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Unfortunately, this meant that mortgage lenders no longer had to worry at all about whether or not their borrowers were good or bad risks, since their mortgage debts were sold off to other institutions. That situation triggered widespread ethical violations throughout the mortgage lending industry because lenders now profited whether or not borrowers defaulted on their loans and because property brokers began colluding with unqualified borrowers by helping them apply for mortgages they could never afford to pay off. Eventually, many of them defaulted triggering the collapse of all of the mortgage-backed securities that had been sold and invested into large pension funds and other complex securities (Phillips, 2008).
Another example of unethical conduct pertains to the continual ability of health insurance industry lobbyists to promote political opposition to necessary healthcare reform throughout the period preceding its eventual passing in 2009 (Kennedy, 2006; Reid, 2009). Specifically, large health insurance companies funded tremendous campaigns involving five or six lobbyists for every single Washington legislator for the sole purpose of derailing crucial healthcare reform in the U.S. Because so many politicians (particularly Republicans) were beholden to those interests, they engaged in outright lies and deliberate misrepresentations designed to make meaningful healthcare impossible to achieve so that health insurance companies could continue to make large profits (Kennedy, 2006; Reid, 2009). Those tactics included publicizing ridiculous lies about "death panels" and "socialist government takeover" of healthcare. In principle, this is only one example of the fundamental ethical problem...
That is the reason that societies need formal laws and legal systems to punish violators: unethical business practices usually increase profit. From the perspective of the individual, adhering to legal requirements and industry-specific ethical rules may limit the maximum possible "success" in the narrowest (and short-term) respect. Dishonest salesmen can earn more profit in the short-term, but they do so at the expense of society and also at considerable professional risk. Ultimately, adhering to ethical business practices is a much more respectable, socially productive, and safe long-term approach to any professional career.
References
Halbert, T. And Ingulli, E. (2008). Law & Ethics in the Business Environment.
Cincinnati: West Legal Studies.
Kennedy, E. (2006). America: Back on Track. Viking: New York.
Phillips, K. (2008). Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis
Though the concepts of professional values and ethics are relatively simple and straightforward, the effects that the choices made with different values and ethics have are quite far reaching and complex. No matter what specific values or ethical systems are being applied to a given situation, there are certain limitations to the actions and behaviors that can be taken and the choices that can be made. For instance, the case
In the face of industry or leadership standards which may divert from a sense of personal ethicality, Merrill suggests that it must largely fall upon the individual to find an ethical and professional compass. The belief presented here by Merrill that there are larger industry forces at hand which may undermine ethical tendencies is further supported by Nagel's article, Ruthlessness in Public Life. Here, Nagel makes a devastating but categorically
However, the memo states that there is evidence 1/1,000 people "may react poorly to the drug and fall into a coma." There is no certainty this will happen, there is no way to isolate the mechanism in time. You know that the company has spent millions on this, and any delay in the launch will be fiscally catastrophic. What do you do: ignore the memo, write a note to
Therefore, corporations have had to change their viewpoints and start looking at the long-term consequences of their behavior, as well as looking at the bottom line. Businesses also have to be concerned because consumers have also become aware of environmental concerns, and many consumers are demanding earth-friendly products and have shown a willingness to pay more money to competitors who observe environmentally-friendly practices. Interestingly enough, this demand has given rise
Walker and Clark propose active use of clinical supervision through facilitation, rather than directive approaches and discuss ten cues of seemingly insignificant acts that may lead to problems, such as gift-giving, sale of goods, self-disclosure on the part of the counselor, touching and sex. Interventions are made by risk managers when these cues are detected (1999, p. 1435-1439). Perhaps this is the solution, but problems will still occur, as
Accepting Client Assignments Outstanding client service begins with a full understanding of the client organization, its business needs and the position to be filled. An AESC member should: Accept only those assignments that a member is qualified to undertake on the basis of the member's knowledge of the client's needs and the member's ability to perform the specific assignment. Disclose promptly conflicts of interest known to the AESC member and accept assignments only