International Business Ethics Essay

A business colleague once recalled a situation in which a former employer had to decide whether gift-giving or bribery was ethically acceptable. In an international business situation, bribery is often a way of cutting through bureaucratic red tape and expediting deals. American companies consider bribery unethical because the American way considers bribery an unfair advantage and does not condone the practice. On an international level, bribery is often an accepted part of local culture and not seen as unethical, but as a way to achieve a quick win-win deal for all parties involved. American business has long been accused of cultural imperialism, the practice of promoting the culture of one nation into another nation by force (wikipedia, 2007). American businesses feel that the American way of doing business is the only way all international businesses should operate, regardless of a locally accepted practices or culture. American companies that are not willing to accept that bribery is an ethical and integral part of performing business on international soil are severely short selling business opportunities. While bribery has resulted in unethical practices on American soil, the same is not true in many international settings. Extra payment for services is seen as good business and often the only way to get any business completed in a timely fashion. While some companies may use bribery on international soil to a disadvantage, most local business cultures simply will not do business without the bribery payments. Globalization has increased the pressure on international business members to regulate many business practices such as bribery. American businesses need to be cognizant of international cultures and take into consideration that accepted practices in a global setting may not be the same as on American soil. Global regulation should strive to be free of American cultural imperialism to be accepted and respected on an international level. Reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_imperialism

