33SUbmited IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

COMMONWEALTH EXECUTIVE MASTERS

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Group Members: Nadine Dennis

Kevin Watson

Tracy Ann Smith

Theresa Gordon

Keisha Lewis

Lecturer: Dr. Darcia Roache

Due Date: March 13, 2016

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary it defines ethics as, “ a set of moral principles

or rules of conduct.”

This project seeks to inform the reader of the importance of ethics to business

organizations. This is explained by exploring the roles of ethical theories in solidifying the

structure of the company and the the relationship the organisation has to the government,

society and other stakeholders. Ethics is also shown through the treatment of employees

and employers .

The treatment of employees and employers and vice versa is done appropriately. The right

of the employees and employers are addresses, and things that affect the ethical obliagation

of the business are highlighted. They are: bribery, insider trading, whistle blowing,

discriminationin the workplace, bribery and corruption.

E\Albert Carr suggested that business is like a game of poker- unethical behaviour is

justified. The term team members is used to refer to the persons who gained information

about Hotel Electa in order to cite examples relevant to the project.

The recommendation put forward is the intent of the team members to address at an

appropriate time.
Acknowledgement
Table of Contents
 Background to Hotel Electa

Hotel X is a 200 room, all inclusive resort located on the scenic north coast of the island of

Jamaica in a bay close to Montego Bay. It offers a wide range of services to its guests on the

shores of a calm beach with turquoise water. This is the destination of choice for families
looking for a getaway and to revitalize. Hotel X offers the best facilities such as Jacuzzi, sauna,

freshwater swimming pool, gym and wellness centre with a range of different treatments and

messages. Guests comfort and entertainment is the hotels top priority as such it offers a high

quality all inclusive service. The hotel offers a wide variety of dishes in the buffet restaurant

where guest get to sample the best cuisine prepared by expert chefs in the themed restaurant.

Hotel X ensures all its guest has an excellent time. The hotel has a gym, table tennis, volleyball,

windsurfing, kayaking, snorkeling, diving and other water activities. Engaging daily and nightly

entertainment is always provided. The hotel is ideally situated and guest can venture out to

discover Jamaica’s treasures in close proximity with duty free shopping, historic sites and

breathtaking views of sunset.

Hotel X ensures that it has qualified, trained staff and only the best are recruited. The hotel

boasts 200 staff who are pleasant and professional.

At Hotel X, families get to experience and discover the magic of Jamaica.

ETHICAL THEORIES AND BUSINESS PRACTICES

Morality
According to Smith (2015) Morality can be defined as social practices or norms which are

believed to be either right or wrong and incorporate well-defined customs, rules, principles,

actions and intentions etc. It’s what should be done for an action to be morally acceptable by a

group of people or society and is usually passed down culturally from generation to generation.

Morality concerns itself not only with self-interest but the interest and benefit of everyone in the

group. As a result the principles of morality do apply to businesses, more specifically; Chief

Executive Officers, managers, and other employees have moral obligations. However, should the

purpose of a business be focused on what is considered to be morally good?  Or should

companies concentrate only on maximizing shareholder returns within the confines of the law?

These two questions imply moral concepts which are subjected to a company’s accepted values

and social norms. However, the first of the two suggests that companies, like people, should be

held to moral standards.  The latter implies a separation between arbitrator and competitor: the

government defines the legal boundaries, while the company conducts its activities for the

greatest outcome within these boundaries. 

Hotel X views this way of looking at morality as highly narrow-minded.  Instead of thinking of

itself as an entity, which is what the questions above do, Hotel X think of itself as collections of

individuals working for a common interest because individuals are motivated by moral purpose.

Every employee of Hotel X must respect the natural rights of other individuals, which includes

honoring contracts, not engaging in fraud, not using coercion against others, and honoring

representations made to the local community. Additionally, Hotel X does not support

government economic interventions, such as price supports (government assistance in

maintaining the levels of market prices regardless of supply or demand), tariffs, and subsidies,
even though doing so might result in higher profits. This Hotel X believes is their moral

responsibility.

Hotel X believes that Living up to these ethical virtues will significantly aid in its pursuit of

profit and that the free market does reward courteous, cooperative, open, honest, realistic,

trustworthy, creative, fair businesses. They also believe that dishonesty and cheating other

businesses, misleading consumers, and mistreating their employees all have serious adverse

consequences. Additionally, Hotel X is of the opinion that in the long run, profitable businesses

tend to be operated in accordance with the basic ethical principles most people hold dear.

