Ethics in the News Assignment

A freshman student hanged herself to death after being subjected to consistent mocking by classmates. Based on the prosecution details it was claimed that the mocking which was accompanied by physical threat was far past the pale which led to the suicidal incident (Eckholm & Zezima, 2010). The court charges were highly unusual as the offenders were subjected to piercing legal action in reference to the issue of adolescent intimidation which has increased its popularity particularly in cyberspaces as well as schools and has attracted a notable concern from the society at large (Eckholm & Zezima, 2010). The six students made the immoral decision of subjecting the freshman to both emotional as well as physical suffering despite the fact that they knew it was unethical. This resulted in the death of the victim and their prosecution based on their irresponsible conduct.

It is not right morally to mistreat an individual based on any form of prejudice because everyone is entitled to existing in a positive surrounding. Based on the ethical theory the decision to bully the student for being new in the environment was rather irrational as the students failed to evaluate the consequences that would be achieved from their behaviors. Bullying is not a permissible act in the society because it involves prioritizing the needs of certain people and regarding them as inferior while subjecting sorrow to those that are considered to be inferior. Living is a privilege that is given to every individual by the Constitution and therefore no one should pressure the other to confer this privilege. Based on the undesirable action by the group the community and the family of the deceased were subjected to suffering which should have never been the case.

Reference

Eckholm, E. & Zezima, K. (2010). 6 Teenagers Are Charged after Classmate’s Suicide.   Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/us/30bully.html?pagewanted=all

The Price of Unethical Behavior

During the post- financial crisis in the banking world, Wells Fargo became the golden child due to its focus on using strong base of retail deposits to for it funding.  This enabled it to weather the effects of the credit crisis and emerging stronger with a real nationwide presence. The downside of the company’s strategy was that it had to depend on its ability to increase profitable products to the large customer base. This path led the firm into a predicament as management sought to improve growth by pressuring the employees to hit sales targets and the response among many employees was to fraudulently open customer accounts.   In many of these cases, the accounts could be closed before the customers could become aware, and in other cases the customers faced the related fees or which also affected their credit ratings (Mathews & Heimer, 2016). The employees of the company used fraudulent tactics in order to reach the high sales target which also included giving illegal credit cards and credit lines and forging signatures of the clients. On receiving complaints from clients in relation to the same, the company would refund the fees partly; misstate telephone numbers of the customers affected in order to avoid including them in various surveys on customer satisfaction. In one case, former manager of a branch quoted saying that failure of the employees to reach their goal would result to severe embarrassment and chastisement in front of over 60 managers by the president of the community bank. This indicates the amount of pressure that the employees were placed in order to reach their sales target and thereby leading to the cases of fraudulent opening of the accounts (Mathews & Heimer, 2016).  

 The occurrence of this unethical behavior can be traced to setting of sales target so high that the employees consider them impossible to meet. This made the employees to seek for the easy solution that involved ignoring the interest of customers, breaking basic business ethics and the law. The fact that the employees could open up the accounts even against the wish of customers indicates the extent to which the interests of the customers as stakeholders were ignored. This shows a case where an organization will set itself up for ethical disasters when it create an environment in which employees feel  that they are forced to make choices they did not imagine. The excessive pressure to reach unrealistic targets in performance creates such an environment where people feel they have to use any means regardless of possible consequences to reach set goals (Hill et. al 2014). The unfettered goal encouraged individuals in Wells Fargo to compromise on their choices so as to reach their targets which seemed unrealistic to attain normally. The management may be inviting employees to cheat in various ways; cutting corners on how to reach the set goal or lying while giving reports on how much of the goal they were able to obtain. Goals comes with a strong effect of making people to have tunnel vision , so that they have a narrow focus  rather than seeing what else is in their surrounding including the potential effects  of compromised decisions made to attain the goals (Phillips & Gully, 2013).  

When the employees sense the risk of failing to reach the goals, they enforce a mode of loss prevention since they fear the loss of status, job and that their incentives are at risk (Phillip & Gully, 2013). This is what happened at Wells Fargo where the employees were willing to lie about reaching the set goals, through opening of fraudulent accounts and failing to inform the customers of the same. In addition, there may exist attitudes of indifference, where employees believe that the management would not take any corrective action deterring those who are well aware of the unethical behavior from reporting or raising concerns (Elias, 2013). The failure of management to set a positive example can also be attributed to causing the unethical behavior by employees. If the management is not vigilant about its intension and how its behavior may be interpreted by the lead to employees making careless decisions, the result is careless decision making (In Van et. al 2016). That Wells Fargo did not act thoroughly on complaints, and only refunded part of the fees says a lot about the attitude of the management in setting a good example. This enhanced the felling among the employees that they could engage in unethical behavior as long as they achieved the sales target. Even if the employees were warned against this kind of behavior, the reality was that they had to attain their goals and hence resulted to the illegal ways.

