Lecture Notes (cont.)

As noted, I am posting some more lecture notes, picking up where I left off in Chapter 2 of The Cheating Culture --

1. In our contemporary society with its resurgent bottom-line, laissez faire ideology, wealth is equated with virtue. And inequalities of wealth are seen as good because they motivate people to work harder (or cut corners) to acquire that wealth.

2. Whereas corporate executives of the 1950s were more concerned with their employees and being good citizens themselves, by the 1980s this "social contract" was seriously eroded.

(a) Pay equity went out the window -- an extreme example of which is: the highest paid CEO in 1968 was the chairman of GM who made (a paltry) $795,000; in 1988, Michael Eisner of Walt Disney Corp. made $40.1 million; and by 1998, Eisner pulled in $575.6 million! (The Wall Street Journal article I handed out confirms this extreme wage separation -- that as of 2005 the average CEO pay was 369 times as much as the average worker, and that is down from over 400 times around 2000.)

D. Callahan goes on to point out how a large scale change in values has made it easier to rationalize such greed and its attendant "cheating culture." (see last paragraph, p. 46 over to p. 47)

E. Finally, in this chapter he turns his attention to doctors and the "business" of medicine.

1. Notes that many doctors have gotten involved in multi-level marketing schemes -- selling nutritional supplements despite lack of evidence to back up health claims. And they have resisted efforts by the AMA to restrict such practices.

2. Or, they are in bed (so to speak) with the powerful pharmaceutical industry.

(a) For example: Drug companies encouraged doctors to prescribe neurontin (designed to treat epilepsy), for other purposes. Although the FDA does not allow the drug companies themselves to do this, it does regulate doctors. Obviously a way to boost sales, and doctors get a big "kick-back."

3. Doctors are now under greater bottom-line pressures, either to pay off huge debts and establish an office, or increasingly these days, working for a managed care organization such as an HMO. Pressure to see more patients and cut costs. Certainly could use some cost cutting, but not at the expense of what is the appropriate or best medical care.

4. There are also big gaps between star physicians such as cardiologists, neurosurgeons, etc. and young general practitioners just starting out.

F. Callahan concludes with an overall assessment of whether this "leaner and meaner" system focused squarely on the bottom line (not necessarily the best medical care) has been as good as conventional wisdom holds. (Clearly not, when it comes to the increased pressure to cheat.) (See last two paragraphs, p. 62)



That's all for now. This brings us up to Chapter 3: Whatever It Takes.

Reminders & Lecture Notes

REMINDERS: First, check our the April 23 post where I describe our last family activity which involves making up final exam questions. You should be doing that on your own, and I'll try to set aside some class time for the families to confer during this coming week.
Second, several people have not turned in essay III on Consumed. I plan to hand those back on Tuesday (4/29), which will be the deadline for late essays. In any case try to get it in ASAP.
Third, the paper on how to study a social problem of your choice is due on Tuesday (4/29), when we will begin your brief presentations (5-10 min.). As was determined by cutting cards, we will start with the top of the alphabet and work our way down. Please be prepared.
Finally, do continue reading The Cheating Culture. I am going to post some lecture notes below and will probably add to them during this week. As I indicated in class, I do want to get through at least Chapter 6 in that book.

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Lecture Notes: The Cheating Culture

Let me begin with a couple final observations about Chapter 1. I left off commenting about the last of four reasons why Callahan believes cheating is more widespread today (4) Trickle-Down Corruption --

(a) Callahan acknowledges that a lot of middle class Americans are feeling both insecure and cynical these days -- a dangerous combination indeed. And so they bend the rules as they see fit.

(To his credit, Callahan does recognize that cheating is also pervasive in other societies where the market, individualism, and materialism are less pronounced.)

