Chapter 10: Homework

1- What is a conflict of interest?
2- What does abuse of official position mean?
3- Comment "insider trading," proprietary data and trade secrets.
4- What is a bribe... a kickback?
5- Talk about "grease payments" and the FCPA.
6- Comment the 7-point guidelines on gifts.
7- What is "whistle blowing" and what motivates whistle blowing?
8- Go over the 5-point guideline to justify whistle blowing. Mention the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Is factory farming ethical? (Post for comment)

Manure run-off from factory farms (is this not toxic waste?)

In this course we address "issues in the workplace." And in the case of factory farming, we certainly have a number of issues, first, toward animals, such as overcrowding, de-beaking, inhumane culling,* and then those health-related problems that may affect us in consuming these animal products ("intensive" growth production, with hormones and then antibiotics and pesticides to fight diseases).

So, what is factory farming? Read here, about ethical consequences of factory farming:

Factory farms hold large numbers of animals, typically cows, pigs, turkeys, or chickens, often indoors, typically at high densities. The aim of the operation is to produce as much meat, eggs, or milk at the lowest possible cost. Food is supplied in place, and a wide variety of artificial methods are employed to maintain animal health and improve production, such as the use of antimicrobial agents, vitamin supplements, and growth hormones. Physical restraints are used to control movement or actions regarded as undesirable. Breeding programs are used to produce animals more suited to the confined conditions and able to provide a consistent food product.

FACT

1- Food animals on factory farming facilities produce an enormous amount of waste. A dairy farm with 2,500 cows produces as much waste as a city of 411,000 people (60). 2- Food facts are that there are NO regulations for the treatment of animal waste from factory farming, which contains methane and nitrous oxide gases - both many times more toxic and warming than CO2. Liquid animal waste often spills over from holding lagoons into local soil and waterways. 3- Fish farming is called "aquafarming", and this squanders natural resources too - it can take 5 pounds of wild-caught fish to produce just 1 pound of farmed fish. Aquafarming operations pollute the environment with tons of fish feces, antibiotic-laden fish feed, and diseased fish carcasses.

The large concentration of animals, animal waste, and the potential for dead animals in a small space poses ethical issues. It is recognized that some techniques used to sustain intensive agriculture are cruel to animals. As awareness of the problems of intensive techniques has grown, there have been some efforts by governments and industry to remove inappropriate techniques (...) In the UK, the Farm Animal Welfare Council was set up by the government to act as an independent advisor on animal welfare in 1979. It expresses its policy as five freedoms: from hunger & thirst; from discomfort; from pain, injury or disease; to express normal behavior; from fear and distress.

There are differences around the world as to which practices are accepted and there continue to be changes in regulations with animal welfare being a strong driver for increased regulation. For example, the EU is bringing in further regulation to set maximum stocking densities for meat chickens by 2010, where the UK Animal Welfare Minister commented, "The welfare of meat chickens is a major concern to people throughout the European Union. This agreement sends a strong message to the rest of the world that we care about animal welfare.”

For example, in the UK, de-beaking of chickens is deprecated, but it is recognized that it is a method of last resort, seen as better than allowing vicious fighting and ultimately cannibalism. Between 60 and 70 percent of six million breeding sows in the U.S. are confined during pregnancy, and for most of their adult lives, in 2 by 7 ft gestation crates. According to pork producers and many veterinarians, sows will fight if housed in pens. The largest pork producer in the U.S. said in January 2007 that it will phase out gestation crates by 2017. They are being phased out in the European Union, with a ban effective in 2013 after the fourth week of pregnancy. With the evolution of factory farming, there has been a growing awareness of the issues amongst the wider public, not least due to the efforts of animal rights and welfare campaigners.

