Deaf Again Journal

Deaf Again Journal Studying American Sign Language, I have learned a lot about the Deaf community and I also have learned a lot about their language, American Sign Language, hoping to be someday fluent. By reading Deaf Again By Mark Drolsbaugh, I have learned even more about the life of a Deaf person. Drolsbaugh not only tells you how he became Deaf he also tells the story of his life. This intriguing autobiography, by Mark Drolsbaugh, has taught me more about the life of a Deaf person than I can ever hope to find out.Many deaf children, born or soon after became deaf, are not raised by sign communication and, I’ve always wondered why. By reading more into this novel, I have realized that it has helped me to better understand how people can become Deaf or hard of hearing, and teaches me how Deaf people live their lives in the hearing world. Drolsbaugh wasn’t born deaf but later on in his childhood slowly became deaf. I saw him struggle in school. I saw him try to live t he life of a hearing person and pass his classes as such. Learning sign language takes time and concentration.In order to learn American Sign Language you must try to see through the eyes, or in this case, hear through the ears of a Deaf or hard of hearing individual. Drolsbaugh later learned that not learning to sign had impacted his academics negatively and his development through life. As a hearing person struggles through life to find their place in their community, Drolsbaugh struggles to find his place in the Deaf community. This novel is surrounding the audiences of teens and young adults dealing with their everyday lives.The novel, in addition gives the necessary advice to those people, young or old, who were born deaf, or who recently became deaf. The impactful life of Mark Drolsbaugh gives the audience the confidence to find out who they are in life and where they were meant to be. For the Deaf people, this novel gives them a safe haven inside their heads. It also gives th em something and someone to relate to. Drolsbaugh gives every reader a walk through his shoes. He shows you the ups and downs of being born with deaf parents and eventually becoming deaf himself and never earning sign language early in his childhood. He explains the battles living in a hearing world and barely knows sign language and ultimately learning and being able to correspond, but only with other Deaf people like himself. He didn’t really know it but he had the support of the Deaf community. Only when he went to Gallaudet University did he realize that they were there behind him. Gallaudet gave him even more confidence to continue his roller coaster journey to become an astonishing author. In my honest opinion I didn’t find many weaknesses in this book.Mark Drolsbaughs strengths were his capabilities to be born hearing with Deaf parents. Gradually become deaf and not know or understand a single sign of American Sign Language, attend hearing people schools which h ad little Deaf teaching. Attend a college in which he wasn’t too happy to attend. Make money by working in a supermarket surrounded by hearing people. Eventually studying at Gallaudet and finally being at peace when surrounded by people who â€Å"speak† just like him, in American Sign Language. Read also  Summary : Love Is Never SilentHes been through a lot showing the world that hes not just surviving through his life but he is living it for the moment, and hes living it as a Deaf person. Being an idealistic student with wonderful grades and academics getting into Harvard-type schools wasn’t so easy being deaf as he explained through chapter 6. After being accepted into Germantown Friends’ School he self taught himself, with help from a few caring people. He struggled through just as any student would through high school but he had to make sure he â€Å"heard† his teacher’s lectures appropriately.Drolsbaugh eventually took up Tae Kwon Do and it then gave him the assurance and self esteem he lacked living in a hearing world. It relieved him of any worries and stress and helped him through his effort in life. In his efforts to prove to the world that a Deaf person can live, no survive, in the Deaf community and in the hearing community, he succe eded. He, as any young adult, starts out working at a small temporary job, like a supermarket, and progressively makes his way in to bigger and better things. He graduated Gallaudet with his bachelors and decided to go for his Masters in grad school.He even got married, to Melanie. He showed the world that deaf people can make it in the hearing world. Mark Drolsbaugh’s main message in this book is â€Å"being Deaf isn’t a disability or handicap, it’s a blessing†. He portrayed this messaged when he showed the world that deaf people can go to a â€Å"regular† school and still be able to do extraordinary thing. He lost his self confidence when he became deaf but got it back whilst taking Tae Kwon Do. He met the girl of his dreams and married her. He went on to become an astonishing writer and wrote this autobiography.He found that he can depend on the Deaf community to be there for him as he is for them. He found that although he is Deaf, he can defy the expectations of the entire world and bring out the best in himself. He and Melanie also had 3 beautiful children, hearing. No matter whether they remain hearing or slowly become deaf they are still people and will go on to live their normal lives. I absolutely loved this book. To be able to read a book that actually catches my attention for longer than five minutes was almost impossible.After reading this autobiography about the life of a Deaf person it helped me to believe, although I am not deaf, that I can be what I amount to be, no matter my weaknesses. This novel gave me the strength to try n build my self esteem and also showed me that I am not alone when it comes to having a low confidence in myself. I’ve always been fascinated by the Deaf community and the American Sign Language. I have always wondered what it would be like to be Deaf, and would it be hard, but just like a hearing person in school its still hard.Life is never easy even if you are hearing. And just because you don’t have something that everyone else has, that doesn’t make you any less of a brilliant person. This book gave me the heart to go on to get my masters and become a Deaf elementary school teacher so I too can teach, not only deaf, but hearing students too, about being deaf and hopefully being able to teach them some Sign Language so it can benefit them to become a part of the Deaf community. Maybe I can enlighten a Deaf child to read Deaf Again and hopefully watch them grow to be a author like Mr. Mark Drolsbaugh.

