The Watergate Scandal

The Importance of Learning about the Watergate Scandal by the New Americans

             The water gate scandal had been a major scandal that had happened around 1970s in the United States of America in political affairs. This had happened during the early 1980s. Later, a break-in of approximately five men occurred at the Democratic National Committee. The new Americans are in the position to learn from this scandal about various power abuses by the administrative members of Nixon (introBooks, n. p). There is clear information of involvement of Nixon White House in the scandal. They are also in the position to realize that when people do mistakes they can be withdrawn from the powers including the top leading people like the president. There has been a consideration of this case being the best chance to carry out impeachment process which had been targeted for the existing president. The scandal had led to realization of various articles which had been related to the impeachment and resignation of the Nixon. It has also led to many people being found guilty, of which the majority has been the officials of Nixon, president. This confirms to the Americans that the illegal activities are mostly done by those people in high positions within the government. Through learning of this event, the Americans are also in the position to know that the president, Richard Nixon had been held through the investigation that had been carried out by the Watergate Senate Committee for carrying out several recording using a tape-recorder which he had been using and storing in his offices.

Background Information

            There had been an incident where the president is found making efforts of hiding the information concerning the burglars’ break-in. This had been a major scandal that had happened around 1970s in the United States of America in political affairs. This had been involving approximately five men occurred at the Democratic National Committee (Welch, 314). There had been maximization of the case caused by efforts made by the administration of the ruling president who was called Richard Nixon towards hiding the information about the involvement in that case. The Watergate scandal had been investigated after managing to catch the five burglars and discovering the overall conspiracy. This had been done by the congress of the United States of America. There had been resistance by the administration concerning the probes which had been proven. The probes had led to constitutional crisis in the entire nation. The emergence of the term “Watergate” had been brought about towards encircling a given number of clandestine series and given activities which had been illegal. These had been performed by the members who were joining the administration of Richard Nixon, the president. There had also been ordering of thorough investigations of activists groups and political figures by utilization of the measures of Central Intelligence Agency, Federal of Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service. This order had been made by the president, Richard Nixon together with his close assistants.

            There had been participation of the president and the members of the administration in the illegal activities. This can be clearly seen in an incidence where there had been breaking-in into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee by 5 men who were later arrested. The breaking-in into the building which had been located in the complex of the Watergate had been the first and major affair to ever happen. This had occurred 17^th June, 1972 which was on a Saturday morning (Hosansky, 2). The Federal Bureau of Investigations had been given the responsibility of carrying out the investigation concerning the connection between the amount of money that had been raised illegally by the Committee for the re-election of the President and the cash that had been discovered on the five burglars. The break-in had been connected to some illegal activities which were being carried out by the re-election campaign of Nixon and White House. The total amount of money had been amounting to $60 million. Several evidences had been discovered against the jobholders of the president by July 1973. Sufficient testimony had been a part of the evidence which had been given by the staffs who had been formerly the members of the investigation that had been conducted. The investigation had been lead by the Watergate Senate Committee.

            There had been a case of the president recording people without informing them on the reason behind his actions. A ruling obligation concerning this action of the president to give out the tape-recorders to the investigators and the government had been given out. This ruling had been given out by the supreme court of the United States of America following several battles by the court. The many people did not know the reason as to why they were being recorded (introBooks, n. p). The evidence of tape-recording had been presented before the Senate Select Committee on Activities of Presidential Campaign.  The recording tapes had to be responsible for the revelation of the fact that the president had been trying to hide several activities that had happened during the event of the break in. They had been also expected to reveal that the president had also used the officials of the federal towards diverting the investigation. There had been a plan for impeachment of the president on the virtual grounds which made him quit from being the president. This had taken place on 9^th August, 1974 which prevented the House of Representatives and had prevented the investigators from carrying out any form of impeachment. The presidential sit had then shifted to be held by Gerald Ford. Since then, the term “Watergate” had been compatible for political and non-political scandals in the United States of America and other areas in the world.

The Importance Watergate Scandal Event to the New Citizens

            It is important for the new Americans to learn about the Watergate scandal as they are in the position to identify what have been happening in the States in the previous government administrations. They are able to learn much about the incidence of the break-in to the headquarters of Democratic National Committee. For example; there had been a break into the headquarters by five burglars (introBooks, n. p). The men had been arrested on 17^th June, 1972 in the building of the Democratic Party national headquarters. There had been very many questions concerning the possibility of the president’s re-election team participation. One among the men was the security director for the re-election team, James W. McCord Jr. There had been also an issue of the White House attempting to keep of the concerning case. They are in the position to know that even the people who are in power are capable of influencing and participating in criminal cases. Such case is seen where the people of re-election campaign are found in the illegal activities like that of break-in to the Democratic Party headquarters.

            Through learning about the Watergate Scandal, the new Americans have been in the position to know that impeachment can happen to anyone. One might tend to do illegal activities having the thoughts that the law cannot take actions over them (introBooks, n. p). This has been outlined clearly that no matter what position one possesses in the government, the fact is that when one is caught with any kind of irregularities which are evidence-based, they are at the risk of being impeached. The president is almost impeached but on realization of this process, he withdraws from his position.

            The new American members have also been able to learn that before carrying out a conclusion, there is supposed to be an action of in-depth investigations. This does not matter about the length of duration the investigation will take provided it concludes with evidence and that the person is found guilty (introBooks, n. p). The main aim should be putting things clear that whatever the incidence that has been taking place have enough evidence. The House of the Representatives takes all its time to carry out the investigation concerning the rationale of tape-recording by the president and finally after getting their evidence they start working on the next step which is the impeachment.

Conclusion

            The new Americans have been in the position to benefit from learning about the Watergate Scandal in various ways. To begin with, they have been able to get the knowledge concerning the break-in the offices of the headquarters. The most important issue concerning the break-in is that the administration of Richard Nixon had been involved in this scandal. This issue is very surprising to the people because the government is expected to be fighting irregularities but for this case it found being guilty. The new Americans have also been able to know that majority of the people in power are the most conductors of injustice. For example, where there is indictment of around 69 people who had proper trials. Surprisingly, the large number among the people had been the official team of the president Richard Nixon. Lastly but not the least, the people have been able to learn that the impeachment can happen to anyone no matter how great  they are in power. The fact that they have been found to being guilty; they are possible candidates of facing impeachment. For example when the president is being found with the tape-recorder, there is suspicion that they are not legal. The investigation starts where it is discovered that he had recording people with the assistance of his secretary, people become suspicious because he had not been giving the rationale behind his actions. We find a step of carrying out the investigations by the House of Representatives with an aim of knowing the reasons of doing the recording because it had been uncomfortable to the people of the United States of America.

Work cited

Hosansky, David. Eyewitness to Watergate: A Documentary History for Students. Washington,    D.C: CQ Press, 2007. Internet resource.

IntroBooks, The Water Gate scandal; the IntroBooks,2018.

Welch, Susan. Understanding American Government. Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.

Description

Ken is a health care worker who has been working in the supported living facility for individuals with severe learning difficulties. He has been working in the unit for the last 2 years. Mark is a 35 year old male client who was brought to the facility and he has severe learning difficulties and he cannot communicate verbally but he uses Makaton to communicate. Mark came with long finger nails and he was scratching himself. So ken become concerned as he viewed it as dangerous to the client and decided to cut the nails. Ken saw it as a personal need and therefore, he did not consult the client. This action developed a need initiate disciplinary action against Ken because the rights of the client were violated and also he did not seek permission from the client and he never even consulted from other members of the team. On the other hand, Ken claims that he did it to serve the interest of the client.

The persons involved in this case is the manager, the client and the health care worker (Ken) who was providing care during the time. The situation actually occurred at the health facility as care was being delivered as the normal routine to the client. The care services in the hospital are usually delivered to the clients as the need arises and therefore, cutting of nails to Ken was a need to prevent the client from injuring himself and also reduce the risk for developing complications.

In this situation, there are conflicts that arise because Ken did not get the permission from the client to cut the nails and on the other hand he claims that he did that to serve the interest of Mark, beneficence and autonomy of the client are conflicting. It is a dilemma whether to initiate the disciplinary action or not. I think the client rights were violated but the fact that the health worker was doing that to protect the client from complication that may arise from scratching, it serves to protect the client and it is not wrong to me.

The client interest were served in this situation and the fact remains that, the client was unable to communicate well. Also due to the learning difficulties that the client experienced, he might not have been in good position to understand the dangers the nails posed to his health. For this situation it was necessary to consider the care provider decision was beneficial to the patient and therefore not initiate the disciplinary action. This a decision made me happy and I can rate it at 8 in a scale of 0-10. This is because patient centered care is very beneficial to the client and prevention of risk that comes in with impaired skin integrity was part of it. Am happy for the decision I made because it was not necessary to punish someone who did patient-centered care but still I wish he consulted with the rest team members.

Analysis

The consequentialism which is in the class of the normative ethical theories describes the consequences of the individual conduct as the basis of making judgment as right or wrong (Kagan, 2018, p.8). In this situation the health worker claimed that he was doing it for the purpose of the client and thus he was protecting the client from risk for developing complications that might have aroused if he continued scratching himself without an action being taken.

As a nurse, it is always important to respect the principle of autonomy and thus respecting the rights, values and choices that the client makes doing their own care (Butts and Rich, 2019, p.26). The client can refuse treatment or even choose not to do us instructed and that is their own choice. It is therefore necessary to consider this and educate the client on the importance and all the care you intend to give him/her to enable them make informed decisions (Bastable, 2017, p.12).  They can also be involved in their own care and therefore, it promotes understanding.

In this situation the client had severe learning difficulties and therefore it will would have been hard to explain to the client the risk for infections he was exposing himself to because he might not have understood it earlier before harm had already occurred. This situation required fast intervention and the time for consulting might not have been very necessary because the client could have hurt himself more so the health worker cut the nails to protect him.

In addition, it is also necessary to respect the client not only in the clinical setting but also in all situations of life. Respect all the client irrespective of their health status, ethnicity, age and even their race (Kreitzer, 2015, p.23). This will make patient feel they are being cared and also their rights are being respected. They will make them feel that they are worthy and thus will they will want to associate more and also be involved in their care. In the Mark situation the healthcare worker did not bother to ask him what he wanted or involving him in the decision to cut the nails which was then bad practice.

