Case Analysis : Humana Inc.

1.3. In order to estimate the peso discount rate, assume that the International Fisher Effect (IFE) holds. Groupe Ariel's Euro hurdle rate for a project of this type was 8%. Assume that inflation rates are expected to be 7% in Mexico and 3% in France.

The mission of UnitedHealthcare Group is to “help people live healthier lives” with access, quality and affordability. They are committed to continual improvement and the delivery of quality care by investing approximately $3 billion in business process improvements, research development, and technology within the past five years. In addition to reinvesting the revenues in innovative technologies, research and other improvements to better serves its consumers, UnitedHealthcare Group is also committed to social responsibility through employee involvement,

A philosophy of an organization helps differentiate themselves from their competitors and set a foundation for future success. It also helps shape an organization by presenting the goals they want to accomplish with specific activities. To improve this, many organizations understand the important of sharing values and goals and realize employee recognition. This helps staff from moving forward toward success of the organizations. Chapter 4 introduces “Codes of Ethics in Health Services.” Code of ethics is a guideline for healthcare professionals to accomplish and serve as a member of a society. Similar to other professions, managers have their own code of ethics in maintaining their duties and responsibilities. They also use the codes for ethical decision-making in dealing with ethical issues. Chapter 5 deals with “Organizational Responses to Ethical Issues.” It provides assistance for managers and organizations in their decision making. It is manager’s duty to figure out the problem and resolve it (Darr, 2011,

The survey was performed in 2010 involving members of the Ethics and Compliance Officer Association (ECOA). They focused on the evolution of business ethics by analyzing six other studies over a span of two-and-a-half decades. Members of the survey were ethics manager, but members on the previous studies were regular employees and management. The results of the analysis of the previous studies showed that ethics programs in companies during a time span of the 1980’s through the 1990’s was used to show social responsibilities and not necessarily to enforce it throughout the company. It showed that ethics programs now that companies follow ethical laws and they are motivated to be ethical. Another result of the study showed that ethics training at companies has increased since the 1990’s due to the passing of Sarbanes-Oxley and other laws directed at ethics. The passing of the laws in the early 2000’s has led to ethics being a major component of everyday

An initial new hire and employee ethics training has to be develop and administered. Also on-going ethics refresher training for use throughout the employees career with Company Q will need to be incorporated in the program. Systems will be developed and put in place to monitor, audit, and report ethics violations. A time-line to re-evaluate these programs and their effectiveness towards meeting the companies social responsibility goals will be established. Based on the evaluation a revision or revamp of the program if necessary will be initiated. The ethics program needs to be reviewed and understood by all employees and expectation for compliance very clear. This can be accomplish by tying compliance in some form to employees and leadership individual performance goals. Shareholders all the way down to entry-level employees will benefit from the ethics program which will also put the company on track to being more socially responsible. Once a code of ethics is in place and training has been given, then Company Q can begin developing trust within the company and employees as well as the community. Continued education and training will enable the company to become more socially responsible.

Healthcare organizations have a moral and social responsibility to ensure that their communications are conducted using an outlined code of ethics. Whether the communication is an internal message to employees or mission outreach in the community, it must reflect the values and beliefs of the organization. Therefore, in order to establish and maintain the standard of ethical behavior and social responsibility, our organization requires all employees to complete new employee orientation sessions that define the policies and expectations. This orientation introduces our mission and values and it develops the foundation for our success as an organization. Our focus on encouraging and communicating ethical practices helps to reinforce our values to employees and the community. Furthermore, there should be a process in place that monitors and enforces the policies to safeguard against potential errors that would reflect poorly on the organization’s mission.

