Case Study: Unocal in Burma

Imagine for a moment what it would be like if the entire population of Sonoma County, California was killed, and twenty years later not many people knew a great deal about it. When over 500,000 people, primarily Tutsis, were killed in the Rwandan genocide in 1994, it was a great tragedy. However, no one rushed to the country’s aid. Now it is vital that the horrors of the instance that violated the human rights of so many, is not forgotten. Human rights are the universal actions and objects that all people are entitled to because they are human. Human rights have been violated in numerous ways over time, typically as a result of a person in power having their own best interests in mind rather than the peoples´. Various groups, such as Amnesty

The United Oil Company of California (Unocal) made the decision in the 1990’s to invest in energy projects outside of the United States and chose to invest in the “Yadana field” pipeline. There are many stakeholders involved in the international “Yadana Field” natural gas project. Unocal, Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Public Co., Total S.A., and the Burmese government (Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise) along with the employees of these companies are all major stakeholders in the project. These were the main participants that would directly benefit as a result of the project. The people who were living in the area that the pipeline was to be

Samarin is faced with the ethical dilemma of what to do regarding information in his possession that would allege unethical behavior within the OrangeWerks organization. After an analysis of the case, and evaluation of the identified alternatives, it is recommended that Samarin seek to clarify his concerns and attempt to rectify his ethical reservations regarding the organization. This proactive approach provides him the opportunity to right past wrongs, protect all involved parties and assist to establish a future framework for ethical decision making and communication within the organization.

Making ethical decision requires careful analysis and evaluation of each individual aspect associated with the case and selecting choices that are consistent with ethical principles. Moreover, it is very important to eliminate those options that are likely to yield further dire consequences and obstacles. In the case study “Corneas in the Congo”, because of a peculiar parasite in the water that destroys cornea of the eye, ten people in the camp have gone blind, and half of them are children. Upon contacting Doctors Without Borders, they informed that they could give cornea transplants for the people who have gone blind, but it was impossible to get corneas for transplant in Africa. The area director of Doctors Without Borders calls and tells

From the 1890s, as a result of discovery and drilling of some of the most productive oil fields in the world, the small town of Los Angeles suffered a big change. By 1930, California was producing nearly one quarter of the world's oil output, and its population had grown to 1.2 million. In the flowing decades, urban and suburban area grew quickly, surrounding by closeness and more openness of the oil wells. People found ways to camouflaged machinery, decreased loud noises, vented methane pockets, as residents had to live closely to those oil production facilities. Until now days, oil fields in the Los Angeles Basin remain very productive. By applying modern techniques, operations can be conducted in smaller areas, and some of them have been moved offshore. However, there are still some oil fields and drilling activities hiding among the shopping malls, sports sites and residences of Los Angeles.

In both history and present day, many human rights violations have occurred in countries residing within the UN. Despite the attempts that international influence created through the UN, many countries such as the Soviet Union conducted serious human rights violations through attempts to quell uprisings or anti-government movements. Even in the present day, countries such as North Korea and China have been committing drastic human rights violations, despite existing within the United Nations. Because of these facts, it can be concluded that international influence does not necessarily create better human

In 1975, approximately 2 million former government employees, army personnel and intellectuals were executed in the hands of the Cambodian leader, Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge, while others were killed by disease, exhaustion and malnutrition (Document 2). Similarly, in 1989, students in Tiananmen Square were murdered as machine guns shot “right at the chests and heads of the students” (Document 3). In the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, approximately 500,000 people were raped, tortured, beaten and killed; and the UN Security Council failed to reinforce the troops they sent as their mandate restricted them from stopping the killing. However after the genocide ended, the UN attempted to hold prosecutions for crimes against humanity that occurred during the genocide, but national prosecutions seemed far-fetched as the “Rwand[an] justice system [was] destroyed” (Document 4). The many heinous acts that have been committed thus far may be viewed as stepping stones to improve, as society learns from its

On October 30th, 2014, over 220 women were raped in less than 36 hours in Tabit. The HRW (Human Rights Watch) had been following the case with caution. Although the Tibet government has been trying to hide this terrible case, a man told the HRW, “They said if I talked about Tabit again that I was going to be finished. They kicked me. Tied me and hanged me up. They beat me with whips and electric wires” (Human Rights Watch). This mass rape was claimed to be a “deliberate attack on Tabit and the mass rape of the town’s women and girls is a new low in the catalog of atrocities in Darfur” (Human Rights Watch). The Sudanese armed forces caused a mass rape of over 200 women as a political statement in war. One of the soldiers told a mother “You killed our man. We are going to show you true hell” (Humans Right

By the 1960’s, oil prospectors began to partner with one another developing into large oil

The largest world supplier oil company is Saudi Aramco. It is the most profitable company on the earth. Since it is the most powerful oil company, it has a great impact on the world economy. As a result, a strong international relationship was built with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In addition, the strong developing of international relationship with other industrial countries resulted in massive contributions to the politics, economy, and many different aspects. In 1933, Saudi government bestowed oil concession to California Arabian Standard Oil Company (Chevron). The main factor for this grant was to explore the oil in the eastern region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After discovering a huge amount of oil, part of the

1) In your judgment did PepsiCo have a moral obligation to divest itself of all its Burmese assets? Explain your answer. Which approach to ethics – utilitarian, rights, justice, caring or virtue- is more appropriate for analyzing the case events in this case?

Organizations are continually faced with ethical dilemmas. Though each dilemma may vary in degree of impact they will have on a company, it is essential that a company establish a wise solution to the problem. As we have gathered from this course, there are a large variety of views and theories on how to address these problems in the most ethical way. In this paper I will discuss the H.B. Fuller case in Honduras: Street children and drug abuse and examine the ethical challenges the company was presented with. I

When considering ethical issues, we have to consider things in a global prospective, because what may be perfectly right for one nation may be looked in a different way from a different

The nation of Myanmar, also known as Burma, is currently under the rule of a ruthless totalitarian regime, guilty of numerous human rights violations and target of intense international criticism. Located in Southeast Asia, on the western border of Thailand and Laos, it has been under military rule since World War II. Burma is mired in socioeconomic crisis stemming from the rule of the military junta, and the citizens are suffering. The environment of Burma is being destroyed, the people are treated inhumanely, and the country is notorious for its contribution to global narcotics. The paragraphs below detail the current situations facing the country, why they came about, and the parties that are to blame for

In order for a complete analysis, the structure of the United Nations itself will be analyzed. In addition to this, the protocol for the intervention of the United Nations on behalf of human rights will be investigated, as will a series of issues regarding human rights violations in China and Burma (now Myanmar), and whether or not the United Nations, if involved, was able to support and advocate for human rights.