Approaches to the Study of Morality and Ethical Theory

There are currently three (3) main approaches relative to the study of said Beauchamp, Bowie

and Arnold, (2009) stated that morality and Ethical theory. The first is called thescientific or

descriptive approach which is most used in the social sciences and examines human behavior

and conduct from an empirical perspective. This means sociologist or psychologist may observe

and gather data about human behavior over time and make certain conclusions. However, they

would not make any judgments as to what is morally right or wrong nor would they prescribe

how humans ought to behave. The second is Conceptual approach which examines the

significant terms in ethical theory and their meaning as also how they relate to each other

analytically. Conceptual problems are also identified and distinguished. The final one is the

Normative (prescriptive) approach which deals with norms (standards) and prescribing how

human beings ought to behave, not just describing how they do, in fact, behave. The Normative

approach of ethical theory encompasses the making of moral judgments rather than just the

presentation or description of facts or data such as seen in the descriptive approach.

human beings ought to behave nor do they make any judgments as to what should be morally

good or bad. Instead, they both expose the concept of morality from a theoretical and empirical

perspective. From the view point of Hotel X both of these approaches are considered to be more

of a guide to understanding morality. This greater understanding of morality leads to better

business ethics; which is the study of business situations, activities, and decisions where issues of

right and wrong are addressed.

Hotel X believes, however, that it is important for an organization to distinctly outline its rules

and policies on the principles of morality and ethical values. These are considered to be

obligations of what ought to be done in the interest of Good morals, ethical responsibility and at

the same time maximizing profit. Furthermore, the rules and policies that govern an organization

must be that which can be endorsed by everyone in the organization. This universal endorsement

by rational persons is what enables Kant to say that everyone is both subject and sovereign with

respect to the rules that govern them. This normative approach to morality and business ethics is

a Kantian theory to the organizational design of a business firm endorsed Hotel X.

The following principles are adhered to by Hotel X:

1. Hotel X considers the interests of all the affected stakeholders in any decision it makes.

2. Hotel X ensure that those affected by the firm’s rules and policies participate in the

determination of those rules and policies before they are implemented.

3. When a situation arises where it appears that the interest of one set of stakeholders must

be subordinated to the interests of another set of stakeholders, that decision should not be

made solely on the grounds that there is a greater number of a stakeholder in one group

than in another.
 4. Hotel X has a limited, but genuine, duty of beneficence.

5. Hotel X firm has established procedures designed to ensure that relations among

stakeholders are governed by rules of justice.

Virtue Ethics

Campbell (2017) posited that the fundamentals of integrating ethical standards in the everyday

operation of a business can be categorized in to two different approaches:

1. The action-based approach

2. The agent-based approach

The action-based approach is the traditional way of incorporating ethics into a business by

focusing on the development of rules and policies to constrain or restrict management’s

actions. These rules or policies are generally outlined in the company’s codes of ethics, or

code of conduct.

On the Contrary, whilst the action-based approach focuses on rules governing action, the

agent-based approach focuses on the fundamental character and motivations of the individual

agent. As a result, the agent-based approach does not limit moral behavior to the adherence of

rules or policies but rather involves the individual rationally pursuing moral excellence as a

goal in and of itself. In essence, ethics becomes central to the rationality concept as an

objective rather than a constraint: "something positively good, something to be sought after"

(Ladd, 1991, p. 82).

Agent-based approaches generally derive their philosophical foundation from virtue-ethics

theory. In essence, the 'virtue' in virtue-ethics is defined as some desirable character trait, such

as courage, that lies between two extremes, such as rashness and cowardice. Thus the
'virtuous' agent is involved in a continual quest to find balance in decision-making. Such an

agent does not apply any specific 'rules' in making decisions, but rather attempts to make

decisions that are consistent with the pursuit of a particular kind of excellence that in turn

entails exercising sound moral judgment guided by such 'virtues' as courage, wisdom,

temperance, fairness, integrity, and consistency.

Virtue ethics is currently one of three major approaches in normative ethics. It may, initially, be

identified as the one that emphasizes the virtues, or moral character, in contrast to the approach

that emphasizes duties or rules (deontology) or that which emphasizes the consequences of

actions (consequentialism).

For example, suppose it is obvious that someone in need should be helped. A utilitarian will

point to the fact that the consequences of doing so maximize happiness of those affected by the

act of helping. A deontologist points to the fact that, in helping the one in need, the agent is

acting in accordance with a moral rule such as “Do unto others as you would be done by”. A

virtue ethicist points to the fact that helping the person is exercising the character trait of

benevolence. All the three moral theories will agree that helping the person in need is ethically

correct.

Aristotle is an early developer of virtue ethics. Aristotle writes, “The virtue of man also will be

the state of character which makes a man good and which makes him do his own work well“.

The aim is to perform the right action, with the right person, to the right extent, at the right time,

and in the right way. Although this is the objective, Aristotle considers achieving this goodness

as rare, laudable, and noble

Aristotle believes people are naturally suited to do the right thing, but do not automatically

develop such inclinations to do “good”. He strongly believes you are what you do, so in that
respect the ideal virtuous person does the right thing because she desires to be virtuous. One

cannot be accidentally or coincidentally virtuous.