Oberoi Group of Hotels

OBEROI GROUP Understanding Strategy and Design of the Organization An â€Å"Organizational Dynamics† Project by – Group 5 (Section G) Parth Krishnan Mannadiar (12HR-018) Priyanshi Kejriwal (12DM-104) Atharv Tilak (12DM-042) Ritu Kapse (12HR-024) Siddharth Venkataraman (12DM-143) Lov Loothra (12FN-068) Puneeth C (12IB-062) Table of Contents Sr. No. | Heading| Page No. | 1. | Introduction| 3| 2. | Growth and Strategy| 3 – 4| 3. | Structure| 4| 4. | Culture| 5| 5. | The People| 5| 6. | Technology| 6| 7. | Size and Organization Life-Cycle| 6 – 7| 8. | Complexity-Stability Model| 7| . | Conclusion| 7-8| 10. | Exhibits| 9-12| 11. | References| 13| Introduction The  Oberoi Group, founded in 1934, employs about 13000 people worldwide and owns and manages about thirty hotels and five luxury cruisers as of 2012. The company was incorporated in the year 1949 by Rai Bahadur M. S. Oberoi to run â€Å"Oberoi Group of hotels†. The group of companies, affiliated through common ownership interest, has to offer first class luxury hotels, airline catering, airport bars and restaurants, corporate air charters, travel consultancy, limousine services and project management.With hotels being spread out in Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai etc. , we can see it covers almost the entire span of the country. It also has properties abroad in places such as Cairo and Aswan in Egypt; Bali and Lombok in Indonesia; Mauritius; Medina in Saudi Arabia and a new property coming up in Dubai in UAE. EIH, the flagship company of The Oberoi Group is generally preferred by business travellers because of its consistent and high quality service across different locations. Exhibit 1 displays some reviews posted by customers who have had the pleasure of staying at an Oberoi hotel.As can be seen from their reviews, the main highlights of their stay were the ambience/facilities and highly motivated and well trained staff who provide exceptionally attentive, personalised a nd warm service. Such a holistic experience can be achieved by an organization through consistent efforts. Thus the purpose of this report is to understand these efforts which Oberoi has synergized and use it to study effective organization strategy and culture. Growth and Strategy â€Å"Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi was born on 15th August, 1898 in erstwhile undivided Punjab, which is now in Pakistan.He was only six months old when his father died. Success and fortune did not, therefore, come easily to him. Initiative, resourcefulness and hard work, combined with the capability to face and overcome the most overwhelming odds can best characterise this phenomenal entrepreneur. † The above words about the founder, speak of the qualities he employed to make the Oberoi group reach the pinnacle it is at. When M S Oberoi first reached Shimla, he took up work as the desk clerk at the Cecil hotel. Today, the hotel is owned by the Oberoi Group and is called The Oberoi Cecil.The then manager of the hotel was happy with the work put in by Mohan Singh and asked him to assist him running another hotel he acquired, Clarkes hotel. With this first-hand experience of operating a hotel, Mohan Singh set out on his entrepreneurial venture. In 1934, he acquired two hotels, The Clarkes Hotel in Shimla and Delhi by mortgaging his wife’s jewellery and all his assets. The Company was incorporated as a public limited company in India on 26 May 1949 and its initial business activity was as the lessee and operator of The Oberoi Palace Hotel in Srinagar, Kashmir.It was in 1965 that they built their first hotel, The Oberoi Intercontinental, now The Oberoi, New Delhi. It offered facilities that no other hotel in the country could match and was India's first luxury hotel. In 1966, The Oberoi School of Hotel Management later renamed the Oberoi Centre for Learning and Development was formed. It provided high Quality professional training in hospitality management. The complete list of events that shaped Oberoi’s growth is given in Exhibit 2. Mr Oberoi was the first Indian to work in association with international chains to woo international travellers to India.This caused a large number of international travellers to offer their patronage. The foreign occupancy rose to a healthy level of 85%. Mr M S Oberoi had great vision and imagination. He converted dilapidated palaces and buildings into magnificent hotels. Some of these are the Windsor in Australia, Mena House Oberoi in Cairo and Oberoi Grand in Kolkata. The Oberoi Cecil in Shimla, built in the early 20th century, reopened in April 1997 after extensive and meticulous renovation. Strategy: Thus the Oberoi Group’s strategy under Mr M S Oberoi’s leadership was quite clear.Since the start, they have focused on expansion of their operations by catering to newer markets. The decision to offer world class hotels to International travellers was the mind of an ambitious businessman looking to expand his offering. Also multi location presence helped reduce concentration risk. It is this for this international image that foreign properties were acquired and assimilated into the luxury and top quality services from Oberoi. The search for newer markets was responsible for introducing its second brand of hotels, ‘Trident’. Trident hotels are five-star hotels that have stablished a reputation for providing the best in excellence bundled with an affordable price tag. Thus catering to the middle income segment and corporate clientele was the strategy. With this new brand, spread across nine locations in India, Oberoi now had a major share of the hotel industry. Exhibit 2 also mentions the strategic partnership with Hilton for the international marketing and handling of reservations of the â€Å"Trident† hotels. The hotels, as part of this partnership, were to be re-branded â€Å"Trident Hilton†. However with Hilton trying to establish its own Garde n Inn hotels in direct competition with Trident caused Oberoi concern.Thus it abandoned the arrangement with Hilton and re-marketed its hotels under the name Trident itself. The Oberoi Group, along with its subsidiaries and other brands, stands as one of the most decorated hotel chains in the world with many of its group hotels bagging various awards and accolades from Travel+Leisure,  Conde Nast Traveler,  Forbes  and  Galileo. While the business strategy and outright aggression in expansion has been a key to this success, it needs to have been supported internally though a resilient culture and committed human capital.Let us now try to uncover some key aspects of The Oberoi Group’s culture and workforce. Structure As facilities grow in size, hotel or lodging managers find the need to group certain jobs in order to ensure effective coordination and operational control. While departments may be grouped as front of the house (having guest contact) and back of the house (employees with no guest contact), Oberoi follows the practice of separating departments by function. Exhibit 4 shows the structure of a typical full service Oberoi hotel.Even though such a structure is normally followed by a hotel with size over 500 rooms, the sheer size of some of the Oberoi properties require such an elaborate structure. The divisional structure followed by Oberoi is in line with its culture and its objectives. The functional division promotes specialization. This specialization in turn increases worker productivity and efficiency. Culture The core values of The Oberoi Group are articulated through their dharma, which was developed by their own employees. Their dharma articulates their commitment to display core values through their action and behaviour.Elements of the dharma include Conduct of the highest ethical standards; a Focus on teamwork and mutual trust; Maintaining excellence in guest service; Protecting the safety, security, health and environment of g uests and each other. The Dharma has more aspects as well which together apply to all aspects of the group’s business (Exhibit 3). The employee is expected to make all decisions and all interactions based on the Company Dharma. By placing robust mechanisms and communicating specific conduct expected from each employee, the company has made it possible to put this Dharma into action.Oberoi does not believe it is in the business of hotels, instead it claims to be in the business of memories. The company empowers its employees to believe – â€Å"I don’t just work here. This is my hotel. † The Power of 1500 – Any employee in the hotel can offer anything at a cost value of INR 1500 without seeking prior approval, any number of times, to any number of guests – no questions asked. The objective is to create guest delight. Guests who have received the power of 1500 have been happy with the service they received.The real power of this program is that because of the freedom employees have, guest get an incentive to spend more, they come back and share their positive experience by word of mouth. This directly affects the company’s bottom line. It’s these small ideological differences which make a difference in sustaining the culture over time and across borders. The People The Oberoi Group takes pride in having the best service professionals in the industry. Throughout the year, the organization stimulates and rewards exceptional performance that best exemplifies outstanding service.Some of these awards are i) Outstanding Performance Award, ii) Employee in Spotlight, iii) Peer Recognition Program, iv) Star of The Month etc. Oberoi has employees who continue to celebrate a long tenure with the organisation, in some cases over 30 years. Many of their employees have completed their certification from the Oberoi Centre for Learning and Development (OCLD) and have built successful careers up to the general manager level and in some cases senior executive positions with the corporate office. In mid-management positions, their average tenure is around six years.As the war for talent continues across many industries, their retention strategy encompasses a variety of different elements. They undertake regular employee opinion surveys to understand employees’ needs. Their surveys reveal that while compensation remains an important component for people, they are increasingly focused on clear career plans, access to â€Å"best in class† learning and building a work-life balance. By catering to these requirements, they have been successful in providing the best experience to their customers through a committed and engaged workforce. TechnologyIn the hospitality sector, ensuring the comfort of your guests is paramount. However, in today’s increasingly demanding consumer marketplace, meeting that need could be a real challenge. This is especially true for Oberoi Hotels, a luxury group of hotels favoured by government officials and business travellers. Not only does the hotel have to cater for well-heeled makers who want to make use of features such as interactive TV, IPTV and wireless networking, it also has to meet the stringent security requirements of business users who want to be sure that whatever data they access during their stay will remain secure.In addition to this, it has to ensure that its fire safety, car parking and networking facilities meet the demanding safety standards required by government officials and high-profile business people. In response the hotel installed a highly available and highly secure network that would enable it to deliver the security and functionality required by its guests. In terms of fulfilling the networking demands of the business itself, the solution provides a solid, reliable platform for running all the hotel’s crucial applications – including reservations, billing, internal accounting, and digital signag e.Size and Organization Life-Cycle Size: For the Financial Year ended on 31st March, 2012, the Company’s Total Revenue was Rs 1147. 33 crores. The company posted a net profit after tax of Rs 122. 42 crores against Rs 64. 54 crores during the previous year, which is a 89. 68% growth or Rs 57. 88 Crores over YTD March 2011. It is one of Asia’s leading hospitality companies. Even though the company has multinational presence, there is a lot of decentralization in decision making at the lowest rung. As mentioned above, policies such as â€Å"power of 1500† enable employees to exercise a fair amount of decision.This is on account of being in a business centred on customer satisfaction. This amount of leeway translates to good customer experience directly increasing repeat business and word of mouth publicity. The formalization is well set. A company operating on the scales of Oberoi needs to have well-structured and standardized operations. Though the overall themes and products may differ the rules and procedures are well defined for each employ to enable him to work in synergy with the Oberoi Dharma. Life Cycle: In the entrepreneurial stage, Mr Oberoi didn’t have to devote a lot of time to develop a product or service.His experience in managing the operations of Clarkes Hotel already gave him enough knowhow on the business of running a hotel. Thus he could provide the strong leadership that was required to propel the company. In the collectivity stage, again it was Mr Oberoi’s well guided leadership which kept the sails flying high. They were focussed on expansion, but took enough time to mobilise resources. There was enough gap between 1934 when he acquired the first hotel and when the company got incorporated in 1949.Again there was almost a 15 year gab before which Oberoi group set up their own hotel. These timelines gave enough time for the newly formed workforce to grow along with the values of the founder and the organizat ion. This also helped in the formalization to the elaboration stage. The rules and procedures which did get established were in line with the culture of the organization. This meant that the different properties established across the country or acquired world over, could inculcate the same culture all over without there being too much red tape.Decisions such as setting up their own printing press to maintain high standards all over in stationery are an example of how strict procedures or standards were maintained while not causing problems within the internal management. The management in different