Engl 101-MT7 Blog, Fall 2008

EC Business Ethics – Kolyo D.

kdimanov — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:31:45 +0000

I don’t think that Edison’s behavior should be justified in any way. what he did was inhumane and just bad business practice he would have never have to kill all of those animals if he actually had the sense to look at the battle he was fighting and realize that his position was a lost cause he would have lost no matter what and as history shows he did. In the business sense sometimes it is profitable to be unethical but that is why we have ethics to tell us what is right and what is wrong and to let us know when we have reached that point. Edison was wrong in every sense.

Transformers – Kolyo D.

kdimanov — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:25:06 +0000

A transformer is a mechanism that allows massive amounts of current to travel a long distance. Once it reaches its destination it can be stepped down and transferred to outlets at a safe voltage. Transformers were what made the long distance transfer possible in Westinghouse’s system, and that is why Westinghouse won the war of the currents because of his ability to transfer electricity to a great distance with ought having to have a power plant every 2 miles like Edison.

Westinghouse – Kolyo D.

kdimanov — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:13:03 +0000

One of Westinghouse’s most important inventions was the air break for the trains. He revolutionized the train industry and made great advancement in that field. This system used a compressor on the engine of the train and used a single pipe running all the way thru the train. If the systems of the train fail, the pipe can be disconnected, and the brakes will be applied. Air brakes systems make transportation by train safer. The air break reduces the possibility of accidents. It also enables longer and heavier trains to run at higher speeds. Air brakes are still used in everyday vehicles. One other great invention of this great inventor was the AC system. He revolutionized the electricity industry forever with his brilliant design and efficient system. He would have been way less successful without the help of Nicola Tesla. The creator of the efficient AC motor there were other alternatives but Tesla’s was the best.

Edison Electrocution 2-Kolyo D.

kdimanov — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:00:14 +0000

In the previous post we discussed that Edison’s ways were cruel and now we prove the same point by introducing the electric chair scenario in to the picture. Edison hired Brown to make the electric chair using Westinghouse’s system. Brown succeeded in making something terrible. Edison proved his stupidity once again. As we said in the previous post there was many other ways to show the people that AC was not good or DC was better. Even thou it was not. Edison could not bear the fact that AC was more efficient than DC and that it was more practically for everyday use, so he went on and put on these terrible shows of animals dyeing and then he could easily be blamed for the suffering of the first person electrocuted. This just shows us what some people are willing to do to come out victorious. This literally put the war of the currents into perspective by actually taking a life. It is sort of ironic in a cruel way!

AC Motor – Kolyo D.

kdimanov — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:48:27 +0000

The official definition of an AC motor is an electric motor that uses alternating current to run. When we mention the AC motor one name has to come up and that name is Nikola Tesla. Before Tesla revolutionized the AC motor other AC motors were very unreliable and very prone to malfunction. Once Tesla got to work with George Westinghouse he was able to realize his so called masterpiece. The unique design of Nicola was simple and efficient, he used stator wire and magnets but the key thing was that when the magnets were wrapped in the stator wire they would reverse their poles with ought any mechanical help which was the key to the AC motor. Once Tesla created a few working prototypes he was able to present them to Westinghouse and Westinghouse adopted the contraption into his system. Westinghouse’s system was good enough whit ought Tesla’s motor but it was limited and if used to break down a lot Tesla’s model brought reliability and efficiency to the system.

