Business Ethics, Governance & Risk

Answer 1:

Information systems are pervasive across organisations. When their use confronts existing
norms and practices at the organisation, ethical issues arise. Ethical issues relate to privacy,
workplace monitoring and use of power. Privacy of individuals in modern organisations is
often at risk as substantial private data about personal details is resident in the organisation’s
databases. Furthermore, work-related practices such as sending e-mail and browsing are also
visible to the organisation. Workplace monitoring often relies on such data to determine how
employees are performing, where they are, how much time they have spent on work, who
they have communicated with, etc. Monitoring enforces disciplined behaviour on employees
and also protects them from abusive or threatening behaviour. Systems professionals in
organisations enjoy a power over information systems users owing to their privileged
knowledge and position, and this raises ethical issues about how they influence the decisions
of the users.

Employee monitoring is a hot topic among employers with a workforce that includes remote
workers and freelancers. Reported in 2017 that 78% of major U.S. companies monitored
employees’ use of e-mail, Internet or telephone. Given the right context, employee
monitoring technology yields improved worker productivity. On the other hand, there can be
serious repercussions if the workers reject it due to privacy concerns. This post explains the
pros and cons of employee monitoring, and gives you some insights on how to decide
whether the technology is right for your business.

These days CCTCV monitoring is quite common in all companies and looks mandatory too.
By installing CCTV, you feel safe and you will have sufficient evidence in case of any issue
arises at the workplace. There are mixed reviews about having CCTV monitoring at the
workplace, some people are in favour of it while others feel otherwise. Enhancing workplace
security is both necessary and beneficial for you and your employees alike. One way to do
that is by installing smart video surveillance cameras. These systems provide a reliable and
convenient way to securely monitor the ins and outs of your building.

Advantages of CCTV monitoring at workplace

It helps to eliminate fraud and waste.
With a world that seems to be more connected every day, employee monitoring can help
employers determine who is being productive and who is doing their online banking while on
the clock, visiting social gaming sites, or even watching porn. It’s a tool that can weed out the
potentially problematic employees on a given team.
It limits the potential of creating a hostile work environment.
Imagine there is an employee that is watching videos while at work that show violence
toward women. How would this employee’s female co-workers feel about this? If a business
doesn’t take action, then it could be deemed to be responsible for the actions of that
employee. Employee monitoring limits this rather effectively.
It can protect records against possible litigation.
Lawsuits are a serious issue for businesses today. Emails are a written record that can be
submitted as evidence. Employee monitoring can help to make sure the quality of these
emails are where they need to be so that security breaches, accidental misuse, and other
potentially costly legal issues are limited.
It can protect the quality of the work.
When employees are monitored, what is ultimately being looked at is their performance and
the quality of the work that is being produced. If mistakes or errors can be seen, then they can
be caught immediately so that the employee can be trained in the moment instead of days or
weeks later.
It can eventually generate trust in an employee.
Some employees might seem like they aren’t doing what they are supposed to be doing. They
might spend 6 hours per day online. Through the monitoring process, you can verify what
that employee is doing and what their productivity happens to be.

Data protection: For many commercial firms, monitoring is a competitive necessity. There
are many examples of employees leaking out company secrets to rivals to the detriment of
their own organisations. The employees may do this for monetary gain or to extract revenge
on their own organisation for not gaining a promotion or a salary increase. The firms
therefore maintain strict control over their employees’ computers, desktops, and laptops, and
monitor all file exchanges. Employees are also not permitted to use removable media such as
flash storage drives, and in case they have to, these are carefully monitored during entry and
exit. For companies, data is most precious thing which should not be shared with others at
any cost especially with rivals. Video surveillance helps the employer to track all the
activities of employees like emails, internet usage, documents processing etc. In this case, if
any employees try to share any vital information to outside world, employer can easily catch
and punish him.

