Ethics Corruption Essay Example

Ethics: Corruption Essay Ethics: Corruption Name: Class Name: Section number: We will write a custom essay sample on Ethics: Corruption specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Ethics: Corruption specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Ethics: Corruption specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Institution: Tutor: Date: Ethics: Corruption Introduction Some small actions done may be misinterpreted due to poor communication. On the other hand, there are other actions that are interpreted to lead to results, which are considered as extremes. These are called fallacies. Ethical values pertaining corruption and moral behavior, whether inbuilt or adopted can be misinterpreted or poorly communicated if one fails to follow the appropriate procedures. In this relation, the theories regarding public corruption are real as compared to being a slippery slope argument. Discussion One of the things that can lead to poor results of communication is the slippery slope. This is a form of argument explaining that exceptions to a rule can lead to the general ignoring of the rule. In other words, a small step may lead to more other steps which will in the end have results of significant impact. For example, if a rule is to be applied at all times, applying the rule some of the time may lead to the general abandonment of the rule. The slippery slope argument can be greatly associated with gratuities. In most cases, gratuities are given out of goodwill. They are mostly offered to the people in the restaurant and hotel business, and other service rendering departments. In other words, this is the offering of tips. Some hotels, for example, disapprove the acceptance of tips and other gratuities from customers. A manager sees a member of staff taking a tip from a customer because the staff member picked the customer’s car from the garage. This is not part of the staff’s job description), and then allows it to continue for a couple of more times due to the extra service rendered by other staff members to customers, the slippery slope argument states that this gratuity rule will be ignored. The staff members will start accepting gratuities even for normal services rendered. This same case may also occur in the police department and other public offices rendering services. The three theories of corruption; the society at large hypothesis, the affiliation or the structural hypothesis and the rotten apple hypothesis can all be related to the slippery slope argument. The society-at-large hypothesis asserts that the public is sometimes responsible for corruption in the public offices and departments. For example, if the public gives the people in the immigration department for the first processing of their documents or the retrieval of any documents, then these public servants will always expect gratuities from the public before or after they perform these tasks even though it is part of their job description. Such acts of the public are also seen in the police department when the public needs the police security. According to the slippery slope argument, the continuous behavior of the public rendering these gratuities will lead to the extreme result of corruption in the public servant (Cheney, 2010). Although these may be a fallacy, it has been evident in various sectors. Why do some people get their documents processed faster than others yet both groups went to the same offices? Why do some people’s cases receive more attention more than others yet they are of the same magnitude? The affiliation or structural hypothesis asserts that public officials may become corrupt because their seniors are corrupt. This means that corruption can trickle down from the seniors down to the lower level staff. For example, if a high ranking police officer is given extra money by a local gang in order to protect them or prevent any attack from the police officers, the lower ranking officers will take the path and take gratuities from the citizens in the name of â€Å"if the senior is accepting, we will also accept† (Cheney, 2010). The rotten apple hypothesis asserts that some people are simply corrupt to the core due to a number of reasons. They might have been influenced by their upbringing, their environment, friends or their personal issues. In most cases, it seems as if corruption is in ‘their blood’. It is hard to make them stop this unethical behavior. For example, if a man is in the customer care department in the immigration department, and is accused of taking gratuities from the public, he is reprimanded and transferred to the customer service in the banking industry. He will still find ways of receiving gratuities from the customers. The main challenge occurring due to the behavior in this people is that they can be of great influence to the rest of the public servants. Although these theories may be considered to fall in the slippery slope argument, they are evident in most cases. Wilson had researched on Chicago Police Department when he came up with these theories. Statistics in the African countries have indicated that most corruption cases among the public cases are caused by the public (Von, 2008). The most affected are those in the police department. Furthermore, the public goes ahead and gives gratuities to those at the senior ranks. In this way, these seniors only issue orders to those at the subordinate categories for them to perform particular tasks. These tasks are such as the quick recovery of a document. This is done ahead of the queue and raises suspicion from the rest of the staff, the staff concludes that the senior has been bribed. If such cases occur frequently, the staff starts accepting gratitude from the public (Highhouse Gregarus, 2009). Although there are other facts to be considered, it is also important to recognize the great influence a leader has. It is also good to recognize that persistence bears fruit as in the case of the society-at-large hypothesis. Conclusion The theories are more evident in the developing countries as compared to being just part of the slippery slope argument. The public, the leaders and the individual public servants have a role to play pertaining to their ethical behavior. In most cases, it takes the decision of an individual to stop these corruption cases. If the leaders would lead by positive example, the public to act it wants to be treated, and the individual responsibility of their actions, corruption cases would be minimized. References Cheney, G. (2010). Just a job?: Communication, ethics, and professional life. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Highhouse, S., Brooks, M., Gregarus, G. (January 01, 2009). An Organizational Impression Management Perspective on the Formation of Corporate Reputations. Journal of Management, 35, 6, 1481-1493. Von, M. A. P. (January 01, 2008). Studying Methods, Not Ethics: Exploring the Methodological Character of Administrative Ethics Research. Public Integrity, 11, 1, 9-34.

