The question of equality

The question of “who pays what” has been an age long debated. This question stems from whether we have equal opportunities to access available resources such as education, health, freedom and income. It is in this regard that Rawl set out a theory of justice for a liberal society. He sees justice as fairness as answering to the demands of both freedom and equality. He thinks society should be structured in a way that favours the least advantage. This is because the form of society’s basic structure will have profound effect on the lives of citizens, influencing not only their prospects but most deeply their goals, attitude, relationships and character. Institutions that have such pervasive influence on peoples’ life requires justification.

In a quest of setting out justice as fairness, Rawl makes a simplifying assumption that society is self- sufficient and closed, so that citizens enter it only by birth and leaves it only by death. Social cohesion in some form is necessary for citizens to be able to live a decent life. This is not far from what the disciples did in Antioch. The love and unity they exhibited at the time made them earned the title “Christians” which is widely accepted today.

In determining justice as fairness, Rawl set out two guiding principles of justice: First, each person should have the same indefeasible claim to a fully adequate scheme of equal basic liberties, which is compatible with the same scheme of liberties for all. The second principle is that social and economic inequalities are to satisfy two conditions;

1. They are to be attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity.
2. They are to be the greatest benefit of the least- advantaged members of society (the difference principle).

                                            Read the continuation ( The difference Principle)

Book Review with Isaac Love Pappoe - Voice of Virtue Broadcast with Mich...

You Shall Rise Again - Voice of Virtue broadcast with Michael Quansah

Self- Control : 7 of 21 Virtues every Professional must Possess

The ultimate conflict in the professional setting is from within. I termed it as the ‘universal relativist conflict’ (Read my book- “The Cardinal Virtues” for more insight). A Professional without self- control is twice defeated in the war of professionalism, no matter his/her stature. Self-control helps the professional to sacrifice him/herself instead of the corporate image or profile. Consider this;

Case study

The inappropriate sexual encounter with two patients made Dr. ABC to be stripped of the medical license he had since 19XX. During one of the Doctor’s appointments with patient 1, she asked if he (the doctor) would help locate her G-spot. Dr. ABC then stimulated her to orgasm in the call room of hospital KKB. The pair had sex a week after the encounter at the same hospital.

Dr. ABC also calls his encounter with patient 2 “a very brief relationship” and says that he did not have sex with her but testified that one night, in an administrative room at same hospital KKB, the girl asked him to show her where her G-spot was. He admitted that he did “stimulate her to orgasm” that night at the hospital. 

This is not the first time Dr. ABC has been asked to answer for his inappropriate behavior with patients.

 Let's Talk

“How would you justify or unjustify the decision of revoking Dr. ABC’s medical license by the medical professional body?” Explain your answer…………...;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Simplicity: 6 of 21 Virtues every Professional must Possess

Contrary to the popular notion we believe, real professionals are those who are able to keep things simple. Simplicity enables them to maintain clarity of purpose.

I still recall that hot Saturday afternoon when I entered ‘AA’ publications for the first time with my manuscript. I was ready to publish my first book. The young publisher I met at the office decided to use technical terms in publishing such as ‘bleed’, ‘formatting’, ‘interior design’, ‘type setting’ etc to communicate with me and I couldn’t understand anything. I really felt lost in my dream, hence walked out of the office and decided never to return again.   

Professionals should note that their true worth is not in their complexity or how they complicate things; rather, a great professional is the ‘simplifier’.

Case Study

NASCO and PICO were the leading brands in terms of the production of fertilizers in the country. The sales agents of the two companies were surprisingly fluent in only English. Their sales nationwide were massive and production rates kept increasing by the day.

In a particular year, they both realized that their sales were declining and they kept wondering about the cause of the decline. They both had a meeting and agreed to go and make a public query about the decline. It then came to their notice that the farmers find it difficult to comprehend the explanations given by the sales agent, hence they apply the fertilizer wrongly and the crop eventually dies. They decided to take independent actions to curb the issue. This was their plan;

NASCO

They decided to send their sales agents for a professional course in marketing that will make them give vivid explanations to the use of their product.

PICO

They decided to enroll their sales agent in local languages clash so that they can speak and explain to the farmers in their prospective local dialects for easy application.