The unethical behavior related to the company has negative impact to the company in terms of reduced performance, poor relation with internal and external stakeholders. The firm has found itself in bitter lawsuits and legal challenges, investigations from regulatory authorities especially the Securities Exchange Commission in court filings.  The mess of fake accounts and ongoing investigations of the company’s mortgage tactics has made the bank to increase it legal defense fund. It has issued a warning to investors that its ligation cost could amount to about $1.7 B in addition to what was set aside.  This means that in case of unfavorable decision is made out of the investigations being carried out, it may end up being material to the firm’s business (Corkery, 2017). The company has also faced litigation from ex-employees who feels that they have been left to bear the burden of tarnished names, including those who were whistle blowers and in low level of management. The investigations have even extended to the possibility that management violated the relevant laws providing for whistleblower protection as some employees believe that they were facing retaliation for calling on ethics hotline over the scandalous issues. The company has also faced criticism from investors for failing to alert them to the various problems inside, which they were only notified after reaching settlement with regulatory authorities (Corkery, 2017). This went against legal provisions that public firms should disclose the relevant and necessary information about business operations to its investors.

 The biggest impact is how this scandal has continued to wreck havoc on the performance of the bank. There has been a decrease in the number of accounts being opened as new customer checking accounts decreased by 41 percent in comparison to the previous performance. The company was also fined over $ 185 million by regulators due to the illegal practices which were a reflection of serious flows (Mathews & Heimer, 2016). It has also eliminated the sales targets in the various branches and has lost the ability to recruit and dismiss board members or executives with the approval of the authorities. There was also the negative publicity stemming from the reports that employees were punished by the bank for trying to expose this misconduct (Corkery, 2017). The big question remains is whether the firm’s performance will be affected in the long-run, its efficient operations and prudency in risk management which forms the basis of its competitive advantages. The fine issued to the company is justified, and it should have been much higher than that. The financial regulation in this case is not tough enough, and it shows that even the toughest penalties may have little effect on this industry. Fining the company that has indulged in such misconduct with $185 million, in comparison billion it makes in profit is just not enough to instill discipline in the sector. The regulatory authorities should be given more power to act as the watchdog.

Sometimes it is difficult it identify when breaching ethical standards especially when there is disconnect between the organizational values and individuals. When the organizational ethical value to do not clearly explain what is and is not acceptable, a person can find themselves in ethical dilemmas. It may be hard to note when a conflict of interest is occurring when carrying out the operations of an organization in good faith (Phillips & Gully, 2013). Identifying ethical breaches may face challenges when there is lack of clarity about the foundation or basis of ethical standards and how such standards should be applied to certain situations. When one is not accustomed to making ethical choices or decisions on the basis of sensitivity to some set values, they may find themselves erring. 

References

Hill, C. W., Jones, G. R., & Schilling, M. A. (2014). Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning.374

Phillips, J., & Gully, S. M. (2013). Organizational behavior: Tools for success. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.224-226

Elias, S. M. (2013). Deviant and criminal behavior in the workplace. New York: New York University Press.14-15

In Van, S. S., In Benson, M. L., & In Cullen, F. T. (2016). The Oxford handbook of white-collar crime.374-377

Phillips, J., & Gully, S. M. (2013). Organizational behavior: Tools for success. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.225

Corkery, M., (2017).Wells Fargo Struggling in Aftermath of Fraud Scandal. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/13/business/dealbook/wells-fargo-earnings-report.html?_r=0

HR

In responding to this dilemma, the moral value concept ‘efficiency’ and the ethical theory ‘utility-based’ are most effective. According to utility-based theory, I should not report the case ‘theft of service to the company’ to the management. This is because; I should minimize unhappiness and maximize happiness to my co-worker. This is because; my co-worker will be harmed by the consequences of the action (using the phone for personal issues).Rather than adhering to the rules of the company, it is important to consider the outcomes of the action if I decide to do according to the policy (West, 2004). In this case, I consider the interest of my co-worker and strive to achieve the goodness and limit the harm. In this case, the utility will be maximized by my own actions-meaning it is my role and responsibility to produce the best action which will promote happiness. In order to maximize goodness, I would reject the policy (rule-based moralities) which states the right and wrong action and focus on the individual action. The applicable moral value in this scenario is efficiency (West, 2004). Having this moral value, I will ask myself questions such as what are the courses of action? Who will be affected?  Will the ethical action of reporting the issue produce the greatest good or will produce the harm? These questions will help choose the right approach and decide not to report the matter. In this case, efficiency will play a role in develop my highest potential and present character such as compassion and fairness. In this case, I would reject rule utilitarianism and moral obligation since in this case, it will not promote happiness they my co-worker (West, 2004).

Reference

West, H. R. (2004). An introduction to Mill's utilitarian ethics. Cambridge [u.a.: Cambridge Univ. Press.

140 - Zomia: Peoples, Societies, and Cultures of Upland Southeast Asia

Theravada Buddhism in contemporary Xishuangbanna

By Roger Casas

The article discusses the Theravada Buddhism   and related academic research and its survival as being the main elements shaped the identity of Lue ethnic and continues to differentiate it with other communities sharing the same socioeconomic system. While Buddhism still remains an important aspect of Lue identity, the religion’s traditions are undergoing transformation due to the influence of secularizing and modernizing forces ( Casas, 293).

 Theses influences are wrought by economic and political polices of PRC which determine Lue public representation and such has led to commoditization of their culture. The Xishuangbanna religious activities and the economy that is tourist oriented have helped to maintain this culture.

Reaction

The transformation of the community’s religious traditions are rightly articulated in the article, which highlights that economic and political polices have informed the change. These are the modernizing forces that have helped maintain and also change the tradition.

Criticism

 The article ignores the negative effects the economic and political policies of PRC have in eroding the original traditional practices related to Theravada Buddhism. 

