Ethics on Smoking Industry

INTRODUCTION: Ethics occupy an important place in today’s modern business world. Every organization makes use of ethics to make day-today decisions and fulfill societal expectations. This essay brings to light ethical and social responsibility that every individual and company should follow in order to become better citizens for society. Essay presents analysis based on real case of Philip Morris, a tobacco company in U. S. A versus Mayola – a widow, who took legal action against company for her husband’s death due to smoking. Essay draws balanced argument based on evidences about unethical behavior of tobacco company and smokers personal responsibilities for their actions. We have used Ethical decision-making model of Lagenderfer and Rockness to frame our analysis. ETHICS & BUSINESS Ethics in simple terms means set of moral principles or list of rules, which can determine whether particular action undertaken is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. All the activities undertaken by society are based on ethics. Ethics can be personal as well as professional. Personal ethics are based on individual’s values, beliefs, attitudes and actions while business ethics are based on certain principles or code of conduct to guide individual or a group in accordance with societal expectations. Business ethics can be defined as â€Å"study of business situations, activities and decisions where issues of right or wrong are addressed†(Crane, A& Matten ,D, 2007,P. 5). Thus, ethics helps in making decision and is a key for solving problems. Today, society is facing considerable increase in number of ethical issues such as fraud, exploitation, misleading advertisement and increasing pollution. Birt, Chalmers, Beal, Brooks, Byrne, Oliver, 2008, P. 65). CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY It is essential for every organization to undertake corporate social responsibility along with its goals and objectives. According to (Birt et al. , 2008, p. 70) Corporate social responsibility can be referred to responsibility that an entity has to all its stakeh olders, including society in general and physical environment in which it operates. There are many companies, which lack sense of corporate social responsibility and acts against interest of society. RELEVANT FACTS DETERMINED UNDER CASE: Today, business is giving rise to numerous ethical issues, as many companies are involved in exploiting its customers, selling harmful products in markets, false marketing of products and increasing environmental and health issues. Many tobacco companies like Phillip Morris are selling harmful and addictive products like cigarettes that cause serious diseases like lung cancer and heart attack. Analysis of Phillip Morris v. Mayola, Williams case brings down certain relevant facts that give rise to ethical issues. Mayola took a legal action on Philip Morris on the grounds of false and misleading advertisement and marketing undertaken by company for its products. It is fact that Philip Morris knew that tobacco was harmful for health still he advertised his product as non-addictive and safe and Williams death was caused by smoking. Second, fact is that Philip Morris appealed solely against damages that company had to pay to other smokers who did not bring any actions against court. Their appeal was only based on excessive damages that company was supposed to pay to strangers. This clearly indicates that he is very well aware of harms caused by his cigarettes to smokers and did not appeal on the grounds that his products were safe and less addictive. It is also relevant fact that Supreme Court made decision in favor of Philip Morris that company is not liable to pay excessive damages to Ms Williams on the grounds that damages were proper under Oregon statute but was excessive under federal constitution (BBC article, 20 Feb, 2007). This indicates that ethical laws are still complex and not clearly stated under constitution. ETHICAL DILEMMAS FOR BOTH SMOKERS AND COMPANY: Ethical dilemma arises when there is a situation with conflict of interest. We have built certain arguments based on ethical dilemmas from perspective of both smoker and company. We have constructed evidence-based arguments on unethical behavior by Philip Morris Company, which includes major ethical issues, such are selling harmful products, misleading and false advertisement, acting against societal expectations and caring out unethical business practice. Company is involved in producing and selling harmful tobacco products that contains high amount of nicotine, are addictive, and can cause serious health issues such as lung cancer and heart attack. Company acts unethically by encouraging people to smoke and their conflict of interest with societal ethical standards and expectations. According to (Janine and Ruth, 2008) company prevents old smokers from quitting and targets young people and children. Company adopts new and innovative marketing approaches to promote its products like direct mail advertising and sending coupons with discounts. Low tar† cigarettes were developed in response to the health concerns of older smokers in 1970, but experts found them no advantageous to health and did not help smokers to quit. Company lacks in corporate social responsibility as they perform activities that are against interest of society in general and physical environment in which it operates. Company undertakes massive fraud by acting d ishonestly having financial motive in mind. Company is involved in false advertisement indicating their products to be less addictive, more filtered and safe. According to ( Rosner, 2006, P. 193-196) company tries to create illusion by sponsoring cigarette cessation programmes and try to make society believe that they act in ethical way, but their real motive behind it is to promote company’s goal of selling cigarettes and meet their