Week three brings more classes and a little more homework to disrupt our drinking and socialising schedules. This week’s agenda includes business ethics, understanding general management and statistics. Each course presents different feelings for various students.
I’ll start in reverse order: statistics – scares the s$#t out of the non-math folk and those who have build the subject up in their head as being more than advanced addition and subtraction. This is also the course most likely to draw people away from the Windsor Castle pub early to review their text book.
Understanding general management is another of the ‘soft skill’ courses and something that I’m really looking forward to experiencing. The main conversation point around this class is the fact we’re all sitting in class on Saturday for the entire day learning the subject. As my buddy, and brand new father, MM would write – WTF? (hint: What The F_ _ k). Personally, I’m not overly stressed about hanging on campus Saturday, in a way, it’s better value for money but they couldn’t find a way to move this class within the 5 day business week? 24/7 work world my hobbled butt.
Okay, and now for the topic of the post: Business Ethics. I know more and more people are reading each other’s posts so separating the course from the class is important. Class, or the act of being there in discussions, was pretty good. In fact, and I’d heard this before, Business Ethics helps people learn a lot about their fellow classmates. I enjoyed the discussions and interactions. Our lecturer is engaging as well.
Now on to the overall course: hmmm. I fail to see how six or seven hours of course discussion on what’s right or wrong will re-write the ethical and moral characteristics we developed as small children. Or big children when we decided to business bluff or play the game long ago. My biggest take away from yesterday?
Never trust a bank to be both sales and advisory in a business deal. It’s nearly impossible. This I feel is great stuff but probably missing the point.
[clarification: the entire case study focused on an a person, we’ll call him Bob, being told to send a fax that appears to be untrue]
Should little Bob have sent the fax his nasty and fairly un-ethical boss asked him? This depends on if Bob wants to keep his job. If Bob wants to keep his job and feels the job is what he really wants then send the damn fax; if he doesn’t want that type of life or to be pushed around by some blow-hard with an inflated ego then either challenge her on the contents (and if this isn’t satisfactory) then don’t send the fax and submit the resignation.
There’s always another job around the corner so why sacrifice our morals, unless of course, that doesn’t bother you. If it doesn’t bother you then go for it!
I’m trying to find at least one nugget of excellent information every day from my classes. Rather it be don’t trust a sales/advisor role or management is getting others to accomplish a goal they are certainly coming in droves. Hopefully my broadband connection is installed this weekend so I can summaries some of the notes.
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