...[pic]Business School COURSEWORK Session 2013/2014 |Module title |Business Ethics | |Module Code |BUSN10017 | |Submission date and time |Friday, 21st March 2014 | |Weighting of assessment |40% of total mark. | |Instructions to Candidates | | | |A trawl through business journals, internet sites and newspapers will give many stories of questionable actions by | |organisations. Stories of injustice, discrimination or simple unethical business activities, are not hard to find. Many of the| |stories include breaches of human rights or unsavoury conduct or aggressive and intimidating behaviour to gain advantage at | |another’s expense. | | | |Question:...
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...Running head: ETHICS AND THE LEGAL SYSTEM Ethical Practice of Law and its History Daphne Spann Kaplan University Intro. To Law Abstract The legal system has undergone many changes from its early start in the 19th century of the Canons of Professional Ethics to presently. The law has had to evolve due to the changes of climate in society to stay relevant and within the confines of the US Constitution. The one thing that has been debated and structured into a set of laws and guidelines under one main ruling organization of the American Bar Association is ETHICS. Ethical Practice of Law and its History The history of the establishment of legal ethics has evolved tremendously from the Canon of Ethics (Canons) to rules used today under the American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rules. The Canons are considered the cornerstone of modern of legal ethics and were used as a guideline for ethical conduct since prior to the 19th century there were no real rules regulating the conduct of lawyers. Ethics was based merely “perceptions” of what was considered ethical or drawn from other areas of law relevant to lawyers. The Canons were also considered vague in nature and seemed to focus on what attorneys should not do, while misaddressing the issues of what they should do. These early rules were viewed as a professional courtesy and carried no professional weight. The Canons, however, were still believed to be the historical starting point for the distinct contributions...
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...and CEO Eddy Groves, ABC Learning continued to grow, by opening new centres and the acquisitions of competitors both locally and internationally. The company experienced a significant drop in their share price in 2008. Trading in the company shares was suspended in early 2008, closely followed by the company going into receivership in November of 2008. This essay will examine ABC Learning and assess the impact of the company’s corporate social responsibility policy or lack thereof and how this contributed to their spectacular collapse. Particular attention will be concentrating on the ethical internal running of the company’s corporate structure and executive leadership, focussing in particular on Eddy Groves’ poor decision making, creative accounting and resulting organisational culture. Dahlberg & Moss (2005) claim that ethics is a practical matter which involves thinking about every day actions and decisions either individually or collectively and then responding with respect for all concerned. When values underpin our responses and choices, ethics is at work. In some instances our decision making can be hindered because there can be different solutions or responses to a situation. Each of which may seem appropriate. We call these situations ethical dilemmas, and they may require considerable negotiations by all concerned to achieve an ethical outcome. [pic] Figure 1 - Kohlberg's Simplified Model Using Kohlberg’s theory (figure 1)...
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...The Ethics of Drug Testing The ethics of drug testing has become an increased concern for many companies in the recent years. More companies are beginning to use it and more people are starting more to have problems with it. The tests are now more than ever seen as a way to stop the problems of drug abuse in the workplace. This brings up a very large question. Is drug testing an ethical way to decide employee drug use? It is also very hard to decide if the test is an invasion of employee privacy. “The ethical status of workplace drug testing can be expressed as a question of competing interests, between the employer’s right to use testing to reduce drug related harms and maximize profits, over against the employee’s right to privacy, particularly with regard to drug use which occurs outside the workplace.” (Cranford 2) The rights of the employee have to be considered. The Supreme Court case, Griswold vs. Connecticut outlines the idea that every person is entitled to a privacy zone. However this definition covers privacy and protection from government. To work productively especially when the work may be physical it is nearly impossible to keep one’s privacy. The relationship between employer and employee is based on a contract. The employee provides work for the employer and in return he is paid. If the employee cannot provide services because of problems such as drug abuse, then he is violating the contract. Employers have the right to know many things about their employees...
