Different types of service organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Different types of service organization - Essay Example Service factory includes services that involve low labour intensity and interaction. These demand huge capital and are standardized. Airlines and motels are the examples of such services. Highly labour intensive services with low interaction fall under mass service. These require low capital and service is provided on a standard basis to all customers. Retail giants such as Walmart follow this formula. Service shops support high degree of customisation and low labour intensity. Hospitals take up this mode of service, by accruing advantage of abundant capital (Inman). Advocates, medical practitioners, engineers etc, who provide professional services, show high customer interaction and customization. They are labour intensive. The success of labour-intensive services depends on employee training and welfare (Lashley 245-251). Keeping abreast technology and sequencing delivery make capital-intensive services attractive. Mass service and service factory are differentiated by ambience, wa rmth and marketing strategies(Verma 121-123). Service quality, sensitivity and responsiveness, coupled with cost-cutting guide highly interactive services.

John Peter Zenger Essay Example for Free

John Peter Zenger Essay Born in Palatinate, Germany, John Peter Zenger (1697- 1746) was a New York printer and journalist. He arrived in New York City at the age of 7 and was trained for eight years by William Bradford, one of the more known writers of American printing. After he completed his training with William Bradford he moved to Chestertown, Maryland to live on his own. In 1722, he returned to New York due to the lack of success he had in Maryland and began his own business in 1726. In 1732 a new governor, William Cosby, desired nothing more but to increase his fortunes. Cosby removed the chief justice, Lewis Morris causing a group of powerful men whose economic goal was being forcefully postponed by Cosby to arise. The group gained popularity and support in New York City. The Gazette, a newspaper that was owned by Zenger’s advisor, William Bradford was controlled by the government. The Morris group, in need of a newspaper to fight its war against the government, chose John Peter Zenger as their printer. The first issue of the New-York Weekly Journal was poorly written but seemed to gain the interest due to its sharp criticism towards the government. On November 17, 1734, John Peter Zenger was arrested for printing rebellious and inaccurate material towards Cosby. Andrew Hamilton represented Zenger and made a dramatic presentation to the jury. After being imprisoned for 10 months Zenger was freed. The case was an introduction to freedom of the press. The case its self had little to almost no effect on freedom printers had on what they published. It did not limit the power of legislature to shut down printers. The Zenger case was brief introduction towards the movement of â€Å"freedoms† of Americans. Also, the case changed the old beliefs of English law, and revealed a new way America would think.

Moral Standards In Advertising Media Essay

Moral Standards In Advertising Media Essay Ethics of advertising can be defined as ethical activity, corresponding not only to law but also to moral principles. Although the normal ethics considers implementation of laws as a basic or minimal level, ethical side of advertising actually goes far beyond the simple implementation of laws. The basis of ethical decisions is formed on a series of concepts: obligations to the society, accountability to both internal (company or client) and external (publicity) parties, and latent intentions of advertising. While advertising is pervasive being an element of the environment, ethical advertisers are responsible for taking into account the expected and possible unintended consequences of their activities. One of the fundamental principles of the free market society is that consumers make free and informed choice. It is consumers who vote with their money and determine the behavior of companies. Advertising is the function of business, which transfers this principle into practice. By definition, consumers cannot make an informed choice without information obtained from advertising. It is no wonder that truth in advertising is regarded as one of the central ethical principles of doing business. In other words, everything said in the advertisement should correspond to the reality. Challenging this rationale, advertisers sometimes deal with ethical problems with the way advertising is created and executed. Often, the question concerns the borders of permitted activity in using such prevalent in advertising approaches, as inflation (exaggeration of the merits of the advertised goods or services), metaphor and hyperbole. For example, an advertisement, running that restaurant X situated in East Side is the best Italian restaurant in the world, is strictly speaking, hardly true. But the advertisers are hoping that they are dealing with an audience, well versed in advertising (i.e. the audience, disillusioned about the main purpose of advertising to sell the advertised product and the means to achieve this goal). Such an informed, sober-minded audience can make allowances for the usual exaggeration in advertising. This means that advertising may, without violating ethical standards, contain symbols, illustrations, similes and metaphors enhancing its assertions. However, the situation is much more serious with advertising which deliberately deceives or misleads the consumers. Deceptive advertisement latently provides only partial information on products or contains statements about the price which mislead the consumers. The same concerns advertisement containing accurate information, but presented in an incomprehensible for the consumer form, or in an integrated form inside a newspaper or magazine article, or as part of a television or radio program. Many consumers also fear that some types of advertising are influencing the subconsciousness. Since these messages get to the consumer bypassing