hotels did not need to coordinate now with each other for procuring same quality of stationery. Presently the Oberoi group is in the elaboration stage, with different subsidiaries handling their different businesses. They are structured similarly and with varying controlling interests, Oberoi now is in a stable position in its sector.Its plans involve expansion and other ventures and par tners to collaborate with. Complexity-Stability Model The patterns and events occurring in the environment can be described along the two major dimensions. These are the Simple-Complex and Stable-Unstable dimensions. Complexity: The Oberoi Group, dealing majorly in hospitality, is subjected to Complex environmental factors since the hospitality industry has many players and has to cope with numerous dynamic governmental regulations, competition for quality employees ; new trends etc.Thus it is affected by numerous diverse external elements. Stability: The Stable-Unstable dimension refers to whether elements in the environment are dynamic. A domain is stable if it remains the same over a period of months or years, whereas under unstable conditions, environmental elements shift abruptly. As mentioned above, there areas number of dynamic factors which affect the hospitality industry. With budget hotels also eating into their share by offering value for money and the economy in recessio n, corporates are taking their patronage to relatively greener pastures.Thus the hospitality industry and Oberoi group face complex, unstable environments. The Competition The major domestic competitors of the Oberoi Group of Hotels are Taj Group, ITC, De-Meligan and Leela Group of Hotels. This presents a tough competition to Oberoi as in the luxury segment, supply exceeds demand in several cities, as per an analysis in EIH Ltd’s annual report. India has often been cited as one of the most lucrative albeit difficult markets to develop properties in with a long development cycle of three-five years, adding to the cost.Apart from the domestic competitors, the Oberoi group faces immediate concerns with major international brands, which are expanding their presence in India. Some of these brands are The IHG group, Wyndham Hotels, Marriott International and Hilton Worldwide. These international hotel chains are not just targeting the luxury and premium segment, but also the upscal e, mid-scale, budget and upper budget segments. Another advantage to these chains is that International travellers are accustomed with these international chains and so it is very difficult for Indian chains to break the associated loyalty.However, to fight competition, Oberoi and its domestic competitors such as The Taj Group are looking to add newer properties, ranging from the budget category to luxury. Exhibit 4 – lists out the existing hotels of International chains and the upcoming ones with their planned dates and categories. It shows how International Hotel chains are gaining ground in India and are bullish on their India expansion plans, giving tough competition to home-grown biggies. Conclusion We have just gone through the organizational design of The Oberoi Group.We have studied its strategy, its culture and people, the competition and business environment it operates in. So what exactly does the organization do right to cater to all these external factors and sti ll come out as one of the leading hospitality companies in Asia and the world? Strategy is one important factor that affects organization design. Oberoi group’s strategy has always been one of expanding markets through targeting different income segments, acquiring new properties and setting up hotels in different countries.This strategy makes a lot of sense if we consider the constantly changing environment of the hospitality industry as discussed in the Complexity-Stability Model. By changing the target segment along with the market trends, the company has been able to keep up its high standards with the customers. Its present size and elaborative stage in its life-cycle also enable it to follow this expansion strategy. Due to the brand value it garners, additional investments will also continue to reap in business despite the competition. Another point to note from the unstable-complex environment of hospitality industry is the structure of the organization.As we have seen above, the structure is highly differentiated and is highly organic. The differentiation is accompanied with high integration as well. The decentralized decision making at the operation level is required to have a participative workforce working towards customer satisfaction. Seasonality, economic upheavals etc. requires a lot of forecasting and the decentralized atmosphere allows the required high speed response. Lastly, the culture of the organization which is centred on the Oberoi â€Å"Dharma† is also in sync with its structure and design. Formalization is high at Oberoi.The rules and procedures are well defined which implies every employee is well aware of his responsibilities. Thus he can exercise his discretion with complete freedom while making decisions. Also this formalized structure allows standardization across its hotels across the world. Thus we can see that the design of the organization fits its workflow in a complementary manner. This has helped Oberoi keep its head above its competition and sustain itself successfully for over 75 years. The strong leadership has guided it with smart focus on targeting segments that offer new opportunities.Thus we can see that Oberoi is a good example of an organization that has used its structure and strategy to forward its business and remain successful. Exhibit 1 Customer Reviews About â€Å"The Oberoi, New Delhi† About â€Å"Mena House Oberoi Hotel, Giza, Egypt† Exhibit 2 Major events in the history of the Company Year| Major Events| 1949| The Company was promoted and incorporated by Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi and Oberoi Hotels (India) Limited, in May 1949. | 1956| The equity shares of the Company were first listed on the BSE.Took the Maharaja’s palace in Srinagar, Kashmir on lease and converted it into The Oberoi Palace Hotel. | 1957| Started the flight services business. | 1965| Commenced operations at The Oberoi Hotel, New Delhi. | 1968| By a scheme of merger approved by the Calcutta High Court, The Associated Hotels of India Limited and Hotels (1938) Private Limited merged into the Company. By virtue of the merger, the Company acquired The Oberoi Grand, Kolkata, Maidens Hotel, Delhi, Palm Beach, Gopalpur-on-sea (operation suspended), The Oberoi Cecil, Shimla, The Mount Everest, Darjeeling (operation suspended). 1973| Commenced operations at The Oberoi Towers, Mumbai. | 1974| Established a printing press in Delhi primarily for the Company’s in-house needs. | 1979| Bonus issue of 1,337,745 new equity shares of the Company of Rs. 10 each in the ratio of one new equity shares for every five equity shares held by the shareholders. | 1984| Bonus issue of 4,953,131 new equity shares of the Company of Rs. 10 each in the ratio of two new equity shares for every five equity shares held by the shareholders. 1986| Made a foray into the airport services business by entering into a ten year contract with the International Airport’s Authority to op erate all the snack bars and restaurants at the domestic and international terminals in Mumbai. | 1992| Bonus issue of 4,720,704 new equity shares of the Company of Rs. 10 each in the ratio of one new equity shares for every five equity shares held by the shareholders. | 1994| Listing of GDRs on the London Stock Exchange. | 1996| Change of name of the Company from The East India Hotels Limited to EIH Limited. Bonus issue of 17,464,299 new Equity shares of the Company of Rs. 0 each in the ratio of one new equity shares for every two equity shares held by the shareholders. | 1997| Commenced operations at The Oberoi Rajvilas in Jaipur, our first luxury leisure hotel in India. | 2004| The Company entered into a strategic alliance for international marketing with Hilton International. All the â€Å"Trident† Hotels were re-branded as â€Å"Trident Hilton†, and the Oberoi Towers in Mumbai was re-branded as the Hilton Towers. | 2006| Sub-division of the face value of equity sh ares from Rs. 10 to Equity Shares of Rs. 2. Bonus issue of 130,984,657 new equity shares of the Company of Rs. each in the ratio of one new equity share for every two equity shares held by the Equity Shareholders. The Company acquired a 66. 67% equity stake in Mercury Car Rentals Limited, a joint venture with Avis Europe for car rental business. |   | The printing press established by the Company in 1974 was granted permission by the Indian Banks’ Association to print security stationery for banks. | 2008| The alliance with Hilton International ended and â€Å"Trident Hilton† and the Hilton Towers Hotels were renamed â€Å"Trident† Hotels. Establishment of EIH Flight Services Limited, Mauritius as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.Entered into a joint venture agreement with 26% equity interest in L;T Bangalore Airport Hotel Limited for a hotel project near the Bangalore international airport. Terrorist attack at the Trident, Nariman Point and The Oberoi , Mumbai in November, 2008 resulting in interruption in business and closure of both the hotels. The Trident Mumbai re-opened on 21 December, 2008, after the terrorist attack. | 2009| Entered into a joint venture agreement with 16% equity interest in Golden Jubilee Hotels Limited for the proposed Oberoi and Trident Hotels in Hyderabad. 2010| The Oberoi, Mumbai re-opens after full renovation subsequent to the terrorist attacks in 2008. EIH International Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company completed an acquisition of approximately 46% of the equity interest in its international hotels joint venture company EIH Holdings Ltd. Pursuant to this acquisition, EIH Holdings Ltd is now a wholly owned subsidiary of EIH International Ltd. | Source: Information provided at website of EIH Ltd, a subsidiary of Oberoi Group (http://www. eihltd. com/about_eih/milestones. asp) Exhibit 3 – Dharma: Fundamental code of conductExhibit 4 – Department Structure Exhibit 5 – Int ernational Hotel chains in India GAINING GROUND International hotel chains are bullish on their India expansion plans, giving tough competition to home-grown biggies| Group| Existing hotels| Planned hotels** (in Rs)| By when| Category| Planned new brands| IHG*| 12| 150| 2020| Mid-market| Holiday Inn Express| Wyndham Hotels| 14| 60-70| 2017| Mid-market| Howard Johnson| Marriott International| 18| 80-100| 2015| Across segments| Fairfield, Ritz| Hilton Worldwide| 8| 50-60| 2016| Luxury/ premium| Hilton, Double Tree, Hilton Garden Inn, ; mid-market Hampton,Conrad and Waldorf Astoria| Accor| 13| 90-100| 2015| Luxury, mid-scale and budget| Formula 1, Sofitel and Pullman| Choice Hotels International| 27| 100| 2017-19| Mid-market| Sleep Inn, Cambria Suites, Econo Lodge| Best Western International| 34| 66| 2017| 3/ 4 and 5 star| Best Premier| Starwood Hotels| 33| 50-60| 2015| Across segments| St. Regis, W| Carlson| 46| 100| 2015| Mid-market and premium| Regent| Hyatt Hotels Corporation| 8| 5 0| -| Premium| Hyatt Place, Hyatt House| *InterContinental Hotels Group; ** Estimate Source: Industry and ICRA estimates|References Oberoi Hotels ; Resorts. (2012). [online]. Viewed 2012 October 15. Available: http://www. oberoihotels. com/ The Oberoi Group. (2012). Careers at The Oberoi Group. [online]. Viewed 2012 October 19. Available: http://www. oberoigroup. com/careers/index. htm SHRM India. (28/06/2012). The Oberoi Group of Hotels–Translating Dharma into Best Practices in HR. [online]. Viewed October 22. Availaible: http://www. shrmindia. rg/oberoi-group-hotels%E2%80%93translating-dharma-best-practices-hr P Mullick, 2012, ‘Oberoi Group: Social media increasingly important as recruitment tool’, Hindustan Times, October 18 S Baggonkar, 2012, ‘Taj, Oberoi under pressure from foreign hotel chains’, Business Standard, July 17 M Kaushik, 2010, ‘Guest Star: The Oberoi’, Business Today, September 5 Audited Financial Report for EIH Ltd. fo r the year 2011-12 Oberoi Hotels and Resorts. (2012). [online]. Viewed October 22. Available: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Oberoi_Hotels_%26_Resorts

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News Article Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

News Article - Assignment Example According to the report by National Center for health Statistics and the newspaper, data indicates a 76% increase in the rate of twin births in the US (BAKALAR). The article educates about the dangers of using fertility drugs. The fertility drugs interrupts with the cycles and induces hormones in the bodies of females. The drugs also enhance sexual activities leading to more sexual contacts and eventual fertilization. The most important poit to learn from the article is that the fertility drugs interfere with women cycles hence may increase the rate of fertilization. The article is valid scientifically and can be supported by various points. One is the fundamental reason that hormones, which can be induced or suppressed by drugs, control the process of pregnancy. This knowledge has led to increased use of drugs to enhance the process of pregnancy. The drugs have several effects amongst them being the multiple births. BAKALAR, NICHOLAS. Twin Births in the U.S., Like Never Before. 23 January 2012. 2013 . Two-thirds of the increase is probably explained by the growing use of fertility drugs and assisted reproductive technology. The remainder is mainly attributable to a rise in the average age at which women give birth. Older women are more likely to produce more than one egg in a cycle, and 35 percent of births in 2009 were to women over age 30, up from 20 percent in 1980. This age-induced increase applies only to fraternal twins, though; the rate of identical twin births does not change with the age of the mother. From 1980 through 2004, increases in twin birth rates averaged more than 2 percent a year, but from 2004 to 2009, the increase slowed to 1 percent annually. Joyce A. Martin, the lead author of the report, suggested that better techniques in fertility enhancement procedures may have