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...PepsiCo Company-History and Mission Statement Name: Tutor: Course: Number: Date: Introduction In today’s world, nearly everybody consumes a beverage every day of which, most of what we consume, is either a soft drink or hot beverages in the form of tea or coffee. The beverage business has in the modern world emerged as the top prayer with worlds renowned companies such as Coca Cola and PepsiCo being the leaders. In our study, we will focus on the history and mission statement of the PepsiCo Company. History and Background PepsiCo was founded in 1890’s by Caleb Bradham who was by then running a pharmacy business in New Bern, North Carolina. Today, it has risen to become one of the most recognized and successful snack and beverage companies in the world. What started as an in-house production of Pepsi-cola soft drink would then grow and spread with an outstanding establishment of over 250 licensed bottlers and distributors by 1910. By this time, PepsiCo production had exceeded the 1 million gallon production mark (PepsiCo, 2012). The effects of world war two would destabilize its operations notably due to acute sugar shortage due to rationing. In 1931, PepsiCo was declared bankruptcy following financial problems due to the notable acute sugar shortage during and aftermath of world war I. during various occasions between 1922 and 1933, the coca-cola company had been approached to take over PepsiCo due to the prevailing business difficulties but declined every...
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...Draper, for online help: jdraper@mercy.edu COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course examines the basic ethical issues and current trends affecting the counselor working in a contemporary school or agency. Topics include: the nature and scope of counseling, the definition of ethics and its meaning for professional counselors, and the relationship between counseling and professional ethical practice as defined by the American Counseling Association. The variety of agency and school settings are examined to illustrate the specific ethical guidelines that apply to schools and agencies. Professional norms, such as non-malfeasance, patient autonomy, and confidentiality are explained. (3 credits) TEXT: Ethics in Counseling and Psychotherapy: Standards, research and emerging issues (4th edition) Elizabeth Reynolds Welfel (2013) Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage ISBN13: 978-0-8400-2858-7 American Counselor Association Code of Ethics http://www.counseling.org/docs/ethics/2014-aca-code-of-ethics.pdf?sfvrsn=4 Code of Ethics of the American Mental Health Counseling Association. Available on-line at www.amhca.org/ethics.html American School Counselor Association Ethical Standards for School Counselors, Available on-line at www.schoolcounselor.org/library/ethics.pdf Program Outcomes (PO) – Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling Program Outcome (PO) Code | Program Outcomes (POs) | Program Goal (PG) Alignment | * PO1 | * Students will identify and describe the...
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...Is stock option backdating ethically defensible? Background Stock options are widely used to supplement the amount of non-performance-based cash compensation for executives and CEOs. Furthermore, Bishara & Schipani state that stock options, “have long been touted as a way to align the interests of the executive with the shareholder…”(2008, p. 13) and thus provide, “greater incentives for executives to improve firm performance.” (Raiborn et al. 2007, p.1) However, due to the transactional nature of options that they can be cashed in there exists motivation for executives or firms to manipulate the price so as to receive the greatest gain. Prior to 2002, a company was not required to, “report the issuance of stock options until after the close of the fiscal year.” (Raiborn et al. 2007 p.3 ) As such many firms decided to retroactively increase the value of their share options, particularly executives options. However, by 2002, the time the control measure, Section 403 of the Sarbanes-Oxley act, was passed, 1 out of every 5 companies were suspected to still utilise the practice. Widespread backdating caused a media stir in 2006, with prominent companies such as Comverse and UnitedHealth being indicted. This caused a ripple through the business community as other organisation came under investigation. In 2006, 173 companies were purported to have retroactively altered the stock options of prominent members of their organisations. Retroactively dating options is defined as...
