Inside Look into Ethical Concerns of For-Profit and Not- For-Profit Organizations
Matthew Morton
PHI445: Personal & Organizational Ethics
Instructor: Robin McCart-Brown
10/12/2015

“Ethics: an area of study that deals with ideas about what is good and bad behavior: a branch of philosophy dealing with what is morally right or wrong (Merriam-Webster)”. The theory of ethical issues dates back to the first known human beings, as even the oldest settlers of this planet, had some guidelines distinguishing right from wrong doing. This day in age, the actual study of ethics and morals has come a long way, while many famous philosophers and ancient hierarchy’s have their own beliefs and set of rules they believe is right or wrong. When we look at the use of ethics and moral code in relation to business and organizations around the world there is allot to be said. In a world that has evolved beyond the imagination of our earliest settlers, ethics and business have allot in common as every business, for or not for-profit, strives to hold the highest reputation to acquire and retain as much public interest and business as possible. While there are many famous not- for profit organizations and even more for-profit business’s, they are not all as favorable and ethically inclined as they might seem on the surface, leaving the research of these organizations in the hands of the consumer and also the determining of whether a particular organization does good by their own ethical and moral code. We will attempt to analyze the profile, inner workings, problems and ethical concerns of two companies, one for-profit and one not-for-profit, in the paper to follow. The National Rifle Association, or better known as the NRA, was founded in 1871 by William C. Church and George Windgate who founded the organization after being disgusted with the marksmanship of the US military. “The primary goal of the association would be to "promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis," according to a magazine editorial written by Church (NRA Web site)”. In 1872, the NRA was granted a chunk of land by the state of New York on long Island, where they would bring the troops, other firearms clubs and groups, and NRA members to train and practice their marksmanship. Well over 100years old, the NRA has earned its name as the largest supporting group in the US of the 2nd Amendment. Over the years, the NRA has promoted firearm safety, accuracy, sporting and contest to the American youth, adults, service member and police men alike. Today the organization continues with its roots of educating the public and its members on gun safety and marksmanship, but spends a great deal of time and money defending the 2nd amendment as the US faces more anti-gun regulations then ever before in its history. The majority of the funding the NRA obtains is through the members and their yearly dues but also their generous donations. They also receive some funding form their advertising, royalties and even their apparel. The mission statement of the NRA is rather lengthy but revolves around the idea of protecting the 2nd amendment right while promoting firearms and hunting safety and also improving the marksmanship of the general public. Located in Fairfax, Va, the NRA headquarters also referred to as the NRA Range, has been in operation since the 1960 and serves as a home base for the organization, where they hold NRA events, shooting lessons and programs, recreational use and even public use. Not only dies the NRA have a massive headquarters located in Virginia and known for its state of the art firing range, but they have opened firearms museums as well. In 1935, The National Firearms Museum opened in Washington, D.C. and stayed open until 1998 when it moved to Fairfax, VA as well. Then in 2013, the NRA teamed up with well known fishing supply giant, Bass Pro Shop, in Springfield, Missouri and opened the National Sporting Arms Museum where they display more then 1000 firearms. Supporting these museums, headquarters and the hundreds of other branches around the nation is more then 800 employees of the NRA and a member base of more then 4.5 million and growing. It’s not hard to see how this organization has taken over the nation since its formation in the 1800’s but we have not talked about is the large role in politics the NRA has played over the Years. The NRA has what it referred to as The Institute for Legislative Action , or the NRA-ILA, which is essentially the lobbying branch of the NRA who follow each and every step of every branch of the government, senate, and state and local laws, and are ready to put their resources and money to work protecting the 2nd amendment whenever a bill arises that puts this amendment in danger. The NRA has even spent millions of dollars backing presidential candidates over the years, trying to aid in placing a president in office that supports their organization. IN 2008, “The NRA announced it will spend $40 million during this year's elections, including $15 million to portray Sen. Barack Obama as a threat to gun rights (FactCheck.org, 2008)”. The endorsing of presidential candidates did not start in 2008, for the first time the NRA backed Ronald Reagan for president over Jimmy Carter in 1980 because of Reagan’s known support for gun laws and the 2nd amendment all together. Protecting the 2nd amendment right is no joke for the NRA, it has not always been their first priority since gun control was not and issue in the 1800’s but as soon as there was a known threat to “the right to bear arms”, the NRA has been on top and will continue to fight to their death. When it comes to ethical dilemmas or moral reasoning, it is not very difficult for the average US citizen to point out many potential concerns involving the NRA. After all, what is someone to make of the increased mass shootings over the past decade in the states? The guns and terror have to be coming form somewhere. One major problem and ethical concern that has left a bad taste in many NRA members mouth causing them to abandon their membership is the fact that the NRA seems