Entrepreneurship Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Entrepreneurship - Coursework Example In such a way, the following analysis will seek to engage the reader with some of the reasons for why networking is such an integral aspect and should be appreciated to a more definitive level and degree. Firstly, the most obvious reason for why networking is ultimately important has to do with the overall level of connections that an individual can build within the business community. These connections have a clear linkage to the way in which consumers and producers can be linked. One does not need to delve too deeply into existing literature to find the way in which value chain management and the relationship between producers and suppliers must be delineated in order to come to an appreciation for the fact that these connections are an invaluable compote of seeking to further the business profitability and continued survival of a given entrepreneur/business entity. Ultimately, the goal of these connections, brought about might networking, is to create a series of friendships and a t least acquaintance with stakeholders within a variety of different fields. It must not be understood that networking is done solely as a means of benefiting the bottom line. Oftentimes, networking has the tangential benefit of allowing the individual entrepreneur to come to a more full and well nuanced knowledge of existing best practices within a given field. Through such a knowledge of best practices, the entrepreneur can then apply these best practices, changing them as he/she feels fit, to more appropriately embodied the goals and visions of their respective business entity. Within such a way, the entrepreneur becomes less insular and can rely upon the best practices of different individuals in different fields as a means of benefiting their own business. All too often, producers and entrepreneurs are caught in the unenlightened frame of mind that they are in a game against the world. Within such an unenlightened standpoint, the entrepreneur does not wish to accept the best pr actices for business approach that many other individuals that they might network with have utilized to a great level of success. However, a brief and cursory analysis of the existing business environment notices that many of the most successful and multinational firms have sought to engage best practices in other tangentially related businesses as a means of benefiting their own bottom line and approach to the consumer. Moreover, one can see an example of the importance that networking can have with respect to the way in which network theory, a sociological construct, delineates the way in which this can and should occur within the realm of both business and interpersonal interaction. As such, network theory denotes that the greater the level of connections that can be made the greater the empathy and synergy that can be developed within each of these relationships/networks. As such, using the case of a large multinational firm such as Apple, one can readily denote the fact that ne twork theory is definitively in use and applied across the board with regard to the way in which business interactions and needs fulfillment takes place. Finally, seeking to forge these networks can result in lasting friendships and network relationships which encourage business to grow beyond the market constraints. For instance, if a given supplier has formed a

One Water, Sanjeev Chatterjee Water Project Essay

One Water, Sanjeev Chatterjee Water Project - Essay Example One Water A concern demanding worldwide attention regarding the worldwide deficiency prompted Professor Sanjeev Chatterjee to initiate an international campaign aimed at providing a solution to the emasculating endangerment of freshwater. Professor Sanjeev went ahead to propose an initiative in the university of Miami, later writing the movie One Water that highlights the endeavors communities make in trying to sustain their water needs. The theme of the movie is based on the effects that lead to the detriment of water bodies that provide clean ample water, which comes from the effects of industrialization and globalization such as pollution, heightening drought levels among others. The heart of the movie lies not only on water necessity as a physical need but also on the spiritual and physical significance of water. Professor Sanjeev elaborates on certain number key aspects that portray the need set theme of the movie. The initiative creation was geared by the Miami university campa ign through a documentation that heeds to employ the art of film to create awareness on the face of the world. The success of the documentary was immense bearing recognition from certain water deficiency stricken nations including South Africa, Columbia, India and Bahrain. This demonstration aids in the awareness for a number of remedial steps that should be emulated to secure and protect the water resources now present, while avoiding their demise. At the screening of the movie One Water, professor Sanjeev expressed the basic message of the movie â€Å"One Water was conceived as a wake-up call to the global crisis of provisioning of safe potable water in a visually compelling way.† What are the Physical and Spiritual Aspects of Water? Water in different communities holds different importance and views. The physical aspects of water are quite elaborate and are wide all over the world. Besides quenching thirst, it is used in all aspects of life. In reference to the movie, ther e are quite number of scenes that show the desperation in many as they struggle getting ample potable water for consumption. The sense in portraying the physical aspect of water is that it holds the sustainability of life. Water is life (UNESCO). In the Buddhist religion, water is a vital aspect of their religion. Buddhists use water as a purifier of objects. Aside from providing spiritual cleanliness, it also provides the physical cleanliness. Different religions have different significance of water. The Buddhists hold significance in water during the burial ceremony of an individual, symbolizing the spiritual endowment willed to the departed in the life after. The Christian aspect of water likens believing of the living water to the promise of a life in heaven. The core of Christian faith is Jesus, who was baptized in the river Jordan by john the Baptist. This attribute has built the foundation for the baptismal ground of the Christian faith. In the catholic and other Christian fa ith, the baptism rite is only valid if there is the use of water as a sign of the union with the Almighty. Additionally, jesus regards Himself as the living water, pointing out the importance of water in life. Hinduism rewards water with the power to cleanse all things. In the Hindu religion, there are seven rivers that are considered the backbone water importance

FGM Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

FGM - Research Paper Example This study is important because it reveals the reality behind female genital mutilation which is presumed ‘extinct’ by most people yet very much alive in the UK. Statistical evidence from the National Health Service (NHS 2014) reveals that an estimation of at 20,000 number of girls below 15 years are at risk of FGM each year and about 66,000 number of women are facing the consequences of FGM. However it is imperative to acknowledge that most FGM cases in the UK are tied to populations of communities who practice FGM such as those in Birmingham. These could be a group of refugees or immigrants of the first generation. Catfur (2012) reveals that female genital mutilation in the UK was outlawed about 30 years ago and facilities set across hospitals in England to help those who had already been mutilated. Ironically, statistics reveal that the rate of FGM is on the rise yet no one has ever been prosecuted in the court of law. This is a demonstration of law ineffectiveness to help high population that is at risk. The UK government has also failed in informing people about FGM practice more so in learning institutions where most potential victims are found (Catfur 2012). People don’t really talk about FGM as if it does not even exist yet it keeps loosening the social bond between men and ladies in a number of communities within the UK. Perhaps the government is not entirely to blame after all; it is quite difficult for the authorities to tell when someone was mutilated until the time when they are about to give birth complicating law enforcement against the perpetuator. Or probably the mutilati on was done out of the UK soil and furthermore conducting checks on children based on their health records to see whether they are mutilated is in itself child abuse (Catfur 2012). The motives behind practicing FGM are based on cultural, religion, health, and

Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures Essay Example for Free

Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures Essay The two creation myths selected to compare and contrast centers on the Norse culture of Iceland Vikings and the Genesis creation of the Hebrew origin of Christian culture. Both creation myths originate with a hollow abyss where anarchy or war cultivates. The Norse myth relates a struggle in the middle of the blistering realm of Muspell and the murky, icy realm of Niflheim inside the hollowness named ginnungagap and where nothing could cultivate. The Genesis struggle was involving God and nothing, seclusion, and the craving to generate something wonderful. There are exactly nine categorizations of creation myths and numerous utilize more than one notion. Genesis cosmogonies utilizes both the deus faber and ex nihilo ideas. The account frequently deemed the ex nihilo myth, implying out of nothing is the story in the first book of the Old Testament, Genesis, of Gods creation in six days by communicating into existence light and blackness, moon and sun, animals and plants, birds and fish, stars and earth, God then creates Adam in His image from the dust and inhales life into him and Eve was molded from one of Adams ribs, consequently joining deus faber (the maker-God) with ex nihilo motifs. The Nordic creation myths incline to merge accretion/conjunction, exudation, and sacrifice ideas. It introduces the combining of fire and ice in an arbitrary linking of components. When the tepid breath of Muspell encounters the chill of glacial Nieflheim, ice dissolves and the subsequent water droplets come to life, generating the wicked gigantic Ymir. As the titan slumbers, perspiration from his armpits produces the first man and woman. These added titans mature to loathe Ymir and the creation story goes on with the slaughter and disfigurement of the dreadful giant. The Norse culture consist what we call Vikings. They had a pantheon of 14 main gods and conceived the cosmos as separated into three levels: Asgard, Aesir, is the higher level and land of the main gods, fertility gods, and where light elves also existed. Midgard is the middle  level where men, giants, dwarves, and dark elves lived. Niflheim is the lower level, better known as the underworld, where the evil dead died a second time in the fortress city of Hel. Running through and ultimately reaching above heaven is Yggdrasil, the enormous ash tree that apparently existed before the beginning. The Genesis creation myth is comparable in that the world was shapeless also emptiness, and obscurity laid in the deep. God soul was touching above the top of the seawaters when, he generated the skies and the planet. The scriptural writers considered the universe as a horizontal round formed planet in the axis, an illicit world for the lifeless underneath, and paradise overhead. Underneath the planet stood the waters of chaos, the intergalactic ocean, and nest to mythological ogres conquered and killed by means of God. In Genesis, the earth was formless, empty, and dark, and Gods Spirit moved over the waters preparing to perform Gods creative Word (Fairchild, 2013). God initiated speaking his creation into existence. The first day, he generated luminosity and parted it from the blackness, calling sunlit day and obscurity night. The second day, God made the sky to detached the seawaters. The third day, he formed the waterless earth, called land, and congregated the seawaters, naming them seas. The Divinity as well formed flowers and plants on this day. God created the sun, moon, and the stars to give light to the earth and to govern and separate the day and the night on the fourth diurnal (Fairchild, 2013). These elements would also serve to establish days, seasons, and years. On the fifth day, he formed each existing organism of the oceans and of the skies, sanctifying them to flourish. Also formed the creatures to saturate the world on the sixth diurnal. Adam and Eve, believed to be the first man and woman, were also created in his reflection on this day to communicate. He blessed them and gave them every creature and the whole earth to rule over, care for, and cultivate (Fairchild, 2013). Finally, on the seventh diurnal, he completed his labor of conception and relaxed, consecration it and formulating it consecrated. The Norse story did not have one maker of good, but multiple elements and events that emerged from one evil giant in this creation myth. The cattle stroked off whole Alps of rime, gradually licking rime of other two additional existences, the god Buri and his spouse. They had a son named Bor, and his son was named Odin, who became the king of all  the gods (Distant Train, Inc., 2011). Ymir was malicious and wicked and when Odin along with the divinities may well no more endure Ymirs wicked deeds, they united to kill the giant. Ymir’s huge body formed the earth, his blood became the sea, his flesh became the land, his bones the mountains and his hair the trees (Distant Train, Inc., 2011). He and the additional deities shaped the heavens with his cranium, sustained up by four immense columns. He created the sun and moon from flashes from the blistering pits of Muspell and placed them in the sky. The ice began to melt in the new world of Ginnungagap from the illumination of the sun and moon and vegetation began to grow. The largest tree, called Yggdrasil, grew from the center of the world and became known as The Tree of Life. Its roots penetrated into the bottom of creation and its leaves reached the very top of the sky (Distant Train, Inc., 2011). To his satisfaction of the newborn earth, Odin baptized it Midgard, meaning The Middle Land. However, Midgard needed tending to while the gods ascend to Asgard. Odin discovered two collapsed trees, an elm and an ash, which Odin removed from the dirt and shaped the incipient male and female. Odin breathed life into the beings, gave them reason and feelings, hearing and sight (Distant Train, Inc., 2011). Similar to the Genesis story of Adam and Eve, Odin called the male Ask and the female Embla and from them, launched the whole hu mankind. In summary, the Genesis creation story identifies God as the writer of conception. In Genesis 1 we are presented with the beginning of a divine drama that can only be examined and understood from the standpoint of faith. How long did it take? How did it happen, exactly? (Fairchild, 2013). It is impossible to definitively answer these questions, but these inscrutabilities are not the emphasis of the conception account. The point, is for ethical and religious epiphany. Verse 26, God states, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness The story goes that a serpent tricked Eve into eating the fruit from the forbidden tree and she offered it to Adam and he also ate from it. As a result, Eve and Adam were expelled from the Garden of Eden, men will labor over the earth, women will experience excruciating pain bearing children, and all humans will die. Readers from Western cultures tend to rank â€Å"metaphysical or spiritual† cosmogonies like the account of Elohim-God speaking the world into existence in Genesis higher than â€Å"physical, natural, or elemental accounts of creation by  accretion, excretion, copulation, division, dismemberment, or parturition (Leonard McClure, 2004). If, however, we are self-conscious about our culture’s assumptions about what is â€Å"normal,† we see that at least as many cosmogonic myths have presented creation as part of a natural process as have conceived it as an exercise of divine and creative will. Ranking one kind of myth as lower or more primitive and our own myths as higher or more cultured derives from a cultural bias. To study myth effectively, we need to free ourselves as much as possible from the prejudices we inherit from our cultural surroundings. References Distant Train, Inc. (2011). Norse Creation. Retrieved from http://bigmyth.com/download/NORSE_CREATION.pdf Fairchild, M. (2013, January 4). The Creation Story Bible Story Summary. About.com Christianity. Retrieved from http://christianity.about.com/od/biblestorysummaries/p/ creationstory.htm Gill, N. S. (2012, April 13). Creation of the World Norse Mythology on the Creation of the World. About.com Ancient / Classical History. Retrieved from http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/creationmyths/a/11083199Norse.htm Ginzberg, L. (2012, April 13). Legends of the Jews, By Louis Ginzberg. Legends of the Jews. Retrieved from http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_jewslegends1a.htm Leonard, S., McClure, M. (2004). Myth Knowing: An introduction to world mythology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Shmoop Editorial Team. (November 11, 2008).The Myth of Norse Creation Myth. Retrieved June 20, 2014, from http://www.shmoop.com/norse-creation-myth/

