Gary's Unethical Decisions

A multitude of factors influence unethical decision making and behaviors such as employment, dissatisfaction with wages and benefits, etc. In the case of Crestview, it is the organizational culture of getting the job done at any cost, which encourages disregard for ethical considerations in the interest of achieving outcomes (Holzer & Schwester, 2011).

I came to know Gary Haw nearly forty years ago when I met him and his family at Church in Culver City. Gary and I quickly became close friends and whom I consider one of my best friends. Gary and I and attended many church social's and outings together at that time. My parents quickly grew fond of Gary on the occasions he picked me up for outings and social events and described him as 'Always treats you nicely'.

Another corporation that operated unethically was Ford Motor Company with the production of the Ford Pinto. To compete with international competition and achieve Lee’s goal of producing the Pinto within a small time frame led to designing and manufacturing flaws. This resulted in a fuel tank design that would put the Pinto in a combustible situation should rear end accidents penetrate the poorly designed fuel tank. Realizing the design malfunction and deciding how to fix the fuel tank

The Garry Veeder case is one of many aspects. Garry Veeder was a 58-year-old forensic scientist who worked as a trace evidence technician for the New York State Police for over 34 years. In his job as a trace evidence technician, he examined things such as hairs, fibers, glass and other evidence collected during forensic investigations. Veeder worked in this position until late 2008 when he committed suicide after being investigated for falsifying data in many criminal cases he investigated. Investigators reported that Veeder “routinely failed to conduct a required test when examining fiber evidence, then falsely indicated in case records that he had performed the test. (Fisch p.6)” Veeders misconduct went unnoticed for many years because of the lack of supervision at the Investigation Center in which he was employed. As soon as Veeder became a target for investigation, the whole investigation center’s reputation began to spiral downhill. Forty-four district attorneys reviewed the criminal cases that Veeder investigated as a forensic evidence technician.

Ethics and moral obligations are issues we all encounter at one time or another. In the professional setting, all people should act in a manner that would uphold the good of society. To be ethical, one has to determine their obligations, moral ideas, and moral philosophy (Boatright, p. 19, 2009). The case analysis involving Jacob Franklin was a perfect example of how an individual can face the dilemma of doing what is right or wrong. Businesses have their own code of ethics, and the employees within the business have to determine whether or not they will follow the company’s code of conduct. I will discuss several ethical issues in the case analysis including; failure to report information, remaining silent regarding faulty equipment,

Although many things about engineering are positive there is a dark side. We depend on them and while engineers are making innovations for us, and maintaining life as the way we know it they also struggle with ethical issues such as plagiarism, confidentiality, and whistleblowing. Just like the list of golden rules we learned as young children, engineers uphold a list of ethical rules to guide them to make the ethically correct decision when one of these situations arise. Bribery the act of receiving or giving a gift with something required in return is another example of an ethical issue that can entice engineers to break the code (“Gifts and Bribes”, 2006). Unfortunately this was the case for a former manager of the Army Corps of Engineers whose greed caused him to break the ethical canons to “avoid deceptive acts”, to “conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, and lawfully as to enhance the honor, reputation, and usefulness of the profession”, and finally to “hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public” (“Code of Ethics”). His misconduct is an example of the unethical decisions some engineers make.

Many companies have ethical decisions that need to be and sometimes those decisions can affect many individuals or just a few. Making ethical decisions may be placed solely on one person’s shoulders or it may be a decision that multiple individuals must be involved in. There are several ethical issues in the Richardson Drilling case that should be considered. For instance, bribery, purchasing substandard parts with lack of disclosure that causes injuries, and revealing sensitive information. One potential ethical concern that could arise has to do with ongoing health insurance and the employer’s responsibility.

I believe that it is obvious that Gary Gilmore’s behavior is best explained by Hirshi and Gottfredson’s General Theory of Crime. There are several facts about Gary Gilmore’s life that fall under the trends described in the General Theory of Crime. One fact includes Gary having a very hard childhood where his dad would beat him and his mom. Another fact about Gary was that he had low-self control and acted impulsively. He would commit several crimes randomly and excessively. These are only two of the common symptoms Gary has that are found in all criminals according to the General Theory of Crime.

Ethics is an important consideration in marketing decisions because a company wants to instill a relationship or trust with consumers. Consumers are not as likely to purchase a company’s goods when they have been caught lying. Take for example Dannon yogurt, which told consumers they would have better digestion because of their yogurt. This was before probiotics were added to yogurt, and as a result it was nothing but their word and consumers fought back. I received a refund for $15 because of the amount of yogurt I bought during a year of their misleading information. The outcome for me was that I no longer bought Dannon yogurt for my family. It was Dannon’s misleading information that prevented me from purchasing it later on, and proved that the consumers would not stand by it, which caused litigation and millions of dollars paid out to consumers.

Business ethics since the beginning of this decade has been slowly eroding; if we are to believe what we see and hear in the media. Several times a day, one can view some derogatory piece of information concerning a business. However, it must also be considered that these companies are contributing to that stigma. There have been a variety of companies and individuals who have figured prominently in the media concerning their unethical behavior.

Ethical is a word used to describe moral principles. While watching the movie Erin Brockovich, I was compelled by the unethical issues that presented themselves. These incidents were created by an decision that proved to be immoral. The movie displays several incidents in which unethical behavior is presented. While reading this paper, several unethical situations will be reviewed. Although Erin Brockovich intentions may have been for the greater good, several of the methods she used to gain information were immoral. She discovers the shocking secrets of Pacific Gas & Electric Company.

There is a fine line between what is ethically right or wrong with an action committed by an organization. According to Audi, “sometimes ethics is compromised without dishonesty but by deficiencies in clarity or candor or both” (Audi, 2009). Being dishonest and not telling the entire truth are examples of ethical dilemmas.

(Panza & Potthast, n.d.) Ethics is very important to a company’s success. Ethical behavior can bring benefits to a business. They can attract customers, which can lead to a boost in sales and profits. It can attract the right employees and increase productivity. It can also attract investors and keep the company’s share price high. Unethical behavior on the other hand can damage a company’s reputation and make it less appealing to stakeholders. It could also result in lower profits.

After taking job as a project manager with a consulting firm in 2004, I faced a very difficult ethical situation with my employer. The web application we were building for the client had serious design flaws and if deployed to production would cause major operational problems and severe financial damage to the client. In spite of knowing this, my company decided to go ahead and release it for production. I was instructed to not reveal any flaws in the system and instead paint a picture that the product had undergone rigorous quality checks and was production worthy.

Every organization also has a profession responsibility to conduct business honestly and ethically. Our readings reported, “Experts estimated that U.S. companies lose about $600 billion a year from unethical and criminal behavior” Kinicki and Kreitner (2009). The organization could avoid having ethical issues by meeting the