Ethics

    1.     The title of the vignette I selected for this essay is Vignette 1 Specialty of children Administration
    2.     The name of the professional organizations Code of Ethics I selected is the National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
    3.    The complete URL that would take you directly to the Code of Ethics I selected is httpwww.socialworkers.orgpubscodecode.asp
The ethical principles addressed in the vignette are as follows
Section IV Ethical Responsibility as a Professional
4.04 Dishonesty, Fraud, and Deception
There should be no involvement of social workers in condone, or in any way     be known with dishonesty, deception, or fraud (NASW, n.d).
Section IV Ethical Responsibility as a Professional
4.06 Misinterpretation

Clear distinction should be stressed out between any prepared account and actions involved in as a private individual and as a profession representative, a professional social work organization, or employing agency of the social worker (ibid).

    In the Vignette for Specialty of Childcare Administration the Codes of Ethics were violated by Barbara, the owner of the preschool. Code number 4.04 which emphasize dishonesty, fraud, and deception expecting every social worker, be it what, to be seen to adhere to utmost concern to services rendered entailing true commitment and dedication (ibid). From Barbaras rendered services, at a point she seemed to be increasingly frustrated owing to the fact that she received no response from the parents prompting her to stop all her means of communication. This was against the Code of Ethics as a professional. And not just that she also went ahead to lie to her employee Marianne as she was concerned with the childs safety. Barbara never bothered to let the parents know. Rather she spoke with the students grandmother and asked her to keep the child home until a doctor would clear her to return to school. This is against the Code of Ethic.

    Considering code number 4.06 of Section IV- Ethical Responsibility as a Professional, which emphasize that there should be a clear distinction pointed out between any prepared statement and actions involved in as a private individual and as a profession representative, a professional social work organization, or employing agency of the social worker(ibid), Barbara proceeded to write negative comments in Mariannes file where at the end still deprived Marianne of access to her file after Marianne had suspected Barbara of doing that to her. This was completely against the Code of Ethics for code 4.06. There was no clear distinction stressed out between her prepared account and actions involved.

    4.    I will communicate to Barbara since she is the owner of the preschool to effectively resolve the dilemma. Using my code of ethics which emphasize that all social workers should reflect commitment to uphold the values of the professional and to act ethically (ibid). I will bring to her understanding that social workers primarily are expected to support people in their needs and seek to solve social problems. They are expected to stand against social injustice and let justice reign. Recognizing this would bring them to the mainstream of the importance of human relationship. I would communicate to Barbara that as a professional she owes the ethical responsibility to her profession and understanding fully the code of ethics would bring advancement to her and her profession. I would make her understand that social workers work towards enhancing the peoples capacity to resolve their problems. Social workers also seek to uphold the responsiveness of, communities, organizations and other social institutions to individuals needs and social problems, where for a every social worker is rooted in a set of core values in which this core values are embraced throughout the history of the social workers profession which stands as a foundation of the social workers distinctive perspective and purpose entailing services rendered, dignity and worth of the person, social justice, integrity, importance of human relationships, and competence. She would understand that the collection of these core values brings out the uniqueness to the profession of the social worker.

      5.    This situation makes me feel terribly bad understanding fully well the Codes of Ethics. I feel this way because as a professional we ought to know our ethical responsibility. Barbara in this case, would only cause set backs to advancement due to her lack of knowledge on the Code of Ethics. Ethical decision making in a given situation must apply informed judgment of the individual social worker and should also know how the issues would be judged in a peer review process when the ethical standards of the profession would be applied (ibid).

    Barbaras case is not just the first a friend of mine at his place of work was once faced with a situation like this where his fellow colleague committed ethical violation which after facing a panel the decisions drawn on the panel did not only affect the colleague but also affected every other social worker in the place of work. This almost had them loosing their jobs.

    7.    Ethical violation interpretations are differently done by cultures of different backgrounds. For instance, in my culture, the African culture, when a person is found to violate ethics, heshe is usually issued a query to explain within a given time while heshe should not be punished for committing such an indecent act. If proper explanation is not presented by the person in quote, punishment is given depending on the intent of the violation at hand. This punishment could either be a suspension if the violations are not so intense or otherwise, the person is relieved of hisher duties.

    Considering the two ethical violations committed by Barbara in the Vignette for Specialty of Children Administration, in my culture she would be asked to explain her self of the ethical violations of the code 4.04 and 4.06 or face punishment. If this is not properly explained she would face a penalty of suspension depending on the agreement of the panel. Like in the case of the American culture, from my own understanding I think she would be asked to do the same owing to the fact that in every organization there is a Code of Ethics by which they adhere to and which by any means for any ethical violation to the Codes of Ethics is a need for a detailed explanation while heshe should not be punished and if not explained properly or made understandable while such an act is done would be punished of such an act.

     8.    If I am a co-worker and colleague of the person who violates the code of ethics and I confirm that these violations are actually been committed by the person, I will deal with such a situation by simply confronting the person as a professional fully aware of the Codes of Ethics and making the person to understand the fact that heshe has gone against the responsibility of the Code of Ethics as a professional. I will have this done by putting the person through with the Code of Ethics so that there would be a clear understanding of the consequences behind it.