The nurse should also consider the principle of non-maleficence and therefore, provide care that does not bring harm to the client. In their normal duty, the health care worker should consider providing care by avoiding deliberate harm, this might occur as a risk during the normal delivery of the nursing action (Mitchell, 2017, p.67). If the nurse exposes the nurse exposes the client to risk during the normal care provision and the risk occurs, that is deliberate. The client might not be aware of the dangers but doing things without consulting might have hurt the client.

It was also necessary to provide care that will benefit the client by balancing the benefits and the risk of harm. It I very clear that the client actions were dangerous to him and thus he could not be left alone to continue due the scratching but it was only necessary to cut the nails to eliminate the risk of infection he was exposing to himself (Griffiths et al., 2016, p.34). The best help the client would have received is cutting the nails to prevent the risk and that was what was done by Ken.in this situation the principle of beneficence was considered.

The nurses autonomy should also be respected in this situation. This is because the nurse at that point saw the danger of the nails and he made his decision to cut the nails on the basis of protecting the client from harm. It was not necessary for the nurse to consult other individuals because this was not something complicated and the fact that the nurse understood the situation of the client (Butts and Rich, 2019, p.32). It was the best decision to make at that point in time to prevent further damage which might have occurred.

As a nurse, it is also important to practice with good considerations on application of the available evidence (Dean, 2017, p.13). The nurse should ensure that all the care or information that is being provided to the client is evidence-based and it is therefore, important for the nurse to improve his/her knowledge and skills to enable her provide care that is safe and effective to the client at all time.

On the other hand, the non-consequentialism type of the normative theory is the ethical theory that denies that the degree of wrongness or rightness of a conduct is determined solely by the good or bad consequences it has (Gluchman, 2018, p.53). It this situation the action of the healthcare provider to cut the nails of the client without consulting might not be the right thing at all. He did not ask the client why he was doing so and therefore he never knew what made the client to scratch himself but he just made that decision to cut the nails.

The client rights have to be respected and their decision making should have been put into consideration before making the decision to cut the nails. The nurse clearly assumed the client has learning difficulties and therefore was not in good position to make informed decision, this denied the client his own right.

Furthermore, the client could not have made the right choices maybe because he could not understand the danger behind it but it is important also to consult the rest of the team members. For example those who are more experienced or the individuals who had greater seniority. The decisions of the team members and their individual contributions good have helped in making better decisions and the health worker could not have been exposed to risk for disciplinary action.

Care delivery to the client always focuses on the patient and thus all the intentions that the nurse has should always focus on meeting the needs of the client. All the rights have to be respected even though the client had a problem (Rowe, 2017, p.20). The action that was performed without consent was a breach of the patient rights and thus it is right to initiate action against the healthcare provider who performed the action of cutting nails.

The codes of conduct require the healthcare provider to involve the patient and ensuring that all the information he or she provides is maintained as confidential (Dean, 2017, p.13). It is also important to ensure that, the dignity of the client is maintained during the process of care delivery. It was therefore necessary for the nurse to understand the patient and do the necessary such as trying to explain to the patient the dangers before actually performing the action.

Effective practice was also necessary in this situation. Proper communication could have been done because the client used Makaton to communicate, so to facilitate understanding with the client, the nurse could have employed other services such as use of translator to facilitate proper communication (Ellis, 2017, p.16). The health care provider should also be keen all the time to detect misunderstanding and thus keep mistakes to the minimum or even reduce the incidences of client dissatisfaction that may arise due to miscommunication (Nind and Hewett, 2012, p.214). All the time.

The nurse also needs to be accountable to the decisions they make by taking responsibility of their action. Performing of activities and making of decisions that are within the scope of competence is important in ensuring that the nurse does not do something beyond his/her abilities. This ensures that the care provided to the client is of good quality and will promote health of the client.

Reflection

The ethical theory of consequentialism made me happier on the way it analyzed the situation and considered that the consequences are the one to decide if the situation is wrong or right and therefore. The consequence of the situation that came out in the case of Ken is that, the client would not expose himself to risk for infection related to impaired skin integrity because the nails he used to scratch himself were already cut. The benefit thus was to the client. This followed and strengthened the decision I made not to initiate the disciplinary action because he was acting for the interest of the client health.

The other ethical theory on non-consequentialism did not make me that happy because of its emphasis that it is not always right that when the consequence is right, the action was also right. The decision I made mainly focused on the patient outcome and this theory does not consider that. The actions of the care provider to me were actually to benefit the patient and it was very agent to cut the nails to prevent further damage that might have occurred.

If I was in the same situation I will definitely make the same decision again, because all the decisions that the nurse did was for the benefit of the patient. The nurse should not be disciplined because, preventing the risk was actually a priority than consulting and considering that the client had severe learning difficulties, it was the best decision to me in this case.

References

Butts, J.B. and Rich, K.L., 2019. Nursing ethics. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Bastable, S.B., 2017. Nurse as educator: Principles of teaching and learning for nursing practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Dean, E., 2017. Unlocking the NMC code of conduct. Emergency Nurse (2014+), 25(2), p.13.

Ellis, P., 2017. Understanding ethics for nursing students. Learning Matters.

Gluchman, V., 2018, May. Theories of Professional Ethics. In Proceedings of the XXIII World Congress of Philosophy (Vol. 12, pp. 137-141).

Griffiths, C., Barker, J., Bleiker, T., Chalmers, R. and Creamer, D. eds., 2016. Rook's textbook of dermatology. John Wiley & Sons.

Kagan, S., 2018. Normative ethics. Routledge.

Kreitzer, M.J., 2015. Integrative nursing: Application of principles across clinical settings. Rambam Maimonides medical journal, 6(2).

Mitchell, V.J., 2017. Ethics and mental health nursing. In Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing (pp. 37-46). Routledge.

Nind, M. and Hewett, D., 2012. Access to communication: Developing the basics of communication with people with severe learning difficulties through intensive interaction. David Fulton Publishers.

Rowe, G., 2017. VALUES AND ETHICAL FRAMEWORKS IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE. The Handbook for Nursing Associates and Assistant Practitioners, p.20.

Zuriguel Pérez, E., Lluch Canut, M.T., Falco Pegueroles, A., Puig Llobet, M., Moreno Arroyo, C. and Roldan Merino, J., 2015. Critical thinking in nursing: Scoping review of the literature. International journal of nursing practice, 21(6), pp.820-830.

Ethical responsibility

Yes, I believe Business enterprises have an ethical obligation to raise awareness on social subjects and help find solutions to societal challenges. This is because they make profit from the wellbeing of the immediate community they serve. Therefore, they should safeguard members of the community from evil vices. In other words, any business can make a loss without safeguarding the wellness of their consumers and community in general.

 Business ethic entails business responsibilities not just within the workstation but also within eco-friendly surroundings, traditional and social frameworks of a community. Hence, it is ethical to solve problems for a community and to make it even better; a business can generate profit while it generates solutions for a business (Michael Porter, 2014). In addition, a business has to be accountable for consumer protection against dangerous things. Thus, I believe that a business has an ethical obligation to create awareness on social subject matters and solve problems facing the community via their own business models.

From IHRM perspective. Clients

Raising awareness on social issues and formulating solutions to challenges forms bond with clients. Bonds foster trust and increase an organization’ market niche and shares hence helps compete better against other rival firms offering the same services (Michael Porter, 2014). The main objective of any Human resource department is upgrading the performance of business entities. Therefore, by raising awareness on critical issues, a firm can indirectly get attention, which they can convert, into profits.

Organizational structure of any community has four basics: values, a belief system, standards, and certain communicative symbols that better assist members of the community understand selfhood. In other words, decisions always align to an organization’s structure hence entrenching (Ansoff et.al, 2019). The bottom line is, the business model of any organization can help solve or come up with sustainable solutions due to the design, and measures put in place to reinforce strategies. When a business enterprise meets the needs of a community, the client is more likely to develop a liking for the services or business offered.

Strategic management as an extra topic

The first thing a business entity needs to do is consider the important aspects of the project and differentiate them based on resource allocation and impact on the natural environment (Ansoff et.al, 2019). Then, developing alternative ways of implementing the solutions in an environmental friendly manner. It is vital noting that challenges are temporal but their influence on the community are long lasting hence the need to prioritize nature over business. Therefore, after realizing societal problems are not everyday business operations, a business should adhere to all business model functionalities while dealing with the challenge namely: using environmental friendly mechanisms and at the same time providing services to the people. The best way to balance the outcomes through strategic management is minimizing risks and eliminating challenges or any surprises that might come up as a result of the improper implementation of foreseen solution. Hence managing a project through strategic management must consider the cost analysis, the quality of the project and time required since time dictates the resources utilized. In the end, it is humane to inform communities on all manner of evils that might facing them in the future. The right action and motivation will lead to ethical decision-making. This implies that misconduct of any officer needs to face the full force of the law. Therefore, in order to make a moral decision, the right motivation coupled with good intention must take center stage in any decision one make.

Reference

Michael Porter: The Case for Letting Business Solve Social Problems

https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_porter_why_business_can_be_good_at_solving_social_problems//

Ansoff, H. I., Kipley, D., Lewis, A. O., Helm-Stevens, R., & Ansoff, R. (2019). Implanting strategic management. Springer.

The Belmont Report

1. The aim of The Belmont Report is to condense the basic ethical principles which were recognized by National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research.
2. The research entails ethical guidelines and principles that the ethical principle the human subjected research (Department of Health, 2014). On the other hand, practice entails the steps prepared to enhance the wellbeing of the individual patients and that ensure that the steps have rational success expectation whereas research involves an activity designed to test hypothesis, make conclusions and facilitate to knowledge production.
3. The ethical concepts are described as follows;

• Respect for persons as a principle of ethics entails elaborates that individuals should be treated as autonomous being s meaning that they should make choices and alternatives without obstructing their activities. Failing to respect the autonomous being is denying them authority to act according to the individualized perception or failure to give information to the beings without a valid reason. Children and the disabled may require protection as a form of respect. Some people require less protection only to ensure that they have the freedom of doing their own activities with sufficient knowledge about their consequences while others need more protection to an extent of protecting them from exposure to the things that might endanger them.
• Beneficence explains that individuals should not only be treated with respect and protection from harm but also in consideration of their well-being. Beneficence falls under the rule of avoidance of harm and increasing the welfare and decreasing the hazards.
• Justice elaborates that people of the same levels should be treated equally and with fairness. Injustice happens when there is denial of some benefits or when some risks are imposed to a person obscenely.