Improved employee performance: Employees perform better when someone monitors their
performance, trace out their weak points and encourage them when they are good. All these
things are possible with the help of video surveillance at the workplace. CCTV monitoring
actually gives workers the chance to be more responsible and productive on the job. The
knowledge that the employer is watching at all times can, in itself, inspire better performance
and improve productivity without the need for unpleasant confrontations. Surveillance in the
work environment can improve productivity. The data collected regarding employees'
computer use, for example, can help employers migrate the time employees spend on non-
work browsing and emailing to more productive uses. Seniors can monitor the performance
of junior employees while they are working and guide them accordingly so basically it is
helpful for employer as well as employees.
Disadvantages of CCTV monitoring at workplace

It can injure employee trust.

Any employee monitoring policy is going to injure the employer/employee relationship.
Depending upon the culture of the workplace, this could be an injury that goes beyond repair.
This is especially true if the monitoring is implemented some time after an employee has
been hired or employees have built a reputation for doing the right thing.
It can reduce motivation and commitment.
Let’s face it – people don’t like to be watched. If an employer is watching every action an
employee takes, then there isn’t much motivation to do anything but look for a new job in
their spare time. For today’s committed employees, the lines between work and personal life
are blurred. Employers like it when employees answer emails at 9pm – shouldn’t there also
be some crossover then for personal business at work?
There may be privacy issues involved.
There are certain laws in place, dating back as far as 1986, that prohibit the interception of
communication or accessing stored communications in an authorized way. Phone calls and
emails are exempt, but other monitoring requires employee consent and that consent is often
assumed instead of asked for by employers today.
There is a certain cost involved.
To implement employee monitoring, there must be an investment in the technology that
makes it happen. There are also staffing costs involved because someone has to look at the
data which is being collected.
Who will watch the watchers
This is where the debate about employee monitoring often goes. You’ve got people who are
watching the data being collected. Who is watching the people who are monitoring
employees? Eventually there is someone or a team that is above the implemented standards of
monitoring and the power of that position can lead to abuses.

Privacy and trust issues: Employees are the assets of the company as they work hard and
give their best for the company. If they are working hard, they need their space and do not
like if employer monitors their each and every activity. It reduces the trust level between
them and this will also impact their productivity. Worst part is when they do not know they
are being spied, knowing this, they may get offended and leave the job too. Apart from this,
employees struggle with their privacy as they cannot even browse a website or send any
personal email even if its ethical. If there’s one thing employees would love to have, it’s
workplace privacy. Unfortunately, this isn’t guaranteed where there are surveillance cameras.

Increasing stress levels: You will not feel comfortable if someone is watching you, same
thing applies at workplace as well. When employees are aware that they're being watched or
listened to, they might become more conscious of their behavior. Since they want to do their
best, the idea that small mistakes could cost them their jobs. They may begin to feel that
meeting certain requirements is more important than quality. Employees might also feel
pressured to behave in certain ways or perform according to a particular supervisor's
standards. When employees are in stress, they may not perform well and it will directly affect
their productivity. Employees work under the fear that someone is watching them all the time
and if they make even small mistake, management will come to know and they may punish
him/her.

Yes, companies or businesses are responsible for this technology usage monitoring but there
are some reasons behind this which we have already mentioned above. Though monitoring
affects employee morale, increases stress among employees, increases turnover rate etc. but it
has more benefits than its drawbacks as per the view of the employers so technology usage
monitoring should be there but with simple rules and all employees must be aware about this
monitoring. If employees are aware of the monitoring, they will behave accordingly and soon
they all will used to it.
Answer 2:

Every organisation holds a responsibility to conduct its affairs ethically. An organisation

should always be aware of any misconduct happening and a whistleblower would update the
management about the misconducts. Whistleblower is defined as a present or former
employee, a member of an organisation or a business agency, who escalates misconducts to
people or entities that have the authority and presumed willingness in taking corrective
actions. The term whistleblower is derived from the practice of British police officers to blow
their whistles if any criminal issues are taking place. The policy which was adopted to handle
employee’s complaints and establish procedures for the employees to report in confidence is
known as whistleblowers policy. The objective of this policy is to provide a platform to
employees, customers and vendors to raise concerns in relation to unethical, immoral and
illegal business conducts, and to communicate about it. The policy attempts to provide
important safety measures to protect employees from reprisals or victimisations, for
whistleblowing in good faith.

