A634.7.4.RB - Egoism: Psychological and Moral

There are two forms of egoism, psychological egoism and ethical egoism. According to LaFollette (2007), a psychological egoist claims to define the reason why we behave the way we do and points out that we act congruence to our self-interest yet cannot clearly explain the rationale behind our interests. Ethical egoist, on the other hand, claims that there is only one moral standard that is to say that we should act and behave in manners that maximize our self-interest (LaFollette, 2007).

1. What is your view on egoism? I agree with this view of psychological egoism, which simply claims that whatever a human being does, the aim is self-benefit. If psychological egoism is correct, it means that even when people appear to act for others’ benefit, with no concern for themselves—which is called altruism—they’re actually doing it for their own sake (Egoism, n.d.). We do what makes us feel good.

2. How do you see ego getting in the way of ethical decisions in the workplace? Ego can easily get in the way of making decisions in the workplace. Having an ego starts to crowd out our blind spots and we become less self-aware leading to poor performance as a leader. Your ego is what prevents you from hearing critical but necessary feedback from others. Ego makes you over-estimate your own abilities and worth. 

3. Should leaders get benefits others do not receive? Leaders and others should receive benefits commensurate with their position and responsibilities. These benefits can be a motivation for a person to excel in their position to move into a position of leadership and so can be a positive factor. In the military, we say “RHIP”; Rank Has Its Privileges. On the other hand, a leader can abuse the benefits and abuse the power of their position and rank. For example, a few years ago, part of my responsibilities was to attend a morning aircraft production meeting with all the Squadron and Aircraft Maintenance Unit managers. The maintenance office and maintenance superintendent (chief) chair the meeting every morning. However, the squadron Chief Master Sergeant would often leave the meeting early stating he had “chiefly things to do”. In actuality, he was leaving most mornings to go eat breakfast or go to the gym while we stayed and carried on the meeting without him. While in this case, rank had it privileges, he abused his power and position, quickly creating resentment throughout the squadron. 

4. How could leaders be better rewarded to promote ethical behavior? Leaders can reward (and be rewarded) to promote ethical behavior. Leaders must commit to correcting and/or punishing unethical behavior. They must also praise in public the behavior they want to see. For example, recently we had a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) who performed inadequate and unethical maintenance. His poor maintenance practices could have led to an aircraft fire or crash. Later an Airman identified the wrong-doing and informed leadership. Although the situation was corrected prior the aircrafts next flight, the NCOs actions must be corrected otherwise he might be comfortable continuing this type of behavior. Additionally, the Airman should be commended for his attention to detail and honesty in coming forward.

References:
Egoism. (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://philosophyterms.com/egoism/References:
LaFollette, H. (2007). The practice of ethics. Blackwell Publishing