G. Finally, he underscores the significant costs associated with widespread cheating, which I would argue clearly run contrary to any notion of a harmonious, just social order. It strikes at the integrity of the whole social order. (see last paragraph p. 24 - middle p. 25)

Chapter Two: Cheating on a Bottom-line Economy

A. Throughout this chapter, Callahan shows how increasing pressures to meet some sales quota, maximize profits, or boost a company's stock price -- i.e., "bottom-line pressures" -- have created pressures to cheat in everything from the auto repair business to corporate law firms to doctors. This focus on the bottom line often runs roughshod over individuals' sense of integrity and honesty.

1. Notes that auto repair fraud is estimated at about $40 billion a year. Sears was called on the carpet for such practices in the 1990s, but the company ended up getting a slap on the wrist, and as part of the monetary settlement did not even have to admit wrongdoing (which happens a lot).

2. Integrity, whether of the individual mechanic or the company, is pitted against economic security. And, no surprise, economic security wins.

B. Lawyers can act just as unscrupulously (if not more so) when faced with similar pressures. Callahan focuses on big law firms where there is a huge gap between a young associate who may make $125,000/yr. working 80 hours a week, versus the lawyer who makes partner and can make nearly $2 million/yr.

1. Concern for the bottom line seems just as intense, leading lawyers to overbill clients, charge $500/hr. Money seems to be the preeminent concern, not being effective, intelligent interpreters of our complex laws, which is a service many of us need from time to time.

2. Research of Lisa Lerman is revealing in this respect. (see last paragraph p. 38 - middle p. 39)

3. Although there are some legal auditing firms out there to check up on these practices, most legal bills are never audited at all, some are barely looked at, like auto repair and medical bills all too often. (p. 40)

C. "Changes in corporate law since the 1970s, as well as the experience of Sears auto mechanics, illustrate the power of economic change to shape personal 'ethics.'" (pp. 41-2)
"In both cases, personal qualms about cheating easily get buried because 'everybody's doing it.'" (p. 42)

**(Of course, as long as your primary consideration is just you or your family, and not the larger society or the integrity of the social order, you're probably going to cheat. We need to be made fully aware and thoroughly educated about the significance of that larger social order and that we are not just isolate beings who operate on the narrow basis of what may appear to be in our best interest.)


That's all for now. I'll be adding to this through this upcoming week.

Family Activity: Final Exam Questions

For our final family activity I am going to give you an opportunity to make up some questions for the final exam from the latter half of the course. This is basically the same thing we did before the midterm exam. Each family will make up and submit THREE short-answer questions from material we've covered since the midterm, which means anything from March 20th on, or starting with Chapter 25 in the book, Affluenza. So this would include: the video, "The Overspent American," and my commentary on the book of the same title; "Advertising and the End of the World" (OTHER THAN the questions I have already accepted from three of the families); our brief coverage of Consumed; and finally, class lectures on The Cheating Culture.This is worth 5 activity points. I will try to accept at least one question from each family, and will award one bonus point for each additional question I accept. YOU MUST COME TO SOME AGREEMENT ON JUST THREE QUESTIONS, IF YOU SUBMIT ANY MORE THAN THAT I WILL SIMPLY IGNORE THOSE. We may squeeze in some class time next week for this, depending on how the presentations go, but I would suggest you individually make up a few questions and confer with family members outside of class. The deadline for submitting these questions (and answers) to me will be TUESDAY, MAY 6TH.

See you tomorrow,and don't forget essay III is due. We'll also set up some sort of schedule for your BRIEF presentations of your papers.

Results of "Advertising and the End of the World" Family Activity

All four families earned the 5 activity points for this exercise, and the Black, Blue, and Yellow families earned 2 bonus points because I was able to make up a final exam question based on the paragraph they submitted. The Green family missed out because I did not get a paragraph from them. Below are the final exam questions I made up based on these submissions, along with the expected answers.

BLACK FAMILY: In the context of "Advertising and the End of the World," when people are asked about what brings them happiness or fulfillment most people indicate what sort of values? (1pt)
Answer: social values such as friendship, love, autonomy, etc.

YELLOW FAMILY: In the context of "Advertising and the End of the World," the moderator Sut Jhally noted that advertising creates what "illusion" in terms of how it addresses the question of happiness? (1pt)
Answer: It creates the illusion that social values and desires can be fulfilled by consuming material products.

