Right to privacy in school counseling

In the process of developing helping relationships, trust is a component which is very important. Counselors consider the promise of privacy fundamental when one wants to establish trust in clients (Worzbyt, ORourke  Dandeneau, 2003).  Most counselees operate with the assumption that the information they have disclosed would in confidence of the counselor with some degree of exceptions. This does not only apply to adults but also adolescents and children. Counselors claim that handling confidentiality in children and adolescents are more complex compared to adults. In order to run counseling departments properly, school counselors must learn to create a balance between legal and ethical responsibilities to the school systems, clients parents and clients themselves. This kind of balancing is quite complex and that is the reason why the issue of managing clients right to privacy and confidentiality always comes up whenever there are discussions regarding legal and ethical issues in schools (Huss, Bryant  Mulet, 2008). This paper will discuss the issue of right to privacy and confidentiality in school counseling.

Ethics of professional counseling
According to the American School Counselor Association, school counselors have various responsibilities towards the counselees, colleagues and the schools in which they are counseling. This organization has a fundamental obligation to the student which demands that such a student should be treated as a unique individual and this should be done with respect. School counselors should be concerned with the social, personal, career, academic and educational needs of the student and should encourage students maximum development. They should respect students beliefs and values and should not impose their own values on the students. They have the obligation to know the policies, regulations and laws that are related to students and should do their best to inform and protect students about their rights.

The school counselors should uphold confidentiality as far as the clients information is concerned. To achieve this, they are expected to inform the student client the rules, techniques, goals and purposes of counseling prior to or at the start of the counseling sessions. The disclosure notice is usually inclusive of legal restraints, privileged communication, and consultation with other professionals. Unless they are required to reveal the information by the law or when by doing they would be preventing danger form happening to the said students or others. School counselors have the responsibility to protect the student clients confidentiality of their records and should only release personal data according to the school policies and laws.

It is important for school counselors to observe the right to privacy of their student clients when establishing counseling relationship and during counseling sessions. Historically, the right to privacy as far as personal information is concerned has always been expressed in the American law. The fifty states recognize it as a statutory or common law right to privacy. Most of the states provide remedy to people whose private facts have been publicly revealed. In Tennessee and California, the right to privacy is considered a constitutional law. Over the years the laws regarding right to privacy have continued being changed in order to meet the needs of different states. This only shows that observing right to privacy during counseling is very important.

Trust is fundamental when developing counseling relationships. Most of the clients who seek counseling services also assume that the information they reveal to the counselor would be known only to the counselor. This gives them confidence to disclose even the most private information about themselves. The code of ethics in counseling requires school counselors to observe the right to privacy and also to keep the student clients information confidential. Revealing such information is likely to result into a chain of effects. For example, if a counselor revealed that a certain student who is his client has a communicable disease such a student is likely to be alienated by the other students even if such disease can only be transmitted through blood. Even when the said student is attended to medically and gets well, the notion that he might still communicate the disease would be likely to remain. Such a student is likely to live in solitude since the other students would not want to be seen with him. He is also likely to feel ashamed associating with other students. Such a student is not likely to concentrate in class and in fact, such a situation might lead to stress. In others, it might lead to depression and the associated problems which come with it. The other students would lose trust with such school counselors who reveal students private information and are unlikely to seek for help from them. Even when such a counselor is relieved off her counseling duties in the school and another one is brought in, students through generalization might lose trust in any other school counselor who comes to their school. This would make students to suffer silently or to turn into other things which they think would reduce their stress like drugs. This is a chain of effects which is likely to cause even more harm since students have different ways of coping with stress.

At times, the schools counselors are required to reveal the student clients information. When this is the case, they should disclose the essential information only and especially if the clients permission is not being considered. However, the student clients condition is likely to cause harm either to themselves or others, the counselor is permitted to reveal the information to the relevant authorities e.g. parents. Also, when a clients information is required during legal proceedings, then the school counselor has a duty to produce the relevant records or testify to the same. Even with the exceptions to confidentiality of clients information, counselors should consider the parents and guardians wishes regarding the extent to which they can reveal the private information of their children.

Legality of right to privacy of minors
 Legally, minors are defined as those who have not yet reached the majority age i.e. eighteen years. It is the age which has been accepted to be the right time when young people should acquire the rights of adults. In school counseling, it is also regarded as the age at which clients gain control and full ownership of their rights to privacy. The implications that come with reaching the majority age include making the choices as to whether to enter into counseling and also their rights to confidentiality as well as privacy. In a counseling relationship, minors usually have the ethical right to confidentiality and privacy however, the rights to privacy of minors belong to guardians and parents.

According to Marcus (2006), The Supreme Court has maintained that parents have the legal rights to make all the critical decision regarding the lives of their children. The decision to go into counseling is considered a critical decision. At the same time, counseling is contractual in nature and since the law does not allow minors to take or accept contracts, then parents have to be involved. However, there are some exceptions whereby some states have allowed minors to be given medical services or counseling without the consent of the parents. There are also many states whose laws are allowing minors to be announced a legally emancipated from guardians and parents. Other states permit minors to be viewed as mature people who can fully appreciate counseling ramifications.

Informed consent is an ethical and lawful code which requires the school counselors to reveal the clients alternatives to counseling, benefits and risks. Informed consent is usually given by the student clients parents and not the clients but they can agree to counseling with or without their parents consent. There are school principals and districts having policies that demand that before school counselors start any counseling sessions with the student clients, their parents must first be informed. Other policies require the counselors to inform parents only if the sessions have exceeded an exact number. According to Worzbyt, ORourke  Dandeneau (2003), school counselors do not require parental permission before starting counseling sessions with clients not unless there is a federal or state law or school policy that is contrary to the same. Ethical scholars claim that counselors get parents informed consent and minor clients assent they expect that counseling would involve several sessions.

The rights to privacy demands that the counselor should not disclose information about the minor clients fantasies, feelings, beliefs, thoughts, mind and body. School counselors have always had problems regarding parents legal rights and students ethical rights. Studies show that the conflicting ethical and legal obligations are often confusing even for the school counselors. The dilemma comes from school counselors taking things to be ethical then they come to the realization that the same issues have a connection with legal responsibilities. Although people can cite the source of the dilemma, there has not been a satisfactory resolution. Minors have rights to confidentiality but no rights to privacy as far as their parents are concerned. Minors parents on the other hand have the legal rights to take part in planning for counseling services. They also have the right to manage such services apart from the cases which have limited exceptions.

The school counselors are held accountable for the decisions they make regarding their clients right to privacy. If they are supposed to have involved the clients parents then they fail to and the student does things with negative repercussions, the counselor would be held accountable for failing to do so. If they fail to consult other professionals and colleagues about a certain case then they make a decision which makes the client worse off than they were before counseling began, they would be held accountable. When they reveal a clients information to a party they are not supposed to and then this information make the said client worse, they are held accountable. This means that accountability for school counselors mainly lie in the decisions they make regarding the clients condition and the parties they involve. To be on the safe side, school counselors should make such decisions by following the code of ethics in their profession and consulting from their colleagues and other professionals.

Conclusion
Adolescents and children are very delicate as far as counseling is concerned. Most of them can live with an issue for a very long time without seeking for help especially if they are not very close with their parents. When the condition becomes unbearable, many result to solitude since they usually feel like nobody cares about them. In most cases, it is the parents who notice that there is something wrong with their childrens behavior and therefore seeks to know what the problem could be. If the child does not trust the parents with their problems, chances are high that they would not disclose the problem to them. Most parents then take such children to the school counselors to find out what could be wrong with their children. The way the school counselor approaches the issue can make the student to gain trust in the counselor. Most counselors penetrate the shell that children create when they are unable to handle an issue. However, it becomes the greatest kind of betrayal when the student realizes that the only person they had trusted has revealed their information. This can result into worse conditions in the students including failure to ever trust any one. It is therefore the responsibility of school counselors to ensure that they observe the right to privacy and confidentiality of the student clients information. When they are establishing the counseling relationship, they should let the students know all that pertains to counseling and especially the situation which would require them to reveal the private information of their clients. This would make the students to make informed choices regarding counseling.

Ideology

An ideology is a collection of thoughts and aims that expresses a persons objective, outlook and dealings. The major idea behind an ideology is to change the society and recommend such principles where agreements have previously existed. Ideology is applied in criminal law in such a way that causes of crime are found and than individual treatment is given in order to change the ideology of criminals which will reduce a criminal repeating the undesirable behavior. In USA for example black people support measures taken in order to eliminate root causes of crime compared to white people. So to eliminate the root causes of crime, ideologies of white people need to be changed.

The Conservative Perspective
The conservative perspective is an approach that supports the long established practices to underline stability. These traditional practices have been developed organically and apply to crime very simply. The conservative perspective states that generally people commit crimes because they believe that they can get away easily even after committing it, so in order to reduce crime the severe punishment should be given in order to outweigh the pleasure received from committing a crime. An example can be that a murderer should be hanged till death instead of being imprisoned so that this sets an example for others of not to commit murder as the punishment is severe.

Discretion
Discretion is the authority of a person to make decisions or act in different situations based on hisher opinion or judgment. The decision should be made within the common legal principles. The ability of a court or judge to make decisions on hisher view under the values of law is known as judicial discretion. Prosecutorial discretion refers when a prosecutor has different choices on hand during a criminal case. The criminal law states that discretion is the power one possesses to differentiate between what is right and wrong. An example to explain the concept is that a police officer stops a person for breaking a minor law and it is on his discretion whether to fine or leave the person with a warning.