The virtue ethics approach focuses on the “integrity” of the moral actor. The goal with this

approach is to be a good person. In virtue ethics, one’s character emerges from a “relevant moral

community”.  Therefore, it is important to account for the moral agent’s community or

communities within which she operates. This approach is particularly useful for individuals who

work within a professional community that has developed high standards of ethical conduct for

community members.

Hotel X have established and implemented a system of value standards which are used as a guide

to develop their employees with the attitudes, dispositions and character traits that enable each

employee to be and to act in ways that develop these potentials. In order to promote a culture and

climate of virtue, Hotel X communicates their ethical expectations and conveys a sense of

identity to their employees that aid in guiding their decisions and that will elicit their loyalty.

Loyalty produces partiality, interest, and personal identification with a firm. An appropriate tone

needs is set at the top and time devoted to discussing the importance of virtues and values. Hotel

X takes the time needed to express what the company finds to be meaningful, how the employees

should be functioning, and how the firm wants to be regarded both internally and externally.

This enable them to pursue the ideals adopted by Hotel X. Honesty, courage, compassion,

generosity, fidelity, integrity, fairness, self-control, and prudence are all examples of virtues

encouraged by Hotel X.

How does Hotel X help to develop virtues in its employees? Virtues are developed through

learning and through practice. As the ancient philosopher Aristotle suggested, a person can

improve his or her character by practicing self-discipline, while a good character can be
corrupted by repeated self-indulgence. Just as the ability to run a marathon develops through

much training and practice, so too does our capacity to be fair, to be courageous, or to be

compassionate.

Virtues are habits. That is, once they are acquired, they become characteristic of a person. For

example, a person who has developed the virtue of generosity is often referred to as a generous

person because he or she tends to be generous in all circumstances. Moreover, a person who has

developed virtues will be naturally disposed to act in ways that are consistent with moral

principles. The virtuous person is the ethical person.

At the heart of the virtue approach to ethics is the idea of "community". A person's character

traits are not developed in isolation, but within and by the communities to which he or she

belongs, including family, church, school, and other private and public associations. Hotel X

encourages it employees to become members of special clubs and non-profit organizations and

other social units which are based on virtue ethics.

Hotel X believes that the moral life, then, is not simply a matter of following moral rules and of

learning to apply them to specific situations. The moral life is also a matter of trying to determine

the kind of people we should be and of attending to the development of character within our

communities and ourselves.

Right Theories

The rights theory states that the best method to deal with ethical issues is to form a basis of

obligations in order to justify every individual’s entitlement to human rights (Shaw, 2010).

Besides that, the rights theory also insists that human rights should be independent from the

influence of other factors. Human right is simply the natural rights belonging to every person
by virtue of being a human being (Shaw, 2010). There are two types of human rights; positive

and negative rights. Positive rights are obligations to provide goods and services to other

people (Jennings, 2008). On the other hand, negative rights are obligations imposed on people

to stop them from interfering with other people’s freedom of action (Jennings, 2008). One of

the major arguments pertaining to the rights theory is the lack of hierarchy to determine which

rights has more value than the rest.

Hotel X has conformed to all the policies and principles as it relates the rights of its employs

and incorporates universally established Human rights and diversity policies. Hotel X

endeavor to operate within the confines of the Law relating to its employees and believe that

its employees are its most important resource.

Hotel X believes in the rights of all its employees in the workplace -- including the right to

privacy, fair compensation, and freedom from discrimination. Hotel X also believes a job

applicant also has certain rights even prior to being hired as an employee. Those rights

include the right to be free from discrimination based on age, gender, race, national origin, or

religion during the hiring process.

Hotel X embraces an employee’s right to privacy in the workplace. This right to privacy

applies to the employee's personal possessions, including handbags or briefcases, storage

lockers accessible only by the employee, and private mail addressed only to employee.

Employees may also have a right to privacy in their telephone conversations or voicemail

messages. However, it must be notes that employees have very limited rights to privacy in

their e-mail messages and Internet usage while using the Hotel X computer system.
Other important Hotel X employee rights include:

 Right to be free from discrimination and harassment of all types;

 Right to a safe workplace free of dangerous conditions, toxic substances, and other

potential safety hazards;

 Right to be free from retaliation for filing a claim or complaint against an employer

(these are sometimes called "whistleblower" rights);

 Right to fair wages for work performed.

Stakeholders vs. Stockholders Management

The stockholder theory states that there is only one social responsibility of business: to use its

resources to engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it operates within the

confines of the Law. This theory was introduced by Milton Friedman, a prominent economist

and Nobel Prize winner, who believed that the corporations’ only responsibility was to its

stockholders and that the latter are interested in profit maximization. Therefore, leaders should

act as agents for stockholders and focus on their interests.