For more information about ethical problems of factory farming, read here.
__________
Overcrowding: Egg laying hens in cage free operations are typically crowded by the thousands in large barns, with approximately one square foot of space allotted each bird. “Cage free” laying hens are not required to have access to the outdoors, and for “free range” and “free roaming” hens, access to the outdoors can be severely restricted and poorly designed. Under these labels, there are no limits on flock size and their outdoor area may be little more than a barren dirt lot that is difficult for them to access.
De-beaking: Virtually all hens slated for egg production have the ends of their beaks removed without anesthesia, causing both acute and chronic pain.
Inhumane culling: Commercial hatcheries supply hens to both factory farms and smaller egg farms, and the male chicks are unwanted and treated as a waste product. Common methods of killing and disposal include suffocation and being ground up alive. When egg laying hens’ productivity declines and they are no longer profitable to the egg industry, they are sent to slaughter or otherwise killed.

I'll close this post this Friday at 11pm.

Violence in the workplace

The horrible death of Yale student Annie Le brings up the question, how common is work violence?

Gossip in the workplace

How bad is gossip in the workplace?

The earlier studies found that once someone made a negative comment about a person who wasn’t there, the conversation would get meaner unless someone immediately defended the target. Otherwise, among both adults and teenagers, the insults would keep coming because there was so much social pressure to agree with the others.

Topics for Quiz #2

Chapter 6
(Most of these terms I'm getting from the Study Corner on p. 326 of the textbook)

McPherson vs Buick. Due care. Caveat Emptor. Strict Product Liability. Legal Paternalism.Government regulation vs. Self-regulation. 6-point guidelines for business responsibility. Merchantability. Warranties, express and implied. Price fixing. Price Gouging. Under the subtitle "labeling and packaging" take a look at words such as "recyclable", "fairly traded," "total carbs." "pure squeezed 100% orange juice," "sustainable," etc. Deceptive techniques in advertising: Ambiguity. Concealment of facts. Exaggeration. Psychological appeals.

Chapter 8
Job screening. Job description. Job specification. Americans with Disabilities Act. Test validity, test reliability. Dur Process. Promotion vs. seniority. Inbreeding. Nepotism. 7-point guideline for better wager. History of the Union Movement: AFL-CIO, Warner Act. Knights of Labor. Conditions for a justified strike. Direct Strike. Sympathetic Strike. Boycotts and Campaigns.

Chapter 9
Off-the-job conduct. Informed consent. Polygraph tests, 3-assumptions and 3 point for polygraph use. Personality tests. Monitoring employees on the job. 4-point on Drug Testing.Assumption of risk. Right to refuse dangerous work.  OSHA. Job Stress. Job Satisfaction. Hawthorne Effect.

Chapter 9: Homework

1- Define "legitimate" and "illegitimate influence."
2- What's "informed consent."
3- Describe the three most common assumptions about polygraph tests. What are the 3 points addressing moral concerns about polygraph tests.
4- About drug testing, explain the four remarks on page 484.
5- How does the text approach the issue of "day care" and "maternity leave"?
6- What's the Hawthorne effect?

Could you be fired for bad-mouthing your boss on facebook? (post for comment)

Yes. Read it here. I'd like you to write a post on this topic, which has to do with workers' rights vs. the interests of the corporation beyond the workplace. Who do you side with and why? Develop your argument. Go ahead!

I'll close this post next Friday, March 11 at 11pm.

Homework, Chapter 6

1. Why is MacPherson v. Buick Motors an important case concerning consumer protection?
2. Explain "due care" and "strict product liability."
3. Why is the 1972 Consumer Safety Act important?
4. Define "legal paternalism."
5. Being that as offering product safety either you regulate yourself or somebody else does, do you think self-regulation is better than government regulation? Explain.
6.Regarding the responsibility of business, go over the 6-point suggestion on pa. 302-303
7. Explain the following: (a) "manipulative pricing" (b) price fixing, (c) price gouging,
8. As we know, business ads can be deceptive. Give examples of the following: (a) concealment of facts, (b) exaggeration, (c) psychological appeals.
9. Should ads be directed at children? Which brings the next question, are children "consumers"?