SOCIAL ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF MARKETING

Social Economic Benefits of Marketing

The article Marketing’s Contributions to Society by Willkie and Moore (1999) is a farfetched reflection of the numerous impacts of marketing to the society. I find the authors presentation of the benefits of the aggregate marketing system and how it continues to benefit the society argumentative and convincing. The article is largely a celebration of some of the aspects of marketing field to the society.

The authors, Willkie and Moore present the benefits of marketing by discussing its contribution to the larger economic issues .They further examine some of arguments raised by critics of an aggregate marketing system. Three of the major issues that have widely been covered in the article are marketing and economic development, effects on consumers and impacts of unethical marketing activities.

However, the article does not delve much into the benefits of engaging in ethical marketing, but rather focuses on the general economic and social benefits of aggregate marketing system. Perhaps the greatest benefit a firm can accrue from ethical marketing activity is not only propelling the

aspect forward, but that it may never be entangled in a legal lawsuit or ethical dilemma that can lead to losses and unnecessary cover up expenses.

Marketing and economic development

Aggregate marketing system has largely benefited the area of economic development. The articles argue that marketing is an entrepreneur and an organizer of resources. Areas with increased population in marketing tend to have a higher Gross Domestic product. In support of this argument, Patterson (2012) note that on an average of £1 spent on advertising- a form of marketing- the UK economy gains £6. This implies that for £16 billion of UK advertising in 2011, £100 was generated for the UK economy.

Advertising in UK helps export more than £2 billion in addition to presenting a strong international recognition where the UK can export a wide range of goods and services. This type of marketing has successfully supported advertising sectors of the economy such as photography, film production, music and entertainment. Patterson states that there are over 550 000 people employed by advertising, or involved in creation and production of advertising (2012).

Through marketing practices such as advertising, businesses are able to deliver a wide range of innovative and high quality products and service that can help match buyers and sellers more efficiently. This allows business with novel ideas to succeed faster and in a unique manner (Binsardi and Ekwulugo, 2003). The revue generated form advertising provides help provide valuable services to consumer’s such as news, entertainment and travel information.

These services are highly beneficial to the economy as they support online and high street sales. Nonetheless, it’s insufficient to define the role of marketing in terms of advertising alone. The role is broader with a critical role in the making of key economical functions. It’s at the core of diferent cycles of competition and innovation.

The treatment of aggregate marketing economy, according to Willkie and Moore (1999) is a complex political context. Government policies help determine opportunities for the contribution of marketing to the society (Theorell, 1996). Governments will usually pursue five possibly contradictory goals: income distribution, price control, payments balance and fuller employment. In social terms, marketing must be ethical and embedded in the society’s culture.

However this can be difficulty where diferent cultures fail to synchronize with prevailing marketing systems. Certain consumer characteristics like handling of finance, saving, ethical orientation and persuasion must be learned for the marketing system to function well.

Marketing has a critical effect on the aggregate demand although so many business persons have not realized the full contribution of marketing to the wellbeing of the economy (Min and Mentzer, 2000). Kinnear (1994) argues the reason is that benefits are not seen in the classic macroeconomic equation. They fail to look into efficiencies and skills form wholesaling, retailing and logistics.

The aggregate supply depends on capital stock, labor, raw materials and technology. Willkie and Moore (1999) argue that if economists’ equation were to identify the effects autonomous consumption and the value of marketing efforts in the economic system would be clear. This would in the end stimulate interest in calibrating that magnitude of these conditions.

Both regional and national marketing are a powerful tool for economic development. When done properly, regional marketing has the potential to attract foreign and domestic investment through effective policies (Bordaskaya, 2012; Thorne and Ferrell, 2002.). The marketing will further lead to preservation and development of intellectual capacity through the development of science and education.

Other benefits range from creation of favorable conditions for the development of small and medium sized firms, enlarging of existing institutions for economic and social expansion. Additionally, marketing encourages increased production by organizing and operating networks for communication and exchange (Weerawardena, 2003).

The equalization of demand and supply occurs through transport, storage and price where a special connectivity joins different locales in larger market. This ensures there is a place to provide efficiencies of scale and reduce the price of goods and services for the consumers. With time, these will serve as springboard for marketing and entrepreneurs.

Contributions to Buyers from Specific Marketing Activities

The article agrees that there are numerous competing firms in the aggregate system at time that presents uncountable benefits to the society in parallel. To understand the scope of these benefits, the article starts by examining the concept of utility. Distributing series add more value to the economy than production, and elementary utility which refers to extraction of crops and raw materials is arguably beyond market purview.

Other form of utility results from operations where marketing activities contribute by supplying essential inputs to the production process and the provision of insights from the marketplace. Place utility on the other hand represents the value added by offering goods needed by the buyers while marketing utility contributes to time utility by preplanning, and promotion activities. This ensures customers obtain goods when they need them. The final utility is possession utility which is offered through marketing transactions and allows customers use goods for the right purpose.

Marketers have paid significant attention to the purchase process given that they benefit from payments of purchases. Yet, the benefits received by customers result from consumption. Interestingly, each usage occasion creates an opportunity for another delivery from the system. The consumers will get multiple benefits from single purchase since one product can present more than one benefit. For example, a car can not only provide transportation service, but also music entertainment or shelter when it’s raining.

Also, facilitation of transaction process is one of the most powerful aspects of the marketing system in any given society. This saves consumers time and effort while maximizing purchase opportunities. Some of these benefits include extended store hours, free parking, stocked shelves, displays ad smooth checkout. Process for buyers credit enables some of the expensive purchases to be realized which would have otherwise been delayed. The channels of distributions at entry point for new products and services.

Ethical aspects of marketing

It’s not easy to understand the numerous benefits and implications of marketing without looking at the interplay between the ethical and legal aspects of the sector. Although the article fails to sufficiently diagnose ethical marketing and its role in the society, there is a clear argument by the critics of an aggregate marketing system. Some of these practices noted by the Willkie and Moore (1999) include stress conformity and promotion of materialism.

Furthermore, marketing discourages participation in non-economic activities like arts while undermining family ties, altering socialization and the enabling the practice of manipulative persuasion. Additionally, aggregate marketing leads to creation of artificial needs and wants, causes depletion of resources through continued exploitation of resources (Caudill and Murphy, 2000).

To maintain their competitive advantage and maximize market presence, firms might be entangled in illegal and unethical practices. Harris (2001) notes that marketing is either part of the law, or subject to the law. Consumers should be concerned about marketing of products and how companies present information (Carrigan and, 2001; Shaw, and Shiu, 2003.).

How do oil producing firm’s influence environmental research that goes against increased carbon dioxide emission? What is the role of big pharmaceuticals in health related researches? Do alcohol manufactures have a hand in research that supports moderate alcohol consumption? Even if the article seemed to avoid this aspect of marketing, there is a need for consumers to question the morality of marketing practices noting that many firms are primarily driven by desire make more profit.

According to Friedman (2000), firms are plunged in a universe of relationships where there are many stakeholders. The emergence of global groups of stakeholders has further complicated the globalization scenario. The competition has seen companies rush to identify creative and workable solutions to create a competitive edge. Marketing ethics therefore becomes a prerequisite for running any type of activity in the market place.

Verhezen (2005) adds that the role of ethics in marketing has been understood using two approaches. The first states that business executives have a sole responsibility to increase the shareholders’ value. The article contends that ethical business activities are rewarding, suggesting that choosing to engage in ethical marketing can enhance shareholder wealth. Due to the sensitivity of ethics and its implications, governments have lately established strict regulation measures to protect consumers from unethical marketing behavior (Azmi, 2006; Eon and Van Vuuren, 2010).

However these regulations are not sufficient enough. According to Geoghegan & Azmi (2005), a company that boasts of having a good regulation must have found ways to fit the ethical values of an individual agent and when it’s appropriate. One of the major functions of marketing is to create a positive corporate reputation.

Companies will spend a lot of money to improve their public image but all the effort is meaningless if it’s unethical. Fan (2005) defines s corporate reputation in terms of various attributes that form in the consumer’s perception about a products reliability, goodness, trustworthiness and reputation. Corporate reputation has also been referred to by (Fombrun, 2000) as being concerned with how people feel about a company based on the information they have the firms activities and past performance.

Conclusion

As seen in the article, Marketing’s Contributions to Society, marketing plays a key role in the development of social economic activity of any given society. There are several benefits ranging from advertisers, transporters, distributers manufacturers and wholesalers who get employed in marketing activities. This in turn leads to creation employment in news, entertainment, fashion, design and transport sectors.

Willkie and Moore have consistently held that marketing is the key driver of the economy that leads to economic development. If well played out well, marketing has the potential to attract foreign and domestic investment for the upward mobility of the society. Furthermore, marketing is a leading promoter of competition and product differentiation.

Coupled with innovation, marketing helps new entrants penetrate the market and remain competitive. Not only do consumers demand the products at a higher rate thorough marketing, but also become price sensitive. This benefit can be seen clearly in every market type ranging from transportation, flight, entertainment, tourism and manufacturing. At the core of marketing are the legal ad ethical aspects that have the capacity to ruin or polish any firm’s corporate reputation. Global competition and increased awareness of product features by the consumer’s has resulted to unhealthy competition for market dominance. However, only firms that understand proper marketing strategies while engaging in ethical and legal activities can sustain their customer base for a long time.

Reference

Azmi, R.A., 2006. Business ethics as competitive advantage for companies in the globalization era.

Binsardi, A. and Ekwulugo, F., 2003. International marketing of British education: research on the students’ perception and the UK market penetration. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 21(5), pp.318-327.

Bondarskaya, T.А., The Role Of Marketing In Socio-Economic Development Of The Territory. Tambov State Technical University, Tambov

Carrigan, M. and Attalla, A., 2001. The myth of the ethical consumer–do ethics matter in purchase behaviour?. Journal of consumer marketing, 18(7), pp.560-578.

Caudill, E.M. and Murphy, P.E., 2000. Consumer online privacy: Legal and ethical issues. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 19(1), pp.7-19.

Eon Rossouw, D. and Van Vuuren, L., 2010. Business ethics. Oxford University Press, 2010.pp 341. Available at: https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Business_Ethics.html?id=cXn2RAAACAAJ

Fan, Y., 2005. Ethical branding and corporate reputation. Corporate communications: An international journal, 10(4), pp.341-350.

Fombrun, C. (2000) “The value to be found in corporate reputation”, Financial Times, 4 December

Friedman, Douglas (2000). “Ethics needed to be Part of the Cutting Edge”, Erlanger, Vol. 104, pp. 2-14.

Geoghegan, J. and Azmi, R. (2005). “Corporate Governance Enforcement: Between Institutional Investors and Social Pressure”, the Fifth Annual Conference of the Faculty of Commerce – Alexandria University on Corporate Governance, Alexandria, pp. 545-560.

Harris, H., 2001. Making business ethics a competitive advantage. Hawke Institute, University of South Australia.

Min, S. and Mentzer, J.T., 2000. The role of marketing in supply chain management. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 30(9), pp.765-787.

