BCOR 380 Exam 2

whistleblower

an employee who discovers misconduct chooses to bring it to the attention of someone other than their immediate supervisor

problem reporting

an employee who discovers organizational misconduct chooses to bring it to the attention of their immediate supervisor

at-will employment

an employer's common law right to terminate employment

contractor

anyone who is bound by the contract at hand

strict liability

area of tort law carrying liability for compensatory damages where the linkage to harm done is based merely upon participation in a product's supply chain

nominal damages

assesses a small amount against the defendant where a misrepresentation is not material, but a point needs to be made

autonomy as a workplace issue

concerns the degree to which employees should be free to make decisions affecting their own behavior

autonomy as a consumer issue

concerns the right of consumers to make their choices concerning themselves (popular theme in medical ethics)

actionable

conduct that crosses the line between something formal laws will ignore and something they won't

devices companies use to contain whistle-blowing

confidentiality agreements, threat of tortious interference suit

implicit contracts

conformity expectations and one's organizational culture

public-private partnerships

corporations join with Economic Development Authorities to force private individuals to sell them their land

active corruption

created by giving of solicited or unsolicited gifts with the intent to have the effect of bribery

passive corruption

created by reception of unsolicited gifts which would have effect of bribery

tortious interference

legal term defining conduct aimed at creating either public or judicial prejudice against a party in a lawsuit seeking compensatory damages

facilitation payments

both legal and illegal contributions to politicians and bureaucrats in foreign countries to influence their purchasing decisions and their regulatory laws

internal whistleblowing

brings organizational conduct to the attention of a company official, who then follows established procedures to address the misconduct

rent seeking

businesses or professionals band together to have a state board created whose task is to restrict competition through discriminatory regulations

corporate cronyism

captures the essence of the view of Thrasymachus's view; power hungry people by nature seek to grab economic and political power

organizational culture

set of informal shared values, norms, behavioral standards, and expectations that influence the ways in which individuals, teams, and groups interact to achieve company goals.

de facto

something that is actual, not by statute but by practical necessity or outcome

oldest recorded case of whistleblowing

Plato's Euthyphro (also the oldest example of an ethical dilemma)

from Parker to Kelo

Private businesses increase their power by joining political & regulative power to their economic power while government entities increase their power by joining economic power to their political & regulative power.

WV House Bill 3015

"Healthy Workplace Legislation" established a workplace anti-bullying law in West Virginia, making us one of only 7 states to do so

six elements commonly found in bullying cases

(1) disproportion of power, (2) disregard of personhood, (3) absence of defending victim, (4) conscious effort of the bully to not empower the victim with a legal recourse, (5) disregard for one's property, (6) disregard for one's rights

unethical whistleblowing

(1) done for financial reward or attention, (2) it is an act of revenge

Factors affecting employer's use of at-will doctrine

(1) explicit contract exceptions, (2) implied contract exceptions, (3) discrimination suits by protected classes, (4) public policy exceptions, (5) good faith/fair dealing covenants

most common causes of a breach of contract claim

(1) failure to supply goods or fulfill services (2) post-signing altering of terms (3) presence of fraud

How workplace bullying differs from schoolyard bullying

(1) it's goal-driven rather than psychologically driven, (2) it is more subtle, (3) the bully is usually a boss, not a peer

3 basic elements of FSGO

(1) penalties apply to corps, (2) fines are based on a scoring system, (3) corporate officers are to receive formal ethical training

autonomy

(1) right of self government, (2) right of individuals to make decisions concerning themselves

3 kinds of contractual fraud

1 Misrepresentation of facts 2 Misrepresentation of laws 3 Silence with regard to material facts

Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989

Addressed issue of retaliation against federal employees, imposed specific processing deadlines of complaints, guaranteed anonymity, required prompt payment of settlement

big boy letter

Def. 1: A pre-sale agreement not to sue over non-disclosure of material information. Def. 2: These arise when a contract covers many complex issues in which both parties have expertise

disclosure

FCPA requires corps to fully disclose any and all transactions conducted with foreign officials

Revised FSGO

Formally adopted in Nov. 2004

Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives, Assn. (1989)

In this case it was found that drug testing is permitted by employers providing that it can be shown that the drug use poses a threat to public safety.

Goal Driven Workplace Bullying

In this the purpose of the bullying is to drive someone from the workplace.

1943 Parker Case

Supreme Court held that private parties acting in concert with state government are not constrained by Federal anti-trust laws

person who lobbied for HB 3015

Taylor Downs, student at WVU

statute law

The formal laws of a politically defined society

external whistleblowing

When an employee discovers organizational misconduct and chooses to bring it to the attention of law enforcement agencies and/or the media.