FFAbstract

This paper closely examines the book Reading Lolita in Teheran a memoir in books and seeks to answer such radical questions as the relevance of a piece or literature in a totalitarian regime, a readers conclusive generalization of the motives of the developed nations and the world at large and the benefit media folks can derive out of a text such as Reading Lolita in Teheran.

Reading Lolita in Teheran...books is memoir penned by Azar Nafisi and is a vivid description of the eighteen years, from 1979-1997, when this once forward Persian nation was on the way to becoming a dumping ground of its various leaders still varying ideologies about Islam. The books main attraction is that the author not only reveals the aspects of the Iranian society shrouded from the outside world, but also draws a parallel between the current state of affairs with the plots in western and American Classics and aspires readers to look them in a wider perspective.

Following are the answers to three of the most radical aspects of the book

1.The world of the novel is one of empty rituals.... It is only through the empty rituals that brutality becomes possible (Azar, p. 22).

Nafisi seems to mean that truth is stranger and much worse than fiction. If so, why read any novels, especially in a totalitarian society like Iran.

Well, in a totalitarian regime where all expression of freedom and imagination is barred, the open spaces the novels provided (Nafisi, 20) helps one to survive the closed confines of the regime. Novels are one of the major sources of their peoples communication with their peers around the world and through them, and oppressed Iranian ultimately sees the absurd sham of his persecutors and who must retreat into himself in order to survive....it is through analyzing the characters in a great novel and drawing parallels between the settings and surroundings can one learn to poke fun at his own misery in order to survive...recognized poshlust-not just in others, but in oneself.(Nafisi, 23)

Though the novel may seem to portray the tragic facet of life there is an affirmation of life against the transience of that life, an essential defiance. an act of insubordination against the betrayals, horrors and infidelities of life.(Nafisi, 45)

It is only through these novels can one really survive the brutalities of a totalitarian regime or more positively, take steps to reform it.

2. Islam has become a business... like oil for Texaco... You dont think theyd ever admit that we could live better without oil, do you (Nafisi, p. 275 ).What does this tell us about the United States, or the world in general Is Nafisis insight into politics a form of fiction, fact, both, or neither

These lines are here used within the context of the appointment of Hojatol-Islam Ali Khamenei as the successor of Ayatollahs regime at the start of 1990 and the people were amazed to see how From a tepid liberal he turned overnight into an irredeemable hard-liner.... (Nafisi, 274)

What he proclaimed and preached was not surely his religious beliefs but a gamut to acquire political support, power. This is where the analogy with the selling of oil by American oil company Texaco stands justified. Just as in there and around the world, capitalists will go to any extent to sell the same products by packaging and repackaging to give it a different form and make it affordable by only a fraction to attract the attention of the consumers and increase the demand.

Similarly the political ideologies of all the Iranian leaders are same. They only claim to make them less strict in order to win mass support.

There also Their own interests precede everything (Nafisi, 276) and No matter how liberal they claim to be, they never give up the Islamic faade (Nafisi, 276)

Another interesting parallel is that just as selling oil or any commodity is a mode of making money and wielding power for any industrialized nation, so is Islam a means to attain political authority in Iran. And as one cant do without the basic needs of life, so one cant do without religion.

As per the authors political views, they corner mostly on the fictitious side because the ideologies she seems to propagate are all quixotic in this real world.

Though her belief that all individuals, no matter how contemptible, have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, is founded on solid grounds but the separation between the personal and public facades of life and the need to read and appreciate the cacophony of voices to understand its democratic imperative (Nafisi, 250) are not practical in todays world where coalitions and corporate lobbies rule the roost.

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3. What can a reporter or journalist learn from Nafisis book What is the point of reading Lolita in Tehran, or Gatsby and James in California

A reporters or a journalists main aim is to report the true events without any fabrication. In the context of Iran, often this perquisite stands disputed because what appears on the exterior is superficial and gives a picture that is largely distorted. In a totalitarian regime, it is obvious that the rights of the press arent fully realized and in such a scenario, the onus lies on the journalists and the reporters to look for ways to report the true story of an event using non-conventional modes, taking full advantage of current electronic and internet revolution.

The author derived some serious parallels between the social and political state of her nation and the physical and mental state of the protagonist in the Novel Lolita. It gave her a better understanding of the miseries and forces surrounding her as well as her country and inspired her to inculcate the spirit of insubordination (Nafisi, 43) to survive the atrocities of the time in the better way.

Similarly, The Great Gatsby and James, though written in American context, have relevance to societies all over the world as they teach you to value your dreams but to be wary of them also, to look for integrity in unusual Places. (Nafisi, 135)

Gatsby recounts the dire consequences of the pursuance of a wrong dream or wrong interpretation of a collective dream, in this context, The American Dream.
James was outspoken on the matters of war and valued humanity above everything else and this is what the American civilization need to keep in mind as it goes about razing other civilization to ground.

The author gives a brilliant insight into the life of people under the Iranian Republic in the said period in her book and this paper has been a modest attempt at analysing few of the many radical points put forward in the book.