Another extreme is the stakeholder theory by R. Edward Freeman, which focuses on who is

being affected. In Freeman’s “A Stakeholder Theory of the Modern Corporation,” he suggests

that leaders are obligated to all stakeholders: customers, suppliers, management, owners,

employees, and the local community, those that are vital to the survival and success of the

corporation. We all have a moral obligation toward other human beings. Corporations that make

profits should be held socially responsible for contributing to the improvement of society
financially and in other ways, e.g. recycling of products and contributing to worthy causes

regularly and frequently, rather than waiting for a disaster to occur and then contributing with a

view to gain publicity.

Immanuel Kant analyzed Friedman’s stockholder theory and Freeman’s stakeholder theory, also

known as Kantian capitalism and added that when corporations follow the stockholder theory,

they fail to recognize and respect the needs of those who contribute to their existence and place

themselves in a position to self-destruct through negligence and selfishness. Therefore, the

stakeholder theory is superior to the stockholder theory.

Hotel X regards both its stakeholders and stockholders as very important to the survival of its

business. However, unlike what other companies may do when faced with severe hardship, by

laying off people, in line with the stockholder theory. Hotel X have more concern for employees’

needs and try to reach some form of compromise and in so doing, demonstrate their concern for

the families of their employees. The result is usually favorable to both the Hotel X and its

employees.

When Frederick Winslow Taylor’s views on scientific management were being put into practice

by business organizations, owners were the only stakeholders. Leaders were obliged to focus on

profits maximization, and employees had to work hard for unsatisfactory wages. Environmental

issues were not a concern, and customers bought what was offered in the market. Today, firms

have to deal with the bargaining power of employees, trade unions, customers, suppliers, etc. and

there are environmental concerns, government regulations, etc. Unfortunately, many firms still

focus (mainly) on profits and pay attention to stakeholder needs only when pressured to do so.
BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY

Accountability and Responsibility

The traditional model of business management proposed by Beauchamp, Howie and

Arnold (2009) identifies the stockholders, employees, suppliers, managers, local community and

customers as being stakeholders. Besides these stakeholders, currently other secondary

stakeholders are included, for example financial institutions and creditors. The team members of

Hotel X believe that the stakeholders of any business organization represent the backbone and

support system needed to achieve its long term and short term goals There are accepted moral

standards specified by each stakeholder, found in profession-generated documents, as well as,

legal duties established or approved by the government represented in an Act or Law. Thus, there

has to be a climate of trust between the business and all stakeholders to promote growth and

development.

The team members consider Hotel Electa as a progressive, tourist accommodation that

operates within the confines of the regulations of the 1955 Jamaica Tourist Board Act. In

Section 23 of the Tourist Board Act(1955) it states that, “ Every application for a licence under

this Act in respect of Tourist accommodation, shall be made to the Board in such form and

manner as may be prescribed or approved by the Board.” The legal requirements of hotels

obtaining a tourist accommodation licence in Jamaica stipulates that, “ all entities operating in

the tourism sector must have a JTB (Jamaica Tourist Board) license, all operators using the

beach or beach front for environmental activities must apply for beach licences, all building or

sites must have Natural Conservation Authority permits, all water sports operators must have

Maritime Authority licences and fisheries licences, a Public Health Certificate and if there are
contract carriage operators transporting the guests they should have PPV licence.” (Licensing-

Tourism Product Development Company,nd). The team members are of the view that managers

of Hotel Electa ensure that they fulfill their moral and ethical obligations by complying with the

requirements outlined by the Jamaica Tourist Board.

The Government, as a stakeholder, requires that business entities accomplish their legal

obligations in the following ways. The company must be a member of a registered financial

institution, obtain a tax registration number from the Inland Revenue Services Department,

register the company with the Companies Office of Jamaica and submit an Articles of

Incorporation. Other financial obligations include: submission of annual company tax based on

audited financial report, monthly statutory deductions for employer and employees such as

Income tax, Education tax, National Insurance Scheme tax and National Housing Trust

Contributions. The head of the accounting department would monitor the calculation and

payments of taxes made on behalf of the company.

To minimize the occurrence of fraudulent actions, internal and external auditors are

required to carefully examine the financial statements of the company and express an opinion of

it, whether or not it is true and fair. The right of the stakeholder or shareholder to accurate

information ought to be protected. Thus the need for codes that govern the ethics of the business

practices. The code also guides the leadership, accountability of managers and employees,

remuneration process and relations with shareholders. This process protects the users of the

financial statements from receiving misleading information. Based on information received by

the team members, Hotel Electa is controlled by a Board of Directors who has a fiduciary

position to oversee the economic development of the company, maximize wealth for the
shareholders, show reasonable competence and prepare financial statements. This type of

relationship between the stakeholders and the company is viewed as corporate governance.