Biography of Aristotle Onassis

Biography of Aristotle Onassis Aristotle Onassis was a Greek shipping magnate and a wealthy international celebrity. His fame increased enormously in October 1968 when he married Jacqueline Kennedy, the widow of the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The marriage sent shockwaves through American culture. Onassis and his new wife, dubbed Jackie O by the tabloid press, became familiar figures in the news. Fast Facts: Aristotle Onassis Nickname: The Golden GreekOccupation: Shipping magnateKnown For: His marriage to former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and his ownership of the largest privately-owned shipping fleet in the world (which made him one of the richest men in the world).Born: January 15, 1906 in Smyrna (present day Izmir), TurkeyDied: March 15, 1975 in Paris, France.Parents: Socrates Onassis, Penelope DologouEducation: Evangelical School of Smyrna (high school); no college educationSpouse(s): Athina Livanos, Jacqueline KennedyChildren: Alexander Onassis, Christina Onassis Early Life Aristotle Onassis was born January 15, 1906 in Smyrna, a port in Turkey that had a substantial Greek population. His father, Socrates Onassis, was a prosperous tobacco merchant. Young Aristotle was not a good student, and in his early teens he left school and began working in his fathers office. In 1919, Greek forces invaded and occupied Smyrna. The Onassis family fortunes suffered greatly when Turkish forces invaded in 1922, taking back the town and persecuting Greek residents. Onassiss father was jailed, accused of conspiring with the Greeks who had occupied the region. Aristotle managed to help other family members to escape to Greece, smuggling the familys funds by taping money to his body. His father was released from prison and rejoined the family in Greece. Tensions in the family drove Aristotle away, and he sailed to Argentina. Early Career in Argentina With savings equivalent to $250, Onassis arrived in Buenos Aires and began working at a series of menial jobs. At one point, he landed a job as a telephone operator, and he spent his night shifts improving his English by listening in on calls to New York and London. According to legend, he also overheard information about business deals which enabled him to make timely investments. He began to appreciate that information obtained at the right time could have enormous value. After repairing his relationship with his father, Onassis partnered with him to import tobacco into Argentina. He was soon very successful, and by the early 1930s he was prominent in the Greek expatriate business community in Buenos Aires. The Golden Greek Becomes a Shipping Magnate Seeking to move beyond being an importer, Onassis began to learn about the shipping business. While on a visit to London during the Great Depression, he obtained potentially valuable information: rumors that Canadian freighters were being sold by a troubled shipping company. Onassis bought six of the ships for $20,000 each. His new company, Olympic Maritime, began moving goods across the Atlantic and prospered in the late 1930s. The outbreak of World War II threatened to destroy Onassis growing business. Some of his ships were seized in ports in Europe. Yet Onassis, after safely sailing from London to New York, managed to negotiate to get his fleet back under his control. For most of the war, Onassis leased ships to the U.S. government, which used them to transport vast quantities of war supplies around the globe. When the war ended, Onassis was set up for success. He purchased more ships cheaply as war surplus, and his shipping business grew quickly. At the end of 1946, Onassis married Athina Tina Livanos, with whom he had two children. Tina Livanos was the daughter of Stavors Livanos, another wealthy Greek shipping magnate. Onassis marriage into the Livanos family increased his influence in the business at a critical time. In the postwar era, Onassis assembled one of the largest merchant fleets in the world. He built massive oil tankers which roamed the oceans. He encountered legal problems with the U.S. government over the registration of his vessels, as well as over a controversy about his visa paperwork (which was rooted in conflicting information about his declared birthplace when he had first emigrated to Argentina). Onassis eventually settled his legal problems (at one point paying a $7 million settlement) and by the mid-1950s his business success had earned him the nickname The Golden Greek. Marriage to Jackie Kennedy Onassis marriage to Tina Livano came apart in the 1950s when Onassis began an affair with opera star Maria Callas. They divorced in 1960. Soon after, Onassis became friendly with Jacqueline Kennedy, whom he met through her socialite sister Lee Radziwill. In 1963, Onassis invited Mrs. Kennedy and her sister for a cruise in the Aegean Sea aboard his lavish yacht, the Christina. Onassis remained friends with Jacqueline Kennedy following the death of her husband, and began courting her at some point. Rumors swirled about their relationship, yet it was startling when, on October 18, 1968, the New York Times published the front-page headline, Mrs. John F. Kennedy to Wed Onassis. Aristotle Onassis and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in a limousine. Getty Images Mrs. Kennedy and her two children flew to Greece and she and Onassis were married on his private island, Skorpios, on Sunday, October 20, 1968. The marriage became something of a scandal in the American press because Mrs. Kennedy, a Roman Catholic, was marrying a divorced man. The controversy faded a bit within days when the Catholic archbishop of Boston defended the marriage on the front page of the New York Times. The Onassis marriage was an object of enormous fascination. Paparazzi trailed them wherever they traveled, and speculation about their marriage was standard fare in gossip columns. The Onassis marriage helped define an era of jet-setting celebrity lifestyle, complete with yachts, private islands, and travel between New York, Paris, and the isle of Skorpios. Later Years and Death In 1973, Onassis son Alexander died tragically in a plane crash. The loss devastated Onassis. He had anticipated his son taking over his business empire. After his sons death, he seemed to lose interest in his work, and his health began to fail. In 1974, he was diagnosed with a debilitating muscular disease. He died on March 15, 1975, after being hospitalized in Paris. When Onassis died in 1975, at the age of 69, the press estimated his wealth at $500 million. He was one of the richest men in the world. Legacy Onassis rise to the pinnacle of fame and wealth was unlikely. He was born to a merchant family that lost everything in the aftermath of World War I. After relocating from Greece to Argentina as a virtual refugee, Onassis managed to enter the tobacco importing business and by the age of 25 had become a millionaire. Onassis eventually branched out into owning ships, and his business sense led him to revolutionize the shipping business. As his wealth increased, he also became known for dating beautiful women, ranging from Hollywood actresses in the 1940s to the famed opera soprano Maria Callas in the late 1950s. Today, he is perhaps most well-known for his marriage to Jackie Kennedy. Sources Onassis, Aristotle. Encyclopedia of World Biography, edited by Andrea Henderson, 2nd ed., vol. 24, Gale, 2005, pp. 286-288. Gale Virtual Reference Library.Passty, Benjamin. Onassis, Aristotle 1906–1975. History of World Trade Since 1450, edited by John J. McCusker, vol. 2, Macmillan Reference USA, 2006, p. 543. Gale Virtual Reference Library.