4. The ethical principles are applied as follows;

• Respect for person outlines that individuals should be give n the right to choose what they want to be done for them.  The patients should be given enough information in an organized manner to facilitate adequate understanding. This will ensure voluntary agreement of the consent.
• Assessment of benefits and risks enables collection of organized and comprehensive data concerning the research. Beneficence relates to the justification of research under the favorable assessment of risks and benefits.
• Principle of justice emphasizes on fairness of the procedures and implications of selecting the research subjects. There is application of justice in the selection of research projects in terms of social and individual levels. Fairness is needed at the individual level while social justices calls for drawing distinction of subject classes that have and those that does not take part in a given research project.

Reference

Department of Health, E. (2014). The Belmont Report. Ethical principles and guidelines for the    protection of human subjects of research. The Journal of the American College of Dentists, 81(3),          4.

Research Ethics

While conducting a research pertaining human lives, the researchers must consider the moral aspects of the study. Moral elements guide scholars on the DOs and DONTs during selection of participants and ensure activities the participants take part in are safe and sound. When scientists utilize human beings to achieve the objectives of a study, they must protect their lives, health and see to it that no harm comes to them. In addition, Codes of ethics associated with social science fail to give elaborate regulations for researchers to adhere to; rather they stipulate standards, which map out the researcher’s decision making process. Thus, secrecy and deception creep in through loopholes created by weak regulations. However, researchers have to ensure the people acknowledge what they are getting themselves into as subjects of the research or study.

The Nuremberg Code and Research Ethics

The roots of research ethics goes back to Nuremberg military tribunal, which took place in the late 1940s. A group of Nazi medical experts took part in horrendous World War II ‘experimentations’. During the experiments, thousands of people died due to torture in the concentration camps. In addition, twenty-three medical experts stood trial at Nuremberg but only sixteen were guilty of war crime charges. Nuremberg code was an agreed upon moral and ethical rules. The guidelines came into play every time researchers conducted experiments on humans. Under the Nuremberg code, scientist had to submit to certain responsibilities if the Nuremberg code was to take full effect. One of the responsibility of the researcher was to ensure the experiment yields positive outcomes for the community through legal means and the scientists need to protect their subjects from any injury during the entire procedure. In fact, only participant who give a go ahead would engage in the experiment.

The Zimbardo Experiment

Zimbardo and his peers wanted to obtain information on whether the cruelty described among prison law enforcers was due to sadistic traits, that is, dispositional or it was due to prison surroundings or situational. For instance, the prisoners and prison law enforcers may have opposite personalities, hence increasing chances of a conflict between them. The experiment was to last for 14 days. However, it came to a halt after 6 days due to the conditions in which the participants were in. The guards were abusive and violent and the prisoners developed trauma and nervousness. When the prisoners became angry, the guards perceived them as dangerous.

Comparing Zimbardo and Nuremberg Code

In Nuremberg Code, human experiments caused death of numerous innocent people. Whereas in the Zimbardo experiment, the prison guards had total control of the prisoners and treated them with contempt and spite. In both experiments, the participants experience negative elements of the experiments. For instance, in the Zimbardo experiment, the guards punish prisoners and even beat them. Therefore, the two experiments breach research ethics.

Twitter Revolution

Social media is a commonly used technological tool. For the past few decades, social media influenced the dissemination of information across the globe and inspired social change all over the world. For instance, the death of an Iranian politician went viral after the footage went viral on various social media platforms. Even though the footage never brought about any noteworthy change, it awaken many Iranians through what people termed, ‘Twitter Revolution.’ Several days later after the assassination of eth Iranian politician, social media facilitated dissemination of information in other Arab nations hence resulting into a revolution.

Ethics Essay

Introduction

Ethics refers to the way people make choices between what's right and wrong in their daily decision making and relations. Ethics covers many dilemmas in life that include ways one is supposed to live a good life, the rights and responsibilities that each one has the language of right and wrong and the moral decision between what’s right and wrong. Therefore this paper aims at discussing ethics in business now and before and what our parents think about how ethical our generation is.

Ethical of Business Before and Now

Business operations are guided by moral principles that include the relations between the employee and employer the social responsibility of the company corruption, discrimination and insider trading.

Fifty years ago, the word ethics could not find most employees workspace since most workers were full of ideas and wanted to make the world a better place. During this era, drug use was rampant which made most companies respond through investing in human resource departments and code of conducts required to be followed by the employees.

During the 70s and 80s, the tension between employees and employers was brought into the spotlight after the highly publicised scandals during the war in Vietnam prompting the government's response through the implementation of stricter policies (Gasper, 2016).Companies started focusing more on values brought by employees shifting the philosophy in management to equal footing from pure authoritarianism.

From 2000 moving forward, ethics took evolved in business making a turn mostly in cybercrimes and issues related to privacy. In the past, crimes like theft of identity cyberbullying were unheard of but have now become a threat to anyone doing business. Businesses have now taken more ethical measures to deal with the customers' information selectively keeping the fine line between having respect for the customer's privacy and ethically marketing the products. The relationship between the employers and employees has improved, and the disclosure of services and products information made better through more extensive sales and marketing ventures.

 Ethics in the Current Generation  

Parents see the current generation to be out of ethics due to the millennial variation in behaviour pattern and respect which is not true. Young people today are perceived to be more ethical by most companies and can be persuaded through the promise of moral superiority (Arenas, 2016). Also, young people look at the company's responsible behaviour before deciding to choose a product associated with the said firm.

   Most parents feel like the children are isolated and suffering from most trust crisis which is not true. Millennials have the lowest levels of trust than any other generation before with most of them believing that someone on the streets could be telling the most truth compared to the one in baby boomers. The easily available exposure through the internet has made it hard to lie to the young people.

With the invention of technology, most young people have limited face to face engagements and even taken a step higher by deciding to be using their leisure time as their private moments, a phenomenon treated as lack of ethics by most parents but in most cases found not to be true. The internet has helped the youths in the creation of ways to analyse different situations and be able to know which one to trust.

Work Cited

Arenas, D., & Rodrigo, P. (2016). On firms and the next generations: Difficulties and possibilities for business ethics inquiry. Journal of business ethics, 133(1), 165-178.

Gasper, D. (2016). Ethics of development.

 Advocacy Campaign: Ethical Considerations

 The ANA Code of ethics provides the place of nurses in the advocacy for public healthcare, including the roles they play, and ethical considerations that they should take into considerations.  The provisions 7,8, and 9 highlights these considerations including their roles in the generation of health and nursing policy , collaboration with various stakeholders involved in health diplomacy ,articulation of values and integrity , and ensuring social justice is integrated into the policy. Hence, nurses in advocacy campaigns can encounter ethical dilemmas, and they need the knowledge on the ANA provisions and various lobbying laws in places where the programs will occur. The “Eat Right, Move Right to Shake Off Diabetes” campaign is likely to face ethical dilemmas while considering the ethical provisions of ANA Code of ethics , and the Maryland lobbying laws.

 The ANA Code of Ethics provisions establish the line between ethics and advocacy, and guide the nursing professionals in advocacy for population healthcare. Since a nurse is involved in health care more than other healthcare professional, and their role in patients advocacy is central to their profession, ethical issues may arise due to the thin line between advocacy and paternalism. The issue of advocacy involves political activism that aims to influence public policy, and therefore, influence the outcome of healthcare for the population. The process of public policy comprises efforts to alert the government to healthcare issues, and receiving responses (Milstead, 2019). The “Eat Right, Move Right to Shake Off Diabetes” campaign has to be carried out within the confines of the public policy in existence, which can also bring about ethical issues. The ethical basis of advocacy is thorough public debate needed for making informed decision, and various behaviors by nurses as lobbyists can undermine the transparency and fairness of the process leading to ethical dilemmas. If the goals of the “Eat Right, Move Right to Shake Off Diabetes” campaign as defined by the  target population and community differ clearly from the campaign goals as defined by the individual nurses , confusion may arises.

In addition, the campaign may principally be an ineffective way of allocating resources in form of money meant for healthy food, since diabetes may not necessarily be the heath issue that the target population needs most. Ethical issues relating to advertising can arise in health promotion campaigns, because commercial advertising tactics that apply emotional appeals, omissions, exaggerations or provocative strategies can be used in the advocacy. A major ethical concern involves the possibility that the campaign will not address the issue of equity and barriers that have predisposes the African American , and other minority people of color to the diabetes related health issues. The campaign may not seem to lobby policy makers to address the inequalities that prevent the people of color from accessing healthy foods and quality healthcare. The advocacy campaign may not appear as promoting the farness value highlighted in the code of ethics. The purpose of the campaign is to promote health interventions by influencing the views and lifestyles of the target population, but because it is funded by government and powerful public organizations, it is important to deal with the aforesaid ethical issues.

In order for the campaign to promote fairness and transparency, the strategy would involve collaboration with various stakeholders in the community so as to ensure the intended people receive the allocated resources. Also, the strategy involves advocating for individuals who are unable to advocate for the diabetes related health issues affecting them. To accomplish this, objectivity has to be maintained. Nurses are normally encouraged to remain objective and consider the best interests of individuals who are unable to convey their needs and wishes (Llewellyn, 2004)). The implementation of the campaign will involve the relevant actors, in order to ensure that the intended health goals are achieved. Consulting widely and establishing good relationship with the actors involved in advocacy is important in achieving integration and upholding the ethical values in the process (Goethals, Gastmans & Dierckx de Casterle, 2010). The issue of fairness and transparency can be addressed by ensuring that the campaign communicates that diabetes related health concerns are of greatest need to the community. The health promotion and advertising applied in the campaign should also ensure that the strategy used does not involve miscommunication through exaggerations or provocative messages that may be considered a nuisance or misleading.

 The use of accurate information regarding the diabetes health issues will be upheld in the campaign. It is the obligation of nurses not to cause harm by helping communities and individuals to obtain a positive health status by preventing any potential risks (Hanks, 2013). Miscommunication of health information presents a potential risk to wellbeing of the clients.  The efforts to be employed in the professional and grassroots lobbying will follow the ethical codes established by ANA to deal with any ethical dilemma that may arise.