Naxi religion in the age of Tourism

By Charles F. McKhann

The article discusses ethnic tourism which has grown to be a major industry in southwest parts of China. It specifically considers the dongba as one of the major strains of Buddhism of the Naxi in Yunnan Province.  The dongba rituals includes various religious practices such offerings which can last for few hours to some days and the religion is divided into various classes.  The traditions of these religious practices have been sustained through the various texts of papers that are handmade.  Since the Naxi people have the highest level of educated individuals among the minority tribes, the elites were influenced by the Chinese center policy of assimilation and turned away from their traditional dongba religion. Later in 1980’s and 90’s the grandchildren of Naxi elites begun promoting this religion as a symbol of Naxi culture and hence identity ( McKhann, 203).

The revitalization of this religion was influenced by government policy liberalization towards religion and the rapid growth of tourism in Lijiang region. The government carried out heavy advertisement on the minority groups and this brought the Naxi to the limelight and their dongba religious traditions became a great feature in tourism.  Though the practice of the religion’s traditions has declined over the years, a young   have trained on this culture are reviving especially in Eagleback Village.  Various centers have even been promoting training of these traditions as part of art and culture.  The government policies that have promoted tourism development have lead to preservation of dongba religion as part of Naxi culture.  Though the traditional dongda religion still exist it is undergoing a transformation due changing needs in villages and tourism development( McKhann, 205).

Reaction

The article clearly highlights the traditional dongda religion and the various changes it has undergone under the influence of government policies and tourisms.  Different factors that have helped maintain the culture are and stated and the reader can followed through.

Critique

 The article does not explain how the preservation of the religion has assisted the locals who practice it. There is no clear identification of how the culture has affected the Naxi people in modern world it terms of development and social progress.

Comparison

The authors of the two articles have explored the role of traditional religions - Theravada Buddhism   and Dongda Buddhism in promotion of tourism in South East Asia.  The y also explores how the religious traditions have been transformed by modernism, secularization and the political and economic policies adopted by the Chinese government. The Chinese government has ensured that the culture is maintained by promoting tourism development in these areas.

Works cited

Casas, Roger .Theravada Buddhism in contemporary Xishuangbanna. 289-300

McKhann , Charles. Naxi religion in the age of Tourism Persistence and Re (creation). 106-206

Reflective Research Essay: Accounting Ethics

I am a principled person, who understands what am I am supposed to do and what I am not supposed to do. I am therefore not moved by other people, but I do things based on my principles. I respect the rule of the law, any rules given, and I also respect those who are older than I am, regardless of their social statuses. I am therefore a focused person who is determine to reach my goals without being influenced by another person not to pursue my goals. In addition, I also believe in respect and morals, whereby I am supposed to respect people wherever I go, and I am also supposed to uphold my morals as high as possible in each and everywhere that I go.

Secondly, I believe in the cultural dictates of any organization and the society. In order to be able to live and operate peacefully in an organization or a society, I usually familiarize myself with the cultural dictates of the organizations or the society. This consequently helps me in being able to fully lead a peaceful life without any problem at all. Moreover, I also respect those in authority, and I do not go against what those in authority say. This has enabled me to be able to live peacefully in different areas with different set of rules and regulations. On the other hand, I am always apologetic, and I would rather oblige myself to stop an argument, in order to avoid causing very serious issues. Finally, I believe in the truth, and I would rather tell the truth even though the consequences might be worse rather than telling a lie.

American Accounting Ethics

• The members of accounting are supposed to exercise very sensitive both moral and professional judgements, throughout their activities while carrying out their responsibilities are professionals (Jun, 2012).
• The members are supposed to oblige to act in a manner which seeks to serve the interests of the public, thus honoring the trust of the public, and to also establish commitment and professionalism.
• Members need also maintain the confidence of the public, through performing their professional duties with the uppermost sense of trustworthiness (Bird & Robinson, 2017).
• A member need also uphold impartiality and be free from any types of encounters of interests while honoring professional duties. A person who is in civic practice needs to be liberated in circumstance and appearance when offering auditing and other substantiation services.
• A member should also observe the ethical and technical standards of the profession and strive consistently to improve the proficiency and the quality of services, thus honoring professional responsibility to the best of his or her ability.
• Any associate in the civic practice needs to discern the Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct in defining the opportunity and nature of services to be delivered (Kinney & Raiborn, 2013).
• These principles are aimed at strengthening the profession’s gratitude of its duties to the audit customer, outsiders and also the fiscal statements and to coworkers in the work place. These values are consequently set in order to provide a guide for specialized behavior and to also express the rudimentary knowledge of professional and ethical demeanor. Hence, specialized behavior is required even at a point when it might be at one’s disadvantage.

The above professional ethics compare and contrast to my personal ethics in the sense that I am focused on upholding the dictates of any given culture, be it organizational or societal. I therefore work under the cultural dictates within which I am operating (Kinney & Raiborn, 2013). Moreover, I maintain high levels of respect, through respecting the authority, and also following the given rules to the latter. I cannot be convinced by anyone to undertake a task which might land me into problems. The same applies to this professional ethics whereby one is supposed to uphold the moral standards in order to be able to offer the best services (Snape & Hannah, 2014). My main aim is to provide the best services regardless of the consequences. Even though the consequences might be disadvantageous on my side, if I have performed according to the rules, I cannot regret it (Jun, 2012).