Moore, Elizabeth S. and William L. Wilkie (2000), “Criticisms, Con- troversies and Problems in the Aggregate Marketing System,” working paper, Graduate School of Business, University of Notredame

Patterson, Gavin . 2012. Advertising Pays: How advertising fuels the UK economy, Deloitte LLP, Advertising Association, London

Shaw, D. and Shiu, E., 2003. Ethics in consumer choice: a multivariate modelling approach. European journal of marketing, 37(10), pp.1485-1498.

Thorelli, Hans B. (1996), “Marketing, Open Markets and Political Democracy: The Experience of the PACRIM Countries,” Ad- vances in International Marketing, 7, 33

Thorne McAlister, D. and Ferrell, L., 2002. The role of strategic philanthropy in marketing strategy. European Journal of Marketing, 36(5/6), pp.689-705.

Verhezen, Peter (2005). “Integrity as Good Reputation”, International Conference on Ethics and Integrity of Governance: A Transatlantic Dialogue, Belgium

Weerawardena, J., 2003. The role of marketing capability in innovation-based competitive strategy. Journal of strategic marketing, 11(1), pp.15-35.

Wilkie, W.L. and Moore, E.S., 1999. Marketing’s contributions to society. The Journal of Marketing, pp.198-218.

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RESPONSIBLE TOURISM AS THE KEY TO ETHICAL TOURISM PRACTICES

Responsible Tourism

Responsible tourism is one of the key areas related to ethics and marketing in the tourism sector. In the article, Tourists’ Accounts of Responsible Tourism, Caruana et al. (2014) define responsible tourism by looking at the benefits gained by the host country, the ability to minimize impacts, engagement of the local community in decision making, and conservation of cultural heritage. The definitions aid in enforcing responsible tourism among the consumers.

Some of the major issues raised by the article about ethics in tourism were: participation in responsible tourism, social economy and environment, ethical marketing, and motivations factors for ethical tourism. Findings from the article revealed that responsible tourism is a concept involving market of heterogeneous consumers. By participating in responsible tourism, consumers and marketing firms can significantly improve ethical tourism behavior while promoting development, social interaction, and understanding with the host country.

Participating in Responsible Tourism

The accounts of tourists on responsible tourism can be defined using their experience and degree of involvement in responsible tourism. According to Winchenbach (2013), one of key strategy for developing ethical tourism is human capacity building. However, current literature pays little attention to operations factors that have a direct role in tourism.

Winchenbach notes that trainee’s personal motives, attitudes and the capacity to transmit knowledge can significantly improve transparency within communities. According to Salazar (2012), the society will be fully equipped to influence tourists and firms to practice responsible tourism. Affirmative action and active cooperation at the community level can go a long way in enabling the local community to overcome barriers to responsible tourism.

Consumer’s involvement in ethical tourism is usually dependent on the perceptions of an ideal culture that the consumers identify with. Albeit many tourists expressing participation in responsible tourisms, some engage in low level or no participation at all. It all depends on the attitude, the perception of the host country and moral obligation of the consumers (Liu, 2003).

Some tourists have no business with the commercial or cultural issues of the community around. For example, one might say that relaxing or breaking away from work is what that concerns them and therefore fail to engage responsible tourism activities.

The government and tourism firms have a role in promoting responsible tourism. Drivers, tour guides, and advertisers have a title role in creating awareness to the consumers, supporting the local county and begun obedient to the regulations of tourist’s authorities. The administration should be involved in zone divisions, issuance of licenses to guides and promoting cooperation amount different players.

Murphy (2013) as cited by Breugel (2013) stressed the numerous benefits of local community involvement in the development of responsible tourism. He argued that the industry can be destroyed if tourism and development planning fails to align with the expectations and capabilities of the host country. Although there is no literature in support of realistic ways of engaging the community directly in tourism development, there are several means and discussions on how they can be part of responsive tourism.

Some of these participations range from decision making and involvement in benefits so the tourism, showcasing of the society’s culture and assisting in tourism awareness campaigns (Bramwell, B. and Sharman, 1999; Stamboulis and Skayannis, 2003).

People will be more inclined to take part in ethical tourism activities like marketing if they are involved in discussion and decision-making process to voice their opinions (Holden, 2003). They will also volunteer in information sharing, interpretation and other tourism related activities and events. It is recommended to articulate the community values and generate local support for tourism development.

Factors to consider while planning for community involvement range from assessing the current commitment procedures, making first meetings with members of the community where issues of responsive tourism can be addressed, and gathering information. Collecting of data is done by reviewing the existing materials about trusts and determining whether there is sufficient information available for tourist interests.

Community meeting should also be conducted where proposals, opportunities, plans and feedback can be presented. The results of the meeting can be distributed to the public using relevant media while soliciting citizen’s feedback.

Social economy and environment considerations

There are a variety of economic, social and environmental factors associated with tourism. Understanding responsible tourism will help organizations and governments plan for sustainable tourism that takes care of the environment, economy and the social aspect of the host country (Stynes, 1997). Tourism leads to increased sales, the creation of job opportunities, tax revenues and income (Briedenhann, and Wickens, 2004; Frechtling, 2000).

Some of the direct effects on the economy are emergence and sustenance of lodgings, restaurants, and entertainment and transportation sectors. There are more direct impacts of tourism on the community that are quite clear. Nonetheless, responsible tourism is the key to productive and increased economic activities in an area (Wang and Davidson, 2010).

A transportation firm that attracts about 50 tourists every day can get more consumers to positive results from responsible traveler’s practices. The firm, for example, might get new 50 visitors in a day and double its daily income. If each visitor spends $50 for transport, the business will experience a positive change from $ 2500 to $ 5000. If let’s say the new boom is sustained for the next 100 days, the region will, therefore, accumulate half a million in cash sales.

While the amount will be distributed among retailer’s owners, restaurants, and entertainers proportionally, another fraction will be channeled to cover for goods purchase and allow a significant amount of growth development of the region.

Ethical marketing

The importance of culture is critical in the ethical marketing of tourism (Gurel and Yaman 2006). In support of this idea, Fleckenstein and Huebsch (1999) argue that cultural difference is one of the top issues of international tourism. It may have a disproportional impact while making ethical and fruitful business decisions in a global setting (Payne and Dimanche (1996).

Variations in the perceived importance of ethical marketing and social responsibility as the key determinants of a tourists firm’s effectiveness can be explained by the country difference. As Singhapakdi (2001) notes, these perceived variations include cultural differences and the variances in the economic environment as well as the firm’s climate, gender, and age.

Marketing ethics in tourism has been complicated by the idea that marketers must deal with a heterogeneous audience who possess different cultural attributes. The failure to apply ethical marketing may lead to two extremes. First, there will be the breach of ethics that will end to consumer contempt of the product, and the firm will suffer long term consequences. The next extreme will be immediate damage to both the individual and the host country.

Motivation factors for ethical tourism

The article indicated that tourists engage in moral tourism where ” Our respondents also involved in what we might refer to as ‘morality plays,’ wherein the ethicality of their holidays was dramatized into tensions around nature, culture, and economy” (Caruana et al. 2014 pg. 125). This engagement was categorized into fundamental or extrinsic goals. The former refers the type goals meant to make money and are directed from the inside.

They are aimed at controlling people and achieving self-esteem needs such as social recognition. The later refers to outer directed ends that include achieving real social interactions, making contributions related to the development and helping others. Intrinsic goals also encompass delighting in volunteer programs and personal growth efforts. The interviews carried out revealed that tourists demonstrated a wide variety of themes and the respondents could position their experiences of responsible tourism as directed to immediate personal growth and family unions.

Extrinsic goal direction

There were several cases where tourists expressed self-interest motives as the reason for participation in responsible tourism. These motivations were partly connected to the issue of responsible tourism in ethical marketing. The details and information presented to tourists through advertising were seen to have a huge impact on the role and motives of tourists in taking part in responsible tourism.

Ethical marketing was cited as one of the factors that attracted respondents to taking part in meaningful activities. Consumers see the message and feel compelled to act. They believe what they hear and see and understand what to expect from it. According to Debicka and Jastrzabek (2014), responsibility is depicted as a conduit of personal assurance and a way of avoiding commercialization.

It links to personal benefits of a quality holiday filled with good value. Instead of using commercial links to access services such as food and accommodation, some tourist prefers to explore on their own and seek out new places. While they might be sensitive about ethical issues related to such endeavors, they are comfortable spending money on services that looked decent and appropriate.

Responsible tourism (Ford and Acott, 2015) presents consumers with a good value proposition and serves them individual goals. Notably, a lot of tourists look for services that fit their individual needs and tailored specifically to meet their expectations. Mass marketing (Goodwin, 2001) is not favorable due to its perceived failure to offer customized information.

Consumers will always seek out things that can be well planned and pertains to their unique tastes. If the tourists desire to portray individuality and difference similar to their inner motivations that make them concerned about mass marketing (Ford, 1994). The construction of extrinsic goals is shaped by situational factors such as children, friends, and spouses who the consumers have duties to live up to.

For example, a tourist who brings along her husband and children will have obligations to them and therefore seek out to engage in responsible tourism. This motivation would be different if she came alone. By bringing their husband children, people will effectively be ethical, take part in community engagement, prove to be good parents and take part in educative initiatives.

Intrinsic goals

Tourists explicitly express more intrinsic and outer directed goals within responsible tourism. In this type of ethical marketing, some consumers will seek to participate in conserving the environment, share the wealth and help others access quality life. One respondent interviewed in the research, Tourists’ Accounts of Responsible Tourism by Caruana et al. (2014) stated that going as responsible travelers will benefit the host country a lot.

Some will participate in responsible tourism to raise awareness of the positive and adverse effects they might have on the economy and the vulnerable social community. It’s conversely difficult to interact with the local community and tourists are advised to remain in the hotels if overcoming the challenges looks impossible. Meeting the locals is one of the most effective ways of understanding one’s impact on that community.

Conclusion

Responsible tourism has a broad range of cultural, economic and environmental benefits varying from job creation, revenue generation, to increased sales. The article on responsible tourism revealed that consumers do not have fixed perceptions of ethics, marketing, and social issues on travel products. The market is heterogeneous and defines responsible tourism about aspects of their behavior, interactions with local community and their impacts on the host country.

There were several themes identified by the article ranging from motivations for engagement in ethical and responsible tourism, marketing and experience. Consumers take part in ethical issues by being part of responsible tourism. Tourists’ involvement in ethical tourism depends on their perceived notion of the culture they identify with. Some take part in high-level issues of marketing, social and moral matters while others do not participate at all.

The motives could be extrinsic, meaning they are personal in nature. They could also be intrinsic where people engage in ethical tourism to help others, spread cultural values and be part of development agendas. Ethical issues in tourism should not be left to policy makers, governments and marketing firms alone. All players including tourists, members of the local community, marketers, environmentalists, government agencies, and businesses should take the time to part of ensuring tourism is conducted in a responsible, social friendly and ethical manner.

