Category: Book Review

Issues of Social Control in ‘Brave New World’

Social control monitors the actions of individuals in society by using rules, regulations, and standards to create stability. Stability is created through governing cultural opinions, behaviors, and life circumstances. In the novel Brave New World, the author Aldous Huxley describes the various forms of social control used by the state to regulate society functioning without key elements such as family, friends, emotions, and individuality. Three types of social control found within the fiction text include informal and formal social control as well as medical social control.

Brave New World discusses a process called Bokanovsky that is considered a primary tool in creating stability, this method creates the development of how individuals are made and how many are made from the same egg. The embryo is created when the Bokanovsky egg buds and the buds turn into embryos eventually leading to each embryo becoming a potential human being (Huxley, 2006). The embryo is thus considered brothers and sisters due to each of them enduring the same fertilization process, this process displays how production can continue or end at any given time since it is the state using science and technology to dictate population growth. Using technology to create the development of children, creates an environment where individuals grew up without parents and or family. This would transform individuals’ emotions so he or they would not feel a sense of attachment, belongingness, or emotions to family but to their job class.

Informal control changes an individual’s behavior varying from positive to negative moods, thus developing social disapproval based on family, friends, and employers’ social norms, and accepted behaviors. When an individual experiences ridicule, shame, and or sarcasm it can suppress one’s defiant actions and develop a different perspective. On the other hand instead of family, friends, or co-workers making a difference in how the individual brains form and views society as an individual, in the state of Brave New World individuals has no self-identity, family, or friend, or life experience to create morals, or instead they are instilled with certain values and norms that will not be questioned or viewed indifferently so that happiness is the only type of emotion or action that is displayed. Before individuals reach adulthood, they are placed within different hierarchies by the state, the hierarchy is based on most intelligent to least starting with Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. As each child sleeps at night various types of tapes continuously play conditioning the children on how to feel and act. Elementary sex discusses being promiscuous and how one should not belong to a single person, and the following lesson Elementary Class consciousness discusses how the hierarchy in which the individual is is better than the previous and how he or she should be happy to be in the position that their in (Huxley, 2006) the lessons are repeated for thirty months, three times a week for a hundred and twenty times.

A similarity between Brave New World and informal social control shows how refusing to be promiscuously caused a problem with Lenina and her peer, also the D.H.C also experienced his share of disapproval and judgment. Lenina Crowne was consistently seeing Henry Foster for four months without seeing any other guy and was being judged by Fanny with a disapproving look as well a change of tone dictating her disapproval (Huxley, 2006). Fanny also stated that D.H.C Thomas, The Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning doesn’t condone any behavior that’s intensive or powerful. However, shame was brought upon the D.H.C when he was deemed a parent from having a past love affair. In a society that was solely based on not having parents, D.H.C was a parent of himself, his fellow people looked at him with disdain and he fled the society he created. Key characteristics of informal social control come from the disapproval of others, shame, embarrassment, and dishonor to show one has made a mistake and must fix the error of their way. Once Crowne realized that she was wrong for being with Henry she decided that she should be promiscuous because she was bored and was interested in another person.

Formal control involves authority officials that establish rules and guidelines that monitor violations of laws pertaining to the criminal justice system. If a person breaks the law an authority figure will then process the individual through the court system eventually leading into a prison institution thus the criminal justice system. In contrast, Brave New World police officers were established when an individual was trying to give other people their freedom by getting rid of soma. The police officers proceeded to use a powder form of soma to regain control of the environment by distracting people with the mood stimulant, so they would disregard the previous disruption of someone trying to express self-identity. The fiction text did not explain the process of handling the individual who was violating the regulation, there seemed to be no court. However, there was a type of prison created to house those who did not meet the social norms, the punishment would be to become banished and relocated to another destination such as an island. Banishment is a method of social control that legally forces individuals to leave an area for an extended period (Beckett & Herbert 2011).