Corporate governance refers to the set of systems, principles and processes by

which a company is governed. They provide the guidelines as to how the company can be

directed or controlled such that it can fulfill its goals and objectives in a manner that adds

to the value of the company and is also beneficial for all stakeholders in the long term.

Stakeholders in this case would include everyone ranging from the board of directors,

management, shareholders to customers, employees and society. The management of the

company hence assumes the role of a trustee for all the others. (Thompson, 2009)

The main purpose of corporate governance is to improve the level of accountability of

any company and mitigate the risk of ethical or legal problems that may occur. In the article,

Why is Corporate Governance Important by Leo Sun, it was cited that, “ failed energy giant

Enron, and its bankrupt employees and shareholders, is a prime argument for the importance of

solid corporate governance.” If a company is engaged in scandals, frequent lawsuits by

employees or the government or not being transparent in its policies, then there will be a tainted

image of the company by society which would decrease the likelihood of attracting new

investors.

It is therefore the view of the team members of Hotel Electa, that companies need to be

accountable to their stakeholders and use available resources and expertise to improve the level

of efficiency, production and overall performance. One of the ways of achieving and maintaining

optimal corporate governance in a company is to establish an approved set of policies that

govern the norms and values upheld by the organization. A Code of Ethics or a Code of Conduct
is used to accomplish this task. This provides a platform that guides the decisions of

stakeholders, identifies acceptable and unacceptable business practices and describes the roles

and responsibilities of each stakeholder.

Corporate Character and Individual Responsibility

An individual who aims to be successful should act in such manner, likewise a business

that aims to be successful should have a brand that represents such. The team members of Hotel

Electa are of the view that companies that promote positive values, such as integrity and fairness,

and use such in developing their business strategies and operational plans often have a good

reputation in society and thus increase market share. The Arthur W. Page Society (2013) has

concluded that, “Each enterprise must have a clear sense of what defines it- why it exists, what it

believes, how it acts and what value it creates and how- and that definition must be translated

into action across the enterprise on a consistent basis… Corporate character describes the unique

identity that distinguishes each enterprise-the characteristics that define its very nature”. (p. 11)

Corporate character needs to be developed and each stakeholder has a responsibility to

improve the level of transparency. This will allow persons to acknowledge that the purpose of

the company is not merely the creation of wealth but satisfying the welfare of all stakeholders,

through a customer-friendly environment. This shows that businesses have a corporate social

responsibility. Taylor (2015) claims that, “Corporate social responsibility refers to a business

practice that involves participating in initiatives that benefit society”. Some persons view this
concept as being time consuming and irrelevant to development of the good ethical behaviour at

an organization.

Milton Friedman, a philosopher and economist, in his 1970 article states that, “ The

social responsibility of (a) business is to increase its profits.” He further explained that a

business is not an individual therefore it cannot possibly have a moral responsibility and the

social problems that a society experiences should be addressed by the government. The

managers should manage the company for the stockholders and allow the persons elected by

government to find solutions for society’s problems. Friedman (1970) refers to corporate social

responsibility as “ a fundamentally subversive doctrine” and in a free society , “ there is only one

social responsibility of a business- to use its resources to engage in activities designed to increase

profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free

competition without deception and fraud”. (p.55)

We believe that businesses do impact the society and most, if not all contribute to

pollution, contribute to the taxes of a country, provide employment for citizens and rely on the

financial support from investors, customers and suppliers. Hence, it would be relevant for

businesses to have a corporate social responsibility. Dudovskiy (2012) cites Archie Carroll’s

definition of corporate social responsibility as:

Corporate social responsibility involves the conduct of a business so that it is

economically profitable, law abiding, ethical and socially supportive. To be

socially supportive then means that profitability and obedience to the law are

foremost conditions when discussing the firm’s ethics and the extent to which it

supports the society in which it exists with contributions of money, time and

talent.(1983: p.608)
 Carroll has subdivided corporate social responsibility into four levels, namely

economical, legal, ethical and philanthropic, with economical being the lowest level of the

pyramid and philanthropic at the highest. At the economic level, the company has a

responsibility to be profitable since this is the foundation and all other levels are dependent on

economic growth. At the legal level, the company has a moral obligation according to the moral

standards of society to obey the law, while at the ethical level, the company has an ethical

obligation to do what is right and fair. Then at the philanthropic level, the company has a a

responsibility of being a good corporate citizen. (Carroll’s CSR-Pyramid)

The Triple Bottom Line principle conceptualized by John Elkington, supports the

objective of the corporate social responsibility, in which it views companies as having an

economic, environmental and social value. This concept helps to sustain the company and

prevent the decline of the social, political and economic structure of a company. Therefore, if a

company uses some of its profits to assist with mentorship programs for at-risk youth in a

community, this would attract more employees, customers and investors to the corporation.

