Examining the Saytam scandal

1.1 JustificationI chose this dirt because it was a recent and a really large one. It is besides really international as it is an outsourcing house, the effects of the dirt affected many other states. Many people lost their investings and India has lost the other states ‘ trust deeply. It is really suited to explicate with assorted ethical elements.1.2 What is the Scandal about, who are the histrions in it?On 7 January 2009 by the confess of B. Ramalinga Raju, who is the laminitis and besides the president of the Satyam Computer, the universe has learnt and shocked about the fradulent fiscal activities that the Satyam interfered. Ramalinga Raju founded Satyam in 1987 with merely 20 employees which was India ‘s 4th largest outsourcing company with $ 1 billion one-year grosss Satyam Computer Services Ltd was incorporated in 1989 and it went public in 1992. With each go throughing twelvemonth, Satyam strengthened its place and extended its operations to assorted locations. . However when it is discovered the cheatings of Satyam, inquiries arose about how Satyam came to this place. For replying these inquiries we must travel back to the ninetiess. The 2nd half of the 1990s was the liberalisation period in which the importance of the corporations increased extremely in India. Increased competition forced corporations to seek unethical ways to drive their concerns. As coming into being subsequently, Ramalinga Raju besides engaged in such actions to demo its company ‘s public presentation better off. In 2008, although the board of managers hesitated, Satyam acquired Maytas Infrastructure and Maytas Properties that were founded by the laminitis Ramalinga Raju ‘s household for $ 1.6 billion. These both companies belonged to Raju ‘s boies and in the terminal the authorities had to reexamine the trade and the frailty president of India criticized it. When the authorities and the clients of the Satyam became leery about this behavior of Satyam and the investors panically and all of a sudden sold a immense sum of the stocks, Satyam called of its determination. Satyam investors lost 3,400 Indian Rupee in the related terror merchandising. The acquisition created a incredulity in New York Stock Exchange and the Satyam portions fell 55 % . Because of that, the board of managers had to vacate at the terminal of the twelvemonth Then on 29th December, 3 members of board of managers quit their occupations, it is the twenty-four hours when board of managers announced that they will purchase back for deriving the trust of their investors once more. However the things kept traveling worse off. On December 23, The World Bank announced that it banned the Satyam from making concern with it due to data larceny and graft. Market guesss about that the Satyam making fraud counterfeit and breach of contract increased tremendously. It is when the value of the booster interest of Satyam decreased to 5 % , which is an index that the Satyam was stranded, On 7 January 2009, company Chairman Ramalinga Raju resigned after advising board members and the Securities and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI ) that Satyam ‘s histories had been falsified ( Arakali,2009 ) .Raju confessed that Satyam ‘s balance sheet of 30 September 2008 contained: hyperbolic figures for hard currency and bank balances, an accumulated involvemen t of Rs. 376 crore which was non-existent, an unostentatious liability of Rs. 1,230 crore and an exaggerated debitors ‘ place of Rs. 490 crore ( as against Rs. 2,651 crore in the books ) .After probes are deepened, it was found that he had picked the lesser of two offenses when he decided to squeal the offense and he siphoned off financess by blow uping employee Numberss, made many â€Å" benami † land trades, opened â€Å" benami † bank histories, through relations and friends and used them to merchandise in Satyam ‘s portions ( Aneja,2009 ) . Benami history means that when you purchase something in the name of person else by using your ain financess, you use that individual as a name-lender and this is called a ‘ benami dealing ‘ and this is illegal, it can be made legal by reassigning the land in your name but this will affect stomp responsibility and enrollment charges. As a consequence, merely a little use in the company ‘s balance sheet consequence in difference of INR 71,36 one million millions between the existent operating net income As Mr. Raju besides stated in his missive, this difference continued to turn in many old ages and there had been taken many actions to make full this spread and the attemp to purchase Maytas was the last attemp to cover the fictitous assets with existent 1s. He besides claimed that neither he nor the pull offing managers benefited financially from the hyperbolic grosss and none of the board members had any cognition of the state of affairs in which the company was placed. It is really hard to change over everything back to an ethical and right manner after a point and Satyam had already passed this point which means it was inevitable for Satyam to be revelation. After the confession, the board of managers was banned from working and 10 nominal managers are appointed. Ramalinga Raju had arrested on charges of breach of trust, disproof of records, cheating, counterfeit and go againsting insider trading norm. A figure of employees including a top executive and CFO who laid the basis for the fraud and involved in the distorting the bank statements. The CFO of Satyam besides arrested. PWC as being the audit house of Satyam had lost assurance by its clients and 2 of its top functionaries were arrested. This dirt called by the media as Indian ‘s Enron and it has brought into inquiry the degrees of corporate administration in the state after this dirt. Satyam ‘s portions decreased by % 75 and it caused the Indian ‘s stock market to fall by % 7.[ 1 ] Rajiv Gupta, one of the investors of Satyam, told in an interview with BBC that he found the state of affairss occurred after the dirt really distressing and the clip is the worst possible clip to go on while the markets were merely started to look like they were retrieving.[ 2 ] However, it is non the market merely affected from this dirt ; investors, employees, providers, clients all injured from the incorrect making. It is obvious that there are some people who violated some moral issues and act unethically. Now I will seek to integrate moralss into existent life instance and evaluate in the visible radiations of different ethical rules to be able to do judgement whether it is in conformity with or in misdemeanor of moral criterions.1.3 Who has the moral duty? Who are to fault?The term moral duty sometimes means to fault a individual for something. A individual is morally responsible for the hurts or a incorrect if: caused or helped to do it, or failed to forestall it when he could hold and should hold, did so cognizing what he was making did so of his ain free will. In modern corporations duty is distributed among a figure of collaborating parties. The parties produce the corporate act together. The system arises a inquiry about who is responsible for jointly produced act. The traditional position is who is wittingly and freely lend the corporate act is responsible for the incorrect. In Satyam instance fraud and misrepresentation at Satyam Computer Services in India consist of several i mmoral Acts of the Apostless. Double accounting books, 1000s of bad bills, 1000s of unneeded employees and tonss of bogus bank statements, harmonizing to tribunal records ( Diaz,2009 ) . So a figure of fraud Acts of the Apostless was seen. Harmonizing to corporate duty theory who is responsible for? Whole company employees, employees, directors, board of managers, stockholders even hearers? In immoral Acts of the Apostless an person merely be responsible for an fraud if the individual is wittingly and freely do the unlawful act or non to take part the act but cognizant of it so non the brand an action to Under these conditions, we have to see both Mr. Raju, the audit house PricewaterhouseCoopers and board of managers and happen out if they were morally responsible for the fraud or non. Mr. Raju ; we can evidently see that he caused the fraud, since he wrote a confession missive to the imperativeness and told all the fraud. Furthermore we know that Mr. Raju acted of his ain free will by moving intentionally and purposefully and his actions were non the consequence of some unmanageable mental urge or external force. PwC ; the audit house claimed that they did non cognize about the fraud and the company gave them the incorrect fiscal statements, so they did non acknowledge the fraud. Hearers are responsible to analyze the fiscal statements of the company. Satyam committed an erroneous entering assets which did no exist. PwC is the audit company and should hold recognized the fraud so PwC failed to forestall it when it could hold prevented due to their profession ( Pettet,2009 ) . Through their profession, the audit house is in a place to observe any incompatibility or fraud in the statements. The house could hold raised inquiries about the immense non-existing money. They should hold paid necessary professional attending to their work ( Sekhar,2009 ) This demand is an duty for the hearers. In Satyam the hearers who are S. Gopala Krishnan and Srinivas Talluri, who have been suspended from PricewaterhouseCoopers instances the hearers are besides confronting charges ( Diaz,2009 ) Board of Directors ; when we think about the responsibilities of the board such as regulating the organisation, O.K.ing one-year budgets and oversee the activities of the company, it is clearly seen that the board did non make its responsibilities. They likely did non analyze the operations of the company carefully and did non cognize what was go oning in the company. Therefore, we can state that the board failed to forestall it when it could hold and should hold prevented it.In Satyam instances harmonizing to Ram Mynampati he and other board of directos had no cognition of the fiscal fraud. So they are non responsible for the immoral act because they have no cognition so ignorance of the act ( Vaswani,2009 ) One can state that PwC and the Board are nescient about the issue, nevertheless, they might be intentionally nescient, and if they recognize that something was traveling incorrect and did non state anything. For illustration Mr. Raju wanted to purchase the Maytas Infrastructure Company ‘s portions and the board knows that their concern has no relationship with substructure but they did non seek about the grounds why Mr.Raju wants to purchase the portions. The other exclusion of ignorance is being negligent. Both PwC and the Board failed to take necessary actions and they may pretermit the discernible hints of the fraud, it is non an alibi but it may cut down their duty.Section 2 Philosophers oppugning the Scandal combined with ethical rules in Business2.1 Kohlberg ‘s Moral DevelopmentRamalinga Raju can be the victim of his ego involvements. He may believe that its effects would be profitable and positive to his ego involvements. He may gain more money if he did non squeal the fraud and resign. Even if inflating figures and demoing a non-existent accumulated involvement are non ethical, but these actions would ensue in net income to him, hence, he sacrifice from being ethical. So, we can state that Mr. Raju is at the first degree â€Å" preconventional phases † and at â€Å" Instrumental and Relative Orientation Stage † .