Medical social control is defined as having the authority to distinguish between certain behaviors, persons, and things (Conrad, Schneider, & Gusfleld 1992). This social control stems from technology pertaining to drugs and or genetics, it can also sort symptoms or disorders into medical condition that requires treatment or drug. For example, in the fiction novel, a drug known as Soma was continuously used to alter the mood of the individuals, when a person felt uneasy, confused, sad, or depressed they would take soma to generate a mood of happiness and drift into another element where their problems or emotions would dissipate. Lenina stated “why don’t you take soma when you have these dreadful ideas, you would forget all about them and feel jolly” (Huxley, 2006). When a person was feeling anything other than happiness, she or he was considered depressed, withdrawn or anxious using the drug soma would suppress those negative emotions and allow the person to revert to their natural state of being. With individuals not having a self-identity and the ability to experience life, they were unable to cope with foreign emotions thus leading them to partake in the drug. Somo provides stability and can be compared to modern-day medicine as a way of controlling how society can withdraw from problems by taking a mood enhancer.

In addition to medical social control technology can undergo processes that protect people from experiencing diseases, monitoring genetics is another way of distinguishing similarities amongst a community. By doing blood transfusions from youths, balancing internal secretions in a youthful equilibrium, and keeping adults’ metabolism stabilized adults are guaranteed to live longer without facing any medical conditions (Huxley, 2006). The difference between fictional medical social control and modern pertains to individuals such as children having disorders such as ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are based on emotional self-control that causes unstable emotions such as anger resulting in unacceptable behavior symptoms (Singh, 2011). Medicine can help control individuals who have ADHD by reducing anger and reactive and disruptive behaviors, unlike soma the medicine for ADHD doesn’t send the person into a state of eternity but it calms the person so he or she is more aware of their actions. The medicine doesn’t get rid of their emotions altogether and provides a sense of happiness, but it allows the person to have more emotional control over what actions can and cannot cause a reaction.

In conclusion, although informal and formal control is based on structure pertaining to how individuals interact with one another on what is deemed acceptable in society and the use of authority figures using the criminal justice system to regulate violations. The fiction text also had conditions individuals were expected to uphold, when they weren’t adjusting to the expectations medical social control was given as a method to elevate their mood to a happy frame of mind. If individuals were an outcast they were then banished. There were many differences however, there were similarities in identifying key elements such as disapproval, and disgrace that influenced Crowne to partake in promiscuity and Thomas the D.H.C leaving because he was ashamed of parenting a child in a society he developed that would not have the ability to become or have a parent.

Types of Social Control: Review of ‘Invitation to Sociology’ by Peter L. Berger

In the book Invitation to Sociology, Peter L. Berger discusses six types of social control and how they can be used to have authority over society. Social control is defined by Berger as the “various means used by a society to bring its recalcitrant members back into line” (68). Berger also states that “no society can exist without social control” (68) and even a small group of people will have to develop mechanisms of control if the group is not to dissolve in a short period of time (68). The types of social control stated by Berger are violence, economic pressure, verbal and mental pressure, occupational control, pressure from family and friends, and morality, customs, and manners (69-77). Both Obedience and Lord of the Flies show the use of social control as a way to have authority over the society or situation and that it is difficult to defy authority when these mechanisms are used. The types of social controls above that will be discussed are violence, mental and verbal pressures, and economic pressures as well as some discussion on bad faith and social location.

To discuss why it is hard to defy authority, the social location must first be defined. Berger describes the social location of oneself as assigned coordinates from friends, family, and authority (such as school) (67). These assigned coordinates tell the individual what they can expect from life and what they may or may not do (Berger, 67). In the film Lord of the Flies, the boys are thrown onto a deserted island, so they must make their own society, and with that comes a new social location for each member followed by new rules and expectations. The use of social controls, which as stated before must be present in any society, helps Jack to become the new leader and have authority over the group, once the new social locations are assumed. Lord of the Flies also shows violence and economic pressure as the forms of social control used as well as acts of bad faith, which is not one of the listed types but has controlling acts over individuals.

Economic pressure is a type of social control used in Lord of the Flies that is hard to defy. In the film, they do not have an economy based on money, but they have one based on food instead. The boys need to eat so they must hunt. Jack uses this as a way to have authority by organizing a group of hunters and only feeding the ones who help him. This works because everyone needs to eat and they do not know how long they will be stranded, so most members comply making this type of authority hard to defy.

Violence is also a form of social control used in the film Lord of the Flies. Jack uses violence as a way to gain authority over the group to become the leader of this new society. This works and is hard to defy because it scares the boys into following his lead because they do not want to get hurt. Bad faith is in Jack’s favor because the other boys believe there is no other option than to listen to him. They think that if they do not obey they will be beaten or starved. They do not believe they are able to separate and live by themselves to survive and they do not want to be a victim of Jack’s violence so they listen to him.