FCC and regulations on music essays

FCC and regulations on music essays America! We love you! How many people are proud to be citizens of this beautiful country of ours? The stripes and the stars for the rights that men have died for to protect; the women and men who have broke their necks for the freedom of speech the United Stated government has sworn to uphold. Or so were told (Eminem). The words of a famous rapper Eminem in White America from his newly released record. Eminem is one of the latest artists being attacked by the Federal Communications Commission. Along with many other musical artists, Eminem fights back with his lyrics and protests against the FCC for trying not to allow him to exercise his rights to the first amendment. The FCC is regulating music, and they are trying to make it a world where we are told what to play, sing, and even what we listen to. Just like many other countries the United States is being threatened by censorship on music (What is Music). Music is a way to freely express ideas. A songwriter may be express ing anger or love in a song. To the artist, music is a form of therapy. Musicians have been tortured, put in jail, exiled, and in some cases, killed, but music is being censored because censorship is based on fear. (What is Music). All kinds of music are attacked by the freedom of speech. Many people question what is right and wrong, what should and should not be censored. In order to control this music censorship something had to be done. Certain things in a song could be offensive to someone but not to another person. This is where the Federal Communications Commission steps into place. Also know as the FCC, it is an independent United Stated government agency, and is directly responsible to Congress. The birth of the FCC came into place by the Communications Act of 1934, and is in charge of regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. The ...

Outer Circle - Definition and Examples - World English

Outer Circle s - World English The outer circle is made up of post-colonial countries in which English, though not the mother tongue, has for a significant period of time played an important role in education, governance, and popular culture. Countries in the outer circle include India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, and more than 50 other nations. Low Ee  Ling  and Adam Brown describe the outer circle as those countries in the earlier phases of the spread of English in non-native settings[,] . . . where English has become institutionalized or has become part of the countrys chief institutions (English in Singapore, 2005).   The outer circle is one of the three concentric circles of World English described by linguist Braj Kachru in Standards, Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism: The English Language in the Outer Circle (1985).   The labels inner, outer, and expanding  circles represent the type of spread, the patterns of acquisition, and the functional allocation of the English language in diverse cultural contexts.  As discussed below, these labels remain controversial. Explanations of Outer Circle English In the Inner Circle, English spread largely because of a migration of English speakers. In time each settlement developed its own national variety. On the other hand, the spread of English in the Outer Circle has occurred largely as a result of colonization by English-speaking nations. Here, two major types of linguistic development occurred. In some countries like Nigeria and India, where under colonial powers it developed as an elite second language, only a minority of the society acquired English. However, in other countries like Barbados and Jamaica, the slave trade had a significant impact on the variety of English spoken, resulting in the development of English-based pidgins and creoles.(Sandra Lee McKay, Teaching English as an International Language: Rethinking Goals and Approaches. Oxford University Press, 2002)The Outer Circle may be thought of as country contexts where English was first introduced as a colonial language for administrative purposes. . . . English is used in these countries for intra-country purposes. In addition to Outer Circle, terms frequently used to describe the manner in which English has evolved in these settings include institutionalized and nativized. In these countries, a variety of English has evolved which possesses the common core characteristics of Inner Circle varieties of English, but in addition can be distinguished from them by particular lexical, phonological, pragmatic, and morphosyntactic innovations.(Kimberly Brown, World Englishes:  To Teach or Not to Teach. World Englishes, ed. by   Kingsley Bolton and Braj B. Kachru. Routledge, 2006) Problems With the World Englishes Model Considering the history of the emancipation of various Englishes around the globe, it is obvious that the groundbreaking work emanated from and has been essentially focused on the Outer Circle. But it has been an uphill struggle. Even today, what is often termed international by Inner Circle scholars, publishers, etc. is often simply interpreted as the international spread of native-speaker Standard English (a minority variety in itself) rather than the way English has changed to meet international needs.(Barbara Seidlhofer, World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca: Two Frameworks or One? World EnglishesProblems, Properties and Prospects, ed. by Thomas Hoffmann and Lucia Siebers. John Benjamins, 2009)As a large number speakers from the Outer-Circle and Expanding-Circle countries now live in the Inner-Circle countries, even native speakers of English are increasingly exposed to World Englishes. This means revising the notion of proficiency even for the English of native speakers . Canagarajah (2006: 233) maintains that, in a context where we have to constantly shuffle between different varieties [of English] and communities, proficiency becomes complex . . . one needs the capacity to negotiate diverse varieties to facilitate communication.(Farzad Sharifian, English as an International Language: An Overview. English as an International Language: Perspectives and Pedagogical Issues, ed. by F. Sharifian. Multilingual Matters, 2009) Also Known As: extended circle