[ 3 ]2.2 Ethical Principles In Business2.2.1 Utilitarianism:Harmonizing to Utilitarian attack, it is indispensable to see both the immediate and foreseeable hereafter costs and benefits that each option will bring forth for each and every person. The costs of the dirt are terrible. For illustration, 6 million guiltless stockholders some of them have lost their full life nest eggs because Satyam lost its value by 78 % ( Vaswani, 2009 ) . Employees suffered from the falsified histories and lose their occupation in long term. He besides diverted big amounts of money belong to stockholders by feigning to do salary payments to non-existent employee s mean that lessening the grosss of stockholders. Harmonizing to utilitarians, there is nil unethical to distort the informations in the records. Utilitarians think that the actions which produce the greatest benefit and the lowest cost for the society. Before the revelation of the fraud, the investors were puting their money into Satyam and so the company could go on to run. If the company had showed the existent state of affairs to the society, no investors would take Satyam that the company would likely hold had to be near down. In short all of its 53000 employees would go out of employ which is a large cost to the society. So there is a benefit of protecting to occupations of employees and moreover Mr. Raju and some other managers besides might be benefited from the fraud and there were no one acquiring hurting before the revelation. So harmonizing to useful attack, it is right to rip off on study in this state of affairs. However there are jobs with rights and justness, because this behavior is n't a right moral regulation, it is non right to rip off on report.The legal system of India, petmits disproof of informations which means Mr. Raju and other people played function in fraud do non hold a legal right to make that. However is it besides incorrect harmonizing to moral rights? Moral rights are correlated with responsibilities. When a individual ha ve a moral right, the other have a responsibility non to interfere him or to supply him his right. Here in the instance, investors have right to cognize the existent place of the company which they are puting. However by rip offing on records is violated their rights. Satyam dirt has damaged the remainder of the Indian tech services industry because foreign companies were discouraged for outsourcing owing to the dirt. It is obvious that many U.S. and European clients including General Electric, General Motor, Nestle, and besides United States Government will rethink their trust on non merely the company but besides Indian outsourcing and the credibleness in western clients will endure in the long tally ( Gorkey, 2009 ) . As a effect of the instance, the full corporate administration system in India has been unfaithful for most companies. On the other manus, dirt created an chance for India ‘s challengers in the outsourcing game and smaller IT companies in foreign states can get down concern with Satyam ‘s clients. However some clients are encouraged to maintain occupations at place state in order to avoid any hazards of fraud. It can fresh place market of the clients who may prefer to make concern in their ain sector which will derive more net income itself. There are some Raju ‘s parts to society that can be calculated on benefits side like constructing an exigency health care supplier called EMRI and puting up an exigency medical service ( EMS ) . At the terminal of cost-benefit analysis, net public-service corporation that produced by the dirt is negative intending more costs over benefits so it is non a right action.2.2.2 Kantian RightsRamalinga Raju in his missive noted that, Satyam had really made 3 % border, nevertheless many economic experts and bookmans find it laughably low in IT industry ( Shirsat, 2009 ) .This claim supports the claim that Raju pick the lesser of two offenses when he decided to squeal the offense. Besides he inflated the head count of employees to syphon off financess from company ( Vaswani, 2009 ) .Therefore we can reason that more money was coming into company but it was being siphoned out. He used his aged female parent ‘s name to do about 400 â€Å" benami † land trades, invest in other concerns such as existent estate with the many. First of wholly, he diverted big amounts of money belong to stockholders by feigning to do salary payments to non-existent employees. The state of affairs can non go through both the universalizability and reversibility standards of Kantian rights. ( Velasquez,2006 ) He besides violated the 2nd preparation of Kant because he used these non-existent employees and his aged female parent as a agency for his ain will and profaned human self-respect norm. Besides misdemeanor of the belongings rights of stockholders by utilizing belongings belongs to company without permission can be seen as an unethical pattern. Corporate jurisprudence practicians said Raju violated officers ‘ right to cognize by abetting them to perpetrate fiscal fraud. Another issue is Raju is known for his philanthropic gift and committedness to assisting India ‘s rural hapless. He reportedly donated more than $ 50 million of his ain money to make the plan. With the wealth generated by money of others doing such a committedness to society is unethical. This violates the stockholders ‘ right to take because they have a right to take how to utilize their ain money for assisting hapless or non. Furthermore harmonizing to Kant ‘s first preparation, â€Å" the individual ‘s grounds for moving must be grounds that he or she would be willing to hold all others use, even as a footing o how they treat him or her. † Mr. Raju likely would n't desire to put in a company that looks being in a good state of affairs but is really in a bad state of affairs. So besides harmonizing to Kant ‘s Categorical Imperative it is non right. Satyam dirt involves inquiries of justness and equity. From the â€Å" Distributive Justice † point of position which is the justness class based on the thought that benefits and loads should be distributed every bit, instance involves many unfair patterns. Here Ramalinga Raju and his household diverted money from Satyam to their ain will. Besides with the transportation of portions to the household members, they gave immense loss to the little investors. All benefits went to the Ramalinga Raju and his household. Employees, investors and creditors who had nil to make with the fraud all suffer awful effects and bear all loads. Besides IT industry in India has spent 20 old ages constructing up credibleness with Western clients, but this dirt is foreseen to do many U.S. and European clients rethink their trust on Indian outsourcing. From the retaliatory justness position, Mr. , Raju can be blamed and punished for making incorrect wittingly and in his ain free will. What is upseting is that for over seven old ages the man of affairs who consistently committed fraud was supported by politicians in power in the Andhra Pradesh Government. His association with the top leaders meant that Raju got immense balls of premier land at throw-away monetary values for Technology Park and other intents and many other installations which enabled Satyam to spread out and turn quickly ( Balachandran, 2009 ) . Banks and fiscal establishments allowed Raju to open 1000s of histories without oppugning. They provided statements about the company ‘s finance as Raju requested. Raju was allowed inside cognition of authorities policies, development programs and undertakings even before the blue-prints were prepared. This enabled him and his pool, Maytas Infra, to offer for undertakings on favourable footings. The whole authorities system was harnessed to stand in function Raju ‘s involvements. Harmonizing to Rawls ‘ just equality of chance rule, everyone should be given an equal chance to measure up for the more privileged places. It can be seen that Raju had greater chances than other people and got discriminatory intervention by Bankss, establishments and authorities. The dirt ends with heavy load on society and causes inefficiency in the system so is deemed to go against the difference rule which is the claim that a productive society will integrate inequalities. The difference rule implies that it is incorrect to victimize stockholders and investors because action creates inefficiency.2.2.3 Virtue Ethical motives:Raju has an MBA Ohio University and is an alumna of Harvard Business School, in other words he is a knowing individual. Harmonizing to the Corruption Perception Index 20 04 ( CPI ) which ranks the states in their order of corruptness, out of the 146 states listed, India where he grew ranks a hapless 91. In Satyam instance, Raju ‘s incorrect act might be related to the undermentioned three state of affairss: foremost, it might be related to his single sense of values, so wholly he has done come from his personal moral values. Second, it might come from is the value cherished by society where he turn. Harmonizing to the thought, Raju might be affected by the Indian society and civilization. Finally, the system of administration might hold an influence on Raju ‘s behaviours. I would personally hold with this point, each civilization and state has different tolerances and different ways to carry through concern. In India it might hold been easier to make it, than in any other state or the life conditions and society values may promote him to make such a thing.2.3 The Persons in The Organization2.3.1 Conflict of InterestThe policies and processs under codification of struggle of involvement requires that the managers and associates of the company shall avoid any activity or association that creates or appears to make a struggle between the personal involvements of the managers and associates and the company ‘s concern involvements. In the instance of Satyam, the hearers of Satyam might hold faced with struggles of involvement while attesting the fiscal record of Satyam. They have softened their criterion while scrutinizing the company fiscal statement. It is clear that the trueness or duty to the client, here it is Satyam, is divided or in struggle with opportunism of Hearers and the involvement of Satyam ‘s direction. In add-on, the company corporate administration does non demo any struggle of involvement between direction and proprietors, the job was caused by the struggle of involvement between the dominant stockholders ( boosters ) and the minority stockholders. The boosters that involve Mr. Raju, together with their friends and relations were the dominant stockholders. The company proposed to put $ 1.6 billion to purchase existent estate and substructure houses, Maytas Properties and Maytas Infrastructure, run by the boies of its founder-chairman Raju. Investors and analysts questioned the move by the Hyderabad-based package exporters to pay such a immense amount to get companies linked to Raju and raised concerns about corporate administration at Satyam and its credibleness in the eyes of planetary clients and stockholders. Ramalinga Raju, nevertheless, justified the determination, stating it was portion of a â€Å" good variegation scheme † . Representatives of investors such as Templeton and Motilal Oswal complained that Satyam had no concern purchasing existent estate or substructure companies and that their investing in Satyam was because it was engaged in supplying package services ( www.tahindian.com ) . There is an existent s truggle of involvement under this investing determination and besides supported the claim that â€Å" all money invested in Maytas belongs to Satyam † . Then Raju stated that the aborted Maytas trade was really last effort to make full the fabricated assets with existent 1s. Though the fiscal establishments owned bulk of interest, but historically they used to play a inactive function in the company. This was leting the boosters, Mr. Raju and his relations to play the corruptness game. The boosters were seeking to re-structure the concern and were besides deviating assets between group companies. So, this shows the struggle of involvement between these parties.2.3.2 Insider TradingSatyam boosters and top functionaries may hold charged in insider trading. Research workers are coming across grounds of insider trading by the boosters even before the dirt broke. The probe is besides concentrating on the allegations of insider trading in the period before the failed December 16. T here are