Discrimination
Discrimination means a treatment or consideration taken in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit. Discrimination can occur due to some law or traditional practice that gives benefit to a certain class or prohibits privileges to certain class because of their nationality, age sex or religion. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of federal law, forbid discrimination in employments based on any distinctive characteristics.  In United States of America according to the fifth and fourteenth amendments the constitution provides protection against discrimination done by federal government. For example if any particular person is being deprived of life, liberty or property than Fifth Amendment guarantees that the person gets the rights they are deprived of.

Persuasion
Persuasion is a type of social sway. It is used to direct people and oneself to acceptance of a thought, mind set or action. In criminal law persuasion plays a vital role in order to bring justice. The prosecutor has to persuade the jury that defendant is guilty and should be punished. If the jury is not convinced that the defendant is guilty, than the verdict is made in favor of the defendant and heshe is not found guilty. For example if a person is charged for murder than the prosecutor must persuade the jury with evidence that the charges are true and accordingly the punishment should be given.

Civil Disobedience

The act of refusal to abide by certain commands, laws and demands of the government is referred to as civil disobedience. It is also regarded as a form of non-violence resistance. A law is a practice or custom that binds the society together.  This law can be unjust if it is unfair or characterized by injustice. There are instances whereby reinforcement of just laws is unjust. As a result people have devised different methods to address unjust laws in society. To a greater extend a nonviolent means used to bring about change in society has been effective. Similarly, the same means has helped educate the public enabling them understand the necessity for a particular change. It is however debatable whether or not one is justified to use unjust means to correct an unjust law.

Legal Liability of Civil Disobedience
One should be prepared to face the law once he or she commits an offence. Nonviolent protestors are well aware of this fact and are duly prepared for the legal consequences of their actions. This is an attempt for disobedients to assert not only their dissimilarity with ordinary offenders but fidelity to the rule of law. The punishment for civil disobedience can be equal to, more or less severe than that awarded to ordinary offenders. In some instances standard punishments can do little to deter disobedients with strong moral convictions.  In such cases greater punishment is prescribed. On the other hand considering disobedients are far from hardened criminals a less severe punishment is imposed. This approach is recommended by deterrence systems of punishment.

Civil disobedients are punished by communicative and monistic desert systems only if they deserve punishment. Since the commitments and convictions of the disobedients prevent one from adhering to some norms mercy is showed towards the individuals by the law. In this way the law responds in a less severe manner. However, it has been a concern whether or not censure should be used against disobedients. To some extend offenders deserve punishment similar to ordinary offenders. This is because the law should not seem to discriminate on any offender. Similarly, failure to punish such an offence will result into a spiral thus other illegal acts may as well go unpunished. It is for this reason that all violations receive the same treatment whether or not they are justified.

The question of magnitude arises. It is indeed hard to come up with an appropriate punishment for the civil disobedience. Assumptions have been made that in preference of their moral judgment, disobedients consider themselves above the law. Their punishment should therefore be more severe. The publicity accorded to civil disobedients in most instances is too much thus the authorities are pressured to deal with the disobedients in a harsher manner.

On the contrary some people feel the protests of civil disobedients serve society interests. There are concerns that the law should deal with them in a more lenient manner compared to ordinary offenders. However, legal justifications are sometimes opposed to moral justifications. The disobedients are therefore aware and willing to face the legal ramifications for whatever action they take.

Conclusion
Civil disobedients grave to engage the government in a moral dialogue. There success depends on a number of factors including perseverance, public sympathy and the government in place. Some critics have argued that civil disobedience is an extreme, overanalyzed and outdated manner of engagement. Nevertheless in our contemporary society civil disobedience persists to address special interests and broader issues such as foreign policy, environment animal rights and so on. Deficits in democracies such as governments detachment from the people, unavailable mechanisms to contribute to decision-making encourage dissenters. These dissenters stand to defend democratic ideals.

Assisted Suicide Pros and Cons

In the 2009 post-apocalyptic movie, The Road, based on a critically-acclaimed novel by Cormac Macarthy, a vagabond character played by Robert Duvall is asked if he ever thought about giving it up and dying, and he replies that, No, in these times we cant afford luxuries. In this film the protagonist, played by Viggo Mortensen, and his son set out on a long, grim and grueling journey in the hope of meeting a band of survivors of the world-destruction caused by some unspecified cataclysm. In the bleak, desolate times they belong to, life does not seem to have much of a meaning. On their journey the father and son could encounter many situations in which death would be vastly more preferable to life. The father keeps a gun loaded with two bullets, one for himself and one for the son (Berardinelli 2009). In such a scenario as this movie presents, we can see compelling reasons for both a) continuing life at any cost, enduring whatever pain and suffering it may bring, for thats what the human spirit amounts to and as well for b) ending it all, because that could be the best rational choice in a host of imaginable situations. And we must remember that man is a rational animal.

In general, human existence is such that wherever we stand the road ahead forks in two directions, and perhaps above all to be human means to choose. The question of choice rarely gets as complicated and involved as in matters of life and death. Four hundred years ago, Shakespeare made Hamlet utter his immortal words (no pun intended), To be or not to be  that is the question. And that continues to be the question, more so today than ever, even as we have become so much more proficient technologically in prolonging life spans of common people by wide margins. Albert Camus, the French existentialist, said that the question of suicide is the most basic philosophical question (self-knowledge.org)

There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy. All the rest  whether or not the world has three dimensions, whether the mind has nine or twelve categories  comes afterwards. These are games one must first answer the questions of suicide.

This has indeed been the great existential dilemma since man has emerged as a conscious free-willed entity, whether human awareness crystallized tens of thousands of years or only a couple of thousand years ago. In our own times, though, the question has assumed huge proportions and a much more immediate relevance, with a plethora of legal and social implications.

When we consider this issue, on the face of it it would look as if it is a simple matter and everyone should have the right to die in warranted circumstances. But when we begin to look at it a little more closely, the abyss opens, and we cannot be sure of our orientation any more. The nature of this problem can be succinctly illustrated through a simple, relatable example. Over a decade ago, a neighbor of mine, then a boy of 13, met with a gruesome accident when he was hit by a car as he was riding a bicycle. His body was virtually smashed, the doctors did not really think he had any chance of survival, and advised his parents to let them terminate his life. However, his mother was very adamant that they should do everything they could in treating him. The boy survived, came out of coma, was discharged from the hospital after undergoing several surgeries over a span of a few months. For years his mother had to take care of him as if he was an infant, for he was totally paralyzed and had to be fed through a tube. Today, he is a grown up young man although still bedridden and communicating through sign language, he can relate and talk with others perfectly normally, he has a wide variety of intellectual interests, a great sense of humor, and an irrepressible zest for life. It is a delight to be in his company. Back then, as a friend of his, I too thought it would be very good if he just died or if the doctors let him die, for I hated to see him living the life of a severely crippled person, but more than that the thought of the kind of perpetual ordeal his mother would have to undergo in looking after him was very appalling. But now when I see him, I feel like perhaps it was all worth it, the guy is indeed a kind of living miracle. The whole family, the mother and the son, the father and even the sister are a testament to human courage and endurance.

So the question arises, how justified would have been the doctors, and many friends and relatives including me, if the mother took our advice in the aftermath of the accident and let the boy die The issue is inherently so complicated that even with the aid of so much hindsight it is difficult to answer this. The mother is a PhD. and had to sacrifice her career because of her son, but that is nothing when we consider the incredible degree of physical and mental anguish that the boy and the mother would have gone through all those years of mind-numbingly slow recovery, surmounting each little hurdle one at a time, a process which nonetheless occurred rather fast speaking in relative terms. The most important factor to consider here is that how could it have been if the patient never really improved and went on vegetating for decades. That would have been a living hell for both the mother and the boy. Sadly, in the real world there could be any number of cases like that where things did not improve beyond a point, it is just that in this particular case the people have been rather fortunate. We may think that the mother listened to her inner voice and took the right decision. But this is only a tenuous explanation, we cannot depend on intuition and inner voices of the people to show us the path of wisdom every time. And moreover, today it is no more a question of isolated instances here and there, we have to contemplate on the issue of euthanasia at a collective level as applicable to many kinds of sick and suffering people, especially elderly ones.

Of course when it comes to making the decision of terminating a human life, even if purportedly on the grounds of compassion, each case tends to be unique and it is difficult to have any kind of general guidelines but considering the matter from a perspective can give us insights which can help in the process of decision making. In fact a part of the dilemma here essentially arises from the scalability concerns from an individual case to the collective setting. In cases of old and terminally ill patients, particularly in instances where people might be experiencing excruciating pain, there is usually a strong argument in favor of letting a person die a quick and dignified death. This stands very much to reason, and relatively few people would make serious objections to it per se. But suppose we change the parameters of the case just a little bit, for example if the patient happens to be relatively young or even just a child, and although considered terminally ill by todays evaluative standards, even if he were to survive just a few years new emerging technologies could cure his disease and make him perfectly normal. Today, both the patient and his family may be willing to go for the option of euthanasia, but if implemented, some time later on it may lead to much regret and may even appear like some sort of homicide.

