September 1, 1998 - Monicagate Debate over Monicagate rages throughout the United States. Some observers argue that there is no difference between the standards an elected official should be held to and those of an employee of a private organization. In this view,
If the CEO of a major corporation or the principal of an elementary school did what Mr. Clinton did with Monica Lewinsky, he'd be fired on the spot.
By separating private and public life others view the situation differently. For these people,
It was only an extramarital affair and did not affect President Clinton's ability to perform his job, which he has done excellently.
In the current moral and legal climate of the United States the actions involved in Monicagate raise a variety of issues, including:
- Do leaders serve as role models? Should leaders be role models?
- Do the same standards of behavior and enforcement apply to all people regardless of their status?
- Should private behavior--assuming it is non-criminal--be taken into account in the evaluation of work performance?
- Do Clinton's impeachment problems arise from an outdated Puritanical morality? Are Clinton's accusers engaging in a witch-hunt?
Web Exercise
The unfolding developments in the impeachment process of President Clinton provide an opportunity to examine attitudes toward basic ethical issues from the perspectives of various cultures.
Relevant questions include:
- Do different countries view the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal differently? If so, why? Are these cultures different from the United States culture? Do they have different moral standards? Are they more open andsophisticated about sexual behavior than Americans?
- Do different cultures draw a clearer distinction between private, public, and corporate behavior?
- Are other cultures less hypocritical than Americans? Or are they simply insensitive to these issues because they are still patriarchal societies?
Use the following web site and other sources to examine international views on Monicagate and to explore the issues just raised.
This site presents news from the leading newspapers of the world. It includes excerpts from the New York Times, Hearst Newspapers, La Vaguardia, Asahi News Service, the Independent (London), South China Morning Post, the Globe and Mail, the Economist, Le Monde, and others. It is also useful to search the "Editorials," "Business & Economics," and "World News" links on the home page.
E-Mail Exercise
After reading views from other cultures, has your understanding and opinion of Monicagate changed? Use e-mail to discuss your opinions with classmates. Then, either through e-mail or in class, attempt to develop an organizational policy for determining if--and when--the private behavior of employees adversely affects their job performance. Take into account your findings from the web sites and consider how you would alter the policy in cultures with different perspectives.
[ I N T E R N E T E X E R C I S E S | U P D A T E S | F E E D B A C K | S A L E S C A T A L O G U E ]
© 2002 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
A Pearson Education Company
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Legal Statement