adequate arrows to insider trading by the Satyam boosters and the companies floated by them and their relations. The insider trading in Satyam is formed by the top direction of Satyam – the managers and senior functionaries – with selling portions in front with that books have been overstated, taking to an hyperbolic stock monetary value that helped the top direction do money. The top direction offloaded the company ‘s 6.01 lakh portions this fiscal twelvemonth merely before the confessions of Raju. It reminded the possibility that there may be people who must be cognizant of things to come and might hold offloaded their retention merely earlier fiasco ( Agarwal, 2009 ) . Srinivas Vadlamani, the main fiscal officer of Satyam Computer Service, has been the most active in offloading the portions. Srinivas offloaded 92,358 portions in two episodes in September. Ram Mynampati, president of Satyam and a member of the board, besides offloaded 80,000 portions in three installments in May and June. Interestingly, during the past nine months, none of the top direction squad of Satyam has purchased its portions. The heavy merchandising of portions by the Satyam big-wigs in September was ab initio attributed to the developing uncertainness in the economic scenario. However, put in the larger strategy of things, the sale could be a instance of insider trading. The tendency has asserted in December when 28,500 portions of the company were sold by its senior functionaries. The most recent sellout was done by AS Murthy, main information officer, who sold 21,000 portions between December 12 and 15 ( Agarwal, 2009 ) .Mr. Raju inflated the history for increasing the mo netary value of portions so that he and his confederates get maximal net incomes, in which he succeeded besides. The twenty-four hours this intelligence broke, the Satyam ‘s portion was surging. Here, the SEBI and Ministry of Company Affairs excessively have failed in their assigned occupations. SEBI is the highest regulator and keeps eagle oculus on the activities of the capital markets. When the net incomes of this company were registering unnatural growing, thereby the monetary values of the portions were surging, they do non hold any effort, there has been a batch of chromaticity and call with regard to insider trading ; a ululation SEBI failed to listen to and it inflicted to a great extent on Satyam. Although insider trading per se is non illegal but it is unethical, furthermore when Company ‘s high functionary who were on portion selling fling must had the thought of what was traveling in the company. Raju had besides opened multiple benami ( silent person ) accounts through relations and friends and used them to merchandise in Satyam ‘s portions, go againsting the insider trading norm. He used the company ‘s proprietary information to reassign securities to his brother Suryanarayana Raju and to his female parent Appalanarsama Raju. Crime Investigation Department ( CID ) of the Andhra Pradesh constabularies and Central bureaus has confirmed that the boosters indulged in insider trading of the company ‘s portions. ( NDTV Correspondent,2009 )2.4 RationalizationIt may look easy to apologize this at first. Managers ever trust in themselves and in their accomplishments a batch, and believe that their company is basically sound. They believe that they will do it up in the hereafter without anybody detecting it when there is a job and. They do everything to apologize their moves, their determinations in order to look guiltless. When the company faces the spread and unab le to do it up, a larger deformation is needed to cover up, as Raju added in his missive. He bet that neither him nor the pull offing manager has benefitted in the fiscal footings on history of the hyperbolic consequences, even 1 rupee/dollar. Put otherwise, he claims that he did distort histories in order to maintain operating traveling at Satyam and to be able to supply prompt payments of salary. He besides gave an account to Maytas acquisition and rationalized it by claiming that he merely tried to make full the fabricated assets of Satyam with existent 1s. What is more, he said ‘Significant dividend payments, acquisitions and capital outgos to supply for growing did non assist affairs. ‘ He asserted these claims to happen an alibi for his fraud.2.5 Stakeholder AnalysisHarmonizing to new stakeholder theory, direction bears no extra fiducial relationships to 3rd parties but have morally important nonfudiciary duties to 3rd parties. It means direction may ne'er hold promised clients, employees a â€Å" return on investing † but obliged to take earnestly its extra-legal duties non to wound, lie to or rip off these stakeholders ( Goodpaster, 1991 ) . Until the fraud, the secret of Raju ‘s outstanding success is thought to lie in his simple, yet extended direction theoretical account that creates value, promotes entrepreneurship, focuses unrelentingly on the client and purposes at changeless chase of excellence for all stakeholders. The fraud showed that he is far off from this first-class image. He failed to exert his duties which are non to wound, lie or rip off the stakeholders. All stakeholders are lied and cheated with the falsified Numberss and studies for many old ages. In May, Satyam has merely over 40,000 employees, about each of them on the ‘bench ‘ are in danger of losing employment at Satyam. Equally good as, clients of Satyam including Nestle, Nissan, in a large scraping because they do n't desire to work with Satyam any longer but passage is besides hard for them. Furthermore IT industry participants, rivals and providers were lied, cheated and injured by SatyamSection 3 The Ironies in the Scandal & A ; The Awards of the Ceo3.1 SarcasmsThis dirt includes many sarcasms in it, from the name of the company to present the house and the Ceo received: Satyam means â€Å" truth † in Sanskrit, Satyam earned a United Kingdom Trade and Investment India Business Award for Corporate Social Responsibility, Satyam got Global Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance for 2008, In 2007 Ramalinga Raju was chosen as the best enterpriser of the twelvemonth by Ernst & A ; Young, Satyam was selected for the formal IT patron of the World Cup 2010-2014 by FIFA.3.2 Corporate AdministrationGolden Peacock award was given to Satyam for its corporate administration criterions. This is the sarcasm of the state of affairs that a company which was considered the best in IT industry has such low corporate administration criterions. On top it the Board of Directors was non even apprised of even anything. Corporate Administration as defined is â€Å" Corporate administration refers to the legal and factual model of the direction and monitoring of companies. Corporate administration ordinances are geared towards transparence and therefore beef up the trust in direction and control concentrating on value creative activity † . There are few importance elements of corporate administration viz. Auditing, Independent Directors, Regulators and Finally the Board including CEO itself. If we examine these components one by one, it would be crystal clear that all the components either failed or did non move as was required. The function of Price Waterhouse Coopers, the Auditing house of Satyam has been dealt. So, the Satyam fraud is unfolding and so are the built-in failings of Corporate Governance in India. The fraud has brought to illume the fact that in India the differentiation between proprietors and direction is still non really clear. Where the proprietors are besides the directors, such frauds are ever a possibility.Section 4 Conclusion and Suggestions4.1 What should hold been done, where did Raju make incorrectly?Satyam Computer company is a global company. The company has many clients all around the universe and the foreign investors come to India to put in the company. As being a large company, it requires a good corporate administration system and correlativity among parties of company. All of the parties should follow their responsibilities harmonizing to the contract with the company. So that the company will last, spread out its market portion and function their clients in a confidential mode. The Chief executive officer of the Satyam Computers and other people involved in the procedure was blamed for the immoral Acts of the Apostless which was blow uping hard currency and bank balances, accruing involvement that are non-existing, exaggerating debitors ‘ place in the books, graft, insider trading and etc. A company director is responsible to transport the company in the chase of net income and while seeking ways to increase net income the company should obey the legal issues and Torahs. Mr. Raju did non follow these rules that the company lost it ‘s clients, repute and damaged economically both in the place and foreign market. Mr. Raju used his authorization and power in an inappropriate ways. In this study, Satyam dirt and related ethical quandary ar e evaluated in the visible radiations of different ethical rules. The major purpose was to integrate moralss into this existent life to be able to do judgement whether it is in conformity with or in misdemeanor of moral criterions. Moral duty and incrimination analysis showed that Mr. Raju is morally responsible for the incorrect with no extenuating factor even he tried to apologize his incorrect making in his missive. PwC and board of managers stay negligent about the issue by neglecting to take necessary actions, their carelessness may decrease their duty but can non wholly take. At the terminal of cost-benefit analysis, net public-service corporation that produced by the dirt is found to be negative significance more costs over benefits so it is non a right action. Harmonizing to rights and justness. Raju ‘s actions are unfair and contradict to Rawl ‘s rules and besides violate Kant ‘s first and 2nd preparation and rights of others. As a president of the company, Raju failed to populate up the responsibility to prosecute the ends of the house by moving on a â€Å" struggle of involvement † and merchandising company ‘s stock on the footing of â€Å" inside † information. Besides new stakeholder analysis proved that Satyam direction failed to exert their duties toward the stakeholders which are non to wound, lie to or rip off the stakeholders. Raju ‘s actions are immoral and he sacrificed being ethical purposefully for his ego involvement which lead us to set him into the â€Å" Instrumental egoism † phase of Kohlberg ‘s moral development phases.4.2 Introduction of a Company Ethics ProgramAlthough Raju has an MBA Ohio University and is an alumna of Harvard Business School, he made the fraud, it shows the importance of holding common sense, the instruction does non count all the clip. â€Å" Company Ethics Program † should be formulated and each and every person should perpetrate this, Exercise of this plan should be followed and monitored persistently and systematically. Peoples should be trained, retrained until the rules are internalized, It besides showed us the importance of whistle blowing, The harm would be less if person blew the whistling earlier. Audited account houses should be more careful while analyzing the fiscal statements of the companies. In the terminal they besides have a large portion in this game and they are to fault Whistle blowing: Whistleblower is a individual who raises a concern about wrongdoing happening in an organisation or organic structure of people. Normally this individual would be from that same organisation. This misconduct can be classified in many ways such as a misdemeanor of a jurisprudence, regulation, ordinance and/or a direct menace to public involvement, such as fraud, health/safety misdemeanors, and corruptness. Whistle blowers may do their allegations internally ( for illustration, to other people within the accused organisation ) or externally ( to regulators, jurisprudence enforcement bureaus, to the media or to groups concerned with the issues ) .[ 4 ]