Just like a confession made during police interrogation need not mean much and is usually not valid in the court of law in order to grant conviction, the willingness of the patient himself or herself to end his or her own life need not have a decisive validity. Personally, in the course of our lives we must have on several occasions felt like ending it all would be the best option, even if it be only for trivial reasons when we look at it objectively or in hindsight. It is a different thing that most people do not act on their momentary impulses. Similarly, it may be that in a state of severe depression and turmoil induced by some grave illness, the patient is hankering for death, with his closest relatives backing him  but still it may not be wise to let him end his life just like that. The patient may soon pass through it and live to realize his folly and may even be thankful to the doctors for not acceding to his wishes.

At the same time, let us suppose I am a patient going through some interminable agony, I am nonetheless in full possession of my faculties and want the doctors to end my life in a decent, painless way.  And if the doctors deny me that, I could be stupefied by the total ridiculousness of it. I could feel myself to be a clown in a freak show run by the doctors. Even for outside observers it might appear very inhumane the doctors might even appear as sadistic persons thriving on other peoples pain. Euthanasia could indeed be the most humane choice in a wide variety of situations, but the whole problem comes in determining the appropriateness of the situations. An octogenarian or a nonagenarian patient suffering from a serious illness could be an ideal candidate for euthanasia, but even if we make a move or two from the ideal case, we encounter all sorts of complications.

If we grant legal validity for carrying out euthanasia in just some particular cases and special circumstances, it would be very difficult or impossible to draw the line from there on. This is where the problem of scalability comes, because even if euthanasia was valid in certain specific instances, legally sanctioning those instances would create a trend which could soon lead to gross abuses, either willfully or unknowingly. Even in our ideal case of a seriously ill elderly patient, it may be that his own children or grandchildren want him to die, and they may subtly coerce and convince him, just in order to get rid of him. This may not amount to such a great crime in the particular, isolated instances, but if it catches up, it would lead to a slippery slope, causing the whole moral edifice of our society to tumble down it.

But of course, that there are such strong pros and cons need not mean that we should remain immobilized and do nothing about it. There is much that needs to be done. Only, in order to make judicious choices, we need to examine the whole matter at a greater depth and from a broader perspective. Socrates said, An unexamined life is not worth living  similarly perhaps an unexamined death is not worth dying either.

The Future of Environmental Ethical Issues

From year to year, environmental ethical issues have been an issue of both national and international concern. Ethics go beyond actual laws as they are common principles that all people live by, follow or agree upon. Environmental ethics involves the ethical relationships between human beings and the environment or in other terms the morality of peoples actions as they impact on our natural world or the environment. Environmental ethics subject was made into a philosophical discipline in the 1970s following the 1960s awareness concerning the impact that industry, technology, population growth and economic expansion were posing on the environment. This awareness was enhanced by two environment ethics books published in the 1960s The Population Bomb published in 1968 by Paul Ehrlich warning on the effects of an increasing population and the 1962s Silent Spring by Rachael Carson warning of the impact of pesticides use on wildlife. Environment ethics attracted the attention of authorities and activists following the impact that activities such as pollution, ecosystem degradation, declining animal and plant diversity and natural resources depletion. Green issues have thus been a central element in the formulation of public policy to outline the moral obligation of the public as regards to environmental concerns. Environment ethics policy addresses the questions of why and what are the duties humans have in regard to the environment. For instance, the obligations we have for the generation alive in the world today, future generations, or even the entities existing within the environment despite the benefits that human beings derive from the environment.

Anthropocentrism or human centeredness within the issue of environmental ethics denotes a framework of ethics that seeks to solely grant a moral standing to human beings. This implies that the direct obligations that humans have towards the environment are in essence owed to our and future human generations. For the last two decades, the environmental philosophy field has been characterized by the development of ecofenism, animal rights, biocentric ethics and deep ecology theories. These theories have been helpful in exploring the moral and intellectual causes of the economic culture and industrial practices that have proved environmentally destructive.

As the issues of environment ethics are here to stay, future developments ought to appropriately address current and future practices in terms of their relationship with the environment. As noted by Boylan 2001, environment ethical issues are and will be dependent on the changes in political commitment to counter environmental problems. Based on moral obligations, ethicists have made claims of what the world ought to be and also suggest states effectiveness necessary to make this possible. For instance, the Kyoto Protocol is a global attempt to address environmental ethics developed as a result of this. Ethicists have proposed better alternatives for resolving environmental ethical issues such as outlining obligation schemes for individuals and not states rather than castigating them that they associate with the failure. Focus has also been directed towards businesses specifically big businesses in promoting environmental ethics. Basing on the power of consumers, its anticipated that trough this, businesses ethics will then probably address ethical issues similar to environmental ethics. Of late, it is perceived that environment ethics will as well be informed by the scientific understanding that individuals have with regards to the environment. This understanding includes individuals understudying of the working of ecosystems and changes regarding environmental crisis evidence. This change will be expected to influence and inform thinkers and ethics regarding environmental obligations. While not limited to informing business ethics alone, environmental ethics will as well be focused into merging with and feeding into mainstream thinking of ethicists and other individuals. Following this, ethical thinkers will be able to address all ethic areas for the sake of environmental ethics. Such areas are distributive domestic justice, human rights, and distributive global justice. In the light of distributive global justices for instance, individuals will get a clear conception of how a change in climate affects differently people across the world. This will be paramount in considering environmental ethical issues in relation to such matters of justice. This will go a long way in promoting environmental ethics the world over.

Business Ethic Perspective

The tagline of this article, From workers homes to halls of government is beautifully written and succinctly captures the case of Enron. The failure, rather collapse of Enron is said to be one of the biggest business downturns in the United States of America  it went one from extreme of prestige and profits to the other extreme of bankruptcy and insult.

One of the most important stakeholders of Enron is the customers of it  people who were buying their shares. Due to its tremendous reputation, people put their trust into it and bought so many shares that it could cause them a fortune. Naturally, with so many people putting in their trust in a company and buying shares resulted in the peak of Enron where is was worth more than some companies could imagine. However, that trust costed them more than they had imagined  the company was involved in a big internal fraud.

For any company, another very important stakeholder is their employees. The employees are who make up the company without them to company cannot function. The employees should be explained their tasks well and most importantly, they should be told about the impact their work will cause  whether it is good or bad. Then it should be up to them if they wish to or do not wish to do it. In Enrons case, not all the employees were told exactly what was happening and that all the internal books were incorrectly updated- only a few of them were involved. Therefore, the case of ethics can only be valid for those who were aware only they can be considered unethical because ideally, they should have reported to the legal authorities about this fraud. The entire employee force cannot be termed unethical, because those who did not know and would have reported had they known are innocent and should not be penalized.

Third most important stakeholders are the external parties involved in business with the companies  these could be the suppliers, B2B buyers and even auditors. In Enrons case, the auditors could have played the biggest role in revealing the truth. However, it is said that they conveniently neglected it, but I believe they were involved in this fraud and so did not take any action against the company. Thus, it is purely unethical of them too.

Ethical Analysis
According to the ethics of business and the contract view of ethics claims that the contract is ethical only if it is free of four things misrepresentation, coercion, incompliance and lack of disclosure of information. When a stakeholder buys a companys shares, it becomes a contract also, the contract and the buying of shares is based on the information the company discloses (Enderle, 1999). In the case of Enron

The duty not to misrepresent  this means that the information of the product should not be played around with (Velasquez, 2006). The right information should be shared with the stakeholders so that whatever they do is based on it and not in the dark. Here, the information told to the customers about the value of the company, upon which the share buyers base their decision of purchase, was untrue. Their accounting books were a big mess. They had misrepresented their profits and equity values this means that the worth of the company was actually not what it was projecting it to be. This misrepresentation was not of a small amount, but of a couple of billion dollars, which is a huge amount. This is not only illegal and worthy of years of jail and the snatching away of the license of the company, but also unethical. Naturally, when it was presented to be of a greater value, the customers put their trust into it (the higher the value of the company means greater returns and consequentially, greater trust from the shareholders). However, had they known the actual value of the firm, there is a high likelihood that their decision would have been very different. In this case, the auditors were also responsible for lack of disclosure of the inaccuracy of accounting bookkeeping.
The duty of disclosure  according to the contract, it is the duty of the firm to reveal and inform the stakeholders of every aspect of that product especially, the negative aspects. That is, if there is something that would make them not want to be associated with the company should not be kept a secret and should be told. If not, it is unfair on the stakeholders because they are being deceived.
It was also unethical of Enron to fire so many of its employees without any prior notice and without any monetary compensation (Albertson, 2007). The employees were not responsible for this and despite that all of a sudden their income stopped. Enron really should have looked into compensation as it is also against labor regulations.

Cost and benefits
More than benefits, which were short term, Enron had to face long term costs. The costs were the collapse of the company so bad that there was no way that the company could get back on its feet ever again. Even if it did, it would not have any investors or share buyers because with this episode, the share buyers have all lost trust in Enron and its people. Biggest con is the fact that there will no license and the owners will be jailed along with huge monetary fines. The cost has to be borne by the entire economy and stock market because this was such a huge debacle that it impacted all the investments and the entire economy.

Benefits for the company are minimal, but it was good for the innocent employees to get out of it before the scandal got any bigger. Also, the regulations of America will now be stricter and the regulative authorities will be more alert of such frauds, along with more cautious investors and share buyers.

Security Policy for a Health Care Organisation

The paper attempts to formulate a policy for a security department with special attention to the training of the procedures and legal issues surrounding implications of security contraventions. The paper observes that any act and decision taken by the security personnel has a potential of risks, and if not appropriately handled within the legal avenues, may in turn end up into civil lawsuit against the individual security officer and the organization. To guarantee a fair trial process, the security officers should be adequately trained about the laws and the human rights. The paper concludes by asserting that the entire security department personnel should have the nitty gritty of their responsibilities and legal requirements as per their actions.