to preach about protecting the 2nd amendment to no end but how about protecting the citizens of the US?. The right to bear arms should be protected by my personal beliefs but this should not in any way impede on the safety of US citizens. Referred to as the “gun show loophole”, “Currently, in over 30 states, one can walk into a local gun show and purchase a weapon from a “private seller,” who does not have to conduct any kind of background check. For example, a .50 caliber sniper rifle, which can take down a helicopter. The NRA has fought to block any and all efforts to pass a federal law closing this infamous gun show loophole, as well as any efforts in the states (Schecter, 2012 July 22nd)”. Why would something like this even exist, one might ask? Because of the NRA! The NRA has consistently put forth a valiant effort to shut down any policy that might attempt to stop this loop hole because they make money when manufactures sell guns and when private sellers sell guns it promotes the use of that weapon, which someone can then purchase form a manufacturer. The circle goes round and round, until someone or worse yet a group of people end up in the ground. This brings up another ethical issue that many people, in support of the NRA or not, are not aware of. The NRA is said to be “in bed” with gun manufactures, and it only makes sense if you put two and two together. Apparently the NRA is the one and only reason this “Gun show loop-hole” exist, and its there to support the manufactures whom then turn around and donate large portion of their profits to the NRA. As state above, the circle goes around and round. The issue being, is it right for the NRA to lobby against such a law that could potentially be putting the US at risk so that they can support the gun manufactures and in return get paid? “The NRA raised more and more money to attack politicians who argued for reasonable checks at gun shows or opposed carrying concealed weapons into schools or churches or community centers( Fenn, 2012 December 19th)”. The NRA has made little response to this elephant in the room, but it seems they have no problem answering to the gun manufactures. Why might you ask?, because the NRA has no good response to the claim. What could they possibly say the public, in defense of making it possible for a US citizen to buy an armor piercing gun that can take down Helicopters? Probably not very many people at all! On a lighter note, we now turn our attention toward a for-profit company that does not have nearly the same accreditation in the US or any similar issues as the NRA, but still interesting to dig into. Executive Builders and Remodelers is a residential remodeling company, local to the Philadelphia, Pa area, which primarily specializes in the renovation of kitchens, bathrooms and basements. Executive B&R started in the Philadelphia, Pa area in 2007 as a “white collar” remodeling company offering its services to high end clients. Now, Executive B&R extends it business to homeowners of all kinds trying its hardest to be able to help everyone regardless of their budget. Executive B&R generates its revenue by completing its renovations on time and within budget allowing the company to acquire its projected profit from each project. “Our clients choose us because of the total quality control we exercise over their remodeling project, and the respect we have for their homes. They had a vision that we turned into reality! You can rest assured that we oversee your job from start to finish (Varasse, 2014)”. With quality control and respect for each individual home at the core of Executive’s values, each project is assured to exceed the home owners expectations and be complete on time with minimal issues. Executive B&R employees about 18 people, most of which are referred to as field employees, suggesting that they work on the projects hand on and are the craftsmen of the company. The filed employees are made up of 6 individual crews, ad each crew has a head carpenter, or project manager and one or two carpenters. The Project managers of Executive B&R receive a company vehicle, paid time off, a gas card and incentives for finishing a project on time and under budget. The other employees of Executive work in the office and warehouse. Executive employs one marketing manger, one sales manger, one sales associate, one general manger and one finical associate in their office to help keep work on the schedule and juggle the constant influx of payments, receipts and products. Executive also employee’s one warehouse employs who is responsible for receiving products and delivering them to different job sites in the area. The owner of the company, Steve Varasse, has built the company from the ground up and has managed to expand the business exponentially over the last few years by employing the right people, in the right positions and holding each employee accountable for their actions. Executive B&R’s finical history has been on the increase since the company started in 2007 almost doubling in size each year since. In 2007, the company brought in about $400,000.00 in net sales for the year yielding a profit of about $36,000 for the year. In 2014, 7 years later, Executive topped the year at about $4mil in next sales and was able to profit about $425,000. Executive’s goal was to be able to run at about 10% profit margin and since achieved this goal with their sights on the 12% mark for 2015. Executive has reached almost $5mil in sales in 2015 so far and the profit margin is looking good at about 11% thus far. In the near future, Executive B&R plans to employee another sales associate in hopes of reaching 9mil in 2016. With the employment of another sales associate, Executive expects to be hiring about 6-8 more field employees to handle the extra work and send their net revenue and profits soaring toward the 2016 annual goal. According to Tracey Stefan, who writes for Chron.com, “The suggested gross margins for construction are; 34 to 42 percent for remodeling (Stefan, N.D.)”