“Which of the two companies is most likely to have a rise in sales? What are the possible reasons that will account for this?”………………………...;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

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CLIENT AUTONOMY : 2 of 21 VIRTUES every PROFESSIONAL must POSSESS

2. Client Autonomy

´  Client Autonomy suggests that the professional’s right to decide is qualified by the client’s responsibility to him/herself. The right of the professional is decided by the responsibility of the client.  Jack Kevorkian (medical pathologist, euthanasia activist & author) admonished that “the patient’s autonomy always, always should be respected, even if it is absolutely contrary- the decision is contrary to best medical advice and what the physician wants”. Do you agree with him?

´  It is often a difficult ethical issue to navigate when the client autonomous decision (his/her intentional act) conflicts with the professional’s beneficent duty (action done to benefit the client’s best interest without his/her knowledge). Thom Mayne teaches; “I’ve learned that in order to achieve what I wanted, it made more sense to negotiate than to defend the autonomy of my work by pounding my first on the table”.

 Case Study

A 74-year-old man with multiple chronic medical problems was hospitalized for respiratory distress. He experienced recurrent aspiration and required frequent suctioning and endotracheal intubation on several occasions. The patient was deemed competent and steadfastly refused feeding tube placement. The patient demanded that he should be allowed to eat a normal diet despite being told that it could lead to his death. The patient wanted to go home, but there was no one there to care for him. Additionally, neither a nursing home nor hospice would accept him in his present condition.

The case is especially interesting because of the symbolic value of food and the plight of the patient who has no alternative to hospitalization. The hospital staff experienced considerable stress at having to care for him. They were uncertain whether their obligation was to respect his autonomy and continue to provide food or to protect his health by avoiding aspiration, pneumonia, and possible death by denying him food. This ethical dilemma posed by the physician’s duty to do what is in the patient's best interest versus the patient's right to decide treatment serves as the focus for this case study.

What should the physician do in this situation?

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Food for Thought

“Professional- Client relationship at its best is to be regarded as a partnership in which decision-making authority is shared. Professionals are not dictators but enablers”.

CONFIDENTIALITY: 1 of 21 VIRTUES every PROFESSIONAL must POSSESS

1. Confidentiality

´  Issues of confidentiality fraught with recurring storms of professional- client relationship. Standards in some professions have been very high with regards to the issue of confidentiality. For instance since the Oath of Hippocrates, medical practitioners have been bound to protect confidences. The principle as reaffirmed in the 1949 International Code of Medical Ethics states,

“A doctor shall preserve absolute secrecy on all he knows about his patient because of the confidence entrusted in him”.

´  The professional’s foundation is built on confidence (Trust). Trust is the glue that holds people together, hence the professional life is greatly affected when trust is broken. This explains why most successful counselors create an environment conducive enough to inspire confidence among clients.  When professionals offer trust, they expect clients to reciprocate.

´  If a professional reveals information about his/her client to an unauthorized person, it is known as breach of confidentiality. This is a very problematic issue in professionalism especially when the information needs to be accessed for future preventive purposes. In the nutshell, Confidence must be highly respected by all  professionals.

Case Study

Mr. Y was taken to hospital by his relative after complaining of stomach pains and bowel destruction. Following his admission, he underwent a laparotomy, where 20 pellets of carefully- packaged cocaine were found in his abdominal cavity. During the surgery, it was found that Mr. Y’s bowel was perforated, as nine of the pellets had penetrated the bowels; although 17 pellets were successfully removed and three passed from the body in Mr. Y’s stool. Shortly after the surgery, Mr. Y’s condition deteriorated and he developed sepsis as a result of the bowel perforation. After being transferred to intensive care, Mr. Y’s condition eventually improved and he was discharged after making a full recovery.

However, the surgeon who removed the cocaine pellets instructed the other clinical staff present not to take any photographs of them, and to instead repackage them in a resealable storage bag. They were then returned to Mr. Y.

The matter leaked to the media who focused on the failure by the clinical staff to report the illegal drugs.

In view of confidentiality, how can you justify and or unjustified the surgeon (with the clinical staff inclusive) decision of returning the cocaine pellets Mr. Y, instead of reporting the illegal drugs to the appropriate authority?

