Ethical Issues in Organizations

Ethical Issues in Organizations

A better part of the 20th and the 21st century has been marked by quite a several unethical issues, from corporate scandals of bribery, fraud, and negligence to corruption cases, even in-state organizations (Constantinescu & Kapteyn (2020, p.4). Companies and State institutions seemingly acting out of some sense of self-interest and self-preservation at the expense of the common good. While there might not be a conventional way to define ethics, there is a need for sound and decent decision-making processes to be involved by those in management (Constantinescu & Kapteyn (2020, p.4). The impact of unethical boardroom decisions on individual lives needs to be brought to question, and the culprits called to answer.

Nonetheless, the first step is in identifying areas vulnerable to unethical behavior in the various sectors. Therefore, this paper seeks to discuss the different ethical issues and their ramifications while grounding its arguments on documentary evidence on the social, economic impact of unethical behavior, their legal implications, and ways to do away with them (Treviño, Weaver and Reynolds 2006, p. 951).

Ethics in Tertiary Institutions.

The deontological theory is one of the widely referred to on ethical theories. According to Bowen (2005, p. 195), the approach was pioneered by Immanuel Kant, and it emphasizes on morality is a function of intrinsic values. Also referred to as the duty ethics, the theory revolves around the idea of a universal law, where all are expected to respond in ways that would rationally be acceptable (Bowen 2005, p. 196). The theory is all about moral acts being either right or wrong based on principle, regardless of the situation one is obligated to do right (Bowen 2005, p. 196).

Where the means to achieve a particular end are found to be corrupt, then it taints the result even though it might be useful. The theory, therefore, questions how a given moral act was attained, and if it were subject to another moral agent if the results would be the same if universal law were applied. Bowen’s (2004, p. 71) study further explains the theory as a theory of principle, where cognitive rational beings can put up guidelines by themselves, which they autonomously use to govern themselves based on principle. This means is that we have moral agents, with intrinsic values that guide them on what is right or wrong.

Ethical issues in Universities

The first ethical issue commonly exhibited in tertiary institutions is discrimination against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender communities. In 1920, Harvard University was said to have embarked on a witch hunt by the formation of a Secret Court, aimed at identifying and eliminating gay students from the student population (Ronner 2007, p.221). This shocking revelation was brought to light by Harvard students who found documentary evidence of the Secret Court. According to Ronner (2007,p.221), research by William Wright showed that President Lowell ran the Court, and it sought to identify homosexuals and get rid of them. Not only did the schools expel such students, but it further ensured that it frustrated their efforts in finalizing their studies elsewhere (Ronner 2007, p.221).

In light of the deontological theory, what Harvard did to these students was ideally wrong. Human rights should be universally applicable to all despite the sexual orientation they align to. Harvard University might have thought that they had a duty to protect the reputation of the University by not having the gay community on board, however, in exercising this sense of mislead duty, they acted unethically. Expelling students to achieve their desired goal violated the rights of those students, and it was an at of bias and discrimination hence unethical.

Secondly, are unethical practices by staff members of universities or lack of professional ethics. In 1977, an assistant coach at Penn State University in the united states, coach Jerry Sandusky was found guilty of child sexual abuse (Downes, M. 2017,p.5). Sandusky would carry out these monstrous acts at the Penn State locker rooms as would later be revealed. The most unfortunate part is that the University’s administration had plans to cover up this news from getting into the public domain for purposes of self-preservation (Downes, M. 2017,p.5).

In relation to the deontological thought, the actions by Penn University are outrightly unethical in attempting to hide the truth. Their duty to the parents of these children was to rebuke the action by the assistant coach publicly. Their attempts to cover up the incidents to salvage the name of the University was an indirect condoning of the actions by Sandusky hence not acting on the principle of universal law by being a whistleblower. They become accomplices to Sandusky for acting against their duty and for covering a wrong, thus equally unethical as the culprit.