financial interests . Their misleading marketing activities makes lots of people to go for smoking. Philip Morris promised to shut down instantly if their cigarettes were found to be harmful but has failed to keep its promise, which gives rise to ethical dilemma. According to (David & Silva, 2004, p. 9-22) Company uses their political and economic influence to create an environment that encourages continued consumption of cigarettes. Company is accused of political lobbying. They lobby legislators and officials in finance ministry in order to keep tobacco prices low and thus encouraging people to smoke. Philip Morris was after minimizing total tax burden on cigarettes in order to keep smoking affordable . Article in Ethical Corporation magazine (2004) states that company declares itself responsible and argues that there is increasing demand for cigarettes by customers and if they stop selling it, someone else will take their position. Company tried to safeguard themselves on the grounds that they are selling legal products, which are not banned by government and are acting in ethical way by warning its customers against dangers associated with smoking. Thus, company gives rise to ethical dilemmas as it has an intension to make huge profits by selling harmful products that are responsible for death of millions of people and still trying to gain creditability as responsible company. From perspective of smokers in general, they give rise to ethical issues by consuming harmful products that are not ethically accepted by society and do not take warnings given by companies and government seriously. It is unethical to blame companies solely responsible for damages caused to them and bring their own actions against company. Their behavior can give rise to ethical dilemmas as their actions have a deep impact on their children and makes smoking more desirable for their kids in future. They also lack in personal and social responsibility by giving rise to health issues and environmental concerns for society in general. CONCLUSION: Thus, we conclude that tobacco is one the world’s greatest preventable health problems. According to our analysis, we came to a balanced conclusion that smokers should take responsibility for their actions and companies should behave ethically by making its customers fully aware about the dangers of smoking. It is very essential to undertake combined ethical and social responsibility by both smokers and tobacco companies to avoid millions of deaths due to smoking and to act in favor of societal expectations. Tobacco companies should stop giving misleading advertisement and marketing activities, which indicates their products to be safe and less addictive. They should stop encouraging consumption of tobacco among young and old and should ban children from its consumption. It is the responsibility of companies to support smoking cessation programs and help smokers to quit not just for sake of creating illusion but also to act in favor of societies interest in general and to build better image in society. Company should change their unethical business practices of creating massive fraud to fulfill its financial motive and provide support to government activities that help smokers to quit. Smokers should follow their personal ethics and should take responsibility for smoking. They should take warnings given by tobacco companies and government to quit smoking seriously. They can search on internet for more information or consult doctor to improve heir knowledge about serious health issues caused by smoking. Smokers should not escape from their personal and social responsibilities towards society and their families. It is unethical to bring their own action against company and solely blame company for health issues caused by smoking. It is moral duty and responsibility of every citizen to bear risk associated with their actions. It is responsibility of government to take care of its citizens and find solutions for their health relating issues. We believe that Political parties should not accept any funds from Tobacco Company for their campaign and government should ban any kind of commercial ads for cigarettes in magazine, newspapers or on television. Government should support smoking cessation programs and quitting and should be alert if tobacco company provides any support as they may mislead government by doing indirect advertising for their products. We recommend that there should be strict tobacco control strategy that restricts consumption of all tobacco products. Thus we conclude that it is ethical, moral and social responsibility for smokers, tobacco companies and government to stop consumption and selling of harmful products for betterment of society and environmental concerns. REFERANCE )Birt, J. ,Chalmers, K. ,Beal, D. , Brooks, A. , Byrne, S. , & Oliver, J. (2008). Accounting: Business Reporting for Decision Making. (2nd ed). John Wiley & Sons: Milton, Old. 2)Crane, A. , Matten, D. (2007). Business Ethics: Managing Corporate Citizenship & Sustainability in Age of Globalization. (2ND ed). Oxford University Press: New York. 3)David, A. , Silva,V. ( 2004). Building Blocks for Tobacco Control: a handbook tools for advancin g tobacco control in xxist century. Publisher World Health Organization: Geneva 4)Rosner, F. (2006). Contemporary Biomedical Ethical Issues and Jewish Laws. KTAV Publishing House: New Jersey 5)Janine, C. , & Ruth, M. (2008). False Promises: Journal of American Geriatrics, 56(9), p1716-1723, 8p, 1 chart retrieved on 5/ 09/2009 from Academic Search Premier Database. 6)Tobacco firm wins payout appeal: BBC news article https://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/business/6379767. stm retrieved on 6/9/2009. 7)Philip Morris executive declares his company ‘Responsible’: Article from Ethical Corporation Magazine: http://www. ethicalcorp. com/content. asp? ContentID=2345 retrieved on 8/09/2009.