the consciousness and sensory perception, they are often not only unethical, but also illegal, because they can manipulate the freedom of consumer choice. Despite the fact that studies have shown the ineffectiveness of subliminal techniques (e.g., the notorious 25-second frame), the public is still suspecting advertisers in the wide use of such techniques. Ethical issues also arise in the case of participation of celebrities in advertising. Famous sports and movie stars can significantly affect the decision making process of the consumers. Therefore, officially thereve been developed specific recommendations for the creation of such advertising in order to make it more ethical. The character of advertising should be a user of an advertised product, and his statements must fairly reflect his personal opinion. All statements made by the character must have actual proof. Concerns about advertising with celebrities are so great that in some countries such as Canada, it is prohibited for certain product categories, such as alcoholic beverages and certain childrens products. Criticism is also justified in cases of some advertising methods, in particular, playing on fear of consumers. For example, advertising of a certain kind of cereal containing oat and bran was built on fears of cancer. However, these products do not factually contain more fiber than many other natural foods, and they increase the chance to prevent only one kind of cancer, whereas the advertising considered the prevention of cancer in general. Such advertisement can be considered misleading, manipulating the audience and exploiting the feelings of consumers. At the same time, the visual part of the advertisement deserves no less than the text. Since consumers typically pay more attention to images than to the text accompanying them. In particular, the claims involve the fact that the advertisement shows the product bigger than it really is. Another example of unethical imaging is the way advertising depicts women. Using models for the advertisement, advertisers also apply special methods of processing images, allowing characters to look perfect, with absolutely no pigment spots and wrinkles. This actually presents a process of forming an ideal image, unattainable in real life. Attempts of female consumers to become similar to those ideal models finally ends in disappointment, feeling unhappy, loss of self-esteem, inferiority complex, and even guilt. Models are tall and extremely slim; in an effort to be like them, some young women and girls being unable to do anything with their height, direct all their eagerness to their extra pounds, s ometimes bringing themselves to anorexia. Heated discussion also surrounds the image of women in advertising of household goods, where they invariably appear as the main executors of domestic work, showing them on the sidelines of family decision making process. Women are also often unethically shown as sexual objects, but nowadays this aspect is complexified by the modern tendency to depict men in the same way, together with the ambiguity of child images in advertising. Sometimes kids are shown in sexual poses with the provocative make-up, and half-dressed, while new styles of advertisement try displaying certain parts of human body as the main objects of the image, which is only emphasizing sexuality. Older people represent another group of people, harmed by stereotypes which generate from advertising. Feeble, trembling, wrinkled old people, unable to solve simplest tasks, are being targeted with advertising humor. However, this advertising image of elderly people is often very far from reality, in which the elderly lead a ctive and interesting life. Many advertisers state that advertising does not create reality, but only holds a mirror which reflects the society. But if that was true, we would see the images of various social groups in the advertisement. However, the characters (with both genders) of most of the advertisements in North America and Europe are young, slim, smart and extremely athletic. While some advertisers are beginning to realize the importance of different cultural groups, the number of ads with black skin people is growing; but the characters of Asian, and Hispanic origin are still met relatively rarely. Advertising also never positions disabled people, and the elderly are participating only in advertising of dentures and nutritional supplements for elderly people. In addition, certain segments of the population could perceive everything shown in the advertisement as the reality, or misunderstand the special conditions or precautions on the proper use of advertised goods (immigrants, some elderly consumers, children, people lacking education, etc.), which shouldnt be just used for the benefit of a company. A well-known example is the case of advertising offering children to call Santa Claus on a pay telephone numbers beginning with 900. Many children (including those staying at home after school without their parents) called on those numbers without realizing the size of bills that could come for such a conversation. Moral standards of advertising are based on the principles of freedom of choice and freedom of action. These principles come from the belief in the benefits of the free market economy. Informed consumers have freedom of action; they regulate the business activities of companies with their individual purchase decisions. Consumers right to freedom of choice is consistent with two other principles: freedom from coercion and freedom from harm. Advertising should not use unfaithful techniques in order to persuade consumers or manipulate them, pushing to a bad choice. Faithful advertising, which imparts accurate information, is an indispensable condition for consumers; informed decisions about products and services. Nowadays, advertising detached from unethical standards may be unique and sets the standard for the industry. It has value to both clients and consumers. Thus, the terms ethics of advertising and moral standards in advertising are not just a combination of mutually exclusive co ncepts, but without a doubt, present normal business practices.