Feminism present in “The Yellow Wall Paper” & “Girl” Essay

Gender equality has been a prevalent theme writer’s use to deliver their own personal views on the female role in society. This is the case in both â€Å"Girl† by Jamaica Kincaid and â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gillman. Kincaid and Gillman use their works to present a feminist approach on women’s roles and societal standings in their respective eras. Feminism can be defined as a diverse collection of social theories, moral philosophies and political movements, fundamentally motivated by/ concerning the experiences of women. These experiences have a tendency to revolve around women’s social, political and economic standings. As a social movement, feminism mainly focuses on limiting or eliminating gender inequality and promoting women’s rights, interests’ and issue in society. Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist theory or by the politics of feminism more broadly. Its history has been broad and varied. Kincaid and Gillman are two of many writers whose works adopt this criticism as a way in which to discuss their respected lives pertaining to the view and treatment of women by their societies. In the most common and simple terms, feminist literary criticism before the 1970s (in the first and second waves of feminism) was concerned with the politics of women’s authorship and the representation of women’s condition within literature, this includes the depiction of fictional female characters. The father or in this case the mother of feminist literary criticism, is â€Å"Jane Eyre† written by Charlotte Bronte in 1847. Jane Eyre follows the emotions and experiences of its eponymous character, including her growth to adulthood and her love for Mr. Rochester. The novel contains elements of social criticism, with a resilient sense of morality at its core, but is nonetheless a novel many consider ahead of its time given the individ ualistic character of Jane and the novel’s exploration of classism, sexuality, religion and feminism. In its internalization of the action, the story revolves around the gradual unfolding of Jane’s moral and spiritual awareness and all events are colored by a heightened intensity that were previously confined to poetry. Bronte’s story allows her to be labeled â€Å"the first historian of the private consciousness† and the literary ancestor of Jamaica Kincaid. Jamaica Kincaid-Girl Jamaica Kincaid was born Elaine Potter Richardson in 1949 in Antigua, in the British West Indies, but changed her  name when she started writing because her family disliked her career choice. Her simple change of her name and having to operate under an alias provides and insight to Kincaid’s life. Her family disliking her choice of career gives a suggestion to the societal perception of a woman’s role. Women in society in the 1970s were only beginning to find their voice and Richardson’s family’s disapproval of her career choice, proposes the idea that socie ty were still not comfortable with the newly found voice women had. Jamaica Kincaid’s â€Å"Girl† can be analyzed from a Feminist perspective like Jane Eyre as it also revolves around a young girl’s interaction with her mother. Upon closer examination, the reader sees that the text is a string of images that are the cultural practices and moral principles that a Caribbean woman is passing along to her young daughter. Jamaica Kincaid has taken common advice that daughters are constantly hearing from their mothers and tied them into a series of commands that a mother uses to prevent her daughter from turning into â€Å"the slut that she is so bent on becoming† (Kincaid 23). But they are more than commands; the phrases are a mother’s way of insuring that her daughter has the tools that she needs to survive as an adult. The fact that the mother takes the time to train the daughter in the proper ways for a lady to act in their culture is indicative of their familial love; the fact that there are so many rules and moral p rinciples that are being passed to the daughter indicates that mother and daughter spend a lot of time together. The story is written in the second person point of view, in which the reader is the girl and the speaker (perceived to be her mother) is passing on her interpretation as to what a girl should be. Jeanette Martinez, an English Literature major studying at NYE notes in a paper â€Å"Analyzing ‘Girl’ from a feminist perspective†: â€Å"the diction degrades women; the word â€Å"slut† is used to describe a girl that does not conduct herself like a â€Å"proper† lady.† This is an interesting way in which to observe the diction used by Kincaid. The term â€Å"slut† is used as a negative comparison in which the mother in the story fears her daughter will become. Kincaid using the term â€Å"slut† takes a step in the wrong direction where feminism is concerned. The inclusion of the word and the sexual connotations attached draws attention to women being seen as depraved of morals if they are promiscuous. This word takes attention away from the real message and goal of feminism; equality amongst men and women. Reducing a woman to being  debauched purely on the premise of sexual immorality, takes respect away from women as their moral fiber is not taken into consideration. Martinez then proceeds to discuss how the tone and style of the text can be seen as being â€Å"reflective of Kincaid’s own social stand point.† Martinez states, â€Å"The tone is commanding; we see a repetitive â€Å"this is how† throughout the short story. The style of the short story is in lines, which allows each line to be a command. For example: â€Å"This is how you smile to someone you don’t like too much; This is how you smile at someone you don’t like at all; This is how you smile to someone you like completely’† (Kincaid 24).† The tone and short, sharp manner in which Kincaid decides to communicate the life instructions, is representative of the voice of society and the harsh ways in which it tries to control and impart wisdom/ teachings. The final paragraph is integral to understanding this story from a feminist perspective. Kincaid states; â€Å"But what if the baker won’t let me feel the bread? you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread?†. This interaction is essential to understanding and indicating Kincaid’s attempts to comment on her society. This excerpt can be interpreted as the mother challenging the girl’s morals. Kincaid uses this instead, to challenge the girl’s strength as a person. It is seemingly ironic that a mother has harshly demanded the young girl to learn all the mother’s habits and methods, not giving the girl much of a word in any of her decisions. This is Kincaid’s ways to speak directly to her audience and say â€Å"how can the voices of society order women and girls alike to act a certain way without giving them the strength to make these decisions themselves?† Kincaid ultimately uses her story to tell women ‘strength is learned through experience, not instruction.’ The Yellow Wallpaper The Yellow Wallpaper is a feminist text, telling a story about a woman’s struggles against male-centric thinking and societal ‘norms’. The text may be unclear to the reader who is unfamiliar with Gilman’s politics and personal biography, yet, it impresses any reader with the immature treatment of the main character, who remains nameless in the text. To the casual reader, the story is one of a good-meaning, but oppressive husband who drives his wife mad in an attempt to help her, but it story illustrates how established procedures of behavior could have distressing effects on the  women o f Gilman’s time, regardless of the intentions of the source. By late 20th century standards, the behavior of John, the husband, seems unnervingly inappropriate and restrictive, but was considered quite normal in the 19th century. After learning of Gilman’s life, and by reading her commentary and other works, one can readily see that The Yellow Wallpaper has a definite agenda in its quasi-autobiographical style. As revealed in Elaine Hedges’ forward from the Heath Anthology of American Literature, Gilman had a distressed life; because of the choices she had made which disrupted common conventions—from her ‘abandonment’ of her child to her amicable divorce. Knowing that Gilman was a controversial figure for her day, and after reading her other works, it is easy to see more of her feminist suggestions in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper.† She carefully crafted her sentences and metaphors to instill a picture of vivid and disturbing male oppression. Her descriptions of the house recall a past era; she refers to i t as an ‘ancestral hall’ (Gillman 648) and goes on to give a gothic description of the estate. She falls just short of setting the scene for a ghost story. The reference to old things and the past can be seen as a reference to out-dated practices and treatment of women, as she considers the future to hold more equality. By setting the story in this tone, Gilman alludes to practices of oppression that, in her mind, should be relegated to the past. Charlotte Gillman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† and Jamaica Kincaid’s â€Å"Girl† are both great examples of feminism being represented in literature. A feminist text states the author’s agenda for women in society as they relate to oppression by a male-controlled power structure and the consequent creation of social ‘standards’ and ‘protocols’. Kincaid and Gillman’s tales respectively, are outstanding examples of this and are great tales in which the writers point out deficiencies in society regarding equal opportunity. Both texts are used by the writers to discuss their respected lives pertaining to the view and treatment of women by their societies.

Othello and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner Comparative Essay

The transformation between Othello, a 16th century Shakespearean tragedy and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, a 1960’s Romantic Comedy, can be compared by addressing themes that are present in each text. The theme of race can be used to compare the different attitudes of each context, surrounding the significant black characters of Othello in Othello and John in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and there interaction with white females that belong to an upper middle class. The theme of interracial marriages can be used to compare the different values and attitudes of each context, towards a black & white marriage. This applies to both Othello & Desdemona and John & Joanna. By exploring the different contexts, ideas and techniques incorporated into each text, we can apprehend the different messages that each composer has attempted to convey to their audience. Othello – Power of Love Othello is a Shakespearean tragedy, set in Elizabethan Times that present the relationship between, Othello, a ‘moor’ who’s an official in the Venetian army and Desdemona, the daughter of a noble Venetian Senator, Brabantio, and how despite their different experiences in love, a strong relationship can occur, without any initial external input. Desdemona’s assertive behaviour towards romantically pursing Othello, demonstrates her confidence and power, which she maintains throughout the play. Most significantly, the fact that Othello did not ask for Brabantio’s permission to marry Desdemona, demonstrates how Othello did not consider the traditional values of Elizabeth society. However as they play develops, Iago’s manipulation of Othello’s insecurities, leads to the relationship between Othello and Desdemona falling apart. This reflects Elizabethan society and its values towards love and marriage. In Elizabethan times, a marriage between a man and a woman was considered extremely important. Women were generally considered to be in the possession of their father, this was because men were considered powerful and important people. It was in the father’s power to determine whom their daughter married, provided that his family were respectable and had money. A marriage between a ‘moor’ and a white would not have been socially acceptable in Elizabethan times, seeing that the Moorish skin colour portrayed a sense of filth and evil. Whites being superior and educated, while others were considered inferior. This theme can be explored through the objectification of Desdemona in scene 1 Act 3 Lines 182-187 â€Å"How to respect you. You are lord of all my duty: I am hitherto your daughter. But here’s my husband: And so much duty as many mother showed To you, preferring you before her father, so much I challenge that I may profess Due to the moor, my lord.† We see that Desdemona, is detaching herself from her father, just as her mother did to her father. This demonstrates her power and her ability to make decisions despite her father’s approval.

Human resource Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human resource - Essay Example He is an authority on the matters of career development programmes. The other researcher namely Veerle Brenninkmeijer is the assistant professor at Utrecht University. She works in the department of social and Organizational Psychology. She has worked on the aspects of social comparison and burnout of employees. Wilmar B. Schaufeli is also the full professor of work and organizational psychology at the Utrecht University. The university is located in Netherlands. Mr. Schaufeli is also the visiting professor at the Loughborough Business School in the United Kingdom. He also works as a part time organization consultant. Roland W. B. Blonk got his education in the subject of Clinical Philosophy in the University of Amsterdam. Mr. Blonk has a doctorate on the treatment of outcome studies. He also holds a special chair at the Utrecht University on two different research papers. The article has been published as an online article in the 2014 Under Human resource management in Wiley periodi cals incorporated. Thus the article can be said to be a recent article in this field (Akkermans, Brenninkmeijer, Schaufeli, and Blonk, 2014). The article is based on the investigation into the effectiveness of careerSkills program which is a career development innovation that is based on the career competencies and Jobs methodology. The aim of the new program that has been developed is to stimulate career self-management and well being of the new employees in an organization. The researchers tasted the effectives of the program by testing the program on a homogeneous group of people. The career development of the individuals was studied by the researchers and the effectiveness of the career development programs specially the program that was tested by the researchers. The article that is given here shows the result of the research by the researchers in the field. The article in the online source is given with the analysis of the research in the field on the training and

Catherine the Great and enlightened absolutism in Russia Coursework

Catherine the Great and enlightened absolutism in Russia - Coursework Example They also condemned those, who lived under the rules of doubtful traditions, full of irrationality and superstitions. Enlighteners did not deny the existence of God, in spite they tried to explain it rationally, and attacked institutions of Church because of their conservatism and corruption. Acceptance of God within the Enlightenment has led to the image of wise and rational absolute monarch as an ideal governing system - a view that has been accepted by many rulers of that time. The term "enlightened absolutism" dates back to 1847 when the historian Wilhelm Roseler first used it to describe the policy of certain European rulers in 1760-1790 (Henderson, 2005). Frederick II of Prussia (1740-1786), Charles III of Spain (1759-1788), Catherine II of Russia (1762-1796), Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (1765-1790), Gustavus III of Sweden (1771-1792) - all these rulers were absolute monarchs, and all of them were influenced by principles of the Enlightenment. This doctrine applied by monarchs in governing their countries put much greater emphasis on rationality in compare with arbitrary rules of their predecessors. However, there were significant differences in understanding the Enlightenment among rulers. Shaped by the geographic, demographic and cultural specifics, enlightened absolutism has taken a unique form in every state where it was embraced. Although smaller than it is today, Russia occupied a large territory stretching from Baltic Sea to Alaska (East to West) and from Arctic Ocean to Caspian Sea without the access to Black Sea (North to South) by the middle of 18th century. At that time the population of the country was about 18 million people (Riasanovsky, 1999). Such vast lands and huge population were always hard to control from a single centre. Monarchs had to rely greatly on nobles, which had almost unlimited power within their domains, especially in distant regions of Russia. Such great power given to nobles complicated the concept of enlightened absolutism, according to which a ruler must have absolute control. Typically for European absolutist states of that time, Russian treasury was supplied mainly through the increase of taxes (direct or indirect), while the main sources of expenditure were army and navy, governance, and court maintenance in the descending order. Only a small part of budget was planned for th e development of culture, education, and sciences. Such internal policy was implanted by nobles, and even if a monarch wanted, it was almost impossible to go against their interests. Meanwhile, concerns of serfs, which comprised about half of Russian population, were left out of account. The excessive protection of nobles' interest has led to the continued existence of serfdom cancelled only in 1861 in Russia. Cultural factors had a positive influence on the development of enlightened absolutism policy. Although the majority of Russian population was uneducated, the belief in 'a kind and fair tsar' was always a part of cultural tradition in imperial Russia. Nobles were often set off against the monarch in the eyes of peasants. At the same time, fascination with the European culture and the rise of the Enlightenment caused the spread of ideas among educated classes attacking serfdom as a retrograde and economically unprofitable system. The intrusion of Church