Human Resources professionals are in a unique position to help corporations build the integrity of the company and develop positive organizational cultures. They can use their influences on many levels within an organization promote ethics by developing programs and policies that encourage employees to make the right choices. This may be in form of a written code of ethics or ethical training for managers and employees that make them fully aware of the company’s expectations in areas such as discrimination, sexual harassment, and the treatment of employees. The HR department can also be a resource and kept close at hand when ethical situations arise they are not clearly addressed in the policies or as a mediator for conflict resolution. Since the HR department is involved in the hiring of new employees, they can be proactive in identifying desirable character traits that align with the company’s philosophies as well as on-boarding programs that reinforce the values of the company.

In this paper the Code of Ethics from the Department of Human Services will be discussed. General information about the company, the company’s mission statement, the type of ethical system used by the company and how and when the company uses it will be talked about. Thoughts of why the company may need to modify their existing code of ethics will be included, reactions to the code of ethics that employees and managers may have and the acceptance of the code of ethics within the company and affects it has.

Ethical behavior is virtuous and beneficial for business in any type of organization. In healthcare, the outcomes are improved patient care, dedicated staff and healthcare providers, and amplified market share. It obliges leaders, managers, directors, and supervisors to have a comprehensive interpretation of the role of ethical decision making (Winkler, 2005). Ethical health care organizations have incorporated and combined ethical practices and values, continuing education on ethics for everyone involved, successful ethics substructure, and morally spirited and dauntless leaders (Winkler, 2005). These organizations have a vision and statements that directs behavior and decision making.

Humana, Inc. is a health insurance company from Louisville, Kentucky that started in 1961 by Lawyers Wendell Cherry and David A. Jones, Sr. Humana started as a nursing home where it later become the largest nursing home company in the nation. After the nursing homes they soon began to purchase hospitals entirely for expansion. The name of the company changed to Humana, Inc. two years later. Cherry and Jones continued to expand by purchasing other companies. In 1984, the company began focusing on Health Insurance where it remains to focus on even today. Since 2014, Humana has had over 13 million customers and over 52,000, and a revenue of $41.3 billion that was reported in 2013.

In the workplace as well as one’s personal life is essential for ethics to be maintained; often taking the right action is not always the most popular choice. It is important for maintaining an upstanding ethical code of conduct to be a productive individual as well as function as an employee in the workplace.

UnitedHealth Group is a diversified health care company, and a worldwide leader in helping people live healthier lives and taking the necessary steps in making the health system work better for everyone. The UnitedHealth group serves more than 85 million individuals worldwide with health benefits and services. In 2012, they produced revenues of $110.6 billion and were ranked number 17 in the Fortune 500. The economic and political segments would rank the highest in influencing the UnitedHealth Group.

MediSys is a U.S.-based medical device manufacturer. It has been developing IntensCare project, a new medical system for monitoring patients in intensive care units. This project represents the most ambitious move in the company’s 10-year history. The company had invested large finances in this project and the market eagerly awaits its launch. The product development team consisting of people from several functional areas of the company, has been working on the product for six months but is now facing significant problems with the product design, clinical testing, meeting the production deadlines, and their own group dynamics. The pressure had also increased because of competitors also planning to launch similar products within the year. Several team members are concerned about meeting the team 's goals. The relationship between team members is quite tense and it doesn’t promise much progress.

Today’s business world presents numerous ethical issues. In today’s world above board/moral ethics in organizations do not often materialize intuitively. Organization must strive to provide employees with a clear understanding of the overall company vision. This will aid employees in practicing the code of ethics, policies and procedures in the workplace. Companies must be unwavering in continuously delivering the uppermost ethics of provision in which customers, applicants and employees are entitled to under fair business practices. One major core value is to uphold responsible and fair business practices.

In their personal and professional lives, people can and, unfortunately, sometimes do go against their moral and ethical standards. Ethical standards are what it means to be a good person, the social rules that govern our behavior. Ethics in business is essentially the study of what constitutes the right and wrong or the good or bad behavior in the workplace environment. A business is an organization whose objective is to provide goods or services for profit. The organization has a group of people that work together to achieve a common purpose. The moral challenges that these men and women face each day along with a whole range of problems that could occur, are why ethics plays such an important