Ethical Differences between Musk and Trump Essay
Framework for Analysis
Techniques of Moral Reasoning
There are various situations that require an individual to apply morally sound and reprehensible aspects. A morally sound state involves applying principles of the dangers or benefits of a situation (Bench-Capon & Modgil, 2017). A morally reprehensible state, on the other hand, involves an individual imposing a censure or rebuke based on the situation (Bench-Capon & Modgil, 2017). According to the techniques of moral reasoning and argumentation, both morally sound and reprehensible states acknowledge that an action is either wrong or right (Van Eemeren & Grootendorst, 2016). However, morally sound state focuses on the consequences of a situation, whereas morally reprehensible state focuses on the individual’s reaction towards the situation.
Criteria for Assessing the Attributes Through Baird’s Four Lenses
Every individual in the world has different views regarding various issues affecting the world. According to Baird’s theory, every individual view the world through any of the following four different ethical lenses, which include rights or responsibilities, results, relationship, and reputation lens (Baird & Calvard, 2018). The rights lens involves relying on rational thoughts to make decisions through application of individual rights (Baird & Calvard, 2018). The individuals who rely on this perspective value respect and anticipate that their work will be beneficial to others. The results lens involves emphasis on individual rights and the course of action mostly relies on an individual’s intuition and emotions (Orms, 2016). The individuals in this category have great value for individual responsibility and mutual respect. The relationship lens is mostly applied in the areas that deal with the rights of the community and relies on intuition and emotions for decision making (Baird & Calvard, 2018). The individuals who view the world in this category value fairness and aim at empowering the powerless. The reputation lens also focuses on the rights of the community and base their actions or views on rational thoughts (Baird & Calvard, 2018). The individuals who apply this view usually have compassion for others.
Summary of the Chosen Situations
The main concern of the paper is to analyze various ethical differences between prominent leaders, which are Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Elon Musk is an investor, engineer, and technology entrepreneur. He holds the citizenship of both the United States and South Africa. He was the founder of X.com, which later became PayPal (Stein, 2018). Donald Trump, on the other hand, is the current president of the United States. Both leaders have played significant roles towards the development of the United States. However, both of them have challenges that affect the efficiency of their leadership.
Rationale for your Choice
Both leaders have a significant relationship, which has affected the major operations in the United States. Furthermore, Elon Musk participated in the advisory committee under President Trump’s administration. However, his role lasted a short while. In addition, there are significant ethical differences between both leaders that can be used as a valuable weapon to improve various aspects of leadership in the country.
Background for Each Ethical Dilemma
Elon Musk is mostly recognized as the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla. However, other people view him as a leader and a boss. On 7 August 2018, Elon Musk tweeted that he was considering taking Tesla to be private at $ 420 since his funding was secured (Stein, 2018). Musk’s tweet triggered numerous negative responses from the people since they considered his decision as claims of market manipulation and questioned his competence in leading the SEC, since it would promote instances of fraud (Stein, 2018). Tesla’s stakeholders and the board were not impressed with Musk’s sudden outburst. His action proved to be self- destructive since he put his company at great risk. Musk’s tweet took the world by surprise since it demonstrated rational thinking without focusing the impact or consequences. Furthermore, he was also engaged in another scandal where he refused to quite in the advisory council of President Trump (McCormick, 2017). He also stated that his presence in the advisory committee did not imply that he agreed with current activities of the administration. In addition, he found it necessary to address important issue, which affect immigration. He mostly used Twitter as a crowd source to express his opinion on important aspects of Trump’s government that he did not agree with (McCormick, 2017). His main aim for joining the presidential advisory forum was to provide sufficient feedback on issues, which were important in the development of the country. Eventually, he pulled out from the advisory council since he claimed that President Trump disoriented his activities and slowed him down (Wolfe, 2018). As much as Elon Musk faced various scandals, he worked diligently to promote the development of the country and attempted to address important issues.
There has been various issues and scandals in the reign of President Trump. According to government ethics watchdog, Trump has led the most unethical rule in the history of the United States (Robinson, 2018). The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) took an initiative of accusing President Trump for compromising important matters relating to public interest for his own personal benefit (Robinson, 2018). Furthermore, the President’s administration threatens the country’s traditions of administration, which aims at serving and delivering the interest of the people in America rather that focusing on the interests of the individuals in power. In addition, numerous scandals have followed President Trump’s reign since his inauguration, which has raised concerns on improper influence and ethical issues among the senior agency officials, cabinet officials, and the White House staff (Robinson, 2018). Moreover, President Trumps rule caused various concerns in his advisory council, which made some of his advisors such as Elon Musk to withdraw from the council after attempts to rescue the interests of the people.
Analysis for your Chosen Situations
The two leaders have different ideologies that govern their leadership. President Trumps rule is characterized by unethical practices, which affect the wellbeing of individuals in the United States. Elon Musk, on the other hand, faces various scandals due to his rational thinking. However, he attempts to promote development through questioning government policies that threaten the wellbeing of individuals in the United States.
