Ethical Issues From Titled Article Enron †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Ethical Issues From The Titled Article Enron Ethics? Answer: Introducation The first major ethical issue in the article is the creation of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) by Enron. The company entered into a partnership to raise money and boost its position in the market (Sims Brinkmann, 2003). However, the management applied deceptive methods to mask its declining financial performance. Partnerships allowed the company to sell assets and book revenues before to a partnership. This ethical issue enabled the company to generate huge revenues. Partners and potential investors thought that the company was performing well and continued to invest. Besides, the SPVs included a fraudulent technique to hid debts from the balance sheet. The SPVS is an ethical issue because a conjunction of motive and opportunity leads to an ethical hazard (Pendse, 2012). The second major ethical issue was encouraging employees to invest heavily in the company without informing them of the financial status. The business executives were aware that the company was making significant losses. A few business executives were earning millions of dollars at the expense of the ignorant workers. Most of the employees had invested their life-savings in Enron with the hope of earning good returns. There are indicators that the executives knew that the company would run bankrupt. Jeffery Skilling resigned from his position as the CEO when the accounting dealings of Enron became intricate (Sims Brinkmann, 2003). This issue is an ethical issue because the business management propagated corruption on a colossal scale without considering the employees investment. The situation can be attributed to fraud on a large scale. How to develop virtuous The primary concept is that virtuous is like a skill that can be learned and practised. Hence, humans can learn and practice skills in their daily life. Aristotles virtue ethics is not absolute. There is thus a chance for every human being to develop and enact virtuous. A person can make good judgement when it is desirable or at the right time. Once a person develops virtuous, they will be in a position to express good character in the most deserving events. Consequentialist judges whether the act is right or wrong based on the results of the action (Shaw, 2008). If the results of an action are good, then it will be considered as right. Even if the intentions of a person were wrong, the action would be judged based on the consequences. This theory differs from virtue ethics because virtue ethics judges the action rather than the outcome. On the other hand, non-consequentialist considers the reason for a certain action and not the outcome (Shaw, 2008). This theory judges people on how good their intentions were regardless of the consequence. For instance, if a wrong action leads to a good outcome then it will be considered as good. Conversely, if a right action results in a wrong consequence, then it will be considered as wrong.The main difference in these three theories is about decision making and outcome of the decision. This difference is evident in peoples character and judgments when faced with moral dilemmas. Kelloggs CRS statement The Kelloggs CRS statement is insincere. The CRS statement is structured to convince the public that the company is socially responsible. Additionally, the company aims to attract potential customers to the business. In its CRS statement, Kellogg argues that their products are nutritious and meant to enhance healthy lifestyles. However, different organisations have shown that the Kelloggs products are unhealthy. The Food Commission detected high levels of sugar in breakfast bars. Australian Consumer Magazine found high levels of saturated fats in LCM bars. False information by organisations about their CSR practices might lead to misleading actions (Rhmkorf, 2015). The placement of false information in the CSR is always meant to mislead consumers to purchase certain products. The incidence of Kellogg is similar to other ethical issues whereby companies fail to observe their CRS statements. Kellogg is striving to maximise stakeholders value through its unethical practices. The management might be propagating the view that business exists to maximise shareholder only. Application of Kantian theory Kelloggs CRS statement contradicts the Kantian theory of ethics. According to Kantian, one should never treat another human being as a mere means to an end (Sensen, 2011). Actions are only considered as moral if the autonomy of human beings is respected. Kantian further argues that an action is moral if it is applicable as a universal law. Kelloggs actions are unethical since the company fails to respect human beings autonomy. The sale of innutritious and unhealthy foods is not universally accepted. Due to these aspects, Kellogg is insincere, and its actions are unethical. Perspectives of fair trade that can be considered Fair trade is a broad topic that covers many perspectives. The central theme in fair trade, however, revolves around improving the living standards of people. One of the most important perspectives of enhancing fair trade is subsidising farmers. Farmers can be empowered to produce more even in small scale farming. Apart from producing more, subsidies will also help farmers to produce high-quality products. The products can then be exported to other countries. Another perspective is offering affordable health. Studies have shown that millions of people die annually due to infectious diseases. For instance, Australians living in rural areas experience poorer health status (Thomas et al., 2015). Affordable healthcare will help such community to access primary health care services. The trading rules are further causing a wide gap between the rich and poor. A review of trading rules can help to address this discrepancy. Trading rules should specifically focus on importation. Cheap importations have a significant adverse impact on local production (Oxfam Fair Trade Clips, 2007). Trading rules should be fair and designed to improve equality. Whether corporations have a responsibility to the international community Corporations have a responsibility to the international community. Corporations have a moral responsibility to improve the economy and condition of the community where they operate (Brennan et al., 2011). This aspect insinuates that corporations should not focus on making profits only. Thus, corporations should include their responsibility to the global community in both short-term and long-term goals. The responsibility of the corporations can also be viewed as corporate philanthropy. References Brennan, . et al., 2011. Corporate social responsibility : the corporate governance of the 21st century. 2nd ed. Wolters Kluwer Law Business. Oxfam Fair Trade Clips. 2007. [Online Video]: tombottoms. Pendse, S.G., 2012. Ethical Hazards: A Motive, Means, and Opportunity Approach to Curbing Corporate Unethical Behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 107(3), pp.265-79. Rhmkorf, A., 2015. orporate social responsibility, private law and global supply chains. Edward Elgar Publishing. Sensen, O., 2011. Kant on human dignity. Walter de Gruyter. Shaw, W., 2008. Business Ethics. 6th ed. Thomsom Wadsworth. Sims, R.R. Brinkmann, J., 2003. Enron Ethics (Or: Culture Matters More than Codes). Journal of Business Ethics , 45, pp.243-56. Thomas, S.L., Wakerman, J. Humphreys, J.S., 2015. Ensuring equity of access to primary health care in rural and remote Australia - what core services should be locally available? International journal for equity in health, 14(1), p.111.