Custom «Response to Barry Schwartz’s Article» Essay Paper Sample

Most systems in our societies today do follow bureaucratic ways of doing things which have failed most of the times since most of these procedures are based on laid down methodologies and rules some of which are very rigid and do not take into account the circumstances under which one operates. Strictly following these bureaucratic processes suppresses wisdom since one is not free to act on his own will. Worse to mention is that virtually all these organizations involve interactions with people which makes the works `moral’ and it is because of this that Barry proposes ` practical wisdom’ which Aristotle defined as `the combination of moral will and moral skills’.

Practical wisdom is imperative because ` the truth is that any work that you do that involves interaction with other people is moral work. And any moral work depends upon practical wisdom’(Schwartz, 2010). A wise person should be able to know when to follow rules and when to improvise depending on the circumstances. The janitors Barry mentions in his talk were able to ignore their job duties at sometimes, though this conflicted with their job instructions, their actions helped in increasing the quality of patient care and also enabled the hospitals to run well. It is therefore important that the organizations be structured to allow people act depending on the circumstances.Barry too many rules prevent people from improvising and as a result people may lose their talents and gifts.

Organizations should not rely much on incentives as Barry postulates that one should be driven to do what he or she think is right and not by considering the material gain that one is likely to derive from the act. This idea is strengthened by the psychologists who believe that long lasting motivation should be intrinsic and not rely on material incentives. Further Barry asserts that overreliance on incentives may lead to loss of morals in the professions that we do.

Efforts should be made to introduce morals and ethics in the various professions as this will enable people to freely improvise ideas, use their experiences and in the long run acquire more knowledge. Practical wisdom is the way.