Facts about Scotland Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Facts about Scotland - Research Paper Example This essay analyzes that Scotland has produced several famous personalities, which are related to the creative writing. A few among the well-known names in the literature include James Kelman, AL Kennedy, Janice Galloway, Liz Lochhead, Alisdair Gray, Irvine Welsh, Ian Rankin, Andrew O'Hagan and many others. Most of the business outsource processing jobs have gone to the country as it has around 60,000 employees in almost 300 call centers that cater to businesses of companies like Dell, Direct Line, among others. The oil and gas industry of Scotland supports nearly hundred thousand jobs, spread around 40 countries worldwide, as there are around 2000 service and supply companies related to this trade, internationally. In a report by Financial Times FDI magazine, Scotland was named as the â€Å"UK region of future-2006/7†, while it was listed on the top in human resources, IT and telecom.The country is ranked as a fifth largest financial center for Europe. Royal Bank of Scotland and Halifax Bank of Scotland, headquartered here, has operations worldwide, as they have the reputation of efficient performance, internationally.The aerospace industry in Scotland has almost 10% share of the UK’s aerospace industry, as per the Scottish Survey Report. The aerospace industry in Scotland had a turnover of Pound Sterling 2.1 billion; while Prestwick has a reputation of being the excellent center for maintenance, repairs, and overhaul, as it caters to companies like GE, Goodrich, to name a few.

Display design for or a museun, gallery, shop ,church, palace or Essay - 1

Display design for or a museun, gallery, shop ,church, palace or temporary exhibition - Essay Example The display remains steady and usable to date a feature that portrays the appropriateness off the display and subsequent renovations done to the facility that have sustained the position of the display thereby finding the display some relevance among the display and architectural accolades in the contemporary society as the essay below portrays. The portrayal of space comes naturally to the display of the church; the freestanding display has specific features that facilitate free movement of people, lighting, and aeration thereby facilitating its sustainability. The cathedral exemplifies effective consumption of space as it houses numerous offices of the diocese and the parish. From the large church with a naval height of twenty two meters and the numerous compartments throughout the floor that serve as offices to the dioceses, the cathedral is self-sustaining with the displayers ensuring that key features of the cathedral such as lighting, aeration and the management of the temperature remained self-sustained. The numerous compartments that extend to the heights of the towers do not obstruct the doors and windows. The church hall therefore extends to the walls all-round the display thereby perpetuating the free flow of light and air that keeps the church aerated throughout the service. Additionally, the displayers ensured that all the rooms and compartments in the cathedral remained easily accessible depending on their relevance to the main church. Display is a fundamental feature of the display that the displayers considered. The displayers ensured that the display remained elegant to date. Among the elements of display the cathedral exemplify include presentation. The freestanding cathedral enjoys glamorous ambience arising from the large and stylishly displayed laws to the strong tall towers that earns the cathedral its towering attribute in the neighborhood. As explained earlier, aeration, lighting and

Planck mission explores the history of our universe Research Paper

Planck mission explores the history of our universe - Research Paper Example With the help of NASA, Planck was able to construct a composite image from observations of the Milky Way Galaxy made at wavelengths of light longer than what we see with the naked eye. According to Charles Lawrence, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planck is equipped enough to see not only the old light from the origin of our universe, but also gas and dust in today’s galaxy. Planck stated that it would make the data (that will be detailing all the observations made in the entire mission) available to the public on 5th February (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California para. 4). With this data, that has informed research in matters including dark matter, theories on the cosmos will be put to a test and the knowledge we have on the universe revolutionized. There are several points of interest in Planck’s mission. For any study on the origin of the universe, there are some issues that need to be addressed. Dark energy is said to have had a lot of power over the formation of the universe. Today, it is still believed to be affecting the survival of the planet probably due to acting against gravity. Researching on how the dark energy can affect the planet or the universe is imperative to understanding what effects it had during the creation of the universe. The milk way, also, is another important part of the study. Our planet is found in the milk way, and it is, therefore, crucial that proper knowledge of the region is acquired. Among some of the most striking findings is the length of time the universe was supposed to have remained in darkness. Planck’s data show that the universe may have remained in darkness during its infantry period for a hundred years or so (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California para. 5). This research, however, is inconclusive and subject to review. During this period, dark energy is a major factor of consideration. According to Planck, dark energy does exist, and it is working against gravity at an increased

Philosophy of law ( movie review ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Philosophy of law ( movie review ) - Essay Example These were the main areas that they did not want to thrive amidst the Jews in Germany. The Jewish synagogues were burnt to ashes and their children were expelled from school. Only the native religion and culture was to be upheld. The acts of the Nazis apparently relied on the philosophy of nationalism. Nationalism demands that a nation protects its interests and sovereignty with all means possible. Any intruding civilization is treated with inferiority and cruelty. In the case of â€Å"Night of Broken Glass†, nationalism had been exaggerated by its proponents. It was expansionist nationalism, marked with a radical military aggression towards the Jews. Nazism may be justified on the basis of sovereignty and prevention of culture distortion. Whereas the government and the Nazis were strongly supporting nationalism philosophy, a large faction of the natives seemed quite hesitant to act against the Jews. It may be said that these people were buying into communism; a classless form socialization that enhances unity. Communism, other than preserving unity, protects human dignity and rights, including

Changing minds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Changing minds - Essay Example something different and not fully associated with whatever it is that the person claims not to like, one would be able to get that person’s brain processes thinking. An â€Å"Integrated viable identity† is what gives people the sense that they can move on with their lives - it is a way of functioning as a member of society. In order to adhere to the â€Å"Integrated viable identity† of our readers, we must make our messages clear. We want our readers to understand what we are saying, how it applies to them, and how they can alter their integrated viable identity to having the identity as one of our readers. It is a matter of making the reader aware that their opinion and views matter. We are able to do this by addressing the topics of which our readers have the most interest in, because it appeals to their identities. The best way to change someone’s mind through our blog would be to provide the right collection of relevant data. â€Å"Representational Rediscrimination† comes down to presenting a new idea in a variety of ways which allow those who are affected to see the idea in their own way. For instance, presenting both Logical and Linguistic ideas on a large scale, so that both intelligences are addressed. As with the Freedman example in our text, we are addressing various groups, such as companies and corporations in order to make a large-scale change of minds. The problem with this is that ideas become more set and defined compared to when people were younger. Therefore it becomes more difficult to illicit a change in thought because of this present resistance. The discrimination that a reader of our blog may feel upon visiting comes from the issues that we represent. If we are presenting information that they strongly disagree with, then they will not return. The best way to fix this would be to present our information in different ways, so as not to trigger the discriminating response. The important part of the â€Å"Designated Driver† model

Discrimination of black people and white people Essay Example for Free

Discrimination of black people and white people Essay This story, Black Boy is a great book that describes how the author, Richard Wright, suffered in the South of the United States during the time when there was still a lot of discrimination throughout the country. Since the author explained many of his horrible experiences in the past, this book cannot be written in a thin book. This thick book is full of his great experiences that wanted to be read by many people in the world in order to let everybody know the disasters of racism. This racism affected Richard Write a lot and he had to adapt to the environment that he was in, although he didn’t know how he should act in front of white people in the beginning of the story. There are not many examples in the beginning of the story since Richard was a little boy, and he still didn’t know about racism. He did know that something was different between black and whites, but he wasn’t able to understand it since he was too young. He even talks to himself in Pg. 49 that â€Å"I had heard that colored people were killed and beaten, but so far it all had seemed remote. There was, of course, a vague uneasiness about it all, but I would be able to handle that when I came to it. It would be simple. If anybody tried to kill me, then I would kill them first. † After this, he realized the harshness of racism around his society when Uncle Hoskins got shot by a white man when he was at the saloon. And the reason is just because a black man was earning a lot of money and the white man became jealous. Also after this scene, there is an another example in Pg. 172 where he met his classmate, Ned Greenley who had lost his brother since the whites shot him for a specific reason. Ned said, â€Å"Th-they said he was fooling with a white prostitute there in the hotel. † Richard was shocked since he could be in those kinds of situations at any time. Richards starts to think of really going to North soon as possible now. In Chapter nine, there is a scene that is really harsh where Richard sees it, but could do nothing. This scene is at the clothing store for black people where Richard worked. The black employees were treated like slaves in the store; the white owners would push, kick, or slap the blacks. Although Richard saw this scene many times, he never got used to it. Another big thing is the time when Richard sees a black woman getting raped by two white men. This is a part from the book that describes how evil this time of period was. On Pg. 179, it says, â€Å"White people passed and looked on without expression. A white policeman watched from the corner, twirling his night stick; but he made no move. I watched out of the corner of my eyes, but I never slackened the strokes of my chamois upon the brass. After a moment or two I heard shrill screams coming from the rear room of the store; later the woman stumbled out, bleeding, crying, holding her stomach, her clothing torn. When she reached the sidewalk, the policeman met her, grabbed her, accused her of being drunk, called a patrol wagon and carted her away. † When I read this scene, it really hurt my heart. I couldn’t believe that the police didn’t do anything at all and although the policeman knew that the black woman was raped, he accused her of being drunken. Richard could have thought of saving the woman, but if he did something to the whites, he could be killed. Therefore, Richard wasn’t able to do anything. All he could do was to feel sorry for the lady. This doesn’t mean that Richard didn’t worry about the woman, it was the way how he had to act in the South. After Richard realizes the social cycle between the whites and the blacks at his work place, he sacrifices his morals to save more money. He begins to bootleg liquor to sell to white prostitutes in the hotel that he worked at. After that, he involves in a ring for scamming tickets. Then, he quickly amasses enough money to move out to the North. Although Richard was working earnest, he quits it because it was very hard to collect money if he had worked earnestly. Since Richard Write had an experience that he does not want to experience anymore, he was able to write this book, which would tell all the readers that discrimination or racism is not a good thing to do. He explained how he had to act as a black man; if he didn’t act like a black man, he might have not gotten the chance of writing this book. Richard Write had explained how blacks should act as a black, and although many horrible things were occurring around him, he wasn’t able to change it since he was just a black man. I feel that Richard really wanted to resist against the white men but if he did, he knew that he was going to be dead. Although in the beginning of the story, he said that, â€Å"If anybody tried to kill me, then I would kill them first†, as a result he wasn’t able to disobey the whites because he was scared of death. Since he was able to adapt to the society that he was in, he was able to earn money and was able to go to the North to have a better life.