Human Trafficking Ans Smuggling In The United Nations Criminology Essay

Human Trafficking Ans Smuggling In The United Nations Criminology Essay Human trafficking and smuggling has been amongst the fastest increasing international crimes according to United Nations. The crimes entail different types of crimes running over different nations and involving an ever-increasing figure of victims (United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, 1999). Human trafficking involves targeting the victims of human trafficking as objects of sexual abuse. The aim of human trafficking is for the trafficker to gain profitably by exploiting the victim. Fraud, coercion and use of force play an important role in human trafficking. It is sometimes not easy to establish the difference between smuggling and trafficking in the beginning stage. Trafficking in most cases engrosses an aspect of smuggling, particularly the passage through the border of a country. Human smuggling on the other hand involves the smoothening the progress of transportation, effort to transport or the illegitimate entry of a person or persons across an international border through contravention of one or more countries laws through deception like using of fraudulent travel documents. In most cases, smuggling is performed for the purpose of obtaining financial or material gains by the smuggler although the material gains are not essentially part of the crime. Smuggling of human beings is in most cases done with approval of the person who is smuggled often by paying a lot of money. Smuggled persons after being smuggled in their destination countries are left free by their smugglers. Human trafficking is a criminal activity and a relentless infringement of human rights that is of great worry worldwide. The overwhelming majority of the people trafficked include women and children. The United Nations describes trafficking in persons as the recruitment, transfer, transportation, harboring or receiving of people through use of threat or force or other methods of compulsion, kidnap, and trickery, or of the abuse of power or of a position of defenselessness or receiving payments or gains to acquire approval of a person to have control over another person for the purposes of exploitation. Human trafficking crime engrosses several different crimes spanning many nations and entailing a growing number of victims. According to, Stoeker, Shelley,(2005), human trafficking can be matched up to present day form of slavery. Theories supporting human trafficking According to (Nicola, 2009) the biological theory proposes that the male impulse of sex which is uncontrollable as theà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦for food or drink. Women and the other hand haveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ sexual impulse.According to this theory, exchange for sex for payments provides an answer to the requirement for majority of men sexual outlet However, some writers claim that the theory is outdated since current studies has stressed the need for self control of sexual impulse and an vital role social and cultural issues in characterizing the male need for sexual impulse. The psychological-personality cluster of theories tries to give psychological explanation for the requirement of commercial sex thus favoring children and women trafficking to provide the services. The social theories also try to support the commercial sex trade by clarifying that, the attention of the sex industry is not independently driven by only the personalities involved but it is a product of the surrounding social and cultural context. The author of the theory clarifies that the demand for prostitution is a means of male bonding. Victims of human traffic are in most cases abused bodily and emotionally. Although, human trafficking is regularly believed as an international crime involving crossing of borders, the crime can also occur within the country where victims are trafficked within their own countries. Where human trafficking takes place within the country, traffickers in most cases transport victims between locations within the same country and sell them to other human trafficking organizations. While differences exist between human trafficking and human smuggling, the fundamental issues that contribute to the increased level of these crimes are in most cases the same. In general, lack of employment, extreme poverty, political uncertainty and civil unrest are the major factors that give rise to a condition that promote human trafficking and human smuggling. Human trafficking which is also the current form of slavery is a criminal act and an abuse of basic human rights such as right to dignity, right to freedom and right to equal protection of the law which affects every nation globally (Fisher Lab, 2010). Trafficking in humans is among the small number of crimes that is pursued from the victims side, with the aim of stopping of the crime, protection of the victims and trial of the traffickers. Humans are trafficked are for the purposes of labor and sexual exploitation while children are trafficked for purposes of misuse in begging and illegal activities and for taking away of organs. According to (Friman, Reich, 2007), human trafficking is closely associated with organized crime. Reports from Europol, suggest that the number of human traffic victims to Europe can reach a hundred thousand annually. Europol suggests that human trafficking is regarded as the second source of illegitimate money for organized crime. In 2005, the International Labor Organisation, predicted that the yearly profits gotten form human traffic and forced labor and sexual exploitation globally could reach 31000million dollars (Fisher Lab, 2010). Human trafficking is a profitable business and in areas such as Russia, Hong Kong and Eastern Europe trafficking in humans is controlled by large criminal groups. Nevertheless, the greater part of human trafficking is conducted by networks of smaller organizations that individually specialize in specific areas such as recruitment, transfer advertising and selling. This criminal business is very profitable since it requires small capital to start-up and chances of prosecution are rare (Mendelson, 2005). Victims of human trafficking are in most cases the most powerless and vulnerable persons in a given region. Majority of the victims originate from poorer families in which there are no economic activities and they are frequently ethnic marginalized persons and many are displaced people, runaways or refugees or can originate from any social background race and class. Human traffickers mostly target women in terrible conditions particularly for the sex industry. Traffickers in persons exploit the lack of prospects for economic activities, offer for jobs and employment opportunities or study then force their victims into prostitution. Women traffickers use agents and brokers to organize the travel and job placements for the women victims who are then accompanied and transported to the employers (Stoeker, Shelley, 2005). Ahead, arriving at their ends, the women come to understand that they had been deceived regarding the kind of work they had been promised to do as well as the monetary arrangements and find themselves in pressurized or abusive conditions from which fleeing is both risky and complicated. This forces such women to end up in prostitution as a source of survival (United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, 1999). Children trafficking in most cases involve taking advantage of the childs parent due to intense poverty. The parents normally sell the children to traffickers so that they can manage to pay debts or gain income or they may be deceived regarding prospect of educating their children to get a better life. In West Africa, majority of the children who are trafficked have lost either both or one parent through AIDS. In addition, many male children and female ones are trafficked and trained to be soldiers. A study by United States Department of Justice of 2007-2008, indicated that over 30% of all human trafficked for that year were children who were forced into the sex industry (Fisher Lab, 2010). Size, Extent and Pattern of human trafficking The extent and size of human trafficking crimes remains unknown globally. Compared to other kinds of human abuses, trafficking in humans remains still underreported due to fear and shame of the victims. Majority of human trafficking occurs in regions associated with extreme poverty as a result of war or destruction of economy. According to,( Fisher Lab, 2010), in the outcome of economic destruction and fall of Soviet Union, many of the Balkan countries became countries of origin, who supplied desirable women for sex trafficking in the Mediterranean and European states. As a result of the illegitimate nature of human trafficking and the different methods used the extent remains unclear. According to, USA, State Department, report approximately half a million women and children are smuggled across international borders every year. The report also depicts that many of the transnational victims are trafficked for use in commercial sex business. According to (Mendelson, 2005), there was a rapid increase in prostitution in Bosnia, Cambodia and Kosovo, after the moving in of NATO and United Nations peace keeping force in these nations. Mendelson, (2005), further argues that peace keeping forces had been associated with forced prostitution and human trafficking. Supporters of peacekeeping missions have maintained that the actions of a few individuals should not be use to lay the blame on many people who participate in the mission, although United Nations and NATO have been condemned for not taking the issue of forced prostitution associated to missions of peacekeeping with seriousness. Why the human trafficking crime is growing at high rate Human trafficking appears a less risky undertaking for criminals compared with trafficking of drugs or vehicles. According to (Stoecker Shelley, 2005), in Central European Countries and Russia, laws on drug trafficking have become stricter and the methods of reduced theft of automobiles have become more complicated. In addition, punishments for criminals of human trafficking are much softer than the laws regarding trafficking of drugs which are not in place in Russia. Even in countries where laws regarding human trafficking exist, such crimes are complicated to establish and accuse since of few victims consent to give evidence in court. According to, (United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, 1999), in many countries the smuggling of persons is not effectively under control and stopped. This has because many Government border practices and policies, immigration, justice agencies and police mostly focus on the illegal aspects of migration while ignoring the side involved with organized criminal groups in the trafficking of human beings. As a result the most important target of control intercessions would be unlawful migrants but not the criminal groups occupied in human trafficking and exploitation. Moreover, majority of the countries also do not have effective policies planned to combat trafficking on persons. Many countries admit that their legislation do not offer up-to-date regulations to counter with human trafficking, especially activities carried out by international crime groups. Moreover, national policies do not offer effective tools with which to disintegrate organized crime structures and their international groupings and to cut their gain margins and frustrate their efforts to expand their supply. Inquiry of higher level of administration of organized criminal groups involved in human trafficking in most cases lacks the necessary associations to strategies against bribery and corruption. In addition many countries, lack the capacity to respond to human trafficking. The main reasons include; inadequate laws regarding human trafficking, lack of judicial proficiency in that sector and lack of adequate cooperation between government enforcement agencies criminal justice and other relevant institutions like immigration and border control agencies. At international platform, the structure for collaboration among law enforcement and official of justice of various countries may not be existing or may not be satisfactory resulting to ineffective inquiry, assessment and settlement of cases associated with human trafficking. Persons who have become victims of human trafficking might in many cases lose more than they gain when collaborating with the justice system. In many countries victims of human trafficking regarded the ones responsible for illegal acts instead being victims of human trafficking and are in most cases prosecuted for infringing the immigration laws prostitution or statutory offences that are lawfully regarded as indecent behavior. Lack of sufficient victim and witness protection programmes might lessen the success of inquiry and hearing and court hearings of such cases. Destination, transit and countries of origin of human traffic victims A common misunderstanding has been that human trafficking occurs in deprived countries. Almost every country in the world is occupied in secretive profitable human trafficking business. The source is the country from which person are trafficked and is usually depicted as destitute and might have been weakened by war, natural disasters or corruption. According to (Fisher Lab, 2010) some of the source nations include Guatemala, Nepal, Nigeria and the former countries of Soviet Union and many more. A transit nation describes the temporally stop where trafficked victims are temporary stopped on their journey to the country of enslavement and the destination nation refers to the country where trafficked humans end up. The destination countries for human traffic victims are normally wealthy nations since they need to have enough income to purchase the trafficked victims. Among the renowned destination countries include, Japan, India United States and Western Europe. The smuggling of immigrants and human trafficking has increased worldwide in the recent years, as a result of the process of globalization and other factors. Trafficking in humans has been growing tremendously due top the participation of groups involved in organized crimes. The smuggling of immigrants by organized crime groups interrupts with the procedures of immigration of destination nations and in most cases entails abuses of human rights. The exploitative manner of treatment of human trafficking victims in most cases accounts a new form of slavery. Sexual exploitation and trafficking in persons According to (Kroft Greene, 2009), there has been no specific agreed definition of trafficking of persons for sexual exploitation. The term is used to refer to movement of persons particularly women usually between countries and within countries for sexual work using physical force or oppression through forced debt. Nevertheless, the issue become controversial when the victims are willing involved in prostitution. Sexual trafficking encompasses forcing an immigrant into sexual act condition or agreement for the immigration. Trafficking people for sexual purposes entails use of physical force, dishonesty, and oppression incurred through forced debt. Women and children who are victims of human trafficking are in most cases promised domestic jobs or jobs in service sector but instead find themselves taken to brothels while their travel document have been seized. Women and children victims of human trafficking might be beaten or locked up and guaranteed they would get their freedom back through prostitution as the purchase price together with their visa and air ticket. According to, (Friman Reich, 2007), the reasons why women and sometimes underage, children agree to offers from human traffickers is to get better financial opportunities for themselves and their families. In many circumstances the human trafficker in the beginning offers a genuine job or the assurance of a chance to further the studies. The majority of the jobs offered are in hotel industry or in bars and clubs. In other cases human traffickers use marriage, bullying, threats or taking hostage as means of obtaining their women victims. In most cases many women victims of human trafficking end up in prostitution while some of the migrating prostitutes get involved in trafficking of humans. Human trafficking for sexual uses involves a business deal of contributions services and items (Friman Reich, 2007). The terms of exchange and elements involved in the transaction displays the form of connection that exists and the economic system in which the deal takes place. In traditional societys financial system, women were sold as gifts to create alliances and to make peace and ensure hereditary was continuous. In market financial systems women are viewed to offer monetary benefits to the human traffickers who maximize their profits by being in charge of the exchange process. According to (Friman Reich, 2007), sale of sexual services contributed to high increase of women trafficking particularly in Central Europe in the era of economic recession which has had high unemployment level. All over the poorest nations of Central and Eastern Europe and, majority of the women have admitted taking the risk of being trafficked instead of remaining in their own counties where there are high levels of poverty and unemployment. In unstable economies, with limited job availabilities, many unskilled women have found an incentive by selling their sexual services and for human traffickers to organize the sector. According to (Friman Reich, 2007), women in poor nations of Central and Eastern Europe involve themselves, in prostitution since for some it is the only way for them to access international and regional job offers.