References

Bramwell, B. and Sharman, A., 1999. Tourism policymaking. Annals of tourism research, 26(2), pp.392-415.

Briedenhann, J. and Wickens, E., 2004. Tourism for the economic development. Tourism Management, 25(1), pp.71-79.

Caruana, R., Glazer, S., Crane, A. and McCabe, S., 2014. Tourists’ accounts of responsible tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 46, pp.115-129.

Debicka, O. and Oniszczuk-Jastrzabek, A., 2014, January. Responsible tourism in Poland. In Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management in Opatija. Biennial International Congress. Tourism & Hospitality Industry (p. 189). The university of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism & Hospitality Management.

Fleckenstein, M., and P. Huebsch 1999 Ethics in Tourism-Reality or Hallucination. Journal of Business Research 19:137–142.

Ford, A. and Scott, T., 2015. Responsible tourism: A guide for tourism and sustainability in small-scale fisheries and agri-food.

Ford, R., and W. Richardson.,1994. Ethical Decision Making: Review of the Empirical Literature. Journal of Business Ethics 13:205–211.

Frechtling, D.C., 2000. Assessing the Impacts of Travel and Tourism-Measuring Economic Benefits’. International Library of Critical Writings in Economics, 121, pp.9-27.

Goodwin, H., 2001. Responsible tourism and the market. International Centre for Responsible Tourism

Holden, A., 2003. In need of innovative environmental ethics for tourism?. Annals of Tourism Research, 30(1), pp.94-108.

Liu, Z., 2003. Sustainable tourism: A assessment Review. sustainable tourism, 11(6), pp.459-475.

Murphy, P.E., 2013. Tourism: A community approach (RLE Tourism). Routledge.

Payne, D., and F. Dimanche 1996 Towards a Code of Conduct for the Tourism Industry: An Ethics Model.Journal of Business Ethics 15:997–1007.

Salazar, N.B., 2012. Community-based cultural tourism: issues, threats, and opportunities. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 20(1), pp.9-22

Stamboulis, Y. and Skayannis, P., 2003. Innovation strategies and technology for experience-based travel. Tourism Management, 24(1), pp.35-43.

Stynes, D.J., 1997. Economic effects of tourism: a handbook for tourism professionals. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois, Tourism Research Laboratory, pp.1-32.

Van Breugel, L., 2013. Community-based tourism: Local participation and perceived impacts. Radboud University Nijmegen

Wang, Y. and Davidson, M.C., 2010. A review of micro-analyses of tourist expenditure. Current Issues in Tourism, 13(6), pp.507-524.

Winchenbach, Anke., 2013). Taking Responsibility for Responsible Tourism in Communities – A Local Perspective. King’s College, University of London.

Yaman, H.R., and Gurel, E., 2006. Ethical ideologies of tourism marketers. Annals of Tourism Research, 33(2), pp.470-489.

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Ethics in Business Essay

Ethics in Business

Introduction

This paper intends to discuss ethics in business. In order to develop a detailed discussion, the essay will develop a program for Company X’s ethics.

Acceptable and Unacceptable behavior

Notably, operations at Company X will be guided by applicable standards along with procedures whose elements are as indicated below.

Walking the walk:

It is expected that managers and high-rank officers of Company X, should influence the tone of the organization, through demonstrating in actions what they are requiring of junior officers at Company X. Thus, managers and high-rank officers should be an example to junior officers (Giddy, 2015).

Trusting one’s own feelings:

When something does not feel right, then there is a high likelihood of that thing not being right (Michalos, 2013). Thus, if any employee of Company X is not sure of how to act in a given situation, it is recommended that the employee speaks openly, in order to gain guidance regarding all questions he/she might have or advice for any subject relating to Company X.

Retaliation is not allowed:

At Company X retaliation against an employee reporting an ongoing policy violation case or a possible policy violation case should not be tolerated. However, disciplinary action should be subjected to employees of Company X who intentionally fail to give information regarding an ongoing policy violation case at Company X or gives false information regarding the matter. Hence, all employees are mandated with upholding the values of Company X.

Avoidable conduct:

Both the high-rank officers and junior officers at Company X should avoid performing actions and uttering words that may be assumed to be intimidating to others, unpleasant or improper. At Company X all actions by an employee that offend another employee or unreasonably cause disruption to another employee in his/her working capacity are considered as harassment. Thus, all employees are mandated with reporting harassment cases (Poruthiyil, 2013).

Dress Code:

All employees of Company X should dress in a way that acts as Company X’s mirror to the society. Additionally, employees should dress in a way that does not unreasonably cause disruption to another employee in his/her working capacity.

Training Program

Company X will also be providing different training programs for its employees, as a way of providing employees with the chance of exploring and discussing the policies of Company X, along with different procedures required by Company X. Furthermore, training programs will also help in ensuring that the rules of Company X are always being followed. Consequently, components of the training programs are discussed below.

Training frequency:

Company X will be providing training programs for its employees two times annually. Generally, the first training program will be done at the beginning of every year, while the second training program will be done six months after the previous training program. Moreover, each training program will run for a period not less than two weeks. The people responsible for conducting the training programs include Company X’s management officials and visiting speakers who are temporarily invited to join Company X’s management team.

Gift Acceptance:

Among the programs to be regularly provided training on is gift acceptance. Company X highly discourages taking of gifts from clients in form of bribe in order to give the client favored treatment. Hence, the programs will train employees what government policies are in place regarding gift acceptance, and how the government policies align with policies of Company X. Moreover, the programs will also illustrate existing penalties by both the government and Company X regarding gift acceptance. Notably, acceptance of gifts plays a role in clients’ decision making (Vazquez, 2016).

Sexual harassment:

Most of the cases reported regarding harassment in many organizations are based on sexual harassment (Wolcott, 2014). Thus, Company X will be providing training programs on sexual harassment to its employees. The program will involve making employees aware of their constitutional rights and the protections provided to them by Company X’s policies. Furthermore, the programs will educate employees on where they should report any case of sexual harassment. Notably, the aim of providing training programs on sexual harassment to employees is to advocate for employees equal treatment.

Confidential Information:

Training programs at Company X will also illustrate the need for maintaining the company’s confidential information. Different laws relating to confidentiality of companies information are provided for in the constitution. Moreover, the policies of Company X also provide guidelines relating to confidentiality of the company’s information.

Thus, it is important to educate employees regularly on the penalties accorded to confidentiality of the company’s information by the constitution and Company X’s policies. The aim of educating employees regarding confidentiality of the company’s information is to ensure that they do not have a conflict between their personal interests and the interests of the company (Wolcott, 2014).

Monitoring of misconduct

Monitoring of misconduct at Company X will be done through a policy of Company X allowing employees to confidentially talk to the company’s manager of human resource. Furthermore, employees will be allowed to secretly report misconduct cases. Notably, Company X will mostly address misconduct in form of discrimination of employees, and sexual harassment of employees.

Furthermore, Company X will also address causes of hostile working conditions, abuse of the internet, employees stealing the company’s property, violation of Company X’s policies regarding breaks, and employee misconduct when attending to clients. Outstandingly, monitoring will be conducted by the officer responsible for managing human resource at Company X.

Reporting misconduct

Reporting of misconduct at Company X will involve a thorough process. The officer responsible for managing human resource at Company X will be mandated with documenting of all comments made by complaining employees and the evidence that the employees provide regarding the complaint. Moreover, the officer responsible for managing human resource at Company X will be required to identify if the employee who complains are raised against has a disciplinary record with Company X.

Thus, before engaging the employee who complains are raised against the officer responsible for managing human resource at Company X is expected to interview co-workers who also include other managers. Notably, employees will be allowed to report their co-workers who engage in acts of violation of Company X’s policies. The employees will do the reporting through a confidential talk with the officer responsible for managing human resource at Company X.

Ethics program audit

The ethics program at Company X will be audited in order to determine its effectiveness. Therefore, different tools will be used in performing the audit. The first foundation is detailed foundation benefits, where the actual behavior of Company X’s employees will be compared to the policies of Company X. The second tool is the development of metrics where ethics goals will be developed for Company X and reviews made annually regarding the ethics goals performance, with compensation being made on ethical behavior.

The third tool is creating a team which is cross-functional that includes the officer responsible for managing human resource at Company X. Notably, since training programs for employees of Company X will be provided two times in every year, then audits regarding ethics programs will be done once per year. Mostly, audits will be done towards the end of the year. Hence, reviews will be made by a team which is cross-functional that includes the officer responsible for managing human resource at Company X.

After the audit, improvements will be applied through developing a code which prioritizes ethical performance. Furthermore, the management team of Company X will be mandated with demonstrating leadership in upholding ethical values of Company X.

Company X’s employees will also be trained on how to act more ethically with different routes of supporting the employees being created, after which the effectiveness of the program for ethics at Company X is measured again. Consequently, communication of changes at Company X regarding ethical behavior will involve training of employees and role modeling acts by Company X’s management.

Conclusion

Ethics determine in a great way how a business performs. Consequently, the essay above develops a discussion on ethics in business by building up a detailed discussion on a program for Company X’s ethics. Furthermore, the essay provides applicable standards for Company X aimed at guiding the conduct of employees at Company X’s workplace.

The essay also illustrates what a training program by Company X should encompass. Moreover, the essay has also provided the need for conduct monitoring and illustrated how misconduct reporting should be done at Company X. Markedly, since upholding of ethics at Company X is expected to be done through a program for ethics the essay provides an appropriate way of performing the ethics program audit.

References

Giddy, P. (2015). Proportionality reasoning in business ethics. African Journal Of Business Ethics, 8(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.15249/8-2-88

Michalos, A. (2013). The Business Case for Asserting the Business Case for Business Ethics. Journal Of Business Ethics, 114(4), 599-606. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1706-2

Poruthiyil, P. (2013). Weaning Business Ethics from Strategic Economism: The Development Ethics Perspective. Journal Of Business Ethics, 116(4), 735-749. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1818-8

Vazquez, P. (2016). Family Business Ethics: At the Crossroads of Business Ethics and Family Business. Journal Of Business Ethics. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3171-1

Wolcott, G. (2014). Business Ethics and Ideals. Business Ethics Journal Review, 36-41. http://dx.doi.org/10.12747/bejr2014.02.06

Wolcott, G. (2014). The New (Old) Case for the Ethics of Business. Journal Of Business Ethics, 132(1), 127-146. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2314-5

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Ethical Marketing framework: Case Study of Land Rover

Ethical Marketing framework

Case Study

An Analysis of Land Rover’s marketing activities using ethical framework

Land rover is a car company that is owned by Jaguar Land rover, which is a multinational car manufacturer. The company specializes in four wheel drive, and is currently one of the largest car manufacture in the world, operating in more than 100 countries.uit is one of several auto manufactures that are owned by Tata industry. In 2013, Jaguar land rover was crowned the Responsible Business of the Year Award due to its investment in new technologies that reduce emissions.