Ethics in Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Ethics in Financial Management - Essay Example In the article discussed in this paper we see how a person in power takes advantage of his position for personal gain. Henry M. Paulson was the Treasury secretary during the Bush Administration. He was also a major shareholder of Goldman Sachs. Mr. Paulson wanted to make it seem as if his ethical standards were implacable. He sold all his shares of Goldman Sachs and vowed not to get involved in any issues associated with the investment banking sector since he had many friends and colleagues in the industry. Getting involved in issues associated with the investment banking sector would constitute a conflict of interest ethical violation. A conflict of interest occurs when a person has a conflict between his private interest and the individual public obligations (Answers, 2009). The Treasury secretary was in the middle of the entire bailout package scandal. When the government allocated $85 million dollar of the bailout money to the American International Group (AIG), Mr. Paulson’s former employer, Goldman Sachs, received millions of dollars in debt collection from AIG as a consequence of the b ailout package deal. Even though Henry Paulson claims he did nothing wrong and that his actions were not unethical in any way because he was simply doing his job as secretary of treasury, many Wall Street experts believed Goldman Sachs received preferential treatment during the entire process. During the AIG bailout package took place Mr. Paulson spoke the CEO of Goldman Sachs over two dozen times (Morgenson & Van Natta, 2009). The amount of phone calls exceeds by a lot the conversations the governmental official had with any other Wall Street executive. Mr. Paulson claimed he received an ethics waiver. To me this waiver seems like a cheap excuse because the treasury secretary’s actions were clearly an ethical violation since his former employer was receiving preferential

Underdetermination and holism Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Underdetermination and holism - Coursework Example This fact from the history of the growth of science shows us that the issue that the problem of undeterminism of scientific theories raises is a real issue that cannot be merely dismissed as a case of philosophical doubt. 2. A critical look at Laudan’s proposed dissolution of undeterminism shows that the Laudan’s dissolution can be used in defence of scientific realism. In his critique of undeterminism, Laudan argued that scientists and philosophers use the term undeterminism in a very loose manner. Laudan went on to argue that due to using the term undeterminism in a loose manner, the scientists and philosophers magnify the problem of undeterminism in science than the problem is. For Laudan, scientific theories are not undetermined in the sense that the theories are wholly undetermined as undeterminism hold, but scientific theories are undetermined only in the sense that the theories cannot be absolutely verified by any set of evidence. For Laudan, although, scientific theories are not absolutely verifiable by any set of evidence, scientific theories, however, are testable and their conclusions are tentative. For this reason, Laudan concluded that scientific theories can give us object ive, but tentative knowledge. A critical look at this view shows that Laudan’s dissolution of undeterminism can be used in defence of scientific realism. This is because scientific realism hold the view that scientific theories are tentative and scientific knowledge, therefore, is tentative; Laudan holds the same view. 3. A critical look at Dunhem’s problem shows that the problem doesn’t really extend to the Quinean holism about about logic, mathematics and science. This is because Dunhem holds that scientific theories are undetermined because it is impossible to test a scientific hypothesis or theory in isolation since scientific theories are interrelated and the test of any scientific

Reclassification of marijuana Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reclassification of marijuana - Research Paper Example All desirable effects of cannabis like euphoria, sense of pleasantness, more perceptive feelings and other disappear within a couple of hours after cannabis was used. Though it is a light drug and if talking medically in fact is not even a drug, it has some bad effects. These bad effects are usually of long-term and depend on the regularity of smoking cannabis and the amount of product smoked. Among negative long-term effects there are loss of concentration, slow reaction, sleepiness, inactivity and passive reaction towards the irritants of the environment which is called apathy. However these negative effects do not have somehow significantly negative influence and they appear only if cannabis is used too regularly and in huge portions. It is also clinically proved that without further using of cannabis such negative effects vanish with no trace of them. There are no inconvertible effects of cannabis and no direct damage to human organism (Goode 2007). Despite peacefulness and harmlessness of cannabis as a psychostimulant or anti-depressant its production and distribution is considered illegal in most countries. The reason of that is that cannabis is not produced by special manufacturers and cannot be taxed because of the easy ways of its cultivation. Another reason is bad influence of cannabis on the activities like driving and working. Nevertheless, cannabis is clinically proved to be a lot less harmful than alcohol or tobacco. The main advantage of legalization of marijuana for the government is an extra tax income. Also very significant is the fact that in low developed countries young people who just want to spend their time in a more interesting way will not be punished inappropriately for the keeping and using small amounts of cannabis while often such individuals are unfairly called junkies and addicts which gives them bad publicity. Progressive western countries developed a legal term â€Å"Light Drug†