Ethics is an area of study that is rather controversial. This is so, because one action can be interpreted using two dimensions as to whether it is ethical or not ethical. Deontological theory of ethics calls for people to be fair to everyone involved when deciding to do a certain action. It also advocates for respect of basic dignity of human beings and do the right thing in every situation. In the mentioned situation the boss wants me to package meat with the ones that have stayed for a long time at the bottom of the can, and the fresh ones at the top of he can. However, I would not package the meat as requested by the boss. The principle guiding me in this situation is the deontological theory of ethics. If I package the meat as requested, I would be cheating the people buying the meat which is not good. Putting in mind the principle of doing right thing in every situation, I would not package the meat as requested.

My stand on not packaging the meat as requested further is guided by the care based theory of ethics. This theory says that we should empathize with others by making decisions based on what you would wish done for yourself in the same circumstances, as the people who will be impacted by your decision (Lisman, 1996). The question to ask myself is how will the people who are going to buy the meat feel when they realize of the packaging strategy They would definitely be disappointed and cheated. If I put myself in their shoes, I definitely would not like the same to happen to me. I would want to be ethical or rather do what is moral, thus I would not package the meat as requested by my boss.

One can also employ the question posed by Laura Nash in trying to solve a problem. To come up with the moral code of action, one should ask oneself some questions and the answers given will guide one in making decisions.

The first question is have you defined the problem accurately The problem I have is, that my boss wants me to package meat in more compact packages with older ones on bottom and the fresh ones on top so as the customer would think it is fresh. If I pack as requested, I would be unfair to the customers and if I dont pack as said, I would loose my job.

The second question is To whom and to what do you give your loyalty as a person and as a member of the corporation In this case, I owe my loyalty to both my boss and my customer who buy products I packed. But the latter is more important than the former since it affects many people together with the company itself, as compared to affecting only the boss.

The third question closely related to this is what is your intention in making the decision My intention is to do right and achieve customer satisfaction and trust of the company. The result of doing right is, live with a clear conscience, which I would achieve in the decision made.

The other question closely related to this is how does the intention compare with the probable results My intention is to right and achieve customer satisfaction and trust of the company. The result of doing right, might also lead to losing my job. The main effect is that the companys reputation will not be damaged since the packaging is good and proper. My intention would thus achieve the expected results.

The next question is whom could your decision or action injure If I had decided to package the meat as requested, then my action would have injured the companys reputation through the customers complaints. But my decision of not to package the meat as requested, would not injure any of the parties involved.
In summary a person can make a decision that can be deemed either right or wrong depending on the theory of ethics under application. A person should always aim to make the right decision after making an analysis of the situation and judging how the decision made would be interpreted by other people.

Engineering Ethics

One of the most crucial objectives in practically all the professions is to ensure that all the ethical principles are guarded and practiced in day to day life of the professionals. This calls for development of ethical principles which happen to be different from one profession to the other. Engineering has also not been left behind in this and there are some generally accepted ethical principles in the field of engineering. Engineering ethics can therefore be defined as a field of applied ethics which happen to test and also set standards for the obligation of engineers to their clients, to the public, the profession and to their employers. It is therefore necessary that all the engineers ensure that they are ethically attending to their duties as this is the only way that they will be able to achieve their objectives.

Even though there are different types of engineers, chemical engineers happen to be slightly different from the rest. Unlike their names, they do not deal with just chemicals but they are known to draw upon the powerful and vast science of chemistry so as to solve a wide range of problem. However, there is a very strong social and technical tie that joins chemical engineering and chemistry. This bondage happens to be very unique in the field of technology and science. This means that they are very crucial professionals and when they are ethical in their work, it is usually a great contribution to the society. This type of engineers has therefore been referred to as universal engineers simply because they are able to give a hand in wide range of technical problem in the world. (Pafko, 2000)

Some of the activities that chemical engineers have been involved in are the Atom which is as large as life. Medicine, biology, power generation and metallurgy have all been facilitated by the ability to split the atom and then isolate isotopes. Chemical engineers are known to have played a major role in achieving this. It is out of facilities such as DuPont Hanford Chemical Plant that the Second World War came to end through the manufacture of the atomic bomb.

In the 19th century, it required the insight of chemical engineers to make advancement in polymer chemistry. They are the one who facilitated the economic viability of this science. Chemical engineers for a very long period of time have studied chemical processes that happen to be very complex. These are the processes that are known to come up with filters, heat exchangers, chemical reactors and so on. They are also the one who have been involved in development of drugs through taking some samples and improving on them. (Pafko, 2000)

They have also been involved in other activities such as production of synthetic fiber products such as clothes and blankets, beds and pillows and so on. Other activities that chemical engineers have been involved in are in the liquefied air. Through their knowledge, they have been able to separate different entities in the air composition. These are the components that are used in other activities in our life. They have also been involved in petrochemical activities, running on synthetic fibers and so on. There is no doubt that chemical engineers are really universal engineers as they are involved in a lot of activities which happen to be in line with their profession. (Pafko, 2000)