Many characteristics work together to make an individual a professional person – one of

which is upholding standards of ethical behaviour. This means that a professional person does
the right thing, and is prepared to challenge any behaviour in others that they perceive as
falling short of the mark.
Whistleblowing is not disloyalty. It’s the opposite – it’s loyalty. Someone who blows the
whistle can be that employee who’s the most loyal to the firm – the most energetic employee
who’s serious about avoiding negative consequences facing their firm from regulators or the
law.

It is anticipated to manage critical concerns that have a large impact on the organisation for
actions that have the following significance:
 May lead to incorrect reporting of finance.
 Are not adhering to company’s policies
 May injure the company’s image.
 Damage the values of the company.
 Are not lawful.
 Improper conducts in the company.

‘Whistleblower versus organizational loyalty’

Whistle-blowing would appear to involve a conflict between employee loyalty and protection
of public interest. Several business ethicists have, however, argued that this conflict is indeed
merely apparent. According to the central argument to that effect, when the nature of
employee loyalty is understood correctly, it becomes clear that whistle-blowing does not
threaten employees’ loyalty to their employer. This is because blowing the whistle about
one’s employer’s wrongdoing and being loyal to them serves the same goal, the moral good
of the employer. In this article, I assess this philosophical argument for the conclusion that
the moral problem of whistle-blowing is not real. I argue that the way of defending the view
that whistle-blowing is not morally problematic is implausible.

Employee Level
Whistleblower is an employee of an organization who widens an awareness of an
organizational product or service or policy considered to be unethical, immoral, illegal or
dangerous to the public. Whistleblower on such a case, reports organizational wrongdoing to
immediate supervisor, corporate top level administration and at last takes the protest outside
of organization to public press or other support group to express the dissatisfaction (Truelson,
1989). Such an individual employee will be praised, if his/her whistle is appropriate and
benefits the organization and society from wrongdoing. Similarly, if the whistle is not
appropriate and the employee does not have valid evidence and proof of organizational
wrongdoing, then he/she will be fired by the company and will have a very ghastly
relationships with his/her fellow employees and would be guilt
Organization Level
According to Roberta Ann Johnson, “The short term impact of Whistle-blowing is often
negative. In some instances, whistleblowers can weaken organizational chain of command,
pose a threat to its effectiveness, unsettle employees’ confidence in their abilities to use
discretion and create a sense of unpredictability.” When whistleblowers succeed in making
the public aware of agency wrong doing, malfeasance, corruption or fraud, the news is bound
to embarrass the agency. In fact the publicity from whistle blowing might also cause financial
losses for the agency, a reduction in public support, increased management turnover and
sometimes losses of organizational cohesion within the organization (Micelli and Near 1992).
Whistleblower can, of course, have benefits for the organization because they address the
problem of dangerous practices or corruption, which ultimately increase productivity of
organization. In the long run it can reduce the losses and cost which organization have to bear
as consequences of wrongdoing.
According to Micelli and Near 1992, “The beneficial effects of Whistle-blowing are
especially apparent in high-stakes of public health and safety because of the substantial
potential dangers posed. Nuclear power plants, pharmaceutical firms and automobile
manufacturer are places where decisions can have consequences that would preserve life or
its quality. For these organizations which operate daily with the threat of a misfortune, in
event of mistakes, whistle blowing could be a kind of early alarm system”.
On the Social Level
Broadly, whistle blowing has the benefits for the society as a whole. All the
individuals and organizations that operate within the social tertiary are the essential
components of society. Therefore, the benefits of whistle blowing for the employee’s and
organization’s are ultimately the benefits of the society. More specifically, whistle blowing
helps to “Eliminate and control individual and organizational misconduct” (Johnson, 2003),
unethical behavior and wrongdoing both inside and outside the organization.
Factors that should be disscuss

Image of the company: Whistleblower blows the whistle if he/she finds any wrongdoings
happening in the organization. Basically, that employee cares about the image and reputation
of the company and he/she knows that if things go out, it may hamper the goodwill of the
organization. Whistleblower thinks practically and do not just fear of losing his/her job.
Many organizations have their own ethical principles and if you seep out any information
internally or externally that is confidential, for instance the trade secrets of a company, it can
create a situation where company finds difficult to do the business. And this information can
be used by other competitors which may harm the company. In this case, you cannot just
think of becoming loyal to the company as you have to bring out the issue so that company
can take action on immediate basis.