. Executive currently runs its gross margins around 40percent, placing itself in the higher tier of expected gross margins for the remodeling industry. Most of the revenue from that Executive B&R generates is from completing its project on time and in or under budget so the projected profit can be obtained as indicated above. However, Executive also owns and operates a kitchen and bath and showroom under the same entity in the area that allows are clients to come in and make selections on all their renovation needs. The showroom carries flooring, counter tops, cabinets, tile, plumbing fixtures, bath accessories, cabinet hardware, toilets and much more. Executive opened its showroom doors in 2013 and since has proved to be wise decision both for our clients and other contractors or local remodelers. The showroom has the capability of taking a drawing of an existing kitchen with accurate measurements and designing a new kitchen while providing the client with 3- dimensional rendering of their new space. This service is unique to Executive as many of the other remodelers in the area have to use the services of a big box store like Home Depot or Lowes to have this done for their clients. Being able to offer this service to other contractors and Executive own clients has enabled Executive to open up an entirely new source of revenue. Executive has become a distributer for many of the popular plumbing fixture manufactures as well as 4 major cabinet brands as well. As a distributor for these manufactures, Executive receives steep discounts on their products allowing them to sell the product for a certain percentage of list prices. This key feature of the showroom operations generates a substantial amount of revenue for Executive B&R and has played a major role in acquiring more profits in the last year. Working as a remodeling company, Executive Builders and Remodelers could have many ethical issues and moral concerns from, not performing under contract, over charging clients for their services, employing illegal citizens to performing lousy work. However, it seems like the thing that keeps this company in the rise is their dedication to perfection and quality control of each and every project. With this said, it has been known in the past to the employees of Executive and also other team members, that their has been some discrimination in the hiring process that Executive Builders follows when interviewing or reviewing applications for employment. The issue, apparently a common one in the US, is age discrimination. Executive B&R will generally not consider hiring an employee for a field position that is over the age of 40 or so. There was a study performed by several professors at The Ohio State University, where they examined more then 12,000 cases of age discrimination in relation to employment from 1988-2003, specifically 120 particular cases of interest, and the findings speak for themselves. “In the cases examined workers around the age of 50—people who ordinarily have many productive years left to contribute in the workplace—experienced considerable age discrimination (Santora, William2008, May)”. Executive Builders has had better luck with employees that produce more and move faster with youth, it’s as simple as that. The other issue is one of not being able to stay with the business for the long haul. As many people are aware, it takes time and money to hire an employee, and sometimes months of training for an employee to learn the system. To hire a good employee that is older increases the chance of that employee not being able to work for much longer, leaving Executive right back where they started looking for good help. The other issue that could be considered an ethical issue or moral dilemma would be the up charging of materials from our showroom to clients that are working with another contractor. We have a percentage of the product list cost that is applied to products for the clients of Executive but a much higher percentage applied to those same products for clients that are working with another contractor. This might seem normal or expected, but just because a client chose to work with another contractor or might not have known about Executive in the first place, means they get charged more for the same product? To some people this might be considered being dishonest or not having the best interest of the client at heart, I know if I found out I paid more for the same product from the same location I would be pretty upset and probably not want to do business with the same company again. This issue has only been exploited once so far in the history of Executive. A mistake was made on behalf of the showroom manager that led to the exposure of this operation to a client and it did not go over well. This client refused to continue to purchase products from our showroom and also voiced their opinion on social media websites, causing quite the uproar in the local community. Executive Builders was then able to disguise the exposure as a mistake when the products where rung up and the old pricing was used. This reasoning seemed to fix the problem at hand, but then it created an entirely different problem, as the few that knew the truth, also knew that a lie had been told in order to save the face of the business. These few ethical issues presented are a lot lighter, in the eyes of most, then those presented about the NRA ,but still very important and can not be considered to be any less important. An ethical issue is still exactly what it says, an issue. The “Gun show loop hole” as talked about earlier is one that presents as serious moral wrong doing if you ask me. There would be no logical explanation for this type of activity to commence in the US, which would allow serious, armor piercing weapons to enter the hands of the wrong people. I tend to think like the utilitarian, which would make the decision that would have the best possible outcome for the most people involved. In the issue presented, “the Gun show loop hole”, protecting this loop hole and essentially leaving it open to commence is not in line with utilitirian ethics. Clearly enabling people to purchase these weapons, has