In the world, apart from our basic needs, energy can also be referred as a secondary but very crucial need as we need it to facilitate the functioning of these activities. However, we are experiencing economic recession which is coupled by the ever increasing price of gases. Research has it that in the near future, there will be no gas in the world and therefore, it means that we have to formulate another source of power. Chemical engineering knowledge can be used to solve such a problem of the depletion of energy. This is because for us to survive in this world, we need this energy as that is the only way that we will be able to go on with our daily activities. There are other forms of energy that are used in the world today but in small scale. Chemical engineering knowledge can be used to increase the production of these forms of energy. Such is the use of nuclear energy and the use of solar energy in automotives. (Pafko, 2000)

I would use my chemical engineering knowledge to ensure that this problem is solved. There are a lot of other forms of energy that are available in the world and the only thing that we need is implementing or improving on the forms of tapping this energy. Therefore I would contribute to this field by implementing on the already formulated methods of tapping other sources of energy. (Pafko, 2000)

I would use the radioactivity knowledge and the chemical reactivity knowledge to develop a more efficient source of energy. I would research and use this knowledge and improve on other sources such as the use of lithium energy so that it can be efficient and helpful to the society. This knowledge would also ensure that this energy is produced in large amounts. I would also use the knowledge to improve on the method of tapping the solar energy. The solar energy is not about to get depleted and through the knowledge gained in engineering, we will be able to escape this problem which we are likely to face in case all the oil wells dry up. (Pafko, 2000)

Through the use of chemical engineering, it will be possible to ensure that the world will keep on going just as planned without the fear that power will interrupt our activities. Through this knowledge, we can use the nuclear power more efficiently and more ethically other than using it to manufacture nuclear bombs which may be harmful and threatening to human existence. (Pafko, 2000)

Ethics questions

1. What are external costs
External costs are incurred as a result of external effects of production processes on any third party. These costs, which are negative externalities, are over and above the ones that are taken into account during the development stage.
2. Why are external costs considered to be market defects
The effect that the external costs have on the market is that they, by being added costs, force the markets to look for solutions to problems without actually deriving any benefit from it which is the reason for it being termed as market defects. Consider for example, a person who gets drunk at a bar and meets with an accident which also results in injuries to others as well.
3. How are greenhouse gases external costs
Greenhouse gases are by-products of various different production processes like the ones that take place in farm factories, power plants and so on. The processes at these locations release gases, which then gradually start forming into thick layers over the atmosphere. This blanket of gases prevents the heat that has to be released from the earth to be retained within the atmosphere. The retention of heat leads to natural disasters like floods, draughts, melting of polar ice caps and so on. Hurricanes and tsunamis are also results as the retention causes a rise in ocean temperatures. Greenhouse gases have a direct bearing on these incidents and thus they become external costs.
4. How does greenhouse gas pollution violate rights, diminish utility and violate distributive justice
A direct effect of greenhouse gases is on our health. Gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides are trapped in our atmosphere. Hundreds of new viruses have started springing up and diseases, new and old, have started affecting us. Greenhouse gases also end up causing natural disasters like hurricane Katrina and Tsunamis, affecting the lives of thousands who lose their shelters and end up on streets, dying of hunger, other than the many thousands who lost their lives in the disasters. It is a clear violation of the rights of any individual to live according to the rights accorded to him by nature. People who live in areas that are prone to these disasters do not get the same right as others. Greenhouse gases thus end up violating rights and distributive justice and diminishing utility.

Enron

Enron was one of the biggest and most well known corporate frauds of the twenty first century. It was the result of the senior management going to any extent necessary to keep their organization from going bankrupt. The problem had its roots in the formation of Enron from the merger of Omahas InterNorth natural gas company and the much smaller Houston Natural Gas (HNG) which resulted in Enron having a he debt from the time of its formation. The initial attempts to get out of this debt were legal but as time went, the companys dealings became more and more questionable, unethical and in the end, even illegal.
The first attempts to reduce the companys debt were made by Jeffrey Skilling who formed a Gas Bank to take advantage of lack of any long term planning in the natural gas industry. Soon, this Gas Bank had attracted 35 natural gas producers and 50 users, which generated immense value for Enron. However, this value could not be reported in the balance sheets and so Skilling got Securities and Exchange Commissions permission to use mark-to-market accounting, a practice which would help Enron report the value of his holdings based on the current market value rather than the original purchase price. A questionable practice, it was approved under the assumption that external auditors, Arthur Anderson, would carry out their duties meticulously. Unfortunately, Enron was one of Arthur Andersons biggest clients and they could not afford to lose the fees they got from Enron. As a result, the accounting discrepancies went unreported.

Meanwhile, Andy Fastow was using Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) in extremely unethical ways to keep Enron from going bankrupt. Legally, Enron could have no more than 97 stake in an SPE and an Enron employee could not have managerial controls in the SPE. Although initially, Fastow just remained within these legal limits, during the later years, he blatantly broke the law with Enron having as much as 99 stake in some SPEs and Fastow, who was at the time the CFO of Enron, also heading these SPEs. Thus through a web of over a thousand legal and illegal SPEs and creative accounting, Fastow and Skilling managed to fool the investors and keep the balance sheets artificially inflated which helped raise the companys stock price.
It is obvious from these case details that senior management of Enron, especially Fastow and Skilling were acting unethically and illegally. Even Ken Lay, though not directly involved in the fraud, aided and abetted the other two by not keeping a proper control over their workings and not paying attention to some obvious warning signs. For example, when Sherron Watkins pointed out Fastows accounting manipulations in an anonymous letter to Lay, he chose to ignore it and later even considered firing Watkins instead of addressing the issue. Thus, while Fastow was clearly carrying out illegal activities, he was being encouraged in this by the unethical practices of Skilling and Lay.

