Prior to taking this course, I thought I had a relatively solid understanding of ethics and

practices. Now I know I have only been exposed to an introduction. The Organizational

Leadership major and all of the courses I have taken thus far have proved to me not

only how far I have come but enlightened me to how much further I need to go I want

to reach my goals. The textbook, Ethics Theory and Business Practice by Mick Fryer

reiterated much of what I have been exposed to such as the Kantian Theory,

utilitarianism, and Feminine Ethics in addition to introducing environmental ethics. I had

heard about environmental ethics but had not read much about it up until this course.

Prior to this course, I was only interested in completing my bachelor’s degree but now I

feel intrigued and engaged enough to continue towards earning my master's degree.

I have utilized the Perusall discussion format in one other course and feel it is an

appropriate resource for online learning. I was able to successfully interact with my

peers and gain valuable insight into not only the content but various points of views

from other classmates. As a seasoned returning student, I was hesitant about investing

in an online degree since I have only learned from the traditional in class approach.

Platforms such as Perusall made me feel comfortable, engaged and confident in what I

was learning.

Although, I was more often correct in my Planet Jockey Moral Minefield simulation

questions, some did surprise me. The platform shined a light on a few dated beliefs and

understandings I had regarding ethics, stakeholders, and shareholders. The simulations

kept be engaged and were relevant to the readings and other discussions in the

modules. I would appreciate more experience with the simulations and hope that future

classes utilize this platform.

In the short few weeks of this semester, I was snagged by two teams to help them with

their projects. Since these moves were against my career path and goals, I was quite

upset and spent much of my time sulking and being angry. Forcing myself to read,

despite it being a requirement for my courses, and working through each exercise

reminded me that I can only control how I react. With the exception of a few new topics,

I had heard or read about most of the others. I once felt like a leader but after being

moved twice, I felt like a failure and that I regressed in my trainings and knowledge gain.

The moves prevented me from gaining the knowledge and experience I need in order to

promote into a technical position from the administrative positions I have held. Working

through the exercises, acknowledging the fact that completing my degree will boost my

confidence and give me that extra accolade, and being able to continue to work

remotely somewhat uplifted my spirits. The readings reminded me that I need to

continue to push through these challenges and remember the leader I used to be and

take note of the leader I want to become. I can not honestly note that I have changed

my leadership style over the past few weeks, but I have been reminded that it is what I

make of it and everything in this course will only help me figure out how to be a better

leader.
My biggest take away from this course is being able to reference my own work from the

modules. I have saved all of my exercises and frequently go back to add personal notes

on the side and refresh on ideas. In my new position, I speak and interact with executive

staff often and know the verbiage in the exercises and readings will be channeled when

communicating with them. One specific subject I have referenced more than 2 times was

the chapter on Virtue Theory. I will be speaking to my extended team in an all staff

meeting in a few weeks and my slides will reference this theory and touching on

utilitarianism. I am excited to be able to practically apply what I have learned in

organizational leadership thus far.