In the course, Introduction to Ethics on American Indian Reservations, there is a lot of discussion of "Joe the Tribal Worker". The course is subscription only (which means you can't see the web pages unless you pay), but here is a brief description by Dr. Erich Longie from the (free) Tribal Leaders Forum,
"Let me introduce you to your Joe. Joe appears to have super natural powers. He seems to be working at several jobs at the same time, and I know I met him at each reservation I visited. Joe, as well as being unemployed for an extended length of time, has held a variety of jobs. He was a dishwasher and bus driver at the school, employed by a grant, worked at the college and for the tribe, at one time was program manager, board member, and even served a term as tribal council member. In short, Joe has held almost every tribal job there is.
Joe, the Tribal Worker, is a very dangerous man. Why do I say Joe is dangerous? Because of the irreparable harm, he does to his reservation community while serving his own self-interest, because self-serving individuals who strive for power are most likely to abuse it. They do not have the virtues, integrity, and wisdom to use power and influence fairly and correctly. Joe will not hesitate to rig elections by swaying mass opinion about ethical candidates; he is not above blackmail, bribery, or intimidation to further his needs. For example, when Joe was employed as an administrator at the school, he did not care if his actions hurt the education of children (even his own). He looked at the school as an employment agency for his relatives and fought very hard to get them hired."
People taking the ethics course were given several stories about Joe and then asked four questions:
1. How much is Joe responsible for his own unethical behavior?
2. Is Joe's supervisor responsible for his behavior? If so, how?
3. Is the tribal council responsible for his behavior? If so, how?
4. Are we, as co-workers or fellow community members responsible for his behavior? If so, how?
I was particularly interested in the last question, where respondents were asked their PERSONAL responsibility.
Erich and I interpreted this chart very differently. He thought that since only 10% of those who answered said that co-workers, community members and other by-standers were not responsible that tribal members recognized they were a part of the problem. I disagreed.
Only 3% of those questioned said part of the responsibility was to co-workers and others who were bad role models, for example,
Over 70% gave very vague responses such as,
Only 15% gave specific actions, like this tribal employee did,
or this one;
So, if I disagree with Dr. Longie, what do I think about this? I am glad you asked me that question!
In teaching for many years, I have found that when people give general answers to a question on a test they usually don't understand it all that well. Take these two examples:
The very general answers most people gave to this ethics question makes me think that this is an area they haven't studied or thought about very much. However, simply by taking these courses, I believe that is changing, and it will be a permanent change, because you can't unthink a thought.
"Let me introduce you to your Joe. Joe appears to have super natural powers. He seems to be working at several jobs at the same time, and I know I met him at each reservation I visited. Joe, as well as being unemployed for an extended length of time, has held a variety of jobs. He was a dishwasher and bus driver at the school, employed by a grant, worked at the college and for the tribe, at one time was program manager, board member, and even served a term as tribal council member. In short, Joe has held almost every tribal job there is.
Joe, the Tribal Worker, is a very dangerous man. Why do I say Joe is dangerous? Because of the irreparable harm, he does to his reservation community while serving his own self-interest, because self-serving individuals who strive for power are most likely to abuse it. They do not have the virtues, integrity, and wisdom to use power and influence fairly and correctly. Joe will not hesitate to rig elections by swaying mass opinion about ethical candidates; he is not above blackmail, bribery, or intimidation to further his needs. For example, when Joe was employed as an administrator at the school, he did not care if his actions hurt the education of children (even his own). He looked at the school as an employment agency for his relatives and fought very hard to get them hired."
People taking the ethics course were given several stories about Joe and then asked four questions:
1. How much is Joe responsible for his own unethical behavior?
2. Is Joe's supervisor responsible for his behavior? If so, how?
3. Is the tribal council responsible for his behavior? If so, how?
4. Are we, as co-workers or fellow community members responsible for his behavior? If so, how?
I was particularly interested in the last question, where respondents were asked their PERSONAL responsibility.
Erich and I interpreted this chart very differently. He thought that since only 10% of those who answered said that co-workers, community members and other by-standers were not responsible that tribal members recognized they were a part of the problem. I disagreed.
Only 3% of those questioned said part of the responsibility was to co-workers and others who were bad role models, for example,
"The other workers are late as well."
Over 70% gave very vague responses such as,
"We are responsible by not doing anything."
"No courage to talk up."
Only 15% gave specific actions, like this tribal employee did,
"We have a duty to confront Joe and to report Joe to his supervisor and/or the tribal council. Ethical people do not let unethical behavior to continue unchecked."
or this one;
"We are responsible for writing formal complaints and grieving Joe's behavior using policies and procedures to describe what is taking place. We are also responsible for modeling good work standards. When new employees, especially young people, come into an organization, we should reward good work habits and model a strong work ethic."
So, if I disagree with Dr. Longie, what do I think about this? I am glad you asked me that question!
In teaching for many years, I have found that when people give general answers to a question on a test they usually don't understand it all that well. Take these two examples:
"Some kinds of mental retardation you are born with."
"Down syndrome is caused by an extra chromosome, specifically three of the 21st chromosome instead of the usual two. "
The very general answers most people gave to this ethics question makes me think that this is an area they haven't studied or thought about very much. However, simply by taking these courses, I believe that is changing, and it will be a permanent change, because you can't unthink a thought.
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