The lobbying laws administered by the Maryland State Ethics Commissions relates to a regulatory program that covers registration , disclosure , reporting and Standards of Conduct for all parties involved in the lobbying exercise. The law requires that any lobbyist be registered in the lobbying year, and the registration delivered to the Commission within the provided five days. The lobbyist is also required to file activity reports per year, and even if the lobbyist remains inactive for a specific period within the year, he or she still has to file an Activity Report. The Commission is mandated by the Public Ethics Law to review the report filed by lobbyist in accordance with the various provisions established therein (Schadler, Gold, Steinberg, n.d.). Hence, the lobbyist’s report must include the financial details and documents such as account, books , bill and receipts , and should retain the Activity Report and related documents for 3 years after filing the report. The Grassroots lobbying registration is required under Provisions § 5-702 (a) (5) if the amount to be spent is $ 2,000 for all expense incurred for lobbying activity purpose (Schadler, Gold, Steinberg, n.d.). The provisions highlighted will guide the “Eat Right, Move Right to Shake Off Diabetes” campaign efforts aimed at influencing the legislators and other policy makers , and ensure that administrative decisions take into account diabetes health issues facing mostly the African Americans.

In conclusion, the “Eat Right, Move Right to Shake Off Diabetes” campaign aims at communicating to the need for healthy eating in combating diabetes, and the importance of a policy that ensures health concerns are addressed administratively. The campaign will observe the established code of ethics to deal with arising ethical dilemmas, and be conducted with the prevailing lobbying laws.

References

Milstead, J. A. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.) pp. 114-127

Goethals, S., Gastmans, C., & Dierckx de Casterle, B. (2010). Nurses’ ethical reasoning and behaviour: A literature review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 47(5), 635–650

Llewellyn, P. (2004). Nursing and advocacy in person centred planning. Learning Disability Practice, 7(9), 14–17

Hanks,  R. (2013). Social Advocacy: A Call for Nursing Action. Pastoral Psychology, 62(2), 163–173

Schadler B.H., Gold L. E., Steinberg J. W. (n.d). Lobbying Disclosure: Alliance for Justice. Retrieved from: https://www.bolderadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/AFJ-Maryland-Lobbying.pdf

Professionalism and Accountability in FEMA

Standardized actions and ethical practices that emergency management practitioners might implement in order to further professionalize the field

• Implementation of misconduct policies for surge capacity work workforce. When there is a catastrophe, there are many people that join FEMA to help manage the disaster and most of the people who join the workforce engage in unethical behaviours that affect the agency’s reputation (Currie et al., 2017). Clearly documented policies would greatly help to outline the disciplinary actions or the appeal processes that should be applied on these individuals. It will also help in bettering management to address misconducts and also mitigate perceptions that misconducts within FEMA are normally handled inconsistently (Currie et al., 2017). Emergency agency should ensure that various groups of people that take part in helping during disasters are controlled by policies that clearly illustrate the discipline measures that should be taken on them in case of misconducts.
• Creation of reconciliation procedures to help track the indiscipline cases that are referred to the Department of Homeland Security Office of inspector General (DHS OIG). FEMA shares cases of misconduct with DHS OIG but it does not ever follow up on these cases to know how they are reviewed and addressed (Currie, 2018). Following up on such cases and keeping the records of misconducts can greatly help the agency to identify and address the trends which will help to implement effective measures and policies to reduce cases of misconducts. The emergency agency should ensure that it understands everything that relates with misconducts within the agency to help look for ways to reduce the misconducts.

Commonly used methods of ensuring accountability in emergency management procedures

• FEMA conducts frequent internal audits to help in assessing the effectiveness of the agency’s controls, to help in identifying inappropriate disbursements or risk zones and to consider new procedures that help in reducing risks (Currie, 2018). FEMA through this procedure is able to demand the return of any tragedy aid disbursements that is awarded improperly while maintaining the survivors’ due process rights where it offers them an opportunity to appeal and an opportunity for an oral hearing. This procedure is effective and it has greatly helped in reducing the issue of improper payments. With a good example of this effectiveness being the comparison of 14% error rate during the Hurricane Katrina in the year 2005 and the less 1% during the FY2010 (Currie, 2015).
• FEMA uses viable data facility source to help in verifying the identity of all catastrophe support candidates through matching of their names and their societal security numbers that they use both inside and out of the prevailing candidate records (Currie, 2018). To ensure validity, the applicant’s permanent residence inspections are conducted before financial aid is provided. The residence inspector has to personally validate that the destroyed home is owned by the resident and that it is the victim’s primary residence.  This inspector has to also authenticate that the claimed reimbursements are genuine and the obligation of that person requesting for federal tragedy support (Currie, 2018).  The subsequent facts from the inspection are joint together with the identity confirmation and other appropriate registers such as personal coverage. They are then managed through a comprehensively verified set of commercial guidelines to help regulate individual eligibility. There are processes to ensure that duplication does not occur and in this case an analysis that overlaps over time phases and prevents disbursement in additional of the maximum that is permitted by the Stafford Act (Currie, 2018). Directions to ensure that there are manual evaluation expenditures to more than one candidate that are living in matching resident are also looked into. This greatly helps in determining if the societal safety number was used by numerous people or if it belongs to a deceased person.

Values proposed in the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Code of Ethics for emergency managers

• An emergency manager should be risk driven in that they are able to effectively use sound risk principles when assigning priorities and resources (Springer, 2009). An emergency manager for instance in case of a fire disaster, should be intelligent enough to make wise decisions in establishing the group of people to be allocated various duties. He should also be wise to also understand the equipment that is required and make necessary arrangement to acquire that equipment in order to ensure that the disaster is managed effectively. A good case example of this is during the Northridge Earthquake where Witt the FEMA director at the time came up with the idea of opening up more disaster management centres that helped serve more victims that helped improve disaster management in that crises in the overall (Kamel & Loukaitou-Sideris, 2004). In this case, Witt did not think twice about the costs that would be incurred in opening up this more centres but rather at the effectiveness that they would bring to the whole management process.

• An emergency manager should have collaborative skills which can help him or her to create and sustain broad and at the same time genuine relations among persons and establishments in order to help inspire trust (Springer, 2009). This collaborative relationships help in encouraging confidence, promote a team atmosphere and simplify communication. A manager that understands the concept of collaboration can always reach out to various members of the community to help out with the management of the disaster. This a manager that interacts and ensures a good relationship with various organizations within the community and so when a disaster strikes, he knows that he can trust them to help out and this helps in effective disaster management. Witt is one example of an emergency manager that was collaborative in nature, this is illustrated during the Northridge earthquake where he worked with various organizations and this included the members of the congress that came out with their staff in large members to help out with the disaster management (Kamel & Loukaitou-Sideris, 2004).

• An emergency manager should be flexible in that they are they able to practice imaginative and advanced tactics in solving catastrophe contests (Springer, 2009). When a disaster strikes, there are always those predefined measures that have been put in place to help in managing the disaster. At times these predefined measures may be ineffective or insufficient forcing the emergency manager to come up with new decisions that he or she was not prepared for. A flexible manager will make fast and efficient decisions to help in the management of the disaster without any hesitation to ensure effective disaster management. a good case example is with the Northridge Earthquake where Witt created a channel that helped update the members of the public on the progress of the disaster management (Kamel & Loukaitou-Sideris, 2004). This was a creative idea that worked out very well in this case because they were able to get more volunteers to help out in the disaster management. it was also effective because it helped in showing that the agency was transparent in their dealings which helped in curbing any trust issues that the public may have had with FEMA.

References

Currie, C. P. (2015). Additional Planning and Data Collection Could Help Improve

Workforce Management Efforts. GAO Reports, i-55. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=108306875&site=ehost-live

Currie, C. P. (2018). NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS: FEMA Has Taken Steps to Strengthen

Grant Management, But Challenges Remain in Assessing Capabilities. GAO Reports, 1–15. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=129253256&site=ehost-live

Currie, C. P., Turpin, S., Moore, K., Komadina, S., & Atwater, B. (2017). FEDERAL

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: Additional Actions Needed to Improve Handling of Employee Misconduct Allegations. GAO Reports, 1–10. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=124340561&site=ehost-live

Kamel, N. M. O., & Loukaitou-Sideris, A. (2004). Residential Assistance and Recovery

Following the Northridge Earthquake. Urban Studies (Routledge), 41(3), 533–562. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=12844520&site=ehost-live

Springer, C. G. (2009). Emergency managers as change agents.Ideas From an Emerging

Field: Teaching Emergency Management in Higher Education, 12(1), 197-211. http://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/sea_fac_articles/346

Law and Ethics in Coca Cola Company

Coca cola is the prime global beverage company that runs the biggest delivery structure all over the globe. The company is able to serve about one million of its products to its consumers on a daily basis. The marketing strategy that is applied by this company promotes its products from four out of the five uppermost vending soft beverages such as diet coke, Fanta, sprite and Coke in order to earn sales (Datamonitor: Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., 2009). This process has been effective and it has helped the company to build strong customer relations which give this business the opportunity to be identified as well as be satisfied. 

Even though Coca-Cola is able to produce and vend immensely across United States, to help it expand and develop, the company has had to construct their international soft beverage market by ensuring that they sell their products to customers internationally (Datamonitor: Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., 2009). The company has sustained its target on intercontinental markets by concentrating on old-fashioned soft drinks, latest beverages and also getting bigger into the snack food trade. With this trend, Coca Cola has been able acquire 85% of the world’s snack food market making it a large global company with a substantial American commerce (Joseph, 2014).

The overall goal of Coca Cola Company is to increase the market share. Rivalries between other soft beverages businesses, dishonest market share information and other business behaviours can cause certain difficulties if the uppermost vending firms allow them (Joseph, 2014). Coca Cola has however applied one strategy since the 1800s and that is realizing goals such as worldwide unifications, immense market stocks, snack food manufacture and inclusive performance that have endorsed the company to endeavour and continue to prosper all through the years.

Legal laws governing Coca Cola Operations

Coca Cola Company follows different types of laws in the different countries that they operate in but there are those common laws that apply globally. The production, supply and the trades of some of its merchandises are all under various laws including the Federal Food; the Federal Trade Commission Act; Drug and Cosmetic Act and the Lanham Act (Governance & Ethics, 2016). The company always ensure that it follows rivalry laws, environment linked regulations, customer right regulations, commercial bylaws according to various countries its operating in.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Legal issues within Coca Cola Company

Just like with many other companies, Coca Cola has had its share of legal issues ranging from racial discrimination, problems with distributors, quality of the products, inflated earning and problems with unions among others that fall under the EEOC laws.

