Ethics: Codes, Dilemmas and

Dialectics

Code of Conduct in Business

It is important to organize certain business activities.
It is to ensure a proper ethical behavior in conduct of business.
Many business houses develop their own code of conduct in business eg. Jet
Airways, Coca Cola Company etc.
These are based on core values of the company, its mission and vision.
Different companies may have different COC but the basic business codes
remain the same, following are some of them:

Compliance with laws, rules and regulations.

Working with honesty, integrity and diligence and on the basis of work ethics.

Confidentiality should be maintained.

Maintenance of companys goodwill, assets and property.

No harassment and discrimination against employees and stakeholders.

Fair trade practices and honest competition.

Consumer services should be good with after sale services.

Political connection and subscription to political parties to be discouraged.

To carry out corporate social responsibility.

INTRODUCTION TO ETHICAL DILEMMA

A situation in which an individual feels
compelled to make a choice between
two or more actions that he or she can
reasonably and morally justify, or when
evidence or an arguments are
inconclusive, is called an ethical
dilemma.
(Beauchamp&Childress,2001;McConn
ell,2002).
One action must be chosen because
performing both actions would be
impossible.

 Ethical Dilemmas are usually described

in terms of right or wrong, duty or
obligation, rights or responsibilities, and
good or bad.
Ethical dilemmas are commonly
identified by the question, What should
be done?

Characteristic Features of ethical dilemmas

Social cost and private gains are different.
No link between two alternate course of action.
Competitive behavior gains predominance in many cases.

Cross cultural values differentials exist.

Some pressures from somewhere are there.
A problem of right choice is the main issue.
The exact impact of two alternatives is not known.
Inconsistency between goals.

Types of dilemmas
Most moral dilemmas in nursing / midwifery can be identified
according to the following classifications:

Dilemmas of Beneficence-dilemma that involve deciding what is

good as opposed to what its harmful.
Dilemmas of autonomy- those that involve deciding what course of
action maximize the right of self determination.
Dilemmas of justice- dilemmas that involve dividing resources fairly

Dilemmas of fidelity- those that are involve honoring promises

Dilemmas of non maleficence- dilemmas that involve the
avoidance of harm
Dilemmas of confidentiality- those that involve respecting
privileged information
Dilemmas of veracity- dilemmas that involve telling or
concealing the truth

SOURCES & CAUSES OF ETHICAL DILEMMAS

SOURCES

CAUSES

Individual values(may be in conflict with

social and family culture)

Family values ( may be in clash with

business values)

Organization/workplace ( in conflict with

personal values)

Society ( in conflict with individual

norms)

Cross-Cultural Levels ( in conflict with

cultural practices in another country)

Clash between personnel values and

organizational culture or values. ( which
one to sacrifice)

Due to organizational goals and social

standards. (eg. Police)
Clash between organizational practices
and personal beliefs. ( Racial or gender
discrimination asked by senior)

Pressure from organization. (Produce

and sell hazardous products).

Process for resolving ethical problems:

Recognition
Gathering
Clarify

relevant factual information

the personal context of the ethical dilemma

Identify

and clarify the ethical concept

Construct
Take

of ethical dilemma

and evaluate arguments for each issue.

action. (Make decision)

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DIALECTICS OF ETHICAL DEVELOPMENT IN

BUSINESS
1. It is a method of argument for resolving
disagreement
2. The dialectical method is discourse
between two or more people holding
different points of view about a subject,
who wish to establish the truth of the
matter guided by reasoned arguments.

3. The purpose of the dialectic method of

reasoning is resolution of disagreement
through rational discussion, and,
ultimately, the search for truth.

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STEPS FOR PRESENTING AN ETHICAL ARGUMENT OR A

DEFENSE OF A MORAL JUDGMENT USING ETHICAL
DIALECTIC
1. Arguments on the moral issues or dilemma made clear
2. Arguments defended using
reasoning in support of the judgment (conclusion of the moral argument)

Ethical Principles employed in the argument

Values used to select the ethical principles used in defense of the conclusion
(judgment)
3. Consideration of alternative arguments and the rejection of those alternatives
in favor of the judgment made for the reasons given which employ ethical
principles and values.

