Responsibility Project Essay Example for Free

Responsibility Project Essay â€Å"If there was a red pill and you could take it, and there would be no side effects and your disability would be gone. Would to take it?† (Liberty Mutual’s The Responsibility Project, 2012). Anjali Forber-Pratt is paralyzed from childhood. She conquered issues uncommon to most able-bodied individuals such as social pressures, critical personal decisions, and relationships between legal and ethical issues, but she could win gold at the Paralympics. Organizations such as the Paralympics, and the University of Illinois, have overcome the issues of culture and precedence to do what is ethical right. They create strong influence over societies thoughts and provide experiences to those who may not otherwise have access to them. The responsibility and ethical culture of these organizations shows how beneficial changes to attitude and tradition can be. Issue Importance Losing mobility in society is challenging, but overcoming those challenges can be accomplished. Anjali Forber-Pratt had a dream to race in a wheelchair in the Olympics, she achieved that goal and won. Taking what you were giving and make the most of it is exactly what she did. She inspires people everyday to never give up and that they can do anything they set their heart on. Her parents were criticized based on the ethical perspectives of others for the way they treated her as a child. When she fell out of her chair, her mother would not pick her up. Instead she would encourage Anjali to pick herself up because one day her mother will not be there. Her mother was strong and wanted her to have the best life, teaching independence over dependence was the way to ensure Anjali could live a normal life. Anjali gave herself to her dream of racing, trying to push herself to become better against the external pressures at odds with disabled people in societies. External Social Pressures External pressures for anyone can bend everything we believe in or stand for. Within organizations, culture can be stronger when widely accepted by a group; it can withstand higher external pressures. As demonstrated by Citicorp, an organization could build a culture strong enough to withstand external pressures such as national cultural beliefs (Trevià ±o Nelson, 2007). For Anjali, a Paralympics world record holder, external pressures that had affected her life in immeasurable ways and fortunately drove her into organizations that had already built strong cultures of support and acceptance for disabled individuals. The University of Illinois is the original leader in driving the needs of organizational culture changes regarding how people with disabilities are assisted and treated in an academic atmosphere. There are not many years between the time our society viewed the disabled as incapable of normal life and the current view that they are no less capable than those without disabilities. Organizations like the University of Illinois and the Paralympics have provided an external pressure to many other organizations to change their culture out of the shared responsibility we have to each other, whether disabled or not. External pressures can drive positive or negative changes. In the case of Anjali and other disabled individuals the shift in our culture over the last 20 years has been in support of the responsibility we have to create equal access to life and the joys in it that most of us experience. Relevant to Organizational and Personal Decisions The decisions involved with disabilities and the changes in both organizational and personal areas are both areas that an organization and individuals must be responsible for. For instance, in an organizational environment, being responsible for making handicapped accessible areas is something mandated in most, if not all areas of the United States. An example of this would be making sure that there is a way into a building primarily accessed via stairs. Making the decision to uphold this rule is a sign of upholding the responsibility to making areas otherwise inaccessible to handicapped individuals an accessible area. Within personal decisions, it is an individual’s responsibility to notify the proper individuals if a rule or law is not being upheld to allow access to handicapped individuals. Relationship between Legal and Ethical Issues The ethical and legal relationship of citizens with disabilities has not always been equal. As stated above, until recent years the rights and advocacy for people with disabilities simply did not exist. The legal rights and privileges of such people have slowly caught up with the ethical. It is ethical for a modernized country, like the United States, to allow Americans with disabilities to live as normal a life as possible. These people deserve the ability to live a normal life within the realm of possibility. In the short film, Anjali proves that it is possible for those with disabilities to reach and achieve their own dreams. As far as her everyday life is concerned, it can be ideal for many to drive, go to college, and even live alone. The legal ramifications of allowing such dreams to occur have slowly matured over the last few decades. With legal acts concerning the ADA, and others, many new buildings and government or state run facilities have an obligation to be accessible to citizens with disabilities. Perhaps the greatest of feats is finally convincing the public that just because a person has a disability does not mean they are not capable of doing great things. It is and can be a great feeling, to know that the judicial side of government has a firm statement on the well being of those disabled. In turn, America has taken one more step in forging a long-lasting ethical/legal bond for some truly amazing people. Anjali said â€Å"No† to taking the little red pill. Ethical principle affects our daily lives and who we become today. Anjali chose a different path, overcoming the obstacles handicap people face. She conquered issues such as social pressures, critical personal decisions, and relationships between legal and ethical issues. She won gold at the Paralympics inspiring thousands of people. References Liberty Mutual’s The Responsibility Project (2012, September 11). Responsibility Sports: Anjali [Video file]. Retrieved from http://responsibility-project.libertymutual.com website: http://responsibility-project.libertymutual.com/films/responsibility-sports-anjali#fbid=r7MA1ox2-ul Trevià ±o, L. K., Nelson, K. A. (2007). Managing Business Ethics. Straight Talk About How To Do It Right (4th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.