Introduction
Security management or security department is very essential in any organization, responsible for enforcing policies and procedures and maintaining law and order within the organization. This is in their effort to protect the organizations assets personnel, data and facilities. The department is also responsible for addressing recruitment and hiring of competent and qualified personnel and provide an effective training in order to grab the nitty gritty of the criminal laws and civil laws so as to act within their job descriptions and responsibilities without conflicting with human rights and any stint of miscarriage of justice. The training must be flexible and continual to address the everyday situations since security environment is constantly changing and the variety of solutions is growing at a phenomenal rate.

Policy for a Security Department
During hiring of the security personnel, clear job description comes in handy so as to state the border lines within which the department personnel is responsible. This is so as to maintain a high level of competency within the department and management that supervises security matters within the organization. Competeny-based recruitment of the personnel should be in a position to effectively meet the set up objectives which are later evaluated against the performance of each and every person within the department. These will only be achieved through a comprehensive training which addresses their mandate and effective workforce.

In order to meet the targets of the organization, security management need to formulate a training program that handles an elaborate and diverse security issues that may potentially plague the organization and find ways of handling such mishaps appropriately within the ethical dimensions and following the right channels of addressing the issue at hand. Therefore, in such cases, their decisions attract various risks that need to be addressed so as to avoid jeopardizing the reputation of the parties handling the case. This is because the entire facility may end up by having the matter being ruled against the act(s) of the security personnel and the withdrawal of the permit of operation of the organization by the agency responsible. Training should tackle a myriad of legal dilemmas that plagues the security department and management and explore on various legal guidelines in their duties.

It is apparent that security personnel should know whether they are commissioned or non-commissioned officers which define their powers and authority to arrest, search, use force and interrogate, which ultimately states their limitations during their duties.

In the course of their general duties and other specific duties, various interactions emerge between the security personnel and the entire workforce of the organization together with their clients. Such interactions may be friendly while others may be hostile. This requires for effective communication skills that will enable the officer be able to handle the issue at hand without contravening with peoples civil rights and evade violence in the work place (Utah Department of Human Services Utah Dept., 2001). The usual patrol and formal and informal interactions and strict monitoring of the system entries should be well taught in order to equip the security officers with sufficient categories of crime detection and the steps to be taken in such cases. This is based on their status and authority (St. Agnes, 1997). During arrest episodes, commissioned security officers may do so by either a warrant, or based on a probable cause that a felony has been or is being committed in their presence or in their absence.

Health care facilities face different challenges in the administration of their services. Internal theft and external theft of any asset and products like conversion of the controlled products such as morphine for personal use puts security department to task. The regulatory agencies such as the U.S Drug Enforcement Agency require every health care facility to document inventory, use and wastage of these items on a daily basis (St. Agnes Healthcare System, 1997). It is also a requirement for pharmacy departments to administer drugs by dosage, name of the physician, patient name and age. Along this line, the correct dosage should be prescribed to avoid an overdose or under-dose that may result to adverse effects on the patient. Such negligence may cost the facility a lot in terms of lawsuits and even closure of the entire health care facility.

Inappropriate hiring of the security personnel may cost the Great Healthcare Medical Centre (GHMC) in the case of the oversight of the appropriate qualifications for the job. In any case, stringent screening of any criminal records prior to the applications becomes of importance (Locke, 2009). This calls for a fair process of vetting without favour of any potential candidate. Failure to obtain a diligent workforce becomes more of a liability than an asset in failing to meet the set up objectives and performance in line with the professional ethics and the core values of the Great Healthcare Medical Centre. Therefore security personnel should be aware and competent enough to articulate the vision and mission of GHMC in order to create a team of well informed men and women to steer GHMC to the next level of success. However this will never be realized if the right procedures of relating with other colleagues and stakeholders are not well defined and availed to every security personnel during training and refresher trainings.  

However, security management is faced with the dilemma of retaining the security personnel who may have been implicated with the network of misdemeanour, or effecting a do over (Utah Dept. 2001). In such cases of tarnishing the reputation of GHMC may render the public trust to nose dive. Then, what steps would the security management take, if they are convinced that suspect was liable for the crime, and that the laws of the land overlooked justice out of external forces. Would the security management retain him

Training should entail awareness against any trace of discrimination (be it racial, religious or gender) amongst the entire workforce of GHMC. Administration of medication should be handled with dignity and in recognition of human rights to life and property.

In case of any physician implicated with sexual inducement ( Utah Dept., 2001) to the patient in the line of duty, and the available evidence pertaining the same exists, a stern action should be taken within the legal avenues to seek redress. Proper ways of handling any kind of violence, verbal or physical should be embedded within the professional ethics that stipulates the conduct of every worker of GHMC and punishment or penalty effected within the laws without intimidation.    

Detection should be based on substantial evidence or the probable cause that makes it clear that a crime has been, or is being committed by the suspect. This accumulates a reasonable suspicion that is based on the clear objectives and facts that lead the officer believe that the alleged suspect iswas engaged in a criminal activity or may be armed and dangerous. However, the organization must be strict on any kind of smear politics or intimidation.

Reasonable suspicion warrants stop and search within the laws of the land. Although the commissioned security officers has the right to issue citations for violations, the mandate of  a peace officers authority, and powers to arrest is limited to the employers jurisdiction and the organizations property line.  On the other hand, non-commissioned officers conduct of searches and seizures is not bound by constitutional restrains, but regulated by the civil law. Therefore, when performing searches, they are bound by the U.Ss constitutions fourth amendment that requires them to avoid any unreasonable searches that may plunge the whole issue into a deal gone sour scenario. They are allowed to conduct the said reasonable searches following a warrant, or in case of an incidental to an arrest. In the event of searches, the law stipulates the places to be searched upon a reasonable probable cause, supported by an affirmation, to avoid an incidence of invasion of privacy. It should be understood that during frisking, it may emerge inappropriate for a male colleague to conduct a bodily search on a female suspect. This may explode as sexual harassment that may eventually result into a lawsuit.  

Officers are met by adverse resistance during searches and seizures which compel them to apply a reasonable force to defend themselves and others from bodily injuries. The reasonable force can be used to effect a legal arrest, within a certain limit. Security officers should understand to exercise of and what constitutes a reasonable force within their authority, failure to which a civil lawsuit may prevail against the security officer and the organization, which at times may escalate to a criminal prosecution of the security officer. Other than observing the legal constraints, the organizations policies and procedures must be strictly observed.

To train a workforce that is well versed with the civil laws and criminal laws creates a just and fair department that addresses pertinent issues with careful observance of any infringement of the fundamental human rights and freedoms. Therefore, when such cases of felony with reasonable grounds emerge, a fair process of handling the suspects should be followed.

Any evidence collected against the suspect should be treated with care to avoid any interference that may distort the whole spectrum of the issue at hand. The security department should act as impartial body within the entire organization without any bias against anybody, without fear or favour to this cause. Such evidence should be stored in written (both hard disk and soft copies) and recorded as voice.

The suspect should be grilled before any action s taken, so as to assess the circumstances behind his actions. This should entail a whole trail of any colleague inflicted with the scandal or any liaison with the suspect that will enable full fledged and comprehensive evidence that can sustain a trial. When substantive evidence is availed, then the security officer is summoned for an interview and interrogation before an impartial committee in order to ascertain the authenticity f the claims.

The suspect is entitled to a fair and speedy trial process so as to defend himself against the allegations put forward, as provided by the sixth amendment of the U.S constitution. The amendment also allows the suspect to obtain a witness in his favour and to have Assistance of Counsel for his defence.   In the cause of indictment of the suspect, the U.S. constitution five amendment rules against any deprivation of life, liberty and property, without due process of law, or property taken for public use without compensation.

Conclusion
In conclusion, security management personnel should understand and act within the legal limits of their decisions in order to avoid conflicting with their legal mandate. This would in turn assist them evade misinformed acts that may plunge them into the lawsuits as well as their respective organizations. They should restrain themselves from any abuse of their authority and powers vested on them.

It is imperative that security management formulate and avail a more appropriate training and annual refresher trainings to the security personnel that will equip them job functions and responsibilities as stipulated in their professional ethics and act within the organizations policies and the legal prescription and proscriptions.  

ENRON CASE

Originally a gas pipeline company and, with time growing into the worlds largest trader in gas, electricity, water, and various other commodities such as bandwidth, Enron Corporation had built itself a reputation as a respectable corporate entity. Indeed, many people, including corporate organizations, looked up to Enron as a role model and a representative of corporate American organizations not only in the United States but also in other countries that looked up to America in terms of corporate practice and leadership. In October of 2001 however, things took a different turn when Enron was forced to disclose that its bookkeeping practices relating to its profits were, at the bare minimum, flawed, if not deceptive.

At this time, losses had already wiped out Enron corporations profits, yet Enron for some reason did not properly document this critical information. When the situation got out of hand and eventually came to light, Enrons corporations shareholders started having second thoughts and doubts about the company, for the first time, and immediately started selling off their shares in the company.

From there, the rest is history as Enron Corporation was put under intense international scrutiny and pressure that ultimately saw the worlds biggest trader in gas, electricity, water, and other commodities collapse.

Part 1
The investigations into the Enron Corporation scandal unearthed various unethical and illegal practices brought about by various stakeholders in the company. Several people were implicated in the scandal that rocked the worlds largest trader in electricity, gas, water, and a host of other commodities, like bandwidth.