            The above professional ethics are therefore similar to my personal ethics since they clearly resemble my personal ethics. For instance, I do not in any way indulge in any forms of violence, even though I might be supposed to do so (Jun, 2012). This is because in order for one to behave in a professional way, he or she needs to uphold the moral dictates of the organization or society in which he or she is in. this consequently explains how my personal ethics are similar to the professional ethics. I am therefore determined to make sure that I do not in any violate my principles, since they are the rules which govern me, and I am supposed to observe them, in order to be also able to observe the professional ethics (Bird & Robinson, 2017).

            The professional ethics which were upheld in B BUS 361 class were, lack of observing ethical and technical standards of the class. This therefore means that the two students went against the dictates of the ethical and technical standards of the class, thus making them to indulge in activities which led to cheating in the exams (Kinney & Raiborn, 2013). Secondly, the students did not maintain impartiality, since they decided to do what was wrong, thus operating in an impartially way through looking at each other’s work when they were not supposed to do that at all. The personal ethics which were upheld were the lack of observing the dictates of the given culture, and in this case being the cultural dictates of the school (Bird & Robinson, 2017). On the other hand, the professional and personal ethics which were overlooked include the following, lack of a follow up to understand what led to the students indulging in that behavior, and why the students opted to copying when they had prepared themselves for the exam.

            I have therefore learnt that one is supposed to follow the rules and regulations of any laws, in order to make sure that he or she does not indulge in any conflicts of interest. Moreover, one is also supposed to remain impartial regardless of the circumstances. As a professional, the services offered to the clients’ needs to be of high quality. One needs also behave in a manner which mainly seeks to improve the view of the people around you or the organization as a whole. Finally, respect should be upheld in any organization, since this is the key to better performance.

Reference

Jun, W. (2012). Accounting with Heart: China's Role in International Finance and Business. Chichester: Wiley.

Kinney, M. R., & Raiborn, C. A. (2013). Cost accounting: Foundations and evolutions.

Bird, D. L., & Robinson, D. S. (2017). Modern Dental Assisting - E-Book.

In Jindal-Snape, D., & In Hannah, E. F. S. (2014). Exploring the dynamics of personal, professional and interprofessional ethics.

Ethical Approaches to Reducing Substance Abuse

Substance abuse regards excessive use of psychoactive substances such as alcohol and other illicit drugs. Its effects are contradicting since substance abuse may fuel dependence syndrome. Dependence syndrome includes a combination of changes in ones personality including physiological, cognitive and extensively behavioral change. Substance abuse habitual hence victims find it difficult to control its use regardless its harmful consequences.  For that reason, there exists the need to embrace ethical approaches viable to effectively reduce substance abuse. It is logical to illustrate that most of unethical approached mostly attached to ordinary ways of society fuel substance abuse rather than reducing its use. For instance, disorders related to substance receive much stigma in the ordinary society than other health conditions. Arguably, stigma cannot be regarded as an ethical approach of minimizing substance since it complicates philosophical efforts of instilling social acceptance of substance abuse.  Ethics refers to superior and potential philosophical discussions which go beyond ordinary methods of resolving social dilemmas. Ethical approaches examine the need to transform some of traditional perspectives critiquing that they in actuality fuel continuance of substance abuse. Therefore, this analysis objects to enumerate some of the ethical approaches that can equitably reduce substance abuse in the society.

The contemporary world necessitate innovative control measures hence the need to modify availed resources so as to generate new programs capable of limiting substance abuse.  Most of control strategies across the world have been majoring substance abuse as a matter of law enforcement which over long has not been able to effectively curb its abuse. For instance, variety of government resources have been used to make arrests, attack as well as demolish drugs and extensively putting drug criminals to jail but drug problems are still eminent across the world. Without doubt, law enforcement is one of the ethical and more powerful approaches of reducing substance abuse in the society. This approach critiques on drug abolition and communication of law punishments imposed for drug offenders. Nevertheless, this approach is known to finance interdiction campaigns in order to ethicality specify spread the need to avoid substance abuse. This approach is viable in regards to notions of ethics but it is important to recommend that the approach should basically integrate treatment, education and prevention as relevant mechanisms of modifying this approach to boost its purpose.

It is important to theorize that reliable treatment proposes much effect hence governments should accept substance abuse like any other health problem in the society. Public health includes differing approach of reducing substance abuse. Philosophical efforts accept public health as an ethical approach since it defines significant steps which sufficiently reduce substance abuse. In relation to performance ethicality, treatment of abuse disorder should be availed for effective reduction of substance abuse. It is easy to reduce harms of abuse disorders in a community with widespread and advanced health facilities specifying treatment services of substance abuse. Nevertheless, expansive treatment services for abuse disorders are capable to diminish drug market in view of the fact that treatment reduces the number of drug users in the society Fisher & Roget, 2009. P. 753). This approach is also responsible meant for to relate substance abuse as other psychological problems.  That's why substance abuse deserves special attention and immediate treatment like mental health. Additionally, it is important to specify that ethicality of health approach is usually linked to the idea that it provides a user friendly environment. For instance, it is evident that every health facility abides by this principle proved by the fact that health facilities are categorized in response to elements of social differentiation including gender and age.