A Study On A Stakeholder Approach Business Essay

A Study On A Stakeholder Approach Business Essay How should corporate boards deal with trends favouring an engagement with the ethical dimensions of business and stakeholder orientation, and with any potential tensions of this engagement with shareholder returns. Illustrate your analysis with recent specific examples â€Å"All the work contained within is my own unaided effort and conforms with the Universitys guidelines on plagiarism.† This essay explores the role of the board, different stakeholder perspectives on ethics and offers practical insights for handling them. Shareholders are significant stakeholders that expect higher returns on their investment than with risk free savings. Yet organisations cannot exist in isolation; operate without employees or acceptance by broader society. This human dimension periodically conflicts with the wealth creation objective. Employees and society are also important stakeholders, holding different perspectives. Milton Friedman (1982) Edward Freeman (1984) The only group with a moral claim on the corporation is the people who own shares of the stock (shareholders) Many groups have a moral claim on the corporation that derives from the corporations potential to harm or benefit them (stakeholders) Freeman et al (2007) The dominance of investor rights, the diminishment of good, moral decisions question if we should consider value systems when assessing a business decision. The focus is on the conflicting demands of labor, government, investors, and managers in the hopes of resolving the ‘inherent conflicts. As such, one group must dominate in order to win. Stakeholders contradictory values require consideration by the CEO to select an appropriate strategic path. Stakeholder Group Interests Ethical Dimension Managers Power, prestige, compensation, legacy Potential conflicts of interest with shareholder value Customers Service, product quality, value Not taking defective product to market No price fixing, participating in cartels, no misleading advertisements Creditors Security of capital CEO may pursue overseas expansion policy putting funds at risk for unknown returns Suppliers Regular payments, continuity of business Avoidance of paying or soliciting bribes. Policy on acceptance of gifts. Shareholders Dividends, Capital growth, safe Short term vs. long term strategy. Returns from low cost countries may be through exploitation Government Taxes, Employment Tax avoidance schemes. Corruption in developing nations may require payment of â€Å"facilitation† fees Society No harm to employees. Employment. Preservation of environment Movement of jobs to low cost countries and ensuring health and safety practices followed even if country has lower standard. The CEO/management team are also stakeholders. Thus, tensions exist between the management and the governance board, which have a fiduciary duty to the principals (shareholders). The Board performs due diligence to ensure the appointed executive managing the firm acts appropriately in the interests of shareholders. An agency problem, where the goals of the shareholders (maximising returns) and the (management) agent are in potential conflict is challenging for the principals to confirm the agent is acting appropriately. E.g. the CEO wishes to pursue an ethical approach in the supply chain that costs more than the current standard, that shareholders find unattractive due to lower returns. A strong board could experience tensions in power and influence such that non executive directors use their position to balance control in the interests of shareholders. The boards ability to replace the CEO is the ultimate threat, which should also ensure compliance with any ethical code. A firm wit h good governance wouldnt combine the roles of Board Chairman and CEO, due to conflict of interest. Non profit organisations without shareholders also balance stakeholder concerns. Ethics, the moral principles that guide organizational behaviour are an area where a strategic choice can be made to be a leader (active stance) or merely respond to legislation (passive). Its the purview of management to determine the ethical position. The organization develops a code to support the practice. The ethical stance is likely to lead to diverse stakeholder opinions. For the ethical standard to be meaningful, performance should be measured. Business results still matter but so do how they were achieved. The emergence of the triple bottom line concept, which states that measures of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) should be included equally with financial and other performance indicators has highlighted the ethical position of firms. Bartlett (1990) Concerns about shareholder value have begun to influence major strategic choices, and not always to the good. While its reasonable that shareholders expect a return on their investment, many are short term holders looking for quick returns. With CEOs under pressure to produce immediate results, fundamentally conflicting values emerge within the companys stakeholders. An ethical stance could cost more through sustainable sourcing, investing in people and supporting auditing procedures. The additional expense burden may be considered too high in the current challenging economic climate. Abandoning ethical principles could be costly if Governments/trade associations levy fines for standards violations or adverse publicity results in loss of sales. Application of the Environment Strategy Competencies Organisation (ESCO) framework, Heracleous (2009), identifies potential stakeholder tensions around ethical issues, which will be discussed later. Environment Political Increasing legislation on pollution advertising. Standards for minimum wages and safety. Social Growing concern for quality of life creates pressure to reduce exploitation and conserve the environment/resources. Increasing number of pressure groups representing under privileged groups with special interests. Economic Globalisation of companies requiring many to operate in developing countries. Technological New technologies alter working