Assignment: Discussion—Ethics in Corporate Settings

Course Overview:
Contract Law and Professional Ethics analyzes the primary legal structures governing business activity in the United States, and introduces students to state and international guidelines and interests. Students identify, apply, and anticipate legal issues relevant to advancement in the industries and regions relevant to their careers. 

Course Introduction:
Let’s explore the mortgage and housing situation after the year 2000.
Getting a mortgage back then was quite simple, even if you didn’t have enough money for a down payment or suitable income. Obviously, companies were making a lot of money by selling these mortgages—selling them, sometimes, without recourse. A later assignment will allow you to delve into this situation, but suffice it now to say that there was a lot of unethical behavior. People lost their homes, and banks nearly collapsed. Others got rich. Was anything done illegally? So far, nobody has been indicted because of the housing collapse.
Studying the paradox of a company trying both to make money and to keep the public interest in focus is a constant challenge. 

Both matters must be kept in mind; even as one studies the one, the other must be kept close at hand. Many companies would argue that their only duty is to increase the wealth of their shareholders. Others would argue that not only is public interest important, the way a company deals with many different issues is also important. Being an ethical public-oriented company is important.
This course will examine a company’s ethics in light of various groups—the public, shareholders and other investors, and employees. Companies have spent a lot of time and effort drafting rules for engaging each of these groups. Sometimes, it is in reaction to new laws or the threat of new laws; sometimes, however, it’s because companies want to be good corporate citizens.

Understanding this paradox is important for any business student. Whether it is to them help run a company some day or to improve their day-to-day interactions with other stakeholders, it is important to understand where lines are drawn and how to assess which side of the line to be on.

Module Overview:
What comes to your mind when you hear the word “unethical”?
According to Webster, unethical means “unwilling to adhere to proper rules of a profession or lacking in moral principles” (“Unethical,” 2011). Nowhere do you see the word “illegal” in the definition. That means that something could be unethical but not illegal.

For example, your friend calls you up in panic because she just got fired from work. She and a few colleagues were planning to go out for St. Patrick’s Day and wore green shirts to work. The company didn’t like it, and even though it was explained that no one was protesting against the company, the company fired all eight people wearing green shirts.

This module introduces you to the legal and ethical principles necessary for a successful business enterprise. You will explore the juxtaposition of freedom versus responsibility and examine an ethical-decision-making “toolkit” developed for business leaders. Unethical. (2011). Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unethical

 
Module Readings and Assignment:Complete the following readings early in the module:

Module  overview
From your course textbook, Law & Ethics in the Business Environment, 8th  read the following chapter:

Law, Ethics, and Business: An Introduction

 
Assignment: Discussion—Ethics in Corporate Settings

Many companies have incorporated ethic policies to guide their staff. Additionally, almost all professional organizations have ethic policies to guide their professional’s behavior. 

Tasks:
Using the Argosy University online library resources or the Internet, research the background of ethics policies for companies. Then, respond to the following questions:

How do these ethical policies aid the company?
How do they guide the behavior of the staff of the various companies?
How strict should the company be in applying their policies?

 
Submission Details:

By Friday August 3, 2018 in a minimum of 500 words, summarize and post your responses to this Discussion Area. Support your work by citing sources according to APA standards.

 
Write your initial response in 300–500 words.   turned-in on time, Grading criteria followed All assignment qualifications addressed correctly, Grading Criteria followed, Include Question followed by the answer  Reference Page Included Cover page Included, Paragraphs  Indented,  Running-head included, main heading should be centered; all  new  paragraphs should be indented;  paper should be right ragged,   not right justified; references,  should always go on a standalone  page. abstracts are not usually indented; acronyms should be spelled out when using them  for  the first time, for example HR. references as listed are APA  standard.   When you  submit your papers through turnitin.com, your overall  similarity  index  score should not be exceedingly high, with   ten to  fifteen percent  being  the maximum,  Please make sure your APA  formatting of citations. I have provided the  APA resource cite for you. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01, Please work on using literature within the span of the last 5 years,  keep in mind there should not be any one, two, or three sentence  paragraphs 
Your response should be thorough and address all components of the discussion question in detail, include citations of all sources, where needed, according to the APA Style, and demonstrate accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Do the following when responding:

Read your answers.
Provide substantive comments by

contributing new, relevant information from course readings, Web sites, or other sources;
building on the remarks or questions; or
sharing practical examples of key concepts from your professional or personal experiences

Respond to feedback on your posting and provide feedback to ideas.
Make sure your writing

is clear, concise, and organized;
demonstrates ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and
displays accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Grading Criteria:
Quality of initial posting, including fulfillment of assignment instructions
Reference to supporting readings and other materials
Language and grammar