Social environments take in the issue of substance abuse from different perspectives which in most cases impact efforts of reducing substance abuse. This is usually evidenced due to the fact that each individual in a social setting define specific beliefs which highly affect his or her judgment towards substance abuse. It is logical to indicate that some of the people turned to substance abuse as a result of unbearable pressures in their social environment.  Nevertheless, some attributes and beliefs possessed by society members may lead to substance abuse continuance among those using them.  Social related approach is a philosophical measure of curbing and controlling substance abuse.  Social approach can be used prevent instances of substance abuse ethically. Extensively, social approach is an effective prevention mechanism since it can be used to send requisite warnings to those intending to abuse psychoactive including alcohol. Requisite warnings can be done through social campaigns objected to speak out the negative impacts associated with substance from which effects can be demonstrated by referencing people who are already drug addicts and abusers. It is usually important to evaluate the social pressures that may influence an individual’s decision to involve substance abuse. Social approach can be regarded a valuable and immediate method of determining social causes that influences notions of drug abuse since it provides a basis for social interaction.  Therefore, information acquired from socialization can be used to control substance abuse by offering social encouragements. This approach can as well be used to discourage negative perspectives incorporated into societal members particularly to care givers by ordinary beliefs. Thus, social approach is among the valuable channels of instilling the importance of showing victims love rather than discriminating them, and so, reducing drug abuse.

Certain percentages of cases regarding substance abuse across the world perhaps define some of the economic allegations hence the need to reinforce economically disadvantage communities (Walters & Rotgers, 2012. P. 48).  For example, it is unsurprising to find out that substance abuse is more widespread within economically despaired backgrounds when compared to social backgrounds with valuable economic privileges. Logically, groups of individuals turn to substance abuse in economically disadvantaged scenarios as their method of diminishing economic pressures. The main objective of economic approach is to emphasize on developmental programs in order to enhance existence of supportive projects in the less privileged environments. This approach mostly depends on governmental agencies, Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other private practitioners with potential to place a transitional project from which societal members can acquire some income.  This approach can be used to bring about significant changes in various environments can highly reduce substance abuse. For example, governments across the world can apply this approach to develop innovative markets as a mechanism of controlling illicit sources of income such as drug markets. Development initiatives such as farming should always be implemented in areas with limited economic sources so as to provide alternative sources of money hence distorting drug markets. Therefore, economic approach demonstrates a coherent link between sustainable developments and reduction of substance abuse.

Public education can be founded as a great weapon of preventing and extensively reducing substance abuse particularly in youths.  This approach is usually meant to instill affluent life guiding skills into societal members in order to eliminate instincts of substance abuse. Education provides people with affluent choices in life thus the need to emphasize on the integration of more educational programs in social environments. In particular, information relating to substance use should not be taken partially thus it should be taught by respectable personnel such as health professions for the sake of building practicality of the information provided. However, it is important to emphasize that government for example, should not only provide educational programs but also should provide opportunities in order to keep people active in life. For instance, the primary objective surrounding education is provision of relevant skills which can be applied in real life to induce accommodative values into an individual for better living (Gerstein & Green, 1993. P.86). Hence, this approach emphasizes the need to provide affluent job opportunities to diminish life disappointments which bring on desires of substance abuse particularly among the unemployed.

Religions contain broad approaches of controlling various issues in the society and so, substance abuse has over long remained a topic of concern in various religions. Importantly, religious approach consider the issue a destruction to both the society critiquing that it leads to moral decay and at the same time hindering one’s potential towards success. Religious approach stands as a negotiating channel between moral legislation for the good of the society and individual groups fighting for their human rights. This can be related as the most ethical approach across the world since it focuses and leads for the good of all levels of ethics that is; micro ethics and macro ethics. Micro ethics in this issue represents individual distraction whereas macro ethics defines moral decay accumulated by substance abuse. Therefore, religious approach is used to offer special guidance which gradually reduces substance abuse in the society (Phelps, 2007. P.108).

Summary

Regulation of substance abuse necessitates integration of affluent approaches in order to accomplish definite purpose.  For instance, the foregoing analysis has enumerated that the issue inquires ethical approaches in order to minimize its persistence regardless the fact that substance abuse is a deviant issue in relation social expectations. This signifies that efforts meant to reduce its persistence must define ethicality or else they may enhance its continuance.  The analysis has strongly imposed a variety of approaches which can yield effective transformations if integrated appropriately. To start with, law enforcements accommodate differing methods with attributes of ethicality meaning the approach is an equitable approach of reducing substance abuse. For example, interdiction campaigns include ethical processes of spreading relevant awareness regarding abolition of illicit substances from the community. This is an ethical method of forbidding substance abuse since such campaigns exclude unethical issues such as discrimination and social biasness. Nevertheless, it is ethical to incarcerate drug criminals as a means of reducing substance abuse since incarceration of such individuals hinders possibilities of social influences. The above analysis has also illustrated that approaches of economic, education, religion, social and health as ethical strategies of reducing substance abuse.  It is important to note that economic, health and social welfare are usually integrated to transform the welfare of people in the society. Modification of people’s welfare is an appropriate weapon of diminishing substance abuse since its primary objective includes the need to withdraw negative pressures from the community which in most instances fuel desires of substance abuse. The primary objective of education approach is to instill sustainable skills in order to enhance self dependence. On the other hand, it is important to integrate desirable attributes and beliefs in the community hence the need to approach the issue of substance abuse with terms of religion.