Protect the public: Whistleblower does not only help the employer but it also protects
general public as well. Often, the misdeeds of businesses and organizations lead to some sort
of risk for consumers. For example, three years ago, one employee, Dinesh Thakur exposed
how India’s then largest drug maker and his former employer, Ranbaxy Laboratories, failed
to conduct proper safety and quality tests on drugs and lied to regulators about its procedures.
Dinesh played a key role and become whistleblower else it would have been so dangerous for
the public to use the medicines of Ranbaxy Laboratories. Later he got $48 million as a
whistleblower award from the United States. Here, Dinesh Thakur would have shown his
loyalty towards employer but he was clear about his intentions and his action awarded him as
well.

Performthe duties in a fair manner: When an individual is fully committed towards any
organization, He/ She will do his/her work with full dedication but when he/ she feels bad
about it as he/ she is associated with the company. This feeling forces him/ her to take the
bold step and blow the whistle. The employee must also report the violation in good faith,
prove the retaliation is the result of the whistle-blowing, and identify the laws violated and
the persons engaged in the violations. Employees can be compensated for their losses, but the
entity can defend itself by asserting its actions were unrelated to the whistle-blowing. When
employees know that some of the executives have been guilty of wrongdoing, they could
either stay away and keep quiet or expose those unethical performances. To keep quiet is
normally considered loyal, but to expose is always considered as betrayal. Employers might
think that to blow the whistle is in order to threaten the profitability of the organization and
undermine its reputation. While employees who discover some wrongdoing of top managers
and try to be responsible for the society by blowing the whistle might think they are loyal to
the organization.

Healthy and co-operative work environment: Employer should provide healthy and co-
operative work environment to all the employees. They should feel comfortable and approach
management in case they find anything wrong. They should not be punished if they do so
rather they should be encouraged to behave in that manner only. As per my view, employees
should be loyal towards their employer but side by side, they must be free to blow the whistle
if they find anything wrong. Employer should not punish them or fire them, this way
whistleblower and organizational loyalty both will be there. Employees should blow the
whistle after analysing all the facts and figures and management must appreciate
whistleblower’s efforts. Whenever any employee has some concern regarding the work going
in the organization or any related activity is threat to the public or society, he/ she must have
given chance to share his/ her concern and its employer’s duty to work on that issue
accordingly. An employer should conduct its own investigation of the claim, including
determining whether the charge is timely brought, interview employees, document the
investigation and findings, and inform the employee of the results. With the use of correct
resources and procedures whistle blowing can always create loyalty base organizational
environment.
Answer 3a:

Business ethics deals with rules and principles relating to the business process in the
organisation. It provides theoretical and philosophical concepts which develop discipline
among the stakeholders in the organisation. The philosophy of business ethics deals with
ethical foundations of politics and economics. The political economy consists of distributive
values of various economic actions. It provides a basis of right and wrong behaviour of every
individual in the organisation. Business ethics is a mode of applying disciplinary ethical
principles to assess and resolve issues in the organisation.

Organisations benefit by managing business ethically. The business organisations compete in

global markets depending on its internal strengths and goodwill of the stakeholders. Hence, it
acquires major benefits. Some of the benefits are:
 High productivity and strong team work – The ethics in the organisation are related
to values. The organisation ensuring value of the employees result in greater
cooperation and productivity.
 Improves reputation in the society – The ethical law creates healthy organisation
providing reputation in the society. The anti-trust laws among the unions and other
regulatory bodies reduce the negative impact on the organisation.
 Maintains trust of employees – The organisation maintains trust of its employees
and clients by implementing business ethics for ensuring continued self-regulation.