Health Care Project Essay

Team B has chosen prescription drugs for our health care reform project and how our current economic status is influenced. We will give ideas and solutions to show how to decrease the drug pricing. Ways that can be implemented toward a solution. Pharmaceutical company’s need to amend their business practices from a high profit, low development model to a moderate profit, moderate to high development model. Structures and regulation that will explain the competition, barriers to entry, and regulations. Taking a look at drug pricing from different perspective, like cost, research, and development, marketing, and the manufacturing of pharmaceutical drugs. The Monopoly of pricing who is involved, and the curves associated with it. Price discrimination how it changes who’s involved and what the criteria are for groups as well as pricing for individuals. How cost of co pays differ from brand names to generic and how the drug formulates come into play. How to make the system work for everyone that will amount to higher than just a 30-day supply, pharmacy assistance programs, local charity programs, and low income opportunities. Better ways to enforce existing legislation, vote in new legislation, and regulate prices across the board. The above affects the insured and non-insured American’s. For most American households, paying for health care to include prescription drugs and medical bills has been one of the hardest financial strains out there. According to a report published by (Consumer Reports, 2012), many have cut back on other household expenses or taken potentially dangerous measures with their health to afford their medications. The most affected population is the working-age Americans who do not have prescription drug insurance coverage. More than half of the people who completed the survey requested by Consumer Reports took one or more prescriptions had to reduce other household expenses or make changes in how the general population manage their finances. These reductions included how much they spend on their groceries, entertainment, activities with the family, and using their credit cards to purchase medications. The problem  was more severe with younger people than elderly people age 65 and older. â€Å"84 percent of them said they had to resort to such measures† (Consumer Reports, 2012) as previously listed. Prescription drugs or better yet the cost of prescription drugs is a discussion in the country of importance. The rise of the cost of prescription drugs is of important to many people in the United States and plays a huge role in the economics of health care. The elevated pricing of prescription drugs has become a focal point of politics and in need of some governance. Even though healthcare and prescription drugs are seen as a private sector issue, the discussion of some socialist measures put into place is a definite need for the economy. Some of those ideas include price-capping expensive drugs and even importing drugs from Canada. Healthcare and prescription drugs have been privatized; however, the government has a huge influence on them both. According to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, the government, including state, and federal, has contributed more the 2.7 trillion in 2011. This shows that we have hidden, or more politically correct, blurred the view of a socialist healthcare system. The currently health care system with health care reform has caused confusing for co nsumers. Many people are struggling to pay for the high cost of medication they are on. Some of the patients have to take a different type of medication, which is called alternative medication because their insurance denied paying for it in addition; the process to get approval from insurance takes longer time and more paperwork back and forth from doctors and insurance companies. In reality, health care consumers are the victims, they suffer from their medical illnesses, and they suffer for the high cost of prescription drugs. Health care reform in theory is helping more than forty million people to have health coverage, the demand curve shifts to the right. The important matter at the present time is the supply to cover that many people to have a quality care whereas the economy is gradually recovering. The unemployment rate is not changing much, it is still relatively high. When the prescription drug cost much of our income, seeking for other solution becomes a must do from consumers, they tend to dismiss their prescriptions or buying medication from online market, w hich may cause bad health than curing purpose.