As a result of massive corrupt dealings and scandals perpetuated under the watch of the executive managers, the company was obliged to reveal that its books portrayed a falsified situation of the company in October 2001. Indeed, the real situation was soon to be discovered to be one whereby the company was running at huge losses, while records purported that it was making profits.

Immediately word went out that Enron was making losses, some of the shareholders decided to sell off their shares in the company. However, the companys top managers were quick to assure investors that their shares were safe, and persuaded them not to sell their shares. Interestingly, these same Enron executives and managers were quick to sell off their shares at the company while all along influencing other shareholders not to sell their shares.

As if that is not enough, the top company management went ahead and changed the companys pension plan, effectively freezing employee retirement benefits.

Investigations further revealed that the former government chief regulator of energy business manipulated legislation to allow Enron to speculate in electricity, before resigning her government job and joining Enron. On the other hand, Enron was discovered to have largely contributed to The Republican and Democratic political parties in the year 2000.

Generally, at the close of investigations, it was revealed that the Enron scandal was aided and abated by a combination of factors, identified as corporate, fiscal and political aspects. Indeed, it was exposed that the former government chief regulator of energy business, who resigned her government position to join the Enron board, was the wife of a powerful Republican senator.

The adverse mention and feature of government and state officials in the affairs of the company points out to the political interference that contributed to the failure of the company. This interference involved both the Republican and Democratic parties, government regulation agencies and individual politicians and government employees. Likewise, Enron senior managers engaged in the illegal activity of offering corporate political contributions to the Democratic and Republican political parties.

The aspect of fiscal failure was evident when the company was revealed to have been posting false and misleading financial reports and statuses. This was perpetuated by the companys accounts department with the awareness, and perhaps blessings of the top company executives.

At the corporate level, failure was manifested in terms of the companys standing in the corporate world. Enron was a leading company in the world of business, which was otherwise supposed to be the envy and an example to other smaller corporate entities. All this turned out to be just a faade because the real situation was that, the company was failing with countless scams, underhand dealings, political machinations and nothing worth of emulating (OpenSecrets.org, 2002).

Considering these circumstances, it is clear that the Enron scandal was marred by unethical practices and illegal actions. These deeds were committed by individuals who were identified following investigations that were carried out by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).

Notably, auditors from Arthur Andersen auditing firm were said to have been compromised in their auditing of Enron. This auditing firm was aware of the financial crisis facing Enron, yet they did not advise the management accordingly, and in good time. Instead, they chose to act as if everything was in order. This is unethical because auditing practicing standards demand transparency at all times. The firm went further to instruct employees to destroy all audit material relating to Enron. This was an outright illegal practice, obviously serving to conceal information.

Any organizations senior security professionals have a duty at all times to not only to the company but also to the employees, to its clients, and to a professional standard of ethics, and not to any specific senior executives(Time, Inc., 2002). The Arthur Anderson auditing company was in outright breach of this clause.

As clearly evident, the actions of Arthur Andersens auditors were in violation of spelt out regulations and codes of conduct. Instead, the firm employees went ahead to engage in illegal and unethical practices. Specifically, it is illegal to destroy any organizations audit material.

The actual impact of the Enron scandal on the United States of America and its citizens included the following.

Loss of public confidence in Corporate America.

Loss of corporations confidence in the five major auditing and consulting firms in the United States, one of which was Arthur Andersen.

Loss of confidence in corporate pension funds by government, unions, associations, and employees.

Concern of foreign countries about the economic stability of the United States.

The downward spiral in the stock market, which affected other corporations.

Some of the positive impacts of this scandal on the other hand were

The review and revision of how corporate and public funds are used for pension funds.

The discussion and review of corporate contributions to political parties and individual politicians.

The passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which specifically prohibits an auditor from simultaneously providing nonauditing services (University of Cincinnati College of Law, 2004).

Part 2If Enrons senior security professional was aware of what was happening, he should have taken one or all of the following steps to bring the situation to the attention of the proper authorities.

Creating an appropriate environment that prevents unethical behavior, by designing, developing, and implementing an organization-wide ethics program.

Documenting and reporting any and all unethical behavior that has occurred to senior management immediately.

Enforcing the organizations policies and procedures, by arresting the managers who were engaged in kickbacks, conflicts of interest, sexual harassment and preferential treatment of some employees at the expense of others.

Reporting any incidents of unethical or illegal behavior to the appropriate law enforcement and government agencies if the organization fails to act upon the information brought to its attention.

Investigating all allegations pertaining to breaches and violations of the business and ethics policies and to reporting on the findings to the relevant authorities.

If I was the senior security professional at Enron and privy to what was taking place, I would have taken the following steps

First of all, I would record and report any unethical conduct to senior managers as soon as I was certain of the facts.

I would also speak to the concerned individuals, and warn them that if they continued engaging in unethical practices, I would take the next appropriate action.

I would launch investigations and gather evidence to present to government and other relevant authorities for action to be taken.

I would enforce the organizations rules and policies by deterring the violators in form of arrests.

I would initiate a system for reporting unethical incidents to the senior security professionals office, and make it possible to report either in person, by phone, email or in writing.

I would also propose the initiation of a training program for all personnel, whereby all new employees undergo an orientation, in addition to regular training for existing employees. The program would provide examples of all behaviors and acts that are considered unethical, as well as their consequences (Hecht, 2003a).

However, there may be some reasons that might have prevented me, as the senior security professional, from reporting the situation to the relevant authorities and shareholders. Some of these reasons include the following

To begin with, reluctance by senior managers and the same authorities I am supposed to report to, to take action might demotivate the security official from reporting similar breach of ethics cases.

On the other hand, meddling by the authorities and undue interference with investigations and findings might also be prohibitive, since the outcome of findings may be altered, and I would therefore be discouraged from pursuing the cases.

I would equally be prevented by the lack of a clear policy and ethical guideline for the organization, since I would not have any reference point for my actions.

Finally, the lack of the necessary support and equipment to detect and prevent unethical conduct might also have prevented the security professional from executing his work as required.

CONCLUSION

The Enron scandal did not only affect the American population, but it also affected other corporate entities and individuals throughout the entire world. Due to a myriad of unethical and illegal practices that were rampant in the Corporation, the collapse of Enron was inevitable. The rot seems to have been so deeply entrenched that even while investigations were going on, massive illegal and unethical practices still went on. For instance, while the top managers persuaded the shareholders not to sell their shares, they sold theirs. This is not only unethical, but also selfish and simply in bad faith. At the same time, there were concerted efforts to destroy the Corporations audit reports, a purely unethical and illegal practice. The implication of government officials in manipulation of legislation to make way for corrupt and illegal deals, the questionable actions of top managers at the company and the involvement of Enron in political patronage were some of the unprocedural maneuvers that were rife at the Corporation, and which investigations brought to the fore, among other inappropriate corporate acts committed by several other individuals across the corporate, government and political sectors.

Notably, glaring conflict of interest is revealed in the case where a former government chief regulator of energy business specifically manipulates legislation before resigning her government job to join Enron. Moreover, she is the wife of a powerful senator.

This scenario paints the picture of a high level, intricate and well-orchestrated syndicate that is well connected at the right places. Such external and political interference coupled with the complacency of top executives, in addition to outright unethical and illegal business practices at the corporation led to its eventual collapse, affecting millions of individuals and equally numerous corporate organizations which were affiliated to or looked up to Enron in one way or another.

Considering the enormity of Enron as corporate organization, it is probable that virtually the entire corporate world had to be somewhat affected by the Enron scandal and collapse.  It may not be inaccurate to assume that perhaps the scandal had a bearing on the world economic recession that was soon to follow.

In summary, although the duty of security personnel in any organization is to ensure security and the adherence to rules, regulations and ethical practices, given the intricacy of the Enron scandal, it may have been impossible for the security officers in charge to do much.

Clearly, one would not realistically expect any real corrective measure, where the same authorities meant to receive security breach and unethical conduct cases are involved in unethical and fraudulent activities. According to the report of the findings, the Enron case was so scandalous that the Corporation had only one way to go collapse. Sadly, along with it also were several other smaller corporate organizations, which went under due to the impact of the Enron scandal. The effect was in fact felt not only in the United States, but also in many other countries everywhere. Several individuals were also ruined, financially speaking.

Evaluate the statement In the event industry, business ethics are crossed frequently

Today many businesses are involved in unethical activities. In the event industry employees cross their ethical boundaries from time to time, either deliberately or because of ignorance. Often event managers are faced with situations that could be harmful for the company, for his client and himself as well. If a company does not have a code of ethics to guide event managers, the ethical boundaries will be crossed easily and frequently (extracted from Silvernail, 2009).

Employers, who value ethics, do not want their employees to get in to trouble for unethical behavior or be caught accepting bribes and other perks. Employees are also conscious of their reputation and want to make sure that they are not perceived as people who can be swayed easily by some personal benefits like a gift or vacation. If the employee selects a venue for an event it should be for the right reasons and not because he had received some gifts from the venue owner, the same goes for selecting an airline or hotel for the client or when selecting suppliers like caterers and photographers (extracted from Allen, 2004).