This helped the company gain recognition worldwide; therefore increasing is sales and profit turn out. This is one of the key distinguishing factors of the company from other manufacturers. Another factor that makes the company stand out is its undertaking in corporate social responsibility, where it has empowered many young people globally through helping them learn engineering and other technical courses.

Despite its many achievements, the company faces many ethical issues especially regarding its usage of leather to manufacture interiors. Leather is a major cause of environment pollution due to the harmful chemicals used driving tanning.

Ethical issues at stake

Ethical standards are critical to the reputation and brand image of any firm that seeks to retain its market base. Contemporary ethical issues revolve around marketing behavior, such as false advertising, stereotyping, subliminal messages, post purchase dissonance, exploitation of workers and environmental pollution. However, practicing ethical standards will not only guide an organization through its daily operations but increase production and corporate reputation (Kelchne, 2015). Ethical issues relate to various problems that will require an organization to choose between many available alternatives. One of the main ethical issues facing Land River is its use of leather for interior designs.

An ethical challenge facing Land rover is that it advocates for protection of the environment, yet its usage of leather does the contrary. The company terms the products used in the manufacturing processes as ecofriendly, but its usage of leather results in harmful chemicals that are bad for the environment. Leather has been regarded by the US Environmental Protection Agency as the greatest form of pollution to waterways and the environment in general. Leather is a hide of dead animals, and it therefore decomposes naturally.

To prevent the decomposition, leather companies use very harmful chemicals which when released to the environment, can pose serious health problems as they are great pollutants. Due to this, the company fails to maintain ethical standards that advocate against usage of harmful chemicals and pollution of the environment.

Harmful chemicals used by Land Rover

Due to the use of leather in interior designs, land rover uses harmful chemicals to naturally decompose the leather, which are great environmental pollutants. However, leather is made from animals hide and is vulnerable to decomposition. To prevent this decomposition, the materials are treated using harmful chemicals like trivalent chromium suphide and other pollutants ranging from sodium sulfhydration and cyanide.

The leather is also subjected to procedures that involve large amounts of pollutants like hair, salt, lime sludge, and protein. The use of leather not only puts the lives of Land Rover consumers at risk but also endangers the surrounding community by polluting the air, water supplies, and the land. As a result, the company fails to achieve the good rating in pollution and toxic category and hence experiences a diminishing public image and lost support from animal rights advocates.

There has been a wide concern over the significant range of chemicals in the interior of vehicles by Land rover and sometimes the chemicals exceed the normal level. The drivers who drive these vehicles are exposed to these harmful chemicals mostly through inhalation. This could cause a range of health problems ranging from cancer, breathing problems and allergies. These harmful chemicals by the leather manufactures include:

Trivalent chromium sulphate

During leather tanning, the manufactures use trivalent chromium sulphate, which contains high levels of chromium. Chromium has been acknowledged as one of the most toxic chemicals used by leather manufactures. T5he interiors of land rover are manufactured using this toxic chemical, which poses serious threats to the wellbeing of all those involved in the company affairs. Usage of chromium has been prohibited in most countries due to its toxicity and the health hazard it causes. The fact that Land Rover uses leather to make its interior decoration implies that the company does not practice ethical guidelines.

Arsenic

Arsenic is a toxic chemical used during leather tanning. The chemical has been associated with lung cancer for workers who are daily exposed to it. It is a harmful; chemical which when in contact with the skin, causes burning sensations and could have long term effects.

Animal rights

Another ethical issue facing land rover is failure to advocate for animal rights, especially since it uses leather which is a slaughter house by product. Animal Rights Organizations are against companies who manufacture their products using leather as doing so is killing innocent animals. The company does not engage in animal protection and this reflects negatively on it.

Leather comes from animals such as goat, buffalo, ostrich, lamb, and deer, among others. Other places also use kangaroos to manufacture bicycle tyres. These animals are endangered as they are subject to killing and slaughter by leather organizations. Land rover is subject to this ethical challenge since killing of innocent animals is a not ethical. The process of tanning entails using chemicals stabilizes the animal skins so they will not decompose.

Ethical principles

Ethical principles guide organizations to act in a professional manner so as to balance ethical considerations with the relevant professional values and to deal with consumers ethically. Businesses that behave ethically have been seen to have higher consumer loyalty than those who do not.

These businesses are concerned about the environmental issues surrounding them, and deal with day to day basis in the required ethical and professional standards. There are four major principles of ethics guiding organizations and these include the principle of autonomy, the beneficence principle, non-maleficience and the principle of justice.

The first principle is the principle of autonomy which states that organizations have a duty to respect the autonomy of other persons no matter the circumstances. It gives people a duty of not interfering with the decision of others but instead to empower and support those that they are responsible for. There should be honesty in their dealings and keeping promises made. Land Rover Motors, for instance, has an obligation to its consumers and all other stakeholders to provide quality designs from products that are safe and that conform to the laws of the environment.

The principle of justice states that everyone has an obligation to provide other people with whatever we owe them, or whatever they deserve accordingly. All people should be treated fairly and equally and no unfair burdens should be imposed on others. Organization wise, all organizations should treat all their stakeholders fairly by providing them with quality products, as they truly deserve. Doing so will foster good relationships with all those involved in the operations of the organization.

Beneficience principle states that we have a duty to bring about good in all our doings. People must take all necessary steps to prevent harm, by any means possible. The automotive industry has an obligation to use non toxic substances in their products, and provide commodities that are totally safe, to prevent any harm to the customers and workers handling them, and pollution of the environment by undertaking proper waste disposal . By using harmful substances in leather tanning, Land Rover goes against this ethical principle.

Principle of nonmaleficience states that people have an obligation to not harm others. If harm can be avoided, we are obligated to prevent or minimize the harm. We should not increase the risk of harm to others and should employ all necessary measures to prevent harm. For instance, organizations that pollute the environment go contrary to this principle. The company should therefore engage in other ecofriendly activities and do away with leather.

Ethical theories

Egoism theory

Egoism model states that an act is morally right if the person making the decision decides to pursue short goals and long term interests (Crane, 2007). Ethical theory, according to Ardakanini and Sharraf (2014) is one the most significant theories in the study of normative ethics. The theory gives people a right to increase their benefits in any situation.

However, the provisions made by this theory seem to approve Jaguar Land Rover’s decision to replace the plastic interior material with a leather ones despite the negative effects it may have on the environment. The moral significance of any action is described based on the same goal and only applies to a man who can decide between valuable and invaluable goals.

The life of living things is the primary criterion for determining their moral value; living things must make choices which make possibility the achievement of the concept of value. Ethical egoism is founded on the idea that life is the criterion of value for all living things; therefore any action taken by man must be directed at preserving life (Hartenian and Lilly, 2009).

Any action that undermines living things and leads to one’s destruction is unacceptable. This approach considers plants to be the simplest among all living things; they were created to keep themselves alive automatically and involuntary. This leads to the conclusion that any marketing activity that results to endangering of life, such as using leather interior with harmful chemicals, is unethical according to egoistic approach. Also, materials employed by Jaguar Land Rover have serious implications to living creatures in the air, land, and water.

Utilitarianism

According to the utilitarian theory of ethics, a state of affairs is the only thing that exhibits value. Utilitarian deny the claim that some actions have an inherent moral dimension, as deontologists believe. If an act has a wrong or right, then it can only be derivative, given by the right or bad states of affairs it produces. The core idea of utilitarian, according to Hinman (2014), is that an act should always be undertaken in a way that it will provide the greatest amount of good in the world.

Morality, which is about producing good consequences, exists to make sure the world is a better place. People should strive to do whatever will bring the most benefit. Utilitarianism is one of the consequentialism perspectives which state that people should seek the greatest happiness for the greatest number. The determinant of the value of an action is the amount of joy it brings, the number of people it gives happiness and the time that happiness lasts. This theory suggests that people find the meaning of ethics by considering the consequences of actions they take. Something is right if it brings goodness to the greatest number of individuals (Mil, 1993).

Ethical implications

Land Rover is a big multinational company that is composed of a variety of both internal and external employees, and these are the most affected by the ethical issues facing the company. The company has interactive relationship with all its stakeholders and the ethical challenges could affect these stakeholders negatively. These stakeholders include customers, suppliers, the government, employees, and the general public among others. Stakeholders are all the people directly or indirectly affected by the operations of n organizations, and these stand to be affected by the ethical issues facing the company.

The above woes facing Jaguar Land Rover have critical implications for not only then stakeholders, but for the company’s marketing activities, and can greatly influence how audiences respond to marketing messages. While the use of leather for the interior was justified as a reason to avoid giving consumers plastics, the alternative chosen is not only harmful but also pollutes the environment. This comes to the issue of marketing ethics, what is morally right and wrong, and what is ethical marketing and what is not (Smith and Murphy, 2015). It is important in marketing decorum, but also one of the most controversial concepts in marketing

Suppliers

The major ethical issue facing the company is its usage of leather, and the suppliers of these are perhaps the most affected by these ethical challenges. The chemicals used in turning skin into leather are very harmful and a combination of these results in the pollution of the environment. With these issues, the suppliers stand to lose. This is because these ethical issues could make the company result in recalling designs manufactured from leather and use other materials instead.

If this happens, the suppliers will count huge losses, as they will have lost potential customers. The supply of harmful chemicals poses a big ethical issue for the suppliers of these chemicals. With the company accused of using chemicals that pollute the environment, suppliers are faced with a problem on whether their products are really safe.

Customers

The customers are the most affected by the activities of the business. The usage of leather by the company to make interior designs implies that harmful chemicals are used in preventing natural decomposition. This reflects negatively to the consumers because nobody wants to purchase from a company that pollutes the environment.

Customers who advocate fro human rights will not purchase from the company due to the usage of leather, as this encourages the killing of animals. Pollution of the environment by the harmful chemicals used by Land rover will result in the damage of customer’s health, and this will lower the reputation of the company.

Employees

The employees who work in leather tanneries are at a risk of being in contact with the harmful chemicals, which could pose a challenge to their health and general well-being. These workers come in direct contact with the harmful chemicals, which could harm their health in the long run. In fact, many employees die of cancer that is possibly caused from exposure to these toxic chemicals. One major ingredient used in preventing decomposition of leather is Arsenic, which has been associated with lung cancer.

Course of action

Today’s business environment is at a constant state of change, and the consumers have the power to affect the future success of any given company. With these changes, organizations should aim at pleasing the consumers since they have the final say on whether to purchase the products offered by the company. The ethical issues facing Land Rover may reelect negatively to the consumers, who are more attracted to organizations that behave ethically.

Land Rover should thereafter implement measures and strategies that will reduce pollution of the environment, and that advocate for animal’s’ rights. More than ever before, consumers are concerned about ethics and will go fro the companies who care for the environment and the rights of animals. Environmental organizations should intervene in the company.

These should advise against or completely restrict the use of certain ingredients to manufacture their products. The competitors of Lush have come up with amazing products without the use of toxic ingredients, and Lush should also follow suit, so as to remain relevant in the highly competitive industry.