The Utilitarian principle of ethics states that an ethical act is one which produces the greatest good for everyone. Enrons senior management was clearly in violation of this ethical principle as they were functioning to maximize their own profits. When Skilling initially adopted the mark-to-market accounting, he took permission from SEC and hence he was well within his legal rights. However, this practice was unethical since it did not reflect the companys true financial positions and hence kept the investors in dark. Later, when faced with cash problems, he and Fastow resorted to SPEs. Although an SPE is a legal entity, Fastow was using them in a very unethical way. By funding the SPEs with as much as 97 Enron stock, he was not only pushing the legality of the SPE but it was also unethical as he was not using real cash but the companys market value to fund the SPE. Thus, he managed to raise cash for Enron through a practice which inherently misrepresented the companys true financial position.

It may be argued using the principle of Deontology that senior management was carrying out their duties towards Enron. According to this principle, it was their duty to see that company was constantly maximizing its profits and producing maximum wealth for the shareholders. Since Deontology is not concerned with consequences, according to this principle Enron management was not doing anything illegal since they were only carrying out their duties and doing what they perceived was in the best interest of the company.
There was also an expect of ethical egoism in the actions of the senior management since their actions were clearly aimed at maximizing the profits for Enron and the top management and its long term consequences to shareholders were ignored. It may also be argued that the management was actually acting with the view of maximizing the profits for all stakeholders and thus acting in the interest of the greatest good. However, this argument does not hold good in the case of Enron, since they were clearly cheating the investors and the regulatory bodies and the accounting practices were reflecting profits which could never be realized.
Also, once it became obvious that the company was headed for failure, the senior management quickly sold their shares to make as much profits as possible. This was clearly insider trading and while they advised others to buy as much company shares as possible, they themselves were baling out.
Thus, the senior management was clearly violating the Utilitarian principle of ethics which requires actions to result in the greatest good for all.

Analysis

By hiding behind the curtain of legality and the concept of obeying the laws of the land has essentially enabled Yahoo to successfully deflect all blame regarding this matter. However, the basic fact remains that Mr. Shi, being a customer of Yahoo, should have been protected by the company in the sense that Yahoo, having operated within the Chinese governmental environment, was completely aware of the repercussions that would result if it were to divulge the required information. Therefore, in view of the dictatorship regime dominant within the country, they should have sought legal advice from the American government before taking such an action.
Presently, the fact that China has opened its borders to joint ventures with international enterprises, essentially leads to the fact the Chinese government inherently needs foreign investment specifically from technological companies like Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google etc. Consequently, a concerted effort by these companies can essentially lead towards ascension of demands by the Chinese government, especially in cases where the violation of human rights is concerned. Thus, by participating in such a way, Yahoo has basically involved itself in the violation of human rights which, under American Law, is considered illegal and is subject to litigation.
Yahoo has also betrayed all of its customers in the sense that, in the future, there is a high possibility that if another situation like this were to occur, Yahoo would just go and divulge confidential information which is in fact, a violation of the code of ethics pertaining to client-company relationship. It must be noted that international companies, by working alongside the Chinese government, are essentially working towards providing the ordinary Chinese consumer with services that are moving towards a certain degree of openness. However, in the same context, companies must also stand firm when faced with situations in which they have to break the laws of one country, specifically the country of their origin, in order to obey the laws of another country, especially when the former is a proponent of human rights violations.

Ethics

In the business world ethical behavior is often compromised to meet the profit motive. Companies often come under intense scrutiny when massive layoffs occur especially when workers who have been loyal to those companies for decades get their proverbial pink slip. Although loyalty is commendable, it is not in itself a lifetime pass to job security as companies must ensure the health of their bottom line. Often it is the employees who have worked the longest who earn the highest salaries, and as such when cost cutting measures are needed for companies to survive it is those workers like Holthausen and Sharlow who may be the first to be laid off. Some may question the ethics of such as it devalues the contribution they have made to the company over the years and reduces it to a numbers game, as they are often replaced with less experienced workers, instead of making those jobs redundant.
Layoffs may violate workers rights especially if those targeted for downsizing are selected by race, ethnicity, gender or socioeconomic background. Use of such criteria to downsize is clearly unethical and should rightly be frowned upon. Firms have also been known to target troublemakers for downsizing. Troublemakers may be those persons who may challenge authority they may not perfectly fit into the corporate mould, or who think outside the box. These workers are often laid off despite their commendable work ethic or intellect a questionable practice.
There may be an area for regulating companies policies on downsizing and plant closures as often companies cannot be relied upon to conduct business ethically. Some guidelines could include a mandatory notification period before one is laid off as part of company restructuring, thus allowing workers to plan ahead. Firms who have received concessions to establish plants should not be able to close their doors without notice. The locale should be reimbursed as it in fact represents a breach of contract and employees given a mandatory payment for work lost.