The team members of Hotel Electa propose that some of the corporate social

responsibilities of an organization may include: providing resource or donations to community

programs, adhere to the labour laws so that employees are treated fairly and aim to create an

environmentally friendly society. If the policies that govern an organization are based on positive

values which seek to benefit the stakeholders, and create an environment that is financially,

socially and ethically sound, it will achieve short term and long term benefits.
RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF EMPLOYEES AND EMPLOYERS

Employers are responsible for ensuring that all their employees receive certain employment

rights. Both employees and employers have rights and obligations within an organization.

Employees have a responsibility to the organization to which they are employed. They are

expected to be fully committed to acting in the best interest of the organization, to be honest and

loyal and do nothing that will bring the organization into disrepute or affect its image.

Below are a few of the documented rights of the employees and the obligations of the employers

at Hotel X.

Rights of the Employees.

1. A female worker is entitled to three (3) paid maternity leave, while in the employ of the

same employer 

2. Every permanent employee is entitled to holiday with Pay

3. Every permanent employee is entitled to sick leave(References needed)

Obligations of the Employer

1. Provide instruction and training to employees on health and safety

2. Provide protective clothing and equipment for employees, particularly those working in

highly hazardous area.

3. Employers should have written grievance and disciplinary procedures that will serve as a

guide for the employees.

Training for Employees

At Hotel X all new employees receives mandatory training in their respective areas for at least a

period of two weeks. Every new employee then receives a copy of the company’s hand book

which outlines the rules and regulations concerning conduct, terms and condition of employment

to include but not limited to termination, probation, sick leave, vacation and tips. This we believe

is a good ethical practice as it ensures that employees are aware of their policies and procedures

as well as their rights.

Hiring of Employees

The hiring process at Hotel X is conducted through the Human Resources Department. When a

position becomes available within a specific department the human resource manager is advised

by the head of that department and the position is posted either internally or externally. When

this position is posted internally the hotel administration only does this as a formality as they are

well aware that the position is either filled or is to be filled by someone who was already

identified. This is unethical as this only shows a lack of honesty and fair dealings that needs to be

exercised in relationships between employer and employee.

Another observation with their recruitment and hiring process is as it relates to their selection of

candidates for specific positions. Their records show that positions for Executive Chefs for

example were not extended to Jamaican nationals although qualified, but is instead given to ex-

partitas. In addition should a national be given the opportunity they are paid far less. This is quite

unethical as this shows that the company is illegally discriminating against national applicants.
Good business practice by an organization would ensure that there are no indication of bias in the

hiring process as this can lead to serious legal issues.

Recruitment of Employees

The rate of turnover at Hotel X is quite high. 30 % of their employees spend on average6-8

months in their positions. Reasons cited for this included the lack of resources as well as the

volume of work that they are expected to do and failure to properly compensate. Faced with this

problem coupled with their refusal to pay these employees fairly, Hotel X has sought to hire

interns who are paid minimum wage and is expected to do the same work that a full time

employee would have done. This practice is unethical as this may be considered as exploitation.

Inhumane work conditions are not only unethical but also bad for business creating a culture of

distrust.

Firing or Termination process at Hotel X

It is unethical to terminate an employee on the basis of sex, age, pregnancy etc. Discrimination

based on a person’s ethnicity or culture may impact the workplace negatively. At Hotel X there

have been practices of redundancy under the pretense that a particular position is no longer

needed or “does not align with the company’s goals”, however the company will hire an

individual and task them with the same responsibilities but creates a different title for that

individual. This is an unethical practice and does not foster an atmosphere of cooperation and

harmony in the workplace.

Unethical practices in the workplace can create legal issues, affect employee’s performance and

relations and impacts on an organizations image and questions their credibility.

Issues with privacy arise in Hotel X when employers invade the employees’ rights to privacy,

and by privacy we mean the rights of the employee to keep their personal matters and

relationships secret. Ethical issues arise with the gathering of information, assessing its accuracy,

correcting it and disclosing it. Ways in which the hotel invade the privacy of staff include with

the use of technology and by requesting personal information during recruitment process such as

fingerprints, background checks, AIDS test or medical screening. However, for management, the

reasons and benefits sited for monitoring its employees include lower operating cost and high

productive rate and, that background checks are done to ensure information supplied by

employee is valid and accurate. The question of ethics then is do the employees’ rights to privacy

outweigh the management’s right to run the hotel as they desire.