Morality and Cognitive Decision Making Experiment

Morality and Cognitive Decision Making Experiment Moral Ethical Development Chapter II: Literature Review Researching the moral development, ethical decision making approaches, and the adoption of utilitarian ethics on the part of Taiwanese CPAs begins with a thorough literature review of these specific topics. The intent of this chapter is to evaluate the research instruments used for supporting and validating the hypotheses of this study as well. For purposes of clarity, this chapter is organization into three sections, starting with a review of moral development theories. The second section concentrates on the most commonly used instruments for completing measurement of ethical judgment and decision-making, with the last section of the chapter presenting an overview of empirical studies designed specifically to measure Taiwanese CPAs’ relationship to ethical evaluation and ethical intentions and overall moral development. Introduction to Moral Development Much of the foundational work completed in moral development is attributed to theorists who together have refined the key aspects of this field in the last twenty-five years. The evolution of moral development theories has concentrated on increasingly on its role in defining psychological aspects of moral development (Rest, 1979). Adding to the body of knowledge on moral development are the works of Kohlberg (1976) and Piaget (1932). In conjunction with Rest (1979), the works of these two theorists show specifically how the development of moral delineations and definitions are formative and not absolute, and have specific attributes associated with each. As accountancy is a field that relies heavily on trust and the fulfillment of fiduciary responsibilities, the importance of ethical judgments in the field of study is clear. Accountants and CPAs need to be the sustainers of public trust in the accounting and auditing professions. Ironically however one of the world’s largest scandals, Enron, was architected by accountants and auditors, which lead the U.S. government to legislate into law the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act of 2002. Later in this literature review the basis of the SOX Act will be discussed. As a result of the importance of ethical judgments in the accounting profession, several studies that are empirically based have had as their objective an assessment of the development of moral judgment, moral frameworks, and skills at assessing the ethical dilemmas that occur in the fulfillment of their professions. In researching and defining the moral development of organizations, the work of Paiget (1932) serves as a foundation, based on his assessment of how children form ethical and moral values through the study of their respect for rules. Paiget (1932) wrote The Moral Judgment of the Child to add to the field of knowledge on moral development. Paiget writes that â€Å"all morality consists in a system of rules, and the essence of all morality is to be sought for in the respect which the individual acquires for these rules† (p.13). Relying on observation as a research approach and completing interviews with a cross-section of boys to see how their comprehension of rules influencing the game was completed, Paiget was able to construct theories of moral development and the development of moral judgment. Paiget defined the concept of children developing morally through a progression from heteronomy, through stages of autonomy, finally to equity. Based on this research Paiget created a specific framework which describes the stages in conceptualization of moral decision-making and judgment, leading to the finding of rules presence and consciousness of rules as the foundation for developing moral judgment (Ponemon, 1990). The development of stages of Cognitive Developmental Theory (Piaget, 1997) are defined as follows. The first phase is where sensory-motor intelligence (younger than two years old) is prevalent. The second stage is pre-operational thought (two to seven years old) that serves as the foundation for creating more concrete concepts in the future. The third stage is called concrete operations and occurs between seven to eleven years old, with the fourth stage being formal operations that occur from eleven to adulthood. Paiget observed that by age 7, children begin playing with and cooperating with one another. Secondly Paiget observed children in the 11 to 12 age range see rules as permeable, capable of being negotiable and mutually agreeable. Theorizing that children are not born with the ability to understand and apply moral standards yet learn them over progressive stage, Piaget (1997) began creating a moral development theory that forms the foundation of Kohlberg’s creation of his own theories of moral development as well. Kohlberg refined and developed a six-stage sequence mode model and subsequently and empirically proved the assumptions of Piaget (1997), (Kohlberg 1976). His moral reasoning theory is a cognitive developmental theory that seeks to understand the reasoning behind how adults decide what course of action in morally right or wrong. Furthermore, Kohlberg’s theory develops sequentially through three levels of moral development,, with each level subdivided into two stages (Table 1), Kohlberg’s cognitive development theory is today regarded as a model and framework for ethics education according to Baxter and Rarick (1987) and Shenkir (1990). (Baxter Rarick, 1987; Shenkir, 1990) It’s clear that Piaget had a significant influence on the findings and conclusions of Kohlberg. This is evident for example in the second and third stages Kohlberg defines, which are exactly the same as Piaget’s. Despite this same approach to defining the specific level of moral development, Kohlberg differs from Piaget on the fourth through sixth stages of development. The factors that are driving the differences are the interpretations of internal moral convictions justice and that Kohlberg sees as overriding social expectations, norms, and values. Kohlberg’s work on moral development provided a foundation for further analysis of moral development and the formation of moral judgment as well. Specifically focused the measurement of the changes by stage of morale development, Kohlberg had defined a hypothesis that over time and throughout maturity children, then adults, become more attuned to moral development.(Kohlberg, 1981). Throughout the remainder of this life Kohlberg concentrated his efforts on moral education and the propagation of his theories. Despite the alignment of Kohlberg’s findings and analyses to Piaget (1997) and others in the area of normative moral development being aligned to the developmental phases of a child’s then adults’ life there are many critics of this view including the following academicians and theorists (Gilligan, 1993, , 1998; Gump, Baker, Roll, 2000; Reimer;, Paolitto, Hersh, 1990; Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, Bebeau, 1999, , 2000; Shweder, 1982; Spohn, 2000; Sullivan, 1977). Specifically these theorists have centered on four specific questions that form the foundation of their critique of Kohlberg’s theories (et.al.). First do the processes involved in moral reasoning foster and sustain moral behavior over time? Theorists remark that Kohlberg’s theory supports critical thinking regarding morality yet does not concentrating on what ought to be done versus what is actually accomplished (Sullivan, 1977). As part of this argument theorists contend that the lack of longitudinal empirical evidence to support the claim that the higher the level of moral judgment, the higher the level of moral behavior. During his lifetime, this was often discussed and presented as a critique of his work, an assessment he agreed with saying â€Å"I understand the theory of justice reasoning to be necessary but not sufficient for defining the full domain of what is meant by moral development† (Kohlberg, 1984). Whether or not knowing is equal to doing, knowing must typically come before doing, and so Kohlberg states that â€Å"the study of moral reasoning is valuable in its own right† (Kohlberg, 1984). Second, the suppositions that the only aspect of moral reasoning is justice when in fact there are many other factors to consider. The theorists have said that Kohlberg’s theories tend to overemphasize the perception of justice as the foundation for making decisions. Theorists have long argued that in addition to justice, additional factors including compassion, caring, and other interpersonal feelings may play an important part in moral reasoning. (Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, Bebeau, 1999; Spohn, 2000) The third major question of Kohlberg’s analysis is the minimal amount of empirical evidences for post-conventional level thinking , a critical assumption that underscore much of what Kohlberg based his analysis on(Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, Bebeau, 1999)The fourth question that emerges from the analysis is an assessment of Kohlberg’s theories and the over-reliance on the role and influence of Western culture. Critics and theorists contend that there is equally if not more emphasis specifically from Eastern cultures as well that have not been taken into account (J. C. Gibbs, 2003; Spohn, 2000). As a result of these critiques specific to his work, in 1985 Kohlberg decided to eliminate the sixth stage of his work, citing a lack of empirical evidence and proven causality once thought to be present. In addition, there appears to be a dearth of evidence of support the fifth stage of his model, and in fact theorists pointed to little support from previous empirically derived research. In addition to the above points, theorists contend that there is a dearth of evidence for the fifth level of scoring as defined by Kohlberg (Snarey, 1985). Gibbs (1979) is credited with being a co-developer of the scoring system and concentrates on moral judgment development throughout the fourth stage of the Kohlberg framework. In addition, Kohlberg defended the empirical data for the fifth and sixth stages stating that statistically significant findings had supported his framework, despite the critics and the lack of empirical studies that could be replicated by other theorists. The fifth and sixth stages are clearly centered on post conventional thinking, which is a limitation of Kohlbergs framework. The book Lawrence Kohlberg: Consensus and Controversy (Modgil Modgil, 1986) defines the shortcomings of the fifth and sixth stages of the Kohlberg model in depth, with several of the theorists mentioned in this literature review being the primary critics of Kohlberg’s theories. Analysis of Rest’s Theories James Rest (1979) developed a revision of the developmental process of moral judgment by looking at the shortcomings of Kohlberg (et.al.) and Piaget (1997). As a result, Rest’s moral judgment model is significantly different than Kohlberg’s (Rest, 1979). According to theorists, â€Å"For the measurement of moral reasoning, Rest’s model assesses an individual’s tendency to use concepts of justice based on social cooperation in his or her moral thinking, while Kohlberg’s model assesses an individual’s use of justice concepts, focusing more on exchange and individual interests† (Elm Weber, 1994), p. 346) Rest (1986) consequently a Four Component Model that captures for types of psychological processes must take place for an individual to experience moral behavior. The Rest Four Component Model is summarized by the key points below: Moral Judgment: the individual must make judgment on what should be the right thing to do. In other words, a person should be able to determine the appropriate action that is morally correct. Moral Sensitivity: This is defined as the interpretation of individuals’ actions in terms of responding to their overall assessment of situation. The intent of this aspect of the model is to refer to how an individual’s conduct is analyzed in terms of how is going to influence themselves and those who are associates and friends. Moral Motivation: the essence of defining and prioritizing moral decisions over competing contextual perceptions of morality. Moral values are, according to this model, above personal values. Moral values are always thought about first when making a decision. Moral Action: The sense of this specific element of the model requires the development of competence in the development and use of strategies that develop a moral foundation. According to this specific aspect of the model, the individual needs to have the integrity and self-determination to stay in alignment with their need for behaving morally and ethically over time. The point of this specific aspect of the model is that self-determination is a critical aspect of the total model. Assessing the Cognitive Moral Decision-Making Model The ethical decision-making of accounting, auditing and financial professionals have increasingly come under fire due to the major ethical lapses of these professionals that led to some of the largest scandals in history. Enron, MCI, Tyco and many other scandals are directly responsible for SOX legislation in the U.S. and a marked rise in compliance globally, preceded by the savings loan debacle of the 1980s, have together served as the catalyst of high levels of interest in the ethics of CPAs and finance professions (Cohen Pant, 1993; Lampe Finn, 1992; McNair Milam, 1993; Ponemon Gabhart, 1990; Shaub, 1994) From this body of research with regard to compliance surrounding ethics, Lampe and Finn (1992) have defined three dominant types of ethical decision making models. These are defined with the context of audits, and include agency models, cognitive models, and professional code-implied models. The intent of the study is primarily focused on the cognitive model component first, as it is the most pervasively used in evaluating the decision-making process of auditors (Ponemon Gabhart, 1993). Accounting ethics research, in the majority of studies is based on a cognitive moral decision making model as first analyzed and published by Rest (1986). Modeling the individual moral decision processes that include the reasoning and action processes in completing and carrying out ethical decisions and actions is defined in the model as well. According to the theory the person with a strong sense of morals is that that evaluates an ethical dilemma and situation to ensure that actions are evaluated for their ethicity first. In defining this model Rest (1984) states that interpreting the situation including the decision to try and decide which choices are, and if and how a decision might affect others (i.e., they try to determine if an ethical issue exists). The analysis next begins with an assessment that the use of moral judgment is also critical for the development of doing what ought to be done. The next step is to develop the moral intent and define just what exactly needs to be done. As part of this step the relative strengths and weaknesses of each decision is weighed by the emotions, perceptions, and socialization of the decision-maker. The final step is the selection of a given alternative that may or may not be taken based on the ethical judgment of the leader. (Rest, 1984). Recognize Moral Issue (Moral Sensitivity) Make Moral Judgment (Moral Judgment) Establish Moral Intention (Moral Motivation) Act Moral Behavior (Moral Action) In summary, the defined model of cognitive moral decision making, which is often referred to as Rest’s four component model, is used pervasively through the majority of accounting ethics research, and is also used for the insights into causality it provides. As a result of its pervasive use, this model serves as the foundation of the analysis of survey results completed as part of this dissertation as well. The Cognitive Ethical Decision Making Model is specifically focused on the development of the research plan and methodology in addition to analyzing the key results and findings from this research effort. Illustrating the Defining Issues Test (DIT) One of the other major contributions Rest (1979) made in ascertaining the ethics levels of respondents throughout his research was the development of the Defining Issues Test (DIT), which is also used in the research completed on this dissertation as a means of measuring theory of moral reasoning. Rest contends that the DIT model continues to supplant and enhance knowledge in the key area of empirical ethics research (Rest, 1979). How the DIT is constructed begins with a measurement of the individual’s responses to moral dilemmas often defined in the context of scenarios or short vignettes that explain the key concepts behind the concepts being tested. Through the use of these scenarios or vignettes, the respondents’ views of ethics and morality emerge (Rest 1979). The test is typically written yet has also been placed on websites to make it possible for respondents from many different locations geographically to take the test at the same time. It is considered one of the more effective tests at standardizing moral and ethical dilemmas and issue questions. The test is constructed with six dilemmas (three in the short version) is accompanied by 12 stage specific questions (items). The respondent next reads the dilemma and chooses one of three decisions that align with their perception of the situation. Following this, the respondent rates the importance of each of the 12 items to their decision. Finally, the respondent is asked to rank the four most important items using multiple choice questions. The Moral Judgment Interview (MJI) is a comparable test and allows the respondent to specifically respond with their statements about moral and ethical dilemmas presented. As is true with most research methods, the use of multiple-choice questions is more sound from a methodological standpoint and therefore improves the reliability factor of the DIT instrument over the MJI. The MJI requires the interviewer to assess the subject’s response and assign a value to that response, introducing bias into the analysis of results (Elm Webber, 1994). This method of scoring used in MJI could potentially influence the reliability of the results since the analyst who is interpreting the responses of the subject rather than the subject choosing a response from alternatives (Elm Webber, 1994). A typical structure of the DIT is a multiple-choice questionnaire that contains multiple scenarios or vignettes, and has been designed to have up to 12 moral arguments in each dilemma relating to moral reasoning. Each of the questions on the questionnaire asks the subjects to select the most illustrative or definitive response for each situation given their perspective of it. The DIT then uses a point system on a four-point scale to measure the overall responses and create a score that indicates the respondents’ moral and ethical reaction to the points made. A score of four points is given for the most important response, and one point given for the least important response. Both manually-based and machine-based approaches are used for tallying and analyzing the scores, with statistical analysis programs increasingly being used to manage this process. Often the scores are also measured as a series of indices as well. The Principled Index (P index or P score) is the most commonly used one in this field of research today (Rest, 1979). The first score mentioned is often the â€Å"P† score (principled morality) which defines the level of a respondents’ ethical cognition. This is a metric that quantifies the level of respondents’ reaction to scenarios and vignettes that are identified as Stage 5 and Stage 6 in the Rest’s theory. In addition to the â€Å"P† score, the â€Å"D† score quantifies responses fro all stages rather than just those identified in Stages 5 and 6. Critics have contended that the â€Å"P† score is more reliable and therefore more trustworthy as a measure of ethical cognition, a point that Rest has agreed with from his analysis (Rest, 1990). In re-assessing the value of â€Å"P† as a measure of ethical cognition, Rest wrote â€Å"†¦represents the sum of the weighted ranks given to principled items and is interpreted as the relative importance given to principled moral consideration in making a moral judgment. (p.101). Further supporting the reliability of the DIT test are the inclusion of control variables, or items that are purely included to provide a random check of consistency of responses (Rest, 1990). In more advanced research instruments, this approach to ensuring that the responses are consistent is commonly used. When incongruent or inconsistent responses are found they are given a code of â€Å"M† and tallied at the end of the survey. If this specific factor score is too high then the individual survey is considered unusable. Since its initial development, the test has been used in more than 500 documented studies globally, as claimed by its author (Rest, 1990). In quantifying the value of the research instrument from a reliability standpoint, there have been a series of internal validity measures completed as well, with a test-retest methodology used to track internal validity. Scores on these tests using the statistical technical called Chronbach’s alpha index deliver a consistently high level of reliability, with a .70 on the score of this specific statistical metric (Rest, 