Evolution of Women’s Sports: Annika Sorenstam Strives for Perfection n

Evolution of Women’s Sports: Annika Sorenstam Strives for Perfection not Feminism Over the past 50 years, women’s sports have become more prevalent not only in the United States but also across the world. The ability for young girls and women to participate in athletics provides an avenue to experience competitive environments as well as build self-confidence in a world still dominated by men. During the early stages of women’s sports, the main idea was to show that women were worthy of having their own teams and organizations as an extension of the existing men’s sports. In other words, to prove to everyone the women could play many of the same sports that men could play. Women’s sports today are reaching a turning point in their development. They are not necessarily trying to emphasize the feminism and equality so predominant during the inception of women’s sports, but rather focusing on performing and competing at the highest level possible. This includes constantly challenging themselves and always striving for excellence in whatever sport they participate in. Women’s golf is a perfect example of this recent phenomenon. Number one ranked LPGA player Annika Sorenstam turned the golfing world on its head in the past few months by accepting a sponsor exemption to the Bank of America Colonial, a PGA event. Her acceptance was met with all types of media attention, including talk of making a statement for all women. However, Annika was quick to explain that her decision to play in the Colonial stemmed from her desire to challenge herself and elevate her own game to a new, unprecedented level. Women’s athletics has become a permanent fixture at every level in almost every sport worldwide. From y... ...a.† http://coachingforthefuture.com/Company_Information/Articles/Coach_Pia/coach_pia.html. 1997. â€Å"Ever-Busy, Mulit-talented Nilsson Dedicates Time to Teaching, Traveling, Forming Friendships.† http://coachingforthefuture.com/Company_Information/Articles/Ever_Busy_Nilsson/ever-busy_Nilsson.html. February 3, 2003. Homeyer, Hilary. Personal Interview. February 2003. â€Å"Sorenstam Says All the Right Things.† http://coachingforthefuture.com/Company_Information/Articles/Sorenstam_Says_Right/sorenstam_says_right.html. May 20,2003. â€Å"Sorenstam Tries a Proving Ground.† http://coachingforthefuture.com/Company_Information/Articles/Sorenstam_Proving_Ground/sorenstam_proving_ground.html. May 18,2003. â€Å"Swedish Scoring Secrets.† http://coachingforthefuture.com/Company_Information/Articles/Swedish_Scoring_Secrets/swedish_scoring_secrets.html. November 1997.

Zappos Case

1. Zappos transformed the shopping experience by providing online market place and making customers comfortable buying shoes in the internet. The core competency which distinguishes Zappos from competitors was a focus on service (it was service company selling shoes). The following sources of competitive advantages allowed the company to gain and maintain this competency: fast web-site providing extensive online product information; free rapid delivery of products; free 365 day return policy; free 24/7 call center with well-trained operators whose primary goal was customer loyalty; xcellent supply chain operations with communication through web-interface system. Corporate culture has a strong influence on all aspects of the business, including core competencies. In fact, core competencies are developed based on culture. To WOW everyone they come into contact with, including customers, employees and partners, was part of their culture. Zappos was successfully doing everything to susta in it by im proving web-site, call center, distribution warehouse operations, etc, which proves that its core competencies are well sustainable. . If it is really of a value to the customer, it is important to the customer experience, because it is a sign of excellent service and WOW customers. However, if the customer doesn’t need it, the cost of shipping will not cost the perceived benefits of faster delivery. As we have seen, the customer satisfaction decreased, if the customers didn’t receive a purchase ov ernight, even though they didn’t need overnight delivery but it was promised by Zappos.Considering cost-conscious environment, I would recommend Zappos to provide the customer a choice for method of delivery. Zappos could provide ground delivery, as usually, for free. But, if the customer really needs faster expedited delivery, he/she should pay for transportation cost. 3. I wouldn’t recommend Zappos to make any big expansion plans, taking into acco unt difficult economic time and the company’s limited budget. Zappos could add new complementary products to the shoes, but not drastically different kind of products.The geographic expansion was too costly and risky for the company at that time. Zappos had experience of international expansion, but the challenges and costs of replicating the business model abroad was inadmissible. Selling own-brand products is not a good option, because it would go against Zappos’ strategy of providing a broad choice of popular world brands. Instead, the company should focus on retaining and gaining new customers in the current markets, e. g. by providing loyalty cards or coupons. . More cost-conscious shoppers would try to find the best deal searching for the same product and comparing prices at different web-sites. Therefore, the first option for Zappos is to constantly monitor prices of competitors and set its prices equal to them in order to make sure that the customers donâ€℠¢t pay more buying from Zappos. Even though the prices will be the same, Zappos would attract and maintain customers with exceptional service (free delivery, 365 day refund policy, 24/7 call center, etc. . Also Zappos has to improve supply chain operations in order to cut costs. After that, the second option is to experiment with a price (test marketing) to see what prices consumers are willing to pay for products which are provided with such exceptional service. 