The cost of accepting free lunches and gifts can bear heavily on the company if the event doesnt turn out to the clients satisfaction, or does not deliver the required return on investment for the company because of the favors done in return for the gifts that the employee got. So if an employee knows the companys code of ethics and how to respond to bribe givers than such situations can be avoided.
While negotiating and dealing with contract disputes, clients should make sure that they dont jeopardize future business because of the compromises that they ask of the event company.  Often the client may ask the company to do something as a favor, like change the date on the contract or show on paper that the event was cancelled before they are charged with a higher penalty. The event manager needs to check before doing a favor for a client or a colleague that the request does not go against your own and the companies ethics, also you need to be sure that what you are asking someone else to do is ethical.   There is a fine line between concessions and bribe that the manager should never ignore.

Often the event management companies forces employees to make false statements to clients or suppliers, in such a case the employee should take a stand and refuse to comply with the request because the employees reputation and credibility is at stake. At one occasion an employee of an event management company had made a costing mistake of 100,000, he had forgotten to include some major cost figures, the company asked the employee to lie to the client that the costing mistake was the hotels fault and not that of the company (extracted from Allen, 2003). The employee refused to comply and instead left the company.

Before getting involved in unethical activities a manager should consider the cost of the extra gain that a company makes by unethical activities. Also cancellation and penalties should be clearly mentioned in the contract and the calculation must be done before cancellation to ensure that the correct amount is charged to the client (extracted from Winifred, 2008).

Often employers are able to get a better price of the food to be served on the event by ordering the same menu for two or three events, this enables them to get a discount on bulk buying from caterers. However, if later on the ordered quantity is reduced the employer may charge the whole amount to the client. This is an unethical practice, as the hotel will have to bear some extra cost for the whole order that was made. But as the food was not consumed it is not right to charge the entire amount to the client.

Some companies conduct their business very ethically as well. For example some hotels may have cancellation charges for rooms that have been booked, however if the released room is taken by some other client than the penalty of that particular room is given back to the client. However a penalty is charged for the rooms that are not booked. This is only fair as the company might have turned away other guests because the rooms were full (extracted from Allen, 2003). These ethical companies increase their profits not by conducting unethical practices but by being known as ethical event managers who do not take advantage of their customers ignorance.

Event planning is a business that has suffered due to the economic downturn, 911 attacks, war in Afghanistan and bankruptcies of other support funds. Corporations are cutting down their budgets as activities like training and HR events are seen as wasteful by stakeholders. The competition in the event industry is getting tough and firms are finding it difficult to compete on low margins and budgets. Ethical boundaries are crossed frequently and easily as different competitors try to acquire a greater share of the market (extracted from Rajeev, 2009).

Some hotels are going ahead and contacting clients that had been booked on by event management firms for many years and asking them to book rooms directly instead of through the event firm as this means grater margins for the hotel. Some suppliers are taking orders from clients as event planners although previously they have only supplied invitations for event management firms. Some clients have been involved in unethical behavior as they go ahead and show quotes to a company of a competitor firm without any hesitation, or they may take ideas from event companies which they use themselves without taking the services of the event company. These kind o unethical activities are being done all over the world and these activities are harming the reputation of the event industry as a whole.

Now the time has come for the event industry to make things right. Soon we are likely to see professional behavior replacing unethical one. Event managers will try and position themselves in the, mind of their consumers as ethical. They will try to set up strict code of ethics and guidelines to help them deal ethically with their clients, suppliers etc, in terms of how they deal with people and what kind of behavior is expected from them (extracted from Vick, 2004). Event planners will now choose not to work with clients and suppliers who make unethical requests instead they will make a list of people who have worked with them in an ethical manner in the past.

To conclude if the event industry is to succeed, if event manager want to receive a fair price for their knowledge and expertise, they need to prove themselves as professionals who adhere to ethical practices no matter what. Event management companies need to train their personnel on what to expect and how to deal with unethical requests by clients, suppliers or peers without offending anybody. Everybody in an event management firm has to take responsibility to shun unethical behaviors to protect the interest of all parties involved. The company also needs to make sure that the code of conduct or policies regarding ethics need to be implemented with rigor and effectiveness and a constant check should be kept on employees in order to make sure that they are adhering to these policies.

Ethical Issues on the Film EnronThe Smartest Guys in the Room

The documentary, EnronThe Smartest Guys in the Room, which was based on the book of the same title by authors Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, was a presentation depicting the inner workings surrounding what is generally considered as one of the biggest business scandals in American history.  The facts and arguments offered in this film, quite sadly, tell of a succession of pre-conceived implementations of well-planned schemes by the major players comprising the top echelons of the aforementioned oil conglomerate.  Here, the human tendency to make significant amounts of profit in whatever manner and in whosoevers expense is brought to light in the most blatant way unimaginable to anyone striving to lead a responsible life.

Especially apparent in the film were the deliberate ethical inconsideration perpetuated by the corporations former and subsequent CEOs, Jeffrey Skilling and Ken Lay, respectively.  First is the principle that Ethics should be related to Sociology, particularly in the betterment of the society that a person belongs to.  Clearly, Enron had defeated this purpose, as can be evidenced in the manner that they have abused the energy deregulation that was existing in the State of California when they imposed a self-declared energy shortage, effecting a year-long rotation of power outages all over the said State.  Their consideration in reaching this decision should have included those who are confined in hospitals, especially those patients who are connected to life-support machines that require readily-available electricity.

Likewise, the principle stating that Ethics should be related to Economics should have been respected.  Reason being, while it is true that man is an economic being because he has to support himself by earning a living, certain principles must be followed in order to assure that he respects the rights and privileges of those within his scope of influence.  It was clear, after watching the film, that the decision-makers in Enron neglected this importance, as evidenced by the estimation of over 20,000 people having lost their jobs over 1.2 billion retirement funds lost and over 2 billion of the retirees pension funds having disappeared.

It was evident throughout the documentary of the untainted neglect on the part of some of Enrons top executives, an unmistakable fact that they had masterminded this scheme irrespective of the damaging consequences that are surely to result from their actions.  In opting to embezzle billions of dollars for the good of a select few, they have sacrificed the future of countless individuals, directly or indirectly, by depriving them of the monetary security that they rightly deserved.

Resultant Effect
It is truly saddening that the actions of a few powerful and influential individuals had resulted in a catastrophe extending the far reaches of the global economy.  In the nations home front, we have witnessed how this had eventually led to a collapse in various sectors, such as the housing sector, the banking sector that resulted in successive declarations of bankruptcies, and in the very economy of the United States which had admitted an economic recession.  It may be appropriate to say that the grounds lost in the Enron scam are not yet fully recovered that years after its occurrence, we are still living under the shadows of the greatest corporate scam in American history.

However, despite of the gravity of its economic effects, a positive side can be viewed from all these. For one, after the discovery of the Enron scam which were instigated by financial reporters of Fortune Magazine, the society in general, as well as the administration, has become more stringent in ascertaining that the proper and legal documents required from various corporations are true and accurate.  Likewise, we, the general society, have been made aware of who among our leaders are the true bastions of the fair trade practices, and the proper ethics and morality that should be observed by every sector, however powerful and influential it may seem.  

Personal Views
Scrutinizing the in-depth documentary concerning Enron has led me to re-evaluate my own standards on the ethical issues surrounding the abovementioned case.  Primarily, all of the factors concerning this case can be deduced in a single question Is it ethically justifiable that in ones pursuit of monetary security, one can forego of his responsibilities to the community and to the society that he belongs to  Apparently, as was shown by the bigwigs of Enron, the answer may be varying with every person.

Personally, my views on this case are proportionate with my principles.  Firstly, I am of the belief that every person ought to take into consideration the resultant effects of his actions in relation to the other members of the society.  Being a part of the complex structural make-up of the general society, one should be aware of the influence that he may be able to exert on others.  Ethics then should most certainly be practiced in the field of economics and in the industry, as this is perhaps the most sensitive aspect of a persons physical existence.  Included in this aspect are issues concerning health, education, financial security, food security, and housing the very concerns that a person painstakingly labors for throughout his lifetime.

Ethics Game Simulation

On March 6, 2010, I participated in the Ethics Game Simulation as part of the course requirement. Admittedly, I was not very excited about doing this simulation, but after I began the simulation, I found myself not wanting it to end.  This ethics simulation has taught me the value of personal values and morals in the workplace.  I learned that profit is not always the main goal in order for a company to thrive and be successful.  Most importantly, I learned that personal integrity is the top priority of every person no matter what type of business or company they represent.
   
The ethics simulation game consisted of two scenarios related to the business position of a quality control officer (QCO) within an international company.  The first scenario involved the QCO receiving several company emails concerning important and urgent matters pertaining to one of the manufactured products.  The product apparently had contaminant levels that were higher than the company standard allowed, but the levels were still under what the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permitted.  The issue presented to the QCO centered on what should be done with regard to the discovered information and how it related to the consumer.  The second scenario involved the manufacturing and distribution of the contaminated product to international consumers whereby the laws were more lenient concerning safety standards and regulations.  Out of a possible score of 12,000, I managed to score a 6150.  Apparently making money was more of a priority than protecting the consumer (Shaw, 2010).
   
In the first scenario, I chose to perform a total recall of all contaminated products. While I was awarded a letter of appreciation by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), my decision was viewed as too costly and thought to raise public panic where there was no need.  I stand by this decision because the contaminated product was proven to cause problems if the consumer had an autoimmune disorder.  The company has no way of screening customers for diseases, therefore it would have benefited the company by doing a total recall than to wait it out and risk the possibility of numerous liability lawsuits.  The law now provides that a consumer only needs to prove that there was an injury sustained from the product or because of the product being defective thereby establishing liability.  It is now easier for a consumer to sue a company and win under the law of strict liability.
 