The Big Bang Theory Essay Example for Free

The Big Bang Theory Essay The beginning of the universe is explained in the big bang theory. It is proved beyond doubt that our universe had a beginning and that its origin was as a singularity about 13 billion years ago. This singularity was infinitely hot, small and dense. It had undergone a series of changes, which includes expansion and cooling to become the present form of universe. This theory is called the big bang theory. According to this theory the process of cooling and expansion is still continuing. There are several evidences as well as arguments supporting this theory as well as opposing it. The main intention of the present paper is to analyze these arguments in search of its validity. History of this theory, its religious interpretations as well as the features of the universe according to this theory also will be discussed in this paper. The big bang theory was proposed by scientist and Roman Catholic priest Georges Lemaitre and his called his theory as hypothesis of the primeval atom (Hubble, 1929). The framework for this model was based on the Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. Most of the astronomers today believe in this theory mainly because of the red shift that was observed in the near by galaxies. Scientists believe that the universe is still expending because of the presence of dark energy (Big bang Theory, 2009). There are several features of the universe which support big bang theory. The abundance of light elements such as hydrogen and helium and less occurrence of the heavy elements or heavy metals in universe is actually in support of this theory. This is because it is proved beyond doubt that at such a high temperature that persisted at the time of origin of the universe, the elements of mass numbers more than 5 and their isotopes would have been unstable. This might have resulted in the formation of more light elements at that time. Presence of more matter than antimatter is another feature that supports the theory. Even now the scientists are not able to find a reason for this phenomenon. However, many scientists consider the asymmetry in the decay of some mesons as the reason for this phenomenon. Another feature of the universe is that it is composed of several galaxies and these are separated by cosmic voids. The presence of a radiation in all directions which is quite even or uniform throughout is another factor that supports the theory which explains the origin of universe from a fire ball ( Big bang theory, 2009) One of the argument against big bang theory is that universe had its origin as an explosion. However according to experts it is better to imagine universe as a balloon with an infinitely small size and continuously increasing its size so as to reach the current size. It would be difficult to imagine the universe as a balloon bursting and throwing off its contents. Another argument against this theory is that it universe e originated as a fireball in space. But according to the Einstein’s theory of relativity there could not be anything, space or time or matter or energy before the origin of universe. Thus this argument also has been proved to be baseless (Big Bang Theory An Overview, 2009). There are many arguments or evidences that support this theory. Most of the people believe that universe had an origin. Edwin Hubble discovered that galaxies are moving away from us at speeds, which are directly proportional to the distance from us. This provides evidence for the expansion of the universe, which was originally very small. The discovery of Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB) by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson in 1965 provided evidence that universe was initially very very hot as it is explained according to the big bang theory. Another important evidence is the profusion of hydrogen and helium in the observable universe. This also supports the big bang origin of universe. According to the recent research by NASA and ESA, the universe had its origin from the remnants of a universe, which existed previously. This is called loop quantum gravity theory (Zyga, 2008). This theory also supports the origin of the present universe as a singularity as in big bang theory. Still the arguments regarding the models to explain the origin of universe is continuing between great scientists. But one thing that has to be remembered is that whatever might be the arguments, there would always be a philosophical criterion involved and therefore these arguments are never going to end (Gibbs, 1995). Therefore as long as no one is certain about anything that happened at that time, the arguments would continue. An important factor that has to be considered in the big bang theory is its religious interpretations. Origin of Universe is an area where science and theology places opposite views. According to Islam, Allah is the creator and Evolver of every thing in this universe. Of course the development of the universe to the present stage is something that is super natural and therefore there is nothing wrong in believing that there is a super natural force behind all these evolution and that supernatural force is God. The theologians as well as majority of people believe that it is not possible to evolve something from nothingness. Estes (2009) has put it in a different manner. According to him this explanation of origin of universe is as absurd as believing that when there was an explosion in a place all the metal pieces joined in the air to form a car. He further explains that it cannot be believed that the different parts of the oldest computer one day exploded and then joined to form the most advanced computer now. This development took place as a result of long years of research by human beings. In the same way the development of universe to the present form, required the intelligence of someone who is super natural and that is God himself. When we look at the stars, sun, moon and the galaxy as a whole, we see that they are all moving with accurate speed and timings in such a way that they do not collide each other. The earth is having the exact requirements for the life of man on it. All the requirements of the man are met through the other organisms as well as physical and chemical properties of the earth. It is very difficult to explain all these facts based on big bang theory (Estes, 2009). There is another school of thought in the Islam itself in support of the big bang theory (Huda, 2009). The idea of singularity is present in the Quran also, where it is said that heaven and earth existed as a single unit originally. According to the big bang theory, the elements, which constituted the universe, had come together, cooled down and finally formed into the present shape. This is what exactly said in Quran, the only difference is that it was Allah who gave commands to these elements to behave in the way it had behaved. Come together, willingly or unwillingly. They said: We come (together) in willing obedience' (41:11). The concept that Universe is expanding is also there in Quran. The heavens, We have built them with power. And verily, We are expanding it (51:47). The fact that the universe is continuing to get expanded has been discovered only recently and it was the answer to the long debates by Muslim scholars on the exact meaning of this verse in the Quran. An argument in Islam against the big bang theory is that in Quran it is written that the creation of the universe was completed in six days. But in Quran itself it is written that one day of Allah could be 50,000 years for man. In another place it is written as 1000 years. Thus the day could be regarded as an era with a fixed length of time. And six days could be six such eras, the length of which no body knows. Thus in this way also Quran is not contradicting the big band theory, which suggests that the origin was 13 billion years ago, and since then the formation of different organisms as well as the shape of the universe were gradual (Huda, 2009). Another aspect where Quran supports big band theory is that the process of evolution or the creation as Islam takes it, is never ending. It is clearly mentioned in Quran that Allah is continuing his creation. This is what we see everyday, as a new child or as a new plant which is quite different from both parents (Huda, 2009). Considering all these facts the Muslims of the modern world believe that big bang theory is genuine and that the universe is ever changing. The only difference is that they believe that all these are happening according to the command of Allah and that everything that happens in the universe reveals the super natural power and majesty of Allah. It is stated that the creations are to be viewed upon, as tremendous power of Allah and His name has to be glorified. Thus it could be seen that the Big Bang theory of the origin of Universe is the most widely accepted theory of cosmic origin. It is based on the Einstein’s theory of relativity. There are several features that the universe exhibits which supports this theory. Most of the arguments against this theory by different scientists have already proved to be baseless. More and more discoveries have been made in the last and present century, which supports this theory. Regarding the religious interpretation of this theory, in Islam, the origin of universe and earth and everything on it is explained in the same manner as the big bang theory. Only difference is that, in Quran it is explained to have happened as per the command of God. It is quite logical to believe that there is a super natural power that is regulating all these happenings in the way it is happening so that we could exist happily and peacefully on this earth. References Big Bang Theory An Overview (2009). [online] Available at: http://www. big-bang-theory. com/default. htm (accessed on 11th June 2009) Big Bang Theory (2009). [online] Available at: http://www. answers. com/topic/big-bang-theory (accessed on 11th June 2009) Estes, Y.. (2009). Big bang. [online] Available at: http://scienceislam. com/bigbang. php (accessed on 11th June 2009) Gibbs, W. W. (1995). Scientific American, October 1995, 273: 55. Hubble, E. (1929). A Relation Between Distance and Radial Velocity Among Extra-Galactic Nebulae. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 15: 168–173. Huda (2009). Creation of the Universe Six Days or Long Periods of Time [online] Available at: http://islam. about. com/od/creation/a/creation. htm (accessed on 11th June 2009) Zyga, L. (2008). Before the Big Bang: A Twin Universe? [online] Available at: http://www. physorg. com/news126955971. html (accessed on 11th June 2009)