SOME MAJOR UNETHICAL BUSINESS

PRACTICES

Sexual harassment at workplace

Forced labour and bonded labour
Sweat Shops
Discriminations
Fraud
Theft
Corruption
Exploiting workers
Tax Loopholes
Overbilling
Dumping Toxins

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Most Unethical Business Practices in Big Business

1. Apple:

Everyone wants an iPhone and no one really cares if it were made by tiny child slaves who are forced
to work in dangerous conditions, inhaling cancerous vapors, for 10 hours a day, seven days a week.
And that is why Apple continues to be so profitable.

But as beautiful as their products are, the production side of their business is a dark, horrific and
unethical one. Apple manufacturer Foxconn is like hell on earth. Conditions at this plant are so
miserable that anti-suicide nets had to be installed beneath the windows after a whopping 17
employees leapt to their deaths in protests of the horrific things they had to endure on a daily basis.

Living quarters like tiny college dorms in a gigantic beehive type factory, each crammed with crappy
bunk beds. Exhausting hours, humiliating discipline, unreasonable workloads, and pressure to reduce
overtime resulting in lower paychecks are just some of the crappy conditions faced by thousands of
Foxconn employees on a daily basis.

The controversy began in 2006 and is still happening today. And while Apple has made efforts to
branch out and use some different manufacturers to produce their products, unethical Foxconn is still
their go-to company.

Besides using Foxconn, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak claimed that Apple was engaging in unethical
tax practices by utilizing an Irish tax loophole to avoid paying billions in taxes on international sales.

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2.

Toyota Ignored Safety Concerns to Save Money

One of the most important aspects of any car company is safety the concern for safety, how
both employees and consumers are kept safe, and how issues are handled should a safety
concern arise. Toyota made a huge and unethical failure in 2010 when they basically betrayed
their promise as a company by ignoring safety concerns and delaying recall investigations just
so they could save a little money.

After confronted with safety concerns regarding faulty breaks and sticking pedals in 2009,
Toyota said that phasing in side airbags saved $124 million and 50,000, the cost of what it would
have taken to recall and fix vehicles. They also stated that delaying a rule for tougher door locks
saved them $11 million.

Despite being ordered to appear before Congress and provide an explanation for their unethical
handling of the situation, Toyota didnt seem to think it was such a big deal.

We can win back the customers confidence; we are doing a better job, said senior Toyota
executive and global managing director on the Toyota board in somewhat of an apology for their
delayed recalls. But it seems that they were only sorry after they got caught it was almost an
entire two years before Toyota got called out on this unethical practice after a few deaths and
even more complaints about their unsafe vehicles. Their failure to be honest got so bad that they
were even accused of hiding evidence in hundreds of rollover and death cases.

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3. Philip Morris

Philip Morris Tobacco has been lauded as extremely unethical since so much of their advertising
seems geared toward children, and whats more evil than trying to get kids hooked on what is
basically a life-threatening drug?

While tobacco advertising regulations are now stronger than ever, Philip Morris (and other
tobacco companies) are still criticized for the prominence of their products and ads in delis,
convenience stores, and magazines. Theres also the fact that they continue to pay for product
placement in movies featuring cool characters who smoke and may influence the teens
watching them to do the same.

Even their efforts to make themselves look better have been criticized; PBS wonders why antismoking ads created by Philip Morris point the blame at other smoking teenagers instead of
tobacco manufacturers themselves. After all, the only reason that kid-friendly cigarette mascots
like Joe Camel dont exist today is because we made them illegal.

Even a recently released Surgeon Generals Report in 2012 openly admits the scientific
evidence that consistently and coherently points to the intentional marketing of tobacco
products to youth as being a cause of young peoples tobacco use.