Abstract paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Abstract - Term Paper Example This doesn’t imply that understanding a speech necessarily means understanding the context in which the speech is delivered. However the author argues that it is impossible to comprehend a speech unless its context and utterance are understood. This is true of both rhetorical and non-rhetorical discourse. The author draws various analogies with a rhetorical situation. He feels that a rhetorical is analogous to a moral action. We call an act moral because it is performed in a certain situation of a certain kind. Similarly, a work is rhetorical because it is the result of a situation of a certain kind. In an imaginary world, there will only be communication as argued world over but no rhetoric. This is because exigencies will not erupt. In our own world, however, rhetorical exigencies are bound to crop up. The video that was provided to me was John Kennedy’s speech on Martin Luther King’ speech. The speech demonstrates the rhetorical situation explained by Bitzer in his article. The speech is a well used example of rhetoric in public relations. Its purpose was to make the audience feel that Americans need not worry about being discriminated on the basis of their religion, ethnic and cultural back ground. The speech is a very well placed example of a rhetorical situation as explained by Bitzer. The context of the situation demanded this speech by John F Kennedy. As explained by Bitzer exigency is a very important constituent of any rhetorical situation. An exigency is considered to be an imperfection and is ear marked by urgency. It is more or less a defeat, an obstacle, something that is waiting to be done and a thing which is other than what is should be. The situation in which Kennedy made the speech was ear-marked by an emergency. Thus is was a fitting response given the circumstances and the background under which the speech was

Do you think that ethnicity and religion play important roles in Essay

Do you think that ethnicity and religion play important roles in political leadership in Africa - Essay Example According to Odinga, in African press, Nigeria is an example of a nation embroiled in the politics of ethnicity since independence. This happened after the 1993 military coup that made ethnic groups of I jaws, Yoruba’s, Igbo’s, Tiv’s Edo’s and Fulani to form a party (Odinga web) A religion difference especially Islam and Christianity determines political leadership in Africa. This is true in many countries that have an almost equal proportion of the two religions. In Sudan for instance, hostility experienced in the North and South of the country had its background in religion. In the South, most leaders were Christians some of whom were priests. The churches and priests influenced the civil wars that occurred in this country between Muslims and Christians. Ethnicity and Religion at times influences politics negatively. Many countries have experienced tribal crashes resulting from ethnic political parties. Zimbabwe, Kenya and Congo are some of the countries affected by ethnicity. A worse case of ethnicity is the one of Sierra Leon where the group in control of political power controls also the distribution of National

FASB Revenue Recognition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

FASB Revenue Recognition - Essay Example ccounted principles (GAAP) establish the standards, rules and procedures which accountants must follow when realizing bookkeeping and accounting work. The GAAP framework is developed through a series of assumptions, principles and constraints. Two important principles Legal Plan Services should keep in mind are revenue recognition principle and the matching principle for expenses. The revenue recognition principle stipulates that revenues should be recognized when the work is realizable and earned. Receiving cash does not imply the business has performed the work. â€Å"Expenses are recognized not when the work is performed, or when the product is produced, but when the work or product actually makes its contribution to revenue† (Wikipedia). Administration expenses do not follow the matching principles since they are not directly linked to the creation of specific revenue, they are considered period costs. The best way for Legal Plan Services to present a report that clearly presents the amount of revenues and expenses in a reliable, comparable and consistent manner is through the financial statement called income statement. The income statement is divided into two parts within the report. At the top of the report revenues are illustrated, while the bottom part gives the user information about the expenses the company incurred. In the income statement the company should include notes to the statement to explain the practices utilized for creating revenues and recognizing expenses. The company has serious flaws in both its revenue and expense recognition methodology. The company is collecting money from customers for a service they will provide in the near future. This event behaves like unearned revenue. Unearned revenue is sometimes referred to as deferred revenue (Weygandt & Kieso & Kimmel, 97). In the ledger of the company the journal entry would be a debit to cash and a credit to unearned revenue. At the time the company provides the service the journal entry