1986). One of the findings that Rest (1990) has seen from the work completed cumulatively is that the DIT scores tend to have a high correlation level to education and a low correlation to gender, religious beliefs and affiliates, and gender. The ability to empirically test moral development has been achieved with the DIT methodology, and by 1999 Rest and his colleagues created a new version, DIT-2 which is a revised updated stories and issue statements, was introduced. This new instrument is an improved version of the DIT, specifically including more measures of reliability and validity and the purging of questions that could lead to erroneous results despite the presence of control variables (Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, Bebeau, 1999). The DIT was chosen as the moral development instrument has the DIT-2 version has not been thoroughly tested enough therefore limited comparative data is available. This is especially true for accountant specific studies undertaken since the introduction of this second rating methodology. Secondly, while the DIT-2 generally is considered to be just as reliable as DIT given the latters’approach to managing reliability (Rest Narvaez, 1998). This specific dissertation will then focus on DIT as the measurement instrument for evaluating the ethics of Taiwanese CPAs. Empirical Analysis of Accountants through the use of DIT The concepts of moral development theory have provided the financial accounting profession with much opportunity for empirical research and investigation. While specific empirical studies have defined the current level of moral development of business majors including finance and accounting students, professional auditors, tenured and lecturing accounting educators, CPAs, and CMAs, there are many other empirically-derived studies that have focused on the relationship between moral development and various accounting specific behaviors. The intent of this area of the literature review is to represent the specific aspect of moral development research that has been conducted with respondents who are accountants. The impact of the six stage theory Kohlberg has often discussed and analyzed in the works cited in this research are also analysed using Rest’s four component model as foundation for completing an analysis using DIT results as the foundation for these efforts to create a pragmatic approach to analyzing the research. Validation of the DIT research instrument for use in conjunction with analyzing the ethical development of CPAs has been pioneered by Armstrong (1987) through the use of two samples of respondent group CPAs who were given the DIT. Using the mean DIT P scores of each respondent group and then comparing their relative means through the use of large samples of undergraduate college students, college graduate students, and adult respondents as reported by Rest (1979). After completing the analysis and calculating the mean DIT P scores, the results showed scores between the two CPA respondent groups as 37.1 and 38.5 respectively. Calculated mean DIT P scores of the three respondent audiences were as follows: college students (42.3), college graduates (53.3), and the adults in general (40.0). Armstrong (1987) stated that with the CPAs averaging only 1.1 years of post graduate education there was a significantly lower DIT P score reported and achieved by the CPAs. What also was found from the Armstrong analysis was that significantly lower DIT P scores obtained from CPAs occurred compared to both college students and adults as a general respondent group. From this analysis it’s clear that there is a normal progression in moral development that generally takes place in college, yet did not take place with the CPA groups. Their moral development, as measured by the DIT, had not progressed beyond that achieved by the general adult population. In addition to the research completed by Armstrong (1987) there has been significant work completed on the topic of moral development and theories of moral maturity relating to accounting students and professionals (St. Pierre, Nelson, Gabbin, 1990). This second study defined a respondent base of 479 seniors divided into 10 groups by major who were then given the DIT instrument to measure their level of cognitive ethical development. What is unique about this specific study is the definition of specific disciplines in the study as well including math, psychology, and social work. What is noteworthy from this student is that the mean DIT P scores for the respondent base of accounting majors were significantly below those of psychology majors. The researchers list the mean DIT P scores of 38.75 for the respondents who are male accountants and 45.85 for respondents are female accountants. This finding supported previous empirical studies relating to the development of ethical cognition in students, with female students receiving significantly higher scores, attributable to the previous results of empirical studies. Exacerbating these findings were also the DIT P score median value of 43.19 for college seniors. The use of the â€Å"M† value to ascertain the reliability of the study was also completed to better manage the sampling bias and potential errors. Based on these factors the research showed that there were no significant differences in DIT PI scores based on the exposure or not to an ethics course. Clearly the DTP P scores were seen as delineators of cognitive ethical development independent of formalized processes; there is in fact indication that ethically-oriented people do tend to gravitate towards majors that have a relatively high level of accountability, as psychology does for example. In an ancillary study, the work completed by Ponemon (1990) illustrated that through the study of 52 accountant respondents who ranged in position levels of staff, supervisor, manager, and partner were given the MJI to ascertain the relationship between moral stage development and hierarchical position. The results of the survey showed statistically significant results with the mean stage level increase from 3.4 at the staff level to 3.7 at the senior level and then to 4.1 at the supervisor level. While the MJI peaked at the supervisor level, mean stage levels decreased to 3.6 at the manager level and to a low of 2.9 at the partner level. Clearly the decline in MJI scores in this specific study contradicts the core concepts of moral development theory. Citing both a decline due to socialization and self-selection, Ponemon (1990) has stated that the results of this specific project do not necessarily refute ethical moral development theories. Following this research an paradigm (independence level) and the DIT were next analyzed (Ponemon Gabhart, 1990) in an empirical study of 119 respondents in a CPA firm group of audit managers and partners. Results of this specific analysis indicate that managers and partners who achieved low DIT P scores had the propensity to be more cognitively focused on the potential penalties than those respondents who have higher DIT P scores from the research. Not surprisingly there is a key finding from this research, that shows a significant negative relationship between rank and DIT P scores (managers-35.7; partners=30.1) in addition to the age and experience of respondents relative to their age and experience scores. Ponemon and Glazer (1990) also completed empirical research that attempted to add insights into the effects of a liberal college curriculum relative to the level of moral development. Respondents in this study are alumni practitioners in addition to two groups of students including freshmen, and accounting seniors. To ensure the study would be representative, respondents were randomly selected from two institutions that offer accounting degrees. The first institution included in the survey drew respondents from a private college where the accounting major curriculum is part of the liberal arts program. The second institution is a state university where accounting majors were not required or encouraged to take liberal arts courses. There were 143 total respondents in the study that completed the DIT, and the analysis of the results highlighted statistically significant scores between respondent groups. Further, the analysis revealed mean DIT P testing of freshman from both learning institutions was not significantly different between each of the learning institutions. At both the senior and alumni levels, the mean DIT P scores increased. Paradoxically the institution that had accounting as part of the liberal arts program had the higher DIT P scores than the institution that specifically focused on accounting as a core curriculum. In analyzing the results of the survey differences the researchers stated that to â€Å"†¦suggest that liberal learning in college may be an important factor in the development of the student’s and accounting practitioner’s moral reasoning† (p.204). The integration of accounting curriculum in liberal arts broader learning institutions has since become a foundational element in ethics research, and is relied on as a theoretical construct of the research completed in this dissertation. The dynamics involved in the moral development and perception of â€Å"whistle blowing† was studied in an empirical study that had 106 internal auditors as respondents by Arnold and Ponemon (1991) These researchers relied on the DIT research instrument to specifically assess the moral development in the context of experimental scenarios and vignettes surrounding a fraud case and experimental treatments that elicited the perception of internal auditors of â€Å"whistle blowing†. The results of this research illustrated the fact that internal auditors who scored low on the DIT P scale perceived the act of â€Å"whistle blowing† from the standpoint of personal punishment as a risk of unethical behavior than those with high DIT P scores. Clearly this supports the fact that the DIT P measurement instrument supports the contention that those internal auditors that have higher DIT P scores have a higher level of ethical cognition relative to those with lower DIT P scores. The internal auditors who scores lower on DIT P scores saw the act of â€Å"whistle blowing†, it can be inferred, as an external event that had negative consequences if a person was caught. This leads to the observation that internal auditors with low DIT P scores significantly externalize the ethical role of whistle blowers, while those with higher DIT P scores have already internalized ethical cognitions and see whistle blowing as incidental. Paradoxically however the main affiliation factors including punishment of others had little if any influence on the perc Morality and Cognitive Decision Making Experiment Morality and Cognitive Decision Making Experiment Moral Ethical Development Chapter II: Literature Review Researching the moral development, ethical decision making approaches, and the adoption of utilitarian ethics on the part of Taiwanese CPAs begins with a thorough literature review of these specific topics. The intent of this chapter is to evaluate the research instruments used for supporting and validating the hypotheses of this study as well. For purposes of clarity, this chapter is organization into three sections, starting with a review of moral development theories. The second section concentrates on the most commonly used instruments for completing measurement of ethical judgment and decision-making, with the last section of the chapter presenting an overview of empirical studies designed specifically to measure Taiwanese CPAs’ relationship to ethical evaluation and ethical intentions and overall moral development. Introduction to Moral Development Much of the foundational work completed in moral development is attributed to theorists who together have refined the key aspects of this field in the last twenty-five years. The evolution of moral development theories has concentrated on increasingly on its role in defining psychological aspects of moral development (Rest, 1979). Adding to the body of knowledge on moral development are the works of Kohlberg (1976) and Piaget (1932). In conjunction with Rest (1979), the works of these two theorists show specifically how the development of moral delineations and definitions are formative and not absolute, and have specific attributes associated with each. As accountancy is a field that relies heavily on trust and the fulfillment of fiduciary responsibilities, the importance of ethical judgments in the field of study is clear. Accountants and CPAs need to be the sustainers of public trust in the accounting and auditing professions. Ironically however one of the world’s largest scandals, Enron, was architected by accountants and auditors, which lead the U.S. government to legislate into law the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act of 2002. Later in this literature review the basis of the SOX Act will be discussed. As a result of the importance of ethical judgments in the accounting profession, several studies that are empirically based have had as their objective an assessment of the development of moral judgment, moral frameworks, and skills at assessing the ethical dilemmas that occur in the fulfillment of their professions. In researching and defining the moral development of organizations, the work of Paiget (1932) serves as a foundation, based on his assessment of how children form ethical and moral values through the study of their respect for rules. Paiget (1932) wrote The Moral Judgment of the Child to add to the field of knowledge on moral development. Paiget writes that â€Å"all morality consists in a system of rules, and the essence of all morality is to be sought for in the respect which the individual acquires for these rules† (p.13). Relying on observation as a research approach and completing interviews with a cross-section of boys to see how their comprehension of rules influencing the game was completed, Paiget was able to construct theories of moral development and the development of moral judgment. Paiget defined the concept of children developing morally through a progression from heteronomy, through stages of autonomy, finally to equity. Based on this research Paiget created a specific framework which describes the stages in conceptualization of moral decision-making and judgment, leading to the finding of rules presence and consciousness of rules as the foundation for developing moral judgment (Ponemon, 1990). The development of stages of Cognitive Developmental Theory (Piaget, 1997) are defined as follows. The first phase is where sensory-motor intelligence (younger than two years old) is prevalent. The second stage is pre-operational thought (two to seven years old) that serves as the foundation for creating more concrete concepts in the future. The third stage is called concrete operations and occurs between seven to eleven years old, with the fourth stage being formal operations that occur from eleven to adulthood. Paiget observed that by age 7, children begin playing with and cooperating with one another. Secondly Paiget observed children in the 11 to 12 age range see rules as permeable, capable of being negotiable and mutually agreeable. Theorizing that children are not born with the ability to understand and apply moral standards yet learn them over progressive stage, Piaget (1997) began creating a moral development theory that forms the foundation of Kohlberg’s creation of his own theories of moral development as well. Kohlberg refined and developed a six-stage sequence mode model and subsequently and empirically proved the assumptions of Piaget (1997), (Kohlberg 1976). His moral reasoning theory is a cognitive developmental theory that seeks to understand the reasoning behind how adults decide what course of action in morally right or wrong. Furthermore, Kohlberg’s theory develops sequentially through three levels of moral development,, with each level subdivided into two stages (Table 1), Kohlberg’s cognitive development theory is today regarded as a model and framework for ethics education according to Baxter and Rarick (1987) and Shenkir (1990). (Baxter Rarick, 1987; Shenkir, 1990) It’s clear that Piaget had a significant influence on the findings and conclusions of Kohlberg. This is evident for example in the second and third stages Kohlberg defines, which are exactly the same as Piaget’s. Despite this same approach to defining the specific level of moral development, Kohlberg differs from Piaget on the fourth through sixth stages of development. The factors that are driving the differences are the interpretations of internal moral convictions justice and that Kohlberg sees as overriding social expectations, norms, and values. Kohlberg’s work on moral development provided a foundation for further analysis of moral development and the formation of moral judgment as well. Specifically focused the measurement of the changes by stage of morale development, Kohlberg had defined a hypothesis that over time and throughout maturity children, then adults, become more attuned to moral development.(Kohlberg, 1981). Throughout the remainder of this life Kohlberg concentrated his efforts on moral education and the propagation of his theories. Despite the alignment of Kohlberg’s findings and analyses to Piaget (1997) and others in the area of normative moral development being aligned to the developmental phases of a child’s then adults’ life there are many critics of this view including the following academicians and theorists (Gilligan, 1993, , 1998; Gump, Baker, Roll, 2000; Reimer;, Paolitto, Hersh, 1990; Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, Bebeau, 1999, , 2000; Shweder, 1982; Spohn, 2000; Sullivan, 1977). Specifically these theorists have centered on four specific questions that form the foundation of their critique of Kohlberg’s theories (et.al.). First do the processes involved in moral reasoning foster and sustain moral behavior over time? Theorists remark that Kohlberg’s theory supports critical thinking regarding morality yet does not concentrating on what ought to be done versus what is actually accomplished (Sullivan, 1977). As part of this argument theorists contend that the lack of longitudinal empirical evidence to support the claim that the higher the level of moral judgment, the higher the level of moral behavior. During his lifetime, this was often discussed and presented as a critique of his work, an assessment he agreed with saying â€Å"I understand the theory of justice reasoning to be necessary but not sufficient for defining the full domain of what is meant by moral development† (Kohlberg, 1984). Whether or not knowing is equal to doing, knowing must typically come before doing, and so Kohlberg states that â€Å"the study of moral reasoning is valuable in its own right† (Kohlberg, 1984). Second, the suppositions that the only aspect of moral reasoning is justice when in fact there are many other factors to consider. The theorists have said that Kohlberg’s theories tend to overemphasize the perception of justice as the foundation for making decisions. Theorists have long argued that in addition to justice, additional factors including compassion, caring, and other interpersonal feelings may play an important part in moral reasoning. (Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, Bebeau, 1999; Spohn, 2000) The third major question of Kohlberg’s analysis is the minimal amount of empirical evidences for post-conventional level thinking , a critical assumption that underscore much of what Kohlberg based his analysis on(Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, Bebeau, 1999)The fourth question that emerges from the analysis is an assessment of Kohlberg’s theories and the over-reliance on the role and influence of Western culture. Critics and theorists contend that there is equally if not more emphasis specifically from Eastern cultures as well that have not been taken into account (J. C. Gibbs, 2003; Spohn, 2000). As a result of these critiques specific to his work, in 1985 Kohlberg decided to eliminate the sixth stage of his work, citing a lack of empirical evidence and proven causality once thought to be present. In addition, there appears to be a dearth of evidence of support the fifth stage of his model, and in fact theorists pointed to little support from previous empirically derived research. In addition to the above points, theorists contend that there is a dearth of evidence for the fifth level of scoring as defined by Kohlberg (Snarey, 1985). Gibbs (1979) is credited with being a co-developer of the scoring system and concentrates on moral judgment development throughout the fourth stage of the Kohlberg framework. In addition, Kohlberg defended the empirical data for the fifth and sixth stages stating that statistically significant findings had supported his framework, despite the critics and the lack of empirical studies that could be replicated by other theorists. The fifth and sixth stages are clearly centered on post conventional thinking, which is a limitation of Kohlbergs framework. The book Lawrence Kohlberg: Consensus and Controversy (Modgil Modgil, 1986) defines the shortcomings of the fifth and sixth stages of the Kohlberg model in depth, with several of the theorists mentioned in this literature review being the primary critics of Kohlberg’s theories. Analysis