Effects of Drugs and Alcohol on Human Body - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss about the Effects of Drugs and Alcohol on Human Body. Answer: Introduction Business ethics are the principles and standards which tell right conduct from wrong conduct in an business organisation(Ferrell Hirt, 2016). In this report, 5 cases of ethical dilemma are analysed to offer alternatives which can be considered ethical. Producing toys-Childs Play? Dilemma: By replacing the Portuguese supplier with the Thai manufacturer the project manager would be able to get the toys at a third of what the Portuguese supplier is charging. But after visiting the manufacturing facility you realize that no manufacturing facility exists instead a family including children were working in a garage to assemble the toys. Now the project manager is faced with the dilemma of making a decision to whether continue with the Portuguese suppliers and rule out the option of outsourcing the production to Thai manufacturer, where poor working condition and child labour are prominent, or to believe the Thai partner and go ahead with the supply contract in order to save costs. Alternatives: According to the consequentialist theory of ethics results of the act or rule determine whether the rule or act is right or wrong. The underlying principle is to choose the action which creates maximum good for maximum number of people(BBC, 2014). One alternative for project manager is to outsource the toys assembly to Thai manufacturer. This will result in cost minimization for the confectionary company and employment for people of Thailand. Another ethics theory called Deontological ethics suggests that some actions need to be taken because they are the right thing to do(Encyclopdia Britannica, 2017). In this case, it is one of the Project Managers duties to ensure that cost of production stays within the budget. Outsourcing of toys assembly will definitely bring down the cost of the product as a whole. But according to the rights theory of ethics rights established by society are given highest priority(Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics, 2005). But in case the Thai ma nufacturer is given the contract then there will be abuse of basic human rights. Project manager can either rule out the idea of outsourcing the assembly to Thailand or should make the Thai manufacturer follow a comprehensive code of conduct which would include norms regarding workplace, minimum wages and child labour. Failing to uphold the code of conduct would result in end of contract. Who cares whose shares? Dilemma: Regional marketing director of a chemical and pharmaceutical company is aware of the fact that, if the news of presence of a chemical with lethal side effects in a herbicide manufactured by the company, goes public the share prices will drop significantly. Now he has received a large share of his bonuses in the form of stocks and looking their performance regional marketing director has suggested his college friend Freddie, who in now an account manager at an investment bank, to invest in the stock as well and Freddie in turn has suggested his clients to do so as well. Now the regional marketing director is in dilemma regarding whether he should tell Freddie to sell his share as he is doing to avoid any losses or should he keep quiet as he has been instructed by the vice president and avoid any effects on share prices before the news is published. Alternatives: In this case, following facts are available: 1) Freddie is an old friend of Regional Marketing Manager who has invested in PCCs shares and has asked his clients to do the same; 2) Vice President has asked all senior managers to stay quiet about the findings of the study. According to Virtue ethics by practising virtuous qualities like honesty, generosity etc. a person will develop a moral character and this will help him/her to make ethical decisions(Cline, 2017). Marketing Director is aware that by Friday next week the share prices will definitely face impact due to publishing of the report and his friend Freddie will also get the news by his channels, which means that in next week Freddie will anyways sell off his shares and ask his clients to do the same. One option for Marketing director is to let Freddie know about the reports by his sources and remain quiet about it on Friday as his Vice president has instructed or he can let Freddie know about the reports and its repercussions so that Freddie does not lose his job. Dilemma: Human resource manager of AllCure Pharmaceuticals has to select between two shortlisted candidates to fill the vacancy at clinical trials team. In order to determine social skills HR manger went through the social media profiles of these two candidates. It can be deciphered from the content uploaded by the candidate with relevant work experience that she is too much into partying and possibly in illegal activities like consuming drugs on the other hand the social profile of the candidate with no relevant work experience suggested that she is sociable and well-travelled individual. Now the HR manager is faced by the decision to choose inexperienced but sociable or experienced but with somewhat outrageous social profile. Alternatives: It is clearly stated in the case that the candidate with relevant experience has uploaded some outrageous images of herself which also suggest that she is involved in illegal activities like consumption of drugs. Social media profiles are like interviews and there are chances that if the recruiter doesnt liked the profile the person might not be good to work with as well(Hill, 2012). This particular candidate if hired will be expected to have meticulous work attitude as the nature of the work is sensitive, someone who is clearly into alcohol and drugs may have concentration issues(White, 2017). In such a scenario one option is to cross check with the previous employer about the candidate or to recruit the other candidate and fill the position. Organic Food-What is an organic Label really worth? Given the increased awareness about the organic food consumers today do not