Performance Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Performance Evaluation - Essay Example 6). Performance Evaluation Points of Concern The case study talks about a mid size manufacturing plant and the performance evaluation of an engineer is conducted who previously had worked in the aerospace industry and hard working employee. Major concerns with respect to performance review in the manufacturing firm was that the review was performed by someone who was not effectively trained and so he won’t be able to understand the criteria of judging a person and deciding upon the appraisal. Secondly, the engineer did not trust the company’s approach towards evaluation of performance as it concentrated only personal characteristic and relationship with the worker. Thirdly even after learning about the 360 degree evaluation method, the manager was not sure of implementing it. Most Commonly-Used Performance Evaluation Tool The plant manger evaluated the performance based on two criteria personal characteristic and relationship with the co workers of the engineer. ... A good relationship means working as a team to solve problems and learn on new skills in order to reach the objective of the team and can bring about effective result. Therefore comparing personal characteristic and relationship among the co workers, the latter is more important for effective result. Advantage and Disadvantage Advantage of including the superiors, subordinates and peers in the evaluation process also known as the 360 degree is it improves the performance of whole organization and focuses on individual growth. An all round feedback allows an employee to understand as to how other perceive them and getting feedback directly from customers, colleague in a safe way helps an employee get the reality of information. In addition it also includes certain disadvantages like it is time consuming and a complex process, it can result in intimidating for some employees due to extensive feedback and most importantly it requires training in order to work effectively (Fagerhaugh, 19 96, p. 80) Three Common Performance Evaluation Methods Three common performance evaluation methods which are used to analyze performance data are rating scale or the ranking method, 360 degree evaluation method and behavioral evaluation method. Common characteristic of the three methods is that they are used to evaluate performance of the employees by the evaluator. The ranking method is the most common and easiest method where the employees are ranked based on the relative worth towards the organization although the method suffers from defects like bias report from the evaluator and also not suitable for large number of people. The 360 degree helps to get feedback from multisource unlike the ranking method. The

Spatialization Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Spatialization Paper - Assignment Example The Chinese city of Beijing, is a good example of the impact that globalization has on the people and the environment. While the concept made it possible for multinational companies (MNCs) from United States and United Kingdom to seek cheap manufacturing plants owing to cheap labor costs, it has experienced a fair share of problems related to generation of immense pollution and the contamination of the environment especially from the toxic greenhouse gases emitted from the factories. For these reasons, it is important to assess the impact of contemporary globalization in the city of Beijing and determine whether it is turning the city into a meaningful region or reaping it apart. The large population in the Chinese city of Beijing is a good factor for cheap labor (Piron, 2006). Many factories are located in the city because it provides a large population of unemployment. Besides, the country does not have effective labor regulatory organizations that can push these factories to provide appropriate and standardized salaries and work conditions for its employees. Many employees are hired on contractual basis. Although these put the life of the workers at jeopardy, it provides an ample position of companies to generate huge revenues. One many factor that impart negatively on the city is the generation of pollution. Chinese cities have the worse pollution records in the world. Rapid industrialization in the cities that deals with the manufacturing industries like hey facilities, heavy industries, the cement processing, and steel works. These industries form the integral part of the country’s development agenda and the prosperity of the nation (Marginson a nd Gugielmo, 2010; Brewster et al., 2004). These industries use coal, oil and other forms of non-renewable forms of energy that generates huge amounts of greenhouse gases, which accumulates into the atmosphere. The effects of contemporary globalization have lured