The company should go for more favorable means of tanning, such as vegetable tanned leather. This uses elements such as bark from trees and other natural plants, which pose less environmental risks. This will reduce the effects of harmful chemicals while at the same time protecting the environment. Land Rover should adhere to the rules and regulations that address the usage of harmful chemicals by the leather industries.

The company should also use other industry proven techniques such as recycling. Recycling reduces the levels of harmful chemicals in waste water by more than 21 percent. It involves reclaiming the harmful chemicals, such as chromium and this will capture the original chromium level by 25 percent. Advanced technologies should be used to reduce toxic chemical levels so as to reduce pollution and illnesses resulting from their use.

There are other designs for making interiors that do not involve the use of leather. New technologies and innovations have been implemented by other companies to manufacture parts, which are friendly to the environment. The company should invest in the latest technologies for manufacturing that will see it establish new designs that have no leather in them. Doing so will reduce the usage of toxic chemicals used during leather tanning, and will protect the health of all employees.

Conclusion

Over the past twenty years, changes in technology and introduction of new innovations have led to change in preferences, and today, consumers are keener to purchase produces from ethically responsible company. Land Rover as a multinational company should embrace new methods of production, which are ethical and environmental friendly as this will woo consumers to their side.

It is clear that organizations that are keen on environmental conservation of animal rights have more customers than those who do not. The company should therefore implement new strategies to ensure that they are more ethical in future, and this will lead to an increase in sales.

References

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Beauchamp, T. L. (2001). Philosophical ethics: An introduction to moral philosophy.

Carrigan, M. and Attalla, A., 2001. The myth of the ethical consumer–do ethics matter in purchase behavior?.Journal of consumer marketing, 18(7), pp.560-578.

Crane, A. and Matten, D., 2016. Business Ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.

Dorsey, D., 2013. Consequentialism, Cognitive Limitations, and Moral Theory.Oxford Studies in Normative Ethics, 3.

Ethical consumer (2015). Jaguar Land Rover: Pollution and Toxics. Available at: http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/companystories.aspx?CompanyId=1350992&CategoryId=288190

Grill, K., 2013. Normative and non-normative concepts: Paternalism and libertarian paternalism. In Ethics in Public Health and Health Policy (pp. 27-46).Springer Netherlands.

Hartenian, L.S. and Lilly, B., 2009. Egoism and commitment: a multidimensional approach to understanding sustained volunteering. Journal of Managerial Issues, pp.97-118.

Hinman, L., 2012. Ethics: A Pluralistic approach to moral theory. Nelson Education.

Hunt Shelby, D. and Vitell Scott, M., 1992. The comprehensive theory of marketing ethics: A retrospective and revision. Ethics in marketing.Irwin, Homewood, pp.775-784.

Ingram, R., Skinner, S.J. and Taylor, V.A., 2005. Consumers’ evaluation of unethical marketing behaviors: The role of customer commitment. Journal of Business Ethics, 62(3), pp.237-252.

Kelchne, Luanne. (2015). The Importance of Ethics in Organizations. Small Business. Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-ethics-organizations-20925.html

Laczniak, G.R 1993. “Marketing Ethics: onward toward greater expectations.”Journal of public policy and commercialization, Vol, 12, Spring.pp91-6.

Marinova, N. (2013). Marketing ethics and social responsibility.Trakia Journal of Sciences, 11(1), 535-538.

Martin, R., 2008. Two concepts of rule utilitarianism.Journal of Moral Philosophy, 5(2), pp.227-255.

Matten, D. and Moon, J., 2005. Corporate social responsibility.Journal of business Ethics, 54(4), pp.323-337.

MILL, J. S. (1993) Utilitarianism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Miloch, K.S. and Lambrecht, K.W., 2006. Consumer awareness of sponsorship at grassroots sport events.Sport Marketing Quarterly, 15(3), p.147.

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THE HANGING STRANGER: Story Analysis

THE HANGING STRANGER

PART ONE

Outline.

Foremost, one can argue that the ultimate goal of every human being is to thrive and live in a free world where their activities are not controlled or even restricted by some form of authority. However, every person has interests and needs that would often differ from another person’s. This means that conflicts are bound to happen when each person wants to take a different path that would eventually lead to a satisfaction of their endeavors.

Naturally, human beings are dependent on each other for survival (Qizilbash, 2014). For example, if a person has capital to start up a business, they will need workers to run the day to day operations of the business. Equally, human beings depend on the same resources to achieve different ends.

For instance, one person may use land to cultivate crop and another person may opt to use the same land for real estate development. In the same token, when a person acquires property, he naturally expects that another person would respect such property and refrain from trespassing or unwanted interference in its usage and vice-versa.

From the aforementioned examples, then it is evident that society generally is a unit that is modeled on the aspect of mutual co-existence. These sprouts up the concept of rules and regulations that are meant to guide the conduct of the people. These rules are often based on norms and acceptable codes of behavior supplemented by sanctions and punishments for any violation that may result (Urmonas & Naciscionis, 2016).

However, not all rules may be good for society but the authorities in charge of enforcing these rules may initiate manipulative ways to blind the people to presume the rules to be good. Take for instance a rule that requires one to kill another for trespassing in his property. Such an action may be justified but is it justifiable that another person’s life has been lost.

Thus, when one chooses not to adhere to the set rules, then such a person is presumed to be a crook deserving harsh punishment so as to conform to the set rules. In doing this, violent or even negative consequences may emerge all in bid to try and transform such a person to conform to the crude system.

PART TWO

Concisely, the story about the hanging stranger describes a society that has been indoctrinated into believing that certain acts are ordinary. These acts, from a reasonable man point of view should be nerve-wracking such that they demand proper action to be taken but it is not the case in our given story. Ordinarily, one would expect that if a dead man is found hanging in a lamppost, then the authorities would be informed and conduct immediate investigations on the same.

Nonetheless, the story depicts that even in such a crooked situation; there will be always one or two sane people that would see the problem. However, this means that pointing out such a problem would paint a person as an outlaw. This is the situation that Loyce finds himself in. Hence, in such a state, Loyce must first protect himself from being trapped in the same situation and livelihood as the others but this means that the concerned authorities will do everything possible to make sure he abides by the same rules and way of life. His life and that of his family is thus in danger.

In the story, Loyce is characterized as an ordinary person going about his everyday life. However, owing to the change of events his life suddenly turns into turmoil. Foremost, such a characterization portrays the picture that laws in the society seemingly affect the normal person on the street. Similarly, the residents of the town who are characterized as ordinary people represent a different role in the story of having accepted the codes of the corrupted system.

Therefore, by making a comparison of the two characters, then one is able to clearly see the variation of what ought to be right and what is wrong. Thus, when Loyce notices that a dead man is hanging from a lamppost and none of the other people is worried, then it makes him an outlaw that must face consequences of not following the established code.

As portrayed in the story, the rot in the society begins from the highest authorities. Considering these are the people with the power over the society, then whatever they propose or impose would be deemed to be right. Thus, if anybody objects to the same, they will take action which in the eyes of the other societal members will be taken as appropriate.

Undisputedly, rules require that a person be of a certain character in order to be accepted in the society. When this does not happen like in the case of Loyce, then negative consequences may emerge. For instance, Loyce is forced to move out of his home. Equally, when a person does not share in the same rules, views and opinions as the majority members in the society, it essentially means that there deferring personality would not be taken friendly. Hence, to contain ones behavior, it will take more than the use of rules. This means that force or even harm to the person may be used.

Importantly, the main aim of rules within the society is to limit or prevent the occurrence of conflicts. This means that every person must obey the rules imposed without question. Raising an alarm on any of such rules would mean one is corrupting the minds of the people following such a system and this could potentially lead to a revolution. For instance, when Loyce noticed that all the people were not worried about a body hanging from a lamppost; it hit him that they had been corrupted by the system.

The body was there to act as a bait to expose anyone that reacted to it because that was what any sensible man was expected to do. Such a reaction meant Loyce was a potential threat to the system as he was bound to lead to a struggle between him and the authorities thus endangering his life as afterwards he was attacked by a creature while in his house (Philip, 2015).

To conclude, it is averred that regardless of existence systems that indorse rules within the society that are bound to raise insurgencies for their violations, such rules can be defeated in the long run because they do not get to everybody. But these exceptional people must fight against such systems and take firm stands.

References

Philip K. Dick (Jan 29, 2017). The Hanging Stranger. American Literature. Retrieved from

https://americanliterature.com/author/philip-k-dick/short-story/the-hanging-stranger

Qizilbash, M (2014). Are modern philosophical accounts of well-being excessively ‘individualistic’? International Review of Economics, 61(2), 173-189. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12232-014-0204-x

Urmonas, A., Dr soc, & Naciscionis, J., Dr iur (2016). SOURCES OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW IN LITHUANIA AND LATVIA. Acta prosperitatis (7), 153-170, 174. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1864520138?accountid=4049

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Corruption in International Business

1. Introduction

Despite the promulgation of anti-corruption laws, corruption remains a menace in international business. Historically, cases of corruption in the international business arena have dominated news headlines, mostly as international firms seek to enter foreign markets or maintain market share. According to Transparency International, all countries are corrupt, and it is only the degree of corruption that differs.

Corruption in international business can be associated with increasing global competition which encourages unethical practices aimed at gaining market traction and rigidity in international laws that motivate businesses to use short-cuts to navigate the legal systems. This makes it difficult for companies that are attempting to maintain integrity to compete in a fair environment.

Consequently, corruption has created a negative impact on international trade by debasing the relevance of business ethics, which has to a great extent created a culture of corruption in international trade. Corruption costs the economy significantly, and as reported by Transparency International in 2013, approximately $2.6 trillion or 5% of the world’s GNP is lost through corruption (Makhlouf, 2016). Companies also lose significantly through increased project costs.

Despite the consented efforts to deal with corruption that impacts international business, it is also notable that this remains the most difficult moral issue to fight. This is because as much there are smart anti-corruption strategies put in place across the world, the impact of corruption on international business still prevails. This paper is a discussion of corruption in International trade including the history, forms of corruption, the impact of corruption, anti-corruption strategies and possible solutions to corruption in international business.

2. History

Corruption in international business is as old as the business itself. Its origin can be associated with stringent rules placed on foreign entrants by different countries and the difficulties associated with penetrating new markets, such that bribing government officials helps companies in circumventing legal and social huddles (Eicher, 2012).

In the early days of international trade, bribery was not illegal, and it was considered normal for companies that sought to do or retain business in foreign countries to bribe government officials. Indeed, foreign bribes in some European countries were considered a cost of doing business and would be deducted from corporate tax returns.

As globalization continued to rise, the international business also grew at a high rate, and this propagated the growth of corruption. This was further enhanced by free market reforms led by international financial institutions and donor governments. More companies were investing internationally, and the trend of bribing government officials to facilitate entry of businesses or competitive advantage in the host country became a norm. It was so common that bribes were budgeted for as part of a company’s overseas operations.

