MLSD 500: Leadership Found in Research
A500.4.3RB – Adorable Ballet Slippers
Submitted to ERAU Worldwide
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the
Degree of MBAA
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Worldwide
Online Campus
September 6, 2015
Adorable Ballet Slippers
The
lesson is about choice. Choice is the power of picking the best part, person or
thing (Merriam-Webster, 2015). All humans share a basic need and desire for
choice, we don't all see choice in the same places or to the same extent. Studies
have shown that when you give people ten or more options when they're making a
choice, they make poorer decisions, whether it be health care, investment, or other
critical areas. Yet still, many of us believe that we should make all our own
choices and seek out even more of them (Iyengar, 2010).
Human
behavior is shaped by the environment, by deliberate and non-deliberate
conditioning, training and education. If this were the case, then choice is
really conditioning, training and education of what is available and selecting
deliberately or non-deliberately (Pecorino
& O’Sullivan, 2002).
If
choice is reliant upon the environment that one is exposed to, than the
selection is influenced by social class, education and upbringing (Pecorino & O’Sullivan, 2002).
The
fundamental difference culturally in our ideas is about choice. Here in
America, when a paying customer makes a reasonable request based on their
preferences, they have the right to have that request met. Opposed to Japan, where
it is the people’s duty to protect those who don't know any better. Americans
tend to think that their choices best fulfills an innate and universal desire
for choice in all humans. These are assumptions that don't always hold true in
many cultures (Iyengar, 2010).
Americans
believe that choice personally affects you and your preferences. Americans believe
that by making their own choices, their own interests will be accounted for, which
is essential for success and being true to oneself. Americans are exposed to
more options each passing day and it is perceived that the choice one makes in
America is a direct correlation to who they are, what they choose, and why they
choose it (Iyengar, 2010).
I believe in transparent and authentic
data based information so I can empower myself to make rational decisions. As
leaders, we need to encourage and empower people to learn as much as possible,
to vet data for its authenticity and simplicity, so that they may be informed
and equipped to make good choices.
According to Sheena Iyengar (2010), we
become overwhelmed by choice, sometimes even afraid of it. If we were to
educate the majority of the population and foster an empowerment environment,
then this might not be a result. Dr. Iyengar states that choice no longer
offers opportunities, but imposes constraints. It's not a marker of liberation,
but of suffocation by meaningless minutiae (2010).
I agree with Dr Iyengar’s position that we
are suffocating from the minutiae – overwhelmed by the details of biased
presentations that leave us easy prey for manipulation, invalidating the
concept of choice. That does not release us, however, from our own
responsibilities as leaders to continually search for authentically vetted data
in order to make sound, rational decisions. We must remove the clutter in the
search for truth. If we do not implement this as leaders, we will make
ourselves vulnerable to those who know how to market to our weaknesses for
their own advantage and possibly make decisions that are not in our best
interests. Choice is essential for a
free society, a society that fosters innovation and growth, and opportunities
for all.
In the end, if you combined two different shades of pinks, through individuality, choice and innovation, you will get the best pink and product available, adorable ballet slippers.
References:
Iyengar, Sheena. (2010). TED video transcript:
The Art of Choosing. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/sheena_iyengar_on_the_art_of_choosing/transcript?language=en
Merriam-Webster. (2015). Full Definition of Choice.
Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/choice
Nosich,
G. M. (2012). Learning to think things through: Critical thinking across the
curriculum. Columbus, OH: Prentice Hall. (ISBN: 9780137085149)
Pecorino, P & O’Sullivan, S. (2002). Ethics:
Deontological Theories on Natural Law, Problems. Retrieved from http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/SocialSciences/ppecorino/ETHICS_TEXT/Chapter_7_Deontological_Theories_Natural_Law/Problems_with_Natural_Law.htm