(Edit)LineMan’s Death! Keith

kfoederl — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:55:56 +0000

Dear Editor,

Electricity is a new and wonderful source of energy that eliminates many of the problems we faced with those that are obsolete. Just as we once dealt with harmful ash and explosions with natural gas, the next threat to public safety that electricity offers is electrocution. My colleague Mr.Edison has the right concerns keeping public safety a top priority and I would like to personally thank him for his efforts. But make no mistake that Mr.Edison’s system is safer then mine or vice versa, each system has the potential to induce harm if a human is exposed to a live wire. Food can still be cooked if exposed to AC or DC regardless. The Solution to this problem is not eliminating alternating-current electricity but to create public awareness. The general populous must be informed of electrical hazards and how to be cautious in an environment where electrocution is a risk, even my colleague Mr. Edison has said “So much has been written and read on the subject of high-tension electric currents” yet he has failed to mention the latest improvements in safety technology including the safety provided by our transformers. (qtd. in The Dangers of Electric Lighting authored by Thomas Edison)

Thank You, 8=)~

Westinghouse

EC blog – Ryan C

rcheney2 — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:45:49 +0000

Like many people, I do not believe that Edison’s practices were very ethical. There are laws now restricting many practices because of their unethical qualities. So Edison’s acts were unethical, but were they good business? To answer this question, we must answer another: what defines good business?

I think everyone would agree that good customer service and honesty make for the best business. When a customer is treated fairly and courteously, the customer does not complain that they were plagued by ‘bad business’. But does this mean that the distinction between good and bad business has nothing to do with money? I believe so. If good business were defined by how much money was made, the businesses that cheat their customers and investors would be defined as ‘good’. I believe that we have a much easier time defining good business as opposed to bad business. But if we look at the history of Edison’s company, it did well when its concerns were for public safety and cheaply providing a new technology to as many people as possible. Once the company’s interests turned to defeating rival companies with whatever means necessary, their business practices went from good to bad, and the financial situation later reflected that.

Ethics and Business – Kevin Smith

ksmi6 — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:06:39 +0000

I think that some people don’t think that Edison did anything wrong because they have more of a business attitude rather than an ethical attitude. Ethics can sometimes get in the way of making money because sometimes companies act ‘grimy’ or ‘dirty’ to get what they want. Some companies can try to undermine other companies like Edison was trying to do, by trying to give the AC system a bad connotation to drive them out of business. I believe if your product is good enough, you dont need propaganda to demote other products and glorify yours. Bad ethics may sometimes be good business but good ethics allows you to sleep good at night.

EC Ethics and Business – Wesley C

wchin — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:57:21 +0000

In business, the man limited by his sense of ethics (outlawed ethics is not included) is going to be sorely disappointed with his outcome. There is a limit however to how brutal one can be as; no deformity of ethics can go discovered by the general public, as the public’s perception is never understanding, but always negative. The greatest business comes from the greatest Brutus, seemingly friendly, but plotting in the background. While Edison’s tactics were highly unethical, his business tactic was relatively successful: the general population began to associate AC with death. Among businessmen today, the tactic could be justified. However, Edison provided no proof of his claims, and today, competitive reaction would immediately disprove of his unsupported claims. The intention of the attack could be well justified business-wise if he could support his claims with factual information instead of exploiting his reputation.

EC Business Ethics – Marlon

mdelacr3 — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:42:13 +0000

Ethical behavior is not always ideal for good business practice. In Edison’s case, he looked at it to be ethical because he was trying to promote the safety of the public and stop alternating current from taking more innocent lives. To some it was bad ethics because he contradicted himself by experimenting alternating current on living creatures. In modern time, Edison would be in jail for animal cruelty charges. His involvement with capital punishment was very unethical because their was an idea of killing. However, he let some people see how horrible AC really was.

Now in modern businesses I believe sometimes bad ethics promotes good business. Edison’s experimentation of animals to prove that DC was better than AC was very unethical in modern business. Another example of bad ethics that promote good business is the bootleggers that sell booze in the 1920s during the Prohibition. They sold booze even though it was illegal during that time. Selling booze in the black market was bad ethics but the people who sold gained vast amounts of money. Furthermore, most stores nowadays gives sales on products, but in the fine print they tell you that you have to pay the full price first. Then do the rebate to get the actual sale price. I believe that this process is bad ethics due to the fact that the stores try to take advantage of some people that forget to do rebate and don’t read the fine print. All in all, good business practice doesn’t always involve ethical behaviors.