With the increased use of technology this has created privacy issues because Hotel X has

several ways to monitor or invade the privacy of employees, mainly through surveillance, email

and social media. Managers at the hotel use the software program Investigator 2.0 to track

computer usage, unaware to employees. With the widespread use of social media sites such as

Facebook and Twitter, management monitors employees on and off the job. These sites are used

to obtain background information or to conduct personality checks which management explains

is for ethical reasons such as for quality control and to protect against liabilities, but at the same

time, employees were of the view that management should not infringe on their personal lives

when they are not at work. According to Kantianism, act so that you always treat both yourself

and other people as ends in themselves, and never as a means to an end, therefore, computer

monitoring is wrong because managers are monitoring their subordinates as a means to earning a

higher profit not as ends in themselves.

widely used in offices and at various locations on the compound to monitor activities; this has

contributed to undue stress for employees who are constantly being watched. Management also

have access to employees’ personal, file which contains private information some of which is

shared with external entities such as banks. Fingerprints, AIDS test and medical screening is

required of all employee but most employee is of the view that these should be requested for

certain positions and job types and is considered excessive and invasive for some positions for

which they are not relevant; they are aware that laws and regulations exist to protect them against

such unethical practices but for fear of dismissal, they usually comply. It is thought that some of

the ways the hotel monitor employees privacy are legal but can be considered unethical.

To solve the issue with privacy at the hotel concerning technology, clear policies

regarding the proper use of technology and the types of monitoring needs to be established and

communicated. In relation to surveillance, this should be minimal and for the benefit of the job.

There should be no secret monitoring so, to monitor internet use at work employees could use

filtering software to filter sites not allowed to be visited during work hours. Employees must be

made aware and have access to all information obtained about them. Management must consider

their limits in dealing with privacy issues in relation to employees of the hotel and must ensure

that everything is done ethically and lawfully. They must therefore develop an accountable

process for employee monitoring.

Whistleblowing

When a past or current employee divulges information of misconduct or malpractice by his

employer in the public’s interest this is classified as Whistleblowing, or as it is more formally

known, 'making a disclosure in the public interest'. Whistleblowing can be seen as an unselfish

act or one of disloyalty to an organization. In recent times, laws have been enacted to protect
whistleblowers and companies are encouraged to adopt a system of accountability to protect their

staff and business operations.

The management of Hotel X knows the implication that can result if an employee blows

the whistle, therefore, Manuals are available to guide employees about the process of reporting

wrongdoing or misconduct internally. However, employees were not informed about making

reports externally, nevertheless, employees need to be advised that before they blow the whistle

they should ensure that they follow the prescribed process. They should ensure that the breech is

real and has substantial evidence to substantiate the claim. Once they have reasonable reason to

believe the public is at risk they should make the disclosure internally to someone who is able to

correct the breech that was committed. If their supervisor, General Manager or person in

authority does not act to rectify or try to rectify the breech then the employee can contact the

appropriate authorities, in some cases it might be the Bureau of Standard or Jamaica Tourist

Board. If the worker feels unable to make the disclosure internally, it should be made to a

prescribed person, so that the employee’s rights are protected.

To qualify as a disclosure, one or more of the following matters should either be happening, has

taken place, or is likely to happen in the future.

1. A criminal offence

2. The breach of a legal obligation

3. A miscarriage of justice

4. A danger to the health and safety of any individual

5. Damage to the environment

6. Deliberate attempt to conceal any of the above.

A survey was conducted at the hotel which revealed that 70% of the workers supported whistle

blowing while 25% stated that they saw whistle blowers as “informers” or disloyal to the hotel
and would not support such practice. Most employees were of the view that if the engineers at

the water sanitation plant at the hotel uncovered safety issues they would hope the engineers

would have sufficient opportunity to report this without fear of reprisal; avoiding danger and

incident and allowing for the hotel to assess and improve its practices.

Employees should be aware that if they blow the whistle and is dismissed or victimized

for doing so, they can claim unfair dismissal. In order to be protected or compensated the

employee will have to show that he made a disclosure, that he followed the correct disclosure

procedure and that he was dismissed or suffered a detriment as a result of making the disclosure.

However, a tribunal will have the power to reduce any compensation by up to 25% if they think

the disclosure was made in "bad faith".

For whistle blowing to be adverted, the hotel management must not only be cognizant of

its implication on businesses but should institute adequate policies and guidelines to report

wrongdoings. The use of telephone hotlines is one such provision the hotel could institute as

some workers might not want to appear in person due to the view that they are being disloyal to

the company. The company should ensure that they act on reports of wrongdoing to mitigate

against any consequences that may occur as there are authorities in place to ensure that rules and

regulations are adhered to in protecting the publics’ interest.