5. Amazon wanted to become a partner with Zappos due to several reasons. The benefits from this deal for Amazon were clear: eliminating growing competitor in the shoe market and gaining a leadership position in an apparel category.In the beginning Zappos maintained an entirely separate operation from Amazon: its own fulfillment center, inventory management, payment system and web-site platform. But in the following years, there have been moves toward integration with Amazon: 2011 – integration with Amazon’s wa rehouse management system; 2012 – handing warehousing over to Amazon. Now we can see Zappos selling at the Amazon web-site in the apparel category. Zappos is making some part of the inventory available at Amazon through Amazon ProductAds, but not through the 3P marketplace (so called Selling on Amazon).

Moral Difficulties Involved in War Reporting

Moral Difficulties Involved in War Reporting Contents Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 3 Historical perspective on the evolution of journalistic ethics†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 4 Deontology and Utilitarianism†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦page 5 Ethical Dilemma: Should reporters ever leak and/or publish classified information in a time of war? Arguments in favour†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ page 5 Ethical dilemma: Should reporters ever leak and/or publish classified information in a time of war? Arguments opposed†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦page 6 Applying principles of Deontology and Utilitarianism to the ethical dilemma†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦page 8 Conclusion†¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦page 10 Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ page 11 Introduction Journalists covering wars and conflicts are faced with numerous ethical dilemmas regarding professional codes of conduct, laws regulating national security and personal commitments to ideals such as the public’s right to know, and acting as the fourth estate (with the first three estates being the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government). Of the ethical theories we studied in the Communication Ethics course, I chose to compare and contrast Deontology and Utilitarianism, describe how they apply to a specific moral difficulty, and detail what conclusions can e drawn. For brevity sake, I have left out such theories as Justice and Fairness, Care Ethics, Virtue Ethics, and Moral Intuition as described by Jordin and Beaken (2009). I have also left out numerou s other dilemmas, such as the role advocacy or bias plays in the journalism profession as it relates to war and conflict. Here are just a few of the contemporary moral difficulties that could be examined: 1. Should reporters use neutral labels to describe terrorists? When is a terrorist a terrorist? 2. When can wartime photos and video incite violence? What are the journalist's responsibilities? 3. Should reporters ever leak and/or publish classified information in a time of war? 4. Can (and should) news media be used for war propaganda or censorship? 5. What would public support have been like for WWI, WWII or Korea if there had been unlimited and unregulated scrutiny as there is today with broadcast and digital media? The conflict I am specifically examining, and the moral difficulties it presents, involves the current conflict in Iraq. To thoroughly examine one dilemma within this paper’s space limitation, I have chosen number three: should reporters ever leak and/or publish classified information in time of war? It is in this area that, while researching the above moral difficulties, I found a significant variation in attitude from war to war. Historical perspective on the evolution of journalistic ethics I found it is useful to place this examination within the historical context and journalistic attitudes of just a few of many past conflicts reaching as far back as the American Revolutionary War period. Ben Franklin was one of America’s earliest and most influential journalists (Burns 2006). Burns says (p. 91), â€Å". . . he was as ethical a journalist as America produced in the eighteenth century. Yet, he deceived on occasion, but only because he thought it was a better way to tell a story, and only because he believed his readers were sophisticated enough to know the ruse and understand that it served a deeper purpose. † Franklin’s newspaper, magazine, and others he inspired covered political and foreign news and wars. War reporting of the French and Indian War of 1754 to 1763, which began in Europe as the Seven Years’ War, provided exciting reading to colonists. Reports were common of troop movements, battles and scalpings. Advocacy journalism was in full flourish, and readers were encouraged (Burns 2006, p. 