NIKE CASE STUDY

This post is a based on a case study of Nike. The article will be discussing legal and ethical analysis and how the impact the operational/ ethical issues of the organization, the paper shall also be discussing the contribution factors and how the company’s corporate culture may have helped to minimize the unethical behavior or actually contributed to/caused the unethical behavior. The paper is also going to provide ethical decision factors, which are going to address or going to be considered in resolving the legal/ethical issues identified within this case. And finally the paper is going to provide an action plan for each of the legal/ethical issues along with recommendations that company can take to help prevent these issues in the future.

Nike is one of the famous franchises in the world that sells sportswear for all ages. But is mostly famous for their athlete shoes and apparel and Nike is also one of the major manufacturers of sport equipment as well. The slogan for Nike is “Just Do It”. Nike was founded in January 1962 in Oregon, United States by Philip Knight and Bill Bowerman. Nike has somewhere around 700 or more retail outlets spread all over the world, and has approximately 45 offices only outside the United States. And it employs 30,000 people all over the world. Nike had a revenue excess of $16 billion in 2007. Nike’s factories are mostly located in Asian countries like Pakistan, India, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand. In 1980 the company had a 50% market share only in the United States shoe market and then the company decided to go public and it did by the end of that 1980’s December. Through the 80’s Nike decided to expand its product line so that the line would include many other sports like tennis, golf, baseball, cricket, badminton etc. all over the world.

Stakeholders
If we view the organization from a social responsibility perspective, enlightened organizations like Nike view internal and external environment as their stakeholders of the company that is the management of the company believes that the stakeholder can affect the processing of the company.
It must be remembered that every stakeholder has a very different criterion of responses because they all have a different interest in the company.

The primary stakeholders of the company would be the shareholders, business partners, the employees, and the customers/ consumers. What the shareholders and the investors want from the company is that the company achieves its profits, the employees of the expect work satisfaction, pay along with good supervision and the customers are concerned with quality, safety and availability of services when they require it. And when any primary stakeholder group is not satisfied the organization progress becomes questionable. From these the active stakeholders would be the employees, investors and the shareholders, whereas the passive stakeholders would be the customers and the customers want to get high dividends for their investment. (Stockdale & Crosby, 2004)

The secondary stakeholders of the company would be the community (which includes special interest groups). Most companies like Nike exit under only a charter and licenses and operate within the limits of safety laws, environmental protection and other laws and regulations. The socially responsible organizations like Nike consider the effect of their actions upon all stakeholders. What all of these want from the company is that company is ethically and socially responsible and when this secondary stakeholder group becomes dissatisfied, the reputation of the company gets tarnished (for example, the debate of sweatshops tarnished the reputation of Nike).

What the stakeholders want from the company is that they want their needs to be maximizing their value in the company. For example, if both the customers and the employees along with the stockholder interests are addressed then both of the groups will benefit from the sales of the company.

Legal Analysis
Legal responsibility defines what the society thinks is important with the respect appropriate behavior. The companies are expected to fulfill their economic goals within the legal framework. Legal requirements can be imposed by the local, national and international regulatory services. (Stockdale & Crosby, 2004)

The legal dimension means the general environment of the company that includes federal, state and local rules and regulations that help the company to control the behavior of the employees. The legal challenges of the company would include the EEO (equal employment opportunity). The legal issues that were being faced by Nike and the factors that have contributed to the company being non-compliant are as follows:

Health & Safety Issues Low Wages Indiscriminate Hiring & Firing Practices

The organization needs to take affirmative actions towards any kind of discrimination is done within the company. Affirmative action mostly refers to the management’s effort to correct the results of any past discrimination that was done against a protected class. These actions are basically written plans that show goals and objectives for hiring, training, promoting and compensating the people of the protected classes by the EEO laws and other laws that protect the laws of the protected groups. The management has to make sure for the future that any kind of discrimination does not occur again therefore the management of the company has to develop affirmative action plans voluntarily. The EEOC compliance is one of the main responsibilities of the HR department of the organization, the HR experts and managers have to develop a plan that would achieve the organization’s action goals in the least disruptive way. The affirmative action plans have to follow the steps if the HR department wants to make this program a success. The following steps are as follows:-Exhibit strong employer commitment Appoint a high ranking director Publicize commitment internally and externally Survey the workforce for underutilization and concentration
Develop goals and timetables Design remedial and preventive programs (Stockdale & Crosby, 2004)

Ethical Analysis
In this case we are talking about the company doing the right thing that it is ethically responsible. Ethics can be defined as the code of moral principles and values that help to oversee the behaviors of the employees or teams with respect to what is right and what is not. To be ethically responsible, Nike decision makers need to act with equity, fairness and impartiality, respect the right of the individuals and provide different treatment to employees and individuals but only when it’s relevant to the goals and objectives of the company.