While bad faith is not one of Berger’s types of social control, acts of this occur in both Lord of the Flies and Obedience. Bad faith is described by Berger as the decision to believe “something is necessary that in fact is voluntary” (143). It is believing there are no other options and no choice to be made when in reality there actually are, it just might have consequences the individual may not want, leading them to believe there are actually no other options, and that they are not free (Berger, 143). The boys believe their only option is to listen to the new leader Jack because he uses mechanisms of social control, like violence and economic pressure, so they lose sight of what is really important which is working together and getting off the island alive. In the same way, the documentary Obedience shows the volunteer believing they have no other choice than to continue with the experiment because they are told it is essential. This leads to the next form of control.

Mental and verbal pressures are another form of social control that can be used to maintain a position of authority. The documentary Obedience is a good example of this because the volunteer believes they must continue with the experiment, and keep shocking the victim because the researcher keeps using mental and verbal pressures. The researcher is not threatening them with violence or economic pressure in this situation but instead simply stating that they must continue with the experiment because it is essential, and does not readily comply with the volunteer’s pleas to stop. Possible reasons why it is hard to defy authority in this situation is that there is arguably an illusion of a threat to the person, such as the fact that the researcher will not listen and will argue back by saying they have no choice other than to continue. The volunteer would want to avoid any negative consequences of disobeying someone in a position of authority. When the experiment was conducted over the phone obedience dropped. While the researcher could keep saying they must continue there is arguably a separation between them so it is easier to defy that authority. Also, the volunteers were told they are not responsible for what happened so that cleared their conscience and made it easier for them to continue, which is the opposite of putting pressure on the volunteer but is still a verbal and mental way to maintain control.

In conclusion, the types of social controls used can make it difficult for people to defy authority. In Invitation to Sociology Berger discusses six forms of social control that can be used to obtain a position of authority. In Lord of the Flies, violence and economic pressures are used. In Obedience, mental and verbal pressures are used. It is hard to defy authority when these social controls are used because of social location, bad faith, needs, and fear.

Reference Page

1. Berger, P. (1963). Invitation to sociology. New York, NY: Anchor Books.

Accidental Billionaires: A Factional Account of Facebook

As the title of Ben Mezrich’s book The Accidental Billionaires reports, the story of Facebook’s origin features elements of sex, money, genius, and betrayal. These elements are woven together to describe a wild and entertaining journey while achieving success and fame. The factional accounts presented throughout the book are summarized within these four categories. However, there is another aspect to the book than these four categories. As mentioned twice already the term factional is used. Factional is a combination of factual and fictional. Within Mezrich’s book, there are facts, based on court depositions and interviews, to describe the events that led to Facebook’s founding. Mezrich’s book also contains fictional accounts that embellish mundane events. The result weaves in genius and betrayal to turn a tedious timeline of events, over 18 months, into a best seller.

Mezrich’s book chronicles how a Harvard student, Mark Zuckerberg, rapidly develops the concept of social networking. While similar websites are in operation at the time, none had the capabilities that Zuckerberg provided. Zuckerberg manages, in one evening, to create facemash.com, a website to rate Harvard co-eds. Facemash.com was developed in retaliation from a failed date with a girl. Facemash.com is created through identity theft of data residing on Harvard servers. Facemash.com goes viral, shuts down the Harvard network, and causes Zuckerberg to be called before the Harvard disciplinary board. Zuckerberg’s mea culpa garners probation. Jena McGregor (2018) argues that apologies for privacy breaches are repetitious for Zuckerberg and involve little or no accountability. This activity catches the attention of Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (Winklevi), who want Zuckerberg to finalize the programming of a social networking site, Connect U, which the Winklevoss’ had started. Zuckerberg sparked by the Facemash and ConnectU experience to creates Thefacebook.com. Zuckerberg delays the launch of Winklevoss’ ConnectU in favor of Thefacebook.com. The first half of the Mezrich’s book provides a dramatization of the creation of Thefacebook.com and the second half describes what happened, through court depositions and more dramatization, the launch of Facebook.com.