Ethical and legal level of counseling

Ethical and legal level of counseling 1. The concept of ethics and legal Ethics is generally defined as a philosophical discipline that is concerned with human conduced and moral decision making (Van Hoose, 1985). Ethics are normative in nature and focus on principles and standards that govern relationship between individuals, such as those between counselors and clients. Morality, however, involves judgment or evaluation of action. It is associated with such words as good, bad, right, wrong ought, and should (grant, 1992). Counselors have morals, and the theories counselors employ have embedded within them moral presuppositions about human nature that explicitly and implicitly question first What is a person and second, what should a person be or become? (Christopher, 1996) For improving the ethical and legal level of counseling, first, the counselor needs to understand what the word ethical means. Before the first counseling session, the counselor should realize how important about making good professional decisions that are both ethics and legal while being helpful to his or her clients. According to the Websters New World Dictionary (1980), it means 1. having to do with ethics; or of conforming to moral standards, 2. conforming to professional standards of conduct. Notice that these two definitions are distinctly different. This first is a personal phenomenon that is, what is moral is decide most often by individuals. In contrast, the second encompasses behaviors that are considered ethical by some professional group. In the mental health profession, that group could be the American Counseling Association (ACA), or the American Psychological (APA), just to name a few. 2. The development of codes of ethics for counselors The first counseling code of ethics was developed by the American Counseling Association (ACA) (Then the American Personnel and Guidance Association, or APGA) based on the original American Psychological Association code of ethics (Allen, 1986). The initial ACA code was initiated by Donald Super and approved in 1961 (Callis Pope, 1982). It has been revised periodically since that time. The ACA also produces A Practitioners Guide to Ethical Decision Making, video conferences on resolving leading-edge ethical dilemmas (Salo Hamilton, 1996), and an Ethical Standards Casebook (Herlihy Corey, 1996). The ACAs latest ethics code is entailed a Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. This code is one of the major signs that counseling has developed into a mature discipline because professions are characterized, among other things, by a claim to specialized knowledge and a code of ethics. In the CAC, ethics standards are arranged under topical sectional headings. They contain material similar to that found in many other ethical codes, yet they are unique to the profession of counseling. 3. Following the Guideline for Acting Ethically For improving the higher level of the ethics of counseling, the counselors should follow guideline for acting ethically. Swanson (1983) lists guidelines for assessing whither counselors act in ethically responsible ways. The first is personal and professional honest. Counselors need to operate openly with themselves and those with whom they work. Hidden agendas or unacknowledged feelings hinder relationship and place counselors on shaky ethical ground. One way to overcome personal and professional honest problems that may get in the way of acting ethically is to receive supervision (Kitchener, 1994). The second guideline is acting in the best interest of clients. This ideal is easier to discuss than achieve. At times, a counselor may impose personal values on client and ignore what they really want (Gladding Hool, 1974). At other times, a counselor may fail to recognize an emergency and too readily accept the idea that the clients best interest is served by doing nothing. The third guideline is that counselors act without malice or personal gain. Some clients are difficult to like or deal with, and it is win these individuals that counselors must be especially careful. However, counselors must be careful to avoid relationships with likable clients either on a person or professional basis. Errors in judgment are most likely to occur when the counselors self-interest becomes a part of the relationship with a client (Germaine, 1993). The final guideline is whether counselors can justify an action as the best judgment of what should be done based upon the current state of the profession (Swanson, 1983). To make such a decision, counselors must keep up with current trends by reading the professional literature; attending in-service workshops and conventions, and becoming actively involved in local, state, and national counseling activities. The ACA Ethical Standards Casebook (Herlihy Corey, 1996) contains examples in which counselors are presented with issues and case studies of questionable ethical situations and given both guidelines and questions to reflect on in deciding what an ethical response would be. Each situation involves a standard of the ethical code. As helpful as the casebook may be, in many counseling situations the proper behavior is not obvious (Gladding, 2001). For example, the question of confidentiality in balancing the individual rights of a person with AIDS and society s right to be protected from the spread of the disease in one with which some counselors struggle. Likewise, there are multiple ethical dilemmas in counseling adult survivors about what to do in a given situation, it is crucial for counselors to concern and talk over situations with colleagues, in addition to using principles, guidelines, casebooks, and professional codes of ethics. 4. Counselor Competence and Referral The ACA Code of Ethics (1995) clearly states that Counselors must practice only within the boundaries of their competence, based on their education, training, supervised experience, state and national professional credentials, and appropriate professional experience. The APA Ethical Principles (1992) makes a similar statement and adds that: Psychologists provide services, teach, or conduct research in new area or involving new techniques only after first undertaking appropriate study, training, supervision, and consultation from person who are competent in those areas or techniques. The ethical standards are quite clear regarding what a counselor should do if he is not competent to treat a certain client problem. His first and best choice is to make an appropriate referral. If there is no one to whom he can refer (which would be an exception rather than a common occurrence), then it is incumbent on he to educate himself through reading books and journal articles on the presenting problem and to seek supervision of his work with the client. The counselor has the responsibility for the welfare of the client; therefore, it is his professional duty to obtain for that client the best services possible be it from him or from a professional colleague. Clients are not subjects for your trial and error learning but deserve the best professional care possible. One of counselors responsibilities is to recognize his or her strengths and weaknesses and to offer services only in the areas of his or her strengths. Defining a counselors areas of component usually involves critical and honest self-examination. Calling this subjective component an internal perspective, Robinson and Cross caution counselors to do everything possible to gain the skills and knowledge based to the profession. Counselors need to stretch their skills continually by reading and attending to new and developing trends, through attaining postgraduate education, and through attending seminars and workshops aimed at sharpening and increasing both knowledge and skill bases. All counselors must take full responsibility for adhering to professional codes of conduct that address the concepts of proper representation of professional qualifications, for providing only those services for which they have been trained, and for seeking assistance with personal issues that are barriers to providing effective service. Regardless of the area of the area of service being discussed, counselors are the first-line judge of their professional competence. Although credentialing bodies, professional organizations, and state legislatures may set standards for practice, the counselor must be the most critical evaluator of his or her ability to provide services. This often becomes quite a challenge when ones living dependents on having clients who will pay for service. In fact, the ethical is not always the easy choice. 5. Improving Ethics Decisions Making in Counseling The making ethics decision is the crucial key for achieving a higher level of the ethics of counseling. Ethics decision making is often not easy yet is a part of being a counselor. It requires virtues such as character, integrity, and moral courage as well as knowledge (Welfel, 1998). Some counselors operate from personal ethical standards without regard to the ethical guidelines developed by professional counseling associations. They usually function well until faced with a dilemma for which there is no apparent good or best solution (Swanson, 1983). At such times, ethical issues arise and these counselors experience anxiety, doubt, hesitation, and confusion in determining their conduct. Unfortunately, when they act, their behavior may turn out to be unethical because it is not grounded in any ethical code. The researchers found five types of ethical dilemmas most prevalent among the university counselors they surveys there: a. confidentiality, b. role conflict, c. counselor competence, d. conflicts with employer or institution, and e. degree of dangerousness. The situational dilemmas that involved danger were the least difficult to resolve and those that dealt with counselor competence and confidentiality were the most difficult. The surprising finding of this study, however, was that less than over-third of the respondents indicated that they relied on published professional codes of ethics in resolving dilemmas. Instead, most used common sense, a strategy that at times may be professionally unethical and at best unwise. It is in such types of situations that need to be aware of resources for ethical decision making, especially when questions arise over controversial behaviors such as setting or collecting fees or conducting dual relationships (Gibson Pope, 1993). Ethical reasoning, the process of determining which ethical principles are involved and then prioritizing them based on the professional requirements and beliefs, is also crucial (Lanning, 1992). In making ethical decisions, counselors should take actions based on careful, reflective thought about responses they think are professionally right in particular situations (Tennyson Strom, 1992). Several ethical principles relate to the actives and ethical choices of counselors: Beneficence (doing well and preventing harm), Non malfeasance (not inflicting harm), Autonomy (respecting freedom of choice and self-determination), Justice (fairness), and Fidelity (faithfulness or honoring commandments) (Herlihy, 1996). All these principles involve conscious decision making by counselors throughout the counseling process. Of these principles, some experts identify non malfeasance as the primary ethical responsibility in the field of counseling. Non malfeasance not only involves the removal of present harm but the prevention of future harm and passive avoidance of harm. It is the basis on which counselors respond to clients who may endanger themselves or others and why they respond to colleagues unethical behavior. 5.1 Educating Counselors in Ethical Decision Making Ethical can be improving in many ways, but one of the beat is through course offering that are now required in most graduate counseling programs and available for continuing education credit. Such courses can bring about significant attitudinal changes in students and practicing professionals, impairment, and multiculturalism (Coll, 1993). Because ethical attitudinal changes are related to ethical behavioral changes, courses in ethics on any level are extremely valuable. Van Hoose (1979) conceptualizes the ethical behavior of counselors in terms of a five-stage developmental continuum of reasoning: Punishment orientation. At this stage the counselor believes external social standards are the basis for judging behavior. If clients or counselors violate a societal rule, they should be punished. Institutional orientation. Counselors who operate at this stage believe in and abide by the rules of the institutions for which they work. They do not question the rules and base their decisions on them. Societal orientation. Counselors at this stage base decisions on societal standards. If a question arises about whether the needs of society or an individual should come first, the needs of society are always given priority. Individual orientation. The individuals needs receive top priority at this stage. Counselors are aware of society needs and are concerned about the law, but they focus on what is best for the individual. Principle (conscience) orientation. In this stage concern for the individual is primary. Ethical decisions are based on internalized ethical standards, not external considerations. As Welfel and Lipsitz (1983) point out, the work of Van Hoose and Paradise is especially important because it is the first conceptual model in the literature that attempts to explain how counselors reason about ethical issues. It is heuristic (i.e., research able or open to research) and can form the basis gor empirical studies of promotion of ethical behavior. Several other models have been proposed for educating counselors in ethical decision making. Based on Gumaer and Scott (1985), for instance, offer a method for training group workers based on the ethical guidelines of the association for specialists in group work. This method uses case vignettes and Carkhuffs three-goal, model of helping: self-expectation, self-understanding, and action. Kicherner (1986) proposes an integrated model of goals and components for an ethics education curriculum based on research on the psychological processes underlying moral behavior and current thinking in applied ethics. Her curriculum includes counselors to ethical issues, improving their abilities to make ethical judgments, encourage responsible ethical actions and tolerating the ambiguity of ethical decision making (Kitchener, 1986). Her model and one proposed are process oriented and assume that counselors do not learn to make ethical decisions on their own. Pelsma and Borgers (1986) particularly emphasize the how as opposed to what of ethics that is, how to reason ethically in a constantly changing field. Other practitioner guide for making ethical decisions are a seven-step decision making model based on a synthesis of the professional literature, a nine-step ethical decision-making models follow based on critical-evaluative judgments and seven other models created between 1984 and 1998 (cottone Claus, 2000). These ethical decision-making models follow explicit steps or stages and are often used for specific areas of counseling practice. However, through empirical comparisons and continued dialogue, the effectiveness of the models may be validated. In addition to the models already mentioned the ACA Ethics Committee offers a variety of educational experience. For example, members of the committee offer learning institutes at national and regional ACA conferences. In addition, they publish articles in the ACA newsletter. Finally, to promote counseling practices, the committee through ACA publishes a type counselors guide entitled: What you should know about the ethical practice of professional counselors, which is on the ACA website as well as printed (Williams Freeman, 2002). 