Ethical Issues

The organizations these days are also faced with ethical dilemma within the company. Ethical challenges arise in the organization when in a situation each alternative choice or behavior in undesirable because of potentially harmful ethical consequences. Right and wrong is not clearly identifiable in the situation. The ethical challenges (that is the sweatshop debate) that confront the global business of Nike are as follows:-

The issue of child labor and the sweat shop problem has been one of the legal challenges Nike is faced with.
Another challenge that is faced by Nike is the workers are given a very low wage and do overtime in countries like Vietnam, China and Indonesia under a subcontract.
Another challenge that is faced by Nike is poor working conditions, squalid working conditions and forced labor in the factories that manufacture their products.
And another challenge that is faced by the company is the environmental damage that is done to the society by air and water pollution, noises and change in the climate due to the pollution etc. (Stockdale & Crosby, 2004)

The role of the government also plays a major role in these challenges that are faced by Nike. As we know that government laws and regulations differ from country to country and this makes manufacturing of products very difficult challenge for the international companies like Nike. The host governments have laws concerns against consumer protection, information and labeling, employment, wages and salaries and safety of the workers who work in those firms. The international organizations must keep these rules and regulations in their minds and should abide by them. The most visible changes in the legal-political factors develop and grow out of international trade agreements and the emergence of international trade alliance between different countries for example, GATT or EU etc. (Stockdale & Crosby, 2004)

What happened is that the various roles that the host governments of different countries like China, Vietnam or Indonesia played in this particular global business’s operations were that they turned a blind eye towards the poor working conditions of the manufacturing plants. Another role that these governments played was that they did not do anything about the very low wages of the workers for example, in Vietnam the workers were paid 20 cents per hour or a mere $1.60 per day but in actual the living wage in Vietnam was actually $3 per day. And neither of these governments did do anything about child labor problems or the sweatshop problems.

Ethical Perspectives
For this case study we are going to apply three kinds of ethical perspectives, which will help to demonstrate ethically sound behavior and which illustrate unethical behavior of Nike. the ethical perspectives that have been chosen are as follows:-

Deontology Ethics: It has been argued in the theories of ethics that if people want to act morally then they need to act in accordance to the duty. It has also been argued in the ethics theory that it is the motives of the individual that carry out the actions and not the other way around, which is, the consequences of the actions of the individuals to act in a wrong or right manner. For example, in our case, fear of an employee in the department would be that he or she might get a customer who is not pleased very easily, and is hard to deal with, with that in mind this could help the employee to work hard and overcome his or her fears and this could only be done due to the adjustment of the employee’s behavior. but it also must be remembered that the fear of losing (for example, one job due to a customer’s hard to please attitude) can also de-motivate an individual to perform badly on the job can result in a great deal of problems for him or her and this is also due to the behavior adjustment of the employee.

Utilitarianism Approach: Utilitarian approach is based on considering all the effects that happen due to a decision alternatives for a solution and then selecting one alternative which maximizes and provides the greatest satisfaction to the large number of people or population. Utilitarian ethics are code for public and personal actions. For example, in our case, in the management culture of the organization and its departments, they believe in providing the employees with good working conditions, with fair wages and salaries along with secure employment, it is for all the employees who work there. When the organization is hiring recruits to fill out a particular position, makes sure that the candidate that is applying for the job has the education along with the skills the position requires even if it is an entry level position because here individuals get the job based on both but especially their skills that is their ability to communicate with the customers or not, why, because communication is very important because it helps Nike to know more about the needs and demands of their customers and to provide them with the best customer experience. (Stockdale & Crosby, 2004)

Ethical Egoism: is about a condition in which moral agent tend to do what they believe is in their self interest. This approach is more like the individualism approach; this approach contends the acts of an individual as moral when they promote the person’s best long term interests. The action that is intended to produce a greater ratio of good to bad for the individual when compared with other alternatives is the rights to one perform. It must be remembered that everyone in this world is perusing self-direction; the greater good is ultimately served because people learn to accommodate each other in their own long term interest. For example, in Nike teams play a very important role, without teams the departments would not be able to grow and learn. The teams learn to communicate and collaborate with one another; through this collaboration the goals and objectives of the organization are achieved. And Nike also strongly believes that the employees of the company need to be involved within the company, this will help the employees become empowered. For example, Nike sustains top performance through their people. The management of the company pays attention to its employees and empowers them to certain degrees which in return makes their employees satisfied with their jobs and remain motivated. (Stockdale & Crosby, 2004)

Contributing factors: Corporate Culture and Corporate Governance/Guidelines
Ethics can be more clearly understood when they are compared with behaviors that actually govern the laws and free choice. There are great deals of companies that get into trouble with the simplified view that choices are governed either by law or free choice. As principles of ethics and social responsibility are more widely recognized, the companies can use codes of ethics and their corporate cultures to govern behavior, thereby eliminating the need for additional laws and avoiding the problems of unfretted choice. There are different kinds of guiding principles that can prevent Nike type scandals, and this is what the company did, they are as follows:-

Employment Practices
The management of Nike took a look at its employment practices; they made sure that the company is following the policies on recruitment, training, health, safety and welfare. The management of the company should also oversee that the environmental practices. To make sure that the company follows procedures that are responsible in terms of waste disposal and avoidance and energy inputs etc. (Malachowski, 2001)

Training Plan

Conduct and design a training program for the employees. Training and development efforts enable the employees to assume expanded duties and greater responsibilities. The management must also remember that training and development programs are not universal solutions to every need of the company. Effective job designs, selection, placement and other activities of the HR department are also very important. Create such a program that would help the management in dealing with problematic behaviors of the employees. The company used cross functional teams to develop products and services and solve the issues that arise. (Malachowski, 2001)

Assessing Performance

Set targets and identify performance measure standards. If performance is to be rated accurately, the performance of the company would require the management to asses each and every relevant performance dimension. A multidimensional form increases the usefulness of the performance appraisal for giving rewards and the facilitate the employees of the company to grow and develop and this in return will help the company to become more professional and it will also help in to grow and develop.