In Facebook’s startup and post-launch phases, Zuckerberg removes key personnel, Eduardo Saverin and Sean Parker, after he learns their skill set and determines he can better perform their jobs. Saverin is ousted when his initial funding can’t fulfill all of the costs that Facebook accumulates. Parker is banished after teaching Zuckerberg how to find investors and the tactics for rapid growth, which leads Zuckerberg to believe that he could run Facebook all on his own.

The brilliance of Facebook results from the combination of the coding and the Internet. In combination, they break the barrier of distance between people. The downside is Facebook’s continual clash with user data and privacy concerns.

Mezrich’s notes in the prolog (2009) acknowledges an attempt to keep an accurate timeline of events. In the fourth paragraph, he points out that “some conversations scenes were re-created and compressed” (p. 1). Paul Harris, a writer of Guardian, notes two timeline discrepancies. First, in March 2004, Sean Parker mentions Valleywag, a gossip blog, that launched in February 2006. Second, in June 2005, Eduardo Saverin Harvard recalls Harvard degree conferral occurred on a stage. However, Harvard commencement events note that degrees are given individually in the residence halls (https://commencement.harvard.edu/events-schedule). The last discrepancy seems odd given that Mezrich is a Harvard graduate and would have gone through the same commencement activities as Saverin. Why change a unique event to something mundane?

Several reviews have questioned Mezrich’s work for inaccuracy. Mezrich’s previous books had recreated dialogue and compressed scenes. Mezrich does explain these situations. However, his books continue to be portrayed as non-fiction. James Hirsen, a media law expert, noted ‘Inventing characters is against the ideal of non-fiction, the key word being ‘inventing’ … there has been a blurring of non-fiction and fantasy’ (as cited in Harris, 2009).

Given the success of Mezrich’s previous works and the acclaim of Accidental Billionaires, Zuckerberg and Facebook did not agree with Mezrich’s handling of its founding. Elliot Schrage, a former Facebook spokesman, commented that ‘Ben Mezrich clearly aspires to be the Jackie Collins or Danielle Steele of Silicon Valley. In fact, his own publisher put it best. ‘The book isn’t reportage. It’s big juicy fun.’” (Harris, 2009; Rosenthal, 2009). In the end, it seems as though everyone was able to benefit. Facebook got publicity, even if negative, it didn’t hurt their ability to attract applicants. Random House sold books and made money. The Social Network, adapted from The Accidental Billionaires, won an Academy Award (Best Adapted Screenplay) and Mezrich became a best-selling author again.

Mezrich was working mostly with secondary sources. Zuckerberg and the rest of Facebook did not sanction or cooperate with the production of the book. The one commodity that would have made Mezrich’s account credible was Zuckerberg who developed the Facebook algorithms and is at the heart of the Facebook story (Maslin, 2009).

Recently, Mezrich released a new book entitled Bitcoin Billionaires. One can foresee that just like his previous works, Bringing Down the House and The Accidental Billionaires, which resulted in movies 21 and The Social Network respectively, this new book will result in a movie. Richard Walters, a writer for the Financial Times, noted ”Some books aren’t really books at all: they’re thinly disguised movie pitches that have been fleshed out to sit between hard covers”. Given the tension between the Zuckerberg and the Winklevi, one can foresee that a sequel to The Social Network will eventually occur. Rob Doyle, of the Irish Times, notes “Bitcoin Billionaires feels like a draft of the screenplay for the film that Mezrich wills into being on every page (the rights have already been sold) “.

Mezrich’s new work follows the Winklevoss twins after they receive the $65 Million Facebook settlement. Wanting to invest their money, they spend $11 Million to purchase 1% of the bitcoin market in 2011 when bitcoins were trading at $120. Late in 2017, bitcoins traded at $10,000, and that initial investment appreciated to $2 Billion making the Winklevi the first bitcoin billionaires.

The style of the book follows Mezrich’s earlier offerings: geeks who are geniuses make billions, encounter betrayal and party hard. Steven Poole, a writer for The Guardian, notes that the book is “structured as a sequence of dramatic scenes”. The one difference between The Accidental Billionaires and Bitcoin Billionaires is that Mezrich has access to the Winklevi and can get a first-hand account their bitcoin experience and a more exact chronology; this alone moves the new effort toward non-fiction. Mezrich prefaces Bitcoin Billionaires with “There are a number of different and often contentious opinions about some of the events in the story; to the best of my ability, I recreated the scenes in the book based on the information I uncovered from documents and interviews” (p.1). The dramatic scenes of this book may again overshadow the actual events.