Diversity and Discrimination in the Workplace

In this global economy that now exist, diversity or variety as the word implies, is very beneficial

in all organizations and is even more critical in the Hotel Industry. The level of diversity within a

hotel will determine the level of discrimination or favouritism. However, employees should be

treated fairly and with equality regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, marital
status, pregnancy, ethnicity, race, economic standing, etc. This is important to the principles of

ethical business and ethical organizations.

In Hotel X, the Assistant General Manager was employed from the United States of America, he

is Caucasian and he was cultured from home to believe that whites are superior. When he took

up the position as Assistant General Manager he was not aware that he would be working with a

coloured General Manager. At first he resented the idea and did not perform his duties

professionally which affected lower level staff as well as the image of the hotel. He soon came

to realize that the belief he hold was wrong and unethical. Guest observed his crudeness and

reported him to the General Manager who was a person who encouraged creativity and effective

problem solving among workers. The reality was that guest from various cultures stayed at this

first-class hotel and having a diverse employee base made for easier interact. The Assistant

General Manager therefore came to understand and accept the importance of equal employment

opportunity.

Notwithstanding, the Assistant General Manager had his share of problems when he first came to

the hotel, as staff were of the view that he was aged, racist and suffered from a disability,

additionally, they thought someone could have been identified internally who was suitable to fill

the post. He was employed due to his years of experience in the hotel industry and he had a

proven track record to show, he was just not use to having a coloured manager. His disability

was that he walked with a limp but because the hotel also catered for disabled guest,

management thought it prudent to not discriminate against employing such individuals.

As a resolution, Hotel X should include a standard for diversity and non-discrimination practices

in their code of ethics that employees would be expected to sign off on to show acceptance of the

hotel’s policies. Training sessions could also be conducted for management and its employees in
understanding how to deal with conflicts that may result from discrimination and diversity.

Management must accept the fact that diversity must be welcomed and embraced if the hotel is

to be profitable and sustainable.

Insider Trading in the Organization

Insider trading refers to a situation where an individual has important access to financial

information and then uses it illegally for economic gain. In most cases, these individuals play an

important role in the decision making of the financial or investment activity. They may

sometimes hold the positions of financial directors, company officers, or persons who are

basically responsible for the securities trading. Often times, people within the stock market

community refer to insider trading as unethical or corrupt based on the fear that trading hurts or

weaken the stock exchange.(reference needed)

Insider Trading is often understood as being illegal or is of bad practices in the business

market, and has both a legal or illegal side to it. I believe that it is legal whenever, the owners of

the company trade stocks and security of their own. Insider trading practice can also deteriorate

the investors’ confidences that they may have on securities of the company. .Insider trading in

our Hotel Industry has lately become an issue in society and refers legally to the trading

activities and the non-activities that are carried out by the use of sensitive information that is not

accessible to shareholders or the public in general. There has been only a little detail on ethical

issues that are associated with Insider Trading, including tax payer which has an adverse effect

on the economy, by providing a less efficient market, such as the loss of profit by shareholders.

The government may provide its resources with a certain benefit and cost to police insider

trading to prevent criminal activities. Often times, Insider trading is seen as a victimless crime.
However, it can be a deep problem that is dealt with by many organizations, but nevertheless,

this can be dealt with by punishing or imposing some form of criminal liability for such act;

Maloney and Mulherin (2003) indicated that “trading is likely to deteriorate the stability and

efficiency of the company’s stocks in the market.”

The Hotel Industry has its complexity like other Industries and its main concerned is that

of corruption which has become very popular over time. “Corruption is the abuse of entrusted

power for private gain. It can be classified as grand, petty and political, depending on the

amounts of money lost and the sector where it occurs.” Corruption today has caused so much

damage to this industry. It has also created an unfair advantage and anti-competitive practices in

the environment, it contributes to organized crime and is seen as an obstacle in the development

of the economy, it weakens the rules of laws and trust in the Tourist Industry. Corruption is a

serious problem that can only be controlled and not totally eliminated. This bad practice affects

the hotel industry and unfortunately, contributes to a bad economic life.

From the business perspective of Insider Trading, there have been some ethical issues

with insider trading which may be viewed as an unethical behavior. The practice of Insider

Trading is conducted mainly by “ insiders” including the managers, workers or even the

directors, their main goals are to obtain monetary gains or some other benefits. “Insider trading

laws are not that effective; they affect the freedom of business, diminish innovation and reduce

micro and macro efficiency. In essence, they also represent a cost to shareholders. Arguments on

both sides about insider trading are well developed, although arguments against are more

problematical. Its occurrence is what has made many ventures successful.” (Smith, 2016, p.9)
It is obvious that Insider Trading is a very problematic and complex issue, but organizations can

avoid these challenges, by obtaining their visions and knowledge of a keen investment decision

so that they will be able to understand the market in which they are operating.

Bribery and Corruption in the Organization

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