BLUE FAMILY: In the context of "Advertising and the End of the World," what is advertising's view of the future, and why is this a problem? (2pts)
Answer: Advertising, like business in general, is very present-oriented; it's all about fulfilling immediate needs and desires. This is a problem because many of the problems (eg., global warming) that we face are long-term and require planning decades into the future.


Make sure to copy these questions and answers. They will be on the final exam.


See you next Tuesday (4/22) and be ready with any questions about Consumed. Also, we may begin to talk about The Cheating Culture.

Outline of Next Couple Weeks & Essay III Description

The Next Couple Weeks: Given the limited amount of time remaining in the semester and the fact that I only plan to cover the first four chapters in Benjamin Barber's book, Consumed, I am going to have you "cover" this in our last essay of the semester, as described below. More specifically, what we'll be doing over the next two weeks is as follows: Tuesday (4/15): see "Advertising and the End of the World," following which you'll be engaged in the family activity I described in a 4/11 blog post; Thursday (4/17): families will present views on video, following which I will make some overview comments on Consumed, then open the class up for any questions or comments you care to make about the book; Tuesday (4/22): open with questions or comments on Consumed, following which I will introduce our last book, The Cheating Culture; Thursday (4/24): essay III due on Consumed, and I will continue commentary on The Cheating Culture. You should already have begun reading Consumed and, hopefully, will have read through Chapter 4 over the next week or so. Also --

DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE FAMILY ACTIVITY AND EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY I DESCRIBED IN THE APRIL 11TH BLOG POST.
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Sociology 215
Essay III
4/15/08

A. Especially significant and insightful in Benjamin Barber's critique of our consumerist society is the notion of "infantilization" or the "Infantilist Ethos," which he argues is a danger to us both as responsible consumers and citizens. So, what's wrong with thinking and acting like children? More specifically, I want you to identify and discuss THREE points from the first four chapters of Consumed (at least ONE of which has to come from Chapter 4), addressing that question.

B. Your essay should be a bit longer than the first two, roughly 3-4 pages. Be sure to indicate the page #(s) of any passages from the book which you quote in your essay. In fact, for each of the three points you identify and discuss I want you to indicate the page #(s) from which each came even if you don't quote something directly from the book.

C. This essay is due on THURSDAY, APRIL 24TH. It is worth 25 points.

Family Activity on "Advertising and the End of the World" & Extra Credit Opportunity

As I mentioned in class yesterday, we are going to do a family activity in connection with our viewing of "Advertising and the End of the World" next Tuesday (4/15). Also, remember that we selected new families last Tuesday. This activity is described below:

FAMILY ACTIVITY: In the latter part of "Advertising and the End of the World" the moderator (Sut Jhally) briefly explores three fundamental questions which advertising answers in distinctive ways. I want each family to focus on just ONE of these questions (and advertising's answer) which you believe has the most harmful or destructive implications for society. I want each family to write up a paragraph summarizing your conclusions, which a designated spokesperson will present to the class on Thursday (4/17). Please be prepared to turn in that paragraph on that day too. You will have time to discuss this with your family following our viewing of the video on Tuesday. Please make every effort to be in attendance so you can participate in this family activity and earn the points. It is worth 5 activity points. And for particularly good ones (in my estimation), I may use them as a basis for making up a final exam question, in which case that family or families will receive 2 bonus points.


EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY: By attending any of the events (such as a talk, roundtable, or panel discussion) associated with the upcoming Citizenship and Leadership Symposium (April 12-24) you may earn 3 extra credit points. To earn the three points you need to attend the event of course AND post a brief overview of the event in which you should also tie it in to our class. For example, many of the sessions clearly have to do with various problems in the world which would obviously relate to this course and my effort to define a basis for identifying social problems. Of course, there may be other connections you could make. You only have to make one such tie-in. I just want to see some evidence that you went and thought about the subject matter in the context of this course. POST YOUR RESPONSES AS COMMENTS ON THIS BLOG POST (no more than two paragraphs).