hesitate in paying premium prices to buy organic food products. But the ethical issues arise when consumers are poorly informed about what exactly the organic label might mean. For example in the US the word organic can be used for the products which contain upto 95% of organic ingredients, the rest 5% can include chemicals for flavour enhancing, colouring or thickening. Many organisations like the American retailer Target was nabbed for falsely marketing its soymilk as organic. Similarly German authorities identified more than 200 farms which were selling their non-organic eggs as premium priced organic eggs. China has been exporting its organic products in international markets but its credibility is also questionable. Apart from certification issues there is another environmental issue related to organic farming. As it takes almost two and a half times the land to produce organic food in large quantity fam ers in developing countries tend to burning forests to convert them in farms, which results in emission of carbon dioxide and danger to wildlife. Alternatives: Consumer Rights are body of law that relates to things producers of goods and services should do to avoid any harm to customers(HG.org, 2018). Being ethical with consumers is the most important aspect of Business ethics. Violation of consumers rights can damage public relation of the corporation(Crane Matten, 2014). In this case in the consumers are being charged more for products labelled as Organic when they are actually not. This is happening majorly because of lack of knowledge in consumers and secondly because of products being imported from countries with poor legislations for food certification. USDA has created a new database of organic food growers and some pesticides and herbicides, considered organic, will be considered non acceptable(Wells, 2015). Todays organisations operate in an open and digital world where authenticity is key to success, in order to meet the growing demand of ethical behaviour by consumers it is a good idea for organisations to be open in their opera tions(Baker, 2015). A new Spin on responsible sourcing? Uzbekistan is one of the five countries dominating cotton exports. Due to lack of technology almost 90% of cotton is harvested by hand in Uzbekistan. In order to meet the demand children are forced to labour in felids during harvesting season. In 2005, labour conditions at Uzbekistan were exposed in a report Environmental Justice foundation. However, initial response from business community was that they cannot possibly boycott cotton from Uzbekistan as it is very difficult to trace the origin of raw materials used to produce a piece of clothing. But, as the pressure built many companies decided to boycott Uzbek Cotton. As a response Uzbekistan signed ILO convention, committing to stop child labour and developing an action plan meet its commitments. But in 2010, a study done by University of London revealed the existence of forced child labour in Uzbekistan. Boycott by western manufacturers intensified and some progress in situation were witnessed but Uzbekistan started to export its produce to countries which were not concerned much about the labour practices. Alternatives: As it has been mentioned by various manufacturers that it is impossible for them to completely boycott Uzbekistan cotton firstly because to produce a piece of cloth cotton from various sources is used and secondly there is more than one way by which Uzbekistan cotton can enter supply chain. Here ethics of duty play a major role. Uzbekistani governments action of forcibly employing children on cotton field cannot be justified by the revenue they generate from export(BBC, 2014). This has raised questions regarding the ethics of suppliers. This is done majorly in Asian countries where western companies outsource much of their production like Bangladesh, Thailand etc. But some companies have undertaken implementation of supply chain traceability(Ethical Consumer, 2015). International community can play an important role in persuading the Uzbekistan government to follow strict child labour policies, where the age of working population is clearly defined and to encourage use of technology for cotton harvesting. Finally, Government and Corporates should set up the code of ethics in order to highlight the consequences of human rights violation, like loss of business both for government and corporates. Conclusion It can be concluded that no business activity falls out of the preview of ethics. Whether it is Outsourcing, recruitment, shareholders, suppliers or consumers every aspect of business decision is influenced by ethics. In order to build a reputation of trustworthy organisation all business decisions should be based on ethics. Bibliography Baker, J., 2015. The rise of the conscious consumer: why businesses need to open up. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/women-in-leadership/2015/apr/02/the-rise-of-the-conscious-consumer-why-businesses-need-to-open-up [Accessed 15 January 2018]. BBC, 2014. About consequentialism. [Online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/consequentialism_1.shtml [Accessed 16 January 2018]. BBC, 2014. About duty-based ethics. [Online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/duty_1.shtml [Accessed 15 January 2018]. Cline, A., 2017. Virtue Ethics: Morality and Character. [Online] Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/virtue-ethics-morality-and-character-249866 [Accessed 16 January 2018]. 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[Online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/03/05/facebook-can-tell-you-if-a-person-is-worth-hiring/#5f09f70c64ce [Accessed 16 January 2018]. Wells, J., 2015. Is 'organic' really organic? A deep dive into the dirt. [Online] Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/04/is-organic-really-organic-a-deep-dive-into-the-dirt.html [Accessed 15 January 2018]. White, S., 2017. Effects of Drugs and Alcohol on the Human Body. [Online] Available at: https://www.livestrong.com/article/533552-about-alcohol-and-stomach-bleeding/ [Accessed 16 January 2018].