See document Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

See document - Essay Example Company senior managers heading public companies prepared deceptive statements to blow up the prices of the company stock, apparently undermining the trust of the public in the integrity of financial market and regulators. The corporate scandals are usually perpetrated by several people who understand the organization’s every single detail, with most collaborating parties being people with high standing in the society. Most executives in failed corporations admit receiving enormous bonuses and backdated stock options to warrant that they will make wealth from investing in their company; not considering whether their performance made the share price increase or go down. Other unethical behaviors have resulted in the downfall of corporations, poor performance and negative publicity. As a result, the aspect of ethics in organizations has increasingly gained prominence due to distrust on organizational leaders (Loe, Ferrell & Mansfield, 2000) This study seeks to examine some of th e corporate failures, reasons behind their fall, as well as a close examination as to where blame may be assigned. Of specific importance, Enron downfall and Satyam scandals will be useful in examining ethics behind corporations’ failure. The paper will also look at the theories that expound on the subject of ethical governance in organizations. Ethics is a significant pillar in the modern corporate arena and corporate governance. Organizations have learnt useful lessons from the above cases on the danger that unethical decisions can bring in any organizations. As David Thoreau once said, â€Å"it is truthfully sufficiently said that a firm has no conscience; but a company of conscientious men is a corporation with ethics†. This statement carries a lot of meaning with it as to the significance of upholding ethics in organizations. The subject of what constitutes ethical behavior in organizations remains a debatable subject due to the wide ranging opinions of what const itutes ethics, and what ethics is not. Nevertheless, many organizations have embraced ethical codes stating their leading philosophical guidelines and organizational values. Ethical codes that are successful highlight the obligations of organizations to shareholders, the behavior anticipated of employees, and ethical parameters of the organization. Ethical codes are intended to impact on employee behavior, and are also referred to as corporate ethics statements. Business ethics field deals with questions as to whether a particular business practices are acceptable. Controversial business ethics issues arise on a daily basis in every organization, and this calls for organizational members to exercise their conscience as Thoreau said. For illustration, an accountant may face an ethical dilemma in his/her course of duty that may compromise her decision. For instance, if an accountant discovers inaccuracies in a client’s auditing report, he/she may opt to report the inaccuracy. O n the other hand, reporting such an inadequacy may result in the auditing company fired by the client for disclosing the inadequacies. This confusion leaves the accountant at crossroads as to what practice is acceptable. Business ethics require that organizational members to conform to sound moral principles. Special consideration has to be put into perspective when applying the concept of ethics in business. One is that businesses are formed with the aim of making a profit, and therefore, businesses

Case study about business law Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

About business law - Case Study Example The other tactic was using the illegalities of other investors – to silence them over the infringement of their intellectual property rights. That was the case with Sony, where BYD challenged the validity of their patents in Japan. Another tactic was the careful copying of patents to ensure that they did not match all design patents, like the case was with the F3. Another tactic was the illegal acquisition of the trade secrets of other companies, for example, that was the case with the documents retrieved from the systems of Foxconn (Li et al. a 3-5). The learning-by-hiring strategy is unlawful, as it offers a highway through which the patent rights of employers are transferred to rival employers or businesses. Due to its unlawful nature, an aggressive assertion and protection of patent rights can reduce the departure of these skilled workers. The tactic of adopting the intellectual property of others and hiding behind their illegality in the area of rights protection is illeg al, but cannot be proved, especially in the cases where the property’s patent ownership cannot be proved. That was the case with Sony, where their patent ownership in Japan was challenged. ... of trade secrets through the unlawful efforts of insider aides at victim companies is unlawful – as the practice amounts to trade secret theft (espionage) therefore BYD could be prosecuted for this action, if it is that they committed the crime (Li et al. a 5). The management practices at Foxconn, which have contributed to the strategy of BYD include that the company should have engaged in continual monitoring of the market, to ensure that the infringement of its Intellectual property was reported before it caused damage. The company’s greatest loss of trade secrets was caused by its lack of a system to restrict access to trade secrets and information. For example, the company could ensure that non-complete business agreements and non-disclosure were addressed fully and effectively, as it was the cause for the shift of its experts to BYD. Proper information security measures could also have been developed to secure vital information – to ensure that their trade s ecrets and vital information were safe (Stender et al. 30). Part 2 The options available to Foxconn include IP management strategies and litigation options. The strengths and weaknesses of the strategy of the administrative system used by Foxconn include the following: it requires less load of evidence, it is cost effective and the process is faster. The weaknesses include that low penalties are offered – which does not stop repeat offenders. Further, the raids conducted may not be authentic – which may allow the items seized to reach the market. The use of the judicial system presents the strengths that they would get damages for infringement and intense pressure would be exerted on the infringers. The weaknesses of the process include that it may cost the company high litigation costs, it may