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Food for Thought
“In every intelligent work, there are limits to the amount of information one can share

FIVE (5) THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT PROFESSIONAL VIRTUES

1. Acceptable ethical standards for client relations vary from profession to profession and have developed over time.

There are acceptable and unacceptable ethical standards relating to every profession. Every profession has its own responsibility in terms of client relation. A customer relation officer or a salesperson has the virtue-responsibility of cheerfulness, modesty, and open-mindedness.  Likewise a medical doctor is expected to be compassionate in the discharge of his/her services. It will be absurd for a professional footballer to fight on the pitch, hence the kind of profession one embrace determines how he/she ought to act and react.

2. The good of the client should be the professional’s ultimate concern.

Real professionals are not driven by money; they are driven by Value. What really defines a professional is the ability to put a ‘smile’ on the face of his/her client. When the needs of clients are adequately met, it shows up on their faces. A virtue-oriented professional will suppress his/her self-interest in order to help his/her client. This will go a long way to push the profit margin of any organization with time.

3. The professional is neither a dictator nor a technocrat, but an enabler working in the context of trust.

This is where most professionals’ miss it; they turn to impose their expertise on the client with a very good intention of producing the best. What most professionals forget is the fact that we are all different. Dictators usually give what they feel is the best for the clients which might not necessarily be what the client needs. Real professionals work ‘hand in hand’ with their client to achieve the best.

4. The professional body of which he/she belongs regulates his/her personal conduct.

Most publicly acclaimed professions like lawyers, accountants, lecturers and doctors have professional bodies that regulate their conduct. Whatever decision(s) taken by the executive arm of the body is legally binding on all members. For instance  if UTAG (university teachers association of Ghana) decides on to embark on a strike action to communicate their displeasure against the government, individual lecturer’s cannot act otherwise. It will be deemed as a conflict of interest and such person(s) could be penalized severely.

The body serves as a strong force against any external trait. It is an umbrella which protects the interest of her members against bad conduct and systems of injustice. More often than not, we have a local body and international bodies. The professional body is limited in jurisdictions where the license is accepted.

5. Professional virtues position an organization to earn a good image

As the biblical account of proverbs 22:1a states, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches…” . Likewise, the image of the organization should be chosen rather than any profit margin. This is because the organizational image is much more important than any amount of revenue it can make in a lifetime. To a greater extent, what really determines the continuity of any firm is not its annual revenue; it is the name or “goodwill” attached to it. Coca cola which is 129 years old is still in operation because of how they uphold their values, among other things.  Also, the London Gazette is the oldest surviving English newspaper and the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United Kingdom for almost 350 years (having first published on 7^th November 1665). You can never underestimate the importance of good image.

WHEN A KING SPEAKS

A king is central to his kingdom. There is no kingdom without a king and there is no king without a kingdom. A king is an embodiment of his kingdom. What then is a kingdom? According to the late Myles Munroe of blessed memory, a kingdom is a domain (i.e a territory) of a king. It is the government of the king. 

God’s original intent for creating the world was to give man a kingdom, not all the material possessions he is seriously craving for. The reason why God created the earth before creating man was to give him a kingdom. 

After God created man and situated him in the earth realm (The Garden of Eden), He blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."- Genesis 1:28 (NIV).  Man was simply in charge!

In the pre- adamic world, the Bible makes as to understand that there was a war in heaven according to Revelation 12:7-9. When Satan couldn’t prevail, he was cast upon the earth realm. It is important to note that the earth had already been to man for a dominion. The Bible continually refers to the devil as the “prince of the world”, “the god of the world” and not of the earth (see John 14:30, Eph.2:2 and 2 Corin. 4:4).  This is because the earth is man’s domain (Man’s Kingdom). The difference between the earth and the world is this; the earth is a spherical object of mass whilst the world is the systems and conditions that prevail upon the surface of the earth per time. For instance homosexually (Lesbianism and gays’), Legalization of abortion etc are the world systems or conditions that are prevailing upon the earth at this special moment in time. 