Issues and Facts to be Considered
The important factors to consider in the cases of both leaders are the impact of their policies on the people and basing their rule on ethical practices. Application of ethical practices by leaders will influence positive change of government policies, therefore, promoting sustainable growth in the country. In addition, the interests of the people should be considered in any rule before promoting the interests of the leaders.
Stakeholder and Stakeholder Impact
There were various stakeholder risks in both cases. In Musk’s tweet, his company and stake holders were at great risk of their company and shares declining. Musk’s tweet, therefore, was not wise since it risked the success of the company. In President Trump’s cases, the stakeholders are the potential investors, who are willing to partner with country for economic development. However, due to President Trumps unethical practices, potential investors are likely to avoid engaging with economic projects with the country.
Risks and Repercussions
There are various risks and repercussions associated with the rule of both leaders. For instance, Musk’s tweet risked the success of the company due to the loses that would follow if his plan was implemented. President Trump’s unethical rule puts the wellbeing of the Americans at stake, therefore, likely to cause the decline of some aspects that contribute towards the success of the country.
Diagnosis of your Situations using Baird’s Four Lenses
Both Musk’s and Trump’s view of the world fall under the Baird’s four lenses. President Trump’s views fall on the results lens. The assertion above is because he advocates for individual rights based on his intuitions and emotions. Muck’s views, on the other hand, fall in the category of reputation lens since he focuses on the community rights based on his rational thoughts.
Differences between the Situations
Both President Trump’s and Musk’s view on the world impact their actions, which affect leadership. Trump’s results perspective advocated for individual responsibility and mutual respect, whereas Musk’s reputation perspective advocates for compassion for others.
Choice of the Best Options using Different Lenses
The best choice of perspective is the relationship lens since it focuses on the rights of the community. Furthermore, it relies on intuition and emotions to guide its decisions. In addition, it promotes justice since it focuses on empowering the powerless.
Strength and Weaknesses of Each Lens
The lens applied by the leaders have both advantages and disadvantages. The strength of the reputation lens is that it builds trust and confidence between the leaders and the subjects (Stockdale, Cassell, & Ford, 2018). Its weakness is that it relies on rational thoughts for decision- making, which can result in making risky decisions that can negatively affect the lives of many innocent individuals. The strength of the results lens is that it promotes hard work among individuals and mutual respect (Eger, Miller, & Scarles, 2019). However, its weakness is that it encourages the spirit of selfishness or being self-centered without considering the wellbeing of others.
Vision of Ethical Practices
Ethical practices promote application of moral values in the decision-making process of the individuals in the society. The vision of ethical practices depends on the leaders’ initiative to apply morally sound practices in their decision-making process of various aspects, which affect the country. The people also have a significant task of applying ethical practices in their daily operations and monitoring the effectiveness of the government.
Analysis of the Ethical Attributes that I have Learnt
There are various positive attributed demonstrated by Elon Musk, which are very beneficial. The positive attributes include justice, honesty, and respect for others. The positive ethical attributes promote sustainable growth in a society. The negative ethical attributes that question the efficiency of leaders include arrogance, selfishness, and manipulation.
Propose the Mechanisms in which People can become Positive Leaders through Exploring their Dark Sides
Everyone has weaknesses. However, they can use their weaknesses to become a positive leader. Some of the ways include getting feedback from individuals on your negative attributes and working on them to gain the trust of the people. In addition, being aware of the factor that triggers an individual’s weaknesses is important so as to avoid them and live a more positive life as a leader.
References
Baird, C., & Calvard, T. S. (2018). Epistemic vices in organizations: Knowledge, truth, and unethical conduct. Journal of Business Ethics.
Bench-Capon, T., & Modgil, S. (2017). Norms and value-based reasoning: Justifying compliance and violation. Artificial Intelligence and Law, 25(1), 29-64.
Eger, C., Miller, G., & Scarles, C. (2019). Corporate philanthropy through the lens of ethical subjectivity. Journal of Business Ethics, 156(1), 141-153.
McCormick, R. (2017). Elon Musk explains why he won’t quit Donald Trump’s advisory council. The Verge. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2017/2/2/14493726/elon-musk-trump-advisory-council-not-quit
Orms, C. M. (2016). Developing the personal ethics code: A Key element of an effective business ethics course. Business Education Innovation Journal, 8(2).
Robinson, L., P. (2018). Donald Trump presidency ‘most unethical in modern history’, report finds. Independent. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-white-house-unethical-us-president-ethics-crew-report-washington-dc-a8163401.html
Stein, A. (2018). Elon Musk’s fateful tweet: A lesson about impulses and paying attention. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexanderstein/2018/08/23/elon-musks-fateful-tweet-a-lesson-about-impulses-and-paying-attention/#3d8c8a137a0c
Stockdale, J., Cassell, J., & Ford, E. (2018). Giving something back: A systematic review and ethical enquiry of public opinions on the use of patient data for.
Van Eemeren, F. H., & Grootendorst, R. (2016). Argumentation, communication, and fallacies: A pragma-dialectical perspective.London: UK, Routledge.
Wolfe, S. (2 November 2018). Elon Musk agrees that Trump ‘screwed’ him after he joined White House councils. Business Insider. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-agrees-trump-screwed-him-after-joining-white-house-council-2018-11?IR=T