“If we really commit to recognizing differences and valuing them, then we have these spaces
where it all comes to a head and we learn together how to practice and work with
differences,” Lupinacci said. “We open up to what are different ways of knowing, being and
understanding what our purposes and places are in the world.”
While we will run into people that will argue and anger us, we cannot immediately jump to
conclusions, and at the same time, we don’t need to constantly be on guard. We don’t need to
use so much energy to pick people’s words apart to find the flaw, especially if it is small and
obscure. We don’t need to put each other back in society’s boxes. We need to support.
Fighting alienates each other further and is ruining the cause.
“In an educational environment, the student should be emotionally, socially, intellectually,
politically recognized and empowered,” Lupinacci said. “A learning space should be
recognized as a place to respect the opinions and differences and recognize why people think
what they think. It isn’t anything goes, but getting to where we learn as a collective together
is through not always being right and learning from one-another.”
In the given case, senior officer is using equipment of Ben & Jerry in another company
without informing to anyone before business head discovered that. Here, we need to assess
the situation and find if his activities are ethical or not. Ethical decision-making process
consists of establishing codes of conduct and ethical guidelines. Before making any decision
in this scenario, we must check some points such as we must collect relevant information
regarding the issue and decide whether the information collected is meeting the factors for
making decision. It should also be checked that is it important to develop options for any
issues such that the decision least harms the daily activities and provides the rights to the
stakeholders and helps in treating employees equally. Considering all the factors and by
analysing the best option, the decision is made and implemented in the organisation.

Here, we should analyse the whole situation and decide accordingly. Company should tell the
senior officer that company is happy to assist him in his other venture and also ready to share
the equipment of Ben& Jerry but it will be considered as lease and Ben & Jerry should
proceed to send him the bills for lease expenses of the equipment at a commonly accepted
market rate. As a business head, we should also propose to pre-approve any such leases in the
future if those equipment is not needed in Ben & Jerry at that time.
Answer 3b:

Professional ethics are a set of values that an individual professional should strive to follow
while making decision in his professional workings. The use of ethics prevents professionals
from taking advantage of other employees or the company. Professionals can be socially
responsible by making decisions that enhance the welfare of the people around them. Socially
responsible behavior enhances teamwork and improves the overall productivity of them.

Accountants have ethical responsibilities to many different parties, both internal and external
to the company. Accountants are privy to confidential information regarding their clients and
their clients' businesses. Disclosure of this information to unauthorized third parties could put
clients at a competitive disadvantage. Accountants are ethically obligated to treat client
information as confidential and refrain from unauthorized disclosure. Accountants working in
public practice have an ethical duty to be able to objectively render an opinion on a
company's financial statements. This requires the accountant to be independent from the
company under audit in both "fact and appearance." Integrity is an important fundamental
element of the accounting profession. Integrity requires accountants to be honest, candid and
forthright with a client's financial information. Accountants should restrict themselves from
personal gain or advantage using confidential information. Accountants must remain free
from conflicts of interest and other questionable business relationships when conducting
accounting services. Due care is the ethical value requiring accountants to observe all
technical or ethical accounting standards.

Professionally, a lawyer should be competent, prompt and diligent. A lawyer should maintain
communication with a client concerning the representation. A lawyer should keep in
confidence information relating to representation of a client. A lawyer's conduct should
conform to the requirements of the law, both in professional service to clients and in the
lawyer's business and personal affairs. A lawyer should use the law's procedures only for
legitimate purposes and not to harass or intimidate others. A lawyer should demonstrate
respect for the legal system and for those who serve it, including judges, other lawyers and
public officials. While it is a lawyer's duty, when necessary, to challenge the rectitude of
official action, it is also a lawyer's duty to uphold legal process.

On the basis of above discussion, it can be said that professionals like accountants and
lawyers have various roles and responsibilities to perform towards the society.