...Corporate Ethics Abstract For this paper, two scenarios will be examined. One, a pharmaceutical company, which has come under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission to determine whether the company has engaged in illegal activities to keep a generic drug off the market. The other, two large telecommunications companies have agreed to merge, and consumer advocates are very concerned with the possible outcome of this merger. The effects of both companies’ actions on competition will be examined, along with the effects on consumers and stakeholders within the companies. Additionally, the various ethical dilemmas presented by each company’s actions will be discussed. Corporate Ethics The pharmaceutical company would wish to hinder the competition brought about by generic drug manufacturers for a variety of reasons. One primary cause for this opposition is that patents for prescription drugs typically run out after a specified length of time, so the pharmaceutical company would want to oppose the generic drugs for as long as the patent remained in effect. Once the generic company enters the market after the specific patent has expired, or perhaps been invented around; prices for the drug decrease sharply. This ends the name brand company’s exclusive profits and higher revenue for the same drug (Balto, 2009, p.8) Generic drug manufacturers are also direct competitors of the pharmaceutical company, and the introduction of...
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...expectations have pushed corporate decision makers into murky waters when deciding which course of action to take. In an era of instant communication, public distrust, and a multitude of variables to consider before making a decision, leaders must have some form of guideline to help them make choices that reflect responsibility and accountability. The creation and implementation of an official corporate governance policy and internal practice will lead to these critical decisions being made with the good of the whole in mind. Corporate governance can be defined “as a relationship between a corporation and its shareholders” (Cross & Miller, 2012, p. 644). It is also a system of checks and balances between the board, management, and investors to create an efficient and functional business with long term viability and value ("Corporate Governance Best Practices," 2002, p. 8). The concept of adopting a formalized process should be fairly evident. Corporate scandals such as Enron and WorldCom devastated entire corporations as well as national and world financial crisis created by banking and mortgage industries. The government has stepped in and enacted legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley in an attempt to prevent future occurrences, but is this going to be enough? Corporate governance requires self-regulation and ownership and the decisions of a few that could potentially affect thousands needs to be subjected to a formalized review process. Corporate governance may be set up...
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...Business Research Report Corporate Conscience and Its Effect On Companies Assessment Code: RWT1 Student Name: Student ID: Date: Mentor Name: Table of Contents Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….3 Research Findings……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………5 Finding Number 1………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..5 Finding Number 2………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..6 Finding Number 3………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..7 Recommendations…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………10 Recommendation Number 1…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….10 Recommendation Number 2…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….11 Recommendation Number 3…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….11 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….11 Referrences…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..12 Executive Summary The specific purpose of this report is to investigate the claim that companies who adopt a culture of ethics and social responsibility are more efficient. The impact has been identified that this behavior could have inside on performance by adopting an intentionally conscious corporate culture and behavior. Research shows that responsible companies are more profitable, they become desired places to work, and people want to partner with responsible companies...
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...Code of Ethics – Assignment 2 Andrea Denette March 18, 2015 Integrated Corporate Communication, Comm 3010 Paul Lindsley, M.A., ABC The word ethics has many definitions depending on who you are speaking with and if it is business related. One person may tell you that ethics has to do with what is right and wrong. Another may say it has to do with that law of the land. In fact there are many interpretations and definitions for ethics. In Corporate Communications there is a totally different set of code of ethics. The standards for professional communicators are similar to each other and they also have their differences in relation to their actual profession. I am going to compare and contrast the different codes of the major associations of professional communications. I am going to discuss one from the Journalist profession: The Society of Professional Journalist (SPJ), Public relations and information: Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the business profession: American Advertising Federation (AAF). All three of these have some of the same basic codes for example: respect, truth, accountability, honesty and avoiding conflicts of interest. Any member of The Society of Professional Journalist believe the public has a right to know of any events or issues in the world. They believe that this is the “forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy” (Unit 4). All journalists look for the truth and then let the public know about it. The Society...