caused mass killings over the years and there fore has not caused the best possible outcome for the greatest amount of people involved. In December 2012, the US experienced one of the most heart breaking mass shooting tragedies in its existence. The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary where a gun man, discovered to be armed with guns that were purchased through a “gun show loop hole”, entered an elementary school and fatally shot 20 kids and 6 teachers. This tragedy is so horrific it is very difficult for me to even write about it, as I recall watching the news that day in utter disbelief. “ The NRA was silent for several days after the Sandy Hook shootings, but then announced that it was “shocked, saddened and heartbroken” by the tragic incident and would hold a major news conference at which it would “offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again(Rostron, 2014)”. How could the president of NRA and its members not feel almost directly responsible for this tragedy, especially after the discovery that the gunman was able to get his hands on the firearms through something the NRA supported? The NRA later came around and made their famous statement that sent chills through the entire nation as the president of the NRA spoke “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun(Rostron, 2014)”. Many around the world could not believe what they were hearing while others listened carefully to the rest of the response of the NRA toward the tragedy. The NRA went on to suggest that government should pull from its foreign affairs budget and pay to place armed guards in every single school around the nation while also suggesting that every teacher or adult school personal should be required to arm themselves as well. This actually didn’t sound to bad o me at the time. The NRA was proposing a solution to this problem that would essentially have the very best intentions for the most amount of people possible. It also sounded like a solution that would be quite effective. The issue I still have with the response of the NRA to this problem is the fact that they proposed a solution, and good one, that supported the production and sale of many more firearms around the nation, exactly what they where after. This problem leads right into the next ethical issue I have with the NRA. It is believed by many, including myself, that the NRA , as previously noted, is “in bed” with the gun manufactures and the ammunition makers. This is an ethical issue that many are aware of and seems to be the ongoing, silent conspiracy of the NRA. It would only make sense for this ring of unethical activity to commence between these giants as more and more people are purchasing firearms due to a push from the NRA and then the manufactures make healthy donations to the NRA in return. For example, in 1926 the NRA released a column titled, Men and Masculinities, of the first hand recollection of law abiding citizens that had to use their fire arm to rightfully protect themselves and their families against another person seeking harm on them(O’Neil, 2007 April). This report is graphic and real and it continues to circulate in the hands of the NRA and is presented time and time again to non-NRA members of the US to persuade the to become a member and better yet purchase a firearm. It seems as though the intention of the NRA is not so much to gain more members but to sell ore firearms for the manufactures? Why might you ask? Because the kick backs form the manufactures are even more lucrative then member dues. This becomes a serious ethical issue for me, as this is direct of the underlying motives of the NRA. They are known as a not-for profit organization, however all that they do is monetarily motivated and no matter what happens they continue to say and do what ever take to promote ore firearm sales. “In the United States, the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits discrimination against older workers in important contexts, including hiring, termination, and financial compensation (Lindner. Jan 21st 2014)”. When it comes to age discrimination and the work place, there is no question that it still exists and takes place every day. It is no secret that the new generation of workers is probably better versed with computer programs, system applications and new forms of management as well. It is unfortunate that this happens in but there is really no way to stop the cycle. Taking a utilitarian view on the subject, I personally have no issue with the topic. I do not think it be practiced everywhere all the time but I most certainly feel that some company and corporations are better off with a younger more advanced staff. It a simple fact of life, as the world turns technology grows and education is changing to incorporate this technology. For people that are from a different generation this can be hard to realize or better yet learn the new ways and get out of their own way. For those who have been educated during this period, it works out much better for the employer and the entire company. If a company as to hire an older employee who clearly was not going to be able to produce as well as the other employees, it would be helping the employee and possibly their family as well. That’s five or six at most, where if the same company hired a younger, faster employee it would help the entire corporation and their family. The more people affected in a positive manner by making a decision, the better. “Although this (ADEA) protects currently employed older adults from being fired because of their age, it appears to discourage employers from hiring older adults in the first place. Lahey [2] compared variations across the United States in employment outcomes for older male workers since the ADEA has been enforced; older men were less likely to be hired in states where it was easier to file age discrimination lawsuits (Lindner. Jan 21st 2014)”. It is unfortunate that this is the way it is in the world today, as I suggested above, but I expect to be in the same boat one day. The only way to avoid this outcome as much