practices such as automation reducing manual labour but balanced against employment loss. Strategy Low cost Outsourcing/off shoring to low cost countries requires thorough audit to meet ethical standards Differentiation Marketing ethical products at a premium requires rigorous compliance programme. Higher standards may apply to belong to â€Å"ethical† funds or associations Core Competencies Service excellence Cost control Ethics as core value helps appreciate customer perspective. Ethical position may be higher cost Organisation Process Procedures, checklists or guidance on ethical issues available and training to support Seek synergies with ethical dimensions Culture Embed values in organisation stories, management living the values. Align reward system with ethical results People Selection and retention through ethical values. Board competent to challenge management Holistic personnel development Ethics training Structure Ethics officer role, decisions on how to operate overseas may be influenced by level of control Society expects organizations not to harm employees or the environment. For profitability in the current business situation, organizations cant afford to have an ethical image at odds with the values of contemporary society. Its good for business to take ethical positions, which can directly influence consumers and also indirectly shape government perceptions of the industry to help avoid legislative hindrances. Porters (1985) bargaining power of consumers and suppliers of labour, are increasingly influenced by ethics. An ethical approach to employment through non discrimination and fair pay assists in the attraction and retention of talent that avoids further associated costs. As ethics involves exercising judgement its not easy to teach. Paine (2000) For many, running the numbers is a more enjoyable type of mental activity than deliberating about the issues. As the less favored cognitive capacities fall into disuse, they can be expected to deteriorate. This makes it harder for board directors to make sound decisions and also for firms to train personnel and codify. Yet this complexity is no excuse for not trying. The firm may target the ethically/socially aware consumer segment. Firms with high active engagement are considered â€Å"ethical organizations† where their philosophy drives both what the company does and how it achieves it. This requires commitment to high standards, rigorous training and monitoring/publishing of data. Management evaluates the advantages of this approach and determines if its appropriate for the business. There may be significant consequences for failure to deliver potential loss of status in â€Å"ethical† funds with associated loss of investment and potential decrease in market capitalisation. Some ethical funds use shareholder pressure to bring about changes in company policy. Usually an active screening process will remove organizations from the fund that have behaved negatively with respect to core values such as corruption or exploitation. There are different ways to take stakeholder views into consideration when making company decisions and it would be advisable to have principles to guide the process. Power brings influence, so large multinational companies in particular have high ethical/social impact. This can be harnessed as a force for good. However, whether it is the role of organisations is debatable. Increasingly consumers and businesses prefer to purchase from organisations with high ethical standards. Trudel and Cotte (2009) found †¢ consumers with high existing ethical expectations will allow a greater price premium †¢ punishment is greater than the premium prepared to pay †¢ companies neednt be 100% ethical to be rewarded Organisations pursuing an ethically responsible differentiation strategy could market at premium price provided consumers are educated about those products. Certain consumer groups may push for the entire range to be ethical which may increase costs or otherwise prove challenging. Equally consumer expectations may shift and force 100%. Governance At lower levels, management should enforce the ethical principles that have been set. There are two possible approaches: through compliance or integrity (value) based. Managers should explain the position with respect to issues that employees are likely to face like accepting gifts that may be deemed inducements. If employees believe their ability to do their job is negatively impacted they might not support the principles. The organisation ought to ensure rewards align with desirable behaviour and there are consequences for non compliance. Exploration of ethical issues When short term shortages exist, such as with swine flu medication an ethical debate for management may surface as to whether to exploit the situation and request higher prices. However, pharmaceutical companies elected not to, as they position themselves, as highly ethical and apparent profiteering from vulnerable people would contradict their stated values. Public sensitivity to drug pricing is high. Yet pharmaceutical companies choose to obey the letter of the law with respect to low cost generics rather than its spirit, which allows them to continue to reap high financial returns for modest payoffs. While they claim to use the revenue for further research its arguably at odds with the greater benefit of society not all stakeholders are equal. MSN (2009) As part of its drive to cut health care costs, the Obama administration wants to stop payments pharmaceutical companies make to generic drug makers to delay the launch of cheap copies. Drug companies have successfully argued in court that their patents allow them to make the deals. Conformance with legislation is expected. Companies that violate rules are rightly punished. Pharmaceutical companies could find the Obama response is more severe than the prior value of legal compliance. Marketing There are obvious ethical issues associated with advertising to children. Other marketing issues that may stimulate debate between management and the board are withholding information that may adversely influence purchase decisions or handling unhealthy