of Rest’s Theories James Rest (1979) developed a revision of the developmental process of moral judgment by looking at the shortcomings of Kohlberg (et.al.) and Piaget (1997). As a result, Rest’s moral judgment model is significantly different than Kohlberg’s (Rest, 1979). According to theorists, â€Å"For the measurement of moral reasoning, Rest’s model assesses an individual’s tendency to use concepts of justice based on social cooperation in his or her moral thinking, while Kohlberg’s model assesses an individual’s use of justice concepts, focusing more on exchange and individual interests† (Elm Weber, 1994), p. 346) Rest (1986) consequently a Four Component Model that captures for types of psychological processes must take place for an individual to experience moral behavior. The Rest Four Component Model is summarized by the key points below: Moral Judgment: the individual must make judgment on what should be the right thing to do. In other words, a person should be able to determine the appropriate action that is morally correct. Moral Sensitivity: This is defined as the interpretation of individuals’ actions in terms of responding to their overall assessment of situation. The intent of this aspect of the model is to refer to how an individual’s conduct is analyzed in terms of how is going to influence themselves and those who are associates and friends. Moral Motivation: the essence of defining and prioritizing moral decisions over competing contextual perceptions of morality. Moral values are, according to this model, above personal values. Moral values are always thought about first when making a decision. Moral Action: The sense of this specific element of the model requires the development of competence in the development and use of strategies that develop a moral foundation. According to this specific aspect of the model, the individual needs to have the integrity and self-determination to stay in alignment with their need for behaving morally and ethically over time. The point of this specific aspect of the model is that self-determination is a critical aspect of the total model. Assessing the Cognitive Moral Decision-Making Model The ethical decision-making of accounting, auditing and financial professionals have increasingly come under fire due to the major ethical lapses of these professionals that led to some of the largest scandals in history. Enron, MCI, Tyco and many other scandals are directly responsible for SOX legislation in the U.S. and a marked rise in compliance globally, preceded by the savings loan debacle of the 1980s, have together served as the catalyst of high levels of interest in the ethics of CPAs and finance professions (Cohen Pant, 1993; Lampe Finn, 1992; McNair Milam, 1993; Ponemon Gabhart, 1990; Shaub, 1994) From this body of research with regard to compliance surrounding ethics, Lampe and Finn (1992) have defined three dominant types of ethical decision making models. These are defined with the context of audits, and include agency models, cognitive models, and professional code-implied models. The intent of the study is primarily focused on the cognitive model component first, as it is the most pervasively used in evaluating the decision-making process of auditors (Ponemon Gabhart, 1993). Accounting ethics research, in the majority of studies is based on a cognitive moral decision making model as first analyzed and published by Rest (1986). Modeling the individual moral decision processes that include the reasoning and action processes in completing and carrying out ethical decisions and actions is defined in the model as well. According to the theory the person with a strong sense of morals is that that evaluates an ethical dilemma and situation to ensure that actions are evaluated for their ethicity first. In defining this model Rest (1984) states that interpreting the situation including the decision to try and decide which choices are, and if and how a decision might affect others (i.e., they try to determine if an ethical issue exists). The analysis next begins with an assessment that the use of moral judgment is also critical for the development of doing what ought to be done. The next step is to develop the moral intent and define just what exactly needs to be done. As part of this step the relative strengths and weaknesses of each decision is weighed by the emotions, perceptions, and socialization of the decision-maker. The final step is the selection of a given alternative that may or may not be taken based on the ethical judgment of the leader. (Rest, 1984). Recognize Moral Issue (Moral Sensitivity) Make Moral Judgment (Moral Judgment) Establish Moral Intention (Moral Motivation) Act Moral Behavior (Moral Action) In summary, the defined model of cognitive moral decision making, which is often referred to as Rest’s four component model, is used pervasively through the majority of accounting ethics research, and is also used for the insights into causality it provides. As a result of its pervasive use, this model serves as the foundation of the analysis of survey results completed as part of this dissertation as well. The Cognitive Ethical Decision Making Model is specifically focused on the development of the research plan and methodology in addition to analyzing the key results and findings from this research effort. Illustrating the Defining Issues Test (DIT) One of the other major contributions Rest (1979) made in ascertaining the ethics levels of respondents throughout his research was the development of the Defining Issues Test (DIT), which is also used in the research completed on this dissertation as a means of measuring theory of moral reasoning. Rest contends that the DIT model continues to supplant and enhance knowledge in the key area of empirical ethics research (Rest, 1979). How the DIT is constructed begins with a measurement of the individual’s responses to moral dilemmas often defined in the context of scenarios or short vignettes that explain the key concepts behind the concepts being tested. Through the use of these scenarios or vignettes, the respondents’ views of ethics and morality emerge (Rest 1979). The test is typically written yet has also been placed on websites to make it possible for respondents from many different locations geographically to take the test at the same time. It is considered one of the more effective tests at standardizing moral and ethical dilemmas and issue questions. The test is constructed with six dilemmas (three in the short version) is accompanied by 12 stage specific questions (items). The respondent next reads the dilemma and chooses one of three decisions that align with their perception of the situation. Following this, the respondent rates the importance of each of the 12 items to their decision. Finally, the respondent is asked to rank the four most important items using multiple choice questions. The Moral Judgment Interview (MJI) is a comparable test and allows the respondent to specifically respond with their statements about moral and ethical dilemmas presented. As is true with most research methods, the use of multiple-choice questions is more sound from a methodological standpoint and therefore improves the reliability factor of the DIT instrument over the MJI. The MJI requires the interviewer to assess the subject’s response and assign a value to that response, introducing bias into the analysis of results (Elm Webber, 1994). This method of scoring used in MJI could potentially influence the reliability of the results since the analyst who is interpreting the responses of the subject rather than the subject choosing a response from alternatives (Elm Webber, 1994). A typical structure of the DIT is a multiple-choice questionnaire that contains multiple scenarios or vignettes, and has been designed to have up to 12 moral arguments in each dilemma relating to moral reasoning. Each of the questions on the questionnaire asks the subjects to select the most illustrative or definitive response for each situation given their perspective of it. The DIT then uses a point system on a four-point scale to measure the overall responses and create a score that indicates the respondents’ moral and ethical reaction to the points made. A score of four points is given for the most important response, and one point given for the least important response. Both manually-based and machine-based approaches are used for tallying and analyzing the scores, with statistical analysis programs increasingly being used to manage this process. Often the scores are also measured as a series of indices as well. The Principled Index (P index or P score) is the most commonly used one in this field of research today (Rest, 1979). The first score mentioned is often the â€Å"P† score (principled morality) which defines the level of a respondents’ ethical cognition. This is a metric that quantifies the level of respondents’ reaction to scenarios and vignettes that are identified as Stage 5 and Stage 6 in the Rest’s theory. In addition to the â€Å"P† score, the â€Å"D† score quantifies responses fro all stages rather than just those identified in Stages 5 and 6. Critics have contended that the â€Å"P† score is more reliable and therefore more trustworthy as a measure of ethical cognition, a point that Rest has agreed with from his analysis (Rest, 1990). In re-assessing the value of â€Å"P† as a measure of ethical cognition, Rest wrote â€Å"†¦represents the sum of the weighted ranks given to principled items and is interpreted as the relative importance given to principled moral consideration in making a moral judgment. (p.101). Further supporting the reliability of the DIT test are the inclusion of control variables, or items that are purely included to provide a random check of consistency of responses (Rest, 1990). In more advanced research instruments, this approach to ensuring that the responses are consistent is commonly used. When incongruent or inconsistent responses are found they are given a code of â€Å"M† and tallied at the end of the survey. If this specific factor score is too high then the individual survey is considered unusable. Since its initial development, the test has been used in more than 500 documented studies globally, as claimed by its author (Rest, 1990). In quantifying the value of the research instrument from a reliability standpoint, there have been a series of internal validity measures completed as well, with a test-retest methodology used to track internal validity. Scores on these tests using the statistical technical called Chronbach’s alpha index deliver a consistently high level of reliability, with a .70 on the score of this specific statistical metric (Rest, 1986). One of the findings that Rest (1990) has seen from the work completed cumulatively is that the DIT scores tend to have a high correlation level to education and a low correlation to gender, religious beliefs and affiliates, and gender. The ability to empirically test moral development has been achieved with the DIT methodology, and by 1999 Rest and his colleagues created a new version, DIT-2 which is a revised updated stories and issue statements, was introduced. This new instrument is an improved version of the DIT, specifically including more measures of reliability and validity and the purging of questions that could lead to erroneous results despite the presence of control variables (Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, Bebeau, 1999). The DIT was chosen as the moral development instrument has the DIT-2 version has not been thoroughly tested enough therefore limited comparative data is available. This is especially true for accountant specific studies undertaken since the introduction of this second rating methodology. Secondly, while the DIT-2 generally is considered to be just as reliable as DIT given the latters’approach to managing reliability (Rest Narvaez, 1998). This specific dissertation will then focus on DIT as the measurement instrument for evaluating the ethics of Taiwanese CPAs. Empirical Analysis of Accountants through the use of DIT The concepts of moral development theory have provided the financial accounting profession with much opportunity for empirical research and investigation. While specific empirical studies have defined the current level of moral development of business majors including finance and accounting students, professional auditors, tenured and lecturing accounting educators, CPAs, and CMAs, there are many other empirically-derived studies that have focused on the relationship between moral development and various accounting specific behaviors. The intent of this area of the literature review is to represent the specific aspect of moral development research that has been conducted with respondents who are accountants. The impact of the six stage theory Kohlberg has often discussed and analyzed in the works cited in this research are also analysed using Rest’s four component model as foundation for completing an analysis using DIT results as the foundation for these efforts to create a pragmatic approach to analyzing the research. Validation of the DIT research instrument for use in conjunction with analyzing the ethical development of CPAs has been pioneered by Armstrong (1987) through the use of two samples of respondent group CPAs who were given the DIT. Using the mean DIT P scores of each respondent group and then comparing their relative means through the use of large samples of undergraduate college students, college graduate students, and adult respondents as reported by Rest (1979). After completing the analysis and calculating the mean DIT P scores, the results showed scores between the two CPA respondent groups as 37.1 and 38.5 respectively. Calculated mean DIT P scores of the three respondent audiences were as follows: college students (42.3), college graduates (53.3), and the adults in general (40.0). Armstrong (1987) stated that with the CPAs averaging only 1.1 years of post graduate education there was a significantly lower DIT P score reported and achieved by the CPAs. What also was found from the Armstrong analysis was that significantly lower DIT P scores obtained from CPAs occurred compared to both college students and adults as a general respondent group. From this analysis it’s clear that there is a normal progression in moral development that generally takes place in college, yet did not take place with the CPA groups. Their moral development, as measured by the DIT, had not progressed beyond that achieved by the general adult population. In addition to the research completed by Armstrong (1987) there has been significant work completed on the topic of moral development and theories of moral maturity relating to accounting students and professionals (St. Pierre, Nelson, Gabbin, 1990). This second study defined a respondent base of 479 seniors divided into 10 groups by major who were then given the DIT instrument to measure their level of cognitive ethical development. What is unique about this specific study is the definition of specific disciplines in the study as well including math, psychology, and social work. What is noteworthy from this student is that the mean DIT P scores for the respondent base of accounting majors were significantly below those of psychology majors. The researchers list the mean DIT P scores of 38.75 for the respondents who are male accountants and 45.85 for respondents are female accountants. This finding supported previous empirical studies relating to the development of ethical cognition in students, with female students receiving significantly higher scores, attributable to the previous results of empirical studies. Exacerbating these findings were also the DIT P score median value of 43.19 for college seniors. The use of the â€Å"M† value to ascertain the reliability of the study was also completed to better manage the sampling bias and potential errors. Based on these factors the research showed that there were no significant differences in DIT PI scores based on the exposure or not to an ethics course. Clearly the DTP P scores were seen as delineators of cognitive ethical development independent of formalized processes; there is in fact indication that ethically-oriented people do tend to gravitate towards majors that have a relatively high level of accountability, as psychology does for example. In an ancillary study, the work completed by Ponemon (1990) illustrated that through the study of 52 accountant respondents who ranged in position levels of staff, supervisor, manager, and partner were given the MJI to ascertain the relationship between moral stage development and hierarchical position. The results of the survey showed statistically significant results with the mean stage level increase from 3.4 at the staff level to 3.7 at the senior level and then to 4.1 at the supervisor level. While the MJI peaked at the supervisor level, mean stage levels decreased to 3.6 at the manager level and to a low of 2.9 at the partner level. Clearly the decline in MJI scores in this specific study contradicts the core concepts of moral development theory. Citing both a decline due to socialization and self-selection, Ponemon (1990) has stated that the results of this specific project do not necessarily refute ethical moral development theories. Following this research an paradigm (independence level) and the DIT were next analyzed (Ponemon Gabhart, 1990) in an empirical study of 119 respondents in a CPA firm group of audit managers and partners. Results of this specific analysis indicate that managers and partners who achieved low DIT P scores had the propensity to be more cognitively focused on the potential penalties than those respondents who have higher DIT P scores from the research. Not surprisingly there is a key finding from this research, that shows a significant negative relationship between rank and DIT P scores (managers-35.7; partners=30.1) in addition to the age and experience of respondents relative to their age and experience scores. Ponemon and Glazer (1990) also completed empirical research that attempted to add insights into the effects of a liberal college curriculum relative to the level of moral development. Respondents in this study are alumni practitioners in addition to two groups of students including freshmen, and accounting seniors. To ensure the study would be representative, respondents were randomly selected from two institutions that offer accounting degrees. The first institution included in the survey drew respondents from a private college where the accounting major curriculum is part of the liberal arts program. The second institution is a state university where accounting majors were not required or encouraged to take liberal arts courses. There were 143 total respondents in the study that completed the DIT, and the analysis of the results highlighted statistically significant scores between respondent groups. Further, the analysis revealed mean DIT P testing of freshman from both learning institutions was not significantly different between each of the learning institutions. At both the senior and alumni levels, the mean DIT P scores increased. Paradoxically the institution that had accounting as part of the liberal arts program had the higher DIT P scores than the institution that specifically focused on accounting as a core curriculum. In analyzing the results of the survey differences the researchers stated that to â€Å"†¦suggest that liberal learning in college may be an important factor in the development of the student’s and accounting practitioner’s moral reasoning† (p.204). The integration of accounting curriculum in liberal arts broader learning institutions has since become a foundational element in ethics research, and is relied on as a theoretical construct of the research completed in this dissertation. The dynamics involved in the moral development and perception of â€Å"whistle blowing† was studied in an empirical study that had 106 internal auditors as respondents by Arnold and Ponemon (1991) These researchers relied on the DIT research instrument to specifically assess the moral development in the context of experimental scenarios and vignettes surrounding a fraud case and experimental treatments that elicited the perception of internal auditors of â€Å"whistle blowing†. The results of this research illustrated the fact that internal auditors who scored low on the DIT P scale perceived the act of â€Å"whistle blowing† from the standpoint of personal punishment as a risk of unethical behavior than those with high DIT P scores. Clearly this supports the fact that the DIT P measurement instrument supports the contention that those internal auditors that have higher DIT P scores have a higher level of ethical cognition relative to those with lower DIT P scores. The internal auditors who scores lower on DIT P scores saw the act of â€Å"whistle blowing†, it can be inferred, as an external event that had negative consequences if a person was caught. This leads to the observation that internal auditors with low DIT P scores significantly externalize the ethical role of whistle blowers, while those with higher DIT P scores have already internalized ethical cognitions and see whistle blowing as incidental. Paradoxically however the main affiliation factors including punishment of others had little if any influence on the perc