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4. Barrick Gold Corporation

Barrick Corporation, a Toronto-based gold-mining company, has been voted as Covalences 12th
most unethical company in the world. Accused of torching up to 300 homes in Papua New
Guinea in order to make room for their mining operation. Landowners were given no time to
gather possessions and reportedly physically attacked by armed guards if they attempted to
protest the impromptu and violent eviction.
Barrick Corporation is also accused of manipulating land titles in Australia and Chile, and of
dumping toxic waste with high levels of arsenic in the Tanzania.

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5. Chevron
Chevron has been caught trying to evade paying millions in taxes and has been accused of 18 years of unethical
practices in a 42-page affidavit detailing their cruel and selfish methods.
Chevron attempted to undermine the Ecuadorian court when a lawsuit was brought against them for deliberately
dumping billions of gallons of toxic waste into the South American rainforest, creating the Amazon Chernobyl.
Amazingly, they went on to try and hide behind US courts and deny any involvement despite overwhelming
scientific evidence of their responsibility in this atrocity.
Chevron is also accused of faking a letter from the Ecuadorian ambassador which falsely dismissed the lawsuit, of
attempting to destroy all documents relating to the spill, blocking the gathering of scientific evidence, and
refusing to pay court experts. They even went so far as to hire a drug dealer to try and create an unlawful sting
operation against the judge presiding over the case in an attempt to discredit him. It didnt work, but the trial
was delayed an extra two years because of it

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6. WalMart

WalMart is another behemoth company accused time and time again of being downright evil. Labor unions,
community groups, religious organizations, environmental groups and WalMart customers all have one thing in
common: they hate the way WalMart does business.

First there is the issue of predatory store placement. When WalMart enters a new town, its almost guaranteed
to eradicate all of the small businesses in the surrounding areas. How are mom and pop shops supposed to
compete against WalMarts absurdly wide selection and ridiculously low prices? Besides destroying local
businesses, WalMart insisted on opening a superstore only two miles down the road from a historical site in
Mexico, and the construction of the WalMart parking lot revealed small artifacts beneath the surface during
digging. Who cares? Not WalMart.

Then theres the whole trying to drive competitors out of the market with unfairly low prices thing. WalMart
has actually been sued for whats called predatory pricing, or intentionally selling a product at an unreasonably
low cost to drive out the competition. Walmart won one of these three cases but settled out of court for the
other two.

And lets not forget the public outcry and outrage surrounding the poor treatment of WalMarts employees.
Theyve been notorious for providing wages so poor that full timers still have to reply on food stamps and
welfare just to get by. And working conditions, as described by many of these harrowing first-hand accounts
here, paint a grisly image of non-investigated sexual harassment in the work place, denied sick leave, reduced
working hours and a vehement opposition toward anyone who wanted to work in a union.

In response to the outcries of employee horror stories, megalomaniac WalMart simply requested that
employees send in happier stories instead. A pretty creepy and cold response from a company responsible for
the well-being of thousands of employees.

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7. Monsanto

Monsanto has, time and time again, been named the worlds most unethical company by many
including Action for Our Planet and other eco-friendly publications.

Monsanto began what seems to be their plight against humanity in the 70s, when they created toxic chemical
Agent Orange for use in chemical warfare in Vietnam. The effects of Agent Orange were so horrible and
devastating that half a million children were born with debilitating birth defects due to exposure and Vietnam
residents continue to suffer the poisonous effects today.

Monsanto has since moved on to GMO foods, and owns over 95% of seed patents today. Which means that
any farmer accidentally growing unlicensed seeds that have accidentally blown over into their fields are subject
to lawsuits, and Monsanto has not hesitated to aggressively sue small farmers, including one 80-something
year old man.

Recently, confidential Monsanto reports detailing the companys cutthroat tactics for squashing smaller
competitors and controlling the seed market have been exposed.

Besides being voted the most evil company in the world year after year for their unethical practices and
borderline illegal business tactics, a great debate over the safety of GMOs rages on, with Monsanto going as
far as to shadily discredit dissenters via fake online profiles.

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