Risk Management - Critical Analysis Research Paper

Risk Management - Critical Analysis - Research Paper Example In addition, I also focused my analysis on how the history of the scenario contributed to the current state of affairs. I made a conclusion that top managers must be change-oriented to serve the interest of the company, external and internal customers. I also recommended that firm must ensure that change-resisting managers are dismissed to realize the company objective. In this paper, I will showcase how I managed to restore normality based on the risk of employee mass dismissal that led to strike within my workplace. The employee had been complaining about poor working conditions, as well as poor wage packages in our company for a long period of time, but the top management did not take any actions. The situation became worse with time as the manager was rigid and resisted change at all levels. The commandeering style of leadership that he portrayed at the workplace never augured well with the employee who decided to join hand to benefit from a collective bargaining but all their grievances fell on deaf ears. Several peaceful boycotts followed putting the company operations at a risk. Production declined to a greater degree, and the sales volume reduced to a worsening condition with lower employee productivity due to dissatisfaction. The top management ignored the pieces of advice that arose from the emergency and risk department to which I led an d thus it became very difficult to counteract the scenario proactively before it gets out of hands. I tried on several occasions to talk to the executives about the impending risk attached to the employees’ job dissatisfaction ranging from the threats of shuttering the brand image, low sales and even the collapse of the company. However, the executive would never buy any of my ideas as they have more positional power and authority of my position. The results were the company worsened reputation, low sales, massive loyal customers withdrawal with the greater possibility of the company collapse. I will,