Them vs. Us

I was unable to attend class this week but I read the article about the Cowboys so I'll attempt to blog about the concepts covered as best possible. I found the Cowboys article to be really helpful in explaining the main differences between utilitarianism and communitarianism. To put it simply, utilitarianism is synonymous with the idea that the ends justify the means. This is the philosophy that most, if not all, companies seem to embody. In America we support a free market economy where every man is in it by himself and every company must do whatever necessary to get it done. The other option presented in the Cowboys article is communitarianism, which advocates a community of individuals working for the greater good of the entire civil society. I understand why companies and sports teams (particularly the Dallas Cowboys) would utilize the utilitarian principle but I don't believe that the ends always justify the means. Oftentimes, businesses take measures that end up hurting more than helping.

Let's do better.

I'm really glad I read this book. I feel better having read it. I loved learning about fundamentalist Muslims and now, after learning about their beliefs and values, being able to see where they are coming from. By comparing fundamentalist Muslims to fundamentalist Christians, it becomes impossible for me to harbor any resentment toward the people behind the 9-11 attacks. We have religious zealots here too. I know, personally, I've met plenty of Christians here in America that believe they've been exposed to the universal truth and that whomever doesn't believe as they do is going straight to hell. My favorite quote from the book: "The vision is of a cultural landscape consisting of Disney Inc. and the Coca-Cola Company, for sure; but also of Ashanti Inc., Navajo Inc., Maori Inc., Norway Inc.: All rights reserved." Clever, very clever. It really summed up chapter eight well, in my opinion. This week's question: how does this model fit the work of public relations? Well, that's easy. In public relations we should be striving to act in a way that most benefits everyone involved from the customer to the stockholder to the suppliers. We need to be aware of how we effect others with our practices. I think the lessons gained from reading this book are definitely ones every public relations practitioner should be required to master before entering the field.

Blog numero uno

I've really been enjoying the book so far. The first few chapters were difficult to get through but once I got into it I found myself reading it for hours without stopping. Appiah does an great job of providing realistic and useful examples for each concept he covers. I particularly enjoyed chapter five, The Primacy of Practice. I had never considered the idea that the reason behind change is nothing more than "a gradually acquired new way of seeing things." It makes sense and all but it had never really occurred to me. To address the question presented in the syllabus: Does everybody matter? I believe so. Sadly, it's difficult for most people, including myself, to care about others whom we have never and will never meet. It's much easier to pretend like we (we being affluent Westerners) are the only people that matter. It would be wonderful if more people could go beyond their local loyalties and feel not only sadness but anger at the idea that there are people in other places dying for lack of food, water and other necessities. I hope that in time I can learn to think in a more cosmopolitan manner. And, yes, of course the people within corporate America's supply chains matter. Not that you would know that from the way they are treated by corporate America. I would like to think that it's getting better for them, but Americans are still given top priority and someone down the line is getting the short end of the stick.