In December 1975, the earliest international anti-corruption movement began when the U.N Assembly’s resolution titled “Measures against Corrupt Practices of Transnational and Other Corporations, their Intermediaries, and Others Involved” was passed (Ala’I, 2017). This resolution was a means of condemning corrupt practices that violated host country laws and regulations, by transnational corporations and others.

The UN Working Group was formed by the U.N. Economic and Social Council in the quest to provide recommendations for eliminating corruption. The Group called for international action, after discussions between 1976 and 1980.

The United States became the first country to implement anti-bribery law following the passage of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which explicitly outlawed the practice in 1977 (SEC, 2012). The business community considered the decision by U.S. a wrong move because it would disadvantage the United States regarding competitive advantage, thus leading to major protest. However, the Act was passed, and this marked the beginning of a change in international business practices. Companies and individuals using the U.S financial system, according to the Act, were required to refrain from bribing or offering to bribe foreign officials for purposes of retaining or gaining business.

Interestingly, other countries did not follow suit until over 20 years later, an indication that bribery played a considerable role in international business. In Europe, corruption associated with foreign business was not given much attention as bribery was considered a necessary business expense. The same was applicable in a majority of countries, and it is not until recently when this perception changed globally, giving rise to anti-corruption laws that regarded bribing foreign officials a criminal offense (Hauser & Hogenacker, 2014).

In 1999, the OECD Convention on the Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions came into being, with 29 members and five non-members signing the agreement. The convention provided guidelines for legislation implementation and tasked governments to criminalize active bribery in international business. This convention has led to the implementation of various other conventions across the world in a bid to fight corruption. Also, this has resulted in increased awareness of the negative impacts of corruption, and global efforts to prevent bribery and corruption have increased as observed today.

3. Forms of corruption

Corruption in international business can be classified into two broad categories: corruption associated with foreign market entry and corruption that influences competitive advantage within the market. Foreign market entry mostly involves complex procedures and barriers to entry, perpetrated by the bureaucracy and rigid rules and regulations governing the entry of foreign organizations. Once in the market, firms still face significant challenges in the form of laws governing foreign companies and high levels of competition from local firms. This may trigger corruption because government officials are aware of the frustrations faced by foreign companies and the owners are desperate to gain market traction. In both of the categories described above, corruption may be executed in various forms as follows:

Bribery: Offering money in exchange for a favor

Extortion: Asking for money or other payments in return for services

Kickbacks: Percentage of income given to an individual for facilitating a business process.

Facilitation payments: These are payments made with the aim of achieving faster results.

Grand corruption: Payments to politicians, policy makers, and other high-level officials.

Petty schemes: Payments to lower and middle-class officials with influence and power.

Influence peddling: Obtaining money with the promise of connecting an individual to power influencers.

Nepotism: Requiring that the company hires friends and relatives in return for favors.

4. Effects of corruption

Corruption can have grave consequences on international business as established in the discussion below.

Restricted entry

The corruption that impedes market entry can be a great deterrence for honest firms. In such situations, entry requirements are normally very complicated or marred by bureaucracy, thus creating room for corruption. This means that corrupt government officials may entice organizations to pay bribes to have the registration processes speeded up or some of the entry requirements overlooked (Eicher, 2016).

Unfair competition

Corruption affects the competitive environment by altering the competitive conditions. Corruption allows large corporations to control the market because they can bribe their way out of various legal circumstances or bypass certain regulations required in operation of their businesses (Makhlouf, 2016). This disadvantages honest dealers and thus creates an asymmetrical market environment. An example is where a corrupt company pays government officials to overlook the company’s potential environmental pollution and offer a clearance certificate in support of the organization’s activities.

Honest firms, on the other hand, may have to invest heavily in reducing environmental pollution to comply with the government requirements or have to pay fines for any deviation. When the two firms are compared, the corrupt firm has a competitive advantage because it will record higher profitability.

High prices for consumers

Where corruption is prevalent, it also means that organizations must incur high costs in meeting their objectives. This translates into higher costs of production, which are consequently transferred to the consumer for the company to make desirable profits. This affects not only customers but also the economy at large because of reduced customer purchasing power.

Poor quality products

Corruption creates loopholes for the production and import of inferior products. When companies can get away with poor standards and the use of subnormal raw materials through corruption, the customer suffers due to the poor quality of products they receive. Also, corrupt officials allowing cheap goods to be imported into the country could be risking the lives of citizens.

Corrupt business culture

Thede & Gustafson (2012) notes that self-sustained unethical behavior is likely to result from corruption in international trade. This is because the more corrupt deals are made, the higher the corruption prevalence becomes. According to Thede & Gustafson (2012), corrupt agents are more likely to interact with corruptible agents for business, and these behavioral patterns end up being sustained as the norm. This further worsens corruption to the disadvantage of honest agents. A corrupt culture tends to raise honest exchange transactions, such that it is more expensive to find an honest business partner due to higher search costs.

5. Corruption and economic growth

Corruption can have deleterious effects on economic growth. A majority of literature studies the negative impact of corruption, mostly as an ethical issue and a factor that impacts equilibrium of the business environment. Corruption is a costly affair, and it could limit economic growth, and as established by OECD (2014), corruption accounts for the loss of approximately 5% of the world’s GDP. This may be evidenced by inefficiencies resulting from corrupt practices. Also, the unequal distribution of income and resources that result from corruption leads to the rise of poverty rates (Makhlouf, 2016).

Corruption limits economic gains from international business. This is because only firms that are financially capable and which are corrupt get access to foreign market entry while the honest and less financially endowed are locked out. Based on this, corruption can be seen as a limiting factor for international business because the country may end up losing on entrants with great potential because the opportunities were given to those who could pay (Eicher, 2016). This further impacts domestic production opportunities due to obstruction of competition (Thede & Gustafson, 2012).

Corruption impacts governance and control of the business environment. The existence of corruption makes it difficult for authorities to implement regulations and controls, thus making governance difficult. Rotberg (2017) notes that it undermines the efficiency of state institutions and undermines a country’s regulatory environment, thus distorting decision-making processes. This results in a skewed business environment, and it becomes difficult to provide a level playing ground for all firms in the market including incentives.

6. Legal/political systems

A country’s legal and political systems greatly influence the prevalence of corruption and the extent to which this influences international business. In countries where strict measures are placed to control corruption, the levels of corruption are lower. This is because legal systems discourage such illegal practices. Further, political systems the level of control within government agencies, such that corruption may be lower in countries where the governing political body is committed to fighting corruption (Eicher, 2012).

In the initial periods of international business growth, foreign official bribery for purposes of business was not considered illegal in any country, and it is not until recently that legal and political systems were put in place to manage corruption. As a result, it is possible to state that the legal and political systems at the time perpetrated the occurrence of corruption, given that there were no laws to govern the practice (PBS, 2017).

The discussions above also establish that the main catalyst of corruption is the existence of trade barriers that limit the entry of foreign companies and effective business operations in the host countries, thus encouraging businesses to seek easier alternatives. By maintaining such conditions, governments played a significant role in promoting corruption, thus creating the menace observed today.

Given the high level of corruption emanating from international business, countries have taken different measures aimed at combating corruption. This represents a change in trends that has influenced legal and political systems through the development of laws that prohibit corruption and which promote prosecution of perpetrators. In the United States which was the first country to implement legal systems to deal with corruption, the Security Exchange Commission implements the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act through investigations and audit procedures aimed at discovering any possible bribery of foreign officials (SEC, 2012).

Political systems across the globe have also increasingly relaxed their international trade barriers to promote smoother processes that eliminate the need for corruption and bribery. According to Eicher (2012), reduction in trade barriers has been instrumental in reducing corruption because they eliminate incentives to corruption which were previously brought about by difficult processes, bureaucracy, and strict international business laws.

Countries are increasingly participating in international conventions that encourage the implementation of legal systems to curb corruption in their countries. Examples of popular conventions against corruption and bribery include the OECD Convention on the Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, United Nations Convention against Corruption, EU Convention on the Fight against Corruption, The Inter-American Convention against Corruption and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption among others (UK Anticorruption Forum, 2017).

These conventions have played a significant role in the development of more solid legal systems to deal with corruption and thereby improved international trade.

7. Anti-corruption strategies

Regulations: These are laws and regulations developed to govern international business and which ban the use of corruption to achieve business objectives in the international markets.

Trade barriers relaxation: This is aimed at promoting international trade by eliminating trade barriers that often limit business between countries. It may involve reducing taxes, registration charges, policies and regulations that limit international business. The result has reduced the incentive to give or receive bribes because the processes are not limiting.

Anti-corruption Conventions: These convene officials and business people from different countries to discuss and develop an agreement on how corruption can be combated.

Accounting practices and audit: To limit corruption, governments have continuously introduced strict accounting practices to discourage corruption. Public companies are also subjected to auditing to determine the existence of unscrupulous business practices.

Trade agreements: These are agreements between countries to eliminate barriers to trade and thus ease international business. This may be in the form of mutual agreements to reduce regulations for businesses from the countries involved or tying of conditions to the benefitting country’s contribution to the host country. An example is where developing countries ease trade barriers in exchange for infrastructure loans.

Mobilization of public opinion: This strategy involves civil society engagement, mostly through non-governmental organizations to influence private and public organizations to end corruption by demonstrating its negative impacts.

8. Cures of corruption

Corruption has been singled out as one of the moral issues that is difficult to control and which may never be successfully eliminated. However, efforts towards corruption elimination should mostly focus on the cause of corruption.

Internationalization: Internationalization is a possible cure for corruption in international business. This is the process of in which barriers are eliminated or at least reduced to promote trade. This would encourage free investment across the world, and this would reduce the motivation for corruption.

Leadership and political will: Leaders have the ability to influence the end of corruption in their countries through influencing moral behavior, promoting political good will and setting up laws that discourage corruption. Rotberg (2017) notes that leaders have influence over their followers and that they can influence their actions if they are committed to ending appropriate behaviors. When a country’s leadership is committed to ending corruption, they will do anything in their capacity to achieve this objective.

Anti-corruption commissions: Anti-corruption commissions are formed with the objective of creating an independent body to investigate and prosecute companies and government officials involved in corruption. According to Transparency International (2017), an anti-corruption agency that is independent and well financed can play a vital role in fighting corruption.

Unfortunately, anti-corruption commissions still face the threat of political influence and will only be effective if their permanence is legally guaranteed and independence of the commission is assured through the appointment of leaders who are competent, have an apolitical stance and demonstrate impartiality, independence, neutrality, and integrity (Transparency International, 2017).

Self-regulation: This approach to corruption is informal and mostly aims at promoting self-governance among businesses to end corruption. Such may be achieved through internal policies and codes of conduct. This approach is more about promoting moral duty among organizations by calling on organizations to be more responsible in their business dealings.

9. Conclusion

Corruption in international business has mostly been associated with barriers to market entry in international markets. As a result, organizations seeking entry into such markets may be forced to bribe foreign officials to facilitate their entry and circumvent the regulations.