121) â€Å". . . o resist their French and Indian attackers. † As taxes were increased in the colonies, newspapers began to encourage disobedience and a boycott of British goods. Franklin summarized the state of ethical journalism of the American Revolutionary War when he wrote that â€Å". . . the press not only can ‘strike while the ir on is hot,’ but it can ‘heat’ it by continually striking. † Richards (2005) states the prevalent newspaper partisanship of 17th and 18th century began changing in the 19th century to a more neutral position. This was due to the increasing dependence on advertising revenue, and the need to appeal to the broadest market possible. He also identifies news coverage of the Spanish-American War and the circulation wars between Hearst and Pulitzer as a low point in American journalism, and providing impetus to a call for more objectivity and defined standards. That came in 1910 when the first code of ethics was created by the Kansas Editorial Association and in 1923 by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Covered in these and subsequent books and codes were such ethical topics as reporting on national security, fairness and accuracy. The Hutchins Commission in 1947 (Richards 2005, p. 8) â€Å". . . ntroduced two key notions – the ‘public good’ and the ‘greater responsibilities’ of the press. † He adds, â€Å"According to this theory, the responsibilities of the press . . . were to be emphasised over its freedoms, and the press was to be considered subject to moral and ethical restrictions. † During the second half of the 20th century there was considerable critic ism of this social responsibility theory. For instance, Richards queries to whom are the journalists responsible, what should the media be free to do, and why are they watching the government rather than the governed? Also, how does the journalist determine the public good and of which of many potential publics are we speaking? To summarize, there have been times throughout journalistic history when deception and taking sides was acceptable, but objectivity and responsibility were largely considered to be professional standards as we entered the 21st century. Deontology and Utilitarianism Of the many methods for applying ethical theories to war reporting, I narrowed the choice down to Deontology and Utilitarianism as referenced in the introduction. Deontology involves applying a universal set of principles (Jordin 2009, p. 15) â€Å". . . which makes the duty or the obligations we owe other human beings the fundamental principle of ethics. † Doing our duty is not based on a particular set of circumstances. Since acts are judged only by their consequences, the means justify the ends. Utilitarianism is defined by the consequences of actions, not the act’s moral or intrinsic value. Jordin (2009, p. 17) states, â€Å"Where deontological theories thus talk more in terms about what is right, consequentialist theories are more concerned with the good. Moral worth is determined by its ability to produce the most amount of good for the greatest number. Here, the ends justify the means. How can these two standards help answer our ethical dilemma? We can answer this question by examining a few cases from the current Iraq conflict and others. Ethical Dilemma: Should reporters ever leak and/or publish classified information i n a time of war? Arguments in favour: Former Pentagon aid Daniel Ellsberg leaked a highly classified study, subsequently called The Pentagon Papers, claiming the U. S. government deceived American citizens about the country’s involvement with Vietnam. Mitchell (2008) refers to Ellsberg as establishing the precedent for when the public’s right to know outweighs claims of national security and secrecy. Ellsberg argued that the ends justify the means since journalists sometimes do not question government war statements and do not delve deep enough. In a U. S. Supreme Court ruling on Ellsberg’s case, Justice Hugo Black wrote (Bauder 2009, p. 110), â€Å"The government’s power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the government. The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of the government and inform the people. Alterman (2003) concurs, maintaining that humans are flawed and abuse authority if they believe no one is watching. He speaks not only of politicians and policy makers, but military leaders as well. Alterman concluded it is the journalist’s role to hold political and military leaders accountable. Dean Baquet and Bill Keller (Bauder 20 09, p. 111) say â€Å"Our job, especially in times like these, is to bring our readers information that will enable them to judge how well their elected leaders are fighting on their behalf, and at what price. † They add that the White House never intended for the public to know classified secrets about faulty intelligence that led to the current war in Iraq, about prisoner abuse, alleged torture, or about electronic eavesdropping without specific warrants. They claim Americans have a right to know how the war is being waged. Others maintain that denying the public’s right to know amounts to censorship, and sometimes this censorship is not used to protect troops and prevent operational information from helping the enemy (Williams 2009), but is used to promote support for the war effort and sanitize its brutality and human cost. Williams cites as an example that the often promoted â€Å"smart† weapons in the Iraqi Gulf War, which