Critical analysis

One of the most important writing exercises a student of philosophy can complete is a critical analysis essay. A critical analysis essay is when you evaluate an author’s work to increase your understanding of it. A critical analysis requires both a critical reading of the source material, and a critical writing about the source material. Make sure to employ your critical thinking skills here (use the elements and standards from our critical thinking PowerPoint).
Your task for this paper is to choose one article from our applied ethics section: Baxter, Leopold, Hill. Jr., Brock, Rachels, Foot, Singer (either of his essays), Hardin, O’Neill, Norcross , Boaz, or de Marneffe and write a critical analysis of the work. This will involve you writing an exposition and critique of the essay. Your exposition should clearly and accurately explain the view of the author in your own words. What is the purpose of the essay? How do they build their argument? What data or evidence do they use to support their claims? What conclusions do they draw?
Next, you are going to provide a critique of this position – did the author achieve their purpose? If so, elaborate and explain why, if not, why not? What assumptions has the author made? Are any of these assumptions unwarranted? Why? What problems or issues does the view have? Can we overcome these problems? If so, how? If not, why not? What might the author say about these issues? Can you offer any prescriptions to make the view stronger?
Your essay should be set up as follows:
1) Introduction – briefly and generally set up the discussion you intend to have within your essay
Do not dive straight into content – save this for the body of the work
Include a thesis statement telling your reader what you hope to show or attempt to prove with your essay (what is your main reaction to this essay?) – “This essay will show _______ succeeded/failed/progressed toward/enlightened/etc. in arguing for “x” for reasons y and z.”
2) An in-depth explanation of the essay you chose – in your own words
What is the purpose of the work?
What is argument?
How is the approach justified?
What conclusions does the author draw?
Make sure to give a full account
3) Following your explanation of the view you need to critique it (you are evaluating the view here)
Did the author achieve their purpose?
What assumptions is the author making?
What problems does this view have? Fully explain the objections that you raise.
Can they be overcome? How?
What might the author say about these issues?
Do you have prescriptions to make the view stronger?
4) Conclusion (reaffirm your thesis statement without merely restating content)
Do not introduce new ides in your conclusion
Do not end your essay in a question
This essay is asking for you to make an argument about the efficacy of a moral view – do not confuse crafting your own argument with offering a mere opinion. Arguments support the claims that they make with evidence and good reasons, mere opinions do not. You must give an argument here.
The essay should be typed, have 1-inch margins, be double spaced using 12-point font (with a normal theme – Times New Roman, Calibri, etc.), and should adhere to formal guidelines (have a title, check your grammar and sentence structure, if you are using any sources, cite them properly using parenthetical, in-text citations, and list the full bibliographic entry on a works cited page.
Please only submit files in word or pdf format. It is your responsibility to submit the correct file to Blackboard. If you submit a blank or incorrect file, you will be marked off points according to the late work policy outlined in the syllabus.
This essay has a minimum word count of 600 content words (excludes name and class information, title, and work cited information). Submissions under 600 words will be marked off 20 points for failing to meet the minimum word count.

ANSWER

Critical Analysis

Several philosophers have distinct ways of describing their ideas and make them suitable for the targeted audience. Various philosophers have discussed many critical topics on business, healthcare, philosophy, and sociology; some ideas are similar while some are different from one another. Thomas C Baxter is an established and known philosopher who has documented several articles in many fields; his ideas and perceptions have been adopted by several organizations globally. One of the articles he is known for is ‘The rewards of an ethical culture.’ This paper emphasizes how Baxter passes across his ideas and analysis concerning the subject article mentioned above. The paper also evaluates the context of the article, whether it serves the intended purpose, and whether it gets to the intended audience. The paper will highlight Baxter’s progress in delivering his arguments on why an ethical culture is vital in an organization.

The subject article (The rewards of an ethical culture) plays a critical role in any organization’s management and employee attitude. It summarizes how bad behavior from employees can affect the business and how the uppermost management can influence the conduct and behavior of the employees. Baxter’s article also highlights traditional and advanced ways of solving bad behavior in an organization. Besides, the article further narrates the components of a good ethical culture; it denotes what should be adopted and what should not be adopted to have an effective and strong ethical culture in an organization. The primary objective of this article is to ensure good ethical behaviors in a working environment. Baxter uses real-life examples to emphasize his ideas; he also shows the advantages and disadvantages of including some ethical aspects and excluding other aspects.

Baxter’s approach in this article is commendable and ideal. He relates his ideas to the current and proven surveys; for instance, he uses a 2010 Corporate Executive Board survey that shows that most corporations that develop strong ethical cultures have minimal encounters of misconduct. Another approach that the subject philosopher utilizes is his audience’s involvement in an attempt to explain his ideas. This is depicted in the article when he poses a challenge to his audience, who are skeptical of the significance of strong ethical cultures, by asking them an alternative approach suitable for preventing unethical behaviors by bankers. In concluding his article, he emphasizes the primary benefit to a financial services organization in possessing a strong ethical culture, which is the avoidance of bad baker character.

He also concludes by highlighting the benefits of a strong ethical culture, such as attracting the best and brightest personnel in an organization. Baxter further denotes that bad banker behavior usually leads to enforcement actions accompanied by substantial monetary fines. Finally, he highlights the benefits of an industry with strong ethical cultures; effectiveness and safety are guaranteed for such industries. Baxter also touches on particular fields and a general view of the importance of strong ethical culture in all fields, ensuring good behavior about ensuring financial stability. From a keen evaluation, it is evident the author achieved the intended purpose and the targeted audience. He summarized his points with the limited time available and used the most suitable approaches in ensuring his message is well delivered. The subject author assumes that culture is a package; hence, some aspects comprise the package and those aspects that must be left out to obtain the required and most suitable strong ethical culture.

Some of the aspects that he would leave out include portraying people that an organization does business with counterparties and assuming that a bank is a money-making machine. He would prefer to include incentives and character at the top, thereby enhancing a strong ethical culture. Including and excluding certain aspects in developing a strong ethical culture might result in certain challenges; for instance, the employees need to be notified of the importance of not including certain aspects. The aspects being excluded should be explained to them and told of the impacts of not getting them involved in their quest to achieve an effective, ethical culture. The raised problems can be overcome by meeting with the top management and employees and engaging them on the significance of adopting certain aspects and the benefits that come with excluding certain aspects. The author is likely to support my suggestion since it is another way of ensuring his intended audience is well informed. The only way to make the perceptions stronger is through engaging the uppermost managers and the employees on a central ground without overlooking any party.

In conclusion, developing strong ethical behavior is vital in ensuring an organization’s success and stability. Involvement of both the employer and employee while developing the recommended cultures is vital in creating a good working relationship between the two parties, thus promoting good behaviors in the organization. Good behavior among employees is paramount in instilling a suitable working culture where employees don’t feel like slaves when undertaking their daily assigned roles by their bosses; it also ensures the prevalence of respect in the entire organization.