products. The Independent (2009) French government bans all advertising of mobile phones to children under 12 is announced by the Environment Minister, and he will ban the sale of any phone designed to be used by those under six. The majority of children in Western society have mobiles and many firms have used â€Å"pester power† to their advantage. The introduction of legislation confirms societys distaste for the practice and good boards should have used environmental scanning to see this trend emerge, proactively determine a favourable company stance and if necessary challenge management executives on their policy. Failure to clean up ones own area can lead to harsher standards when Governments are forced to act. The firm should recognise the importance of satisfying different stakeholders but agree that customers are vital, as it costs less to retain customers than to attract them. Reichheld (1994) found a 5% increase in customer loyalty led to significant increases in profits (25 100%) through further purchases and recommendations, providing a cost effective marketing advantage. A strong ethical stance could be a strategic lever to generate consumer loyalty. Innovations that are more environmentally friendly or ethically based are key for future success to align with societys expectations and could also be a source of competitive advantage. Ethics may become a tiebreaker between competitors so companies need to understand key customer values that drive purchase decisions. Ultimately consumer pressure may require ethical standards to become a core business driver rather than representative of the philanthropic values of the company. Tobacco firms have been heavily criticised for their advertising. BAT has gone beyond the requirements of legislation in many countries and is proud of their stance as evidenced on their website. Operating responsibly If a business is managing products which pose health risks, it is all the more important that it does so responsibly. Our International Marketing Standards (IMS) set down detailed guidance on all aspects of tobacco marketing. Central to the IMS is our long held commitment to ensuring that no marketing activity is directed at, or particularly appeals to, youth. The IMS are globally applicable. Adherence by our companies forms part of our regular internal audit process. We publicly report any instances of incomplete adherence each year. Supply Chain The Co operative website declares While other retailers have recently discovered the commercial benefits of an ethical approach to business, our beliefs define who we are. Were proud that our ethical approach started in 1844 when the Rochdale Pioneers established a set of values and principles in response to a society that was being exploited. Understandably the co op is the UKs longest supporter of Fairtrade products. Fairtrade ensures producers operate sustainably and applies a premium for investment in education healthcare or farm improvements. UK Fairtrade sales have increased 4267% since 1998. (Fair trade website). The Co op also offers banking, which operates ethically including its investment portfolio. They experience little conflict between stakeholders positions as they trade on their philosophy. The Guardian reported Primark fired three of its Indian clothing suppliers after discovering they were using child labour to work long hours in poor conditions. Many organizations are pursuing cost cutting in the current economic climate. However, there are clearly ethical and monitoring issues related to outsourcing to low cost countries. Global trading now impacts even minor purchasing decisions. Financial concerns like tax efficiency and lower overheads are increasingly becoming a more important element of competitive (cost reduction) strategy. This puts pressure on management to ensure such sourcing is conducted to appropriate standards and a robust audit programme exists for overseas subcontractors. With management from a distance there are options for visibility and control. The debate to exercise a high degree of control in local markets may mean elevated costs associated with establishing a subsidiary or joint venture. As the higher costs of ethical control may not be in the best financial interests of shareholders this conversation may reach the Board for discussion of congruence with the financial position and overall strategy. In some countries managers preferentially employ family members. From an ethics perspective employment should be offered to the best qualified candidate. It can readily be envisaged that managers put pressure on employees to meet targets and this may give rise to ethical dilemmas. The tensions that arise could be simply whether to lie about the reason for a late delivery to appease a client. However, honesty is what most people desire and forcing this issue could damage the company reputation if it later came out, but is also likely to demoralise employees such that they disengage in other aspects of their work, standards fall and higher costs ensue. The board would want evidence that management are fostering the correct approach in the culture of the organisation so access to reports is fundamental. Mintzberg (1983) viewed shareholders control as inadequate as they are usually passive. However, Shell shareholders voted against the companys executive pay plan (BBC 2009). This increased shareholder activism was prompted by poor performance and high executive rewards were inappropriate in such circumstances. The board should have a compensation committee to recommend appropriate levels and be cognisant of public opinion. Stakeholders, including some shareholders consider excessive pay unethical. Corruption Guardian (Dec 2008) Siemens Ex chairman and chief executive Heinrich von Pierer is under heavy suspicion of failing to stop the bribery when he and his board were informed. He has consistently denied any knowledge of corruption. Without naming names, the DoJ/SEC findings point the finger at the former board for failing in its fiduciary duties. Siemens is already demanding compensation from 11 former executives. as part of the US settlement, Siemens made Theo Waigel, former