1. Discrimination based on race

EEOC advocates for equal rights for every employee and it is termed unlawful to categorize a person on the base of colour, race, religion, nationality or even sex (Doyle, 2018). In the year 1999, Coca Cola Company was faced with a legal charge for discriminating 1500 African Americans and giving them lower pays as compared to their Caucasian counterparts. The plaintiffs complained that they were paid $26,000 less every year which was a very big difference and it was made worse by the fact that the uppermost administration knew about it for four years but did not bother to deal with the issue. The firm after denying about the discrimination issue later in the year 2000 agreed to pay $193 million to settle the discrimination lawsuit (Bailey, 2014).

.

2. Discrimination based on gender

The EEOC law also advocates for equal pay in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 which clearly states that women and women should receive job opportunities and equal pay for equal work. It is also termed illegal for an organization to retaliate against an employee for participating in an employment discrimination lawsuit (Doyle, 2018). In the year 2016, Coca Cola was faced with a legal suit by EEOC for denying Martina Owes a job opportunity in two vacant positions all because she was a woman. Though Owes had the required qualifications, the company choose to hire men that were less qualified for the positions. The company settled the case with $35,000 settlement (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 2016).

Discrimination based on disability

The law also equally makes it illegal to discriminate against qualified persons with disability. The law makes it clear that an employee should reasonably lodge the known bodily as well as psychological confines of a qualified candidate or worker with infirmity (Doyle, 2018). Coca Cola company has recently entered an agreement with EEOC where it has been forced to pay $2.25 million to settle nine infirmity discernment charges that supposed that the firm failed to appropriately quarter persons with infirmities (Burden, 2018). The company has as of the year 2018 agreed to bring up-to-date its dogmas and measures as well as improve housings that are provided to the employees returning to work after an infirmity connected absence.

Friedman inputs on discrimination issues

Milton Friedman criticizes discrimination arguing that the colour, sex or region of an individual should not be a reason to treat them differently (Fenster, 2012). He further illustrates that an individual should be judged by what he does but not by external characteristics (Fenster, 2012). Friedman would have greatly educated the executives in Coca Cola on the ethics of treating people equally for better development of the company.

Utilitarianism theory inputs on discrimination issues

The utilitarianism theory argues that if an action results in the happiness of the larger society, then it is right (Harel & Segal, 2014). Discrimination is an act that displeases the society at large; it not only affects the perception of the employees on the company but also the society which creates a certain negative image on the company. When one decides to make morally correct decisions it leads to increased happiness to the individual also to the people around them (Harel & Segal, 2014). The decision to discriminate some individuals by Coca Cola Company affected the perception of the society on the company and it cost the company losses that will never be recovered. Utilitarianism would greatly help executives in Coca Cola Company to understand the importance of creating a positive environment for all workers.

Conclusion

Coca Cola Company is one of the most effective and known brands in the domain. Though it has been faced with a share of some ethical problems, the organization’s identity has managed to remain moderately faultless. Coca Cola attempts to lessen their ethical disputes to a minimum in order to attention on prolonging its market all over the world. All the legal matters that have been presented were glitches that were controlled legally well and the company made sure to alter its policies to ensure that such issues do not reoccur which greatly help the company to still stand as one of the uppermost beverage enterprises in the globe.

References

Bailey, B. (2014, September 05). Great Plains Coca-Cola settles federal discrimination claim. Retrieved from https://newsok.com/article/5338875/great-plains-coca-cola-settles-federal-discrimination-claim

Burden, L. (2018, September 03). USA: Coca-Cola to pay $ 2.25 mln. to settle 9 discrimination charges alleging co's failure to properly accommodate employees with disabilities. Retrieved from https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/usa-coca-cola-to-pay-225-mln-to-settle-9-discrimination-charges-alleging-cos-failure-to-properly-accommodate-employees-with-disabilities

Datamonitor: Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (2009). Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. SWOT Analysis, 1-9.

Doyle, A. (2018). What Is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)? Retrieved from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-is-the-equal-employment-opportunity-commission-eeoc-2060496

Fenster, Danny. 2012. Quicklet on Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman : Key Terms and Definitions. San Francisco: Hyperink - Capitalism and Freedom Quicklet. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1011884&site=ehost-live.

Governance & Ethics. (2016, September 20). Retrieved from https://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/governance-ethics/governance-ethics

Harel, A., & Segal, U. (2014). Utilitarianism and discrimination. Social Choice & Welfare, 42(2), 367–380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00355-013-0734-2

Joseph, S. (2014). Coke's five 'disruptive' tips to break from marketing paradigms. Marketing Week (Online Edition), 1.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2016, December 4) ‘Coca-Cola Bottling Of Mobile to Pay $35,000 to Settle EEOC Sex Discrimination Suit.. Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/4-12-16.cfm

The Impact of Ethics on a Corporations Triple Bottom Line

Abstract

This report explores thoroughly on the effects of ethics on corporations triple bottom line. As corporations strive to enhance the value of their businesses while supporting the need for sustainability and competitiveness, the Triple bottom line (TBL) concepts have become a popular approach. However, ethics plays an integral role in ensuring that social, economic and environmental success is achieved. Thus, Ethics has a notable influence and significant effects on the triple bottom line. Thus, this report begins by offering a background discussion of the subjected followed by a review of previous studies. Data was collected from secondary sources which therefore serves as quantitative data. The study concludes that there is a positive correlation between Ethics and corporation’s Triple bottom line as the interaction leads to sustainability.

Introduction

In the rise of high profile corporate scandals and the increasing awareness with respect to the fact that the global populace is suffering from reckless and unethical organizational practices have resulted in the development of measures to address issues facing the Triple Bottom line approach. This is well illustrated by the continuous legislation of policies and positive persecution of corporate officials engaging in corrupt practices. The primary principle of TBL approach similar to that of business ethics asserts that profit should not be the only conciliator of accomplishment in business. In addition according to Leroy (31) the ability to generate revenue, corporations are required to examine their environmental and social stewardship to show commitment to the respective communities in which business is carried out. The traditional strategy to business success measurement is through the TBL approach as it gives emphasizes on non-monetary approaches to business success. The concept holds that the final success of any firm should be measured not only on the basis of conventional monetary TBL but there is a necessity to consider environmental and ethical forces that are a major determinant of the outcome. Actually, most people have agreed that corporations have must accountabilities to all their stakeholders in ensuring that they maintain responsible behaviors. Also, it is unarguable that it is impossible for corporations to achieve success in the long-term in the case that they disrespect the interests of the stakeholders. In support of the notion, the way that business is conducted today in the face of globalization, innovation and need for market domination have changed, meaning that firms must strive not just to increase their financial gains but also impact the society positively.

Research Question

1. What are the effects of ethics on Corporations Triple Bottom Line?

Critical Literature Review

According to Tate and Bals (4), the TBL model does not only measure the success and stability of an organization from only a financial stand but also while focusing on social, environmental and ethical performance. TBL is a consistent process that assists a firm to concentrate on desirable performance that leads to sustainability while constantly conveying through actions to its community, investors, staffs and so on that it is not only seeking to increase its revenue but also seeks to promote the greater good. In other words, this is a sustainable approach that creates a balance amid economic success, environmental sustainability, and social engagement. Those corporations that in the modern business landscape have chosen to pursue these values and practices are able to lower and address any issue that arises thus enhancing their wellbeing. Even though consumers are today focused on acquiring quality products, it is without a doubt that a corporation that shows no consideration of environmental, social and ethical needs of the respective community will fail (Onyali 195). The ability to generate wealth lies in the level of effort and commitment that a firm puts in promoting the greater good. This clearly shows that ethics focuses on the achievement of social responsibility which in turn ensures that TBL achieves sustainability.

Based on Laasch and Conaway (27) the main objective of TBL is to achieve sustainable development which might not occur in the case that a company fails to adhere to ethical business practices. Ethical practices are achieved on the basis of the TBL. Sustainability is one of the leading philosophy in which ethics and TBL originate (Leroy 31). The philosophy mainly emphasizes the ability to meet the needs of existing stakeholders without negatively affecting the ability of others. In that sustainable actions in business are the practices that pursue the maximization of high social ethical and environmental effects. This is a good thing for a business setting because when a corporation encourages ethical behaviors in a sustainable sense then extensive benefits ranging from finances, larger market shares, reduced operating cost, and customer loyalty and so on. Investing in driving a firm onto the sustainability path is likely to generate substantial competitiveness for the corporation.

It is argued highly that a company that follows the TBL model but disregards the provisions of business ethics will not achieve sustainability in the long run (Leroy 31). It is only the forms that integrate the concepts that become a success due to the fact that ethics supplies efficiency while at the same time increasing their competitiveness and triggers innovation and all these are responsible for profitable business over time. Through the assertion on social responsibility, corporations should be willing to improve their surrounding by acting ethically and with integrity while serving and enhancing the living standards of everyone that is touched (Tate and Bals 11). Thus TBL holds that success can never be measured from a single metric since ignoring the rest would only result in an unethical firm that only prioritizes on its financial needs over the interests of the society and its stakeholders. Due to the growing awareness and familiarity of the value of business sustainability, most firms are struggling to embrace Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) principles which is the process through which efficiency is achieved by ensuring that stakeholders are treated in an ethical manner. CSR is a measure that is used in evaluating corporate behaviors, how a firm impacts the society and its ability to conserve the environment while still guarding its competitive advantage.

Evidently, ethics impacts corporations TBL as it results in social responsibility. This is an ethical outline suggesting that a corporation or an individual has the sole responsibility of acting in a way that seeks to benefit the society greatly. Social responsibility is that duty that every person should achieve to maintain a reasonable balance amid the economy and the surrounding. Also, the concept conveys that business entities ought to balance profit generating operations with the activities that seek to benefit the society highly. In that, this incorporates the development of a business with a positive connection to the community where its operations are based (Laasch and Conaway 29). The three entities that are the most effective are social welfare, environmental effects, and economic development. Traditionally, businesses were mainly seeking to generate more wealth while ignoring the needs of the society but individuals are more familiar with the concept of social responsibility which in turn pressures the business to act ethically. Ethics ensures that TBL achieves its sustainable development goal through ethical practices as a whole which result in inclusive results. With reference to the environment, TBL strives with the assistance of ethics to ensure that a company considers its environmental effects. For instance, companies avoid polluting the surrounding by proper disposal of water as well as the use of renewable resources. By using natural resources sustainably, the community can benefit while the company increases its ability to operate effectively in a stable environment (Leroy 32). Through the integration of the goal of sustainable development is achieved. Such measures are helpful in attracting more consumers since people begin to view the corporation differently based on its effort to protect the environment from pollution harm.