supposedly reduced civilian casualties, comprised only seven per cent of the bombs used. â€Å"The rationale for this policy was that the public will no longer support any war involving a large number of civilian casualties. † (Williams 2009, p. 159). He added, â€Å"When the flow of information in a democratic society is controlled by the authorities and when military considerations take precedence over all other considerations then democracy itself is threatened. (Williams 2009, p. 167). To summarize, some believe it is ethical to expose government wrongdoing and deception because the public has a right to know how its government behaves behind closed doors and in foreign conflicts. Ethical dilemma: Should reporters ever leak and/or publish classified information in a time of war? Arguments opposed: At the beginning of WWII editor Tom Hopkinson withheld the truth fr om his British readers regarding the military disaster at Dunkirk, believing (Williams 2009, p. 154) â€Å". . . he truth would demoralise people and make them less able to resist an invasion. † Williams goes on to explain that similar restraint in revealing brutal photographs during the Korean War was so they would not â€Å"give aid and comfort to the enemy. † Williams (2009, p. 156) explained the distinction as to when it might be acceptable to withhold classified and potentially damaging information to a war effort: â€Å"The Second World War was a matter of national survival. There was a direct threat to Britain’s way of life. Defeat would have resulted in subjugation. The Korean War, on the other hand, at least as far as the British public was concerned, was in essence a police action happening on the other side of the world. There was no national emergency. There was no direct threat to national life. It is only when the very survival of a society is threatened that the truth can be interfered with. † During the early stages of the first Gulf War in Iraq, detailed classified information regarding the extent and effectiveness of bombing raids was withheld and restrictions placed on a reporter’s ability to interview pilots and troops (Hatchen 2000). Interviews conducted by pool reporters were subject to censorship. The U. S. Pentagon had decided there was a high priority assigned to the dismantling of the communications and military command structure in Iraq. It was vitally important that the enemy could not anticipate coalition force intentions, targets, troop strength or movements. U. S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that making classified information available to people who are not cleared for it makes finding and dealing with the responsible terrorists much more difficult. Rumsfeld added (Tapper 2001) that â€Å". . . the inevitable effect is that the lives of men and women in uniform are put at risk. † President Bush concurred (Berkowitz 2003), stating â€Å"Our nation's progress depends on the free flow of information. Nevertheless, throughout our history, the national defence has required that certain information be maintained in confidence in order to protect our citizens, our democratic institutions, our homeland security, and our interactions with foreign nations. † James B. Bruce (2007) argues that nothing is more important than national security. He believes leaks forewarn and forearm the enemy and allows them to develop countermeasures, thus placing national welfare and our citizens at home and abroad at risk. He adds in an article published on www. cia. gov that, â€Å"The US press is an open vault of classified information on US intelligence collection sources and methods. This has been true for years. But the problem is worse now than ever before, given the scope and seriousness of leaks coupled with the power of electronic dissemination and search engines. He states that press leaks allow the enemy to see how secret intelligence works, and how to defeat it. Schoenfeld (2006) rails against newspaper leaks that exposed the classified network of CIA prisons in Europe holding al-Qaeda captives, the disclosure of government surveillance of al-Qaeda suspects, and the monitoring of Al-Qaeda financial transactions. He adds the most serious leak was of a classified memo raising serious USA administration doubts about Iraqâ€℠¢s Prime Minister. He states, â€Å"At a moment when the United States faces the present danger of assault by Islamic terrorists and is struggling to protect itself from falling victim to a second September 11, a murmuration of overzealous, self-interested, and mistaken advocates is striving to shield the press’s freedom of movement at the expense of many if not all of the competing imperatives of a system based upon the rule of law. † To summarize, some believe the test for publishing any kind of information, whether classified are not, is as follows. Will publishing the information: 1. provide aid and comfort to the enemy? 2. threaten the safety of our troops and allies engaged in the conflict? 