6. Focus on Clients Rights When clients enter a counseling relationship, they have a right to assume that you are competent. In addition, they have certain rights, known as client rights, as well as responsibilities. These rights have their foundation in the Bill of Rights, particularly the first and fourth amendment of the constitution of the United States, which are freedom of religion, speech, and the press and right of petition and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, respectively. The concept of confidentiality, privileged communication, and informed consent are based on the fourth amendment, which guarantees privacy. Privacy has been defined as the freedom of individuals to choose for themselves the time and the circumstances under which and the extent to which their beliefs, behaviors, and opinions are to be shared or withheld from others (Corey et al., 1988). 6.1 Improving Confidentiality and Privileged Communications The concept of privacy is the foundation for the clients legal right to privileged communication and counselors responsibility to hold counseling communications confidentiality is a professional concept. It is so important that both the APA (1992) Ethical principles and the ACA (1995) Code of Ethics each devote an entire section to confidentiality. However, a clients communications are not confidential in a court of law unless the mental health professional is legally certified or licensed in the state in which he or she practices. Most states grant the clients of state-certified or licensed mental health professionals (such as psychologists, professional counselors, and marriage and family therapists) the right of privileged communications. This means that clients, not counselors, have control over who has access to what they have said in therapy and protects them from having their communications disclosed in a court of law. In order for communication to be privileged, counselors should follow four conditions. First, the communication must originate in confidence that it will not be disclosed. Second, confidentiality must be essential to the full and satisfactory maintenance of the relationship. Third, in the opinion of the greater community, the relationship must be one that should be sedulously fostered. Finally, injury to the relationship by disclosure of the communication must be greater than the benefit gained by the correct disposal of litigation regarding the information. If as a counselor can claim these four conditions, then his clients communications are not only confidential, but they are also privileged and, therefore, are protected from being disclosed in a court of law. One must remember, however, that there is always a balance between a clientss right to privacy and societys need to know. Despite the importance given to confidentiality and privileged communication, pope, and Keith-Spiegel (1987) reported that 62 percent of psychologists in a national survey indicated that they had unintentionally violated a clients confidentiality and 21 percent had intentionally violated a clients confidentiality. These alarming statistics suggest that mental health professionals are at risk for violating this core ethical principle. Therefore, all mental health professionals need to be aware of the professional standards regarding confidentiality, the professional is guilty of breaching the confidentiality. Secretaries are considered extensions of the certified or licensed mental health professionals to which they are accountable. 6.2 Improving Informed Consent The ACA (1995) Code of Ethics is very specific with respect to what should be disclosed to clients in order for them to give informed consent: When counseling is initiated, and throughout the counseling process as necessary, counselors inform clients of the purposes, goals, techniques, procedures, limitations, potential risks and benefits of services to be performed, and other pertinent information. Counselors take steps to ensure that clients understand the implications of diagnosis, the intended use of tests and reports, fee, and billing arrangements. Clients have the right to expect confidentiality and be provided with an explanation of its limitations, including supervision and treatment team professionals; to obtain clear information about the case records; to participate in the ongoing counseling plans; and to refuse any recommended services and be advised on the consequences of such refusal. If a counselor is asked by a client to disclose to a third party information revealed in therapy, have the client sign an informed consent form before making any disclosure. The counselor may be surprised to learn that counselor are not even permitted to respond to inquiries about whether they are seeing a person in therapy even the clients name and status in counseling are confidential, unless the client has granted permission for this information to be released. One exception is when the client is paying for the services through an insurance company. This automatically grants the insurance company limited access to information regarding the client. The client needs to be made aware of the parameters of the information that will be shared with the insurance company prior to beginning therapy. Again, it is evident how important it is to have potential clients sign an informed consent form before they become clients. 6.3 Improving Clients Welfare All the preceding discussion rests on the permission rests on the premise that the counselors primary obligation is to protect the welfare of the client. The preamble to the APA (1992) Ethical Principles specifically states that it has as its primary goal the welfare and protection of the individuals and groups with whom psychologists work. A similar statement is made by ACA (1995) Code of Ethics: the primary responsibility of counselors is to respect the dignity and to promote the welfare and of clients. Dual relationships, counselors personal needs have already been discussed; attention now needs to be given to the third concern. An additional set of guidelines comes into play when a counselor is doing work or working with a couple or family. In a group setting, special issues include qualifications of the group leader, informed consent when more than the group leader will be participating in therapy, the limits to confidentiality and to privileged communication when third parties are present in therapy, and understanding how individuals will be protected and their growth nurtured in a group situation. Unlike individual counseling, clients who want to be involved into a group experience need to be screened before being accepted into a group. This screening not only ensures that the client is appropriate for the group but also protects other group members from a potentially dysfunctional group member. It is evident that client welfare, whether in individual therapy or in group work, rests squarely on the shoulders of the counselor. The counselor must be cognizant of the various aspects of the counseling relationship that can jeopardize the clients welfare and take the steps necessary to alleviate the situation. Robinson Kurpius and Gross offer several suggestions for safeguarding the welfare of each client: Check to be sure that you are working in harmony with any other mental health professional also seeing your client. Develop clear, written descriptions code of what clients may expert with respect to therapeutic regime, testing and reports, recordkeeping, billing, scheduling, and emergencies. Share your professional code of ethics with your clients, and prior to beginning therapy discuss the parameters of a therapeutic relationship. Know your own limitations, and do not hesitate to use appropriate referral sources. Be sure that the approaches and techniques used are appropriate for the client and that you have the necessary expertise for their use. Consider all other possibilities before establishing a counseling relationship that could be considered a dual relationship. Evaluate the clients ability to pay and when the payment of the usual fee would create a hardship. Either accept a reduced fee or assist the client in finding needed services at an affordable cost. Objectively evaluate client progress and the therapeutic relationship to determine if it is consistently in the best interests of the client. Improving the Ethics of Counseling in Some Specific Situations Counselors should check thoroughly the general politics and principles of an institution before accepting employment because employment in a specific setting implies that selves in institutions that misuse their services and do not act in the best interests of their clients, they must act either to change the institution through educational or persuasive means or find other employment. The potential for major ethical crises between a counselor and his or her employer exists in many school setting. School counselors are often used as tools by school administrators. When the possibility of conflict exists between a counselors loyalty to the employer and the client, the counselor should always attempt to find a resolution that protects the rights of the client; the ethical responsibility is to the client first and the school lore other setting second (Huey, 1986). One way school counselors can assure themselves of an ethically sound program is to realize that they may encounter multiple dilemmas in providing services to students, parents, and teachers. Therefore, before interacting with these different groups, school counselors should become families with the ethical standards of the American school counseling association, which outlines counselors responsibilities to the groups with whom they work (Henderson, 2003). One of the most common situations of counseling is about the family and marriage. The reason is that counselors are treating a number of individuals together as a system, and it is unlikely that all members of the system have the same goals. To overcome potential problems, Thomas (1994) has developed a dynamic, process-oriented framework for counselors to use when working with families. This model discusses six values that affect counselors, clients, and the counseling process: (a) responsibility, (b) integrity, (c) commitment, (d) freedom of choice, (e) empowerment, and (f) right grieves. Then, when a counselor faces the counseling of family or marriage, he or she should try to follow this framework. The use of computers and technology in counseling is another area of potential ethical difficulty. The possibilities exist for a breach of client information when computers are used to transmit information among professional counselors. Other ethically sensitive areas include client or counselor misuse and even the validity of data offered over computer links. In addition, the problem of cyber counseling or web counseling that is, counseling over the internet in which the counselor may be hundreds of miles away is fraught with ethical dilemmas. Thus, the national board of certified counselors has issued ethical guidelines regarding such conduct. Other counseling settings or situations with significant potential for ethical dilemmas include counseling the elderly, multicultural counseling, working in managed care, diagnosis of clients, and counseling research (Jencius Rotter, 1998). In all of these areas, counselors face new situations, some of which are not addressed by the ethical standards of the ACA. For instance, in working with older adults, counselors must make ethical decisions regarding the unique needs of the aging who have cognitive impairments, a terminal illness, or who have been victims of abuse. In order to do so, counselors may apply principle ethics to these situations that are based on a set of obligations that focus on finding socially and historically appropriate answers to the question: What shall I do? In other word, Is this action ethical? They may also employ virtue ethics, which focus on the character traits of the counselor and nonobligatory ideals to which professional aspire. Rather than solving a specific ethical question, virtue ethics are focused on the questions: Am I doing what is best for my client? Counselors are wise to integrate both forms of ethics reasoning into their deliberations if they wish to make the best decisions possible. In making ethical decisions where there are no guidelines, it is also critical for counselor to stay abreast of current issues, trends, and even legislation related to the situation they face. In the process, counselors must take care not to stereotype or otherwise be insensitive to clients with whom they are working. For instance, a primary emphasis of research ethics is, appropriately, on the protection of human subjects in research. In the area of research in particular, there are four main ethical issues that must be resolved: a. informed consent, b. coercion and deception, c. Confidentiality and privacy, and d. reporting the results. (Robinson Gross, 1986) All of these areas involve people whose lives are in the care of the researcher. Anticipation of problems and implementation of policies that produce humane and fair results are essential. 8. Improving the Legal Aspects of Counseling Counselors must follow specific legal guidelines in working with certain populations. But counselors may often have considerable trouble in situations in which the law is not clear or a conflict exists between the law and professional counseling ethics. Nevertheless, it is important that providers of mental health services be fully informed about what they can or cannot do legally. Such situations often involve the sharing of information among clients, counselors, and the court system. Sharing may be broken down into confidentiality, privacy, and privileged communication. Confidentiality is the ethical duty to fulfill a contract or promise that the information revealed during therapy will be protected from unauthorized disclosure. Confidentiality become a legal as well as an ethical concern if it is broken, whether intentionality or not. It is annually one of the most inquired about ethical and legal concerns received by the ACA Ethics Committee including dilemmas regarding right to privacy, clients right to privacy, and counselors avoiding illegal and unwarranted disclosures of confidential information (Williams Freeman, 2002). Privacy is an evolving legal concept that recognizes individuals rights to choose the time, circumstances, and extent to which they wish to share or withhold personal information. Clients who think they have been coerced into revealing information they would not normally disclose may seek legal recourse against a counselor. Privileged communication, a narrower concept, regulates privacy protection and confidentiality by protecting clients from having their confidential communications disclosed in court without their permission. It is defined as a clients legal right, guaranteed by statute, that confidences originating in a therapeutic relationship will be safeguarded (Arthur Swanson, 1993). Most states recognize and protect privileged communication in counselor-client relationships. As opposed to individuals, the legal concept of privileged communication generally does not apply in group and family counseling (Anderson, 1996). However, counselors should consider certain ethical concerns in protecting the confidentiality of group and family members. One major difficulty with any law governing client and counselor communication is that laws vary from state to state. It is essential that counselors know and communication to their cli