Treviño and Nelson (44) note that on the other hand, for social welfare corporations ought to examine their impacts on society, which means that they need to act ethically. The social objective is to improve the individual’s living standard by creating employment opportunities and favorable work settings. This is a form of social investment where corporations benefit highly by gaining a positive reputation which not only gathers the most skilled workers but also leads to increased production, quality performance, and market expansion. In addition, this results in reduced operating expenses while at the same time it creates more investment opportunities in the industry (Boeger, Murray, and Villiers 34). Thus, Ethics has notable positive effects on corporations TBL. Brand development, reputation improvement, customer loyalty, reduced operating cost, and quality performance are some of the effects on the model. Corporate reputation is achieved in the case that a firm has acted ethically in fulfilling the needs of the consumers which increases its ability to influence stakeholders and public attitude. Through social responsibility, the benefits are immediate since such practices offer continuous support for sustainable development.

In addition, the impact of integrating ethics with TBL is that it leads to increased profit and market share. Based on the provision of business ethics corporate officials are guided by the belief that through acting for the benefit of the society, then it benefits from market growth and increased revenue generation (Boeger, Murray, and Villiers 34). Through the benefit of market increase, this clearly illustrates that stakeholders will react positively to the effort of TBL. It is without a doubt that economic value can be achieved by a company that focuses on TBL but sustainability is delivered where ethics are considered. The other impact is that it results in increased community support for the model. Communities have the highest influence when it comes to authorizing a corporation to operate effectively which also plays part in building a reputation for the company. A responsible corporation is a result of ethical practices which therefore implies that the success of the TBL is dependent on the concept of ethical practices (Treviño and Nelson, 46). Clearly, ethics impacts corporations TBL by ensuring that the goals become more evident and that individuals strive to become socially responsible for the sustainable development of the business to be achieved in the long run. Both models, therefore, strive to enhance the competitiveness of corporations.

Theoretical Framework/ Hypothesis

Based on the analysis above, this study has established a positive relationship between Ethics and Triple Bottom Line. Ethics enables corporations TBL to consider the ultimate social, environmental and economic outcome of their practices. This is other words accounts to CSR, where corporations have the responsibility of ensuring that they promote deeds that lead to greater good. The achievement of sustainability is one that must uphold the needs of society and stakeholders as a priority. Contrary to past practices, ethics ensures that corporations examine their success not only on the grounds of financial gains but also while focusing on other factors such as environment and social interest. As per today, corporations are required to guard the environment against any form of pollution as a means of promoting social wellness and sustainability (Onyali 195). On the other hand, social responsibilities that promote the stability of communities has been an essential force through which firms are constantly gaining from brand development and reputation. Thus, ethics mainly ensures that TBL is able to achieve its goal by asserting on positive behaviors. In other words, ethics is a framework that influences all the policies of TBL which therefore demonstrates that in its absence then corporations will not benefit from long-term sustainability. In this context, it works to ensure that corporations TBL achieves quality performance, efficiency, reduced operating expenses, market, and revenue increase as well as brand loyalty. Most individuals hold a positive perception for the firms that are socially responsible given that they have proven not to be pursuing profit alone but also seeks to uplift the communities. In other words, they focus on development. Since the main objective of Corporations TBL is to acquire sustainable development ethics guarantees success.

Data Collection Method

In fulfilling the needs of this reports, the study focused on the collection of both primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected from online sources such as public surveys report while secondary data was acquired from books and articles. Data from secondary sources, therefore, acted as quantitative data acquired from a review of the existing literature. These sources were mainly selected based on their ability to maximize data, accessibility, affordability, and convenience. The researcher sought to gather as much information as possible to support the set hypothesis while ensuring that reliable and credible results are derived.

Data Analysis

The thematic or content analysis is the approach that was used to analyze all the acquired information gathered. This is an analysis approach where all the collected information is classified in terms of themes which makes it comparable. The main objective of the approach is that it helps in narrowing down information as well as simplification of the theme while still generating quantifiable results. In addition, the approach increases the ability to organize qualitative data in a manner that meets the needs of the study. However, since it highly depends on individuals skills human errors might affect the reliability of the result meaning that it should be applied with caution.

Results

The study established that ethics is positively connected with corporations TBL. In that, while ethics is a framework that outlines on the behaviors that corporations should undertake for competitiveness and social stability, it also seeks to ensure that sustainability is achieved. The ultimate goal of both concepts is to ensure that the organization does not only achieve financial stability which leads to competitiveness but also enhances its reputation and brand loyalty. A socially responsible firm is one that adheres to ethical practices meaning that it conserves the environment, promotes economic development and social growth. This is the firm that cares about the needs of the stakeholders such as its employees by providing them with a favorable workplace and ensures that they are motivated to perform well. The focus should not only be to generate more revenue but this, in other words, should entail the creation of a sustainable society. Measuring the effectiveness of the business based on its ability to produce more revenue is an outdated approach given that the effects of the firm to the surrounding must be assessed. In this case, the study found out that ethics ensures that TBL achieves its goal by creating a path to be followed and setting guidelines which mainly incorporate ethical business practices that leads t sustainability.

Table 1: Impacts of Ethics of Corporations EBL

Table 2: Drivers of EBL

Conclusion

In summing up, it is clear from the analysis above that corporations TBL is an essential measure of the success of any business. However, businesses today must ensure that they account for the financial, social, as well as economic results of their companies as a whole. Ethics plays a crucial role in achieving sustainability given that it does not only asserts on ethical behaviors but also the need for corporations to be socially responsible. The benefits of such approaches are undeniable in an era where there is an increasing rate of corporate malpractices that are affecting not just their reputation but their performance as well as profit generation. Thus, it is evident that ethics helps in ensuring that TBL achieves the goal of sustainable development for the long run through focusing on corporate responsibility to the respective communities.

References

Boeger, Nina, Rachel Murray, and Charlotte Villiers. Perspectives on Corporate Social    Responsibility. , 2008. Internet resource.

Laasch, Oliver, and Roger N. Conaway. Principles of Responsible Management: Glocal Sustainability, Responsibility, and Ethics. , 2015. Print.

Leroy, Miller. The Legal Environment Today - Summarized Case Edition: Business in its Ethical, Regulatory, E-Commerce, and Global Setting. 2015. Cengage Learning.

Onyali, Chidiebele Innocent. Triple Bottom Line Accounting and Sustainable Corporate

            Performance. 2014. Research journal of finance and accounting.

Tate, Wendy L., and Lydia Bals. "Achieving shared triple bottom line (TBL) value creation: toward a social resource-based view (SRBV) of the firm." Journal of Business Ethics (2016): 1-24.

Treviño, Linda K, and Katherine A. Nelson. Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk About How to Do It Right. New York: J. Wiley, 2011. Print.

Ethics, Values, and Social Responsibility

Introduction

In any business and levels of management, ethics is highly regarded and considered everybody’s business. Ethics involves conducting the most significant social challenges in an acceptable manner in terms of ethical and moral values. In the current business environment the issues that draw most attention include integrity and trust, conflict of interest, managing workforce diversity, workplace safety and legal liability. These issues touch on all the stakeholders of any business organization in terms of what is expected of the management and employees. These values must be taken seriously and given priority over any human weakness, rationalization, personal fault and ego. Their impact can be felt by both the current and future stakeholders and thus management and employee must place high regard on them. An economy that is increasingly globalized a high diverse workforce and the public that is more alert to existing and emerging ethical issues has brought about a more complex business landscape.

Review and ranking

Integrity and trust

Trust reinforce and influences the quality of each connection, affiliation and project that a business engages in and is the basic aspect on which the other authentic business accomplishment depends (Audi, Loughran & McDonald, 2016). Integrity on the other hand is the basis for business trust and a culture that upholds workplace environment is founded on trustworthiness of management and employees. In the business, integrity relates to the culture, management and leadership principles where a culture that upholds integrity should start at the top and should be perceived in the activities and conduct of management (Pirson, Martin & Parmar, 2017). A business leadership should have an accord associated with mutual values. Establishment of shared values enhances environment and productivity of the workplace by strengthening individual effectiveness and corporate loyalty based on ethical behavior (Pirson, Martin & Parmar, 2017). Through this, an organization is able to meet the expectations of the shareholders while not ignoring the interests of other stakeholders in the society.

Integrity as an ethical value enables management and employees to look for various ways in which they can change the organizational culture in respect to any wrongdoing occurrences. Across all the departments, employees seek out individuals who might assist them to withstand the pressure while carrying out their functions including accounting, HR and production functions. Integrity entails preventing and mitigating misconduct and corporate fraud issues which can lead to a great loss of public trust when discovered (Pirson, Martin & Parmar, 2017). The management and employees should be able to withstand the pressure to whatever they can to meet the goals that have been set in the organization. A decision making process that is integrity based should start with management who sets an ethical tone and then clarifies to employees that their behavior and actions must be based on ethical policies and standards (Singh & Singh, 2013). A culture of integrity means that the organization will achieve high regard in terms of public image not only presently but in future.

Conflict of interest

Conflict of interest has been a common threat underlying ethical lapses in the many organizations including businesses. The issues have brought about a large number of problems in many areas and have caused great financial harm and injury to the stakeholders of businesses. Conflicts of interest have been major issues in organizations’ boardrooms, accounting firms, Investment Banking Firms and even in the stock markets (Bell, Friedman & Friedman, 2005).  It is possible for the most ethical individuals to fail if the potential to gain is big. Hence, it can be impossible to do away with all conflicts of interest in the businesses but a significant reduction can surely improve the chances of management and employees doing the right thing. Businesses that have a real concern about ethics should first make sure that conflicts of interests are not existent or are as minimal as possible. Business managers have been taking various measures aimed at preventing cases of conflicts of interest occurring or to mitigate the impact of such cases on the organization’s public image.