Work Cited

Fisher, Gary L, and Nancy A. Roget. Encyclopedia of Substance Abuse Prevention, Treatment,    & Recovery. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2009. Print.

Gerstein, Dean R, and Lawrence W. Green. Preventing Drug Abuse: What Do We             Know?Washington, D.C: National Academy Press, 1993. Print.

http://www.who.int/topics/substance_abuse/en/

Phelps, Kerryn. General Practice: The Integrative Approach. London: Elsevier, 2007. Print.

Walters, Scott T, and Frederick Rotgers. Treating Substance Abuse: Theory and Technique. New             York: Guilford Press, 2012. Print.

Ethics

            In order for Morgan to avoid an obvious unethical condition from happening, she should lead by example.  Other employees look upon the business owners and leaders for direction on how they should conduct themselves.  As an organization leader, Morgan should make ethical based decisions and review the individuals that she gives other roles at the Company for the same values.  She should also show that she appreciates her tasks. As a loyal employee, she should feel that the Company values her works that she puts efforts in accomplishing her tasks.  She should be less likely to act unprofessionally (Walden & Thomas, 2007). 

            Morgan and Jeff Gustar would have avoided the messy situation if they had avoided listening to the uninformed sources for value determination just because the values are in the seller’s Company.  People who have already sold such a business cannot make informed sources but instead will tend not to understand all of the incomes that went into making their sales (Walden & Thomas, 2007). 

            These kinds of behaviors still exist in the modern businesses increased by overconfidence.  Being confident is wrong that you are going to sell successfully your business at a fair price unless your confidence makes you to neglect activities that are important to make your sale an actual one.  In the modern business, valuation grounds on scientific principles but not the owner’s individual price estimation (Spedding, 2004). 

            If I were in Morgan’s situation, I would make sub-optimal choices on whether it is first taking the buyer that is coming along based on the policies of the sale.  This is like any other concession.  Because some buyers have a good talk, which they clearly represent it, I would first grasp the enormity of what is involved in the sale (Spedding, 2004). 

Reference

Spedding, L. S. (2004). Due Diligence and Corporate Governance. London: Elsevier Science.

Walden, M. L., & Thomas, P. (2007). Battleground: Business. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.

What basic assumption does the study of ethics make about individuals?

The study of ethics has two basic assumptions. The firsts assumptions is that ‘man is a rational being’- meaning that human beings should act with a purpose and should be controlled by universally defensible motives when acting (Moore, 2005). In others words, human being should act for ‘good will’ and in this case what matters is not the consequences of the action but rather it is actions and moral responsibility. Other important point about rational being is that a rational person has dignity, intrinsic worth and he or she is responsible in creating universal law (Moore, 2005).  In acting rationally, human being should have facts of reality. In other words, there is self-interest in rationality and reality will help accomplish the desired outcomes. For a man to follow the facts of reality, he should reason consistently, accept judgment, use logic and own mind. The second assumption is that ‘man is free’. This means that human being has the freedom as well as the power to act, think and choose actions among various alternatives (Moore, 2005).  This is also related with moral responsibility, autonomy and dignity.  According to philosophy, free will involves fulfilling personal desire by selecting the best actions to do.  The free will theory states that human being is able to create real choices and make final decisions (Moore, 2005). In other words, man is ultimately responsible of actions. Philosophers such as Moore define free will as the ability to choose what to do and things not to do.   In addition, the free will comes from nature and this means that it cannot constrained.

 What are the basic principles of ethics?

There are four basic principles of ethics namely;

The principle of respect for autonomy- People should respect the decisions of others as well as their autonomy (Weinstein, 2011). In other words, people should follow the principle of human dignity. On the same note, people should take care not to obstruct others’ decisions and show is responsible for others’ life.

 The principle of beneficence- People should ensure good results in all actions. Thus, every person has an obligation to do what is good and to avoid harm. To accomplish this, people should show respect to other persons (Weinstein, 2011).

 The Principle of nonmaleficence- This principle states that it is people’s obligation not to do harm. One should not say that the harm was not intended but rather people should try best to minimize the harm or reduce the risk (Weinstein, 2011). In other words, all actions should produce more good and if the   harm is unavoidable then it should be little.

 The principle of Justice- this principle focus on “fairness in distribution”. People should ensure equality and impartiality; provide every person with what he or she deserves (Weinstein, 2011). In other words, people should avoid imposing unfair burden to others.

 Explain Google’s position that YouTube does not violate the intellectual property rights of copyright owners.

Google defense against Youtube copyright infringements is Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) (Netanel, 2008). This Act permits the use of copyrighted materials if these conditions are met. First, if the copyrighted material does not interfere with the value of the work, it is limited to small portions and if the nature of work are met.  In this case, YouTube does not meet this criteria and Google is unable to identify infringed videos (Netanel, 2008).  Google has implemented digital filters which hinder mashups from accessing TV show on the site.  DMCA states that sites are not held liable of copyrights violations if its users are not scrutinized. However, YouTube can be held liable of copyright infringement because it expeditiously removes claims infringes of copyright holder (Netanel, 2008). The inducements claim and liability makes it become liable for copyright infringement by its users.

Reference

Moore, A. D. (2005). Information ethics: Privacy, property, and power. Seattle: University of Washington

Press.

Weinstein, B. D. (2011). Ethical intelligence: Five principles for untangling your toughest problems at

work and beyond. Novato, Calif: New World Library.

