Ethical Issues In The Corporal World Flashcards
Some ethical issues in the corporate world
- Employee conflict of interest
- Inappropriate gifts
- Sexual harassment
- Unauthorised use of funds
- Affirmative action
- Internet, email and cell phone issues
- Stealing from the company
- Firing an employee for whistle-blowing
- Insider trading
- Piracy
- Counterfeiting and bootlegging
- Pricing of goods in rural areas
- Divulging confidential information/trade secrets
- Unethical advertising
- Tax evasion
Employee conflict of interest
May occur on many levels: moral conflict on whether or not to conduct abortion
Inappropriate gifts
Given to a potential decision-maker with the intention of swinging his/her decision. Could also be a manager giving a married female employee jewellery or perfume
Sexual harassment
Unwelcomed, uninvited sexual advances, both verbal and physical. May also include explicit comments, signs, innuendos, phone calls, emails, SMS’s or any other act that makes the recipient feel uncomfortable
Unauthorised use of funds
Fraudulent invoices/ payments, forged signatures, skimming accounts
Affirmative action
Attempt to rectify past moral injustices. Necessary for healing and moving forward. Currently viewed as reverse discrimination
Internet, email and cell phone issues
Have the potential to destroy reputations and disseminate damaging information
Stealing from the company
Taking office supplies home for personal use, charging business accounts for personal meals or personal entertainment
Fire an employee for whistle - blowing
Reporting unethical behaviour to managers/authorities. Whistle blowers are protected by South African law
Insider trading
Illegal practicing of buying and selling shares on the stock markets with the advantage of having “insider” access to confidential informal
Piracy
Unauthorised and illegal duplication of products protected by patents or copyrights
Counterfeiting
Is the act of copying someone else’s work to pass it off as an original. Example, creating a fake Nike
Bootlegging
Is the illegal distribution of a product. Example, a shebeen does not have a liquor license
Pricing of goods in rural areas
The consumer protection act (CPA) makes it illegal to charge more for products in rural areas without justification
Unethical advertising
Will look to manipulate the basest of human emotions and use that manipulation to prey on unwitting customers. Will also use socially unacceptable imagery in order to market products, such as descriptions of minorities as incompetent or generally stupid, or the depiction of women as sexual objects.