Keo v. City of New London

a business, if in partnership with government, can use eminent domain; if it can be proved the outcome will raise the amount of collectible property taxes

international law

a collection of contractual arrangements between governments and business and between governments and governments

anticipatory repudiation

a declaration by the promising party to a contract, that he or she does not intend to live up to his or her obligations under the contract if unforeseen circumstances arise

moral philosophy

a set of principles, virtues, and values governing social interactions which sustains accepted fundamental rights for all

Taylor Downs

a student at WVU who lobbied for the passage of an anti-workplace bullying law in West Virginia

hypernorm

a value that is fundamental across culture and theory

efficient breach of contract

a voluntary breach with payment of damages by a party who concludes that they would incur greater economic loss by performing under the contract

tort

a wrongful act, either intentional or unintentional, for which the courts might award compensatory damages

common law

de facto practices created by precedent torts that have yet to be formalized as statute laws

public policy exceptions

discharge is subject to state laws protecting employees circumstantially affected

good faith & fair dealing covenants

employers must prove just cause and the absence of self-interest

natural law theory

eternal human values determine the laws of a society

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

exposes bribes to foreign businesses through (1) SEC reports, (2) bank financial reports, (3) the Mail Fraud Act

conformity expectations

governed by the unwritten rules of decorum and ethos

Workplace bullying is a _____________ issue

health

bullying is a _______ issue

health

US Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (FSGO) 1991

holds organizations liable for criminal acts of their employees and agents

seventh element of workplace bullying

invasion of privacy

pyramid scheme

investors buy into a non-territorial franchise of some kind and then make their money by selling franchises to other investors (investors know the game)

ponzi scheme

investors don't know the game

esoteric

knowledge belonging only to the most educated in a given field or those closest to a particular endeavor

Thrasymachus's view in Plato's Republic

laws are only what people in power want them to be

Socrates' view in Plato's Republic

laws derive from man's innate sense of justice

Socrates's view can be compared to

moral intellectualism

overarching difference between morality and integrity

morality is personal, integrity is professional/public

fair contract

one where the contractor fully discloses all material information to the client

scienter

one who holds esoteric knowledge in something

implied contract exceptions

oral statements or employee handbook statements stating that employment termination will be done according to principles of due process

dunning

process of methodically communicating with customers to ensure the collection of accounts receivable; considered unethical when it takes on harassment

prohibition

prohibits the movement of funds overseas for the express purpose of conducting a fraudulent scheme

Institute of Workplace Bullying

published the three ways workplace bullying differs from schoolyard bullying (Gary Namie)

material

refers to important information necessary to one's ability to make a proper decision

compensatory damages

reimburses a direct loss to the victim

consequential damages

reimburses an indirect loss to the victim

USA Patriot Act of 2001

requires every citizen to disclose every piece of information needed for identity theft to every financial institution with which they deal

privacy

right to be "let alone" and right to control information

corporate governance

rules managers impose on others

acceptance dependency

tendency to bow to peer pressure even when it goes against one's better judgement

ethos

the accepted norms of one's society

due diligence

the doing of all one can to prevent harm

loophole in FCPA

the law allows for unlimited facilitation payments

Nietzsche, in The Will to Power

the most fundamental human need is to possess and control

moral judgement

the process of deciding what is fair and not fair with respect to the people you know

Psychologically driven workplace bullying

the purpose of the bullying is to express power

morality

the study of rules relating to interpersonal relationships

etymology

the study of word origins

intrusion into seclusion

this legal violation occurs when someone intentionally intrudes on the private affairs of another when the intrusion would be highly offensive to a reasonable person

contract inequality

though both parties legally have equal rights, one is in some way disadvantaged

the etymological interpretation of ethics

to be ethical is to conform to the social traditions within one's society

contract law

two or more parties establish the rules by which they will interact with each other

moral intellectualism

view that morality is inherently rational and objective

voluntarism

view that rulers create moral principles so their society can be controlled

Bullying in the workplace

violation of social contract

Thrasymachus's view can be compared to

voluntarism

conflict of interest

when one holds to two contractual obligations, either explicit or implicit, one to each of two competing parties

moral question in whistleblowing

why would an employee who discovered organizational misconduct choose not to bring it to the attention of their supervisor?

decorum

willingness and ability to conform to the standards of hygiene, dress and behavior culturally expected for the situation at hand

law

workplace rule imposed on you