as possible, would be to stay as healthy as possible, and stay educated your entire life to keep up with the technology. The moral issue of charging people a certain price for an item in a store and then charging another person more or less for the same product is an interesting one. Some people may or may not see this as an ethical concern but I definitely do. Essentiality this simple act could be considered lying to patrons and that is definitely against my moral code. When viewing the issue through the eyes of a utilitarian again, it’s a tough call. I consider myself to be a utilitarian, but then again I would never lie to someone. However, if telling a lie made for a better outcome for more people then any other utilitarian might do so. While considering this, I’m beginning to think I might do the same thing, especially if it was a life saving lie or something of huge significance. In relation to business, its not life saving and it’s just a profit. Why someone should be punished, so to speak, and charged more for a product over another customer form the same store is beyond me. There really is no reason. Here is where it gets tricky, every business has the right to charge how ever much they want, to whom ever they want, for anything. So is this really an ethical concern? For me it is something I don’t agree with, which means it strikes me as something that is morally or ethical incorrect. I’m sure others would put up a huge argument to this issue, and I would love to hear the different opinions. The NRA has operated off the same core values as thy always have, which is to improve marksmanship, gun safety and now gun sales. The problem is that, the NRA seems to be promoting gun sales and knocking down new policy’s for gun control everywhere they turn. This would demonstrate a highly egoistic ethical approach to business. As much as the NRA suggest they are sorry for the mass destruction that guns cause, they seem to make every business decision around what will generate the most profits and what is the best decision for their organization only, hence the egotistic ethical approach to business. If the NRA truly cared about the violence caused by the sale of these weapons they would certainly do more to make this problem better. If the NRA operated off of a Utilitarian ethical business structure, things would be much different. Supporting gun control, closing the “gun show loop-hole” and not siding with the gun manufactures would demonstrate a Utilitarian approach for their organization. If the NRA took this approach it would be easy to see how they truly have the best interest of everyone in the US at heart and not just themselves as an organization. To run an ethically correct organization in favor of guns would mean the NRA would have to change their entire approach to business ethics as mentioned above. It might slow their profits and reduce donations form gun manufactures for a while but it would eventually result in more membership sales and more support from non-NRA members, resulting in more finical gain in the end. The issue of Age Discrimination and essentially, lying to your customers are two major ethical concerns for Executive Builders and Remodelers. Age discrimination, as discussed before, is more common then most might think and actually allows a business to selectively chose the best possibly employees for their business. Executive is doing the right thing when it comes to staffing its body and it is operating off of a utilitarian ethical practice as the decision to electively hire according to age, and other factors, presents the best possible outcome for the greatest amount of people involved. In relation to charging more for their products to some and less for others is a tough one. Operating this way would also suggest a utilitarian approach, as making a larger profit means more money for the business and more money for the rest of the employees of the business as well. Essentially, as the business makes a larger profit, Executive can than offer more profit sharing to its members and more benefits to its employees. Again, making this decision would ultimately result in a better outcome for the greatest number of people involved. For Executive Builders to run an ethically correct business it should continue to hire its employees the way it does but possibly offer other reasons for not hiring a particular other then age, as it does anyway. The other possibility, would be for Executive to be open and honest about how it charges for its products. It is not a crime to charge more for something to a member or associate then a non-member or associate. If it put this bold and clear in a statement to every customer, it would be doing the right thing and might even promote more customers to become clients as well. In conclusion, we have looked a various ethical concerns through a couple of organizations and business, some well known and some not. The reality of it is, every business has some sort of ethical malpractice it could improve on, even if it’s not apparent at first glance. An organization like the NRA, has become so well known over the years, it is very easy for anyone to pick apart the way they operate. If the president of the NRA were to read this paper, he would certainly have some very valid points to rebut the issues I have chosen to isolate, as would the owner of Executive B&R. The utilitarian ethical approach seems to be the best way to conduct a business, organization or personal life if you ask me but this approach could be turned around and produce negative results as we have explored as well. Every business or organization should have the absolute best well being of every person it encounters at heart, this is good ethical practice. Anything short of this simple request is simply opening the door for scrutiny form customers, members and clients alike. If you think you support an ethically correct business or organization, take a closer look, as you may not have even scratched the surface of their true inner workings.

References
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