3. threaten our safety as a nation? Some believe if the answer is â€Å"yes† to any of the above, than the material should not be published or distributed. Applying principles of Deontology and Utilitarianism to the ethical dilemma Universalists, and in particular consequentialists (Jordin 2000), would argue that the greater good is served by releasing secrets during a time of war. Withholding secrets could threaten the very foundation of democracy, and the principles we are fighting to defend. If revealing a secret exposes inhumane treatment of prisoners or casts doubt on intelligence gathering which led to the current Iraqi war, then the ends justify the means. A Deontologist would say releasing secrets would destroy the right of a government to possess information that might prove harmful in other people’s hands. The duty to protect state secrets in a time of war is reflected in the â€Å"universal human right to life† as described by Jordin (2009, p. 6), and life, whether it be a citizen’s or the nation itself, might be endangered if secrets were revealed. The means (keeping classified information secret) justify the ends (national security and public safety). How then can a reporter decide when confronted with this ethical dilemma? One approach would be to answer the general questions from the URJC model (Jordin 2009, p. 29). URJC stan ds for Utilitarianism, rights and duties, and justice and care ethics. For the purpose of this discussion, I am employing only the Utilitarianism and rights and duties (Deontology) standards: . â€Å"Does the decision optimise the welfare and satisfaction of all the stakeholders? † No, it would satisfy stakeholders such as crusading journalists opposed to the war, freedom of speech and public right to know advocates, but not necessarily the government, military or intelligence personnel whose lives may be placed in danger, and not the stakeholder citizens who support the war. 2. â€Å"Does it respect the rights and duties of the individuals involved? † No, for the same reasons as stated above. 3. â€Å"Is it fair and consistent with the norms of justice? Yes, government leaks in Iraq and prior wars have rarely resulted in government prosecution or professional censure. 4. â€Å"Does it arise from and reflect an impulse to care? † Yes, acting as the fourth estat e and holding the government accountable and responsible for its actions is an altruistic goal. We can see from this exercise that the answers are evenly split: two â€Å"no† and two â€Å"yes. † A further approach might be to use the modified URJC model as developed by Velasquez et al and described in Jordin (2009, p. 29) by answering the following questions: . â€Å"Who will be affected by each possible course of action and what benefits and harms will be derived from each? † The publication of classified information in time of war could provide aid and comfort to the enemy and potentially endanger public officials, military and intelligence sources both at home and abroad. However, there are situations when governments may wish to cover up embarrassing or potentially illegal activities, and the only way to shed light on the situation is by publishing secret information. Therefore, each situation would need to be reviewed in a case-by-case analysis; weighing the potential for harm against the greatest good. 2. â€Å"Does the course of action respect everyone’s rights to choose freely how they will live their lives, to the truth, to privacy, not to be harmed or injured, to what has been promised or agreed? † No, revealing secrets during the time of war may result in harm and injury to its citizens and to the security of the government, even while promoting truth and democracy. 3. â€Å"Does the course of action treat everybody in the same way or does it show favouritism or discrimination? No, selectively choosing which laws to break and which secret data to reveal does not treat everyone the same way and can show favouritism to a particular point of view, course of action or even a political party. The only way not to discriminate would be to blanketly publish all available leaks or secret data a reporter comes across, or to publish non e at all. 4. â€Å"What kind of person do I aspire to be? Which course of action promotes the development of that character within myself and my community? † The decision is up to each reporter. Speaking from personal experience as a professional journalist I can answer that adherence to the principles of democracy, freedom of the press, and the public’s right to know are of highest importance. Yes, it may be acceptable in some circumstances to leak or publish classified material in a time of war. In reviewing the previous four questions there was one â€Å"maybe†, two â€Å"no† and one â€Å"yes† answers. Conclusion By answering the previous eight questions in the context of Deontology and Utilitarianism theories, it can be concluded that leaking and/or publishing classified information in a time of war is not acceptable. Therefore, it is possible to solve this specific moral difficulty concerning war reporting. Though it is possible to determine a course of action by applying these theories to such an ethical dilemma, the final result is not clear cut. The outcome was decided by a single â€Å"no† answer out of eight questions. Due to such a close margin, I believe these two basic theories can benefit from further modification and application of other ethical models to help find a solution to moral difficulties in war reporting. Bibliography ALTERMAN, Eric (2003). What liberal media? New York, Basic Books. BAUDER, Julia (2009). Media ethics. Michigan, Greenhaven Press. BERKOWITZ, Bill (2003). Escalating secrecy wars. WorkingForChange. com, 9 July. [online]. Last accessed 21 Dec. 2009 at: http://www. alternet. org/story/16369/ BRUCE, James (2007). The consequences of permissive neglect. www. cia. gov, May. [online]. 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