Netanel, N. (2008). Copyright's paradox. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 Work ethics

            Based on the way that Dr Jones reacted to the phone call from Mrs. Smith, it is clear that he had a very low level of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize one’s state of emotion as well as that of others and using it to determine how to talk to others or act around them depending on everyone’s emotional state. In the case of Dr. Jones, he only recognized how he felt emotionally and the effect that the phone call had on him. However, he failed to notice that his reaction was rude and uncalled for and he did this without considering the impact that his reaction had on Mrs. Smith’s emotions. Even after he got to the hospital, he seemed to be oblivious to the negative effect that his actions had on Mrs. Smith and how it made taking care of the patient complicated. On a scale of 1 to 10, Dr. Jones’s emotional intelligence can therefore be said to be a low 3 at most.

            Mrs. Smith on the other hand demonstrated signs that she had a high level of emotional intelligence which could be rated as a strong nine. After realizing the nature of the patient’s condition, she immediately considered the nature of the emotional effect that the condition had on the patient and tried to make her as comfortable as possible (Freshman & Rubino, n.d). After she realized that the correct paperwork for the patient had not been provided, she hurriedly sought to resolve the situation so as to put the patient at ease. Even after Dr. Jones was rude and behaved in an unprofessional manner, Mrs. Smith tried as much as she could not to cause any further emotional turmoil to the doctor even if it meant not asking important questions (Freshman & Rubino, n.d).

            Dr. Jones behavior was both unethical and unprofessional and he should be made to pay for the consequences of his actions. As a doctor, Dr. Jones had a responsibility to ensure that all documentation regarding a patient are presented in due time to ensure that the patient gets the right medical treatment even if the doctor is not present. However, his failure to inform the hospital that Mrs. Ford would be coming in to deliver her baby and his failure to present the prenatal record made it difficult to offer the appropriate medical assistance as the nurse was not aware that a patient with such a medical condition would be coming in (Freshman & Rubino, n.d). Furthermore, Dr. Jones instructed Mrs. Smith to prepare the patient for a C section delivery even when it was not necessary. His reasons for doing so was because a C section was faster than vaginal delivery and he wanted to be done with the patient quickly so as to get back to his personal business. Because of his actions, Dr. Jones should be sued on the grounds of medical malpractice. He intentionally neglected his duties, was ignorant, careless and engaged in an immoral and unprofessional manner not only with the patient but also with Mrs. Smith (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012).

            Despite the fact that it was known that the baby would not survive for long, Mrs. Smith should not question Dr. Jones’s order to feed the terminal baby because, in this instance, he was doing not only what was ethical but also his duty as a doctor. Doctors are trained to always give the best quality of care to their patients regardless of their medical condition or the patients chance to recover (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012). Since the baby was not going to die immediately, letting the baby starve just because it was going to die eventually would have been immoral. As a caregiver, Dr. Jones had taken the oath that requires him to ensure the well being of all his patients and although he may have behaved unprofessionally, his decision to feed the baby was the right one. 

            Being the patient, Mrs. Ford should have had some say in what was going on around her. Since the conflict was obvious, she should have state her objection towards the unprofessionalism that Dr. Jones was portraying and asked him to provide the quality of care that she deserved as a patient. As the patient, she had the right to demand good quality treatment and if Dr. Jones was not willing to offer it, she should have asked for another doctor to help deliver the baby (Freshman & Rubino, n.d).

            In order to train staff about emotional intelligence, the hospital could teach employees on how ones emotions can be affected by the actions of another and that they should always try to behave professionally and perform their duties accordingly (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012). Mrs. Smith was unable to ask important questions as she could see that Dr. Jones was not in the right state of mind to give her the answers she needed. The hospital should therefore place emphasis on how emotional intelligence affects their ability to perform their duties and for there to be any progress, members of staff must be aware of other staff’s emotions and find a way to interact in a manner that is constructive (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012).

            As caregivers, the Neonatal ICU team is expected to demonstrate both beneficence and nonmaleficence. This means that the staff members should do all that they can to offer the best service to their patients and also ensure that they do not cause more harm to their patients in any way. For this to occur, members of staff must learn to work as a team because taking care of patients is a responsibility that is accomplished by more than one care giver (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012). If, for example, Dr. Jones had handed in the patient’s medical records in time, Mrs. Smith would have been aware of her medical condition and would have prepared all that was needed to ensure that she received the best quality of care. Had the two care givers worked as a team, they would have saved Mrs. Ford the emotional pain felt during her visit. Through teamwork, the caregivers will be able to offer better quality of care to all their patients (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012).