As an aside, the Winklevi launched Gemini, a regulated exchange for cryptocurrencies. The exchange sets Bitcoin spot prices for futures contracts at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). The Winklevi also applied to set up a Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) to attract mainstream investors. However, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has denied the application (https://www.investopedia.com/articles/people/083016/who-are-top-5-bitcoin-millionaires.asp).

Facebook is building a cryptocurrency called Libra. The Libra can be used for Facebook transactions and will not belong to Facebook but the Libra Association. The Libra Association has many participants, including Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, eBay, and Uber. A joint company white paper describes the intentions with a rollout of Libra scheduled for the first half of 2020.

The competition between Zuckerberg and the Winklevoss twins seems to endure as new technological developments involving complex algorithms come into existence. Mezrich probably will chronical the events and offer a glimpse into the dramatic, perhaps fictional, scenes that occur.

Works Cited

1. Doyle, R. (2019, May 25). Bitcoin Billionaires review: an ideological struggle. The Irish Times. Retrieved from https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/bitcoin-billionaires-review-an-ideological-struggle-1.3887889
2. Harris, P. (2009, July 5). A sexy saga of Facebook’s birth – but is it fantasy?. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jul/05/facebook-accidental-billionaires-zuckerberg
3. Maslin, P. (2009, July 19). Harvard Pals Grow Rich: Chronicling Facebook Without Face Time. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/books/20maslin.html .
4. McGregor, J. (2018, April 11). Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologized – again. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2018/04/10/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-is-apologizing-again/?utm_term=.4eb6f386db0c
5. Mezrich, B. (2009). The Accidental Billionaires. New York, NY: Doubleday.
6. Mezrich, B. (2019). Bitcoin Billionaires. New York, NY: Flatiron Books.
7. Poole, S. (2019, May 16). Bitcoin Billionaires by Ben Mezrich review – the
8. tale of the Winklevoss twins. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/may/16/bitcoin-billionaires-by-ben-mezrich-review
9. Rosenthal, D. (2009, July 19). Inside Ben Mezrich’s Accidental Billionaires. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved from http://www.baltimoresun.com/bs-mtblog-2009-07-inside_ben_mezrichs_accidental-story.html
10. Walters, R. (2019, May 30). Bitcoin Billionaires — return of the Winklevoss twins. Financial Times. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/fad513ec-81f9-11e9-b592-5fe435b57a3b

Is Google Making Us Stupid Essay

The Attention Span Crisis

Over the year technology has been taking over humans’ lives. Humans are lacking in their attention span, and all because of the internet. The internet is making us stupid. In an article by Nicholas Carr “Is Google Making us Stupid?”, Carr explains the idea of how the internet has changed our lives by changing the way we think and process information mentally, differently from the past. Carr argues that we think less and rely on quick facts from the internet, rather than thinking deeply and doing deep research ourselves. I’m going to reflect on some issues that Carr points out that I agree with. I too believe that the internet is changing the way we think, and we must change back to how we used to think.

The internet has changed the way we read and has made it to where our attention span cannot follow through an entire book. Carr even examines that his own “concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages” (789). In relation, I find myself getting distracted after reading a page or two. My thoughts start to take over and my attention on the book goes away and I immediately forget what I just read. When I was in third-grade computers were not as popular for research, we did research from books. I was assigned to do research on the planet Uranus and every Wednesday we’d spend the last hour of class at the library researching our planet. I was able to concentrate more in grade school rather than in middle school and high school because I would actually read all the information in books. In middle school and high school, we were given laptops for homework and schoolwork. It made me stop readings books and made me start looking up questions to get the answers faster rather than reading through the text and finding it myself. The web has made me notice that I read differently compared to how I used to read in elementary school. Carr uses a metaphor about a jet ski and a scuba diver to explain how dramatically he changed the way he reads “once I was a scuba diver in the sea of worlds. Now I zip along the surface like a guy in a jet ski” (791).

