more would they LIKE to accomplish if they had the power to do so? If we had (as an LDS community) a chance to vote to eliminate all evils from society like porn, alcohol, or even going to the store on Sunday, what would happen? Would we be better off, or worse off?
I would argue that we would be worse off. Growing up LDS I was taught that good cannot exist without evil. For that reason God allows evil to exist. I was taught that it is my God-given right to choose for myself between right and wrong.
I would prefer to have porn available to me at the Marriott and make the choice not to view it, than not have the choice at all. There is a certain pride and self-confidence that comes from having the liberty to make what each individual might consider a "good" decision.
So, I think we have a choice. We can go on a personal crusade to pluck every evil (option) from the hands of people, or we can be more proactive and educate each other about the dangers of all kinds of evil. (primarily by setting an example)
So, I would make this loan. Then I would make a charitable contribution to an organization that helps people to be more educated about possible negative side effects of porn or that helps people that suffer from any of the negativity that may be a result of porn (neglect, addiction, etc) in an amount equal to the profit of the loan proceeds.
Aaron's parable. Take away man's porn, he will be clean for a day, teach a man to see porn for what it is, and what it does, he will be clean for a lifetime. (obviously, this works for any evil)
Addition: another interesting thing to consider is how we might support evil-doing indirectly (like the example above) in our current jobs and just not know it. Where does the line get drawn as to what is ok and what is not? What if the loan was to a company that owned a bunch of companies and one just happened to be a porn company? Is it okay too deny this loan alone, or do you have to deny all loans that might have any connection to something you might consider bad? (e.g., alcohol, stores open on sunday, companies that promote working mothers)
...or we can just not worry about it and do what we are paid to do :)
Monday, June 30, 2008
Entering the Blogosphere
I have been reading everyone else's blogs and enjoy seeing what is going on in all your lives. So, I think it is only fair to share some of my life and thoughts every now and again. I think this will motivate me to record important events in a thoughtful way, since I know people will be reading.
I have enjoyed, thoroughly, the last 2.5 years at BYU. I have learned so many things. I still have one year left, but I know that when I leave I will be just beginning my life long education. Even at the end of my life I know that I will know relatively nothing when held in comparison to the wealth of knowledge to be had. That sometimes seems depressing, but I love knowing that I will never be bored in this life nor the next. I believe that I am just scratching the surface on my knowledge of religion, science, history, family, love, human pyschology, sociology, business, world cultures, language, fun, communication, charity, health, food, philosophy...see I could go on for days.
My journey in 2.5 years at BYU has led me to two important breakthroughs in my life. The first is my amazing and bellisima girlfriend, Jenn. We met at BYU, became friends for about 3.5 month, then we kissed. We have been dating seriously for about 10 months. 13.5 months later we are still becoming closer even though we are trying to work through the long distance relationship thing for about 5.5 more weeks. We can do it!
That brings me to the next big development. I have been living in Brighton, MI for the past 5 weeks while I do an internship at PricewaterhouseCoopers Detroit. Summing up what I do is quite simple. When you are looking to buy a used car the seller tells you all kinds of great things about it. That is great, but most people take it to a mechanic first...ah the ever important third party specialist who verifies and attests to the testimony of the seller. Sold. We do that exact same thing. When you hear in the news that Northwest and Delta are merging or that Bain Capital is buying Staples to turn it around, we are the third party hired in merger and acquisition deals. I love it because I always work with teams, and I will get to learn so much about different kinds of businesses. My goal in this blog is to record both important life happenings and great learning experiences. That's all for today!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)