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