The conduct of business managers and employees is guided by established codes that aim to check their actions and to ensure that they primarily serve the interests of shareholders without antagonizing other stakeholders (Davis, 2015). For instance, a compensation committee is established to determine the CEO’s compensation. Where the members of the committees have established ties with the CEO, the individual is in most cases involved in the process of determining the board members’ compensation. The resulting conflict of interests has in the past led to huge compensations. In accounting firms, there are many cases that have led to financial scandals where the firms have earned significantly higher fees from consulting services than from the auditing services. The conflict of interest arises when auditors are not objective especially where their firms are poised to lose a lot of money in consulting fees (Bell, Friedman & Friedman, 2005). The scandals may also involve misrepresentation of financial information that is shrouded in fraud and theft with an aim of personal financial gains. The management in business organization have resulted to ethical codes and upholding the accounting standards to prevent such cases or stem out the negative of effects on the organizational image (Bryce, 2017).

Workforce diversity – managing people

Market globalization has brought demographic characteristics changes in what and has been an issue to management and decision makers in business organizations.  A diverse workforce comprises of people from unique cultures and with different expectations and aspirations (Hunt & Hansen, 2007). Managers in organizations have placed much focus on equality at the workplace by adopting diversity and equality policy as a form of diversity management and offering equal opportunities.  This relates to ethical diversity in organizations where there are various beliefs among managers, employees and even executives and businesses have been considering the courses of actions that are seen as ethically appropriate or inappropriate.  For instance, in regard organizational downsizing, managers may hold different views, where some take performance-only focus as ethically right and others perceive it ethically appropriate to consider employee personal welfare and corporate initiatives. Other than different cultural backgrounds ethical judgment among management and employee can diverge due to great personal moral codes diversity (Hunt & Hansen, 2007). Managers perceives ethical and effective management of diversity workforce as needing an all-inclusive culture , and an environment in which cohesiveness, participation and team work are nurtured and enhanced. Ethics begins with the basic assumption that all employees abide with the established moral guidelines while behaving according in the workplace (Hunt & Hansen, 2007). Regardless of the business’s size, unethical behavior wrought with discrimination and inequality can cripple the ability of the company to uphold a positive public image that will attract more customers, less litigations and even maintain a good business partnership.

Mot business managers have established policies that aim at making everyone to feel comfortable working in an organization regardless of their socio-economic backgrounds (Sharma, 2016). Such policies aim at promoting equal opportunities for all employees or prospective workers to be employed and promoted on the basis of merit. Diversity programs in the businesses have been adopted to ensure non-discrimination standards while enforcing penalties for cases of non-complaint.  The human resource management functions are tasked with ensuring that ethical practices in regard to managing cultural diversity are upheld (Sharma, 2016). Management of human resources needs a thorough analysis and understanding of the internal and external environments that are likely to shape the ethical culture of the organization. It enables the development of a cultural fit model which addresses the power distance, masculinity, individualism and uncertainty prevention. These issues are important because they determine the effectiveness of diverse workforce management in the organization while placing much consideration on barriers relating to gender, language and religion that defines the diversity. Currently, organizational management experience problems while managing diversity at both personal level and group level more so when workers are from diverse religions (Sharma, 2016). The employees from different religious backgrounds may have different views of the colleagues’ actions or behavior, so that while some consider them unethical others have no problem at all. It is the work of management to establish commonly agreed ethical standards.

Workplace safety issues

In business leadership, the motivation for organizations’ leaders to enhance safety includes human compassion, establishing a performance platform and improving profitability. The predominant motivation that should drive safety concern among business leaders is a clear sense that it is the appropriate thing to do (Nahrgang, Morgeson & Hofmann, 2011). The issue in this case is the role of safety in assisting managers to achieve the expectations that the shareholders, regulations and legislations, and the general public have placed on them in respect to greater oversight and responsibility in the organization. Workplace safety is important because it provides a platform for building an ethical business, once the managers have acknowledged the principles that relates to ethical culture and leadership. In relation to corporate social responsibility, ethics relates to what managers owe customers, employees and shareholders, and the larger community and how meeting such obligations ensure the organization’s long-term sustainability (Nahrgang, Morgeson & Hofmann, 2011). Today many managers are motivated by a strong sense of commitment to ethical values and principles which include human life, integrity, justice and the overall common good rather than what is good for one person.

 A fundamental premise is the need for excellence, emphasized by the belief that regardless of the safety level or integrity attained, there is always room for improvement (James & Carpenter, 2017). However, an unsafe workplace exposes the organization to much litigation as injured workers seek redress or compensation in law courts which not only discredit the management but hurts the overall public image of the organization. It can also lead to a culture where the value of human life is held with low regard which is quite unethical in the current and future business environment. The unethical culture may be entrenched into the organizational culture which can affect the future wellbeing of the shareholders and other stakeholders due to reduced performance (James & Carpenter, 2017). A culture in which safety as is upheld as an ethical behavior appeals to the various ethical ideals held by the society in which an organization operates in.

Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment has been illegal for over a half a century and in the workplace it has been an ethical dilemma especially career guidance. Despite the long prohibition of the practice, it remains the most persistent practice of violence meted on women at the workplace, which has great impact not only on the victim but the overall public perception of the company (Fitzgerald, 2017). It constitutes a gender based discrimination that relates to workplace integrity and safety, and which every management in an organization has to thoroughly handle. An ethical dilemma arises due to different perceptions of sexual harassment. Therefore, a behavior may persist without the victim plainly informing the perpetrator that such behavior is offensive. The reasonability test is normally applied by courts in evaluating such behavior has the threshold of what is referred to as sexual harassment (Hunt et al. 2010). However, it is the responsibility of management to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace by taking the right action before it occurs. An organization with a culture that seems to accommodate sexual harassment can have its public image stained, with an overall effect on its performance (Hunt et al. 2010). Manages have developed policies of preventing and handling the vice, with an aim that such policies will have future implications of an environment that is not sexually hostile.

Recommendations

Considering the ethical challenges presented by above issues, management should past and present experience to remove obstacles and even contradictions that have been known to have the greatest effect in the capacity to act ethically.  The management should adopt cultural transformation programs and other initiatives that will improve the ethical environment in their business organizations (McLaverty, McKee, 2016). Managers should ensure that they do not push too much for results and change which can make employees to engage in activities innately lead to conflict of interests. Employees should not be driven to act counter to their personal and group ethical values while trying to meet the set expectations. Since many leaders and employees are rewarded for achieving the set standards, many can be driven to disregard the integrity and trust bestowed on them for the sake of rewards and fear of dismissal. This lure of rewards and incentives can be a problem at all levels of management including the boardroom. Cross –cultural differences due to diverse workforce can be problematic in regard to ethical issues (McLaverty, McKee, 2016). Since rules and standards may fail to apply in all cases, each manager has to understand what matters to their organization.  Organizational awareness ensures that managers identify the specific forces in the culture and processes that can motivate others to engage in wrong behavior and activities.  The culture should also encourage employees to speak up about various ethical issues thy encounter and which they consider to have impact on organizational performance (McLaverty, McKee, 2016).  The management has to consider why people are acting in certain ways and take steps to prevent ethical risks’ impacts.

Conclusion

Ethics involves conducting the most significant social challenges in an acceptable manner in terms of ethical and moral values. The management has to understand the major ethical affecting business organizations including integrity and trust, conflict of interest, managing workforce diversity, workplace safety and legal liability. Organizations’ management should adopt cultural transformation programs and other initiatives that will improve the ethical environment in their business organizations.

References

Audi, R., Loughran, T., & McDonald, B. (2016). Trust, but verify: MD&A language and the role of trust in corporate culture. Journal of business ethics, 139(3), 551-561.

Pirson, M., Martin, K., & Parmar, B. (2017). Formation of stakeholder trust in business and the role of personal values. Journal of Business Ethics, 145(1), 1-20.

Singh, K. T., & Singh, M. S. (2013). Ethics in corporate social responsibility. DC Business School, DCSMAT, Pullikkanam PO Idukki District, Kerala, 107.

Davis, M. (2015). Conflict of interest. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, 1-3.

Bryce, H. J. (2017). Financial and strategic management for nonprofit organizations. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.

Bell, R. I., Friedman, H. H., & Friedman, L. W. (2005). Conflict of interest: The common thread underlying ethical lapses.

Hunt, S. D., & Hansen, J. M. (2007). Understanding ethical diversity in organizations. Organizational dynamics, 36(2), 202-216.

Sharma, A. (2016). Managing diversity and equality in the workplace. Cogent Business & Management, 3(1), 1212682.

Nahrgang, J. D., Morgeson, F. P., & Hofmann, D. A. (2011). Safety at work: a meta-analytic investigation of the link between job demands, job resources, burnout, engagement, and safety outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(1), 71.

James, C., & Carpenter, D. (2017). Moral Intensity and Individual State Constructs: Maturing Safety Culture through an Ethical Lens.

Hunt, C. M., Davidson, M. J., Fielden, S. L., & Hoel, H. (2010). Reviewing sexual harassment in the workplace–an intervention model. Personnel Review, 39(5), 655-673.

Fitzgerald, L. F. (2017). Still the last great open secret: Sexual harassment as systemic trauma. 483-489.

Ethics, Values, and Social Responsibility

Abstract

The aim of this analysis is to explore the major ethical issues affecting business organizations including disclosure, fraudulent financial reporting, asset misappropriation, pressure from management and greed.  The analysis recommends that business management should encourage a cultural transformation that ensures that ethical standards are upheld in the organization and thus deal with challenges arising from the unethical practices. The conclusion involves relating ethical dilemmas to moral values with a highlight on management to deal with aforesaid issues as per requirements of their organizations.

Introduction

In any business and levels of management, ethics is highly regarded and considered everybody’s business. Ethics involves conducting the most significant social challenges in an acceptable manner in terms of ethical and moral values. In the current business environment the issues that draw most attention include relates to disclosure, fraudulent financial reporting, asset misappropriation, pressure from management and greed. These issues affect business organizations at all management levels and arise when managing both cash and non-cash assets. The issues also touch on all the stakeholders of any business organization in terms of what is expected of the management and employees. Ethical values must be taken seriously and given priority over any human weakness, rationalization, personal fault and ego in order to address the ethical issues. Their impact can be felt by both the current and future stakeholders and thus management and employee must place high regard on them. An economy that is increasingly globalized a high diverse workforce and the public that is more alert to existing and emerging ethical issues has brought about a more complex business landscape.