In some cases, the internet has its benefits for some people who use it. Especially for the people who work off the internet such as bloggers and people who post their articles online. It’s efficient for them to use the web rather than consume too much time reading a book for research. Carr admits that as a writer the internet has made it easier for him to do his research he says, “the web has been a godsend to me as a writer” (790). He explains how he can get his research done in minutes rather than taking him days at the library reading through stacks of books. Carr also mentions that thanks to text messaging “we may well be reading more today than we did in the 1970s or 1980s…” (792). He believes that today’s society reads more through texts than people ever read before. I read more text messages and emails today than I read books. It’s not only me, In high school, I would see students hiding their phones inside their books pretending to read but actually were reading text messages and texting.

Although the internet is beneficial for some writers or bloggers, that still doesn’t change the fact that they’re slowly losing the way they process information. In relation to Carr’s article, he mentions a blogger who writes about computers in medicine named Bruce Friedman that said, “I now have almost totally lost the ability to read and absorb a longish article on the web or in print” (791). You know it’s serious when even the blogger himself who relies on the web admits that he can’t even process information like he used to, he must skim through it. One statement that really stood out in Carr’s article was a quote from Maryanne Wolf a developmental psychologist at Tufts University she said, “We are not only what we read, but we are also how we read” (792). This means she’s worried that the way we read texts is weakening our ability to deep read because on the internet everything Is about efficiency. It is true I’ve lost the ability to read thoroughly an article I have to skim through it, or when I do read I don’t do much thinking of it, I just simply read it without trying to understand it. It’s something I’m going to work on from now on.

After a considerable amount of time writing about how the web is affecting the way we think, read, and process information. I think it’s about time we change for the better, meaning we should go back to the old-fashioned ways and get information from books rather than the web. We can’t rely our whole lives on the internet, the internet doesn’t give us the chance to think deeply as books do. Unless you want to be stupid I suggest you keep getting all your information from the internet. If you want to be smart get all your research and information from books.

Works Cited

1. Bullock, Richard. “The Norton Field Guide to Writing” 5E, Is Google Making Us Stupid?. Nicholas Carr, The Atlantic, 2008, pp. 789-802

‘There’s No Such Thing as ‘Business’ Ethics’ by John Maxwell: Book Review

In his very informative book, ‘There’s No Such Thing as ‘Business’ Ethics’, John Maxwell tells us of one simple idea of getting back to ethics in business organizations. That one simple idea is called the Golden Rule, which many of us have learned from a young age, from the Bible, states, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31, New International Version). In business ethics, owners, managers, financial officers, etc., often revert to what is easier for them and not what is the right, or best decision for the business organization. In several situations over the years, ethics has not been used the way it should have been, and caused the public, or even the companies own employees to lose their trust in the business organization. Maxwell states, “Most people are disgusted with the state of ethics in America. They are sick of dishonesty and unethical dealings” (Maxwell, 2003, pg. 3).

Maxwell shares with us an in depth look into how we need to learn how to make ethical choices in our personal lives in order to use ethics in many business organizations by following the Golden Rule. This Golden Rule is something, he says, everyone should follow, he states, “People who desire to find a good, honest standard of ethical behavior to live by can find it in the Golden Rule” (Maxwell, 2003, pg. 24). The Golden Rule, when followed, will only lead you in a positive direction, but there are a few things that can cause a setback.

Setbacks to following the Golden Rule can happen at any time throughout your journey to make ethically sound decisions. Several factors impede a person from being able to continue, in one way or another, to make the right decisions, and can compromise their ability to be ethical. Maxwell states these factors as: “Pressure, Pleasure, Power, Pride, and Priorities” (Maxwell, 2003, pg. 73-87). When you feel as if you cannot make ethical decisions, ask yourself about these five factors and how you can get through the negativity of each one.

People who follow this Golden Rule are generally good, honest people, they treat people with kindness, respect, and above all, dignity. If you take this outlook with you, everywhere you go, in everything you do, people will be able to trust you and be willing to work with you. Maxwell’s final thoughts tell us, “Those who go for the Golden Rule not only have a chance to achieve monetary wealth, but also to receive other benefits that money can’t provide” (Maxwell, 2003, pg. 134).