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...Ethics and Corporate Responsibility in the World and in the Workplace Shakahn D. Montgomery LEG 500 Professor Natalie Chavis Due May 18, 2015 Stakeholders A stakeholder is person, group or organization that has interest or concern in an organization. Stakeholders can affect or be affected by the organization's actions, objectives and policies. Some examples of key stakeholders are creditors, directors, employees, government (and its agencies), owners (shareholders), suppliers, unions, and the community from which the business draws its resources. Not all stakeholders are equal. A company's customers are entitled to fair trading practices but they are not entitled to the same consideration as the company's employees. An example of a negative impact on stakeholders is when a company needs to cut costs and plans a round of layoffs. This negatively affects the community of workers in the area and therefore the local economy. Someone owning shares in a business such as Microsoft is positively affected, for example, when the company releases a new device and sees their profit and therefore stock price rise. (www.businessdictionary.com/definition/stakeholder.htm, n.d.) The stakeholders of PharmaCare include the customers they provide medicine for, the community, the sponsors along with the CEO and other employees. All of these people are affected by the decisions of the organization along with their actions, objectives and policies. Human Rights PharmaCare’s initiative...
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...The Ethics of Corporate Downsizing In this reading, John Orlando discusses ethics when corporations deem it necessary for layoffs and cutbacks on personnel. The reasons why corporations downsize is because profit is low, which Orlando sees as being justified. However he views downsizing as unethical when corporations do it in an effort to increase profits. Cutbacks lead to a decline in employee earnings, widening of the gap between rich and poor America, psychological depression, drug abuse, homelessness, and even suicide. Ultimately, Orlando links downsizing as a dilemma between the worker and the shareholder that the corporate manager must work out. Shareholders are the legal owners of the corporation which would give them property right. But the corporation is not for personal use, it is used to conjure up profit. This creates a duty that the manager owes to the shareholder being that capital is invested and they (shareholders) are the ones taking a risk. Orlando believes that a risk and a sacrifice is made by the worker being that they have invested a lot of time and money in school to obtain this job that may not be secure. Shareholders do not view themselves as owners of the corporations, they see themselves as investors. But when an employee takes a job, it is a potential lifelong commitment. Both parties are taking a risk. Orlando argues that the employee is taking a greater risk because the shareholder can easily sell their share and invest in another company; the...
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...Corporate Ethics And Values - Pranav Chheda Corporate Ethics What is a Code of Ethics? A code of ethics outlines a set of certain principles established by the corporation. These principles can be used both as the basis for requirements and limitations. Typically, a code of ethics is founded on a set of core principles or values and is not designed for expedience. These principles are illustrated with behavioral examples. Those subject to the code are expected to understand and apply the examples in situations the code does not specifically address. Organizations expect that the principles, once communicated and illustrated, will apply in every case, and that failure to apply the principles can be a cause for disciplinary action. How is a Code of Ethics Created? To create a code of ethics, an organization must define its most important guiding values, formulate behavioral standards to show the application of those values to the roles and responsibilities of the persons affected, review the existing procedures for guidance and direction as to how those values and standards are typically applied, and establish the systems and processes to ensure that the code is introduced and effective. Codes of ethics require lots of time to establish. Ideally, the development of a code will be a process in which Boards and senior management actively debate and decide core values...
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...Ethics and Corporate Responsibility Legal, Ethics, and Corporate Governance Jekilan Hill-Barrett Professor Weekley November 23, 2014 Ethics and Corporate Responsibility The stakeholders within PharmaCARE are all the individuals and groups that are affected by the company’s decisions. The employees that may suffer from the lack of environmental safety or abuse of the production location allowing the organization to payless to workers for their hard work. The consumers of the organization’s products that may purchase bad goods that cause a negative reaction. The investors and stockholders who will lose any monetary investment due to the company’s loss of profits which would be an effect of inappropriate management of the organization. Due to the inappropriate management employees may lose their jobs which effects them as the stakeholders of the organization. PharmaCARE is one of the world’s most successful pharmaceutical companies, enjoying a reputation as a caring, ethical and well-run company that produces high-quality products that has saved millions of lives and enhanced the quality of life of others. This company also offers discounted and free drugs to low income consumers. PharmaCARE’s ethics can be truly questioned due to its many wrong doings that have gone against to they’re established ethical values. To start off, this company maintains a large manufacturing facility in Colberia, Africa. Here the company has found several healers eager to freely...