In the second scenario, I chose to allow the marketing of the product in foreign countries that have lower safety standards.  I stand by this decision because it is not my discretion that set the rules or made the laws in foreign countries.  Those decisions are solely up to that countrys government, however I did recommend informing the consumer of the high levels of contaminant on the labeling.  The latter part of my decision was not rewarded as it again proved to incite panic where there quite possibly was none.  It is my ethical belief that a company should not take advantage of an unknowing consumer for a mere profit.  Citizens of other countries may not have the collective education or intelligence to understand the risks involved from ingesting the product.  Nevertheless, the company should still bear the responsibility of informing its consumers in any country of the possible risks.
   
Concepts of virtue are the ethics of a situation.  Values are a personal system of beliefs held by an individual, and morals are a system of beliefs that society deems to be politically correct.  In the healthcare profession, concepts of virtue and ethics are ever-present.  I work in a hospital, and medical ethics become an adopted frame of thinking.  Certain topics are allowed to be discussed with other colleagues and patients, while some topics are strictly taboo.  Patient confidentiality is the most critical ethical violation that could happen.  The federal HIPPA law has made it more difficult for family to gain information of a loved one via the telephone due to the concepts of virtue enacted.  My personal value system tells me to inform the concerned loved one, but needing a paycheck takes precedence by way of medical ethics.  Another ethical violation that occurs in the medical field concerns a patient or patients family member asking a nurse a question relating to the diagnosis or condition of the patient.  A nurse is not a doctor, thereby not allowed to speculate or offer any information even if the chart is right in front of them.  A doctor is the only one allowed to diagnose or answer questions pertaining to a patients diagnosis, treatment, or prognosis.  Any nurse who acts outside of this realm of protocol is in direct violation of the medical code of ethics. This is not to say that it does not happen, but it is by the concept of virtue that nurses are trusted to uphold the policy.
   
The ethics game simulation was a very informative exercise.  I learned that decisions should be made by considering those directly and indirectly affected.  I also learned that there are rights and responsibilities and reputation lenses that provide a deeper look into a situation before rendering a final decision.  I found that there are four major core values that must be taken into account when making decisions that affect a company or the consumer at large.  Personal integrity and moral courage should be characteristic of someone in a position that requires a superior decision-making ability.  I would recommend this exercise to anyone and everyone in the workforce today, as it teaches how to make important decisions as well as teaching everyone how to take everything into consideration.  This small game simulation could benefit any business and build company morale.  It could also benefit a company by accumulating the results and developing a program to provide further or necessary education in regards to ethics in the workplace.

The Ethics of Police

Nowadays ethics becomes an important subject of study when we discuss police. The accountability to people is also a vital concern for the police department. In this paper I will be discussing about the police behavior, and how can we control it by value system. Moreover, i would be discussing The Huntsville Prototype following with the analysis of the ethical training programs in todays world. Then finally why do police need ethical standards and how can we improve it.

Nature of police
The police department always closes their comments at the ubiquitous statements such as stay safe or be safe. We will not find any profession in which being safe is a secondary objective. However, there is one department which has a primary objective other than safety. Its the law enforcement agencies, specifically police department. In police, ethics triumphs over safety. The police officers are trained not only to put them in harms way, but also to remain stalwart and a beacon of integrity and honesty. If the police officers loose their morality, the society will start to breakdown as well.

When we talk about police, we must keep in mind that police has to be discrete and flexible in nature. This is due to the fact that the police officers have to provide a wide array of police services to its neighborhood in a very supportive, non-aggressive and legally questionable crime fighting tactics. Similarly, the police officers have to adhere to the laws and remain accountable to the general public. In order to achieve these goals, the police must undergo a training program, commonly known as Police Ethics Training. Below I will be discussing certain training procedures that were actually adopted by the Huntsville, Alabama, Police Department.

Controlling Police Behavior
The law enforcement agencies controlled the officers via paramilitary structure traditionally. This was accompanied by the written rules and procedures for the conduct of the officers. But the problem lies that if these policies are detailed and numerous, then they may fail to serve as a guidelines for the conduct of police officers. Similarly if they are imprecise and general in nature, they may again become dysfunctional.

More recently, in order to ensure accountability and to deal with the misconduct of the police officers, the tort liability claims have been identified. This civil liability or civil judgment does not have constituted a valid strategy to prevent misconduct of police. We do not see noteworthy structural changes in police even after civil judgments or threats of civil sanction against police agencies.

Another method for controlling is the concept of community policing. On one hand this is good as it decentralizes the police authority and the officer determines the best response for a particular problem is. In community policing, they also coordinate and work closely with the citizens. However, on the other hand community policing also increases the chances of corruption as the police officers are in direct contact with the citizens who may be have money, power or influence.

The problems discussed above conclude us that the police conduct cannot be managed by rules and procedures only. They must also inculcate value system. This value system must be supported by community reporting and review mechanism.

Management through values
The management values say that the departments value helps in shaping the actions of the departmental officers. This means that if the police department itself has a value system, it will be automatically transferred in the police officers as well. These management techniques also help in determining and strengthening the relationship between the police and the community.

The police agencys official values must be reflected in the police environment, such as during the class discussion. Tests, case studies review and field officers program. This management tool can be effectively used ion aiming at the superior performance of the officers. This management-through-values can only be implemented if the professional ethical standards are emphasized throughout the police department.

The Huntsville Prototype
In 1992, The Huntsville Police Department designed and implemented a police ethics training program that aimed at providing ethics training to the police recruits. It developed into a three-tiered approach by 1994 and provides different standards of training to the different levels of police officers (Jones et al, 1995). The essential features of this prototype are
First Tier Recruit Training
Second Tier Inservice Training
Third Tier Police Supervisors Training

The Huntsville Police Departments ethics training program gives participants the opportunity to reflect on and to discuss important issues with other police professionals. This helps them in sharing the ideas necessary for the effective functioning of the police department.

How can American citizens ensure that police officers take this responsibility seriously
We must bear in mind that ethical training alone will not help in increasing the level of trust that people have on the police, nor will it help in ending power abuse across the nation. This profession needs a series of changes, and ethical training is nothing but a part of this serial changes. The ethical training helps in improving the department and it s problems. Unless the police agencies do not put en effort in selecting the right candidates, they will not succeed in framing an ethical police department.

The selection process should recruit those individuals whose character has been good over the years.  These people are those who feel proud for working as a public servant rather than the power that is accompanied with the position. Ethical training will fail to change eh behavior of the person whose primary concern is to join the police force for power purpose.

Staying ethical
We often hear Our countrys last line of defense in association with the American Police Officers. This is referred to as these people who are guarding us against the one who are intending to commit a violent act. We can say that the American Police Officers stand to guard the epitome of civilized society. The police officers are responsible for balancing the welfare of the citizens by enforcing the law. Similarly, they will also adhere to the moral and ethical conducts in concert with the constitution (Klein, 2009).

The Police officers are taught stay ethical. This is not because they already are ethical, but because they must remain ethical. By ethics we mean that it is asset of system that is based on the principles of honesty and integrity. Ethics have been accepted as professional standards around the globe. For police officers, the ethical standards mean no cheating, no stealing and no lying. There are simply no excuses and no exceptions when it comes to ethical behavior.

Purpose of police
The purpose of police is to maintain the social control in a society. Every nation is found to focus on two major points i.e. order and liberty. The government utilizes the police force to maintain a balance between the security and freedom. When we talk about United States of America, we talk about experiment in ordered liberty. USA emphasizes more on freedom rather than order.

In United States, the police are assigned with an enormous power. Common public does not even fear the President or the representatives of Congress as they fear from the police officials. The police have the power to deprive them of their normal liberties, use physical force against them, search their personal belongings or simply detain citizens. But this awesome power of police officials means that there lies a humongous responsibility on the shoulders of police officials as well. They are responsible for acting in the best interest of the citizens in accordance with the democratic principles.

Do police needs ethics
The police officers do need ethical standards. They need to uphold the law regardless of offenders identity, race or social status. They must keep in mind that they must not make wrong use of power by taking advantages or by providing a comfort zone to the offenders. They must also not give social treatment to the people. The police force is build to offer its services to the general public. They are always ready to serve, protect and maintain the public order and peace. They must align themselves with the constitutional values. The police officers should be careful and work accordingly what the law dictates. They must be well aware not to cross the restricted boundaries of constitution.

Conclusion
To conclude we can say that the police officials are engaging in the business that is concerned with the ethical behavior. The ethics can be termed as their forte, stock-in-trade, persona, signature and their identification. It is the ethical conduct that distinguishes the profession of the police officers with the other professions. Even of one police officer is seen to have violated the law, the trust and that people have on this law enforcing agency is vanished. They society goes towards barbarism. Only and only the adherence to the constitutional rules and morality can help a society in flourishing towards success.

Ethics in Healthcare. The controversy in placing feeding tubes into terminally ill patients.

The research paper concerns ethics in health care, namely, the issue of placing feeding tubes into terminally ill patients. Terminal illness describes an active and malignant disease that cannot be cured and usually causes death of a patient, for example, cancer, heart disease and dementia. A terminally ill patient undergoes various stages, the first one being disbelief, anxiety about the unknown, anger, shock and despair. The second stage is depression which usually occurs after diagnosis.