Ethical Responsibility

The management of Nike should understand that why ethical responsibility is needed within the company because it is the obligation of organization’s management to make decisions and take actions that will grow the welfare and interest of the society and as well the organization. It would include activities and commitments that are related to human rights, governance and ethics, development, working conditions of the employees, community involvement, customer satisfaction, relations with the company’s suppliers and customers and lastly respect for diverse cultures and different people etc.

Ethical Decision Factors to Consider
The ethical factors that are needed to be considered by the management of Nike in respect to the ethical perspectives (which are mentioned above) are as follows:-

Leadership by example: The CEO of Nike and the senior managers of the company need to be openly and strong committed to the social responsibility and ethical conduct. They must give constant leadership in renewing the ethical values and the social responsibility of the company. The management must be active in communicating about the company’s commitment in the speeches, directives, company publications and especially in actions too. The CEO along with the company’s managers is the ones that set the tone of the organization most clearly by their behavior.

Code of ethics: Code of ethics state that the values or behaviors that are expected and those that will not be tolerated backed up by management’s actions. (Schuler & Jackson, 2007)

Ethical structures: ethical structure actually represents the various systems, positions and programs that a company can undertake to implement a social effort and ethical behavior. An ethics committee is a group of executives under the CEO to oversee the company’s ethics and CSR efforts, for example, the Nike committee that conducts corporate social responsibility efforts.

Whistle blowing: employee disclosure of illegal, immoral or illegitimate practices on the employer’s part is called whistle blowing. No organization like Nike can rely only on codes of conduct to prevent such kinds of behavior. When there are no effective protective measures, whistle blowers suffer and the company may continue its unethical or illegal activities. The CEO and the management of Nike should make sure that the managers are trained well so that they view whistle blowing as a benefit and not a threat. (Schuler & Jackson, 2007)

Recommended Corrective Action
There are two recommended corrective action plans that I would suggest to the management of Nike; 1) compensation and 2) training and development. When talking about best practice it must be remembered that best practice can be defined as an idea that suggests that there is some sort of technique, method, process, incentive or reward which is considered to be more useful at producing the desired outcome or result for the company than any other technique, method or a reward etc. (Schuler & Jackson, 2007)

Compensation

Compensation can be defined as what the employees of the company receive in exchange for their contribution to the company. When they are managed correctly that is the employees whether they are executives or not, it helps the company to achieve its targeted goals and objectives and the company is able to obtain, maintain and retain a productive workforce. The outcomes due to pay dissatisfaction can be very harmful to productivity and can disrupt the quality of work life. For constructing a compensation package for the executives, it is important o follow the following steps:-

Job analysis and evaluation
Construction of a Point System (Schuler & Jackson, 2007)

Training & Development
Skills, Knowledge Ability of Workers
Program Context
Needs Assessment
Training & Development Objectives
If the company wants to achieve its desired goals and objectives and if it wants to receive the benefits, then the human resource managers and specialists must assess the needs, objectives, content and learning principles that are connected with training. Preliminary steps in preparing a training and development program are as follows:-Actual Program
Learning Principles
Evaluation Criteria
Evaluation

It must be remembered by the HR managers that when making training program to follow the above diagram in the sequence before the training and the development program can commence. As implied by the diagram, the individual who is responsible for training or development must assess the needs of the employees and the organization like Nike to learn those objectives that need to sought. Once the objectives are set then the content and learning principles are to be considered by the trainer who is training the employees. (Schuler & Jackson, 2007)

Recommendations

The management of Nike should look at the employment practices; they should make sure that the company is following the policies on recruitment, training, health, safety and welfare.

The management of the company should also oversee that the environmental practices. To make sure that the company follows procedures that are responsible in terms of waste disposal and avoidance and energy inputs etc.

Conduct and design a training program for the employees. Training and development efforts enable the employees to assume expanded duties and greater responsibilities. The management must also remember that training and development programs are not universal solutions to every need of the company. Effective job designs, selection, placement and other activities of the HR department are also very important.

Create such a program that would help the management in dealing with problematic behaviors of the employees. The company use uses cross functional teams to develop products and services and solve the issues that arise.

Set targets and identify performance measure standards. With the help of performance management, Nike will be able to develop skills of people to achieve their capability to satisfy their ambitiousness and also increase profit of a firm

Nike has decided to use a PR campaign so that it is able to repair its social image due to the sweatshop debate.

The management of Nike should understand that why ethical responsibility is needed within the company because it is the obligation of organization’s management to make decisions and take actions that will grow the welfare and interest of the society and as well the organization. It would include activities and commitments that are related to human rights, governance and ethics, development, working conditions of the employees, community involvement, customer satisfaction, relations with the company’s suppliers and customers and lastly respect for diverse cultures and different people etc.

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