Review and ranking

Disclosure

Business or corporate disclosure refers to the communication of different financial information by people inside the public organization including accountants to the stakeholders outside.  Disclosing financial information aims at communicating the performance and governance of a firm to the stakeholders especially the outside investors (Jo & Kim, 2008). The aforesaid communication is important to both the shareholders and investors so that they can analyze how their investment is fairing and other stakeholders who need information regarding the corporate social responsibility and policies touching on the environment.  The disclosure may involve financial reporting, basically though financial statements as per the definition of accounting standards. It can also involve governance where the management is required to comply with good practice and management communication where managers relay information in informal ways such as through announcements and press conferences.  Businesses that have extensive disclosure are not likely to encounter information problems but are likely to experience an active monitoring by shareholders (Jo & Kim, 2008). Thus, they are likely to engage in less unethical activities including aggressive manipulation of earnings and experience better post-performance issues over the long-term. This means that increased disclosure is beneficial to the stakeholders since there is likely to be minimal manipulation of earnings and the stakeholders can rest assured that few ethical issues will arise  that touch on their investments.

 In addition, ethical issues may involve non-disclosure agreements, where the business management enters into legal contract with other parties not to disclose certain information that they have shared for a given purpose (Richard, 2016). The management has to uphold integrity especially when sharing confidential information to the parties so that to do so safely in a way that the interest of the shareholders is not compromised.  Such information may include presentation of an idea or invention to possible partners, distributors or investors, sharing of marketing and financial information with potential investors and receiving some services from some firms or individuals who might have access to sensitive information when offering such services (Richard, 2016). The aspects are likely to lead to ethical issues where the non-disclosure agreements have been violated.

At times, there may be failure to disclose financial information in the required manner as per the GAAP which means that the preparation of accounts is not done with honesty (Jo & Kim, 2008). The stakeholders especially the investors are not able to make the appropriate decisions since they cannot understand the information presented.

Fraudulent financial reporting

Fraudulent reporting involves intentional misapplication of certain amount with an aim of deceiving shareholders more investors and showing fake financial performance of a firm including its share price. The major fraudulent activities involve presenting fictitious revenues in financial statements, recognizing premature revenues and adjusting revenues through misstating accounting entries (Jo & Kim, 2008). Over the short-term , when the stock price of  a firm is high but over the long-run it negatively affect the financial positions of the firm , it can be understood through business concern that the financial reporting involved misrepresentation of accounts (Jo & Kim, 2008). A major reason for fraudulent financial reporting is absence of emphasis by management on business ethics which present an opportunity for accountants and financial employees to commit fraud (Liu, Wright & Wu, 2015). Another major issue involves conflict of personal interests. The major financial scandals that involve fraudulent activities have been brought about by conflict of interests with major culprits being the management, CEOs, accountants and auditors.

Conflict of interest has been a common threat underlying ethical lapses in the many organizations including businesses. The issues have brought about a large number of problems in many areas and have caused great financial harm and injury to the stakeholders of businesses. Conflicts of interest have been major issues in organizations’ boardrooms, accounting firms, Investment Banking Firms and even in the stock markets (Bell, Friedman & Friedman, 2005).  It is possible for the most ethical individuals to fail if the potential to gain is big. Hence, it can be impossible to do away with all conflicts of interest in the businesses but a significant reduction can surely improve the chances of management and employees doing the right thing. Businesses that have a real concern about ethics should first make sure that conflicts of interests are not existent or are as minimal as possible. Business managers have been taking various measures aimed at preventing cases of conflicts of interest occurring or to mitigate the impact of such cases on the organization’s public image.

The conduct of business managers and employees is guided by established codes that aim to check their actions and to ensure that they primarily serve the interests of shareholders without antagonizing other stakeholders (Davis, 2015). For instance, a compensation committee is established to determine the CEO’s compensation. Where the members of the committees have established ties with the CEO, the individual is in most cases involved in the process of determining the board members’ compensation. The resulting conflict of interests has in the past led to huge compensations. In accounting firms, there are many cases that have led to financial scandals where the firms have earned significantly higher fees from consulting services than from the auditing services. The conflict of interest arises when auditors are not objective especially where their firms are poised to lose a lot of money in consulting fees (Bell, Friedman & Friedman, 2005). The scandals may also involve misrepresentation of financial information that is shrouded in fraud and theft with an aim of personal financial gains. The management in business organization have resulted to ethical codes and upholding the accounting standards to prevent such cases or stem out the negative of effects on the organizational image (Bryce, 2017).

Asset misappropriation

A major ethical issue in accounting involves misappropriation of assets more so at the individual level. The issues have both direct and indirect impacts on the staff morale and the company’s public reputation. The misappropriation can be related to lack of integrity which erodes stakeholder trust in the management. The leadership in the firm sets a bad example by failing the integrity test and this leads to bad culture in the organization. Trust reinforce and influences the quality of each connection, affiliation and project that a management engages in and is the basic aspect on which the other authentic business accomplishment depends (Audi, Loughran & McDonald, 2016). Integrity on the other hand is the basis for business trust and a culture that upholds workplace environment is founded on trustworthiness of management and employees. In the business, integrity relates to the culture, management and leadership principles where a culture that upholds integrity should start at the top and should be perceived in the activities and conduct of management (Pirson, Martin & Parmar, 2017). A business leadership should have an accord associated with mutual values. Establishment of shared values enhances environment and productivity of the workplace by strengthening individual effectiveness and corporate loyalty based on ethical behavior (Pirson, Martin & Parmar, 2017).

Unethical values mean that management can engage in misuse of assets and funds by misleading firm’s accounts, and wrong preparation of documents such as invoices.  However, an ethical culture will eliminate asset misappropriation so that management and employees will use the assets for the intended purpose and uphold the interests of the owners.  Good corporate culture ensures that there are strong internal controls that to detect asset misappropriation, and may include physical safeguard of non-cash assets, independent checks and proper records and documents. An adequate accounting system ensures that ethical values like integrity are incorporated in the entire organization which instills trust among all the stakeholders.

Pressure from management

Pressure from firms’ management or boards to achieve unrealistic goals or deadliness is a major factor that is likely to make employees to act unethically. The related unethical behavior relates to the employees desire to grow in their career and protect their livelihoods. They give in after being pressured to meet the expected targets and in order to do so they engage in unethical activities that enhance their chances of success.  The pressure from management provides an unethical environment in the organization where the employees misreport financial statements revenues to meet the set targets.  The practices go to the extent of being viewed as acceptable as long as the set goals have been set. For instance, the sales person can make untrue claims so that the can secure a certain deal and thus meet his or her quota. A major such case involved Wells Fargo, where the firm’s employees opened fake accounts and their credit cards using the names of clients to make certain quota, which cannot be realistically made without cheating. The unethical behavior by the employee becomes detrimental to the organizational stakeholders and can be associated with personal dishonesty, corruption and even fraudulent activities for individual gain.  The erosion of stakeholder trust and tarnishing of public image leads to poor corporate performance at the securities exchange market in terms of share price. It can also lead to considerable loss of property, threatens the company’s survival especially if immediate action is not taken. From the business perspective, it is important for management to set realistic and achievable organizational goals so that to prevent employees from engaging misconduct or harmful activities to the stakeholders.

Greed

Corporate greed is associated with many ethical issues and has been blamed for environmental pollution, bankruptcies in forms, low wages, safety problems in products and even diseases such as cancer (Rivlin, 2003). Businesses are out to make good profits and engage in various activities that they think will yield high revenues for the shareholders.  Regardless of how greedy business owners are, the market institutions normally channel their motivation to a certain social end. Firms have to consider the interests of the society if they are to thrive and thus the moral merit of the reason for undertaking commercial activities does not have necessary bearing in services provided by trade to the society (Friedman, Adel & Friedman, 2015).  Ethical issues arise when the management or executives use shortcuts or cut corners for the sake of enhancing revenue making even if it means violating the laws. Meeting the various set regulations has costs and businesses must be willing to bear the costs so as to remain social responsible. Greed arises where businesses seeks profits at whatever cost, while paying little regard to the welfare of the society in which they operate in. The management has to create good organizational cultures that encourage people to exercise right judgment in complex situations while performing their duties (Friedman, Adel & Friedman, 2015). Ethical practices involves shunning the view that greed is good and understanding that operations of private sector have great impact on the environment and world populations.

Recommendations

Considering the ethical challenges presented by above issues, business management should employ past and present experience to remove obstacles and even contradictions that have been known to have the greatest effect in the capacity to act ethically.  The management should adopt cultural transformation programs and other initiatives that will improve the ethical environment in their business organizations (McLaverty, McKee, 2016). Managers should ensure that they do not push too much for results and change which can make employees to engage in activities innately lead to conflict of interests. Employees should not be driven to act counter to their personal and group ethical values while trying to meet the set expectations. Since many leaders and employees are rewarded for achieving the set standards, many can be driven to disregard accounting standards and the trusts bestowed on them for the sake of rewards and fear of dismissal. This lure of rewards and incentives can be a problem at all levels of management including the boardroom. Since rules and standards may fail to apply in all cases, each manager has to understand what matters to their organization.  Organizational awareness ensures that managers identify the specific forces in the culture and processes that can motivate others to engage fraudulent activities and misappropriation of assets for personal gains.  They should develop a culture that encourage employees to speak up about various ethical issues thy encounter and which they consider to have impact on organizational performance (McLaverty, McKee, 2016).  The management has to consider why people are acting in certain ways and take steps to prevent ethical risks’ impacts especially involving financial malpractices and disclosures.

Conclusion

Ethics involves conducting the most significant social challenges in an acceptable manner in terms of ethical and moral values. The management has to understand the major ethical affecting business organizations including disclosure, fraudulent financial reporting, asset misappropriation, pressure from management and greed at personal and organizational level. Organizations’ management should adopt cultural transformation programs and other initiatives that will improve the ethical environment in their business organizations.

References

Bell, R. I., Friedman, H. H., & Friedman, L. W. (2005). Conflict of interest: The common thread underlying ethical lapses.

Davis, M. (2015). Conflict of interest. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, 1-3.