How autonomous are we Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How autonomous are we - Essay Example On the other hand, ‘Stanford Prison Experiment’ was carried out by Philip Zimbardo during 1971 in Stanford University in order to evaluate the intrinsic personality traits of people due to offensive behavior of higher authority (Zimbardo, â€Å"Terminated on August 20, 1971†). Outcome of these experiments together conform to certain facts which inhibit the very core of political and economic systems of the United States. Thesis Statement With due consideration to the experiments of Milgram and Zimbardo, the essay focuses on how these researches impact on the broader procedure of autonomy. The objective of the essay is to develop a discussion about implication of Milgram and Zimbardo’s work on becoming a moral employee. Implication of Milgram’s and Zimbardo’s Work on Employee Morale Discussion on Milgram’s Work At first, in can be stated that autonomy denotes freedom or independence. It is the capability to make a rational, informed and unforced decision. In political system of the United States, autonomy is frequently used as the foundation for defining the ethical duty for one’s activities. ... On the other hand, obedience happens when a person changes the conduct due to direct command from superior. Through the experiment, Milgram has found high degree of obedience among people (Intercollegiate Studies Institute, â€Å"Milgram's Experimental View of Authority†). Throughout the research, he has depicted that every society where people live has their own accepted manners of performing which are termed as norms. Norms are approved principles of behavior of people in a society. These principles can restrict the behavior of every group of people such as students, patients, employees and business executives among others. In other words, every person must obey the social norms of the group or society where they belong. At times, people adapt to certain behavior of other persons regardless of being individually incompatible with their behavior. In any organization, authority plays a vital role in determining the level of conformity of employees. When employees feel that the y belong to certain organization, they will accept the organizational norms in order to secure their job position. On the other hand, employees at times conform to authority due to lack of confidence and courage. The level of obedience also relies on the cultural aspects. For instance, in collectivist cultures such as China, group achievement is provided more importance than individual employee achievement, conversely in individualistic cultures such as the United States individual employee performance is provided more importance than group performance. As such, it is apparent that activities of any employee in any organization are subjected to the pressure whether it is cultural pressure, group pressure or pressure from authority. Discussion on Zimbardo’s Work The outcome of