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...Final Term Essay Rose Xiong PHL 405: Ethics and Legal Issues Issue for Debate Professional Ethics The company I chose to research for the most ethical company alive is Google. The reason for that is because Google is innovative and smart company. The people is what makes Google the kind of company it is. They hire people who are smart and determined, and Google favors ability over experience. Although Googlers (employees) share common goals and visions for the company, they hail from all walks of life and speak dozens of languages, reflecting the global audience that Google serves. And when not at work, Googlers pursue interests ranging from cycling to beekeeping, from Frisbee to foxtrot. Google strive to maintain the open culture often associated with startups, in which everyone is a hands-on contributor and feels comfortable sharing ideas and opinions. Google has weekly all-hands (“TGIF”) meetings—not to mention over email or in the cafe—Googlers ask questions directly to Larry, Sergey and other execs about any number of company issues. Google offices and cafes are designed to encourage interactions between Googlers within and across teams, and to spark conversation about work as well as play. Since the beginning, they’ve focused on providing the best user experience possible. Whether they’re designing a new Internet browser or a new tweak to the look of the homepage, they take great care to ensure that they will ultimately serve the public, rather than their own internal...
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...The Lacanian Theory is a form of criticism that examines a character, audience, or author and the way that they are molded by outside societal influences. There are three stages of this theory which are the mirror stage, the symbolic order, and the imaginary order. With this essay, we are going to take a look at the character of Tess Hutchinson, from Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery and how the traditions and expectations of her community affect her. When Tess Hutchinson enters the story, she already stands out as someone who does not completely conform to the social norm. While the other women in town arrive early and quietly join their husbands, Mrs. Hutchinson comes late having “Clean forgot what day it was” (P8, L3) and disrupts the entire crowd as she makes her way to her husband. However, while this does set her apart slightly from the rest of the villagers, it is also evident that she still made the unconscious effort to conform to society as she has “her sweater thrown over her shoulders” (P8, L2) which is obviously expectant of housewives as all the women are described earlier as wearing house dresses and sweaters. While there are some aspects of her character that separate her from the rest, she is still warmly accepted and is evidently excited to be there and desires to be accepted by society. For instance, she ran from her home so as not to miss anything, and is happily bantering with her friend and with Mr. Summers. This is all evidence of her being in the symbolic...
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...BUSM 3194 – Organizational Theory Assessment Task 1: Individual Assignment Completed by: Cheryl Tan Hui Ting S3449942 Word Count: 1836 Organizations are dependent on the environment for their survival. The organizational environment has been defined as all the factors that exist out of the organization that has the potential to affect parts, if not all, of the organization. The effects of their relationship can cause an organization to dictate the structure of their processes and functions in a particular manner that can ensure productivity, effectiveness and maximize gains. In this essay, we will focus on two paradigms that can help shed light in understanding how Coca Cola relate to its environment. The first paradigm that will be explored is the Modernist Perspective. The modernist approach embraces objective ontology and positive epistemology, where theorists believe organizations exist even if there is no knowledge of it. They seek out the truth through tests, assessments and statistical methods to fulfill the purpose of being effective, more productive and to gain power, control and structure within the organization (Hatch & Cunliffe 2013). Modernist theorists define the environment as an objective entity living outside the organization’s boundary. Stakeholders, who have a role to play in the survival of the organization where they provide materials, resources, capital, equipment and regulate law, are part of the environment. These stakeholders...
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...physical inclusion since history began. The importance is evident in early literature such as Homeric text where allusions to testing are personified as gods challenging man. Undoubtedly, tests in those times had their own high-stakes nature, perhaps being the life of an individual, and while this may seem extreme and unfair in the twenty-first century, in its context was perhaps necessary to ensure the survival of a group. This protectionism no doubt persists today, evident in social policy and language norms. Although the stakes have changed, entry to a society is no less high contextually in terms of financial and emotional currency. Now as the dominant species the survival of the fittest no longer seems relevant, so attention must be drawn to current gate-keeping practices and not only their necessity but also whether or not they are fair. While language testing has become standard practice in many countries it has also become politicized especially as a means of power (Hamp-Lyons, 1997a; Shohamy, 2001). In this case the term fairness becomes problematic because determining whether it is society or the political class who has set the standards has many implications. Language testing systems employed by governments may be relevant to determine types of language skills and their validity is certainly justified in some circumstances such as entry to an industry, but it does not mean that test takers are prepared for the communicative reality of a society. Consequently, testing...