When man fell, he lost his kingdom and that explains the reason why he was sacked from that honorable Garden of Eden. Again, God had a plan to restore to man what he actually lost (his kingdom) to him and this was done through His only begotten son- Jesus Christ. “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons”- Galatians 4:4-5.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder:” – Isaiah 9:6a. 

Which government was the prophet referring to? I leave that for you to consider. But throughout Jesus’ ministry on earth, a great deal of the parable he taught was centered on the kingdom of heaven. He never taught anything outside the kingdom of Heaven (see Matt. 13, 24-25, 31, 33- 34, 44, 45, 47, Mark 10: 17-24 etc). He came with a singular mandate of restoring to man, the kingdom he lost to the devil by being disobedient. 

Just like a father declaring his last ‘will’ and testament to his son, Jesus- the King of Kings having completed His assignment on the earth declared His last (perhaps His ultimate intention) to the sons of the kingdom. When he left, He positioned you and I as KINGS (Both Male and Female) in the earth realm just as Adam before his fall.

Now, WHEN WE (AS KINGS) SPEAK, WHAT THEN HAPPENS? TO FIND OUT, CLICK ON THIS LINK When A King Speaks, LISTEN, SHARE AND BE BLESSED. REMAIN LIFTED....

Conflict From Within - Voice of Virtue Brodcast with Michael Quansah

IT PIERCES THROUGH MY HEART

It pierces through my heart like a sword

It fascinates my mind. O your love outpoured!

From the very depth of my being, i tremble at the thought,

Of how you wrapped me in your love and how for me you fought.

In the pit of despair my soul was cast.

I despised myself when I thought of my past,

But you picked me up in a way that beats my mind.

When you stepped off your throne, it was me you came to find.

I was lost in the world, in a life of sin.

You took my burden on the cross and changed me from within.

How could I ever repay you for the price you paid?

Thirty-nine stripes, blood shed, a life re-made.

A seal of health, wholeness and Hope, 

Giving me a combined strength to cope.

Through the challenges and heartaches I'd build a strong heart.

Where Faith, Hope & Love would meet, never to depart.

Reformed, renewed, ready to submit

In the hidden man within, a candle has been lit

Moving forward, never looking back

All my needs provided, nothing would I ever lack

Faith, Hope & Love: Three Everlasting Virtues I Can't Live Without.

Charlotte Hagan

Preacher/ Writer

www.fingerprint94.wordpress.com  

          

     YOU CAN ALSO GRAB YOUR COPY ON AMAZON. JUST VISIT www.amazon.com and search with the book title #Faith, #Hope & #Love or my name- Michael Quansah. 

Your Life will never be the same. Remain Lifted!!

MYSTERIES

 ABOUT THE BOOK

“According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertains unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:”

- 2 Peter 1:3.

Our call in life is a call to virtue (EXCELLENCE). Virtues form the foundation of our identity and determines the success of every relationship. It is the anchor to all things pertaining to life and godliness; as Christ is the anchor of our soul.

Jesus Christ is from everlasting to everlasting; from eternity to eternity. He was, is and shall be at all time. He is eternal in all his attributes, hence God sent forth His spirit into our hearts to aid in the manifestation of His Everlasting Nature (Gal. 6:4). The clinchers of this divine nature are Faith, Hope and Love. These Three Everlasting Virtues is expected to aid the believer in securing his/her dignified place in God’s everlasting kingdom. 

The book therefore sets the pace for the Christian foundation by positioning the believer in the manifestation of Christ’s divine nature and power on earth, as well as  taking delivery of the Kingdom treasures’ at ease. It is a guide that ushers one into a deeper relationship with God.

If walking with God, working for God and living for eternity in your desire, then this book is a must read. Approach it with all seriousness!

CONTENT

The Virtue of Faith                 The Virtue of Hope                     The Virtue of Love

1. The Subject of Faith          5. The Place of Hope                9. Love Orientation

2. Realms of Faith                 6. Hoping Against Hope            10. The Power of Love

3. Workings of Faith              7. The Hypocrites Hope            11. The Mission of Love

4. Faith Enforcement             8. Prisoners of Hope              12. Love; the greatest of all

  "It is the mystery you know that helps you gain mastery in all issues of life. The greatest mystery ever revealed to us is the mystery of Faith, Hope & Love".