German finance minister, its first compliance monitor. At Siemens organisational culture permitted participation in bribery as an acceptable standard of conduct. There was insufficient influence from the board to fully embed an ethical stance in the processes or daily culture. Nor did the board or management set an appropriate tone as a cultural reference point. The board had an obligation to prevent illegal practices. They should have realised the risks of non compliance and sought pertinent information if it was not offered. Siemens should have had a compliance role at senior management level. There is less flexibility in the response when its mandated than had they been proactive. The board didnt effectively monitor management on behalf of shareholders or evaluate the CEOs performance in an honest and open manner. As CEO and chairman roles were combined one person had a high degree influence. While this may have made it harder to challenge him they should have used their legitimate powers to do so. They failed the interests of shareho lders and didnt perform their fiduciary role, which is serious dereliction of duty. Further they ignored their role of understanding and determining strategic risks and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations. Siemens competed aggressively and unfairly with their competitors. They risked Government intervention to free markets and financial loss. As illustrated the introduction of a code of ethics is not sufficient by itself to encourage ethical behaviour. Senior management should positively support a cultural change to foster the appropriate values, patterns of thinking and behaviour. As McKinney and Moore (2008) attest: The mere existence of written codes of ethics cannot be expected to be the answer to the international bribery problem. Ethical behavior must be modeled in the corporation from the top down so that it permeates the entire organization. Organizations should utilise HR practices to recruit /select for promotion people who model the correct values, provide further training and align incentives to objectives around ethics. In extreme cases they may need to discipline people for non compliance. BP reports how many employees it has fired for violations. In some countries gifts/incentives to companies or government officials are prevalent. Even in civilised societies like Japan use gifts but a policy will help prevent confusion. Bribery, extortion and facilitation fees are more clearly delineated as unethical conduct. Firms need to determine their level of engagement, which may acknowledge it, exists and try to change practice from within or avoid altogether. Head office has to set the tone for overseas managers who may feel they should adopt the local custom because they see it as acceptable through continued exposure. Telegraph Mabey website Mabey Johnson plead guilty to 10 charges of corruption and violating sanctions. The company tried to influence officials in Jamaica and Ghana when bidding for public contracts. It also paid more than â‚ ¬422,000 to Saddam Husseins regime. Mabey Johnson faces fines and will make reparations to Jamaica, Ghana and a UN programme which benefits Iraq. It has agreed to an internal compliance programme carried out by an SFO approved independent monitor. The SFOs director said: These are serious offences and it is significant that Mabey Johnson has co operated with us to get to this landmark point. This †¦is a model for other companies who want to self report corruption and have it dealt with quickly and fairly. Peter Lloyd, (new) managing director, said: We deeply regret the past conduct of our company, and we have committed to making a fresh start. Staff have been retrained and sales and associated systems reviewed. The move follows the companys voluntary disclosure to the SFO of evidence that it may have engaged in corrupt practices. The information came to light in the course of an internal investigation by the companys solicitors. Five of Mabey Johnsons eight directors have stepped down since spring 2008 when the company told the SFO of the corruption offences. Excerpt from their code of ethics: policy not to offer, give or accept bribes, excess hospitality or substantial favours Failure to align with the environment is a common mistake evidenced by Siemens and Mabey. Secondly the organisational elements of process, structure and culture are critical factors where misalignment highlights ethical tokenism saying one thing but rewarding another. Kerr (1975) found people respond to what they think others value so hoping for a positive outcome while rewarding contrary behaviour is a mismatch. Organisational culture can seriously undermine strategy and the pursuit of ethical objectives. If the reward system doesnt encourage ethical conduct and managers or board turn a blind eye to conduct in order to achieve business objectives its no surprise that employees follow suit. Discussion The companys strategic direction could incorporate an ethical position that becomes a differentiator. As value drivers are different for the various points on the ethical continuum, management makes conscious trade off decisions in selecting a particular strategy, which may be dependent on firm specific factors and their core competencies. There is also a balancing of ethics and economic logic. Innovation to meet new regulations or ethical demands by consumers can mean better products and services are developed, providing a competitive edge. Technology now exists to recycle rubber from training shoes into playground flooring. Conformance with legislation is the minimum expectation and companies that violate the rules increasingly face more acute and vocal penalties for unethical conduct such as disruption of shareholder meetings. Successful companies with formal ethics rankings have codes of conduct, CSR/ethics officers, demonstrate management support and publish results on the company scorecard (e.g. Boots). Practical checklists would be helpful for employees to record decisions and also enable effective monitoring to take place. Good governance requires moral fibre and mental fortitude to make difficult