Once an entry is achieved, there are market dynamics that often make it difficult for foreign companies to operate including business laws and regulations, foreign business taxation policies, business marketing practices, sales and distribution, and competition dynamics among other factors. These limit foreign business operations and expansion, and consequently influence the perpetration of corruption, to ease business in foreign countries and speed up business growth.

Despite the increasing efforts towards fighting corruption, it remains a great menace that may hinder international business for a long time. In this paper, the history of corruption in international business, economic impact of corruption, legal and political systems and different anti-corruption strategies that have been utilized over the years are discussed. This paper also establishes various solutions that may eventually cure corruption including internationalization, leadership and political will, anti-corruption commissions and self-regulation of international firms.

10. References

Ala’i, P. (2017). Controlling corruption in international business: the international legal framework. International Sustainable Development Law – Vol. II. Retrieved from https://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C13/E6-67-03-07.pdf

Eicher, S. (2012). Corruption in International Business: The Challenge of Cultural and Legal Diversity. Farnham, UK: Gower Publishing, Ltd.

Hauser, C., & Hogenacker, J. (2014). Do Firms Proactively Take Measures to Prevent

Corruption in Their International Operations?. European Management Review, 11(3/4), 223-237. doi:10.1111/emre.12035. Retrieved from web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=4d18121e-f6b7-4cfd-98a2-91ab92914251%40sessionmgr120

Makhlouf, H. H. (2016). Corruption in the International Business Environment. The Journal of Human Resource and Adult Learning, 12(1), 32-39.

PBS (2017). Spotlight: History of the FCPA How a tough U.S. anti-bribery law came to pass. Retrieved from www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/bribe/2009/02/history-of-the-fcpa.html

Rotberg, R. I. (2017). The Corruption Cure: How Citizens and Leaders Can Combat Graft. Princeton: Princeton University Press

SEC. (2012). A Resource Guide to the FCPA U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Retrieved from https://www.sec.gov/spotlight/fcpa/fcpa-resource-guide.pdf

Thede, S. & Gustafson, N. (2012). International trade and the role of corruption. Retrieved from www.etsg.org/ETSG2009/papers/thede.pdf

UK Anticorruption Forum. (2017). Anti-Corruption Conventions & Instruments. Retrieved from www.anticorruptionforum.org.uk/acf/resources/instruments/

End of life care

End of life care: Are they better off dead?

The most painful event in life is when one loses someone close to them. The people they shared memories with both good and bad. The extent of the hurt often does depend on the situation that they find their loving members. There is a huge difference between a person who dies suddenly and one whom the family members watch while he slowly fades makind end of life care a sentimental factor. The situation also does worsen when the family handles the responsibility of caring for their loved ones as they approach the end of their life. One gets to see the strong personality of their loved one that they cherish fade away replaced by pain (Gillan et al., 2014, p.332).

In the dying father and child image, the children are present, and they get to witness the death of their parent. It is a sad event and something that may end up leaving them traumatized or scarred for life. In the picture, one can see one of the children covering their eyes is inferred to mean that they do not want to see their father pass away or they are crying. Tears are a means of expressing our sadness especially in a dreadful situation like death (Murphy 2016 et al., p.254).

It is globally accepted that we will all die at one point in our lives, but no one is ready to see death approach especially when they are not ready (Rowland et al., 2016). As illustrated in the picture, the father is receiving home care as he nears his death. The aspect of patients being taken care of at home arises from two aspects either the hospital has done all they can and informed the patients who decide to spend their last days at home. The second reason deals with the lack of finances, where the family cannot afford to have their patient admitted in the hospital (Tong et al., 2014, p.915).

The family is better placed to understand what their suffering member requires as they near their death from an emotional and spiritual perspective. The emotional perspective is more important to the passing member as they need to feel that someone cares about them. The care they receive solidifies the concept that their lives were worthy in the long run. This is the reason that most members gravitate to their families as they approach their end days (Davies et al., 2014, p.919).

The care is given to the patient often takes different forms depending on their state of mind and disease. In the case of members suffering from chronic diseases like cancer, the pain is often reflected in their eyes and weary bodies. The family members need to assist their loved ones with the help of the medical practitioner to aid the person spend their last days being as comfortable as possible. The aspect of treatment and euthanasia does come into play when discussing the end life care (Wilson, 2013, p. 504).

At times the treatment of people with chronic diseases becomes very expensive to the point that they decide to stop the treatment to save their families the burden of incurring a huge debt (Mathers et al., 2013, p.206). Does the family have a role to play in altering the decision made by the suffering member?

According to the Australian medical health system, the family members have a minimal role in altering the decision of the patient in the case they are still capable of making a sound decision. Despite, this they can discuss with the family member and convince them of continuing with the treatment if they have the finances (Visser, Deliens, and Houttekier, 2014, p.604).

Based on Ewing et al., 2014, p.248, the nursing team has the responsibility from the moral and legal perspective of discussing with the patients the decisions they are to undertake. Once the patient has made their decision, their role comes to an end. Some of the responsibilities that they undertake based on this context are; offering the family members and the patient advice on the treatment available, the cost and what they consider the best option.

The second scenario inferred from the picture focuses on elevating the suffering of both the dying father and the children is euthanasia also referred to as assisted dying. According to Quinlan (2016), euthanasia refers to the intentionally ending the life of a person with the aim of relieving them from the pain that they are undergoing. This is often encouraged in situations where the person is suffering from a chronic and painful disease or is in a coma that is irreversible.

From the legal perspective, the states of New South Wales and Victoria are moving towards drafting legislation that permits euthanasia for Australian citizens (Teno et al., 2013, p.470). The condition stimulated to allow euthanasia is when the patient is suffering an incurable disease that will necessitate them to terminate their life. The decision to give the go ahead for euthanasia lies with the family members and the patients as long as they are above the age of 25 years. Also, the family member at the end of their life needs to have a sound mind at the point of deciding (Morton et al., 2017).

In the case of the dying father and child picture, the love and pain are evident in the way they have gathered around the father. The children love their father and are very young to witness the end of his life. Traumatic events like death often inhibit the effective development of people especially children (Berg, 2014).

Based on the picture the children are very young most of them are below the age of 15 a clear sign that their brain is still developing. I am certain that it is not right but in this case, it is not fair for them to witness such immense suffering of someone they love dearly. Euthanasia would have been a better way to end the pain that they are all experiencing. In this case, the father should have decided to decide to save the elder family member from experiencing any guilt from the incident (Anaf, 2017).

Conclusion

The end of life care is important to the person seeing their life fade away. Most prefer to spend their last days with their families to stay in the hospital. The picture that guides the reflective essay displays this concept. The love and care given by the members enable them to feel comforted as they prepare themselves psychologically for their departure. The end of life care takes different forms as discussed in the essay it can be through euthanasia, hospitalization or home care. One of the common denominators in all the three forms is the advice of the medical practitioner.

REFERENCES

Anaf, J. M. (2017). Voluntary euthanasia laws in Australia: are we really better off dead?. The Medical Journal of Australia, 206(8), 369.

Berg, L., Rostila, M., Saarela, J., & Hjern, A. (2014). Parental death during childhood and subsequent school performance. Pediatrics, peds-2013.

Davies, N., Maio, L., Rait, G., & Life, S. (2014). Quality end-of-life cares for dementia: What have family carers told us so far? A narrative synthesis. Palliative medicine, 28(7), 919-930.

Ewing, G., Grande, G., & National Association for Hospice at Home. (2013). Development of a Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) for end-of-life care practice at home: a qualitative study. Palliative Medicine, 27(3), 244-256.

Gillan, P. C., van der Riet, P. J., & Jeong, S. (2014). End of life care education, past and present: A review of the literature. Nurse Education Today, 34(3), 331-342.

Mathers, S. (2013). End of Life Care in Progressive Neurological Disease: Australia. In End of Life Care in Neurological Disease (pp. 205-212). Springer London.

Morton, P. G., Fontaine, D., Hudak, C. M., & Gallo, B. M. (2017). Critical care nursing: a holistic approach. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Murphy, B. J. (2016). Voluntary euthanasia laws in Australia: are we really better off dead?. The Medical Journal of Australia, 205(6), 254-255.

Quinlan, M. (2016). “Such is Life”: Euthanasia and capital punishment in Australia: consistency or contradiction?. Solidarity: The Journal of Catholic Social Thought and Secular Ethics, 6(1), 6.

Rowland, C., Hanratty, B., van den Berg, B., Pilling, M., & Grande, G. (2016). Valuing friends’ and family support for end of life cancer care: A national study of the economic costs of informal care giving. Palliative Medicine, 30(6), NP34.

Teno, J. M., Gozalo, P. L., Bynum, J. P., Leland, N. E., Miller, S. C., Morden, N. E., … & Mor, V. (2013). Change in end-of-life care for Medicare beneficiaries: site of death, place of care, and health care transitions in 2000, 2005, and 2009. Jama, 309(5), 470-477.

Tong, A., Cheung, K. L., Nair, S. S., Tamura, M. K., Craig, J. C., & Winkelmayer, W. C. (2014). Thematic synthesis of qualitative studies on patient and caregiver perspectives on end-of-life care in CKD. American Journal of Kidney Diseases, 63(6), 913-927.

Visser, M., Deliens, L., & Houttekier, D. (2014). Physician-related barriers to communication and patient-and family-centred decision-making towards the end of life in intensive care: a systematic review. Critical Care, 18(6), 604.

Wilson, D. M., Cohen, J., Deliens, L., Hewitt, J. A., & Houttekier, D. (2013). The preferred place of last days: results of a representative population-based public survey. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 16(5), 502-508.

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Cultural Competence Case Study

Rapid demographic changes in today’s society require health care professionals to deliver care that demonstrates respect to patients’ diverse beliefs, preferences, and values. By providing culturally responsive care, health care practitioners help to promote improved health outcome for patients and encourage sufficient use of resources by their employing organizations.

In their effort to deliver culturally sensitive care, therapists must be able to differentiate cultural differences from other related client characteristics that may have an impact on patient outcomes (Saha, Beach, and Cooper, 2008).

In the given case study, the physical therapist should take cultural, physical, cognitive, communicative, and environmental factors into consideration in working with Hernando Gonzales in a home care situation. The cultural factors that should be taken into account include age, nationality, gender, marital status, religion, ethnicity, and beliefs about health.

The therapist should understand that Mr. Gonzales is a 63-year old Mexican male who is currently a widower. Also, Mr. Gonzales goes to church regularly, and being a Catholic; he believes that God is the provider of strength. Furthermore, the therapist should consider the fact that Mr. Gonzales may want to use many herbs in the course of therapy (Saha, Beach, and Cooper, 2008).

The physical factor that the therapist should consider is that Mr. Gonzales once had a partial knee replacement and he still needs assistance with activities of daily living, despite the fact that he has made good physical recovery since he had an accident. The cognitive, communicative, and environmental factors that the therapist needs to consider include; reduced mental functioning as a result of traumatic brain injury, limited spoken English, and limited social support in Maria’s house respectively (Saha, Beach, and Cooper, 2008).