In an article titled, ‘Why the Golden Rule Must Be Practiced in Business’ (Hayden, 2016), Hayden reiterates the idea that the Golden Rule is important, but is not as easily followed in the business world, as it is in our personal lives. The Golden Rule should be just as important in business as it is in our daily lives. Hayden states, “It’s important to recognize that ethics are directly tied to a company’s long-term success” (Hayden, 2016). To leave ethics out of a business completely, and to not be able to make ethical business decisions, would surely be detrimental to not only the growth of the company, but those employees that depend on that business for support.

When ethical decisions are made in a business, not only does that affect the business, but also the employees, and the financial officers, as well. In a business where horrible, unethical decisions are made, employees can lose trust in their employer and become less satisfied in their work environment. Hayden tells us, “A satisfied workforce will be motivated to provide great service to your customers, and they’ll be more loyal to your company as well” (Hayden, 2016). If the employees are seeing that profits are being lost because of unethical decisions, they will ultimately leave the company which could leave many unsatisfied customers.

In our book, Maxwell tells us of companies that are not using ethical principles, but are, instead, going by what is the legal thing to do. Maxwell states, “Some companies have given up entirely on trying to figure out what’s ethical and are instead using what’s legal as their standard for decision making” (Maxwell, 2003, pg. 12). How can a company make unethical business decisions, and still maintain the laws which surround those business decisions?

In an article by Cindy Phillips, titled, ‘Three Levels of Ethical Standards in a Business Organization’ (Phillips, n.d.), Phillips affirms the earlier comment by Maxwell about companies doing what’s legal instead of what’s ethical. Phillips states, “There are situations where the actions of a business organization are legal, yet they may not be particularly ethical. This is a fine line and the organization has a responsibility to self-police if it wants to be held to a high ethical standard” (Phillips, n.d.). One example of a business making legal actions versus unethical actions is the situation with oil drilling. Fracturing, which is the process of drilling using a hydraulic fluid is a perfectly legal actions, however the fact that the use of the fluid can create a multitude of problems for the environment, and the companies’ continuing to use this practice can be deemed unethical. This is a great example of that fine line that Phillips mentions in her article.

Although there are several ramifications that a business organization of the individuals that run them, can face when making unethical decisions about the company, there are still a lot of business out there that, unfortunately, continue to go down this path. With the biggest ethical scandal of all time, Enron, many of the financial officers and owners of the company have faced years behind bars and fines, but yet these unethical business practices are still continuing, but know these companies have found legal ways around them. Phillips tells us, “Though a business organization may be bound by applicable laws and internal policies, adherence by individuals determines the true integrity of the company” (Phillips, n.d.). Integrity alone should be enough to teach business owners that all of their decisions should be ethical.

In an article called, ‘Right and Wrong in the Real World’ (Halberstam, 2006), Halberstam dives deeper into the statements by Maxwell about making ethical choices in our own personal lives. Many times, we are faced with trying to make the best decisions, not right or wrong, for a certain situation that we are in. Learning to cope with the decisions we have to make in our personal lives can help us maintain a high level of ethics in our business decisions, as well. Halberstam states, “The interesting ethical questions aren’t those that offer a choice between good and evil – that’s easy – but pit good versus good, or bad versus even worse” (Halberstam, 2006). How we handle these situations isn’t necessarily the same way anyone else would handle them, there are no right or wrong answers, the way to deal with these situations is to do what is best for the good of everyone else.

One interesting piece of information that I found about this book, after believing that ethics is something that everyone can be taught, was a passage in our book by Maxwell. Maxwell tells us of a company that tried to have a class about ethics, but it didn’t go as well as planned. A columnist, shares with Maxwell, “Companies are hiring firms to offer online ethics classes and consultants to produce huge ethics manuals…It’s not helping. Worst of all, the desire of such companies often isn’t to make their businesses more ethical” (Maxwell, 2003, pg. 11). This is a sad situation, that business organization don’t want to learn to be more ethical.

I believe this book is a very important piece of literature. Not only does it give us examples of how businesses make unethical decisions, but it teaches people that in order to use ethical principles in business, they need to focus on their own personal way of making ethical decisions, and how to work through the factors that can compromise the making of ethical decisions. He teaches us there is a way to follow the Golden Rule but not look for gold in a situation. The title of the book really says it all, business ethics aren’t really a thing, it’s how you use ethics in your daily living to make you an ethical person that is the key.