judgment based decisions. Boards are accountable and need to use their powers to enforce the appropriate actions. Companies could seek compensation for board failures to act so the acceptance of the role comes with responsibilities. Good stewardship of the companys ethical integrity is an important board role. Recommendations Boards should proactively engage in strategic decisions, overseeing compliance and fulfilling their obligations. In addition, a mitigation plan to deal with disclosure of unethical behaviour is beneficial. Boards should take immediate action on any violations and review the circumstances for lessons learned. Scenario planning could identify possible scandals so boards can prepare how to respond while maintaining the highest ethical position possible. In Siemens case they were defensive, reactive, and slow, taking action after the public were aware. Conversely at Mabey they uncovered the issue themselves through audit, contacted the authorities and took a proactive stance using their website to communicate the issue and resolution. They even obtained valuable 3rd party endorsement for their actions from the Serious Fraud Office, who held them up as an example. Boards reviewing strategic choices need access to data and useful tools. They should use their legitimate authority to request information if its not forthcoming. As well as investigating misalignments highlighted in an ESCO model the board are advised to apply the Cultural Administrative Geographic Economic (CAGE) distance framework (Brennan 2009) to proposals for operating overseas. This tool highlights the types of issues to be encountered and shows risks that might otherwise be overlooked in a traditional country portfolio analysis. The Board could then determine if operating in the proposed country is economically viable and doesnt compromise their ethics position. Detailed economic analysis may be required as overseas financial rewards are often over estimated the costs of corruption could offset lower production costs. Hills, G; Fiske,L Mahmud, A (2009) Corruption adds expense throughout the corporate value chain and can lead to costly operational disruptions. Current studies suggest corruption adds more than 10 percent to the cost of doing business in many countries, and that moving business from a country with low levels of corruption to a country with medium to high levels is equivalent to a 20 percent tax. Cultural Administrative Geographic Economic Diverse ethnic backgrounds in workforce potential discrimination issues. Society norms do not include basic safety or hygiene factors. Child labour prevalent Gifts accepted practice Political ambivalence may require organisation to pay â€Å"facilitation fees† Remoteness and time differences may risk diluting organisations values Different attitudes to quality more likely to approve defective or dangerous products. Higher costs of training employees in developing nations to internal standards. Higher potential for fines with less educated workforce With so many aspects to ethics a critical limitation of this review is the range of dimensions covered. Conclusion The role of the board in oversight of organizations is critical to ensuring shareholders interests are appropriately reflected amongst diverse stakeholder views. While there may be some tensions, increasingly opinion on ethical issues is aligned and organizations are expected to operate to a moral code. Ethics are context specific as countries have different standards. Judgment on ethical issues isnt easy. Hence ethics programmes should cover overarching principles, and firms should have processes to train personnel and monitor results. Over time societys values can change and new trends emerge, so environmental scanning is important for all strategic positioning, including ethics. Boards should review this information and managements perspective on what opportunities these conditions create to set strategic direction. The pressure to perform financially has adversely influenced ethical decision making and embedding an ethical philosophy within the organisation is challenging, yet br ings significant rewards. References Bartlett CA, (1990), Facing up to Complexity, McKinsey Quarterly, Spring pp27 35 Brennan (2009) Warwick MMBA Strategy Practice course notes delivered June 8 12. Freeman, RE ,(1984) Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, Pitman, Boston, MA Freeman, RE, Martin, K Parmar, B, (2007), Stakeholder Capitalism, Journal of Business Ethics, vol 74, pp303 314 Friedman, M, (1982) Capitalism and Freedom, University of Chicago Press, IL Heracleous L, Wirtz J Pangarkar (2009) Flying High in a Competitive Industry Secrets of the worlds leading airline, McGraw Hill, Singapore, p172 Hills, G; Fiske,L Mahmud, A, (May 2009), Anti corruption as Strategic CSR: A call to action for corporations, Ethics Resource Center, accessed from www.ethics.org 1 Jul 2009 Kerr, S (1995) On the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B, The Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 9, Iss. 1, pp 7 15 McKinney, JA. Moore, CW., (2008), International Bribery: Does a Written Code of Ethics Make a Difference in Perceptions of Business Professionals, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 79, Iss. 1/2; pp 103 12 Mintzberg H, (1983), Power In and Around Organizations, Prentice Hall Englewood Cliffs, NJ Paine, Lynn Sharp, (2000) Does Ethics Pay?, Business Ethics Quarterly, Vol. 10, Issue 1, pp319 330 Porter, M, (1985), Competitive Advantage, The Free Press, NY Reichheld FF, (1994), Loyalty and the renaissance of Marketing, Marketing Management, 2, 4 pp10 20 Trudel, R Cotte J, (2009), Does It Pay to Be Good?, MIT Sloan Management Review, Vol. 50, Iss. 2, pp 61 68 www.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8058103.stm accessed 1 Jul 2009 www.co operative.jobs/ourbusinesses/food/ethics accessed 1 Jul 2009 www.ethics.org accessed 7 July 2009 www.fairtrade.org.uk accessed 1 Jul 2009 www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/dec/16/regulation siemens scandal bribery accessed 7 July www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/22/india.humanrig