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...Ethics in the Corporate World ACC 557 Financial Accounting January 26, 2014 In today’s society, it seems that most companies are out to chase the almighty dollar and have little to no concern for the repercussions of their actions. In this paper, we will address five aspects of the corporate world and the ethical breaches that have been made in the last few years. The company that we will look at for examples is WorldCom. WorldCom was one of the companies that led to the creation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The five questions that we will address in this paper are: 1. Is current business and regulatory environment more conducive to ethical behavior? 2. What impact was done to WorldCom because of the accounting ethical breach? 3. How was WorldCom caught and how they failed to be ethical? 4. What accounts were impacted and the resulting impact on operations? 5. What measures could have been taken to prevent this breach? The first thing that we will do is to describe how WorldCom came to be one the biggest companies in the telecommunications industry. WorldCom began in 1983 in Clinton, Mississippi as a long distance company called Long Distance Discount Services. As a result of several mergers that began in 1985 after the board elected Bernie Ebbers as the company CEO, the company grew by leaps and bounds. On November 4, 1997, WorldCom and MCI Communications announced their $37 billion merger to form MCI WorldCom, making it the largest corporate...
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...Corporate Ethics and Government assignment Name: Grade Course: Tutor’s Name: (16, April, 2012) Corporate Ethics and Government assignment Introduction In recent past, corporate ethics and governance has attracted a great deal of public interest due to its apparent importance in the economic health of corporations and society. In general, corporate ethics and governance include the relationship of the company to its shareholders as well as the society. It also includes promotion of fairness, transparency, accountability in references to the mechanism used in the governance so that the actions taken are consistent with the shareholders interest. Therefore, to ensure that corporate ethics and governance is properly addressed, issues of transparency, accountability, measures of risk management, proper information flow both vertical and horizontal should be properly addressed. This will help the companies to adopt the appropriate legal compliance mechanisms to ensure that ethics and conduct of issues are formally addressed. However, compliance of corporate ethics and governance do not come in handy. There are several issues hurdles that several companies and organizations have undergone in achieving these milestones. This has made this topic to be widely discussed especially in the media as will be demonstrated in the articles that will be discussed here after. Most of the newspapers have taken this issue with a lot of seriousness and dedicated their time to discuss...
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...Ethics in Corporate America Ethical v. Unethical, Compare & Contrast The organizational performances of companies who deal with unethical business as opposed to companies who have leaders who consistently behave in an ethical manner have significant differences. One must, first, take into consideration how ethics are looked at as it pertains to the business community. Because terms dealing with the ideal behavior of leaders are used so loosely, it is helpful to define what these terms have generally come to mean in the business community. Ethics is the study of moral obligations, or of separating right from wrong. Ethics can also be a plural noun meaning the accepted guidelines of behavior for groups or institutions (Dubrin, 2010). Therefore, when dealing within organizations, if unethical behavior is not frowned upon, it can easily form at the highest level of the organization and trickle down throughout the organization, effecting employees on all levels. A leader who values fairness will evaluate group members on the basis of their performance, not personal friendships. And a moral leader will practice good ethics (Dubrin, 2010). In turn, if the leader has established good ethics and displays those in all fronts for the organization then the majority of the employee within the organization will be motivated to do the same. To further suggest the idea of the importance of the amount of ethical behavior displayed by the leader of the organization, the text provides...