Lack of cultural competence by the therapist may make him or her to confuse cultural variations with other physical, communicative, environmental, and cognitive characteristics in this case. For instance, if the therapist is not culturally competent, he or she may think that Mr. Gonzales reactions due to influence from cognitive problems and environmental factors are as a result of cultural beliefs and values (Santisteban, Mena, and Abalo, 2012).

Furthermore, the therapist may think that Mr. Gonzales’ incapacities to speak fluent English and to carry out his physical activities normally are as a result of cultural influence. It is important to differentiate cultural differences from those related to the client’s other characteristics because positive health outcomes for the patient largely depend on the therapist’s ability to deliver culturally sensitive care (Sue, Zane, Hall, and Berger, 2009).

Cultural competence solutions

The therapist should make adjustments in both assessment and intervention based on Mr. Gonzales’ cultural, cognitive, and linguistic backgrounds. Since the therapist does not speak fluent Spanish, he or she should consider using a translator to help Mr. Gonzales to understand any information that may be presented in English during the assessment. Also, the therapist should use a cultural broker to help reduce cultural-related conflicts that may arise during the assessment (Sue et al., 2009).

Furthermore, the therapist should approach Mr. Gonzales with a lot of humility because he currently has traumatic brain injury. Again, he or she should recommend interventions that Mr. Gonzales can easily implement, bearing in mind that he has some form of physical inability and limited family support in Maria’s house (Saha, Beach, and Cooper, 2008).

The therapist can enlist the help of Mr. Gonzales’ family to facilitate therapy in two different ways. First, the therapist can advise the family on the types of social support that they should give Mr. Gonzales to promote quick recovery. Second, the therapist can help Mr. Gonzales’ family to identify the most appropriate forms of physical support that are necessary to promote positive health outcomes for him (Santisteban, Mena, and Abalo, 2012).

References

Saha, S., Beach, M. C., & Cooper, L. A. (2008). Patient centeredness, cultural competence, and health care quality. Journal of the National Medical Association, 100(11): 1275-1285.

Santisteban, D. A., Mena, M. & Abalo, C. (2012). Bridging diversity and family systems: Culturally informed and flexible family based treatment for Hispanic adolescents. Couple and Family Psychology, 2(4): 246-263. doi: 10.1037/cfp0000013

Sue, S., Zane, N., Hall, G. & Berger, L. K. (2009). The case for cultural competency in psychotherapeutic interventions. Annual Review of Psychology, 60: 525-548.

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Ethics and compliance program: Case Study

Ethics and compliance program

Case Study 1

The first case presents a scenario where the company is in talks with the government of Vindalubia regarding the contract to construct a number of solar panels. In the course of the discussions, the Minister in the Ministry of Energy requests for payment of a “motivation fee” in order to facilitate the signature that will allow for awarding of the contract with the government in Vindalubia.

The discussion below is presented to the company’s CEO as an explanation of whether or not the firm should pay the “motivation fee” requested by the minister, implications of actions, a legal view of the scenario, as well as a recommendation of the decision the firm should make.

The meaning of a “motivation fee”

The Minister, by asking for a “motivation fee”, is asking for something of value to them in exchange for the signature. In this case, the term fee implies something of monetary value i.e. legal tender, is expected to change hands. The sole purpose of the exchange being as a means to influence the Minister of Energy to carry out a given action, whether legal or otherwise.

In this regard, therefore, the “motivation fee” is understood to be a bribe to influence the Minister to act in favor of the company by rewarding the tender to construct the solar panels in Vindalubia in exchange for a given amount of money.

Possible decisions and implications

Given the prevailing scenario, as well as the firm being in need of the contract, it is evident a decision is needed. The decision involves a choice of whether or not to present the Minister with the required “motivation fee”. Both choices have implications, and they ought to be addressed prior to making the decision.

If the firm chooses to offer the Minister of Energy the requested “motivation fee”, they will outrightly have secured the contract. This, however, at the cost of breaking the law, and, therefore, exposing the firm to possible litigation arising from the illegitimate transaction.

On the other hand, the firm may choose to ignore the minister’s request to pay the “motivation fee”. This decision drastically reduces the chances of the firm being awarded the contract to almost nil. This decision, however, maintains the ethical standing of the firm, and it may also choose to file a lawsuit against the minister for illegal activities of a public official in a public office. The prevailing recommendation is not to pay the Minister of Energy the prescribed “motivation fee” since it is not only unethical but also illegal.

Legal perspective and justification for the decision

As per Section 18 code 201 of the US code, ‘Bribery of public officials and witnesses’, bribery is understood to be the act of offering, promising, or giving, directly or indirectly, anything of value to a public official. In the context of the Minister of Energy as a public official, the above described act of bribery is committed in a bid to either influence the performance of an official act or to influence the official in an act of collusion or knowingly allow the committing of fraud.

In addition, the act of bribery may be committed when the exchange is done to influence the official to knowingly act in omission or commission of an action that is in violation of the law (Legal Information Institute, n.d.).

Case Study 2

The second case represents a scenario where the Government of Vindalubia has awarded the company a contract to construct solar panels. The firm has gone through the required process and signed the contract. However, in a bid to secure the contract, the company paid a “motivation fee” to facilitate the signature to award the contract as requested by the Minister of Energy in Vindalubia.

In spite of the payment of the “motivation fee” as agreed, the Government of Vindalubia terminated the contract a few months later. Below is a discussion that expounds on the scenario, shows a number of methods of solving the arising dispute, provides a legal perspective of the issues in the scenario, and provides recommendations on the choices and implications of the same.

The arising dispute and possible methods of resolving

The prevailing dispute regarding the given scenario between the company and the Minister of Energy in Vindalubia stems from the premature termination of the awarded contract to construct solar panels by the government. The firm may decide to address this dispute in a number of ways. Key among these is the use of contract law. This is the preferred approach proposed to the Chief Executive.

Possible decisions and implications

The use of contract law as proposed to the CEO of the company would suffice as an effective method of addressing the dispute between the company and the government. If the Chief Executive upholds this decision, the firm may choose either to handle the matter amicably between the parties involved out of court or to file a lawsuit.

The lawsuit may serve to expose the illegitimate and unethical transaction between both parties involving the payment of a “motivation fee”. On the other hand, the amicable settlement may result in a much better result that favors both parties.

Legal perspective and justification for the decision

The use of an amicable settlement, which is the decision of choice among both, should start with a review of the contract. This step allows both parties to review the terms of the signed contract that proves the existence of an agreement between the parties. For the company, an area of focus during this face should be the determination of contractual clauses within the agreement that stipulate the terms of termination of the contract.

Owing to the value of the contract, it should contain a clause or clauses describing the suitable provisions of the process of the termination of a contract (Legal Information Institute, n.d.). Any disputes should be handled, therefore, as per the clauses of contract termination.

Failure of the clauses within the contract to provide an amicable settlement of the matter, prevailing codes of contract law governing the US are useable. This step may invoke the need for an external expert regarding contract law. The law of contracts should provide sufficient guidance on the various violations committed in terminating the contract without communication between both parties (Legal Information Institute, n.d.).

In addition, the notice of termination section of the US code should provide guidance on the requirements and process needed to terminate the contract (Legal Information Institute, n.d.). If these terms are not sufficient to warrant an agreement between both parties, the company may choose to file a lawsuit against the government in spite of the prevailing choices discussed earlier.

Case Study 3

The third case presents a scenario where the Chief Executive Officer has concerns over the lack of a Ethics and compliance Program at the firm. The CEO tasks me, as the new Chief Compliance Officer at the company, to propose and develop a new ethics and compliance program for the firm.

Proposal for a new ethics and compliance program

For the most part, the ethics and compliance program is meant to provide general guidance on behavior, ethical standing, and following the prevailing rules. The introductory segment of the ethics and compliance program for the firm stipulates the need and importance of following all rules and regulations outlined in the various company statutes. In addition, the introduction section also outlines the individuals and stakeholders covered by the various codes of ethics and rules of conduct of the firm.

The ethics and compliance program outlines the offices where an aggrieved employee, distributor, supplier, or other stakeholder covered by the relevant rules is supposed to access help and have their concerns addressed. The ethics and compliance program outlines all the necessary laws that are to be adhered to strictly by all. In addition, the ethics and compliance program identifies and classifies all areas covered by the various policies. This allows for easier navigation and access to specific rules as needed.

Some areas of importance in the ethics and compliance program include the outlining of laws and regulations covering intellectual property, privacy, conflicts at the workplace, integrity and dealing fair, provision of equal opportunities, and laws that relate to safety, health, and the environment. These laws will relate to not only the firm, but must also fall within the legal framework established in Riyadh, and other laws that govern the operation of the construction industry in the country.

Proposal for corporate governance

The corporate governance section is meant to provide an overview of the managerial and staff structure of the firm and the roles of each level of authority. In addition, the corporate governance model delimits the communication structure regarding the information flow within the firm.

This corporate governance structure ties in to the proposed ethics and compliance program by availing information about the flow of communication from the various managers. In addition, the corporate governance helps by providing a representation of the various officials where a member of staff in the firm can access help about the various rules and regulations outlined in the ethics and compliance program.

Objectives of the ethics and compliance program

The ethics and compliance program serves to provide guidance to the employees of the firm concerning the various applicable laws at the workplace. The program creates a framework where the members of staff in the organization can understand the various applicable laws in a simple manner that is usually categorized and focused for their specific industry and region. In this case, for example, the US law would not suffice in the creation of the ethics and compliance program for the middle-sized construction firm in Riyadh (Peterson, 2013, pp. 1029, 1031 – 1032).

The ethics and compliance program creates a model that is useful for the successful integration of corporate culture and legal background on various issues regarding the firm. In this regard, the inclusion of a well-rounded ethics and compliance program and an intricate corporate governance structure provides a combination that provides guidance to employees on the various issues about the firm and the industry from both a legal and operational point of view (Walker, 2016; Verschoor, 2015).

Therefore, the introduction of the proposed ethics and compliance program as outlined earlier should serve to streamline operations, ensure communication flow, and provide the employees with sufficient knowledge of the existing rules and regulations that govern them in the workplace.

References

Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). § 1470.27 Contract violations and termination. Retrieved from Legal Information Institute – University of Cornell School of Law: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/7/1470.27

Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). § 635.125 Termination of contract. Retrieved from Legal Information Institute – University of Cornell Law School: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/23/635.125

Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). 18 U.S. Code § 201 – Bribery of public officials and witnesses. Retrieved from Legal Information Institute – University of Cornell: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/201

Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). 48 CFR 49.102 – Notice of termination. Retrieved from Legal Information Institute: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/48/49.102

Peterson, E. A. (2013). Ethics and compliance programs: competitive advantage through the law. Journal of Management & Governance, 1027 – 1045.

Verschoor, C. C. (2015). Tools for ethical success. Journal of Strategic Finance; Montvale, 19 – 21.

Walker, R. (2016). International corporate compliance programmes. International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, 70 – 81.

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