Thirdly are the ethical issues around the admissions of students to universities. Downes (2017,p.11), illustrates this using the University of Illinois incident of corrupt entries in exchange for political favors. In this case, the University gave admissions to applicants that they cloud exchange political favors, such as Governor Rod Blagojevich got an ally’s applicant in using such means. Investigations into this probe revealed close to 800 applicants of such nature, that had used their political influence to pressure the University to have them admitted. The reality is that other applicants that were more qualified were locked out in the admission due to such.

Not only did these political leaders at unconventionally by disrupting the due admission process, but they also denied other qualified applicants. According to the deontological theory, disruption of order is unethical, in addition to which, they and the and the university administration acted out of duty further being unethical.

Ethics in the Corporate World.

In the business world today, Utilitarianism is one of the most commonly practiced moral theories. The theory, widely associated by John Stuart Mill, alludes that the morality of an action is a function of its utility, and therefore should be evaluated based on the usefulness of the act to most people (Walter & Robertson 2007, p.1). This theory tends to put much value at the result, not mindful of how these results were attained, thus being vulnerable to justify any means to an end (Baujard 2013,p.2). It is here that business fails the test as they are willing to attain profits at whatever cost; what falls by the wayside in terms of ethical behavior is viewed as a means to an end.

Ethical issues in the Corporate World.

As the Chief Executive Officer of an Engineering organization, there are a variety of ethical issues that might emanate from our operations that need a response from the management team, and I. Such ethical issues may include;

Dishonesty and lack of full disclosure when dealing with clients. The Kobe Steel scandal is a classic example where the steel company failed to share data on the quality of its steel, copper, and aluminum products (Aizawa 2018, p.58). The company had forged documents to pass through compliance, a practice that went on for years. The result was their clients such as Toyota, started having questions on the safety of their products (Aizawa 2018, p.58). These fatal attempts by Kobe Steel, where the fabricated documents, are all attempts to keep in business and keep earning profits. It is a classical utilitarianism approach to the company, where they focused on profits, which is their end goal, at the expense of quality. They achieved this through falsifying data presented to their clients are regulatory institutions.

Raising prices indiscriminately as a move to profit maximization. Valeant pharmaceuticals based in the United States was caught in one of the corporate scandals in the year 2015, for have significantly increased the prices of two drugs with an intent to increase its stock prices (Sridharan & Hadley 2017,p.530). According to Sridharan and Hadley (2017,p.530), Valeant was found guilty by the United States Congressional committee for having bought subsidiary companies that realized efficient drugs, then eventually hiked the prices of these drugs even thrice as much like the Nitropess drug. Valeant seems to apply Utilitarianism in its strategy to increase stoke prices perfectly. Though there are casualties to this action, like patients not being able to afford life-saving drugs, Valeant seems to focus more on the stock price and is ready to add value to the stock at whatever cost.

Thirdly, negligence is one of the widely experienced ethical corporate ethical misconduct. The ’emissionsgate’ or the famous Volkswagen emissions scandal, could probably be one of the major cases of corporate negligence of the 21st century (Jung, Sharon & Bloch 2019, p.2-3). Volkswagen is said to have mounted devices on their engines, that helped pass the emissions evaluations. At the same time, in truth, the vehicles emitted close to 40 times of the threshold allowed by the United States during regular use (Jung, Sharon & Bloch 2019, p.2-3). The company is said to have sold over 11 million units by the time it was discovered. The company seemed to be more on the sales of units at the expense of environmental degradation. This is a utilitarianism thought in play, as the company was well aware of the device they had fitted on their vehicles. They knew the purpose it served in allowing them to sell vehicles that would otherwise not be permitted due to their negative effect on the environment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, ethics should be a means to attaining the common goods and not a tool for the maximum pleasure for the majority while minimizing suffering for the majority. Ethics should strive to serve all and not a selected few indiscriminately. As exhibited on by illustrations on this paper, it is clear that a majority of institutions and more inclined towards self-preservation at all costs. They operate on the principle of serving their interests first at the expense of the common good. Most of the ethical issues discussed in this paper were avoidable, but due to loopholes on the various systems, individuals and institutions seem to enjoys years of misconduct before being brought to book. It is, therefore, essential to develop balances and checks for each industry to ensure they maintain a high level of ethics while also publicly appreciating whistleblowers will go a long way in the fight against unethical behavior.