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...Ethics and Corporate Governance: Corporate Social Responsibility Contents Introduction 2 Definition of Ethics 2 Definition of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) 2 History of Ethics 2 Socrates 2 Plato 2 Aristotle 2 Cynics 2 Cyrenaics 2 Business Ethics 2 Nike 2 McDonalds 2 Enron 2 Wal-Mart 2 Why Business Ethics is Necessary 2 Conclusion 2 Bibliography 2 Introduction This assignment is a brief over view of ethics in the modern day era. It begins with a definition of ethics, followed by a concise explanation of corporate social responsibility. Ethics has evolved over a number of decades and still is to this day, with that a short history of ethics will be demonstrated in this assignment. Ethics determines whether or not a company has good or bad morale. Unfortunately a company that holds excellent ethics are not highlighted in the media as a company that has bad ethics. In this essay will illustrate examples of how large national and international companies came to have bad ethics. To conclude this assignment will be a brief outlay of why ethics is necessary to the business environment in this day and age. Definition of Ethics Ethics can be defined at vital concepts and essential principles of moral human conduct. It consists of the study of universal ethics such as the essential parity of all men and women, natural or human rights, compliance to the law of land, concern for health and safety and, progressively more, for the natural environment...
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...Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Kelli Penner Introduction to Business SP16 Dr. Carl W. Proehl, Jr March 22, 2016 The nature of the article I chose is on fraud, bribery, and overcharging. It is about a retired Navy official, Edward Aruffo, who started a second career working for defense coordinator Glenn Defense Marine Asia. They plead guilty in federal court on July 7th, 2014. Admitting that he and others overcharged the Navy by up to $2.5 million for port services to American ships and then used some of the proceeds to treat Navy officials to lavish diners, cocktails, and entertainment. The article does report wrong doing as Edward Aruffo was a “held a position of trust and responsibility conferred on him by the Navy, betrayed his former service for personal gain by rigging invoices and deserves to be held accountable for his criminal activities”. (www.m2.com)Edward Aruffo did not act alone seven other employees from GDMA was indicted on charges for fraud, bribery, and overcharging. The action was illegal and unethical. They affected tax payers and the Navy. “According to court documents, GDMA owner and CEO Leonard Francis enlisted the clandestine assistance of Navy personnel -- including Commander Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz, Commander Jose Luis Sanchez, NCIS Special Agent John Beliveau and Petty Officer First Class Daniel Layug -- to provide classified ship schedules and other sensitive information about an ongoing criminal investigation...
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...stakeholders of PharmaCARE; success or failure could be the difference between prosperity and poverty for Colberia. This is also true of PharmaCare’s regular employees and management; success or failure could mean loss wages, or bonuses. One of the areas that PharmaCARE should address immediately is the human rights issues associated with their work force in Colberia. They currently treat their indigenous works with little regard, low pay and harsh working and living conditions; while catering to their executives with luxury billeting, and other recreational luxuries. Not addressing these issues immediately will ruin PharmaCARE’s reputation globally, leave room for competitors to capitalize PharmaCARE’s shortcomings, and eventually cut into corporate profits if lawsuits from human rights violation come into play. The...
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...Ethics and Corporate Responsibility Corporate social responsibility and environmental management are major concerns in today’s businesses. Global warming and environmental damage are concerns for all and it is essential that the preserved of natural habitats and areas of environmental significance be protected for the future. Corporate responsibility to the environment has become one of the critical issues of the 1990s. Corporate responsibility, also known as "corporate greening", often goes beyond adherence to regulatory requirements and results in corporate environmental activism. Transnational corporations possess the technology and research ability to provide solutions to global and regional environmental problems or to alter the environment adversely. In the past, international businesses have been associated with environmental degradation in developing countries. In contrast, the collective corporate agenda for the 21st century includes substantial investment of both financial and personnel resources in meeting the sustainable development challenges of the global environment. Sustainable development recognizes the need to preserve natural resources for future generations. Environmental pollution resulting from economic development imposes significant losses on the public as natural resources grow increasingly scarce. Corporations which contribute to the scarcity of these resources have a responsibility to the future. It is widely recognized that firms,...
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