Pressures that influence ethical decision making in the organization

Unit V Assignments
With this Unit, you are on the last half of this course. You are getting closer to the end.
Your assignment for Unit V is to write a paper with a minimum of two double-spaced pages, not including the title and reference pages about a significant tragic event that has occurred in the last 50 years. You are required to use at least one credible reference. There are four questions listed in the Syllabus that you should respond to.
In Unit V, you will learn that tragic events in history, as we attempt to understand how these tragic events affect the ability of the people involved, bystanders, rescuers, and others to react ethically. Tragic times bring significant emotions, which lead to reactions that a normally ethical person might not have. These emotions range from selfishness and uncompassionate behavior, such as stealing through looting, kidnapping, extortion, and pre-meditated murder. This behavior can materialize due to people attempting to protect themselves, remorseful feelings, or feelings of guilt brought on by the event. During crisis events, legal authority lapses, oversight weakens, and people with no morals have a tendency to overstep their bounds with the hope of doing things that cannot be seen, heard or traced back to themselves.
Unethical behavior during tragic times, while distinguished from unethical behavior in non-tragic times, still takes a toll on individuals and our nation as a whole. While empathy plays a part in this analysis, at the end of the day, unethical behavior is still unethical Behavior.
The assignment above focuses on the ethical impact that a tragic event has on people. However, the same can happen to organizations and in this particular case, the US government. One of the first legislative endeavors signed into law after 9/11 was the USA Patriot Act. There was much said that the Patriot Act was in violation of the US Constitution; violations of wiretapping without warrants and unapproved surveillance were commonplace. The feeling was that the government had to encroach on freedom to provide security. Benjamin Franklin, one of the country’s founders, had a famous quote to address a similar situation; “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety (1775)”.
Unit Lesson
It’s a Wonderful Life is a 1946 Christmas drama film based upon a short story “The Greatest Gift.” Critics consider the film one of the most popular in American cinema. Annual rebroadcasting has vaulted this film into classic status, and it is traditionally viewed during the Christmas season. The plot of the film revolves around George Bailey, who has given up most of his ambitions and plans to help others. For instance, George saved his younger brother who had fallen through the ice, which resulted in his losing hearing in one ear.
Henry Potter represents a character that always seems to have luck on his side and who others often view as someone who takes advantage of George throughout the story. This scenario brings forward a whole series of ethical business situations, analyzing how one individual in the business takes advantage of another as a result of a high level of power, money, or position.
Business situations involving power often relate to the idea of conflict of interest. One can define a conflict of interest as a situation within a business in which a person has multiple interests that modify his or her judgment when making decisions on behalf of the organization. A significant effect exists when the person making the decision holds a high level of power within the organization. Secrecy, corruption, and conflicts of interest have an unfortunate presence in some businesses and branches of government. A widely recognized form of coercion in business comes from gifts and entertainment. Although most major corporations have clamped down on this practice by instituting strict guidelines on what gifts a business can accept, this has only touched the tip of the iceberg. In some circles, people refer to these gifts as bribes or kickbacks. As the story continues with George’s suicide on Christmas Eve, his guardian aUnNgIeTl ixs SinTtrUoDduYcGedU.ITDhEe guardian angel demonstrates to George how all his courageous acts of kindness through his life had changed
the lives of so many people around him in a significantly positive way. Through the wisdom of a guardian angel, a wholesome Christmas story is created.
This story could also be related to tragic events in history, as we attempt to understand how these tragic events affect the ability of the people involved, bystanders, rescuers, and others to react ethically. Tragic times bring significant emotions, which lead to reactions that a normally ethical person might not have. These emotions range from selfishness and uncompassionate behavior, such as stealing through looting, kidnapping, extortion, and premeditated murder. This behavior can materialize due to people attempting to protect themselves, remorseful feelings, or feelings of guilt brought on by the event. A well-known fact is that, when in danger, the body goes into protective action with survival in mind. Outwardly, these actions may appear unethical and, in the end, are actually regretted by the individual.
Unethical behavior during tragic times, while distinguished from unethical behavior in non-tragic times, still takes a toll on individuals and our nation as a whole. While empathy plays a part in this analysis, at the end of the day, unethical behavior is still unethical behavior.