In the final stages terminally ill patients are unable to walk, take care and feed themselves. From the logical point of view terminally ill patients have no energy to feed through natural system due to health complications and natural loss of appetite. Terminally ill patients are unable to eat and drink enough food to provide basic nutrient requirements. This often requires artificial feeding and hydration through percutaneous endoscopy gastrostomy tubes. However, the use of artificial feeding is considered by physicians as appropriate but from the ethical perspective family members of terminally ill patients think that they starve to death while dying.

Placing feeding tubes into terminally ill patients only prolongs the inevitable and these sentiments are supported by the arguments presented throughout the research paper. The artificial feeding of terminally ill patients can be done through placing the patient on morphine. This  makes  the  patient  feel more comfortable and in most  cases it is a way of  prolonging  terminally  ill  individuals. A terminally ill patient is not in a position to understand his or her body condition and in most cases the agony is so severe. The mind is usually impaired and digestive system very weak due to the lack of basic nutrients from natural feeding process. Logically, artificial feeding is used to supplement natural feeding process but ethically this is a way of forced feeding. Physicians recommend placing feeding tubes to a terminally ill patient at the critical time when the patient is almost dying. Accordingly, it is considered as one of the best ways of supplying basic nutrients that help to fight starvation. Although it is  a  tedious and  painful  process, experts  recommend  that the use  of  morphine  on such patients  help to reduce the agony.

In the recent decades, the artificial feeding for terminally ill patients has been questioned in various nations considering legal, ethical, logical and clinical provisions. The combination of these provisions has led to the global controversy of ethics in health care especially placing feeding tubes into terminally ill patients. The major area of conflict arises in the case of whether it is good or not good to withhold or withdraw artificial nutrition and hydration for terminally ill patients.  Ethically, the life of a patient is very important and needs to be protected and honored.

The issue of the artificial feeding a terminally ill patient must be considered according to the legal provisions because it is a way of supporting the patients autonomy. A controversy arises due to religious beliefs for instance the Catholic Church belief that withholding nutrition and hydration from terminally ill patients results in starvation, dehydration, body weakness and death. In addition, withdrawing artificial nutrition for such patients who are not dying but in a critical condition means that the life of a patient is not morally valued. This means that clinical experts should do anything to make sure that the life of a terminally ill patient is protected.

Clinical argument on withholding artificial feeding

One of the most important and critical objective of physicians is to prevent starvation of patients through artificial feeding. However, clinical officers observe that terminally ill patients cannot live forever and thus placing feeding tubes will not extend life. Health officers argue that terminal illness is not associated with eating and swallowing disorders. Other factors that cause terminal illness which results to nutrition deficiencies and thus use of artificial feeding may not help to prolong the life of such patients. Clinical argument about placing feeding tubes suggests that changes in neurological swallowing system observed in terminally ill patients will not help to increase life expectancy of a sick person.

According to the health research, the use of tube feeding does not prolong the life of a terminally ill patient. A study on terminally ill patients who were totally dependent on others for feeding showed that tube fed and hand fed patients had similar survival rate. This is an implication that placing feeding tubes into terminally ill patient does not prolong the life of the patient. Another study carried by heath experts on terminally ill patients with eating and swallowing disorders showed that natural fed patients had survival rate of 86 in the next one year while tube fed  patients had 10 higher mortality rate. This study was used by clinical experts to conclude that there is no proof to show that tube feeding prolongs life.

Another argument that favors withholding of artificial nutrition through placing feeding tubes into the life of terminally ill patient is that, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tubes usually cause suffering. This is manifested by restraints, high complication rates that lead to uncomfortable death. The procedure of placing feeding tubes inflicts a lot of pain that contributes to worse conditions on patients. Aspiration is a major complication that is inflicted by percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tubes. This has led to immediate death of terminally ill patient.

Palliative surgical procedures such as biliary and gastric in terminal cancer patients are associated with a higher mortality rate. Other infections related to percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube replacement facilitates contributes to the bad health condition of the patient. Other procedures such as the use of prophylactic antibiotics can be used instead of the artificial feeding. This means that instead of exposing terminally ill patients into pain, doctors can use other methods that are simple and painless to prolong the life of patients. The use of tube feeding is accompanied by use of restraints that add mental suffering to already suffering patients. A study on the use of restraints in both tube fed and non-tube fed patients showed that 78 of terminally ill patients were given artificial nutrition through nasogastric tube. The use of PEG tubes requires restraints more than use of nasogastric tubes and this is advancement in technology. It is more comfortable to use PEG tubes because patients are not irritated and there is reduced suffering.

In contrast to the above arguments, as a matter of logics, withholding nutrition is one way that cuts short the life of terminally ill patient. The acknowledgement of nutrition importance brings out clearly the logical argument about artificial feeding on terminal illness. The controversy is being experienced by different health organizations and clinical provisions and the debate range even in the current decade. The life of terminally ill patient in the late stages can be prolonged for a long period if doctors administer such patients with artificial nutrition. The use of PEG advanced technology prolongs life of patients who are not in a position to orally eat. The rate of complications is reduced and suffering in patients is reduced. Thus, there is need to place feeding tubes into terminally ill patient to prolong their lives.

Terminally ill patients need much care and concern because they are usually in depression and a minor complication like the lack of nutrients results to immediate death. Supportive care is only possible through placing feeding tubes that provides the necessary nutrients thus prolong patients life. Health complications such as throat cancer make the sufferer to have difficulties while swallowing. This definitely calls for the use of feeding tubes that help to supplement natural feeding and thus provide the necessary nutrients. This argument outweighs the issue of clinical observations about withholding feeding tubes into the life of terminally ill patient.

An important thing to note about terminally ill patients is that they undergo difficult times due to their health conditions and to avoid starvation there is need to artificially provide basic nutrition. Starvation is a major factor that leads to worse condition of terminally ill patient. This can be avoided through artificial feeding so as to give the patient energy, hope and prolong his or her life. Feeding tubes should be recommended by clinical officers as a way of prolonging patients life. A terminally ill patient has short expectancy life span and through artificial feeding his or her life span is prolonged.

Ethical arguments
Placing feeding tubes into terminally ill patients has resulted in ethical arguments on whether it is necessary to withhold or withdraw artificial feeding. Ethically, withholding of artificial feeding and allowing nature to take its course is morally right. The assumption is that since at one time the patients will die thus any other matter that may result to their death like starvation is highly appreciated. The patients can be kept alive but starvation can be used as one of the best method to allow terminally ill patients rest especially when the illness reaches advanced stages.
The patients should be allowed to die without suffering. The legal system in many parts of the world has incorporated ethical sentiments such as the principle of autonomy. This has led to advancement in ethical developments about tube feeding. Terminally ill patient is mandated to choose whether he or she needs medical therapy through tube feeding. Artificial feeding is considered as extraordinary care and mechanical ventilation which is not supported by ethical provisions.

In other instances, the distinction between terminal and non-terminal diseases is important. Initiation of   mechanical ventilation in terminally ill cancer and tube feeding on demented patients is not comparable. The issue about placing feeding tubes on terminally ill patient is the decision of the patient, family members, clinical officers and legal provision. The ethical aspect of whether to withhold tube feeding requires qualitative analysis among various parties. In various terminal illnesses such as dementia, failing to eat is a natural form of letting the patient to die.

Starvation through the lack of basic needs results in immediate death of a terminally ill patient. This eases the duties of clinical officers and other close family friends who are always under the observation of the patient. Placing feeding tubes into terminally ill patients aims at improving the physiological effects and rarely does it improve on the quality of life. This situation in the ethical aspect calls fro physician to withhold tube feeding. This is true because the patient in the long run does not benefit and it helps to minimize wastage of resources. Family  members think that placing feeding  tube into terminally  ill patient is not  ethical because  nourishing  is only for  a short period  of  time and then the patient dies.

It is true that the human life according to ethics is important, but sometimes when a patient is seen to suffer extensively he or she should be allowed to rest. The physician should in certain instance read the moods of family members about a terminally ill patient and ignore the use of tube feeding. Such instances include particular situations when the patient is so weak and his or her condition is very bad such that artificial feeding is no of any importance. Ethically, doctors or physicians are allowed to place terminally ill patients on morphine so as to die without suffering. The use of morphine by doctors incase of a terminal illness is one of the best ethically recommended method of letting go a terminally ill patient. Legally placing a terminally ill patient is allowed because the patient rests without suffering although his or her life may be cut short.

On the other hand, it is necessary to help a terminally ill patient live until his or her final day without use of other methods that leads to immediate death. The ethical element is observed in the principle of autonomy whereby every individual has right to life. The physicians should use artificial nutrition to help patients with terminal illness get the basic nutrients to avoid starvation. Even if the patient is supposed to die at one time but the physicians should try their level best to prolong his or her life.
Importantly, terminally ill patients are human beings and due to their health situation they cannot lead a normal life, therefore, they should not be discriminated. Withholding tube feeding on terminally ill patient is ethically right, because it is one way of exercising the right to life. The procedure of placing feeding tubes into terminally ill patients is costly. Many terminal patients may not be in a position to afford PEG tubes and thus it is not wise to invest in an unproductive project. Instead of tube feeding the patient should engage him or herself in activities that help to prolong their lives through doing exercise.

Conclusion
The human life is important and irrespective of the terminal illness patients in such category should be treated with a lot of care and concern. Physicians, family members and legal system should work hand in hand to prolong the life of terminally ill patient through tube feeding. Patients who have swallowing and eating complications are supposed to be put under tube feeding so as to avoid them starve. In situations where the suffering is unbearable the physician is legally allowed to place the patients on morphine to rescue them from such pain.