Reference

Buchbinder B and Shanks H, (2012), “Introduction to healthcare management” Jones and            Bartlett Learning

Freshman B and Rubino L, (n.d) “Emotional intelligence in labor and delivery caase for chapters             2 and 13”

 Ethical practice of nonprofit management

 In non-profit organization, unethical behavior is a major problem and has increased the attention to the ethical practice in these organizations. Non-profit organizations face ethical challenges which emerge from criminal violations, misrepresentation and more. With respect to the fundamental principles, nonprofit organizations have the obligation to comply with ethical standards (Renz & Herman, 2016). However, they have failed to follow standards and norms which guide in fulfilling the expectations of the society. They face challenges in creating a culture of integrity and these issue have raises the interest of public toward   nonprofit organization and ethical standards.  They should abide with core values of honest, fairness and responsibility, and maintain standards of conduct.  According to Renz & Herman (2016), the corporate world has faced various scandals from nonprofit sectors.  These scandals have increased the ethical concern since charitable organizations should abide with ethical behaviors when serving the community. The scandals of the United Way of America which occurred in 1990 made the public to lose their trust on nonprofit organizations. The public trust eroded again when organizations such as American Red Cross and others were involved in abuses of power and lack of accountability. Due to lack of integrity and trust, nonprofit organizations have failed to function effectively (Renz & Herman,   2016). Worth (2013) asserts that nonprofit organization have the freedom to make decision, set goals and vision. To function effective and to achieve the goals, these organizations get support from society, donors and government revenue. Society expects the organization to be accountable and be transparent when utilizing public resources. However, questions on accountability have been raised for many decades given that nonprofit organizations have caused charity fraud.  For example, after 2001 September attacks, nonprofit organizations were misleading and there was no fairness in the distribution of funds (Worth, 2013). These scandals have raised the ethical concern on accountability and performance.

 In nonprofit management, the word ‘charity’ means that the organization should show concern, love and respect to the welfare of the community (Tschirhart, 2012). Having understood the word ‘charity’ it is important to note that nonprofit organizations are expected to acts ethically and go beyond the law for them to function effectively. Charity means that these organizations should provide services which will be a benefit to the public. The word ‘nonprofit’ means that organizations should set social goals and strive to meet those goals in order to make difference in the community (Tschirhart, 2012). In managing charity, board and members have the obligation to provide care, loyalty and obedience. They are accountable and responsible in creating policy, manage resources and performance. The author asserts that in order to shows the unique relevance of charity, organizational members should participate actively, show honor and integrity and strive to achieve mission and vision (Tschirhart, 2012). Nonprofit organizations focus on financial management with an aim of meeting the social needs.  In discussion ‘charity’ nonprofit organization should  emphasize stewardship  and  concentrate much on accounting system in order to  provide fair financial reports.  On area of management, budgeting and managing cash are important sectors and in this case, ethical consideration must be implemented in order to have effective management (Tschirhart, 2012). Generally, in nonprofit management, unique relevance of charity is demonstrated through good stewardship. In other words, organizations should abide with core values and utilize the funded resources effectively. On the same note, charity is seen when the organizations serve the community well with respect and integrity.

Reference

Worth, M. J. (2013). Nonprofit management: Principles and practice.

In Renz, D. O., & In Herman, R. D. (2016). The Jossey-Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership and

management.

Tschirhart, M., & Bielefeld, W. (2012). Managing nonprofit organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Ethical and Practical Issues for uninsured

            The uninsured patients upsurge the costs of the community in the health care system.  The influence is similar to issue on when the taxpayers do not pay their taxes or when any other person takes advantage from any government agency.  When there is the high rate of uninsurance in the community, there are also many effects to those who are insured in the same community.  The uninsured affects the insured in ways such as they make the insured have a less likely source of care and delays in the care system.  This brings the effect even to the nation based on the financial crisis where the uninsured are being the first in the department of emergency in the health care life (Institute of Medicine, 2002). 

            There is also the inadequate health care of the insured in the community as they are declined in the health payments and are also threatening the aptitude of the physicians of providing every person with the adequate care.  If this way of having many uninsured people increases, the ACPE calls in for the expansion of the health care coverage for those uninsured.  This has been increased by people taking the greatest role in the leadership systems as they build a national awareness in building the global health coverage.  The health care brings in many forms of important ethical features.  These ethical issues include the moral approaches of the reform, the code of ethics a guiding role and the public health access to the care. The main reason for these moral issues is because people in America need the health care systems to be affordable.  If both the subjects and the society spend more money in the health care, then there will be no resources that will be left for the other things needed (Institute of Medicine, 2002). 

Reference

Institute of Medicine. (2002). Health insurance is a family matter. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press.

Reflection journal

            It is a lot more satisfying doing that which is ethically and morally right. Professional ethics goes hand in hand with personal ethics that acts as guideline for a person to help the society and the environment surrounding them. I strongly believe that those who have gone through a moral progression throughout their journey in life, they live an ethically driven life as they live in accordance to the moral standards that they have set for themselves. In this case, ethics starts from us before it is applied unto others. Professionals as well as all the humans have an obligation towards standing for humanity through doing the right things for others. Living in such a world would be more enjoyable and fun as humanity will be served by the ethical revolution. Hence humanity will have more value and in this case justice for the innocent and the powerless will be served as right decisions with ethical considerations will be made.

            Being a social worker profession and especially in public health department calls for humane character building through ethical development (Council on Social Work Education 2008a). Thus for me this profession goes far beyond monetary gain, privileges and positions motivation rather it is an inner motivation of passion that drives one in this profession to serve others in  a rightful and morally manner. I am strongly convinced that each and every person whether in public health profession or in any other profession, we all have a part to play in making sure that the environment and the world we are living in is ethically stable. With this kind of attitude and ethical mind, a positive and lasting influence will be experienced.

References

Council on Social Work Education. (2008a).Educational policy and accreditation standards. Retrieved October 9, 2009, from http://www.cswe.org/NR/rdonlyres/2A81732E-1776-4175- AC42-65974E96BE66/0/2008EducationalPolicyandAccreditationStandards.pdf