References

1. Halberstam, J. (2006, March 1). Right and Wrong in the Real World. Retrieved from Greater Good Magazine: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/right_and_wrong_in_the_real_world
2. Hayden, B. (2016, September 11). Why the Golden Rule Must Be Practiced in Business. Retrieved from Entrepreneur: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/281387
3. Maxwell, J. C. (2003). There’s No Such Thing as ‘Business’ Ethics. New York: Warner Books.
4. Phillips, C. (n.d.). Three Levels of Ethical Standards in a Business Organization. Retrieved from Chron: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/three-levels-ethical-standards-business-organization-30863.html

Book Review on ‘Henry Ford – A Life From Beginning To End’

The book Henry Ford- A Life From Beginning To End written by Hourly History recounts the events of Henry Ford’s childhood which shaped the person he turned out to be. The book also highlights the many accomplishments of Henry Ford throughout his life. The main focus of the book is to tell the impact Henry Ford had on the automobile industry. Henry Ford changed the industry for many years to come.

The author used memories of Henry Ford’s childhood and adolescence years so the readers could get a better understanding of how he grew up and how he was raised. As well as giving insight into how he got to love the mechanical aspects of things. The author also shared with us Ford’s many failures and accomplishments with business partners. Along with memories, the author used quotes from Henry Ford. These are the words Henry Ford lived by. With this information the author allows you to relive Henry Ford’s life through the text.

The book begins by giving insight on Henry Ford’s childhood, he lived on a farm in Greenfield Township, Michigan. Henry Ford was born in the middle of the American civil war. Henry worked on the farm in his early years of growing up this introduced him to hard labor which made him want to try something different. This is when Henry started tinkering with scrap pieces of metal and forming those into tools. Henry’s father gave him a pocket watch which Henry learned all the mechanics and moving parts by taking it apart and putting it together numerous times. After learning about parts and putting them back together he had a newfound love for car engines. After the passing of his mother in 1876, Ford decided to leave the farm for a better life. In return, this opened many doors for Henry in the mechanist world. These are the events that shaped the automobile industry for years to come.

In the year 1891 Henry’s career started to take off. Henry started working for the Edison Illuminating Company where he was an engineer and then became a chief engineer. This left him with extra time to start messing around with the gasoline engine. He built his first automobile the Ford Quadricycle which was made at the Edison Illuminating Company in 1896. With accomplishments come failures and as a result, Henry’s first automobile company did not work out, but he did not let that stop him. Henry was persistent and learned from his mistakes he then teamed up with a former racer and together they made another car that made Henry’s business take off.

As business was starting off Henry Ford created his own automobile the Model T. The Model T was the first car that was invented and made affordable. The Model T was one of the first cars that a consumer could drive by themselves and not have to pay someone to operate it. The invention of the Model T brought along with it the discovery of the assembly line which is used in many companies today. The assembly line was a more efficient way to put together parts. The time spent assembling an automobile was cut in half. The assembly line brought the parts to the workers instead of the workings going to the parts which cut out time. This in return allowed Henry Ford to make an automobile faster and at a more affordable cost for consumers which was a big goal for Henry.

Ford was not only concerned about making an affordable automobile. Henry Ford was the first to introduce what is commonly known as a car warranty. This is something that goes into effect to keep the car operating for the consumer at the lowest cost. In the 1880’s the idea of “welfare capitalism” came about, in which Henry was a firm believer. Henry wanted to improve the lives of his workers. Ford took care of his workers and despised labor unions. He wanted to split a job between multiple people so there would be more productivity. He raised the salary by double and he introduced to them a five day work week. Ford also began hiring people of color, he wanted to give everyone equal opportunity. Ford saw his workers as family, not just somebody working for him. Henry wanted to reinvent the workplace and make it more rewarding.

Henry Ford formed a legacy from his hard work and dedication throughout the years. Henry opened a new factory at Willow Run. Willow Run was known for being the biggest assembly line in the world resulting in increased production. When Henry Ford began aging and became ill he died as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage. Henry Ford handed over his lifelong legacy to his grandson who then became president of the company.

To conclude, anyone who wants to know more about Henry Ford or the events that formed the person he was needs to take a minute to read this book. It starts at childhood and also tells about the major accomplishments of Henry Ford. Henry Ford was known for transforming what was known as a luxury vehicle into one that could be used by the majority of the American people. Henry Ford will always be a part of history and is the reason for the automobile industry’s success today.