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...pioneers among them are Frederick Taylor and Max Weber. The classical theories have been contested of little relevance to work and organization today simply because today’s organizations have moved from industrial revolution to the information age due to the fast-paced change in technology (Toffler, 1984). Although bureaucracy has been synonymous to red tape and has negatives effects such as “rigidity, alienation and low commitment” (Adler, 1999, p.37) and dehumanizing people (Grey, 2009), the characteristics of bureaucracy such as specialization, hierarchy of authority, system of rules and impersonality (Stewart, 1986) as well as evidence of ongoing existence of this management method, bureaucracy is proved to remain noteworthy. This essay will examine the situation presented in organization today, and determine whether bureaucracy and scientific management can be considered as old fashioned, out of date and of little relevance to work and organization today. With the broad set of powerful economic, social and technological changes – greater competition, globalization of production, rising demand for innovation, new forms of information technology and wide change in customer preferences have concluded that the days of stable structures of bureaucratic models are over. According...
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...Ethics - Ethics Imagine a 15 year old student in philosophy class. After discussing why should you or shouldn't you judge other societies, and getting in depth with ethics, the teacher decides to tell a story to the class. She says"..there is a tribe in the Amazon(Brazil) were they show love and respect by cutting body parts.It would be a good sign if your father cuts a finger of a son...." she then asked the class ".... if you end up in the Amazon, would you stop a father cutting a sons finger because in your society is wrong.... Ethics - Ethics Ethics is a topic in which many people or groups of people tend to disregard. There can be many reasons supporting the decisions that business firms or individuals make. In many cases, money or monetary gain can influence people to do unethical things either in the workplace or in everyday life. Ethics can be defined as beliefs that distinguish right from wrong. These beliefs are normally passed down from family so you make the right decisions in the future. Morals are also on the same line as ethics when talking about doing the right thing.... Ethics Officer - ... A code of ethics also helps to empower employees to report unethical behavior witnessed by coworkers or executives within the corporation. Ethics Administrative Agency Another proposal is that the government needs to form an organization that will strictly investigate any serious claims of unethical behavior. Many people may argue that the government already over regulates...
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...Analysing the manager's role in initiating and / or maintaining service quality, in a chose health care setting for a chosen service user group. Service line management is one of the most common ways in which modern health care services are defined and delivered, but "there remains a lack of consensus regarding the best way in which service line management should be designed and delivered" (Berry & Seltman, 2008, p.93). In general, service line management is taken to mean "the way in which different disciplines are organised in order to provide an integrated system of service (or output) delivery" (Schermerhorn, 2006, p.19). For the manager, this means focusing on three core areas: procedures and interventions; disease management; and care for specific sections of the popular such as children, the elderly etc. The manager's role in initiating and maintaining service quality in respect of service line management is therefore focused on finding ways to manage specific disciplines, and then also ways in which these can be drawn together and fully integrated. This essay will consider the manager's role in initiating and maintaining service quality in terms of service line management for a user group comprising elderly patients. The essay considers key theories in relation to service line management, looks at the gaps between theory and practice, considers ways in which improvements can be made to current approaches, and presents a series of recommendations regarding ways in which...
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...members more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,159 retail units. Wal-Mart employs over 2.1 million associates worldwide and had sales of $401 billion during the 2009 fiscal year (Wal-Mart, 2009). Based on the annual sales and new locations constructed annually, the Wal-Mart management team must be doing something more than just clever marketing. Wal-Mart is an interest topic among management students because although it is a relatively young company it has already achieved tremendous success. Furthermore, the company boasts a desirable corporate culture where everyone is treated as family. The readers can’t help but think that this company is an advocate of diversity and encourages decision making among employees. This essay evaluates internal and external factors and how they affect the four functions of management. By exploring these topics, the readers will be able to see how the organization handles its operation and how it deals with its staffs. One of the biggest impacts on management in Wal-Mart would have to be planning and organizing on how they will price all their items in the store. Wal-Mart has to look at all their competitor’s prices and see how they can be more affordable. Not only do they need to take into consideration the prices of their competitor’s but they also need to look at the revenue that they will be gaining with the prices they choose. Wal-Mart strives to make the customer happy by shopping in their store. “Save Money. Live...
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